WWE All Star Search #27 - May 1986 (Part 1)

WWE All Star Search #27 - May 1986 (Part 1)

Hello Turnbucklers! Its edition number 27 and we have a TV show and a house show to bring you! The Championship Wrestling taping has what you'd expect but with the added bonus of a stacked main event. We get two in ring debut on the house show as well one of which is somewhat notable. So will Jake Roberts continue to be a cunt? Will Ricky Steamboat break his face and recover within the day? Will Bundy and Studd continue to plummit into irrelevance? Let's find out!

The Card:

The Dream Team vs Don Driggers/Tony Garea

Al Navarro vs Ricky Steamboat

Scott McGhee/John Centeno vs Iron Sheik/Nikolai Volkoff

Paul Christie/Cyclone Capone vs The British Bulldogs (Tag Team Champs)

Nelson Villieux vs Jake Roberts

Tito Santana/Paul Orndorff vs Randy Savage (IC Champ)/Bob Orton


Tiger Chung Lee vs Don Kolov

Johnny K9 vs Scott McGhee

Bret Hart vs Jim Brunzell

Jim Neidhart vs B Brian Blair

Tito Santana vs Randy Savage (IC Champ) [No DQ IC Title Match]

Dory Funk/Jimmy Jack Funk vs George Wells/Lanny Poffo

SD Jones vs Harley Race

Dan Spivey vs Adrian Adonis

King Kong Bundy/Big John Studd vs Junkyard Dog/Hulk Hogan (WWE Champ)

The Show:

We kick off this edition with Championship Wrestling from the 3rd of May. Our commentators tonight are Vince McMahon and Bruno Sammartino.

The Dream Team vs Don Driggers/Tony Garea

It's the former tag champs and the crowd still definitely gives it to them. Brutus seems to be a bit more hyped up in this one but a crap looking elbow reminds me that Beefcake is still below average. Garea takes the brunt of the offense but escapes a double team move and gets a roll up for 2. Once Driggers comes in, he eats a nice suplex from Beefcake and a really nice butterfly underhook throw from Valentine. Beefcake back in to hit a big powerslam and Valentine finishes it off with the figure 4. The heels give it boots afterwards but nothing special overall. Squash Rating: **

Update time with Lord Al and this week he's looking at Wrestlemania 2 again. This time he get to see the ending to the Funks/JYD-Tito match. Lord Al tells us Terry suffered a bad knee injury in that match.

Al Navarro vs Ricky Steamboat

So last time we saw Steamboat he was KO'd thanks to a Jake Roberts DDT on the concrete. Vince told us he'd be back in a week...but this was shown 2 DAYS after SNME. That is how you kill what could've been a seriously good angle. Imagine how dangerous the DDT could've seemed if Steamboat was out of action for weeks. Steamboat lets Navarro get some offense in but in the end Steamboat gets the win with the flying body press. Not one hint of the SNME angle in this one. Squash Rating: **

Into the back with Mean Gene and he's joined by Nikolai Volkoff and Iron Sheik. Nikolai tells Gene Mean that they never lost the belts and proceeds to cut a horrific promo. Sheik saves it by just being his normal unorthodox self. Has anyone ever noticed that Iron Sheik is a Middle Eastern version of Mean Gene?

Scott McGhee/John Centeno vs Iron Sheik/Nikolai Volkoff

We have a new miscellaneous jobber! John Centeno looks a lot like Al Navarro but with a sprinkling of Latino about him. The heels get MASSIVE heat as per. Seriously, no one ever gets the heat that Volkoff and Sheik do. That is why the Cold War was the best character developer the WWE could have in 1986. Blassie gets on the mic and claims he wants Corporal Kirchner to sign a contract to face Iron Sheik next week! I can not wait for that one. There's a massive USA chant to support the Scot and the Puerto Rican ... but it's all in vain and Sheik wins via the Camel Clutch. Squash Rating: **

Into the back with Mean Gene and he's with Ricky Steamboat. He talks about beating Muraco and Fuji and how he's looking to the future. Despite no mention of SNME, he does mention Jake calling him out. He puts over Roberts, the DDT and the snake all in one amazing babyface promo.

