WWE All Star Search #20 - 8th March 1986
Well hello there Turnbucklers! It's edition #20 and it's a house show! This time we're coming from Boston and looking at the card, it's very much a mixed bag. So...we have one big debut on the blog and he's a favourite of many. We also have not one, but TWO women's tag matches featuring women from Japan. We have Bret Hart vs Ricky Steamboat which is a match that on paper makes my mouth water with excitement. We have another match between Macho and Tito for the IC belt and also the well hyped tag match main event. So...will Jake play with his sack? Is Dump the best first name out there and will Bret vs Dragon be lightyears ahead of everything else on the card? Let's find out...
The Card:
Rene Goulet vs Sivi Afi
Jose Luis Rivera vs Jake 'The Snake' Roberts
Chigusa Nagayo/Lioness Asuka vs Judy Martin/Donna Christianello
Scott McGhee vs Jim Neidhart
Bret Hart vs Ricky Steamboat
Tito Santana vs Randy Savage (IC Champ) [IC Title Match]
Velvet McIntyre/Dawn Marie vs Bull Nakano/Dump Masamoto
Corporal Kirchner vs Iron Mike Sharpe
Ted Arcidi vs Barry O
Hulk Hogan (WWE Champ)/Junkyard Dog vs The Funk Brothers
The Show:
Rene Goulet vs Sivi Afi
So we're straight into our first match and commentators are Lord Alfred Hayes and Gorilla Monsoon. Monsoon says Jesse Ventura is on special assignment but doesn't know any more than that. Nice to see Rene Goulet back on our blog, I wonder if he found his missing glove yet? Monsoon calls him the Michael Jackson of the wrestling world but I think I disagree. Lots of stalling to start by Goulet but what else would you expect. Take down by Afi but he doesn't follow up. Goulet locks on an armbar but Afi escapes. Cute spot where Afi escapes the corner 10 punch and follows up with a headlock. They have an awkward counter sequence but once again, it ends in a headlock for Afi and it lasts forever, give or take Goulet attempting to escape but failing. The crowd needless to say are dead at this point. Goulet eventually escapes using his knee and works over the neck of Afi. Goulet hits a clothesline and gets a 2 count before putting on his dreaded face claw. Is there anything painful about a face claw? Apparently so as Afi almost gets counted out but shockingly fights back at 3. He misses a charge however and eats a chop from the top rope for 1. Again Goulet goes back to the claw hold but Afi fights back with a scoop slam and an awkward dropkick. End this match please. Afi no sells Goulet's offense, despite them both being foreign. Afi rams Goulets head repeatedly into the turnbuckle, nails a slam and a big back body drop. He hits a headbutt but that only gets a 2 count followed by a cross body that also gets a 2. He goes up top, hits a flying cross body and that's what gets the 3. The cross body itself was really poor. Last time we saw Afi, he was getting booed and I can't imagine this sloppy and boring match will help the cause. Match Rating: 1/4*
Jose Luis Rivera vs Jake 'The Snake' Roberts
Holy shit! It's a blog debut for Jake the Snake! He looks so young and clean! He's got his bag ominously sitting in the corner. Jake psychs out Rivera to start all while stalling and flashes an evil smile. Rivera nails a punch and Jake stalls again to regroup. Jake goes for a scoop slam, misses but hits a boot to the stomach followed by a nice gutbuster. Jake slaps him about on the mat before picking up to send him back down with a punch and he follows with a headlock. Rivera fights out, hits a shoulderblock but Jake counters the next with a chop block before going back to the headlock all the while flashing that cheeky smile. Rivera fights out again but Jake responds with a scoop slam. He misses the following elbows and Rivera works over his arm. Jake reaches for his sack (ahem) but Rivera holds him back via the arm. Cross body by Rivera but Jake slithers away to the ropes. Another lock up and Rivera goes back to the arm but Jake hits a clothesline with his damaged arm...and he sells it after! Scoop slam by Jake followed by a massive knee lift to the face and a sleeper hold which eventually draws boring chants due to its longevity. Rivera escapes with a snapmare followed by a clothesline which sends Jake reeling. Big back body drop by Rivera as Jake slithers away again. Jake cheap shots Rivera to regain the advantage before hitting the DDT! Which Lord Al calls a brainbuster and Gorilla calls the 'GDT'. That of course gets the win for Jake and he celebrates by getting his sack from the corner but he doesn't get the snake out, he just leaves after the ref tells him too! I guess it is his first day after all. So a decent debut for Jake. His psychology was great from selling the arm all the way to his slithering out the ring. He has the definition of ring presence about him. Rivera did his bit and kept the pace quick in some parts although there were times where the match just died due to rest holds. No one does a DDT better than Jake...no one! Match Rating: *
Chigusa Nagayo/Lioness Asuka vs Judy Martin/Donna Christianello
