klunderbunker
Welcome to My (And Not Sly's) House
WWF House Show
Date: December 5, 1987
Location: Philadelphia Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Dick Graham, Craig DeGeorge
Another house show here, this time from Philly which means were going to have an interesting crowd to say the least. Were just after the first Survivor Series here and just around the corner from the first Rumble and soon after that, Hogan losing the title. This is going to be very similar to the MSG show I did recently so this may not be the best show to do overall. Lets get to it.
For those wondering, Graham was a local sports announcer who did the local WWF TV broadcasts for these house shows.
Apparently this is the 20th anniversary of WWF in the Spectrum. We actually go over the Pennsylvania athletic commission people here. Ok then.
Barry Horowitz vs. Outback Jack
Jack was an Australian character that never caught on to say the least. He would be a jobber to the stars soon. Horowitz gets Jack to chase him to the floor for a bit. Now Graham cant say Jacks name as he keeps stumbling over his words. The gay slur chants start almost immediately and Horowitz hides again. HUGE open spaces of seats clearly visible in the end zones.
Horowitz runs again as weve stalled for probably three minutes already. We finally get going and Jack knocks him to the floor with basic power stuff. Horowitz hits the floor again. Hes stalling more here than Larry Zbyszko did in 1987 alone. Barry grabs the leg and wraps it around the post a few times. Leg work abounds as this is probably the worst thing they could have done with a Philadelphia crowd.
Barry goes up and is slammed down as we talk about Bret vs. Savage for some reason. Oh ok its about having a bad ankle or whatever. At least its relevant and not pulling an Eric Bischoff here, which would be a bad idea in Philly even six years before ECW. Jack gets a clothesline to the back of the head/bulldog to end it.
Rating: D. Oh this was bad. Horowitz had FAR too much offense and Jack was a jobber to the stars at this point anyway. Totally the wrong show to open a show here and it didnt work in the slightest here. Jack would be gone rather soon and Horowitz holds the record for most losses in WWF history. You do the math.
Ultimate Warrior vs. Mike Sharpe
Guess whats going to happen here. Sharpe looks a bit like Don Muraco. He poses forever before Warrior is anywhere to be seen. Warrior has music now. Apparently the tassels are called Power Bands. Do they sing power ballads? Were still in the 80s after all. Sharpe runs the ropes a bit but Warrior winds the fist up and Sharpe grabs the ropes so fast that his feet go flying.
Basic stuff by Sharpe gets him nowhere and here comes Warrior. A clothesline puts Sharpe on the floor and he thinks hes done with this. Sharpe comes back but leaves all over again. Ok now were back in the ring and he wants a test of strength from Mr. Dingo. And yes thats what Sharpe said. After a kick to the ribs Warrior hits his knees. Its rather interesting to look at Sharpe looking down with all the anger at his face when he sees Warriors tassels and hair everywhere.
Why is this interesting you ask? Sharpe was known as being obsessive compulsive about things being perfectly neat. As in hes one of the people that would fold his clothes over and over again and wash his hands time after time just to make sure they were perfect. Now imagine that against a guy is as nuts as Warrior and is all over the place. After some cheating Warrior comes back but botched the slam. He gets him the second time though and thats the end. Sharpe has a cut over his left eye that looks legit.
Rating: D+. Just your standard Warrior squash although they didnt have the formula down yet. The guy was still out there as always and botched some basic stuff in there but that comes with the territory. Not a terrible match but it did the job it was supposed to do I suppose.
Bolsheviks vs. British Bulldogs
In a match with Soviets vs. Brits, the fans chant USA. Maybe theyre cheering for Slick? Matilda chases the Russians around a bit before the match. The referee does the old school checking for foreign objects. Wouldnt the Bolsheviks themselves or anything they bring with them (assuming theyre made in the Soviet Union) be foreign objects? Davey vs. Boris to start us off after some stalling.
We hit the heel double teaming early but Davey arm drags his way out of that. Off to Dynamite for the snap suplex and the arm work that Davey started continues. We get something kind of cool as we see an inset of Slick during the match. You dont often get to see what managers say unless the camera is on them which takes away from the match. Nice idea there.
The Russians start cheating with Nikolai coming in illegally. The referee gets in his face about it and counts him, then lets him in anyway. Wheres Fonzie to call it right down the middle (daddy) when you need him? Sunset flip by Dynamite is missed by the referee as Boris distracts the referee. Clothesline gets two for Nikolai and its off to a bear hug. Nikolai offers a nice twist on it and squats down so that Dynamites back is arched over his knees while the bear hug is still on. Thats rather awesome.
