The SmarK Rant for Stampede Wrestling – 01.16.87

The SmarK Rant for Stampede Wrestling – 01.16.87

I’m home.

Taped from Calgary, AB

Your hosts are Ed Whalen and Jim Davies.

Ken Johnson & Jeff Wheeler v. Viet Cong Express #1 & The Cuban Assassin

Johnson & Wheeler were at that point recent graduates of the Hart Dungeon and this is joined at what Davies notes is the 10:00 mark. The Cuban and Viet Cong double-team Johnson with a suplex and Cong uses some Vietnamese martial arts on him. Davies notes that Cuban “looks like he should be wearing a roach motel across his neck” and the heels double-team Johnson again, thus earning a yellow card. Wheeler gets the hot tag and a big reaction as NOGGINS ARE KNOCKED and he makes a good babyface comeback, but manager Drago Zhivago trips him up and takes him to the floor, allowing Viet Cong #1 to finish with a piledriver at 4:55 aired. They proceed to beating the kid down with a kendo stick, but Hart-in-law Ben Bassarab makes the save, only to get run into the ringpost by Viet Cong #1 . In case you’re not aware, Viet Cong #1 was not actually Vietnamese but he did go on to be a very famous wrestler in Japan.

Owen Hart and Ben Bassarab join Jim Davies in the ring, and Owen finally gets his shot at Makhan Singh for the North American title tonight, and Bassarab is going to dispose of Great Gama tonight and then go after the Viet Cong Express. Well there was technically only the one Viet Cong Express by that point but the point stands.

Kerry Brown v. Ron Ritchie

Joined with Kerry hitting a bulldog on Ritchie for two and he goes to a chinlock and puts him down with a headbutt for two. Meanwhile, Ed informs us that Dynamite Kid has undergone back surgery in Calgary, and doctors are skeptical about him returning to wrestling. Keep in mind that Kid was half of the WWF tag team champions at this point and we weren’t supposed to know about that back injury. Ritchie gets thrown out of the ring, but he gets all fired up and makes the comeback, running Brown into the turnbuckles and going up with a forearm. Ritchie with the sleeper, but he lets go and goes up for a diving headbutt, which misses, and Kerry tosses him again. They slug it out on the floor and Ron runs him into the post and beats the count at 4:55 aired. Afterwards, Ron vows to bring the North American title back into the hands of the people, unlike the disgraceful showing of Makhan Singh. Speaking of which…

Makhan Singh and his crew promise that they have lots of methods of cheating and ways to save his title against Owen tonight.

Ted Arcidi & Duke Myers v. Mr. Hito & Bill Kazmaier

Yes, Ted Arcidi and Bill Kazmaier once existed in the same ring at the same time and the universe didn’t collapse in on itself like in Timecop. Joined with Kaz getting double-teamed by the heels and his selling makes Sid Vicious look like Ricky Morton. Myers misses a charge and Hito comes in and tries some headbutts, which are shrugged off by Myers. Over to “Terrible” Ted Arcidi (bit on the nose as a nickname, no?) who hits Hito with a backbreaker. Arcidi had an LJN wrestling figure in the WWF and it was the only one that had true to life articulation. Myers beats on Hito and the heels double-team him and run him into the corner, until Kazmaier can take no more and comes in to save. But then of course the referee misses the tag and the heels beat Hito down again, and Arcidi necks Hito on the top rope and pins him at 5:11 aired. The heels try to double-team Kazmaier, but Bill throws a couple of forearms and they run away. Afterwards, Bill also wants a shot at the North American title, and to be fair he looks like a more normal sized person than he did when he was gassed like an overfilled helium balloon in WCW.

Next week: Ted Arcidi v. Bill Kazmaier! Now there’s a Wrestlecrap induction waiting to happen.

The Great Gama v. Ben Bassarab

Joined with Bassarab suplexing Gama into the ring, but Gama gets the nerve pinch to hold him down and Bassarab fights out of that. Bassarab was a really good worker in the Calgary babyface mold, like Benoit and Johnny Smith, but his career never went anywhere and he apparently didn’t have the passion for wrestling that his contemporaries did. Bassarab with a missile dropkick and he clotheslines Gama to the floor and follows with a double axehandle from the top rope to the floor, then grabs a chair and beats on Gama with that. This sets up the airplane spin, but Viet Cong Express #1 runs in and goes after both guys because he’s got issues with both, and the match is thrown out at 4:44 aired. Afterwards, Ben discusses an impending “Bermuda Triangle Match” with all three men, which has been suggested by Stu Hart and will happen next week. So apparently Stampede beat everyone to three-way matches as well. Another thing I learned while watching this: Apparently manager Drago Zhivago did the occasional TV job for the WWF, and in fact at the Superstars taping in 1991 in Edmonton where I was in attendance, he did a job for Bret Hart as “Hutch Thomas” and I didn’t even recognize him.

North American title: Makhan Singh v. Owen Hart

Joined at the 25:00 minute mark according to Ed. Makhan with a bearhug, but Owen fights out of it and the ref is bumped. So then various masked men run into the ring and Owen fights them off and steals a foreign object from Makhan, but then thinks better of it and puts it away in his trunks. So Owen beats on Makhan in the corner and chokes him out on the ropes and drops an elbow for two. Owen with a kneedrop for two, but Makhan makes the ropes and tosses him to buy time. Back in, Singh with a powerslam for two and Owen is barely fighting him off. Makhan with a flying splash and that only gets two as the crowd is losing their mind for Owen. Makhan tries the Karachi Krunch, but misses and Owen comes off the top with a sunset flip and gets the pin and the title at 6:48 aired. BUT WAIT! Crooked referee Jurgan Herman comes in and checks Owen’s trunks, finds that object from earlier, and the decision is reversed, leaving Makhan as the champion.

Afterwards, Owen is saddened by his loss and wonders what measures he’s going to have to take to stop Makhan from cheating him out of the title again. Makhan is like “Ha ha, the ends justify the means, better luck next time, Omar!” He liked calling him Omar.

So until next time, in the mean time and in between time, that’s it for another edition of Stampede Wrestling!

I am gonna review this show SO HARD it’s not even gonna know what hit it.