The SmarK Rant for Pro Wrestling This Week – 12.27.86

The SmarK Rant for Pro Wrestling This Week – 12.27.86

Jumping ahead a bit again I see. Although we might actually be jumping BACK. Stay tuned.

Your hosts are Joe Pedicino & Gordon Solie

We start off with a quick promo from BIG BUBBA out of Florida, who is said to be impervious to pain. Well unless he falls through a wall.

This week, we start in the NWF out of New Jersey.

Wendi Richter v. Liz Chase

Wendi was long banished from the WWF and erased from history at this point, and we join things with Chase sending her to the apron and booting her to the floor. Once again, we are graced by the dulcet tones of young Paul Heyman as play by play announcer, voice unrecognizable except for when he gets worked up. Wendi comes back with a suplex in the ring and puts Chase down with a clothesline for two. Wendi clubs her down with forearms, but Chase goes to the top and Wendi slams her down and finishes with a powerbomb at 2:00 shown. Interesting that Richter was one of the pioneers of that move in the US.

Mat Classic: Wilbur Snyder & Sandor Szabo v. Sockeye MacDonald & Joe Hassandock in a tag match from the 50s

Not a lot of SOCKEYES in wrestling these days, ya know? Snyder looks a lot different than I would have pictured him, more like a taller Bob Backlund. It’s quickly a PIER SIX BRAWL and Snyder gets a hot tag and beats Hassandock down for the pin at 1:30 aired. Very interesting stuff.

WWF Ring Report: Gordon updates us on the whole situation with Roddy Piper and his battle with Adrian Adonis, as Adonis is now out with a “shattered arm”, while Don Muraco wears kilts and has bagpipers accompany him to ringside to play mindgames with Piper. Wait, that’s way before December. That was during the period when Adonis was fired and they were running with Muraco as the lead heel to replace him. I don’t think this episode is actually the correct date.

Off to Continental…

Ron Fuller confronts Kevin Sullivan, who has been representing himself as friends with the Fullers, and calls him out on his bullshit. So Kevin claims that Ron has been mind-controlled by the CIA and he’s talking gibberish, at which point Ron attacks Sullivan and his New Guinea Express and suffers a beatdown as a result. Holy SHIT Ron Fuller was a giant. He literally made Sullivan and Gordon Solie look like midgets while standing next to them.

Off to Memphis…

Don Bass, Larry Wright and Dirty Rhodes join Lance after supposedly running Jerry Lawler out of the territory and stealing his car keys.

Tommy Rich v. Keith Roberson

Joined with Rich working the arm, but Rhodes and his heel friends hit the ring for the DQ and beat on Rich. Afterwards, the heels do their triumphant promo, but Jerry Lawler returns with Tommy Rich as backup and beats the bejesus out of them, just clobbering Rhodes with a chair and running him into the post to bust him open.

To the AWA…

The Blaster is introduced to us via an interview with Larry Nelson, and he refuses to talk. Well that’s thrilling content. So the Blaster was Gary Lindgren, who was a big bald guy doing a gimmick out of Mad Max (as many 80s heels were). He was trained by Verne, but suffered an aneurism and had to step away from the business before he ever really got anywhere. Next up, Larry chats with Silo Sam, who is a very tall hillbilly. I think we actually have seen him in other territory shows as Little John Harris or something like that. Anyway he asks Larry if he can demonstrate the Possum Driver, and Larry is like “Oh, sure…WAIT, ON ME? NO!” That was pretty funny.

Off to Portland…

Coco Samoa v. Joey Jackson

Joined in the third fall of a 2/3 falls match, with Jackson getting a back elbow and going to a chinlock on the mat. Tickets available for a Yakima WA show in the hardware department of the local store! Jackson pounds away on the ropes, but makes the fatal error of ramming his head into the turnbuckles, because he’s Samoan and thus impervious to head attacks. Coco with the running headbutt and that finishes at 2:00.

