WWE All Star Search #19 - Championship Wrestling (March 1986 pt1)
Hello Turnbucklers once again to the All Star Search! It's edition #19 and it's the first 2 episodes of Championship Wrestling from March 1986 we're looking at. So...we're on a our way to Wrestlemania 2 and we're starting to get some shape to the card after the last edition. Will King Kong Bundy continue to look like a monster? Will Hulk Hogan look be 2D or 3D? Will Piper get the next shot in against Mr T and will Paul Orndorff be relevant anytime soon? Let's find out!
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Terry Gibbs/AJ Petruzzi vs Ricky Steamboat/King Tonga
Joe Mirto vs Tito Santana
The British Bulldogs vs The Gladiator/Barry O
Steve Gatorwolf/Mike Sexton vs King Kong Bundy/Big John Studd
The Funk Brothers vs Nelson Villeaux/SD Jones
Barry O/Johnny K9 vs Corporal Kirchner/Dan Spivey
Les Thornton vs Paul Orndorff
SD Jones/Andre Malo vs The Hart Foundation
Butch Cassidy vs Haiti Kid
Nelson Villeaux/Lanny Poffo vs The Dream Team (Tag Team Champs)
The Show:
So we kick off with the 1st March episode of Championship Wrestling. Our commentators are Bruno Sammartino and Vince McMahon who do what they do best...run down the card.
Terry Gibbs/AJ Petruzzi vs Ricky Steamboat/King Tonga
Big reaction for the faces as you'd expect. The heels pearl harbour the faces but don't get very far, as you'd also expect. Tonga starts with the crowd solidly behind him, using snapmares and hip tosses, even throwing in a cheeky dance too. Headbutts by Tonga and Gibbs gets trapped in the bottom rope via his arm. Gibbs whip Tonga into the turnbuckle but Steamboat cushions the impact using his own body. Gibbs misses the follow up charge and gets double teamed for his troubles. Steamboat rallies against both heels and goes up top, hits the flying bodypress and that gets the 3 count. Nothing special really. Squash Rating: **
Update time with Lord Al and this week he's looking at Mr T. We see clips of Mean Gene interrupting his workout session from Saturday Nights Main Event...growl included.
Joe Mirto vs Tito Santana
Somewhat of a mixed reaction for Tito again. They lock up to start but Tito takes control with a forearm shot. He works over Mirto's arm and its all very boring for what should be a squash match. Mirto kicks and punches away at Tito but misses a charge in the corner. Tito works over the leg now and there are some noticable boos in the crowd. Tito kicks away at Mirto's legs and locks on the figure 4 for the win. Again, that was really boring, I expected more from Tito. Maybe its because the crowd's turning on him and the fact he lost the belt, it all maybe getting to him. He doesn't look thrilled to be there. Squash Rating: *
Into the back with Mean Gene and he's joined by Hulk Hogan! Hogan says the situation is kinda disgusting. He had just said his prayers and was done hangin and bangin when he got a call from the Junkyard Dog. It seems they're going to team up to face the Funk Brothers at an upcoming house show. Mean Gene says he doesn't know how Hogan does it with his injuries and Hogan says it because he owes Boston...although he didn't say why.
The British Bulldogs vs The Gladiator/Barry O
Big reaction for the Bulldogs, much better than Tito's anyway. Barry O by the way has his own Randy Orton esque pose...its lovely. Dynamite starts us off with some quick action ending with a sunset flip that gets 2. The Gladiator and Davey come in and lock up. Gladiator gets a shoulderblock but Davey hits a hip toss. Davey hits a nice stalling suplex and that gets 2. In comes Dynamite and he hits a nice snap suplex that McMahon claims is the fastest suplex in the sport today. Davey comes in and hits a powerslam before press slamming Dynamite into a diving headbutt for the win! Seriously, these two are just so good! Squash Rating: ****
Wrestlemania 2...its COMING!!!!
Into the back with Mean Gene and he's with Randy Savage! Mean Gene welcomes him back to the scene of the crime and that offends Macho Man. Macho straight up denies using an object against Tito to win the belt...and I for one believe him, forget the footage! In comes Liz and Macho says that they don't care about Tito and Macho tells Liz to say something...but shoves her out the way on word #1.
Steve Gatorwolf/Mike Sexton vs King Kong Bundy/Big John Studd
I guess the Steve Gatorwolf/King Kong Bundy feud continues from Saturday Nights Main Event. Big weasel chant breaks out for Heenan who of course is with the heels. Studd starts off and crushes Gatorwolf before tagging in Bundy to big heat. Bundy hits a shoulderblock and in comes Sexton, who tonight was announced as Saxon. He gets owned as Studd tags back in...shoulderblock again...and he hits a scoop slam. Studd really is hard to watch, he has the turning circle of a crane. Bundy tags in and hits the avalanche in the corner before hitting the Hogan crushing splash of doom for the 5 count. Bundy I can watch but Studd it's hard. The heat from the crowd show Bundy is where he needs to be in time for Wrestlemania. Squash Rating: **
Pipers Pit time and Roddy is joined by King Kong Bundy. He has a humanitarian award to give to Bundy for crushing Hogan on SNME. Heenan of course loves it and Bundy congratulates Piper and Orton on what they did to Mr T on SNME. Heenan says Hogan being crushed was like Liberace playing the piano. They continue to laugh about Hogan being finished...even though we saw him 10 minutes ago.
