WWF Superstars of Wrestling November 14th, 1987

November 14, 1987

From the Onandaga County War Memorial Arena in Syracuse, NY

Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino, Jesse “The Body” Ventura, and Vince McMahon

This week’s featured match is Superstar Billy Graham vs. Butch Reed. Also in action will be Bam Bam Bigelow, Ted DiBiase, and Paul Orndorff. Plus, an appearance from Andre the Giant and his Survivor Series team as well as the premiere of the Demolition music video.

Bam Bam Bigelow w/ Oliver Humperdink vs. Gino Carabello

Carabello gets hit with a big boot to start. Bigelow then follows with a vertical suplex and a falling headbutt on Carabello before setting him up for the slingshot splash and the win (1:17).

Thoughts: These crowds sure loved them some Bigelow. He continues to gain massive popularity with each TV appearance.

Craig DeGeorge is on the interview platform with Andre the Giant’s Survivor Series team (King Kong Bundy, Rick Rude, One Man Gang, and Butch Reed) along with their managers. Heenan tells us after Hogan’s guys get eliminated he will have to step into the ring with Andre then brings out the Hogan stretch doll as they all grab a limb until then Andre grabs the head as they all laugh. We even get a slo-mo replay complete with a freeze frame shot of the Hogan doll being stretched out. Great stuff.

We are shown a video package of Brutus Beefcake set to classical music. It mostly shows him strutting around and cutting the hair of his opponents.

Bolsheviks w/ Slick vs. Mario Mancini & Jerry Allen

Volkoff sings the Russian National Anthem before the match. Volkoff starts off by booting Allen in the face as the announcers talk about “Jive Soul Bro.” Zhukov now beats on Allen as the fans start up an “USA” Chant. Allen comes back with a crossbody for two then tags Mancini, who gets beaten down. Volkoff then tags and hits a backbreaker before Zhukov puts him away with a running headbutt (1:53).

Thoughts: Beyond the token “USA” chants, the Bolsheviks could not garner any type of heel heat. This pairing had no chemistry and they had one of the lamest finishers of all-time.

DeGeorge is with Jimmy Hart, who will be suspended above the ring in a cage for the Honky Tonk Man’s match against Randy Savage against the Boston Garden. Honky promises that his girlfriend, Peggy Sue, will be at ringside. DeGeorge talks about him having Sensational Sherri at ringside, not a blond girl like Peggy Sue, as Honky ensures that it is not Sherri.

We are shown the end of last week’s Tag Title change where Strike Force defeated the Hart Foundation for the belts.

“Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff w/ Oliver Humperdink vs. Carmine Surace

Orndorff hits a back suplex as the announcers talk about his feud with Rick Rude. Orndorff stomps on Surace before tossing him to the floor like a sack of garbage. He then brings him back inside, which leads Jesse to question why toss him out to begin with as he states Orndorff is confused. Orndorff then hits a running knee smash and a clothesline before hitting the piledriver for the win (2:37).

Thoughts: Quick win for Orndorff, with Jesse trying to stir things up on commentary by questioning Orndorff’s motives for his Survivor Series match.

Okerlund is with Jimmy Hart, Honky Tonk Man, Danny Davis, and Ron Bass. Honky tells us he has made Danny Davis the “honorary team captain” as Bass cracks his whip repeatedly as the heels all laugh.

Davis is now calling Sam Houston a “drugstore cowboy” and how he will teach him something the next time they face off. We then hear from Houston, who said that his “pa” told him some men you have to “whip twice” and that he will do a “ho down on his behind again.” Poor, poor Sam and his awful promo scripts.

Ultimate Warrior vs. Steve Lombardi

Warrior overpowers Lombardi to start and it looks awful as he is constantly in the wrong place and mistiming everything. We then get an insert promo from the Warrior, who says that the “power of the Warrior” is not something you can turn on-and-off and its coming knocking at your door and busting right through. Crazy stuff. Back to the match as Warrior hits a flying shoulder tackle then a clothesline before getting the win with a press slam, followed by a splash (2:07).

Thoughts: Warrior was just pitiful in the ring here but the crowds were digging his look. There was something missing at this time but once he did the running to the ring and the rope shaking, it all came together as the fans went batshit crazy for him whenever he appeared.

