First up, we have the WWF from Los Angeles, CA; a house show that took place on 8/13/1988.

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Gorilla Monsoon and Superstar Billy Graham are on commentary, FWIW. Anyway, the first match is Sam Houston vs. Black Jack.

 

- I don't know who Black Jack is, and there are so many people that share a variation of the name that it's quite hard to search. Yeah, Jack is wearing a mask, if you couldn't tell from my comments.

 

- Houston bulldog, pinfall victory at 5:48. Finish came out of nowhere, but in this case, that's good. The less Sam Houston, the better. *.

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Next up is Barry Horowitz vs. The Blue Angel.

 

- Guess who the Blue Angel is. Well, I'll just tell you, it's Owen Hart. Obviously, Owen is awesome. That word also describes this match.

 

- An Owen moonsault finishes the match after 14:35 of great, fast-paced action. ***1/2, and a bout that should definitely have been shown on television at some point. Or on Coliseum Video.

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The Bolsheviks vs. The Powers of Pain is our third match...

 

- Good, the Bolsheviks sung the Soviet National Anthem. Very good. When the Powers ran in to prevent that, they got a huge pop. They're pretty over.

 

- Superstar is such a bad commentator, but at least the Powers won, after a flying headbutt off the top from Barbarian onto Zhukov at 9:02. *1/2, could've been so much worse, but thankfully for my sake, it wasn't.

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Curt Hennig vs. SD Jones is up, and hey, Jesse Ventura has joined the team for commentary. That's swell!

 

- Hennig isn't perfect, yet. This match shows that fact quite well. Match is far, far too long, and Hennig wins with a clothesline at 13:05. *, at best. Only because I like Hennig.

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Andre the Giant w/Bobby Heenan vs. Randy Savage w/Elizabeth for the WWF Championship is our semi-main event.

 

- Bobby was forced out of the ring area by police and security...good. This one is very much like their Saturday Night Main Event match that I reviewed, save for one thing. There's a bit more offense from Savage, but that's it. I nearly forgot to mention that Jesse Ventura is now off commentary...yeah.

 

- Savage's FLYING ELBOW doesn't get the win, and after a bit of fighting, Andre grabs Elizabeth by the ankle, leading to a double countout at 10:24. 1/2*. Andre has the belt, but it isn't his. He really shouldn't be in the ring at this point, but hey, that's not my decision.

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Obviously it's intermission time, as we see a pre-taped interview with Ravishing Rick Rude. Gorilla better watch it, you see.

 

Now Gorilla's with the Fabulous Rougeau Brothers, who are soon to announce their place of residence, which is of course, in the good ol' USA!

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I suppose it's a good thing that we have the Fabulous Rougeau's taking on the Hart Foundation.

 

- Of course it is! Well, it isn't that great, but it's still good. Kinda mailed in, though. After Bret gives Jacques a piledriver, Raymond jumps onto Bret from the 2nd rope, allowing Jacques to regain his composure and pick up the pinfall victory at 17:41. **3/4, but it was definitely nothing special.

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Randy Savage makes his way to the ring, because he's got a message for Andre the Giant. He's signed an open contract, anytime, anywhere. He's gonna kick his ASS! Direct quote on that last one.

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The main event on this show is Rick Rude vs. Jake Roberts.

 

- The reason Bobby Heenan isn't there is quite simple. He was kicked out of the building. Jake's gonna kick Rude's ass too, or so he says. I love the PG-13 vibe being given off here...the WWF could've used a few "ass kickings" here and there.

 

- Very slow, just like most of these matches. I approve of the wrestlers trying to go easy on their bodies. Anyway, Rude tries to slam Jake into the ring, and Jake grabs the top rope for leverage, allowing Jake to win by pinfall at 13:27. **, end of the show.

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Rating: Ah, good. Good for a house show, which is good enough for me. Best segment was definitely Horowitz vs. Owen, and the worst was Andre/Savage. That match was just too long.

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Now, from Madison Square Garden on October 20th, 1986...Gorilla Monsoon, Gene Okerlund, and Lord Alfred Hayes are on commentary.

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Brutus Beefcake vs. B. Brian Blair is the first matchup.

 

- Was this match determined via alphabetizing the roster? It's not that bad, but like most matches involving Beefcake, he just doesn't do anything. At 10:17, he reverses a Blair crossbody, into a pinfall of his own for the victory. *3/4.

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Moondog Rex vs. Tama is next up...

 

- I thought now would be a good time to mention that every match is a singles match, featuring participants in the battle royal which will take place later on. I didn't know the Islanders were babyfaces...