Paul Christie/Cyclone Capone vs The British Bulldogs (Tag Team Champs)

Massive pop for the Bulldogs and it'll be interesting to see how much the Dynamite Kid will be in this one. I got to point out as well...new jobber! Davey takes control in the early goings before tagging in Dynamite. Dynamite pulls off an amazing suplex followed by another. He hits a big powerslam and tags in Davey who hits an awesome suplex himself. Dynamite tags in for another hard suplex, back suplex, followed by another side suplex. Seriously, this is awesome. They eventually get the win with a top rope powerslam. That was the best squash match I've seen so far, the crowd loved it too! That is exactly how to use a TV squash match to your advantage! Squash Rating: *****

Its the Flower Shop with Adrian Adonis! This is the replacement for Pipers Pit and I already love the Carly Simon theme. Adonis revels in the flowers on his set while the crowd chant faggot. Hillbilly Jim is his guest and Jim is very proud to be a hillbilly apparently. Adonis asks where Elmer is before asking Jim if he wants Adonis. Jim says Uncle Elmer is hurt before getting mad at Adonis and that's it. Hopefully that means that...Uncle Elmer is gone!

Nelson Villieux vs Jake Roberts

Jake's crowd reactions are slowly but surely growing but it may be for the snake. Nelson gets himself tied in the ropes which is never a smart move when Jake's around. Jake works over Nelson methodically before finishing him off with the DDT. Again, no mention of SNME and very little mention of Ricky Steamboat. This is 2 days after that huge angle. Squash Rating: **

Tito Santana/Paul Orndorff vs Randy Savage (IC Champ)/Bob Orton

Holy shit, where did this match come from! Suprisingly stacked for a TV match, I'm hoping for something decent here. Orton and Orndorff start us off and the crowd pops huge when Orndorff levels Orton with a scoop slam. Macho and Tito tag in respectively but Macho wants none of Tito so bails to the outside. He comes back in the ring and tags in Orton. They lock up and the faces do some quick tag maneuvers as the crowd chants for Tito. Orton manages to lock on a headscissors but Orndorff counters into a roll up for 2. Tito tags in and levels Macho on the apron but Orton takes advantage. He hits a nice backbreaker on Tito and now Macho tags in. He hits a big clothesline for 2 and tags Orton back in. Orton gets another 2 off a clothesline and continues to work over Tito. Tito whips Orton into the corner and makes the hot tag to Orndorff who cleans house. He hits a big dropkick on Orton, levels Macho and hits a big atomic drop on Orton. Macho distracts him allowing Orton to pearl harbour him but Tito involves himself for the save. Tito and Macho both tag in and in the schmoz, Tito hits a big flying forearm to Macho for the big 3 count! The crowd go crazy but the heels attack after the bell. A nice, fun little match with a surprising clean win for Tito. Match Rating: *3/4

Into the back with Mean Gene in a silly hat and he's joined by Bobby Heenan, Big John Studd and King Kong Bundy. Heenan gets so flustered about Gene's hat that he has to wander off. Studd makes Gene laugh about something and that's about as interesting as this promo was. 

Onwards to the Maple Leaf show...

This show happens on the 4th May, so one day after the previous TV episode. Our commentary team are 

Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan! Hurray!

Tiger Chung Lee vs Don Kolov

My joy is short lived as what the fuck is this opener?! Tiger Chung Lee hasn't been relevant since...ever and who the hell is Don Kolov. Apparently he's from Bulgaria but that's all Monsoon will let us know. Kolov locks on a hammerlock but Lee fights out of it into a leg lock of his own. Kolov sells the leg when he gets up and the two fall back into a hammerlock. Lee starts to take over with slowest pace possible and uses basic strikes to keep control. Lee misses a charge into the corner allowing Kolov to get a dropkick in which sends Lee to the outside. Back in the ring they lock up numerous times before Lee takes control again with big stomps and punches which gets him a 2 count. He gets another 2 count with a knee to the head and this continues to suck. Kolov tries to fight back but inexplicably stalls, allowing Lee to continue to batter him. Lee picks him up and nails a big tombstone piledriver for the win. Christ that was so boring I cannot fathom. Interesting to see Lee using the tombstone but that's as far as my interest goes. Match Rating: DUD