DeGeorge welcomes Ted DiBiase and Virgil, holding a basketball, to the interview podium. DiBiase calls basketball a “poor man’s” sport as Virgil holds up $500 then offers someone in the crowd an opportunity to win that cash if they can bounce the ball, insulting the crowd in the process. A young boy named Shawn comes up and DiBiase offers him the money if he can dribble the ball 15 straight times, stating he can obviously tell the boy and his family needs the money. The boy dribbles and the crowd counts along but DiBiase kicks the ball away at 14 while the crowd boos. DiBiase then tells the boy that when you do not do the job right, you do not get paid and laughs as the boy sadly walks back to his seat, where he is consoled by his family. Just a fabulous segment. This is how you get heel heat.

Demolition introduce us their music video. Its clips of their matches set to their music, featuring new lyrics sung by Rick Derringer. During the guitar solo they show explosions, planes blowing up, and houses destroyed by fires. Not a bad video at all but I doubt they would ever air something like this today. This video also made them seem really cool and not a team you want to hate.

Dave Wagner vs. Don “The Rock” Muraco

Muraco immediately attacks Wagner as Jesse asks Bruno if he likes heavy metal music, with Bruno awkwardly replying about how he liked it sometimes. Back to the match as Muraco hits a spinebuster during what appeared to be a miscommunication and follows that with a bunch of elbow drops until getting the win with a tombstone (0:46).

Thoughts: Muraco was ultra aggressive here and looked solid in the ring. His physique is certainly changing too.

We get some fan comments about the upcoming Survivor Series PPV. We get an obviously scripted endorsement of the show as some goof says he cannot wait to treat the family with wrestling after dinner “without his wallet getting bodyslammed.” Wonder who wrote up that one? Everyone talked up how the show was a “bargain” on PPV so they were certainly trying to play up that factor as a selling point.

“The Natural” Butch Reed vs. Superstar Billy Graham

Reed attacks Graham as he was entering the ring. He stays on the attack, targeting the hip, then hits him with a chair as Slick distracted the referee. We get an insert promo from the One Man Gang, telling people to lighten up on Slick as he is the greatest manager in the WWF. Reed goes for the flying clothesline but Graham hits him in midair then hammers away. He sends Reed to the floor with a poor excuse of a clothesline then slingshots Slick into the ring when he jumped up onto the apron. He then corners Slick and puts him in a bearhug until the One Man Gang runs down and attacks Graham for the DQ (2:25). Reed gets back in and they destroy Graham, targeting the hip, until Muraco runs out for the save. He takes the cane away from Slick and uses it to attack Reed. Muraco is a house of fire as he beats on Reed outside of the ring, with the fans going crazy. The medics come out and pull a stretcher from underneath the ring as Muraco checks on Graham but Reed attacks him from behind. Muraco and Reed brawl and that allows Gang to hit Graham with a splash as he is on the stretcher (these were the stretchers that folded up and without wheels). Graham is withering in pain as Gang stomps away until Muraco finally chases them off for good.

Thoughts: At this point, Graham could no longer even be in the ring. This was a smart angle used to end his in-ring career. He was already finished by the time this match aired. It also gave Muraco an angle as a face. I thought it came off well, even if it didnt matter all that much in the long run.

DeGeorge runs down the next card at the Boston Garden before Randy Savage comes out. Savage talks about Honky having Sensational Sherri at ringside during their last encounter. Savage then warns them not only will he leave with the Intercontinental Title but also with the Womens Title. Interesting.

We are shown Graham getting stretchered out, being helped by Muraco. The fans cheer as the announcers talk about how this might be the last we see of the Superstar inside the squared circle.

Now, we get comments from both Ricky Steamboat and the Honky Tonk Man, who will facing each other next week for the Intercontinental Title. Good, angry promo from Steamboat here.

Also, next week in action we will see the One Man Gang, British Bulldogs, Rick Rude, and Jim Duggan. Plus, Hulk Hogan’s Survivor Series team will be here and more.

Final Thoughts: The Survivor Series hype was great, but its getting to the point that there has almost been too much hype. As a fan, I am more than ready for the show to happen. They are continuing to push the newer talent as well. At this point, the WWF is finally starting to create newer feuds and talents that have been brought in are making things appear fresh, especially since the product was stale for most of the Spring and the Summer.