 

- I love that spot where a guy's tied up, other guy charges at him, guy unties himself, and other guy flies through the rope. Thought I'd point that out. Anyway, a Tama crossbody off the top gives him the win at 8:17. ** for a decent affair.

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Next, we have King Kong Bundy taking on Super Machine.

 

- Definitely hoss-tastic, but Bundy wins after the AVALANCHE at 3:18. Short, sweet, and to the point. *1/2.

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Jim Neidhart vs. Dynamite Kid w/Matilda is now...

 

- Matilda = the bulldog. Simple, yes?

 

- Dynamite's so good, it's really a shame that he wrecked his body. But he wins the match, after a roll-up at 5:50. **1/2. Match was very fun.

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Koko B. Ware comes out to show everyone his bird...ha. Now the Iron Sheik is facing Jacques Rougeau.

 

- Of all the matchups on the show, this one is definitely the strangest. The match sucks, though. Jacques wins by pinfall thanks to a sunset flip, at 7:30. *.

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Time for Piper's Pit...even though he's being cheered, he says he's still a no good sonofabitch. Adrian Adonis is a fag, you see. Now he wants Bobby Heenan and Paul Orndorff to come out. Heenan does, and they talk about the World Series. Piper likes the Mets, Heenan doesn't. Now Paul Orndorff enters, to Hulk Hogan's music. Much heat for that. Piper says that Orndorff definitely couldn't find a tag team partner for a match, and after a few minutes, he's thought of one. It's Harley Race! Roddy Piper calls Vladimir (you know, the fan who always wears a Piper shirt) onto the ring apron, and his idea of a partner for Piper is...Hulk Hogan! So yeah, that's the main event for next month, Orndorff and Race vs. Piper and Hogan.

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Jim Brunzell vs. Mike Rotundo is, uh, right now!

 

- I thought Rotundo was gone by this point, but apparently I was wrong. This match is super, super slow. They're doing a bunch of amateur wrestling, but the crowd doesn't care, and neither do I. Double countout is the end, at 9:10. *.

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Greg Valentine vs. Davey Boy Smith w/Matilda is definitely the best matchup thus far...

 

- This should be good. Valentine's legwork is unique, at least compared to what I see now in the WWE.

 

- Davey does a SHARPSHOOTER, but Valentine pins him after using the top rope for leverage at 13:00. **3/4.

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Moondog Spot vs. SD Jones is a definite fast-forward. I don't even care enough to look and see who won.

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Haku vs. Nikolai Volkoff...

 

- Volkoff sings, Haku attacks. This card is just too damn long, not only that, there's a reason all of these guys are in tag teams. Moving forward, Volkoff misses a charge to the corner, and Haku rolls him up for 3 at 4:51. 1/2*.

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Raymond Rougeau vs. Bret Hart is the last singles match, thankfully.

 

- Once again, there is a reason some of these guys are in tag teams. In the case of Rougeau, that much is certain. Bret grabs the tights, puts his feet on the ropes, and wins by pinfall at 8:32. **.

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Now, we finally have the 50,000 dollar BATTLE ROYAL. The participants are....The Moondogs, SD Jones and Mike Rotundo, The Hart Foundation, King Kong Bundy and Big John Studd, The Machines, The Dream Team, The Rougeau Brothers, The British Bulldogs, The Islanders, The Killer Bees, The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff, and lastly, we have Steve Gatorwolf and Chief Jay Strongbow. When one member of the team is eliminated, the other must also leave.

 

- Moondogs gone first

 

- SD Jones gone, so his partner must follow

 

- A bunch of people tossed Strongbow, so Gatorwolf must leave

 

- A Machine dumps the Iron Sheik, to a big pop

 

- Bret Hart and the Dynamite Kid take each other out...aw, damn

 

- Beefcake gets rid of Jim Brunzell

 

- Studd gets rid of Jacques Rougeau

 

- A Machine backdrops Beefcake to the outside

 

- Bundy clotheslines a Machine out, so now, we're down to The Islanders vs. Bundy and Studd. Bundy charged at an Islander, who ducked, so Bundy knocked Studd out of the ring with a clothesline at 10:34. The Islanders get all the loot. Saw that finish coming, and it was a bad battle royal. 4/10.

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This show was really bad. I wish I hadn't even watched it. Best part was Valentine vs. Davey Boy, and the worst was the Battle Royal. I can't describe to you how useless this show was.

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Royal Rumble '08 review next, we'll see when I put it up. I don't know yet.