First of all, neither Gorilla or Lord Al have a clue which Japanese girl is which so that going to be fun. Secondly both Japanese girls are terrifying to look at. Thirdly, I've heard good things about Japanese women's wrestling at this time so I'm hoping they're good although I'm not expecting anything good from their American counterparts. Gorilla asks the ref who Lioness is...and the ref asks Chigusa who tells him, who tells Gorilla. The Japanese girls didn't look to happy about all that...awkward! Judy Martin slaps away a handshake attempt before dipping her toes into the stalling pool where she has a meltdown to the silent crowd. They lock up finally before Donna comes in but Chigusa takes and keeps control with some athletic armbars. Martin back in for more stalling to big crowd heat. In comes the Lioness who misses a cool looking high kick and eats a middle kick from Martin. Lioness with kicks of her own and Martin flees to the outside for more stalling and the crowd are getting restless. Martin takes control with kicks and punches but misses a charge and ends up in a sunset flip for 1. In comes Donna who locks on a facelock and hits a snapmare. Chigusa tags in but is taken down by Donna who works on the legs before tagging in Judy Martin. Chigusa goes for a cross body but gets caught however the Lioness is there to dropkick them over. The heels again regroup on the outside before Christianello comes in and tries to reason with the Japanese girls but it was shockingly all a ruse as the heels take control with double team maneuvers. Lioness fights back with martial arts and a Ricky Steamboat style chop but Chigusa falls to the heels once she tags in. Awkward double team backbreaker by the heels in the corner before the heels continue to use heelish tactics while the ref is distracted. Chigusa counters into a boston crab but Martin breaks it up with a choke but no DQ despite clearly using rope. The heels continue working over Chigusa who can't seem to make a tag. Martin back in who continues to hold Chigusa back while taunting Lioness. Good lord Judy Martin has too many rolls for that leotard. Lioness finally gets the hot tag to good cheers and cleans house with a dropkick and a scoop slam. Chigusa goes up top as Lioness hits another scoop slam and comes off with an elbow drop. The ref ignores an illegal tag as Chigusa locks in a modified sharpshooter but Martin gets to the ropes. That's the first sharpshooter of the blog. Lioness comes off the top with a clothesline but misses as Martin takes control again. Neckbreaker by Lioness regains control before the faces double team Martin. Both girls drop elbows on Martin but again she fights back. The faces hit a double dropkick before Lioness hits a big swing and that gets the 3! Match was on and off for me with the Americans really letting themselves down. It's hard to ignore the gap in work rate and quality between the two teams. The fact we saw a sharpshooter was a nice highlight in a suprisingly decent match. Match Rating: *3/4
Scott McGhee vs Jim Neidhart
Jimmy Hart is with the Anvil as you'd expect and he gets big heat when announced. Neidhart uses his power to his advantage to start but McGhee almost catches him out with a speedy school boy. Test of strength spot leads to Neidhart inevitably taking control with a cheap shot. McGhee surprises him again with a sunset flip attempt but it barely gets a 1. McGhee charges but Anvil sends him flying outside as Jimmy Hart gets on commentary briefly to say that the Harts aren't getting a deserved title shot. Neidhart drops McGhee on the guardrail before hitting a scoop slam in the ring. Neidhart uses the hair as the ref does nothing before he tries and fails to hit a suplex. McGhee hits one of his own and rallies back with punches, trying to get the crowd behind him. He misses a charge and Neidhart hits a powerslam and that gets the quick win. Simple and nothing special from anyone, although Jimmy Hart makes a good point about a title shot. Match Rating: 3/4*
Bret Hart vs Ricky Steamboat
Good lord, on paper this should be amazing. Bret is still quite green here but Steamboat has been solid for the past year at least. My fear is I'm expecting a little too much from these two due to the crap we've seen so far on this card. Jimmy Hart is still ringside with Bret Hart. Quick start from Bret who pearl harbours Steamboat and rallies away with punches in the corner. Steamboat whips Bret into the turnbuckle and that gives him the chance to take his robe off. He points at Bret before hitting chops and punches as the crowd love it. Snapmare by Steamboat before he tries to chase off Jimmy Hart. Steamboat locks in an armbar before going to work on said arm. Crowd chant for the Dragon who continues to work on the arm which is sold by Bret. Wristlock by Dragon before he rams Brets arm into the turnbuckle. Steamboat still doesn't let go until Bret escapes but Steamboat uses his speed to avoid Bret by sliding through his legs...twice...before hitting an armdrag. It's not long before Bret is back in an armbar but he escapes and takes control briefly. Another speedy exchange between the two but Bret has stopped selling the arm. Leapfrogs by Dragon before he botches a back flip, hits an armdrag and goes back to the armbar. Jimmy Hart comes back to commentary to lambast Steamboat for using illegal maneuvers such as using the tights. Steamboat is still working over Bret's left arm but Bret eventually fights out of it again. He tries for a back suplex but it fails and Steamboat hits a nice thrust kick to the face. He runs the ropes but Bret is there to counter into a swinging neckbreaker to take control. He hits a legdrop but isn't selling the arm which is frustrating. He hits some punches and goes low before Steamboat is sent through the ropes to the outside. Sell your arm Bret, please! More punches by Bret as Steamboat hangs off the apron. Bret suplexes him back into the ring but that only gets a 2 count. The crowd start making some noise with Steamboat chants and Bret locks on a headlock. Steamboat fights back and the two trade punches. Bodyslam by Bret gets 2 but he misses a backbreaker and eats a slam by Steamboat. Steamboat goes for a splash but Bret gets his knees up! Steamboat gets thrown to the outside and Bret follows to hit a scoop slam on the wooden Boston Garden floor. Bret taunts the crowd inside the ring to decent heat and hits a nice powerslam for a close 2 count. Bret starts to get wound up and rallies away with punches before hitting his crisp backbreaker. No cover as he goes for his second rope elbow drop but that misses! Crowd loves it as Steamboat starts to fight back using his standard strikes before crawling over for a 2 count. Steamboat is selling the fatigue like a boss before he hits a suplex and that gets another