Off to Boris again who doesnt have the twist in his bear hug but he doesnt really resemble Chubby Checker anyway. Tag off to Davey but since its the 80s the referee didnt see it. Double shoulder block and both guys are down now. Stereo tags bring in Boris and Smith. Delayed vertical by Davey gets two. Small package gets two. Everything breaks down and the Russians send the Bulldogs into each other ..and it actually works??? When do you ever see that? Boris tries to suplex Davey back in but Kid pulls the leg and Davey falls on top for the surprise pin. Abrupt ending.
Rating: C. Just a standard 80s tag match here which means its far better than anything weve seen in the tag title division recently. The Bulldogs were going to steadily start their decline after this and Davey would become a far bigger star than his arguably more talented partner. Either way, not bad here but nothing great.
Hillbilly Jim vs. Dino Bravo
Frenchy Martin is Bravos new manager here. The fans actually tolerate Hillbilly at first before the boring chants start a minute or so in. Bravo hammers away but gets caught by a big boot and a headbutt to send him to the floor. Stalling results in a request for a test of strength. Hillbillys limited offense works away but he walks into a bad atomic drop to change the momentum again.
Bravo isnt exactly a master of the repertoire either so this isnt much of a match at the moment. Off to a chinlock as this power vs. power game continues. Crowd is dead as can be here. Bravo hammers away with his great variety of stomps. Theres Bravos side suplex which is usually his finisher but an elbow drop misses. Jim comes back and uses even more basic stuff, but goes after Frenchy. A knee to the back from Bravo ends it.
Rating: D-. Terrible match here so of course it got about 10 minutes. Who thought that was a good idea? They should be made to watch this match over and over again. Jim was a guy that was good for kids. Who thought he was a good idea to put in a match in PHILADELPHIA??? Terrible match and incredibly boring.
Jake Roberts vs. Sika
Nice reaction for Jake here. Jake (I keep typing Jack for some reason) goes after the arm as we hear about Sika being half of the Samoans. That team couldnt have been around that late. Jake outthinks Sika a bit here and hasnt gotten hit yet I dont think. Ah there we go. Sika steps on Damien and doesnt seem to mind for the most part. Sika chokes away in the corner but Jake fights back. He cant get the DDT but grabs a rollup off a missed charge for the pin.
Rating: D. Another weak match here although this was a faster one which helped it. Also, no DDT? Thats the whole point Jake was popular and we dont get it here. Boring match and only a few minutes long, but still rather boring to say the least. Sika would be gone rather soon and Jake would be about at this level forever.
WWF World Title: Hulk Hogan vs. One Man Gang
This should be fine. Big pop for Hogan. Gang shoves him into the corner to start and shrugs off a Hogan shoulder block. A knee puts Gang down but Hogan cant slam him. We enter into the Hogan formula as the monster hammers away with his big power stuff. This is a great example of where a formula works. The fans responded to it every time and thats all you needed to do. Why mess with what worked?
Hogan blocks a shot into the buckle and the comeback begins. Slick grabs Hogans leg and gets choked for his efforts. This gives the Gang the chance to pop him in the back and take over again. Off to the nerve hold which Hogan breaks with relative ease. They keep teasing the major comeback but it hasnt happened yet. See what I mean about how easy this can be at times?
Gang works over the back with double axes from a standing position to Hogan as he lays on his stomach. Some might call those falling axe handles but I need to fill in space so Im going to take two sentences to say that. Gang tries to use a test of strength on the mat which Hogan manages to fight out of, only to get hit in the stomach one more time. Theres the bearhug which I think is a requirement in 80s Hogan matches.
The announcers discuss if this is the biggest challenge Hogan has ever had, which sounds stupid in a post Mania 3 WWF, but when you think about it thats a good thing. Instead of saying well he beat Andre so whats the point now? theyre saying that this is pushing Hogan even farther. It should be a given that they would say that, but actually saying it helps.
Big splash hits but within a few seconds Hogan is on his feet and the finger is wagging back and forth. Hogan whips him back and forth over and over and theres the slam. That was a good one too as he threw Gang around like it was nothing. Obviously the pin is academic even after a faster ending than they usually have in these matches. Slick gets a shot too.
Rating: C+. Its Hogan against a monster in the 80s. What were you expecting here? Hogan is criticized for being repetitive but this is almost like the Harlem Globetrotters against various teams they play. Yes its the same opposing team just in different uniforms, but no one cares who theyre playing. Youre here to see the stars, not the opponents. Thats why Hogan worked: the opponent didnt matter and it worked every time.
Two minutes of posing leads us to this.
Tag Titles: Strike Force vs. Islanders
No word on if this is for the titles or not but I dont know why it wouldnt be. The Islanders jump the champions to start us off and Strike Force gets slammed. Martel vs. Haku starts us off officially here. Head Knocker by Tito is blocked but he speeds things up and sends Tama to the floor. Back off to Martel who hammers away.
