WWF Toronto Maple Leaf Gardens – October 8, 1989

October 8, 1989

From the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Your hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and Lord Alfred Hayes

Boris Zhukov vs. Paul Roma

Zhukov beats on Roma to start. Gorilla notes that Nikolai Volkoff will be returning soon and was on an “extensive tour of Russia” as Roma makes his comeback. Zhukov bails after getting hit with a dropkick and heads up the ramp for a breather. He returns as Roma works a side headlock then grabs a hold of Zhukov’s hair. Roma beats on Zhukov in the corner then hits a pair of flying chops. Zhukov bails again and gets Roma to chase him around and decks Roma back inside of the ring. Zhukov methodically beats on Roma for a while then taunts the crowd. Roma fights out of a bearhug and tries a slam but Zhukov falls on top and gets two. Zhukov works a chinlock now then stomps away. Zhukov puts on another bearhug now that Roma breaks out of after a minute but Zhukov sends him back down for a two count. They collide in a comically slow sequence as both men are down and the crowd does not care one bit about this match and to be honest, they shouldn’t. Zhukov misses a charge in the corner and rams the post as Roma fires away. Roma hits a backdrop then hits a suplex before heading up top with a crossbody that Zhukov rolls through for a two count. Zhukov then whips Roma, who uses a leapfrog, then puts Zhukov away with a powerslam (14:14) 1/4*.

Thoughts: Good lord this was awful. Zhukov was at his worst and Roma, who usually busts his ass in house show matches, got dragged down to Zhukov’s level. An awful way to kickoff a show with almost 15 minutes of garbage.

Greg “The Hammer” Valentine vs. “Rugged” Ronnie Garvin

Valentine does some stalling to start. After that they fight over a lockup and a test-of-strength that leads to a shoving match. They square off now then Garvin lands a chop in the corner. Valentine bails then heads in and pleads with Garvin and ends up luring him into the corner. They trade blows as Garvin ends up knocking Valentine down. Garvin uses turnbuckle smashes on Valentine then hits a few more chops. Valentine kicks Garvin low and chops him down. Elbow drop gets two then Valentine smiles before trying a piledriver but Garvin blocks it so he drops him down and gets two off of that. Garvin gets up and fires away before taking Valentine down with a mat slam. He blocks a sunset flip then uses a jackknife cradle for two. Garvin grabs a front facelock then after that uses the Garvin Stomp. He goes for the Scorpion Death Lock but Valentine rakes him in the eyes then tosses Garvin outside. Valentine drops an elbow after some forearm smashes and lands a few more chops but Garvin ducks underneath and applies a sleeper. Valentine makes it to the ropes but Garvin bites his forehead and knocks him down. Valentine blocks another Scorpion Death Lock attempt a Garvin hits more chops. Valentine comes back with a shinbreaker then reverses his shinguard before applying the figure four. Garvin is in pain on the mat as Valentine believes he has won but Garvin never submitted. Garvin comes back but his leg is hurt. He gets on top of Valentine and hammers away then takes off the shinguard. The referee tries to grab it from him then Valentine lures Garvin in and uses a rollup for the win (13:23) **1/2. After the match, Valentine tries to beat on Garvin, who fights back and ties Valentine in the ropes. He puts on the shinguard now but Valentine is able to break free. Garvin follows him up the ramp and whacks him with the shinguard until the ref holds him back.

Thoughts: Decent match but it paled in comparison to what they did the previous week at Madison Square Garden. The crowd was into this a little bit and the end means they are going to continue this feud around the house show circuit.

Powers of Pain w/ Mr. Fuji vs. The Bushwhackers

The Bushwhackers mess around with the Barbarian to start. Luke is in and looks over the Warlord before marching around. Warlord catches him with a bearhug as Butch tries to help his partner out but gets attacked by the Barbarian. Butch rolls outside where Fuji whacks him with the cane. Barbarian rams Butch into the post as the Powers of Pain are in control of the match. They cut off the ring as Butch is in trouble. Butch rolls away form an attack and tags out as Luke runs wild on The Barbarian. The Bushwhackers hit both men with the battering ram then Fuji comes in with the cane and tries to hit Luke as the ref signals for the DQ. Butch takes the cane and hits Warlord as the Bushwhackers march around the ring like morons while the crowd cheers (9:00) 1/2*. The Bushwhackers then march up the ramp with Fuji’s cane.