close 2 count! More punches gets another 2 count before he goes to the corner to hit some more chops. Bret reverses an irish whip to KO the ref which means there's no one to count when he manages to hit clothesline. Bret hits a crossbody but Steamboat rolls through into his own pin attempt and that gets the 3 and the crowd love it! Great match, let's face it, head and shoulders above what we've seen so far on this card. The action was fast and the counters were smooth making this match seem like it far shorter than it actually was. Steamboat sold like a boss and made Bret look great but it was frustrating no end to see Bret not selling his left arm after all the work Steamboat put in, focussing on it throughout the entire early goings. The last 5 minutes of this match were fantastic and the end (despite the pointless ref bump) was great. I wouldn't blame anyone going upto 4*'s for this but Bret's no selling brings it down slightly lower for me. Match Rating: ***1/2
Tito Santana vs Randy Savage (IC Champ) [IC Title Match]
Another match to add to list between these two this year as their feud continues. Savage won the belt last month using a weapon which he later denied and Tito has sworn ever since to right those wrongs. The reaction Savage and Liz get when they come out absolutely eclipses Tito's which to me proves that giving Savage the belt was the correct decision. Liz of course looks lovely and is sporting a cheeky fringe tonight. Tito tries to get to Savage before he can get in the ring but Savage avoids it and still finds time to parade around the ring with his belt. Savage and Gorilla have words while Savage tries to stall getting in the ring but the crowd still ain't booing. After a long, long time, he does get into the ring but he runs away from Tito straight back outside repeatedly while the commentators seem surprised at his speediness. Tito eventually gets bored and goes on the chase. He eventually catches him and throws him into the crowd before they make it back into the ring and Tito takes control with kicks and punches. He hits an atomic drop as the crowd roar their approval before the two make their way back outside. Tito comes off the apron with an elbow before they head back inside while a Tito chant breaks out. The ref makes Tito ease up but Savage takes advantage and throws Tito back outside onto the unpadded wooden floor. Savage heads outside and nails Tito in the back before getting back inside. Savage drags Tito back inside and drags his face across the top rope. Savage goes up top and hits an ax handle but that only gets a 2 count. Savage with a brutal knee to the face and that also gets a 2 count. Savage works the ribs before hitting a nice clothesline and again it only gets a 2 count. Savage rams Tito into the corner, goes for the 10 punches but Tito reverses it into an atomic drop. Tito continues to fight back with punches as Savage begs for respite, albeit unsuccessfully. Tito hits a flyign forearm for 2 and then a dropkick for 2. He goes for the figure 4 but Savage escapes outside. Savage goes to his tights like last month but Tito is right behind to nail him off the apron. Back in the ring Savage tries to escape but Tito keeps dragging him back while the ref tries to stop him. Eventually Tito gets hotheaded and pushes the ref and that causes him to be DQ'd as Savage makes a quick escape. Interesting finish that made Tito look a bit like a fool, I mean, it was a title match afterall. Savage wasn't anything special in this one to be fair and I preferred their previous matches but let's face it, this was still a good outing for both. Time to move on feudwise but I wouldn't be surprised if we see this match again in the near future. Match Rating: **3/4
Velvet McIntyre/Dawn Marie vs Bull Nakano/Dump Masamoto
Two women's tag matches on one card and both have featured Japanese talent. If anyone can tell me if there's a specific reason why these Japanese women have been brought in, please let me know. One has a bright yellow mohican style ponytail dealio going on while the other is dressed head to toe in Japanese warrior garb. I have to point out, Dump is the worst name ever. Dawn Marie isn't Al Wilson's widow and Velvet isn't Mother Drew but both are expected to be as bad as Judy Martin and Donna Christianello. The Japanese women are accompanied by some bloke wearing an All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling jacket and the commentators notice just how ugly Nakano is. Dump and Velvet start us off but Dump stalls by screaming but I don't know why. The Japanese girls seem to be heels in this match as Velvet works over Dumps arm. Dawn Marie tags in and continues to work over the arm but Dump counters and tags in Nakano. She continues screaming and uses her strength to keep control. She no sells Marie's punches and Velvet tags in. Velvet misses the worst dropkick attempt I've ever seen and eats a hairmare for her trouble. Nakano with a shoulderblock before pulling Velvet's hair and tagging in Dump. I need to tag in Dump myself after this blog. She continues to work over Velvet using no actual technical moves at all until Velvet hits a cross body for 2. Nakano continues the offensive as Dawn Marie tags in. Dump back in as well as she stands on the throat of Marie before hitting a scoop slam and a splash for 2. She locks on a sleeper hold to put the crowd into rigor mortis danger as the few still alive start to chant boring. Velvet gets the warm tag and nails the second worst dropkick I've ever seen. She hits an equally poor shoulderblock but runs into the stomach of Nakano and gets flattened for 2. Velvet botches a sunset flip but the retry gets the 3 count! I'm just thankful that it's over. Between the screaming of the Japanese women, the botches of McIntyre or the no selling of Dawn Marie, this one was painful to watch by the end. Match Rating: DUD
Corporal Kirchner vs Iron Mike Sharpe
