The SmarK Rant for WWF Superstars – 02.21.87
By Scott Keith on 11 September 2026
The SmarK Rant for WWF Superstars – 02.21.87
Originally written 09.10.26
Hey Scott, hope all is well.
I recently made a video covering what a pain in the ass streaming pro wrestling has become for us here in the states.
I was hoping you could share it on the blog to get the word out.
Consider it shared!
Taped from Tampa, FL on 01.26.87
Your hosts are Vince McMahon, Jesse Ventura & Bruno Sammartino
WWF tag team title: The Hart Foundation v. The Islanders
Crazy that this was taped just a couple of hours after they won the belts from the Bulldogs. The live crowd was barely able to get over the screwjob and then it’s right back to the Harts again. And then Jimmy Hart twists the knife by introducing their new friend, DANGEROUS DANNY DAVIS, complete with striped trunks. As noted in the comments for last week, Davis was actually too good in his initial appearances, as fans wanted him to be a punching bag and he was obviously a very competent worker, which kind of ruined his aura and effectiveness somewhat. He was decent, but not good enough to be good while pretending to be terrible, if that makes sense. Tama beats on Bret to start, but Anvil hits him with a knee from the apron to cut off his shine and the Harts double-team in the corner. Meanwhile we get an inset from Hillbilly Jim, who hypes up the Hulk-Andre main event in general but doesn’t pick a winner or anything. Bret drops an elbow on Tama and follows with an atomic drop and Anvil chokes him out in the corner with some classic tag rope action, and Jesse approves of this. But then Tama leapfrogs Bret and makes the hot tag to Haku, and he tosses Anvil and uses Tongan Martial Arts on Bret before hitting him with a thrust kick. But he takes too long tagging in Tama, and when he goes to the top for the big splash, Danny Davis hooks the leg and Tama falls on his face, putting Anvil on top for the pin at 4:11 to retain. Tama took a pretty spectacular header on that dive, actually.
UPDATE! WITH MEAN GENE OKERLUND!
Oh man, rumors have been FLYING regarding Roddy Piper possibly retiring, so Gene decided to sit down with Piper in an empty arena and just ask him outright. So Roddy confirms that yes, he’s retiring, but not until after he beats Adrian Adonis at Wrestlemania III, although he’s retiring win lose or draw. “May you be a half an hour in heaven before the Devil knows you’re dead.”
King Harley Race v. Sal Bellomo
Finkel introduces Sal as “The Italian Stallion”, and I’ll just let Kevin fill in the obvious line after that. So Vince announces a new match for WM: Race v. JYD, where the loser must bow and kneel before the winner. Sal misses a dropkick and Race drops a knee on him and follows with an elbow, and cradle suplex to finish at 1:09.
Meanwhile, Danny Davis and Jimmy Hart go over the open contracts available for any interested babyfaces to sign and face him. So we cut to the British Bulldogs and Tito Santana, who immediately sign a six-man contract to face the Hart Foundation and Davis at Wrestlemania!
Billy Jack Haynes v. Morgan Bastien
No relation to Red I’m assuming. Billy Jerk puts him down with a clothesline and a gutbuster, and we cut to Hercules watching on a TV backstage, making what sounds like sex talk while flexing and grunting. Man, the 80s were a different time. Full nelson finishes at 2:00.
The Dream Team v. Paul Roma & Frankie Rose
Vince actually brings up the feud between Roma and Steve Lombardi, which I thought they had dropped already. So the heels spend the first minute hugging in the corner and celebrating their relationship with Dino Bravo, and then Hammer gets to work and drops an elbow on Roma. Beefcake comes in and puts the boots to Roma, and Valentine hits an elbow off the middle rope. Roma comes back with a dropkick and it’s over to Rose, and he immediately gets clobbered by Hammer. Meanwhile Jesse announces the earth-shattering midgets & Bundy six-man at Wrestlemania, really putting the sell of the show into overdrive now. Beefcake with a backbreaker and Valentine finishes with the figure-four at 3:00.
The Snake Pit with special guest Honky Tonk Man
So this is the replacement for Piper’s Pit, apparently, and Jake immediately insults Honky and calls him stupid, taunting him with the snake while Honky does his promo about the rigged vote. So Honky keeps promising to sing “That’s All Right Honky Tonk Mama”, which was apparently stolen by Elvis but Jake keeps needling him and Honky gets all flustered by the snake and runs off. So Jake keeps burying him on the way out, leading to a salty Honky sneaking back behind Jake and laying him out with the famous guitar shot, leaving him laying and officially turning Jake babyface.
WRESTLEMANIA REPORT! WITH MEAN GENE OKERLUND!
Gene is shocked by what we just saw, but let’s talk about Wrestlemania III. Gene promises a “surprise guest” in the corner of the Can-Am Connection, although that never happened. I forget, was that supposed to be Captain Lou? And we’ve got the whole card now, as Gene runs down the matches and we all know them by heart.
Koko B. Ware v. The Red Demon
Koko takes the Demon down with armdrags and sends him to the floor, and then slingshots him back into the ring while we get an inset from Butch Reed in advance of Wrestlemania. Demon keeps charging and missing, and Koko backdrops him, so the Demon loads up his mask and headbutts Koko to take over and chokes him out on the ropes. Koko comes back with a dropkick and a powerslam, and he goes up with a missile dropkick and finishes with the Ghostbuster at 3:05.
NEXT WEEK: Adrian Adonis! Honky Tonk Man! King Kong Bundy! Billy Jack Haynes!
And we take a look back at the action from this week to wrap it up.
Big angle with Honky Tonk Man this week, which was pretty significant in terms of turning Jake babyface and having Honky kind of catch fire in the undercard.