WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event January 2nd, 1988

January 2, 1988

From the Capital Centre in Landover, MD

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

Tonight, Strike Force defends the Tag Titles against the Bolsheviks in a 2/3 falls match. Also, Jake Roberts faces Sika and Hulk Hogan defends the WWF World Heavyweight Championship against King Kong Bundy

Okerlund walks in on Hogan doing his pre-match warmup. Hogan cuts a wacky promo about being ready for Bundy tonight.

WWF Tag Title Match, 2/3 Falls: The Bolsheviks w/ Slick vs. Strike Force (c)

Before the match, Slick cut a long promo accusing the Strike Force of being “war mongers” and that the Bolsheviks want to spread peace. Funny Stuff. Match starts with Santana catching Zhukov with a powerslam after a brief back-and-forth sequence. Strike Force works Zhukov’s arm for a bit. Volkoff tags and Martel rolls him up for two. Martel gets an inside cradle for two but Volkoff attacks him and tags out as Zhukov takes control. Martel uses a turnbuckle smash and tags Santana, who gets two with a crossbody. Volkoff breaks that up then tags in as he clotheslines Santana for a nearfall. Volkoff uses some rather weak-looking knee smashes then chokes him out with the bottom rope. Zhukov is in and gets two off of a back suplex then works a chinlock. Zhukov slams Santana but misses an elbow then Martel tags in and is a house of fire. Martel takes Volkoff off of the apron then hits Zhukov with a backdrop before putting him in the Boston Crab for the pinfall by submission (4:33). Fall Two starts after the break as Santana dropkicks Volkoff over the top rope. Martel then puts Zhukov in the Boston Crab as Volkoff breaks that up. Volkoff is now in and hammers away on Martel. He gets two with a backbreaker after Santana broke up the pinfall. Zhukov tags as Santana fights back but uses his large head to regain control. The Bolsheviks double-team Martel behind the referee’s back then Volkoff gets two with a splash. Santana comes back with a sunset flip then collides with Volkoff after that as both men are down. Martel is able to make the tag as Santana runs wild on Zhukov. Volkoff breaks up the pin after a flying forearm then the match breaks down. Volkoff grabs Slick’s cane but misses Santana and hits his partner as Martel dropkicks Volkoff then Santana covers for the win (7:55) **.

Thoughts: The Bolsheviks stink but the match was all action at least. Losing two straight falls tells you all you need to know where the challengers stood in the Tag Team Division. The Strike Force title run just isn’t getting over. The fans didn’t seem to care for them outside of the Islanders feud.

Sika w/ Mr. Fuji vs. Jake “The Snake” Roberts

Before the match, Mr. Fuji was shown stirring a giant jar of mustard until Sika walked in with a five-foot long sub as Fuji spread it on top of the bread. Okerlund looked disgusted. Some wacky 80’s goodness. Match starts with Sika backing Roberts into the corner. Roberts catches him with a pair of armdrags then continues to work the arm. Roberts outsmarts Sika then rams him into the corner. Sika blocks an Irish whip and connects with a right hand. Roberts fights back but Sika backdrops him then uses back rakes on Roberts as he is on the mat. Fuji whacks Roberts with the cane as Sika tied up the referee. Sika now works a nerve hold for a minute but ducks his head for a backdrop as Roberts hits him with a kneelift. Roberts fires away but gets distracted Fuji as Sika attacks him from behind. Sika charges in the corner but misses and Roberts rolls him up for the win (3:35) 1/2*. After the match, Roberts goes for the snake as Sika takes off, leaving Fuji alone in the ring. Roberts grabs Fuji and hits him with the DDT then dumps Damien on top as Sika pulls his manager out to the floor.

Thoughts: Sika was dreadful and Jake held it together about as good as you could have hoped. Jake really needs a feud but with a win on National TV, you would figure he would be involved in one soon enough.

Okerlund is with King Kong Bundy, Andre the Giant, and Bobby Heenan as they all proclaim that Hulkamania is dead. After that we get a replay of the 11/28/87 show where Hogan kicked Heenan away after his leg was grabbed.