I don't know whether to laugh or cry at this point. It feels somewhat teasing that I go from a DUD to a Corporal Kirchner match as it's not even a tag match, so he can't be carried! His opponent is Iron Mike Sharpe who is criminally underused considering he's one of the more interesting jobbers on the roster. Iron Mike Sharpe gets the chance to call himself Canada's greatest athlete before Kirchner comes out to no music but a MASSIVE pop! Oh wait, there is music, it's just covered by the crowd noise...and I can't believe I'm typing this about Kirchner. Massive USA chant breaks out and Sharpe cheap shots Kirchner to start in control. Kirchner reverses an Irish whip and almost botches a monkey flip. He hits three dropkicks and thats enough to send Sharpe to the outside in front of a group of awkward looking police officers. Wouldn't security or stewards have been more convenient? Kirchner misses an atomic drop and Sharpe rolls through locking on a headlock. Kirchner struggles to fight out but when he does, he eats a series of shoulderblocks. He does hit a back body drop and follows up by teasing a kick between the legs spot...but doesn't. You know the spot, the low blow that isn't actually a low blow because it's the top of your leg. Either way, Kirchner gets booed for not doing it and both men have a test of strength. Of course, the heel cheap shots his way to control but its brief as Kirchner kicks his way to an advantage. He hits an awkward suplex but Sharpe hits a clothesline in return. He celebrates instead of going for a pin but slaps Kirchner just for my benefit...I'm sure of it. USA chant starts but Kirchner gets thrown to the floor and then through the ringside barrier in a brutal looking spot! The barrier is wooden as well so the sound was just as brutal as the throw. Kirchner can't get back in the ring but the ref is distracted from the countout. Kirchner eventually gets back in the ring and hits a cross body for 2. Awful looking clothesline followed by a roll up also gets 2 for Kirchner. He misses a dropkick as Sharpe seems to be adjusting his forearm pad. He misses a forearm shot and Kirchner uses the forearm against Sharpe himself and that gets the 3. IKEA, where on earth do I start with that finish. How can he have his own forearm used against him with such force he's knocked out. I could suspend my disbelief, if the gap between head and forearm couldn't be measured in kilometres because it's so big. You've also got to wonder why at this point in his career, Kirchner still can't hit a proper looking clothesline?! The barrier spot saves this match from being a complete DUD. Match Rating: 1/4*
Ted Arcidi vs Barry O
Ted Arcidi is a weird one as he appears so sporadically I have no idea if he's being pushed or not. He looks so steroid swollen here, it's making me ache just looking at him. Barry O has no effect on Arcidi and Arcidi hits a big back body drop. O tries the cheap shot but he gets no where as Arcidi uses his strength to belittle O. O does manage to get some offense in, using punches and elbows but within 3 minutes, Arcidi locks in a bearhug and that gets the win. See you in 6 months again Ted? Match Rating: DUD
Hulk Hogan (WWE Champ)/Junkyard Dog vs The Funk Brothers
Main event time and after weeks of hype on Championship Wrestling, Hogan is finally here to have JYD's back. Massive pop for JYD and Hogan, like twice the noise of anyone else we've seen tonight. It's so loud, I can't tell you who's music they came out to but I'll assume it was Hogan because...Hogan. The faces start off aggressively as they clear house of the Funks with JYD even using his chain on Dory. Hogan uses JYD's head to send Terry out the ring as JYD and Dory legally start. Terry tries to run in with the branding iron but ref Danny Davis stops him as things slow down. Terry and JYD face off and lock up in the corner. Terry misses a corner charge and JYD works the arm and no sells Terry's headbutts. JYD rams Terry's head into the turnbuckle and Dory tags in. The two do the criss-cross spot but Dory ends up doing it alone before missing a dropkick. The Funks regroup before Hogan tags in to big cheers. He puts a headlock on Dory but JYD protects him when Hogan is whipped into the corner. Another lock up before the Funks mess up a the same corner spot but Terry ends up protecting Hogan by accident. This means Terry loses it in frustration and the Funks have to regroup again (while Terry manages to trip in the wires at ringside). Back in the ring, Hogan blocks a slam by Dory before hitting numerous ones of his own to both Funk brothers meaning the Funk's have to regroup once again. Dory comes back in the ring and again can't slam Hogan who again, nails numerous slams of his own on the Funk brothers. Terry comes back in but Hogan has control with punches before tagging in JYD and he hits a clothesline. He misses a follow up elbow and Dory tags in and works over JYD with some nice uppercuts. Terry back in and the Funks double team JYD before Terry chokes JYD behind the refs distracted back. JYD with a poor back suplex and Terry ends up in the wrong corner. Hogan tags in and cleans house again. He puts Terry on the top rope but Dory pearl harbours him. Terry chokes Hogan with something as the ref gets distracted once again. JYD breaks it up before he brings Jimmy Hart in the ring. Terry manages to choke JYD with his whip but Hogan comes in and clotheslines Terry for the 3! The faces celebrate and pose to crowd afterwards and that's it for the show. Messy finish and a lot of stalling but there was still some entertaining moments in the match. Not much action from Hogan and JYD was his normal self. Not much mention of King Kong Bundy either despite this being one of the last major house shows before Wrestlemania. Crowd of course loved it and I got a kick out of seeing Dory Funk JR vs Hulk Hogan, even though it was briefer than brief. Match Rating: *
Let's update the scores!