Into a different part of the back with Mean Gene who's with some TV screens. He shows us clips once again from SNME. We see all of what happened with Mr T/Piper/Hogan/Bundy. The whole shabang! If you haven't already, check out my review of it in the previous edition.
The Funk Brothers vs Nelson Villeaux/SD Jones
Dory Funk JR is already being called Hoss Funk at this point and I have no idea why. I presume to take him away from his NWA past. Terry runs away from SD Jones and tags in Hoss who uses classical takedowns and headlocks and then Terry tags in. Terry tags out again when SD Jones comes in and I have no idea why he's scared of SD Jones and neither does the commentators. Hoss hits a nice suplex on Villeaux but misses a charge. SD eventually gets his hands on Terry and whips him into his brother and the crowd love it. The Funks regroup on the outside and its not long before they have control again inside the ring. Villeaux misses a charge against Hoss and ends up in a Texas Cloverleaf for the win! Hoss looked good in this, a classic old school wrestler. Terry looked like a coward but that's his thing. Squash Rating: ***
Into the back with Mean Gene who's with Jimmy Hart and the Funk Brothers. They hype up their upcoming house show match against Hogan and Junkyard Dog. Terry calls JYD 'a big monkey' and that's uncomfortable but it gets worse when Terry says he'll hog tie him. Hoss speaks briefly and his voice doesn't suit his body.
It's the 8th March now and again, Bruno and Vince are our commentators. Apparently we have the return of the midgets...
Barry O/Johnny K9 vs Corporal Kirchner/Dan Spivey
Johnny K9...I hope it's not another dog gimmick! Kirchner starts us off with Mr O and O hits a nice powerslam for 2! Kirchner with some arm drags followed by a monkey flip out of the corner. In comes K9 and Bruno notes how unusual his name is because its the letter K...and the number 9. Hmm. Spivey comes in and works over the arm of Mr 9 followed by a scoop slam and a leg drop. He looked a lot like Hogan doing that leg drop, especially because he's wearing yellow briefs! Kirchner in and he hits a nice suplex and a knee drop. Kirchner locks on the sleeper but O breaks it up while the ref is distracted. The heels can't take advantage and in comes Spivey with a weak looking clothesline and a crap looking dropkick. Kirchner in and he hits the samoan drop and that gets the 3. Better than I've come to expect from Spivey and Kirchner. O gets in extra point for the powerslam. Squash Rating: **
Update now with Lord Al who takes us to clips of the Slammys! Are you ready... the best personality in Land of 1000 Dances is...Roddy Piper! The winner of the best performance on The Wrestling Album...Junkyard Dog!! I'll send them a card.
Have you bought your Thumbwrestlers yet?
Les Thornton vs Paul Orndorff
Its easy to forget about Orndorff recently but the crowd are still well behind him. Orndorff is still starting with plenty of gusto and aggression and the crowd love it. They lock up with Orndorff getting a wristlock but its countered by Thornton briefly but Orndorff keeps it on. Thornton misses a charge in the corner and an Orndorff dropkick sends him to the outside. A back suplex by Orndorff brings him back in and he goes up top and hits a punch. One piledriver later and Orndorff is your winner. He still looks strong and is mega over but he couldn't be in anymore limbo. Squash Rating: ***
Wrestlemania 2...It's Coming!!
Into the back with Mean Gene who's joined by Hulk Hogan. He says he knew the combat zone was heavy a long time ago. He's here for Junkyard Dog at the next house show. When the JYD calls you brother, Funks your victims and Jimmy Hart you're the bait...apparently.
SD Jones/Andre Malo vs The Hart Foundation
It always feels like a long time since I last saw the Hart Foundation, every edition. Maybe that's a testament to how much I miss them when they aren't around. Neidhart starts off with SD and neither can out power the other so they resort to a criss-cross. Jones gets the upperhand and tags in Malo but Neidhart hip tosses him. Bret tags in and he hits a second rope elbow and a standard leg drop. He fails to tie Malo in the ropes so hits him with a crisp backbreaker. Bret spits at SD Jones which is 1997 Bret showing himself long before his time. The Foundation hit a Hart Attack for the win! Solid as always! Squash Rating: ***
Into the back with Mean Gene who tells us Wrestlemania 2 will eminate from 3 different arena's. He announces Hogan vs Bundy for the WWE title, Piper vs Mr T and an Open Invitational Battle Royal which will include NFL players! Now we're getting a card filled!