Thoughts: This match sucked but it at least had a little bit of heat. This is a feud pushed exclusively through insert promos on TV so its not that heated.

Billy Red Lyons welcomes Bobby Heenan to the ring. Heenan tells Lyons he is the most successful manager in history then tells the crowd that are the Toronto “Seagulls” are losing to the Oakland Athletics 5-3 as he is cracking up. Heenan then addresses Roddy Piper and the difference between Piper and Rick Rude is Piper wears a skirt and pretends to be a man. Heenan ragging on the crowd and laughing throughout as hilarious.

“Macho King” Randy Savage w/ Queen Sherri vs. Jimmy Snuka

Snuka chases Savage out of the ring to start. Savage starts out the match with some stalling as Sherri eventually distracts Snuka long enough for a sneak attack. Snuka fights back and hits a flying chop then Sherri tries to drag Savage outside after a fist drop but Snuka pulls him back inside. Snuka stays in control as this match has been wrestled at a snails pace. Snuka boots Savage down then bites his forehead. Snuka headbutts Savage outside but Sherri grabs his leg as he tried to climb back inside as that allows Savage to attack from behind. Sherri whacks Snuka in the head with her boot then Savage elbows Snuka down as the front row rags on Sherri. Savage hits a flying double axe handle to the floor and roughs up Snuka some more as Sherri distracts the referee. Back inside, Snuka fights back with more headbutts then chops Savage down. Snuka counters a piledriver then hits a flying chop but Sherri has the ref distracted and by the time he sees the pin its only a two count. Snuka yells at the ref then Savage hits him with a high knee from behind as he collides with the referee. Snuka is able to hit Savage as he came off the top then Sherri comes in with the loaded purse but Snuka sees her and grabs a hold. Savage tries to hit Snuka but ends up knocking Sherri off of the apron. Savage is tied up in the ropes as Snuka hammers away but Sherri sneaks in from behind and whacks Snuka with the purse. She places Savage on top then drags the ref over as he counts the pin (11:52) 3/4*. After the match, Sherri holds Snuka’s legs as Savage heads up top but Jim Duggan runs out with his 2×4 for the save.

Thoughts: Possibly the worst singles match Savage had in 80’s WWF. Snuka was at his worst here as he was way too bulked up and could barely move. Savage tried bumping around a lot early and Sherri was involved but Snuka sucked the life out of this. The end plays off of the Duggan/Savage feud and they went out of their way to protect Snuka in defeat.

Akeem vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan

Akeem misses a charge as Duggan fires away. Akeem fights back and chokes out Duggan with his boot in the corner. Duggan gets up and paces around to fire up but Akeem gets a thumb in the eye then works a bearhug. Duggan gets out and tries a slam but that fails as Akeem puts him back in the bearhug. Duggan gets out and tries to put Akeem in the bearhug but is sent down with another thumb to the eye. Once again, Akeem puts Duggan in a bearhug. He sends Duggan down but misses a splash as Duggan now fires away in the corner. Akeem reverses an Irish whip but misses a charge then Duggan rolls him up in a sorry looking sequence for the win (5:49) DUD.

Thoughts: Duggan showed great fire in the first minute then it all went to shit. It became a bunch of bearhug spots and the finishing sequence was embarrassing. Akeem really deteriorated at this point. He was awful in this match.

The Genius vs. Hillbilly Jim

The Genius stalls to start as Jim responds by stomping and clamping, to the delight of Vince McMahon. The Genius bails after running into Jim, who then prances around in an attempt to mock The Genius. Jim slingshots The Genius then works a headlock. The Genius cheap shots and fires away. Jim catches The Genius with a backdrop but gets pullde outside. Jim pulls The Genius out and hammers away. The Genius runs and hides then stomps Jim from the apron and falls inside for the win (7:02) -*.