Johnny K9 vs Scott McGhee

More jobbers?! What did the Canadian fans do to deserve these two openers. Scott McGhee has put on some decent matches against bigger talent but Johnny K9 we've just seen being jobbed out. They lock up to start and McGhee starts off in control but can't take advantage. They lock up again and McGhee locks on an armbar but K9 uses his hair to fight out of it. The crowd start booing as the pace continues to meander and the armbars keep coming. K9 finally takes control and shows some decent aggression, enough to get some gasps out the crowd. Granted he does nothing more than a kitchen sink but still, aggression is shown. He hits a diving headbutt for 2 but McGhee fights back with right hands. McGhee slams K9's head into the mat for 2 and follows with a snap suplex for another 2. K9 fights back but the two botch an irish whip. McGhee takes control and gets another 2 off a stomp. He continues to work over K9 in the corner and follows with a german suplex, bridges into the pin and that gets the win. Slightly better than the opener but the crowd, nor myself really cared. Match Rating: 1/4*

Bret Hart vs Jim Brunzell

Strange how this isn't a tag match but none the less, it's a Bret match so I can expect some quality. The crowd have definitely woken up for this one and the Harts get some decent heat. They stall to start with Bret complaining that Brunzell has too much tape on his elbow but I can't imagine why that would be an issue. They eventually lock up and Bret takes control with headbutts, strikes and a cheeky kick to the midriff. Brunzell gets sent outside while Bret taunts the crowd and Heenan mirks him off on commentary. Bret follows outside and attacks on the raised rampway before taunting the crowd some more. Brunzell attacks from the outside and wraps Bret's leg around the ringpost. He goes after Jimmy Hart before going to work on Bret's leg in the ring. Bret sells the leg when he gets up but Brunzell won't stop the assault, eventually locking on a leglock. Brunzell tries for the figure 4 but Bret fights out of it...still selling the leg...and goes to work on Brunzell with knee drops. Bret hits his awesome backbreaker for 2 and follows that with an atomic drop. He locks on a headlock as the crowd rallies behind Brunzell. He tries to fight out repeatedly but Bret just won't let go. He eventually gets Bret in the corner but misses a charge and eats a second rope elbow drop from Bret for 2. Brunzell manages to get a sunset flip out of nowhere for 2 followed by a flying forearm to knock both men out. He hits a leg drop on Bret and the crowd are alive now. Bret whipped into the corner and Brunzell works away on him. Nice dropkick by Brunzell gets 2 but Bret rakes the eyes and drops Brunzell crotch first on the top rope for a DQ! What a crap ending! If that had 2 more minutes of fast back and forth, could've potentially have been a good *** match. Since when was crotching on the top rope a DQ? Match Rating: *3/4

Jim Neidhart vs B Brian Blair

Jimmy Hart has stayed at ringside for this one and I guess that answers my question on why the previous match wasn't a tag match. I'm expecting this to be shorter and slower in pace seeing as Anvil is involved. There's the standard stalling to start with Neidhart showing off his strength but Blair eventually surprises him with a flying forearm that sends Anvil to the outside to regroup. Back in the ring Blair locks on an armbar and takes things into the corner. Anvil uses his strength to counter and takes control. He misses a charge in the corner and Blair takes his chance to work over Anvil's arm. Jimmy Hart manages to distract Blair and Anvil takes control by doing the old pearl harbour trick and a cheeky choke in the corner. He hits a big running tackle into the corner and gets major heat afterwards before locking on a chinlock and moving that into a headlock. That headlock lasts for quite a few minutes before Anvil inexplicably lets go. Blair eventually fights back and hits a big atomic drop followed by a clothesline. He rakes Anvil's eyes on the top rope befoe hitting a scoop slam and elbow drop. He misses another elbow and Anvil can take back control in the corner with another cheeky choke. He goes for another runnign tackle in the corner but Blair reverses it into a roll up for the 3 count! Bret runs down afterwards followed by Jim Brunzell and the teams have a big ol' brawl which the Harts seemingly get the best of. Match was nothing special but I like Anvil, he's just natural entertaining. It would've made more sense to me to have one member of each team get a win tonight but no, it's the Bee's who walk away looking the stronger. Match Rating: *1/2

Tito Santana vs Randy Savage (IC Champ) [No DQ IC Title Match]