First of all, neither Gorilla or Lord Al have a clue which Japanese girl is which so that going to be fun. Secondly both Japanese girls are terrifying to look at. Thirdly, I've heard good things about Japanese women's wrestling at this time so I'm hoping they're good although I'm not expecting anything good from their American counterparts. Gorilla asks the ref who Lioness is...and the ref asks Chigusa who tells him, who tells Gorilla. The Japanese girls didn't look to happy about all that...awkward! Judy Martin slaps away a handshake attempt before dipping her toes into the stalling pool where she has a meltdown to the silent crowd. They lock up finally before Donna comes in but Chigusa takes and keeps control with some athletic armbars. Martin back in for more stalling to big crowd heat. In comes the Lioness who misses a cool looking high kick and eats a middle kick from Martin. Lioness with kicks of her own and Martin flees to the outside for more stalling and the crowd are getting restless. Martin takes control with kicks and punches but misses a charge and ends up in a sunset flip for 1. In comes Donna who locks on a facelock and hits a snapmare. Chigusa tags in but is taken down by Donna who works on the legs before tagging in Judy Martin. Chigusa goes for a cross body but gets caught however the Lioness is there to dropkick them over. The heels again regroup on the outside before Christianello comes in and tries to reason with the Japanese girls but it was shockingly all a ruse as the heels take control with double team maneuvers. Lioness fights back with martial arts and a Ricky Steamboat style chop but Chigusa falls to the heels once she tags in. Awkward double team backbreaker by the heels in the corner before the heels continue to use heelish tactics while the ref is distracted. Chigusa counters into a boston crab but Martin breaks it up with a choke but no DQ despite clearly using rope. The heels continue working over Chigusa who can't seem to make a tag. Martin back in who continues to hold Chigusa back while taunting Lioness. Good lord Judy Martin has too many rolls for that leotard. Lioness finally gets the hot tag to good cheers and cleans house with a dropkick and a scoop slam. Chigusa goes up top as Lioness hits another scoop slam and comes off with an elbow drop. The ref ignores an illegal tag as Chigusa locks in a modified sharpshooter but Martin gets to the ropes. That's the first sharpshooter of the blog. Lioness comes off the top with a clothesline but misses as Martin takes control again. Neckbreaker by Lioness regains control before the faces double team Martin. Both girls drop elbows on Martin but again she fights back. The faces hit a double dropkick before Lioness hits a big swing and that gets the 3! Match was on and off for me with the Americans really letting themselves down. It's hard to ignore the gap in work rate and quality between the two teams. The fact we saw a sharpshooter was a nice highlight in a suprisingly decent match. Match Rating: *3/4
Scott McGhee vs Jim Neidhart
Jimmy Hart is with the Anvil as you'd expect and he gets big heat when announced. Neidhart uses his power to his advantage to start but McGhee almost catches him out with a speedy school boy. Test of strength spot leads to Neidhart inevitably taking control with a cheap shot. McGhee surprises him again with a sunset flip attempt but it barely gets a 1. McGhee charges but Anvil sends him flying outside as Jimmy Hart gets on commentary briefly to say that the Harts aren't getting a deserved title shot. Neidhart drops McGhee on the guardrail before hitting a scoop slam in the ring. Neidhart uses the hair as the ref does nothing before he tries and fails to hit a suplex. McGhee hits one of his own and rallies back with punches, trying to get the crowd behind him. He misses a charge and Neidhart hits a powerslam and that gets the quick win. Simple and nothing special from anyone, although Jimmy Hart makes a good point about a title shot. Match Rating: 3/4*
Bret Hart vs Ricky Steamboat
Good lord, on paper this should be amazing. Bret is still quite green here but Steamboat has been solid for the past year at least. My fear is I'm expecting a little too much from these two due to the crap we've seen so far on this card. Jimmy Hart is still ringside with Bret Hart. Quick start from Bret who pearl harbours Steamboat and rallies away with punches in the corner. Steamboat whips Bret into the turnbuckle and that gives him the chance to take his robe off. He points at Bret before hitting chops and punches as the crowd love it. Snapmare by Steamboat before he tries to chase off Jimmy Hart. Steamboat locks in an armbar before going to work on said arm. Crowd chant for the Dragon who continues to work on the arm which is sold by Bret. Wristlock by Dragon before he rams Brets arm into the turnbuckle. Steamboat still doesn't let go until Bret escapes but Steamboat uses his speed to avoid Bret by sliding through his legs...twice...before hitting an armdrag. It's not long before Bret is back in an armbar but he escapes