February 28, 1987
From the Civic Center in New Haven, CT
Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino, Jesse “The Body” Ventura, and Vince McMahon
In action tonight will be the Honky Tonk Man, Kamala, and the featured bout of Billy Jack Haynes vs. King Kong Bundy. Plus, “Piper’s Pit” with guests Tito Santana and the British Bulldogs and more updates on WrestleMania III.
We are shown the contract signing between Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan for their match at WrestleMania III. Both guys are staring intensely at each other with the belt on the table in front of WWF President Jack Tunney. Bobby Heenan said when Andre wins, he wants a new belt made that can fit a giant then tells Hogan how he has used Andre throughout the years. Hogan looks both anxious and pissed off as he yells “sign it if you are going to sign it” as Andre stares him down the smirks before signing the contract. Hogan looks at him then says how he never thought it would come to this and tells Andre that if he wanted a title match, all he had to do was ask then yells about how Andre tore the soul out of him and the little Hulksters when he aligned with Heenan. Andre then tells Hogan that WrestleMania III would be his last match and starts to speak in French as Hogan demands that he speak in English to him and says as far as he is concerned the contract is not signed in ink but rather in blood as Andre calmly gets up and says that if he wants him to speak in English, he will speak in the ring at WrestleMania III before saying “au revoir” as he gets up to leave. Another incredible segment from the Hogan/Andre feud. Hogan was great here as he was both nervous and angry at his former friend. Andre as the calm, confident heel also shined here as this upcoming match is a must-see at this point for any wrestling fan, casual or die-hard.
Billy Jack Haynes vs. King Kong Bundy w/ Bobby Heenan
Bundy knees Haynes before knocking him down with a back elbow smash. Haynes then rolls away from a splash but gets caught with a clothesline as we get an insert promo from Hillbilly Jim, Little Beaver, and the Haiti Kid as Jim is concerned that Bundy might hit one of the midgets with the Avalanche. Back to the match as Bundy slams Haynes twice but misses a corner charge then Haynes locks on the full nelson. Heenan runs in to break it up as the ref rings for the bell (1:55). Haynes then chases Heenan around the ring but gets attacked from behind by Hercules, who leaves Haynes lying on the floor.
Thoughts: Solid segment that built up the Haynes/Hercules feud and promoted Bundy’s WrestleMania III match. I thought they did a good job of keeping both guys strong too as Bundy looked dominant and Heenan being afraid of Haynes’ full nelson as he had to interfere immediately when the hold was applied to his guy.
WWF Update with Gene Okerlund. This week’s subject is George “The Animal” Steele and his obsession with Elizabeth as they showed the clip of Steele carrying her away from “Saturday Night’s Main Event.” Elizabeth is then shown talking about how Steele is a nice man who would never hurt her as Savage comes out and yells at her to get away. Savage was such a dick to Elizabeth when he was a heel. It’s what made him great in that role.
The Rougeau Brothers vs. Dave Wagner & Rick Renslow
Raymond gets attacked from behind to start until Jacques knocks them out of the ring. We get an insert promo from Dino Bravo, who warns the Rougeau Brothers that he will take them out at WrestleMania III. Back in the ring as Wagner gets double-teamed until he gets put away after getting pinned by Raymond after an assisted senton (1:49).
Thoughts: The match was a backdrop to further along the underwhelming midcard feud between Bravo and the Rougeau Brothers.
Okerlund is with Hogan and Haynes as they hype their elimination match at the March Boston Garden show (which I will review) then run down their WrestleMania III opponents (Hercules and Andre the Giant). Nothing in particular stood out here.
Replay of the Honky Tonk Man attacking Jake “The Snake” Roberts on the set of the “Snake Pit.”
Jerry Monti vs. Honky Tonk Man w/ Jimmy Hart
We get an insert promo from Jimmy Hart, promising a big surprise that will be revealed in tonight’s “WrestleMania Report.” Honky beats on Monti then taunts the fans, who loudly boo his act. He then rams Monti into the corner and follows that with a clothesline before getting the win with the Shake, Rattle, and Roll (1:32). After the match, Hart runs in the ring and hands Honky a microphone. Honky then thanks the fans for their support as he dances.
Thoughts: Honky’s heel act worked great as the crowd hated him even more than before. He really did an awesome job and exceeded with what looked to be a lower card gimmick.
Okerlund is with Bob Uecker, who is the guest ring announcer for the main event at WrestleMania III. Okerlund then puts him in Andre the Giant’s sportscoat, which is obviously huge on him. Okerlund then lets us know where to see the show on closed circuit. Uecker always looked like he was having a good time in the WWF.
