VQ - Excellent (24/7)

 

1. Lanny Poffo vs. Paul Christy

Lanny read a tremendous poem on Piper and Piper's Pit asking for it to be taken off the air. This was a solid match. Lanny did a couple of cool shit including a back flip to reverse a wrist lock, a springboard hammer smash to the floor, and a nice dropkick followed by his top rope moonsault for the win. Most of the match consisted of average arm work by both guys but it was fine for what it was. Christy didn't get much offense. His control segment was a King of the Mountain spot and he just threw a few punches and kicks to keep Lanny on the floor. This was satisfying enough though, because Lanny did cool shit and had a great poem pre-match.

 

2. Sivi Afi vs. Barry O

This was what it was. Afi outclassed Barry O with arm drags and rope running before Barry O gave him a sick back breaker. Barry O got in a nice running power slam and locked in a reverse chin lock. The rest of the match was back and forth with Afi reversing a suplex into his own and missing a splash instead landing on Barry O's knees. That was a pretty vicious looking spot. Afi would eventually get the full advantage though and hit a top rope cross body for the win. This wasn't too exciting but wasn't too awful either. It was just an average run of the mill WWF 80s match.

 

3. George Steele vs. Tiger Chung Lee

This was amusing shit. Lee tried to assault Steele with his kendo stick but Steele got a hold of it and whacked Lee with it. He then broke it over his knee to the crowd's delight. The match started and Steele flailed his arms around and chased Lee. Steele took a great bump into the turnbuckle arm first and then went even crazier. He tried to bring in a large table from the floor into the ring but Lee smashed it against his head. Steele later smacked the shit out of Lee with a fucking flip flop of all things. Lee tried a few knees to Steele but Steele no sold them. Steele fiddled around with the second turnbuckle and exposed it. He smashed Lee's head into it and pinned him for the win. Again, this was amusing but of course it wasn't really any good at all.

 

4. Hillbilly Jim vs. Big John Studd

This was terrible as expected. Hillbilly Jim tried to slam Studd whenever he was on offense and Studd put on a long wrist lock that didn't look effective and a boring ass bear hug that looked weak too. They tried brawling but it sucked badly. They brawled on the floor and Studd tried to ram Hillbilly Jim's head into the ring post but Hillbilly Jim pushed Studd head first into it. Hillbilly Jim made it into the ring in time before the ten count and won the match by count-out. This was pretty fucking terrible and honestly didn't have really any redeeming value.

 

5. Randy Savage vs. Tito Santana (WWF IC Title)

This was very, very good. Savage tore up some roses a fan gave to Elizabeth pre-match. Tremendous. Savage acted like a douche so Tito tossed him around the ring and hit him with some fun stuff like a body slam and an atomic drop. Savage got in a few eye rakes and his second or third one was successful. He got two great near falls off of a brutal clothesline that looked like it took Tito's head off. The next near fall was from a top rope double ax handle that Tito sold greatly. Savage got frustrated and gave Tito a top rope double ax handle again but this time on the floor. Tito fought his way back into the ring and threw some forearms and clubs on Savage. He hit a top rope flying forearm that Savage took awesomely. Tito got a near fall off of it but Savage's feet were on the ropes. Tito missed a charge in the corner and ran full speed into Savage's knees for a Savage near fall but Tito was pushed on top of the referee. Tito got in a small package but only got a near fall as the referee was late because of Tito landing on him earlier. Savage then caught Tito with a nasty back elbow and went for a jumping knee to the head but Tito moved. Savage sold his knee like death and Tito gave him vicious leg sweep kicks until Savage fell to the mat. Tito put on the figure four to a massive pop but Savage managed to reach the ropes. That was great spot. Tito suplexed Savage back into the ring after Savage had been taking a breather on the apron. Tito went for the figure four again but Savage kicked him off and Tito did a great face plant bump off of it that looked like it hurt like hell. Savage went back onto the apron and pulled out a foreign object. He swung at Tito and missed so Tito tried to give him a back suplex into the ring but Savage was able to connect on a second try with a shot from the foreign object. Savage covered Tito and won the match and the IC Title. This was a really exciting and back and forth match that suited both guys well. I liked the transitions here a good bit and the match flowed very well. Solid nomination.