UWF Ring Report: Terry Gordy retained his UWF World title over Steve Williams, and Joe interviews Missy Hyatt, who just had to clean up Dark Journey’s house after her men lost a match. She even had Playgirl magazine under her bed! Missy was still working out her former southern accent at this point. Also trailer trash era Missy looks like someone who would be featured in an “Entitled Karen pulled over for drunk driving and goes MENTAL!” type of YouTube video (aka 40% of my recommended viewing list these days) but still, DAMN. I mean, I’m only human.

To Georgia’s Deep South next…

The Nightmares v. Thomas Ivey & Greg Brown

The Nightmares work on Ivey but he quickly makes the hot tag to Brown and the crowd goes nuts, but one of the Nightmares hits a slingshot clothesline behind the ref’s back and they get the pin at 1:40 shown.

Off to CANADA!

JR Foley and his circus of heels chat with Ed Whalen. If you’ve never had the pleasure, JR Foley was the heel manager, who shaved his moustache like Hitler and claimed loyalty to the Kremlin. Makhan Singh calls Whalen a “goofy retard” and we meet Drago Zhivago for the first time, before he became the replacement for Foley as the full time heel manager. Makhan continues his run, claiming that Stu had so many kids that Owen Hart come out as a “mongoloid” due to inbreeding. What a segment this was.

NWA Ring Report: Injuries all over the NWA, like Magnum having some kind of car accident and Lex Luger out of Florida having a back injury after a match with Kendo Nagasaki. Wait, this is the end of December and they’re only just learning about the car accident? I don’t think this guy’s date is correct. That would place it in October.

To Puerto Rico for a tag team match featuring Eric Embry, but they don’t specify the other gys and I don’t speak Spanish. I think Embry’s partner is The Crusher, although obviously not the famous one. He looks kind of like John Nord and wins with a full nelson. Maybe it was Nord? Cagematch claims it was the actual Crusher but clearly it wasn’t. Also I think this was actually 1985.

PWI Weekly Report with Bill Apter!

World Class Top 10:

1. Kevin Von Erich
2. Buzz Sawyer
3. Lance Von Erich (BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!)
4. Steve Simpson
5. Black Bart
6. Bruiser Brody
7. Abdullah the Butcher
8. The Dingo Warrior
9. Crusher Yurkov
10. Brian Adias

And now the PWI Top 10!

This is listed “as of October 14 1986” so now obviously we know when this one actually aired.

1. Ric Flair
2. Hulk Hogan
3. Nikita Koloff
4. Terry Gordy
5. Nick Bockwinkel
6. Randy Savage
7. Paul Orndorff
8. Lex Lugar
9. Kevin Von Erich
10. Magnum TA

And finally, Bill discusses the secret relationship between Ronnie and Jim Garvin, as they’re apparently brothers but no one wants to talk about it. Precious is trying to keep them apart, but Bill thinks they should either team up or wrestle each other.

World Class Ring Report: Kevin Von Erich has defeated Black Bart for the World title, and the Dingo Warrior has turned good. I can’t see Dingo Warrior lasting as a good guy.

Bam Bam Bigelow v. Big Bubba

That’s a lot of B’s. This is from an unknown promotion at somewhere called the Cowtown Coliseum. Larry Sharpe is around so I’m assuming it’s somewhere near Jersey. Also Bam Bam is still in his original plain black tights here so it’s really early in his career. They fight to the floor and Bubba flops through a table, and Bam Bam runs him into the post as the match is thrown out. Bigelow throws a chair into the ring, but Bubba intercepts it and hits him with it to chase him off. This Bubba kid is as big as some kind of water craft!

And that’s where we leave it this week. I think this was clearly the October 30 episode and got mislabeled on YouTube. Either way, the show still rules and is endlessly fascinating and gives me so much to talk about when I review it. It brightens up my day whenever I watch it.