Really noticeable boo's for Tito when he comes out and Macho Man gets a decent pop. We're always guaranteed a solid match between these two and maybe the added stipulation of no DQ will make it even better. I'm still waiting for Macho to move onto his next feud and this seems like a step back in progression for me. Savage's mannerisms are just so subtle they're golden. After a hefty amount of cowardly stalling from Savage, he uses Liz to distract Tito long enough to pearl harbour him and take control. He heads up top quickly but thats never smart as Tito catches him on the way down. Savage tries to bail out the ring but it's all in vain as Tito keeps him rooted with punches. Both men head outside while Tito uses ringside padded chairs to batter Savage. He throws Macho over the guardrail and by guardrail, I mean old 80's metal guardrail that would maim. Back in the ring, Tito comes off the top rope with a chop before peppering Macho with stomps. Big Tito chant breaks out which makes his initial reaction even more baffling. Macho manages to regain control with a cheap shot that sends Tito back outside the ring. Back in the ring, Tito fights back but misses a charge in the corner as Heenan says it 'siesta time.' Macho heads up top and comes off with a strong ax handle before choking Tito on the top rope. Tito tries to fight back but Macho stays on him with punches and knees but he only manages a 2 count. Shoulderblock by Macho gets him another 2 and the crowd have been alive all the way through this. Big scoop slam by Macho but he misses the following knee drop. Macho with a big kick to the back but Tito counters a scoop slam into a roll up for 2. He tries to keep up the momentum but Macho levels him with a right hand for 2. Tito is sent outside the ring and Macho climbs to the top rope and jumps to the outside hitting Tito with another ax handle. Macho heads off to find a chair but misses Tito and hits the ringpost instead. Tito can't take advantage and gets thrown back into the crowd while the guardrail breaks around them. Another ax handle from the top rope fails and all Macho hits is steel chair and Tito finally fights back with punches. He rams Macho's head into the announcers table before they head onto the raised rampway. Tito is still in control, bashing Macho's head into the ramp but Macho fights back with an eyerake. Tito rams Macho's head again and sends him back into the ring. The crowd go crazy as he goes for the figure 4 but Macho counters. They head back outside and Tito won't stop unloading punches until Macho rams his head into the table. A shit load of police appear to hold back the guardrail which looks odd and we see Macho has now been busted open! Both men make it back into the ring and start trading punches which Macho wins with a cheap eye rake. Macho manages to shove the ref is his haste but Tito hits the flying forearm. There's no one to count and Tito counts to 3 himself but it all means nothing. He goes to revive the ref and levels Macho but there's still no one to make this count. He tries to revive the ref again but Macho successfully cheap shots him this time. They trade roll ups and the ref is up just in time to count Tito down and give Macho the win! The crowd are going insane by the time this finishes and I don't blame them. That was a good, good match and these two continue to work together better than any other pair in the company. Macho definitely brings out the best in Tito! Match Rating: ***1/4

Dory Funk/Jimmy Jack Funk vs George Wells/Lanny Poffo

This is Jimmy Jack's real blog debut I guess considering his disastrous previous appearance in the last edition. Wells and JJ start us off with Wells coming out the better with a sunset flip for 2. Everyone ends up in the ring and the faces clean house sending the Funks reeling outside. Dory and Lanny both tag in but again the faces come out on top. Lanny locks on a facelock but gets suplexed for his troubles. JJ tags in and hits a big slam and works away on Lanny with kicks to the face. Wells tags back in and locks in a headlock before we get the standard Funk criss-cross spot. It just wasn't the same without Terry though! Dory takes control and works away on Wells with strong punches before locking in an armbar. Interestingly, Terry is still being mentioned on commentary so I'm guessing he's still a part of the company. JJ tags in and continues the assault on Wells as Jimmy Hart gets on commentary to briefly annoy Monsoon. In comes Dory and then straight back out via a quick double team tackle from the Funks. JJ hits some awful punches but Wells starts to fight back before tagging in Poffo. Poffo rallies away with punches and same again for Dory when he tags in. Poffo hits a dropkick before locking in a headlock but Dory fights out in the corner and lays in some more of his hard punches. Shoulderblock by Dory but Poffo reverses the next into one of his own followed by a slam and a dropkick. JJ tries to get involved but ends up hitting Dory, sending both heels outside to regroup. Back in the ring, Dory hits a nice suplex out the ring onto the ramp on Poffo and the thud sounded hard. A big brawl breaks out between everyone on the outside that leaves Poffo laying once again. Back in the ring, Dory locks on an abdominal stretch as Heenan claims he'd aim for the neck himself. Poffo fights out briefly but JJ tags in and sends him back down with a clothesline and a headbutt for 2. JJ rams Poffo into the corner before tagging in Dory but a double KO spot ensues to indifference from the crowd. Finally Poffo gets the hot tag to Wells who nails a big clothesline on JJ and a big dropkick. Big uppercuts by Wells but JJ follows with a scoop slam. JJ goes up top but Wells catches him on the way down for a big slam. He misses a charge in the corner allowing JJ to hit a nice powerslam for the 3 count. A solid match for what is was worth and a decent introduction to Jimmy Jack. He was solid in this one except for his weak punches and Dory was solidly technical as always. Wells looked good in this one as well, much like he did at Wrestlemania 2. Terry who? Match Rating: *1/2

