WWF Superstars of Wrestling January 9th, 1988

January 9, 1988

From the Sun Dome in Tampa, FL

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

In action this week will be Demolition, Sam Houston, The Islanders, and Jake Roberts. Plus, highlights of the King Kong Bundy vs. Hulk Hogan match from “Saturday Night’s Main Event” and more.

The Islanders w/ Bobby Heenan vs. Jerry Gray & “Leaping” Lanny Poffo

Heenan comes out to the ring holding a leash with an empty collar attached to it as they make fun of the fact they kidnapped Matilda. Vince is furious on commentary about this while Jesse laughs it up. Even funnier, the heels act as if the dog is actually there with them. Poffo’s pre-match promo is aimed at Heenan, who he calls a “parasitic leech.” Match starts with Poffo hitting a dropkick as we get an insert promo from the British Bulldogs, who act sad while Davey wants to know who is taking care of feeding Matilda while pleading for them not to make fun of the situation. Holy shit was that a bad promo. Dynamite addresses Jack Tunney and if he can please do something about this but per usual, roughly 20% of what he said was able to be understood. Back to the match as the Islanders beat on Gray while the announcers all talk about Matilda, with Vince wanting to know what Tunney will say about this situation. The Islanders continue to beat on Gray until Haku puts him away with a thrust kick (3:20).

Thoughts: The Matilda kidnapping storyline is awful but at least good for some comedy, both of the intentional and unintentional variety.

Craig DeGeorge is on the interview platform with Jack Tunney. He asks the WWF President if he knows where Matilda is at the moment. Tunney then asks Heenan and the Islanders to come up to the platform. They do while the Islanders pretend that Matilda is there as they pet the imaginary dog. Tunney then tells them both a decision has been made while Heenan asks him not to jump the gun. Tunney lets Heenan know that until Matilda’s whereabouts are known, the Islanders are suspended. The heels flip out while Heenan goes nuts on Tunney, telling him he has lawyers and that Matilda has been terrorizing everyone, all while proclaiming innocence. They now set up the eventual return of Matilda.

Wellington Wilkins vs. Jake “The Snake” Roberts

The announcers are talking about the last segment as Jesse thinks the suspension is absurd. Roberts blocks a sunset flip then hits a slam as the crowd is silent. He takes Wilkins out of the corner with a hip toss while the announcers still talk about Matilda. We are shown an insert of Roberts on the cover of “WWF Magazine” as Roberts gets the win with a DDT (1:50). After the match, Roberts dumps Damien on top of Wilkins.

Thoughts: Roberts still has nothing going on as far as a feud but the fact that he is on the cover of WWF Magazine means he should have one soon.

DeGeorge is running down the 11/25/87 Madison Square Garden card. A new added feature here is the matches being shown on the screen. Hacksaw Jim Duggan barges in and tells DeGeorge about the dangers of carrying around a 2×4 everywhere you go because you accidentally knock stuff over. He then addresses King Harley Race, his opponent at the MSG show, and how he will run him down because the folks across the country are sick and tired of Race’s king act.

Dino Bravo w/ Frenchy Martin vs. Scott Casey

Martin gets on the mic before the match and mumbles in French but his voice is so low you cannot understand a word he is saying. Christ, he was awful. The announcers put over Bravo’s strength, with Bruno noting he can bench press 600lbs, as he slams Casey down. Bravo gets two off of an elbow as we get an insert promo from Martin, who tells us he knows English but will speak French anyway. Another terrible promo from Martin. Casey reverses an Irish whip but gets caught with a clothesline as the announcers are impressed with Bravo beating Casey so easily, because he is a premiere performer. Bravo boots Casey in the gut then hits a side slam before putting him away with a back suplex (2:20).

Thoughts: Crowd was dead for this and there was no worse manager/wrestler pairing in the company than Dino Bravo & Frenchy Martin.

Gene Okerlund is with Rick Rude, who will be facing Hulk Hogan for the WWF World Heavyweight Title tonight at the Boston Garden. Rude yells at Hogan, saying he doesn’t give a damn about him or the Hulkamaniacs as he will do his strip tease whenever he wants. He then promises to do one right over his body and there isn’t a thing they can do about it as he leaves. A damn fine heel promo by Rude here.