WWF World Heavyweight Championship Match: King Kong Bundy w/ Bobby Heenan & Andre the Giant vs. Hulk Hogan (c)

These two start by fighting over a lockup. Hogan shoves Bundy into the corner then dodges a charge as he rams Bundy against all four corners of the ring. Bundy goes outside as Hogan pumps up in the ring. Bundy returns as Hogan hits an elbow smash then a clothesline. Bundy goes outside again and regroups with Heenan and Andre then comes back in and gets hammered by Hogan, who now works the arm. Bundy reverses and now works the arm on the mat after grabbing a handful of hair. Hogan escapes and tries to knock Bundy off of his feet but gets caught with a back elbow smash. Bundy targets the arm again but Hogan escapes and slams him down. However, Hogan clutches his arm as Bundy gets up and starts to attack it again. Bundy goes for the Avalanche but accidentally hits the referee as Hogan ducked out of the way. Bundy misses a splash then Hogan goes back to work. A new referee is back into the ring as Bundy regroups outside. We see the injured ref get stretchered out as we return from break. Bundy hits Hogan with a clothesline then sends him to the floor. Bundy boots Hogan off of the apron then works a chinlock in the ring. Bundy hits Hogan with the Avalanche and taunts the crowd but elects to not go for the pin but rather hit the move again. Bundy does his own five count then hits a splash but Hogan kicks out. Bundy fires away as Hogan hulks up and sends Bundy into the corner then hits a big boot and leg drop for the win (12:09) **1/4. After the match, Andre steps onto the apron as Hogan taunts him to come inside. Andre steps down and walks away as Hogan poses to the fans but Andre ends up sneaking in and chokes Hogan out from behind. The British Bulldogs run out for the save but Andre rams their heads together and tosses them outside. Then, Junkyard Dog, Strike Force, and Jake Roberts come out and try to pull Andre away. Hacksaw Jim Duggan runs out and whacks Andre with his 2×4 but that just pisses Andre off as he chases him off but that allows the others to drag Hogan out to safety.

Thoughts: This match dragged at points but good enough overall. The main thing was that it set up for an Andre vs. Hogan rematch, which would take place next month. Bundy was pretty much done with the company after this, he did wrestle at the February Madison Square Garden show, and did not appear on WWF TV again until 1994. The hot angle at the end came off great.

Greg “The Hammer” Valentine w/ Jimmy Hart vs. Koko B. Ware

Koko takes Valentine down with a shoulder block but gets caught and hit with a stungun after that. Valentine tries to work the leg but Koko shoves him off. Valentine backs Koko in the corner and chops him down. He hits an elbow smash from the second rope then drops another elbow for a nearfall. Hart mocks Koko from the floor as Valentine works a chinlock. Valentine hammers away on the chest of Koko then gets two off of a clothesline. Brutus Beefcake has now made his way down to the ring as Koko gets a few rollups for nearfalls. Valentine sees Beefcake, who is being ordered to leave by the referee. Back to the match as Valentine beats on Koko. He hits a backdrop then drops another elbow for two. He hits a slam then heads up top but Koko slams him off. Koko fires away before taking Valentine down with a dropkick. He hammers away but Valentine lifts him up and hits a shinbreaker then puts on the figure four in the middle of the ring as Koko eventually gives up (7:30) *1/4. After the match, Valentine puts Koko back in the figure four until Beefcake runs out for the save and chases Beefcake away. In the ring, Koko grabs onto Hart’s leg long enough for Beefcake to come back and cut his hair as the fans applaud. Hart flips out and runs away as he meets Valentine in the aisle as they head backstage.

Thoughts: This went on for far too long. It was just an extended squash match. Seeing Hart get his haircut was a highlight for the fans as the Beefcake/Valentine feud continues. Poor Koko was reduced to a glorified jobber at this point.

We now see Okerlund interview Heenan and Andre backstage. Okerlund is disgusted as Andre smiles and talks about how he enjoyed himself when he choked out Hogan. Heenan says that 1988 will be the year for the Heenan Family as Andre will be the new champion and will make more money than any other athlete in the history of sports. Andre then grabs Okerlund by the shoulders and shakes him as a terrified Okerlund takes us away.

Now, Okerlund is with Jesse as they discuss Hogan’s status. Okerlund said Hogan almost needed a breathing device and a tracheostomy but is now breathing on his own.

The show closes with a highlight package set to the tune of “Take Me Home” by Phil Collins.

Final Thoughts: The angle between Hogan and Andre was good and they continued the Beefcake/Valentine feud but everything was filler and the action was subpar. If you are into the Hogan/Andre storyline, then I would seek this out but other than that there wasn’t anything of note that took place.

My reviews will return Sunday with the 1/9/88 edition of WWF Superstars of Wrestling. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

Also, feel free to email me any questions at BBayless781@gmail.com and follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mrbayless1982