 

6. The Hart Foundation vs. The Killer Bees

This was a very good tag match. The HF and Bees work well together as I'm confident now that we'll have a couple of their matches on this set. Jim Brunzell was awesome in this match. He was clearly the best guy in this. The Bees worked on Bret's arm for a few minutes but it wasn't overly long. Brunzell worked a wrist lock on Bret pretty well here as well. Blair was FIP to start and did a decent job. Bret gave him a back breaker and a leg drop. Anvil put him in bear hug which he fought out of. Anvil missed a dropkick and Blair tagged in Brunzell. Brunzell had a nice flurry of offense on Anvil throwing some good punches, hitting a beautiful dropkick, and going for the spinning toe hold. However, Anvil pushed him off and Bret rammed Brunzell in the back with his knee as Brunzell went up against the ropes. HF did a back breaker forearm combo from the second rope and began working on Brunzell's back. Brunzell was great as FIP here. Bret swung Anvil into Brunzell shoulder first pretty stiffly in the corner. Brunzell then got slammed on the Boston Garden floor. HF kept Brunzell at bay with a front face lock but this was really good stuff actually as Brunzell really fought the hold the whole time. Brunzell had two great hope spots with a tremendous dropkick on Bret and a near fall from a sunset flip. He made a tag to Blair but the referee didn't see so HF tried the battering ram swinging spot again but Brunzell moved and Bret took a whiplash bump chest first into the turnbuckle. Brunzell crawled between Anvil's legs and made the tag to Blair. Blair cleaned house and Anvil hit the ropes at one point sending Bret flying into the Boston Garden barricade and into the fucking crowd. That was crazy shit. The finish was a bit disappointing though as Bret hit a prone Blair with a flying elbow drop from the middle turnbuckle and got the pin. He was the illegal man though so there was this annoying controversial finish shit to deal with. I liked this a good bit and was shocked to see no Heel In Peril segment. Brunzell was excellent in this match and really made HF work. Solid nomination.

 

7. Ricky Steamboat vs. Don Muraco (Martial Arts Match)

This was alright. The first half was really boring. Plus, the stipulation of this match is terribly stupid. Basically, the two guys wrestled in jackets and could use them as weapons. What the fuck???? Steamer had the advantage for the first half and did karate kicks, chops, and a side head lock. I was bored. Muraco took control and things got interesting after he catapulted Steamer into a steel chair that Mr. Fuji was holding. Steamer juiced and Muraco bashed Steamer's head against the ring post. He exposed Steamer's back and whipped him viciously with Steamer's jacket strap and then wrapped it around Steamer's neck choking him. Steamer was FIP for the rest of the time with that strap around his neck which was amusing and awesome. There was one really great cut off spot where Steamer started to fight back but Muraco took his head off with a massive clothesline. Once Steamer finally got back on offense this became uninteresting again. Steamer threw a few chops none of which looked too great. He hit a top rope karate chop, skinned the cat after Muraco tried to toss him to the floor, kicked Mr. Fuji in the head and shoulder, then got a reverse roll up for the win. Muraco attacked Steamer after the match with Mr. Fuji's cane. The first half was pretty fucking boring and uneventful. Steamer's offense in the WWF just isn't that appealing and Muraco doesn't come across as the best guy to be taking it. Steamer was great as FIP in this but it wasn't enough to save the match. Ultimately, this was a solid match that could have been more if Steamer had been able to bring out some more offense.

 

8. Bruno Sammartino vs. Roddy Piper (Steel Cage Match)

This is an extremely fun, heated, and great match. We gave this an EASY NOMINATION earlier after finding it online. Here's my review: Great match that should make the set. Piper's cheap heat is tremendous as he tapes The Refrigerator Perry and Jim McMahon posters on two sides of the cage in the Boston Garden. Bruno comes in and destroys him pretty quickly. Piper does the most blatant blade job I've ever seen but I don't care this shit was great. Piper is gushing his life support all over the place as Bruno pounds away at his skull, rips his shirt and chokes him with it, and shoves one poster down his throat and the other down his tights. Piper gets his heat segment with two low blows and some great gyrations. From then on the two punch the hell out of each other as they try desperately to escape the mayhem. The finish rules as Bruno low blows Piper then uses a chair by the cage door on the floor to make sure he gets out for real. I liked this a whole lot.

 

Final Analysis

This was a very good show. The first half wasn't great and only had one match that somebody could call good or decent. The second half was pretty high end with the IC Title change, HF-Killer Bees tag, and the main event cage with Bruno-Piper. This show is a pretty good start to a year that I will think do very well on this set once it's completed. A lot of guys get going on some great runs throughout this period. I'm excited to explore more the year and am anxious for some hidden gems.

I haven't seen the bout in a while. So I won't offer any thoughts on it; but I thought the Piper/Bruno cage bout would deserve a nomination.

I remember seeing a Steamboat-Muraco martial arts match that may have been the worst Steamboat match I have ever seen. Botched spots, stupid story, Fuji interference gone wrong. Don't know if it is this one or not.

That doesn't sound right but I'm pretty sure there's another one of these matches to watch coming up so we'll find out soon.