Butch Cassidy vs Haiti Kid
It wasn't a rumour, it's true, the return of the midgets to the blog. Cassidy to me looks like the worlds smallest giant. Kid gets a back body drop followed by a headlock and a shoulderblock. He hits a cross body but that gets 2. The crowd start booing for some reason as Haiti Kid rallies through a series of chops. Cassidy fights back and hits a knee to the face in the corner. Haiti Kid misses a charge in the corner allowing Cassidy to hit a suplex followed by a scoop slam. Haiti Kid bites his arse and then the refs arse (but no DQ). In all the hijinx, Haiti Kid gets a roll up and a 3 count. Out of nowhere, Roddy Piper and Bob Orton appear and kidnap Haiti Kid! Match was crap but the aftermath is where it's at. Match Rating: 1/4*
Straight into Pipers Pit and Haiti Kid has been carried on set straight from the match. Piper says they have a problem as Haiti Kid is a friend of Mr T and Haiti Kid hoped T would beat Piper up. Piper screams at Haiti Kid and slaps him about admiring Mr T! Orton picks up Haiti Kid as Piper cuts his hair off! Haiti Kid screams for help as Piper rants about how he now looks like Mr T. Builds a lot of heat on Piper but there's something very unsettling about watching this in 2014. Fair play to the Haiti Kid for allowing himself to do all that for the good of a storyline he isn't even involved in!
We get a promo from Mr T thats pretaped. He said he hasn't been whooped since he was 6 years old. Hogan appears and Mr T rants to the point I have NO IDEA what he said. Hogan says Mr T is a heck of a boxer and everyday he pays his dues and that's why kids look up to him and thus he's dedicating the win at Wrestlemania to them! Hogan's voice by the way sounds absolutely fucked.
Nelson Villeaux/Lanny Poffo vs The Dream Team (Tag Team Champs)
Big cheers for Lanny which is nice (despite his crap poem) and big heat for the tag champs. Lanny has a poem for us of course and it's dedicated to 'the future tag team champions' The British Bulldogs. Crowd loves the poem as the champs just no sell it completely. Without them selling it, Poffo just looks like he's stumbled into the wrong building. Valentine and Poffo start us off and Hammer hits a scoop slam before Beefcake comes in. Poffo tries to fight him off but the champs double team him before Hammer works over the arm. Poffo fights back again and gets Beefcake in a headlock before tagging in Villeaux. He can't keep control as the champs do more double teaming. Fans chant 'fruitcake' at Beefcake while Hammer works the back of Villeaux. Beefcake in and he hits an underhook suplex followed by a knee drop. Hammer in again and he hits a suplex throw, locks on the figure 4 and that gets the win for the champs. The champs are starting to bore me now, every match seems less and less fun to watch. Squash Rating: **
Into the back with Mean Gene and he's with Jimmy Hart. He squeals about Gene being a name dropper before running down the upcoming house show. In come the Funk Brothers and Terry wants to ask Boston if they know who asked for their match against Hogan and JYD. It was JYD he says, and then goes on to talk about Hoss killing an actual dog and a rattlesnake. That's not heelish, that's the precursor to serial murder. Anyway, Terry says they're gonna put Hogan on a stretcher before Hoss says we're going to have a 'ropin and a tyin'. That's it for this episode so onto the scores!
Into the back with Mean Gene and he's with Jimmy Hart. He squeals about Gene being a name dropper before running down the upcoming house show. In come the Funk Brothers and Terry wants to ask Boston if they know who asked for their match against Hogan and JYD. It was JYD he says, and then goes on to talk about Hoss killing an actual dog and a rattlesnake. That's not heelish, that's the precursor to serial murder. Anyway, Terry says they're gonna put Hogan on a stretcher before Hoss says we're going to have a 'ropin and a tyin'. That's it for this episode so onto the scores!
Wrestler Scores:
- Terry Gibbs +1 (7)
- AJ Petruzzi +1 (4)
- Ricky Steamboat +4 (63)
- King Tonga +3 (15)
- Mr T +2 (15)
- Joe Mirto +1 (4)
- Tito Santana +3 (69)
- Hulk Hogan +3 (81)
- Davey Boy Smith +4 (41)
- Dynamite Kid +4 (44)
- The Gladiator +1 (2)
- Barry O +3 (8)
- Randy Savage +1 (52)
- Steve Gatorwolf +1 (2)
- Mike Sexton +1 (2)
- King Kong Bundy +5 (41)
- Big John Studd +3 (23)
- Terry Funk +5 (36)
- Hoss Funk +4 (4)
- Nelson Villeaux +2 (2)
- SD Jones +2 (13)
- Johnny K9 +2 (2)
- Dan Spivey +3 (10)
- Corporal Kirchner +3 (22)
- Junkyard Dog +1 (53)
- Les Thornton +1 (6)
- Paul Orndorff +4 (54)
- Andre Malo +1 (1)
- Bret Hart +4 (30)
- Jim Neidhart +4 (28)
- Butch Cassidy +1 (1)
- Haiti Kid +2 (4)
- Bob Orton +1 (40)
- Roddy Piper +3 (69)
- Lanny Poffo +2 (10)
- Greg Valentine +3 (61)
- Brutus Beefcake +3 (37)
So there we go, lot's of points handed out but no really big gainers. Although, it's hard to gain points via Championship Wrestling appearances so it's not too bad. King Kong Bundy, Roddy Piper and the Funks all scored highest this week, mainly due to being regularly featured in strong angles throughout the shows. Next edition we have a house show from Boston so hopefully see you then!
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