WWF Wrestling Challenge – August 14th, 1988

August 14, 1988

From the Five Seasons Center in Cedar Rapids, IA

Your hosts are Bobby “The Brain” Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon

In action this week will be Jake Roberts, Ted DiBiase, Tito Santana, The Bolsheviks, and Greg Valentine.

“Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase w/ Virgil & Andre the Giant vs. JT Thomas

DiBiase brags after hitting a shoulder tackle and a hip toss. He chops Thomas against the ropes but ducks his head and gets caught in a small package for a nearfall. DiBiase retreats into the corner after getting caught with an arm drag then points and yells at Thomas before beating the crap out of him. An “Andre is a bum” chant breaks out as DiBiase hits a clothesline before putting Thomas away with the Million Dollar Dream (2:45). After the match, he sticks a $100 bill in Thomas’ mouth.

Thoughts: A match to showcase the Mega Bucks as a unit.

WWF Special Report with Craig DeGeorge. He runs down the card for SummerSlam.

Jake “The Snake” Roberts vs. Tom Stone

Gorilla accuses Heenan of making Hercules vs. Jake at SummerSlam as a reason to keep Rude away from Jake. The match starts with Jake in control. He works the leg as Gorilla plugs an article about Jake in “WWF Magazine.” Jake stays on the leg but gets kneed after charging in the corner. Stone then tries a slam but Jake floats over and hits the DDT for the win (2:34). After the match, Jake puts Damien on Stone.

Thoughts: On commentary, they somewhat hinted that Rude was afraid of Jake, which is why Heenan made Hercules Jake’s opponent at SummerSlam instead.

Sean Mooney is in the Event Center. We hear from the British Bulldogs as Davey tells us at SummerSlam, they are going up against “The Fabulous Flying Raymond and Jacques Rougeau Brothers.” Dynamite then cuts a wooden promo and uses a French accent to make fun of the Rougeaus after they lose. After that monstrosity, we hear from the Rougeaus, who tell the Bulldogs not to make fun of their English because they speak it better than them, which is 100% true.

Frank DeFalco & Chris Zarnoff vs. The Bolsheviks w/ Slick

Volkoff beats on DeFalco as we hear from the Powers of Pain in an insert promo, telling the Bolsheviks that at SummerSlam, they will find out who is the most powerful and most painful. The announcers put over the Powers of Pain, with Heenan saying they will win at SummerSlam, as the Bolsheviks put Zarnoff away with the backbreaker/forearm drop combo (2:13).

Thoughts: This was to hype the Powers of Pain vs. Bolsheviks match at SummerSlam, with the announcers both in agreement that the Powers of Pain will win.

Tito Santana vs. Rick Gantner

The announcers talk about Rick Martel’s injury as Tito takes control. He works a side headlock for a bit then stops Gantner’s brief comeback before putting away with the flying forearm (2:30).

Thoughts: Dull and Tito was really in limbo with Martel out of action.

Mooney is back in the Event Center. We get the same insane promo from the Mega Powers that we heard last week when Hogan was worried about losing the Hulkamaniacs because they are asking their parents for allowance before doing their chores.

Hacksaw Jim Duggan plugs the WWF Ice Cream Bars

Greg “The Hammer” Valentine w/ Jimmy Hart vs. Warren Bianchi

Valentine beats on Bianchi as we hear from Don Muraco in an insert promo as he hypes up his match against Valentine. Valentine then works the leg before turning around his shinguard and applying the figure-four for the win (1:50).

Thoughts: They are still pushing Valentine’s shinguard gimmick to continue his feud with Muraco.

Brother Love Show with guest Jimmy Hart. Before Hart came out, Brother Love talked about SummerSlam being just two weeks away and how he will be a part of the show with a very special guest. Hart comes out as Love asks him about dissension within the ranks of the Hart Foundation. Jimmy promises he will get even with the Hart Foundation and will be in the corner of Demolition as they defend their titles against the Hart Foundation at SummerSlam. The Hart Foundation come out as Jimmy runs them down a bit then runs away. Neidhart then tells Brother Love that Jimmy only loved their money and glory while Bret talks about Jimmy making a “false profit,” just like Brother Love does as they vow to reclaim the Tag Team Titles. Decent segment to further put the Hart Foundation over as a face duo. Their crowd reactions are growing as well.

Gorilla plugs WWF Magazine and how there was an article about the coronation of King Haku.

Terry Taylor vs. Scott Casey

Taylor slaps Casey after a break but Casey starts roughing him up. Casey gets two with a crucifix but gets caught with a hotshot as Taylor takes control. We hear from Taylor in an insert promo as he says the divorce rate will go up while referring to himself as the “Mecca of Manhood.” Heenan talks up Taylor a bit as some “boring” chants can be heard from the crowd. Taylor blocks a bulldog then hits a spinebuster before getting the win with a Scorpion Death Lock (3:04).

Thoughts: Decent action but no one cared. At first, they had zero direction for Taylor, who himself said he got hired after calling Pat Patterson every month for nine months until Patterson gave Taylor a job as long as he promised to stop calling.

Big Bossman vs. Tim Dixon

Gorilla notes that Slick can put together quite the team with Bossman and the One Man Gang. Bossman beats on Dixon as we hear from Bossman and Slick in an insert promo as they run down Koko B. Ware for their match at SummerSlam. Bossman then puts Dixon away with a reverse shoulderbreaker (1:28). After the match, Bossman cuffs Dixon to the ropes and beats on him with the nightstick.

Thoughts: They briefly teased the possibility of a Bossman & One Man Gang team here. Bossman used a new finisher here as his act is gaining traction as a heel.

Mooney is in the Event Center. We hear from both the Honky Tonk Man & Jimmy Hart and Brutus Beefcake as they hype up their match at SummerSlam. Decent promos by each man here.

Next week in action will be the Fabulous Rougeau Brothers, Honky Tonk Man, Koko B. Ware, and the Hart Foundation. Plus, the Brother Love Show with special guest Jesse “The Body” Ventura and more!

Final Thoughts: Lots of Summerslam hype here. Some of the matches featured guys with nothing going on but the theme of the show was to make you want to buy the PPV. So far, besides the main event, there is nothing else that is jumping out as a “can’t miss” match.

Here is my schedule for the next several days:

Tuesday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 8/20/88

Wednesday: EVOLVE 61 5/7/16

Thursday: Kayfabe Commentaries Timeline Series: 1986 WCW as told by the Rock & Roll Express

Friday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 8/21/88

Saturday: RoH The Conclusion 11/28/03

Sunday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 8/27/88

Monday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 8/28/88