WWF Championship Wrestling April 19th, 1986

Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino and Vince McMahon

In action this week are Nikolai Volkoff & Iron Sheik, “Adorable” Adrian Adonis, Killer Bees, Hoss Funk and Randy Savage. Plus, we will see highlights from the Tag Team Championship match at WrestleMania 2 and “Piper’s Pit” with guests King Kong Bundy & Big John Studd

Macdonald looks hilarious as he tries to run and charges at the Sheik but gets clotheslined. The heels beat on MacDonald then Morgan tags and Volkoff hits him with his backbreaker. Sheik tags and sets up Morgan for the Camel Clutch and the win (3:01).

Thoughts: Although Nikolai’s rendition of the Soviet National Anthem got a lot of heat, this team was descending down the card and it made sense as they were both getting older. 

WWF Update with Lord Alfred Hayes. The focus was on the celebrities who participated at WrestleMania 2 as we see clips off several of them on the show. They are even pushing the celebrities after WrestleMania.

Adonis takes Mancini down and works the leg. He takes him down again and works a headlock as Bruno is disgusted over his leg warmers. The crowd starts a “faggot” chant then Mancini hits a pair of armdrags. Adonis takes off his bow then knocks Mancini down. He hits a neckbreaker then locks on a sleeper for the win (1:55).

Thoughts: The Adonis heel push is still going strong. I’ve said it before but the Poughkeepsie crowd hated him. 

Gene Okerlund is with Capt. Lou Albano. He goes insane then says that his team, the British Bulldogs, are ready and will successfully defend the Tag Team Titles against the Dream Team. The Bulldogs were fucking terrible on the mic by the way and if you ever wanted to know why they were given Albano, there is your answer. 

Blair and Lee work a sloppy sequence that ends up on the mat. Blair catches him with a drop toehold then tags Brunzell, who is wearing a cast due to a broken hand caused by Greg Valentine. Brunzell gets trapped in the opposite corner then ends up against Mirto. Mirto eats boot on a charge then Blair tags and hits a sunset flip off of the top rope for the win (2:55).

Thoughts: The Bees have been around for about a year but haven’t really done much of note. They were a solid but unspectacular team. 

Mean Gene is with Ted Arcidi, who will facing Big John Studd at the Boston Garden. Gene asks Arcidi about wrestling in his home city and he says that he loves his city. Arcidi’s Boston accent is certainly present. Arcidi said that he feels like he is the “World’s Strongest Man.” Arcidi was horrendous in the ring but he started as a heel then they just decided to make him a face only to turn him heel again before he left.

Hoss takes down Veilleux to start. Veilleux manages a nearfall but Hoss sends him to the floor. Back in the ring, Hoss beats Veilleux in the corner. He then hits a suplex before locking in a front facelock. Veilleux manages a cradle but Hoss comes back with a piledriver for the win (1:54). After the match, Hoss whips Veilleux with a bullrope.

Thoughts: None one cared about this match as Hoss never fit in with the WWF. It was a bad idea from day one. 

Piper’s Pit with guests Big John Studd & King Kong Bundy. They come out to make a challenge to Andre the Giant and a partner of his choice to a match next week. Piper then asks them how would they go about slamming Andre and volunteers Orton for them to use. He then as Orton volunteer to take a splash but stops them short. Interesting. 

We are shown a highlight package of the Tag Team Championship Match at WrestleMania 2. It lasts several minutes long.

Sal Gee vs. Randy “Macho Man” Savage w/ Elizabeth


Gee schoolboys Savage to start then gets another nearfall but runs into a knee on a charge and Savage takes control. He tosses Gee outside and follows him out with a double axe handle from the top rope. Back inside, Savage destroys a bouquet of flowers that someone gave to Elizabeth then knees Gee in the back. Savage tosses Gee outside again and rams him into the post before rolling him back into the ring. He beats on Gee some more before tossing him outside yet again and hitting another double axe handle. Savage then goes mental and tears up a fan’s sign as other fans throw trash at him. Back in the ring, Savage softens him up until he puts him away with the flying elbow drop (3:46). After the match, Savage backs Finkel into the corner and yells at him then leaves the ring and starts yelling at the fans as he walks up the aisle.

Thoughts: Pretty long for a squash match but Savage was so damn entertaining that it was decent. The Steele feud was good because of Elizabeth but Savage feels underutilized in his role at this time. He was one of the best in the company.

Gene Okerlund is with Johnny Valiant and the Dream Team. Valiant says that his team was railroaded at WrestleMania and Beefcake claims that Boston wants to see them take the titles back.

The announcers speculate as to who Andre will select as his tag team partner next week.

Also appearing next week will be Ricky Steamboat & King Tonga, Junkyard Dog & George Steele, Jake Roberts, Hercules Hernandez, and Pedro Morales & Tito Santana.

Final Thoughts: The big thing this week was Bundy & Studd challenging Andre and a partner of his choosing to a match for next week. What actually happened is a different story. Other than that, the WWF does not have a whole lot going on in terms of feuds post Mania. They are continuing the Bulldogs/Dream Team feud but other than that, the biggest current feud is Savage vs. Steele. Overall, this was an alright show.