SD Jones vs Harley Race

It's a blog debut for the former NWA Heavyweight champion, Harley Race. He hasn't been seen in WWF for 6 years but he's back now albeit looking slightly older. The commentators hype him up but don't mention his accolades. They lock up and Jones gets the early advantage with hip tosses and a headlock as the crowd are already chanting boring! Race takes control with a high knee but I miss the next move because the cameraman gets distracted. Race hits a nice piledriver but SD kicks out at 1?! Race continues to work over Jones methodically but still only gets 2 counts at most. Race hits an awkward looking neckbreaker for 1 while the crowd still chant boring. Even a nice gutwrench suplex doesn't ease them nor does a lovely standard suplex for 2. Another 1 count from an elbow drop but SD fights back briefly. Race keeps control in the corner and then takes down SD with a snapmare. He hits a diving headbutt off the top rope but that only gets 2. SD fights back with headbutts of his own but Race kills the momentum with a headbutt to the willy before hitting a big powerslam for the win! Race looked really good in this, showing off some decent power moves but I'm worried over how long his stamina may last. This was essentially an slightly extended TV squash match. He does look knackered after that. Match Rating: *1/4

Dan Spivey vs Adrian Adonis

It seems like a while since we've seen Spivey and I've been fairly disappointed by Adonis' more recent matches. Why is it that whenever a 'faggot' chant breaks out, it always sounds like its a little girl chanting? It's unsettling! Things head outside pretty quickly with Spivey hitting a strong scoop slam on the concrete. Back in the ring he hits another scoop slam and locks on a headlock. I can't help but notice that Jimmy Hart is always acting camper when he's managing Adonis. That's a good heel manager! Adonis fights back but they botch a leap frog before Spivey hits another scoop slam and locks on another headlock. There's a really weird spot as Spivey goes for a chop block but Adonis just walked out of the way. It looked very...real. Anyway, Adonis is back in control after that and throws Spivey to the outside. He follows outside and goes for a piledriver on the ramp but Spivey counters into a back body drop. He misses an elbow and things head back into the ring. Adonis tries to go for an underhook something but Spivey counters. They trade blows and Spivey hits a sloppy backbreaker but that only gets 2. Spivey whips Adonis into the corner and follows with a back body drop. He misses another charge in the corner and Adonis goes up top. Wrestling 101 says that won't work but he reverses the counter from Spivey into a roll up and Adonis gets the cheeky 3. Crap match that tells me that Spivey is as plain as plain can be and that Adonis is definitely going through a lethargic phase. Match Rating: 1/2*

King Kong Bundy/Big John Studd vs Junkyard Dog/Hulk Hogan (WWE Champ)