and takes control briefly. Another speedy exchange between the two but Bret has stopped selling the arm. Leapfrogs by Dragon before he botches a back flip, hits an armdrag and goes back to the armbar. Jimmy Hart comes back to commentary to lambast Steamboat for using illegal maneuvers such as using the tights. Steamboat is still working over Bret's left arm but Bret eventually fights out of it again. He tries for a back suplex but it fails and Steamboat hits a nice thrust kick to the face. He runs the ropes but Bret is there to counter into a swinging neckbreaker to take control. He hits a legdrop but isn't selling the arm which is frustrating. He hits some punches and goes low before Steamboat is sent through the ropes to the outside. Sell your arm Bret, please! More punches by Bret as Steamboat hangs off the apron. Bret suplexes him back into the ring but that only gets a 2 count. The crowd start making some noise with Steamboat chants and Bret locks on a headlock. Steamboat fights back and the two trade punches. Bodyslam by Bret gets 2 but he misses a backbreaker and eats a slam by Steamboat. Steamboat goes for a splash but Bret gets his knees up! Steamboat gets thrown to the outside and Bret follows to hit a scoop slam on the wooden Boston Garden floor. Bret taunts the crowd inside the ring to decent heat and hits a nice powerslam for a close 2 count. Bret starts to get wound up and rallies away with punches before hitting his crisp backbreaker. No cover as he goes for his second rope elbow drop but that misses! Crowd loves it as Steamboat starts to fight back using his standard strikes before crawling over for a 2 count. Steamboat is selling the fatigue like a boss before he hits a suplex and that gets another close 2 count! More punches gets another 2 count before he goes to the corner to hit some more chops. Bret reverses an irish whip to KO the ref which means there's no one to count when he manages to hit clothesline. Bret hits a crossbody but Steamboat rolls through into his own pin attempt and that gets the 3 and the crowd love it! Great match, let's face it, head and shoulders above what we've seen so far on this card. The action was fast and the counters were smooth making this match seem like it far shorter than it actually was. Steamboat sold like a boss and made Bret look great but it was frustrating no end to see Bret not selling his left arm after all the work Steamboat put in, focussing on it throughout the entire early goings. The last 5 minutes of this match were fantastic and the end (despite the pointless ref bump) was great. I wouldn't blame anyone going upto 4*'s for this but Bret's no selling brings it down slightly lower for me. Match Rating: ***1/2
Tito Santana vs Randy Savage (IC Champ) [IC Title Match]
Another match to add to list between these two this year as their feud continues. Savage won the belt last month using a weapon which he later denied and Tito has sworn ever since to right those wrongs. The reaction Savage and Liz get when they come out absolutely eclipses Tito's which to me proves that giving Savage the belt was the correct decision. Liz of course looks lovely and is sporting a cheeky fringe tonight. Tito tries to get to Savage before he can get in the ring but Savage avoids it and still finds time to parade around the ring with his belt. Savage and Gorilla have words while Savage tries to stall getting in the ring but the crowd still ain't booing. After a long, long time, he does get into the ring but he runs away from Tito straight back outside repeatedly while the commentators seem surprised at his speediness. Tito eventually gets bored and goes on the chase. He eventually catches him and throws him into the crowd before they make it back into the ring and Tito takes control with kicks and punches. He hits an atomic drop as the crowd roar their approval before the two make their way back outside. Tito comes off the apron with an elbow before they head back inside while a Tito chant breaks out. The ref makes Tito ease up but Savage takes advantage and throws Tito back outside onto the unpadded wooden floor. Savage heads outside and nails Tito in the back before getting back inside. Savage drags Tito back inside and drags his face across the top rope. Savage goes up top and hits an ax handle but that only gets a 2 count. Savage with a brutal knee to the face and that also gets a 2 count. Savage works the ribs before hitting a nice clothesline and again it only gets a 2 count. Savage rams Tito into the corner, goes for the 10 punches but Tito reverses it into an atomic drop. Tito continues to fight back with punches as Savage begs for respite, albeit unsuccessfully. Tito hits a flyign forearm for 2 and then a dropkick for 2. He goes for the figure 4 but Savage escapes outside. Savage goes to his tights like last month but Tito is right behind to nail him off the apron. Back in the ring Savage tries to escape but Tito keeps dragging him back while the ref tries to stop him. Eventually Tito gets hotheaded and pushes the ref and that causes him to be DQ'd as Savage makes a quick escape. Interesting finish that made Tito look a bit like a fool, I mean, it was a title match afterall. Savage wasn't anything special in this one to be fair and I preferred their previous matches but let's face it, this was still a good outing for both. Time to move on feudwise but I wouldn't be surprised if we see this match again in the near future. Match Rating: **3/4