Thoughts: This match was hot garbage. Seems like the sports entertainment that Vince would love though with lots of dancing and prancing. This was another finish that looked terrible too.

Barry Horowitz vs. Richard Charland

According to Thehistoryofwwe.com, Charland was a substitute for Jim Powers. Charland tries to pump up the crowd but no one seems to care. Horowitz gets a little bit of heat after telling the fans to shut up. The announcers then tell us Horowitz is from the “Terry Garvin School of Self Defense” as Gorilla notes Horowitz is behind Garvin and that’s better than having Garvin behind you. They finally touch after two minutes as Charland gets the advantage. Horowitz bails then Charland works a side headlock when he re-enters the ring. Horowitz bails again and jaws with the fans. He comes back in as Charland grabs another headlock as even Lord Alfred notes all he can do his headlocks. Horowitz lures in Charland then rakes the back before ramming in against the turnbuckle. Charland misses a charge and hits the post as Horowitz taunts the crowd before stomping away. He now works the arm but misses a charge in the corner as Charland fires away in the corner. He hits a dropkick and a backdrop before putting Horowitz away with the Airplane Spin (11:54) DUD. After the match, Gorilla notes Charland shouldnt be too happy with this type of a victory.

Thoughts: Horowitz tried but Charland was just awful, to the point even the announcers were making fun of him. This show has just been dreadful.

“Ravishing” Rick Rude w/ Bobby Heenan vs. Roddy Piper

Heenan actually gets booted before the match when he dropped a foreign object he tried to give Rude as Rene Goulet came out to escort Heenan before the match would be awarded to Piper. The match starts with Rude beating on Piper then clotheslining him outside as Rude falls on top of the timekeeper’s table. Rude rolls inside just in time to beat the ten count as Piper has fun with Rude by staying behind him and slams him down. Rude pulls up on a dropkick attempt then beats down Piper. He puts Piper in a bearhug and rakes the eyes to put it back on when Piper broke free. Piper catches Rude with a small package and a backslide then fires away. Rude knees a charging Piper then heads up top with a fist drop. Rude works a reverse chinlock for a bit then punches the mat trying to break up a sunset flip as Piper is in control. Piper tears off the turnbuckle pad and rams Rude into the corner before firing away. The ref gets knocked down then both men collide as everyone is out on the canvas. Rude is up first and hits a double axe handle then tries for the Rude Awakening but Piper breaks that up with a low blow and hits a swinging neckbreaker. Piper tries to wake up the referee by kicking him in the back then catches Rude with an inverted atomic drop before taking him over the top rope with a knee lift. Piper helps the referee count and the fans play along as the ref signals for the bell and counts out Rude, despite the fact he could not see anything (12:07) **1/2. After the match, Piper whips Rude with a belt a few times until Rude is able to escape.

Thoughts: Fun match but much like Garvin vs. Valentine, what they did the week prior at MSG was better. This easily had the most heat on the show and its sets up for another match. Piper was drawing well in the Northeast during this feud according to the “Wrestling Observer Newsletter” at this time but when the lights came on after the bell rang, you saw tons of empty seats in the arena so it did not seem to draw well at all here.

Final Thoughts: Overall, this was an awful show. Only two matches were decent and the rest was dogshit. The WWE ran two other shows this night with much better matches on top but they were not televised. Do not watch this show as its one of the worst televised house show cards from this era.

Here is my schedule for the rest of the week:

Saturday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling in London, England 10/10/89

Sunday: Mid-South Wrestling 7/29/82

Sunday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 10/14/89

Monday: WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event 10/14/89

Tuesday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 10/15/89

Wednesday: wXw 2017 16 Carat Gold, Night Two

Thursday: Shoot Interview TBD

Friday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 10/21/89