The SmarK Rant for Stampede Wrestling – 01.30.87
Taped from Calgary, AB
Your hosts are Ed Whalen & Jungle Jim Davies
Kerry Brown & Duke Myers v. Ben Bassarab & Mr. Hito
Well there’s a very 1987 Stampede tag match for you. Joined with the Masters of Disaster double-teaming Bassarab, as Brown blocks a sunset flip and drops an elbow on him for two. Brown with a chinlock and the heels switch off on that behind the back of idiot ref Rod Hayter. Bassarab fights out and gets the tag to Hito, but the ref misses it and the heels continue beating on Bassarab. He gets the hot tag on the second try, however, and Hito makes the comeback on Brown and puts Myers down with a headbutt. He tries a monkey flip in the corner, but Brown puts him down with an atomic drop and the heels hit a Hart Attack behind the ref’s back for the pin at 6:10 aired, complete with the wrong guy getting the pin. So basically the ref was made to look stupid at all times because he was named after a local Calgary city council member that Bruce Hart was feuding with in real life.
Afterwards, Brown and Myers announce that they’re going to invade the Calgary Saddledome on February 14 and challenge the Hart Foundation for the WWF tag team titles. Yeah I don’t think that’s going to happen. In fact I checked and the main event for that show was the Can-Ams and Killer Bees against Hart Foundation and Demolition.
Karachi Vice join Ed and they wonder why Owen’s firemen brothers weren’t around last week to put him out when Gama set him on fire?
The Cuban Assassin v. Ron Ritchie
Joined with Ritchie running into a knee in the corner, which gets two for the Cuban. Cuban with a chinlock while the announcers note that their timekeeper is so old that he used to wrestle in the Caveman division of Stampede. Cuban misses a blind charge and hits the post (“Good thing it’s only his head, where it won’t hurt him” notes Ed) but he recovers with a suplex for two. Cuban with a surfboard, but Ron fights out that, so Drago Zhivago distracts the ref and Cuban goes low to put him down again. Cuban with a GODDAMN SHARPSHOOTER on Ritchie, months before Sting imported the move, but Ritchie makes the ropes and comes back for a double clothesline that puts them both down. Ritchie makes the comeback and goes up with a flying fistdrop, then follows with a piledriver, but Cuban is in the ropes. So Cuban goes into the pocket and finds an object, putting Ritchie down and drawing a YELLOW CARD from the ref. Cuban goes up and misses a swanton bomb, but Ritchie misses a splash, and they’re both down again. Cuban charges with a bodypress attempt, but Ron rolls through and gets the pin at 6:36 to win a really good match.
Ben Bassarab and Owen Hart join us, and Owen is still half-blind, but he’s still going to defend his title tonight against Makhan Singh whether he can see or not.
Bret Hart joins us for a special cameo, now in possession of a WWF tag team title belt, and he talks about how the family was heartbroken because he had to beat Davey Boy Smith, but he did it anyway. Also he issues a warning to Makhan to quit going after his little brother. Funny that super-heel Bret just goes right back to being a babyface here.
BATTLE OF THE TITANS: TED ARCIDI V. BILL KAZMAIER
This is not a drill! It’s really happening! They fight over a test of strength and Arcidi uses the clubbing forearms to win that. Ted drops an elbow and Kazmaier fights back with the world’s worst small package for two. Given all the steroids they were taking I bet there was small packages in the ring, if you smell what the Rock is cookin’. Arcidi with a back elbow and he kind of flops down with an elbow drop, but Kaz slugs back and then misses his own belly flop elbow. This is living up to everything I dreamed and then some. Arcidi misses a clothesline and Kaz gets his own for two. Arcidi with the most ridiculous fake wrestler forearms, as he clubs the back and stomps his feet with each one, but Kaz comes back with another clothesline as they’ve exhausted their movesets 2 days before the match even started. Kazaier tries…something…and runs into a knee, bumping to the floor as a result, but he slams Arcidi on the floor and wins by countout at 5:31. 10 out of 10, no notes.
Afterwards, Kazmaier declares the feud over and now he’s aimed squarely at Makhan Singh. Then Arcidi joins us and lets us know that the ref screwed the big guy, and clarifies that he’s the big guy.
Great Gama v. Viet Cong Express #1
Joined with Gama beating on Viet Cong as the mask is ripped and barely holding on. Gama with a piledriver for two. Viet Cong makes a comeback, but runs into a kick and gets stomped down again, and a backbreaker gets two. Gama chokes him out on the ropes while Drago Zhivago returns from getting taken out earlier in the match, allowing Gama to choke Viet Cong out. Cong comes back with a backdrop driver and leg lariat, and then slugs away in the corner as he’s basically a babyface in the match. Gama tosses him to the floor and puts the boots to him outside, but Viet Cong makes a comeback and they fight to the dressing room. Gama heads back to the ring while Makhan Singh attacks Viet Cong by the entrance, but he fights back and steals the kendo stick from Zhivago, and fights off the heels for a DQ at 6:10 aired. Viet Cong was showing some pretty cool stuff here.
Drago Zhivago announces that next week is a chain match to settle things between his man and Great Gama.
North American title: Owen Hart v. Makhan Singh
Owen is still bandaged up from his blinding, and we’re joined with him hitting a kneedrop on Makhan for two. Makhan fights back with a cheapshot to the gut and then goes to the eye to take over. HIS DOCTOR SAID HE’S NOT SUPPOSED TO GET PUDDING IN THAT EYE! Makhan busts him open with a foreign object and Ed Whalen goes on the PA and asks for a doctor to come out and check Owen, but Owen refuses to quit and fights back. So Makhan smashes him in the eye again as the heat is just crazy for this, and then he hangs Owen in the Tree of Woe and stomps on his eye some more. The doctor tells the ref to stop the match, so the bell rings while Owen is making the comeback. But Owen refuses to stop and goes up top, and finally his brother Wayne throws in the towel and they stop the match at 5:00 aired and award the title to Makhan Singh. So then Bruce Hart hits the ring and attacks Makhan, and so Makhan gets a kendo stick and beats him down with that. And final Ron Ritchie makes the save and chases off Makhan. I remember watching this episode and being pretty upset about that result.
Makhan Singh joins a disgusted Ed for his victory speech, declaring himself on the same level as Muhammad Ali and the Montreal Canadiens now. So next week he faces Ron Ritchie for his first title defense.
And in the mean time, and in between time, that’s it for another edition of Stampede Wrestling!
We’re definitely into the formative time of my wrestling fandom with this era now.