Velvet McIntyre/Dawn Marie vs Bull Nakano/Dump Masamoto
Two women's tag matches on one card and both have featured Japanese talent. If anyone can tell me if there's a specific reason why these Japanese women have been brought in, please let me know. One has a bright yellow mohican style ponytail dealio going on while the other is dressed head to toe in Japanese warrior garb. I have to point out, Dump is the worst name ever. Dawn Marie isn't Al Wilson's widow and Velvet isn't Mother Drew but both are expected to be as bad as Judy Martin and Donna Christianello. The Japanese women are accompanied by some bloke wearing an All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling jacket and the commentators notice just how ugly Nakano is. Dump and Velvet start us off but Dump stalls by screaming but I don't know why. The Japanese girls seem to be heels in this match as Velvet works over Dumps arm. Dawn Marie tags in and continues to work over the arm but Dump counters and tags in Nakano. She continues screaming and uses her strength to keep control. She no sells Marie's punches and Velvet tags in. Velvet misses the worst dropkick attempt I've ever seen and eats a hairmare for her trouble. Nakano with a shoulderblock before pulling Velvet's hair and tagging in Dump. I need to tag in Dump myself after this blog. She continues to work over Velvet using no actual technical moves at all until Velvet hits a cross body for 2. Nakano continues the offensive as Dawn Marie tags in. Dump back in as well as she stands on the throat of Marie before hitting a scoop slam and a splash for 2. She locks on a sleeper hold to put the crowd into rigor mortis danger as the few still alive start to chant boring. Velvet gets the warm tag and nails the second worst dropkick I've ever seen. She hits an equally poor shoulderblock but runs into the stomach of Nakano and gets flattened for 2. Velvet botches a sunset flip but the retry gets the 3 count! I'm just thankful that it's over. Between the screaming of the Japanese women, the botches of McIntyre or the no selling of Dawn Marie, this one was painful to watch by the end. Match Rating: DUD
Corporal Kirchner vs Iron Mike Sharpe
I don't know whether to laugh or cry at this point. It feels somewhat teasing that I go from a DUD to a Corporal Kirchner match as it's not even a tag match, so he can't be carried! His opponent is Iron Mike Sharpe who is criminally underused considering he's one of the more interesting jobbers on the roster. Iron Mike Sharpe gets the chance to call himself Canada's greatest athlete before Kirchner comes out to no music but a MASSIVE pop! Oh wait, there is music, it's just covered by the crowd noise...and I can't believe I'm typing this about Kirchner. Massive USA chant breaks out and Sharpe cheap shots Kirchner to start in control. Kirchner reverses an Irish whip and almost botches a monkey flip. He hits three dropkicks and thats enough to send Sharpe to the outside in front of a group of awkward looking police officers. Wouldn't security or stewards have been more convenient? Kirchner misses an atomic drop and Sharpe rolls through locking on a headlock. Kirchner struggles to fight out but when he does, he eats a series of shoulderblocks. He does hit a back body drop and follows up by teasing a kick between the legs spot...but doesn't. You know the spot, the low blow that isn't actually a low blow because it's the top of your leg. Either way, Kirchner gets booed for not doing it and both men have a test of strength. Of course, the heel cheap shots his way to control but its brief as Kirchner kicks his way to an advantage. He hits an awkward suplex but Sharpe hits a clothesline in return. He celebrates instead of going for a pin but slaps Kirchner just for my benefit...I'm sure of it. USA chant starts but Kirchner gets thrown to the floor and then through the ringside barrier in a brutal looking spot! The barrier is wooden as well so the sound was just as brutal as the throw. Kirchner can't get back in the ring but the ref is distracted from the countout. Kirchner eventually gets back in the ring and hits a cross body for 2. Awful looking clothesline followed by a roll up also gets 2 for Kirchner. He misses a dropkick as Sharpe seems to be adjusting his forearm pad. He misses a forearm shot and Kirchner uses the forearm against Sharpe himself and that gets the 3. IKEA, where on earth do I start with that finish. How can he have his own forearm used against him with such force he's knocked out. I could suspend my disbelief, if the gap between head and forearm couldn't be measured in kilometres because it's so big. You've also got to wonder why at this point in his career, Kirchner still can't hit a proper looking clothesline?! The barrier spot saves this match from being a complete DUD. Match Rating: 1/4*