Now, Okerlund is with the Killer Bees and asks them about their WrestleMania III match against Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff as well as the tag team division in general. They are both happy to be on the show and say that their ultimate goal is to become the Tag Team champions. Blair closes with a lame promo that is only slightly better than the crap they are currently giving Roman Reigns.
Mary Hart from Entertainment Tonight is shown out in Hollywood with Bobby Heenan. Hart wants to wear his jacket then gets in a comment about how he is a weasel. Fine for what it was.
Kamala w/ The Wizard & Kimchee vs. David Stoudemire
We get an insert promo from Hacksaw Jim Duggan, making his first on-screen appearance in the WWF, as he calls out Kamala. Kamala starts the match by tossing down Stoudemire. He then hits a splash before climbing up top for another one to get the win (0:56).
Thoughts: Same as every other Kamala squash match. Duggan was originally supposed to face Kamala at WrestleMania III according to Dave Meltzer. If I can, I will try to find out why that did not happen and put it one of these reviews.
Piper’s Pit with guests Tito Santana and the British Bulldogs. Before his guests come out, Piper goes off on Adrian Adonis and hypes their hair vs. hair match at WrestleMania III. The crowd was jacked for that. The Bulldogs and Santana come out as Davey cuts a shitty promo and Dynamite does one that is 100x worse. I couldn’t make out one word that he said. Santana cuts a brief promo as Piper talks up these guys about how they are going to reclaim their titles.
WrestleMania III Report with Gene Okerlund. He lets us know that a new match has been added to the card, Jake “The Snake” Roberts vs. Honky Tonk Man, and that in Jake’s corner will be Alice Cooper. Okerlund then runs down the rest of the card. Heenan is with Uecker as they talk about WrestleMania III. Uecker then says that he wants to be like Heenan and puts on his jacket then takes it off so he can flex like Hogan. Again, Uecker seemed like he was having a blast here. Jesse is then with Mary Hart as they jokingly tease that they are together in another fun segment. Hart was a good sport. Also, Aretha Franklin will be singing the National Anthem to start off the show.
Dream Team & Adrian Adonis w/ Johnny V, Jimmy Hart, and Dino Bravo. vs. Can-Am Connection & “Leaping” Lanny Poffo
Poffo’s pre match poem is about how he hopes Piper does not lose his hair and that Adonis is a slob. The heels then jump the faces from behind to start. The faces then quickly clear the ring as the fans were going nuts. Christ, the Can-Am Connection were over. Adonis is shown in an insert promo with a pair of scissors promising Piper will leave WrestleMania III bald. The Dream Team are working over Martel briefly but he fights back and tags Zenk. Valentine takes control when Zenk misses a corner charge. Zenk comes back and tags Martel, who runs wild. Adonis then runs into the ring
but accidentally gets backdropped to the floor by Valentine. Beefcake slams Martel and beats on him in the corner as Hart hands a pair of scissors to Adonis, who thinks he is cutting Martel’s hair but it’s really Beefcake’s, who is going nuts then Martel rolls him up for the win (3:34). After the match, Beefcake flips out on Adonis but gets held back by his guys.
Thoughts: I don’t think that Poffo even tagged into this match. The crowd was insane for the Can-Am Connection. The pop for the win was incredible. They also planted the seed for the Brutus Beefcake babyface turn. It looked too contrived as their was no way that Adonis, who was looking at the hair, could not figure out how it was Beefcake’s hair he was cutting. The crowd did cheer for Beefcake as he went after Adonis.
Okerlund is with Adrian Adonis and Hercules to hype the six-man elimination match in Boston. Basic stuff from these two.
Next week in action will be the Junkyard Dog, Ricky Steamboat, Hart Foundation and another WrestleMania III report.
Final Thoughts: Another fine show on the road to WrestleMania III. The Hogan/Andre contract signing is a must-see segment and they did their best to make all of the matches on the PPV seem important. The past few months have been masterful from a booking aspect. They perfected the build of their top feuds as they all are still red hot just a month away from the show.
Here is my schedule for the rest of the week. Sadly, there will be no RoH review for tomorrow night as I did not have the time to review Death Before Dishonor, as it is a 4.5 hour long show. It will be posted the following Saturday.
Sunday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 3/1/87
Tuesday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 3/7/87
Thursday: Shoot Interview TBD
Friday: WWF Boston Garden Show 3/7/87