The crowd go MENTAL when Hogan and JYD come out and Hogan even has time to play with a fans Hulkster doll and JYD has the word 'thump' on his arse. As we know, since Wrestlemania, Bundy has been in a steady decline and Studd still sucks. Studd and JYD start us off and JYD gets the immediate control with headbutts and right hands. His downfall comes when he tries to slam Studd but can't...so Studd slams him in return. JYD tags in Hogan to major noise and they lock up. Studd gets the early control but Hogan fights back. Studd again gets the upperhand when Hogan can't slam him and so he slams Hogan in return. He hits another slam but misses an elbow. Hogan uses this to slam both Studd and Bundy in a real impressive spot. The crowd go crazy as the heels regroup (and argue) on the outside. Back in the ring they lock up again and Hogan continues to unload on Studd. JYD tags in and headbutts Studd before he tags in Bundy. JYD continues his assault on Bundy before he tags in Hogan. He hits a big clothesline on Bundy but that only gets a 2 before Bundy starts to fight back. Bundy works over Hogan in the corner before tagging Studd back in. Studd locks on a bearhug, which to me is one of the worst wrestling holds. Bundy tags back in and he hits an awkward elbow on Hogan. He hits a scoop slam on Hogan and hits a splash fora 2. He goes for another splash but Hogan moves and tags in JYD. He works over Bundy with headbutts but misses one allowing Studd to tag back in and work over JYD. A massive JYD chant breaks out but he gets double teamed by the heels but they only get a 2. Bundy locks on a headlock and eventually tags out to Studd. He comes in...and does very little...until JYD hits a headbutt and tags in Hogan. Hogan rallies away with punches, hits a clothesline and an atomic drop. He hits a leg drop on Studd but Heenan breaks up the pin for the DQ win for the faces. After the bell, the heels try to attack but Hogan makes sure Heenan gets squished in the corner instead of JYD before the heels run off. I just wish the big lads were better than they actually are. Studd especially is difficult to watch because he does so little. The heels seem to be arguing between them recently so I expect them to split apart soon. JYD was super over in this and if he wasn't tagging with Hogan it'd seem way more impressive. Overall though the match was a bit of a stinker apart from Hogan slamming both big lads. Match Rating: 3/4*

So all in all, we can call these two shows average. At some point, the Bees and the Harts will have to fight someone else but at least until then, we can expect decent things from them. Tito and Savage again had the best match by far and I don't know what it is about those two but they just gel so well. I certainly find myself liking Tito more when he fights Savage which proves just how good Savage is. The main event was entertaining but let's face it, we were never expecting a classic. OK debuts for Harley Race and Jimmy Jack Funk (the latter definitely surprising me). So let's head to the ol' scoreboard!

Wrestler Scores:

• Greg Valentine +3 (76)
• Brutus Beefcake +3 (49)
• Don Driggers +1 (4)
• Tony Garea +1 (10)
• Al Navarro +1 (4)
• Ricky Steamboat +4 (90)
• Scott McGhee +3 (13)
• John Centeno +1 (1)
• Iron Sheik +4 (58)
• Nikolai Volkoff +3 (55)
• Paul Christie +1 (3)
• Cyclone Capone +1 (1)
• Dynamite Kid +4 (64)
• Davey Boy Smith +4 (64)
• Adrian Adonis + (65)
• Hillbilly Jim +1 (21)
• Nelson Villieux +1 (5)
• Jake Roberts +3 (31)
• Tito Santana +9 (97)
• Paul Orndorff +3 (73)
• Randy Savage +9 (87)
• Bob Orton +4 (57)
• King Kong Bundy +3 (55)
• Big John Studd +2 (29)
• Tiger Chung Lee +1 (8)
• Don Kolov +1 (1)
• Johnny K9 +2 (4)
• Bret Hart +4 (59)
• B Brian Blair +4 (42)
• Jim Neidhart +3 (50)
• Jim Brunzell +4 (34)
• Dory Funk Jr +5 (36)
• Jimmy Jack Funk +4 (4)
• George Wells +3 (10)
• Lanny Poffo +2 (19)
• SD Jones +2 (17)
• Harley Race +4 (4)
• Dan Spivey +3 (19)
• Junkyard Dog +4 (82)
• Hulk Hogan +4 (114)

Top 10

1. Hulk Hogan            - 114 Points
2. Tito Santana           - 97 Points
3. Ricky Steamboat    - 90 Points
4. Randy Savage         - 87 Points
5. Junkyard Dog         - 82 Points
6. Greg Valentine       - 76 Points
7. Roddy Piper            - 76 Points
8. Paul Orndorff          - 73 Points
9. Adrian Adonis         - 65 Points
10. Davey Boy Smith    - 64 Points