Ted Arcidi vs Barry O
Ted Arcidi is a weird one as he appears so sporadically I have no idea if he's being pushed or not. He looks so steroid swollen here, it's making me ache just looking at him. Barry O has no effect on Arcidi and Arcidi hits a big back body drop. O tries the cheap shot but he gets no where as Arcidi uses his strength to belittle O. O does manage to get some offense in, using punches and elbows but within 3 minutes, Arcidi locks in a bearhug and that gets the win. See you in 6 months again Ted? Match Rating: DUD
Hulk Hogan (WWE Champ)/Junkyard Dog vs The Funk Brothers
Main event time and after weeks of hype on Championship Wrestling, Hogan is finally here to have JYD's back. Massive pop for JYD and Hogan, like twice the noise of anyone else we've seen tonight. It's so loud, I can't tell you who's music they came out to but I'll assume it was Hogan because...Hogan. The faces start off aggressively as they clear house of the Funks with JYD even using his chain on Dory. Hogan uses JYD's head to send Terry out the ring as JYD and Dory legally start. Terry tries to run in with the branding iron but ref Danny Davis stops him as things slow down. Terry and JYD face off and lock up in the corner. Terry misses a corner charge and JYD works the arm and no sells Terry's headbutts. JYD rams Terry's head into the turnbuckle and Dory tags in. The two do the criss-cross spot but Dory ends up doing it alone before missing a dropkick. The Funks regroup before Hogan tags in to big cheers. He puts a headlock on Dory but JYD protects him when Hogan is whipped into the corner. Another lock up before the Funks mess up a the same corner spot but Terry ends up protecting Hogan by accident. This means Terry loses it in frustration and the Funks have to regroup again (while Terry manages to trip in the wires at ringside). Back in the ring, Hogan blocks a slam by Dory before hitting numerous ones of his own to both Funk brothers meaning the Funk's have to regroup once again. Dory comes back in the ring and again can't slam Hogan who again, nails numerous slams of his own on the Funk brothers. Terry comes back in but Hogan has control with punches before tagging in JYD and he hits a clothesline. He misses a follow up elbow and Dory tags in and works over JYD with some nice uppercuts. Terry back in and the Funks double team JYD before Terry chokes JYD behind the refs distracted back. JYD with a poor back suplex and Terry ends up in the wrong corner. Hogan tags in and cleans house again. He puts Terry on the top rope but Dory pearl harbours him. Terry chokes Hogan with something as the ref gets distracted once again. JYD breaks it up before he brings Jimmy Hart in the ring. Terry manages to choke JYD with his whip but Hogan comes in and clotheslines Terry for the 3! The faces celebrate and pose to crowd afterwards and that's it for the show. Messy finish and a lot of stalling but there was still some entertaining moments in the match. Not much action from Hogan and JYD was his normal self. Not much mention of King Kong Bundy either despite this being one of the last major house shows before Wrestlemania. Crowd of course loved it and I got a kick out of seeing Dory Funk JR vs Hulk Hogan, even though it was briefer than brief. Match Rating: *
Let's update the scores!
Wrestler Scores:
- Rene Goulet +2 (11)
- Sivi Afi +3 (6)
- Jose Luis Rivera +2 (8)
- Jake Roberts +5 (5)
- Chigusa Nagayo +5 (5)
- Lioness Asuka +5 (5)
- Judy Martin +2 (2)
- Donna Christianello +2 (2)
- Scott McGhee +2 (7)
- Jim Neidhart +4 (32)
- Bret Hart +6 (36)
- Ricky Steamboat +7 (70)
- Tito Santana +6 (75)
- Randy Savage +6 (58)
- Bull Nakano +2 (2)
- Dump Masamoto +2 (2)
- Dawn Marie +2 (2)
- Velvet McIntyre +2 (2)
- Corporal Kirchner +4 (26)
- Iron Mike Sharpe +2 (11)
- Ted Arcidi +3 (6)
- Barry O +2 (10)
- Terry Funk +4 (40)
- Hoss Funk +4 (8)
- Hulk Hogan +5 (86)
- Junkyard Dog +5 (58)
So we have 9 blog debutants this week including a certain Mr Jake Roberts. He got a solid 5 mainly because of his psychology within the match. Ricky Steamboat did the best this week due to his performance in his match being superb. Bret could've have done just as good if only he didn't stop selling the arm! The main event was nothing special so mid-range points for everyone involved in that. Finally, decent showing for Tito and Macho and they picked up what I'd expect them to pick up in a match between the two. We're edging closer to Wrestlemania 2 and I think we have two more editions to get through before we reach that point! I shall see you next time...and here's is the current All Star Search Top 10...
- Hulk Hogan - 86 Points
- Tito Santana - 75 Points
- Ricky Steamboat - 70 Points
- Roddy Piper - 69 Points
- Greg Valentine - 61 Points
- Junkyard Dog - 58 Points
- Randy Savage - 58 Points
- Paul Orndorff - 54 Points
- Dynamite Kid - 54 Points
- Adrian Adonis - 51 Points
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