The SmarK Rant for Pro Wrestling This Week – 08.22.87

The SmarK Rant for Pro Wrestling This Week – 08.22.87

Originally written 03.10.26

Your hosts are Joe Pedicino & Gordon Solie

We actually skip the FLYING TOMMY RICH CROTCH OF DOOM and we’re joined in progress this episode in World Class….

Killer Tim Brooks v. Bruiser Brody

Brody chases Percy Pringle back to the dressing room like a madman, and then takes Brooks back into the ring and drops the big furry leg on him, at which point Len Denton and Pringle hit the ring for an attack and a DQ.

Gordon throws to the WWF news, offering congratulations to Jack Tunney for fining One Man Gang TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS for beating up a referee. That hardly seems fair. Also Gordon hints that Sir Oliver Humperdink might have the inside track on Bam Bam Bigelow, but he’s not saying he knows anything. But you never know.

Off to Alabama:

Dr. Tom Pritchard v. Scott Armstrong

We’re joined just as the time expires, but Tom keeps fighting after the bell and Scott demands five more minutes. So Tom actually agrees to this, a rarity for the heel, and they slug it out until more heels run in for the DQ and beat Armstrong down. This brings out the BULLET to make the save.

Next up, we go to Portland with the tag team titles on the line!

Rip Oliver & Super Ninja v. Steve Doll & Scott Peterson

Joined with the heels double-teaming Doll in their corner, although this is weird because when Ultimate Warrior squashed Super Ninja on SNME it was Rip Oliver playing the role. Are you trying to me that there’s TWO Super Ninjas? That’s way too many ninjas for Oregon area. Anyway, Doll somehow fights his way out of the corner and reverses out of a slam attempt by Oliver and turns it into a sunset flip that actually resembles a Canadian Destroyer in execution, and that gets the pin. So Doll and Peterson would be known as the Southern Rockers eventually, playing the pretty boy team that every promotion had to have in 1987 to keep up with the times. And then Peterson would be replaced by Rex King, and that was the team that ended up in the WWF as Well Dunn a few years later. This was the first fall of a 2/3 falls match, and we take a break and return with the second fall, but time is running out, so Peterson and Oliver trade cradles until the expiration of time. The Southern Rockers and the announcers think that it means the titles change hands (with the challengers winning one fall to none) but then referee Sandy Scott clarifies that, whoopsie, it’s actually just a draw under NWA rules. Well, duh.

PWI Report with Bill Apter and Craig Peters! Bill has the results of the Ban the Managers poll from the fans, and Craig teases the results a bit longer by having Bill read some cards and letters from both sides. One guy is a gooner for Missy Hyatt, even if the matches are boring. Fair point. But the final poll result: 54% say that managers should NOT be banned, and 46% say they should. Luckily democracy has triumphed again.

Back from the break, Joe and Gordon shill for the Wrestling Fans Dream Cruise, which turned out to be a grift that went nowhere. I know, a wrestling event that turns out to be a SCAM? Perish the thought.

Speaking of which, let’s go to Memphis.

Mark Starr v. Paul Diamond

We’re in the Mid-South Coliseum for this one, with Diamond hitting Starr with a gourdbuster for two before sending him into the corner for a beating there. Another charge misses and Starr makes the comeback with a dropkick, sending Diamond to the floor to confer with manager Black Prince, and Diamond gets a chain from him and hits Starr for the pin. Starr was a good hand with a good look and a good name who had a cup of coffee in WCW and a couple of other places, but never really lived up to his potential.

To the AWA!

Boris Zhukov & Soldat Ustinov v. DJ Peterson & Wahoo McDaniel

Joined with Wahoo getting worked over by the Russians, who I believe were tag team champions at this point. Boris and his weird ponytail get chopped down by Wahoo and DJ gets the hot tag, but Boris grabs his chain and clears the ring for the DQ. Lot of nothing here, and I was glad when Boris shaved that stupid rat tail off in time to jump to the WWF.

The Danger Zone with Paul E. Dangerously and his special guest…himself. He complains that people compare him to Roddy Piper, so he does his impressions of Roddy, the Road Warriors and Jesse Ventura and this is all pretty funny.

Off to Central States.

Russian Torture Match: Rip Rogers v. Ox Baker

The gimmick here is that the guys are supposed to be tied to the corners for some reason, but Bobby Jaggers attacks the guy who is supposed to be tying up Rip, and Rogers is left free to attack a tied up Ox as much as he wants. I’m not really understanding what the concept was supposed to be here. Baker can’t continue after getting stomped down repeatedly by Rip, so the ref calls for the bell. Were the ropes supposed to be long enough for them to touch from the corners? Finally Bob Geigel heads to the ring to save Ox, and the 102 year old Geigel slugs Rip out of the ring. Man this territory was DEAD and it’s kind of a good thing Crockett put it out of its misery.

Mat Classic: Mr. Moto v. Tarzan White

This would be from the Texas territory in 1960 or maybe Los Angeles given the involvement of Moto. Moto takes White down with facelocks, but White comes back with shoulderblocks before missing a charge and hitting the turnbuckle headfirst. That was a pretty sick bump for 1960. Moto takes him down with hiptosses, but he chokes White out on the ropes and gets DQ’d as a result.

Joe Pedicino has the UWF TV report this week, as Brad Armstrong faced Eddie Gilbert for the TV title, with Terry Taylor apparently saving Eddie’s title with a DQ. And in the NWA, Ric Flair retains the World title against Ronnie Garvin. Plus there was apparently a third War Games in Chicago.

Off to Puerto Rico now.

WWC Junior Heavyweight title: Invader #3 v. El Gran Mendoza

Mendoza chases Invader to the floor and then necks him on the way back into the ring, but Invader reverses to his own necking and makes the comeback. Invader with a backdrop and he slugs away on Mendoza and follows with a snap suplex for the apparent pin, except that Mendoza is in the ropes, and that allows him to lay out Invader from behind and pin him with an elbowdrop to win the title. MENDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOZA!

And then we get a special PWTW exclusive interview with Chicky Starr and his newest wrestler, Abdullah the Butcher.

Sound Off with Boni Blackstone. A fan wants to know where Memphis holds their matches? Um, MEMPHIS maybe? Another fan writes in clutching pearls about too much interference in wrestling, which is going to cause permanent injury sometime soon. Also a fan wants to know where Ole Anderson is. How about who gives a fuck? He’s probably miserable wherever he is. There you go, idiot.

Spicy Williams v. Debbie the Killer Tomato

Apparently this is from a Mexican promotion as a special treat for all the men watching. I’m assuming that the one in red is the Killer Tomato of record. Apparently Debbie was known in GLOW as Dallas (Debbie does Dallas?) but there’s no record of her working after 1986, so this must be a pretty old match. The Tomato controls with a headscissors on the mat and the bell rings for a time limit draw I guess. This was bad.

Over to Wild West

La Cerenita v. Gato Vera

Joined with Cerenita hitting a spinebuster and putting her into a surfboard, but Vera hits a clothesline out of the corner. She goes to the top and misses a splash, and Cerenita finishes with a camel clutch. I’m kind of interested to review Wild West sometime, and I know KrisP has a few episodes available.

And we wrap it up with the Wrestler of the Week: Bob Geigel. This award means NOTHING now.

Man this show is starting to run on fumes without WWF, NWA or UWF footage. I really hope they get it back again because Joe basically reading off the results of a match on UWF TV isn’t exactly thrilling viewing.