Sam Houston vs. Terry Gibbs

Houston two-steps all the way down the aisle and in the ring. Match starts with Houston getting a side headlock takeover as the crowd is not impressed. He catches Gibbs with a hip toss then works the arm as we get an insert promo from Danny Davis, who tells Houston he is waiting and that his New Years Resolution is to get rid of him once and for all. Gibbs catches Houston with a back elbow smash and follows that with a knee drop. Houston misses a charge in the corner but blocks a turnbuckle smash then fires away. Houston gets two off of a hip toss but gets caught with a high knee. Gibbs heads up top but Houston slams him off then hits a bulldog for the win (2:53).

Thoughts: Dull and Houston’s character was too pathetic for fans to get behind. No one wants to root for an adult who acts like a 10 year old kid pretending to be a cowboy.

We are show clips from the Bundy vs. Hogan match at “Saturday Night’s Main Event” with Ander choking out Hogan at the end.

DeGeorge is back on the interview platform, this time with Ted DiBiase and Virgil. DiBiase tells us that Hogan is a fool for not accepting his offer to buy the WWF World Heavyweight Title. He also reminds us how he always gets what he wants and that he still wants the title. DiBiase then welcomes out Bobby Heenan and Andre the Giant, who DiBiase said will deliver him the belt. Heenan tells us he is not a fool and that he is financially set while thanking DiBiase. He then tells us Andre will beat Hogan as DiBiase asks Andre if he will deliver him the WWF World Heavyweight Title. Andre says he will and will also enjoy choking out Hogan. Jesse then cannot believe that DiBiase bought Andre and asks how much that would cost. Well that was a bombshell. And it sets up for Andre vs. Hogan II. A great segment.

Sivi Afi vs. “The Natural” Butch Reed w/ Slick

The announcers put over the feud Reed has going on with Don Muraco as Reed beats on Afi. They now talk about the last segment and how DiBiase bought Andre’s contract as Jesse asks Vince if he had a price. Afi fights back with chops but gets caught with a press slam then Reed hits a top rope clothesline for the win (2:23).

Thoughts: Nothing much to see here as they are still pushing the Reed/Muraco feud.

Demolition w/ Mr. Fuji vs. Jim Evans & Mike Richards

There are fans cheering for Demoliton and they have been dead for a majority of the show. That does tend to happen at the last show of the taping cycle. Match starts with Ax beating the piss out of Richards as the crowd cheers. Smash is in and he pummels Richards in the corner. Demolition take turns destroying this guy in their corner. Evans tags and he gets his ass kicked too as the crowd gets a bit restless as this has been going on for a while then Demolition puts him out of his misery with the Decapitation (3:09).

Thoughts: After watching this you cannot hide the fact that Demolition is becoming more popular and even favorites of the fans. And who wouldnt like this act. They were cool.

Okerlund is with Virgil and Ted DiBiase, who puts down Okerlund’s crumbled up handful of one dollar bills with his money than Virgil is holding. DiBiase then gloats about buying Andre’s contract and tells Hogan he will be watching him in Boston. He then switches his attention to Jake Roberts, his opponent for the 1/9/88 Boston show, and tells Roberts he likes him. DiBiase says that Roberts is like himself as they are both cunning but that he is the best at humiliating people and promises to do the same to Roberts. DiBiase then has Virgil flex his bicep to warn Roberts what will happen if Damien comes out of the bag. Good promo and the part with Okerlund’s money made me laugh.

In action next week will be Strike Force, Ron Bass, British Bulldogs, and Ted DiBiase.

Final Thoughts: We had a major angle take place with DiBiase buying Andre’s contract. However, the ridiculous Matilda storyline took up a lot of time and there were too many matches between guys who were not popular and that made it a drag. However, the DiBiase/Andre segment ended up kicking off the storyline that would lead to WrestleMania IV.

Here is my schedule for the next several days:

Tuesday: WWF Boston Garden 1/9/88

Thursday: RF Video Shoot Interview with Gene Snitsky

Friday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 1/10/88

Sunday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 1/16/88