Haku uses power to take over as were straight into power vs. speed here which is always awesome. Diving kneedrop misses Martel and its off to Santana. Strike Force tags in and out very fast. The heels resort to EVIL cheating to take over and beat on Santana for awhile. Tama was a guy I always liked that just kind of disappeared after the Islanders split. Shame too.
A couple of backbreakers by Haku as he shows off a bit. The guy was certainly strong. Ah yes this is a title match. I thought it was. Back off to Tama and Tito still cant make the tag. Martel snaps and comes in for a bit but it causes Tito to get caught in a neck crank. Tito tries to fight back but a knee to the ribs stops that pretty quickly.
After some more offense from the savage that is savage enough to tape his wrists and get tights that fit, a leg drop misses and here comes Martel. Everything breaks down and Tama gets caught in a figure four. Haku breaks that up, only for Martel to get a sunset flip on Tama seconds later to end this and keep the titles on Strike Force, who are surprisingly not murdered in Philly.
Rating: C+. Basic power vs. speed match here with the eternally underrated Strike Force doing their basic stuff out there but having the energy that made them awesome. This was perfectly fine and they did exactly what they were supposed to do. The titles were never in jeopardy, but this is a house show after all.
Some guy and ELEVEN friends won a contest and gets to be here tonight. Ok then.
Junkyard Dog vs. Hercules
I watched this same match in a house show I did a few weeks back that was 5 days after this. The match sucked then, so maybe they put everything they had into this. Yeah Ill go with that. Its a battle of the chains here. They stare it down and slug it out. Hercules wincing before each shot is kind of funny for some reason. Theyre moving incredibly slowly out there to say the least.
The fans chant boring and I cant say I disagree at all. Headbutt gets two for the JYD but a shot from Herc puts him down. Someone wake me up when this is over. Dog more or less just gets up and hits a powerslam for two, only to be sent back to the floor. This is a ridiculously boring match. Dog puts him in the ring and cant even do that right. Can he do anything but headbutt? Herc sends him to the floor again and they slug it out until a bell. Somehow Hercules wins by DQ? I think they meant to say count out but that would imply me caring so its whatever.
Rating: F. This was awful and they cant even get the announcement right. Absolutely terrible and we need to get on to something, and by that I mean ANYTHING, else.
King Kong Bundy vs. Bam Bam Bigelow
This is your main event and also was the main event at a show from late November (about two weeks earlier) in MSG. Andre is in Bundys corner. Bigelow comes out to Stand Back of all things. Yes, THAT Stand Back. Bigelow uses speed to start off as we hear about how awesome he was, which is rather true. Cross body by Bigelow gets two.
Bigelow hits a dropkick as security takes someone out. Bundys powers of fat take over and he drops a few knees for two. Bigelow is thrown to the floor for a few seconds. Let the pounding begin as were firmly in the battle of the titans here. Andre hooks the top rope and Bigelow hits the floor. Humperdink yells at Andre and that gets him nowhere. Luckily for him, Hulk comes out to even the sides. Not that it matters as Bigelow gets a forearm to win it like 8 seconds later.
Rating: C. This was exactly what it was supposed to be as Bigelow was getting more and more popular every day. Unfortunately his knee was in pieces at this point so its not like this push went anywhere. Anyway, standard battle of the giants and the Hogan/Andre confrontation was always something to see.
Andre wants more but were not going to see it.
We do however get the card for next month which is on January 9. The card isnt complete but wed get Harts vs. Strike Force, Rude vs. Orndorff (moderate pop for him) and Honky vs. Savage (solid pop there). Not bad for a B-show card.
Overall Rating: C-. Nothing great here but for a house show this wasnt too bad. The fans were of course overly brutal but to be fair to them, there were some bad choices on here. Hogan vs. Gang is standard fun stuff and the main event was fine. House shows were a different breed back in this time period so there was possibly one if not two others going on in different cities. Decent show but nothing great.
Date: December 5, 1987
Location: Philadelphia Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Dick Graham, Craig DeGeorge
Another house show here, this time from Philly which means were going to have an interesting crowd to say the least. Were just after the first Survivor Series here and just around the corner from the first Rumble and soon after that, Hogan losing the title. This is going to be very similar to the MSG show I did recently so this may not be the best show to do overall. Lets get to it.
For those wondering, Graham was a local sports announcer who did the local WWF TV broadcasts for these house shows.
Apparently this is the 20th anniversary of WWF in the Spectrum. We actually go over the Pennsylvania athletic commission people here. Ok then.
Barry Horowitz vs. Outback Jack
Jack was an Australian character that never caught on to say the least. He would be a jobber to the stars soon. Horowitz gets Jack to chase him to the floor for a bit. Now Graham cant say Jacks name as he keeps stumbling over his words. The gay slur chants start almost immediately and Horowitz hides again. HUGE open spaces of seats clearly visible in the end zones.
Horowitz runs again as weve stalled for probably three minutes already. We finally get going and Jack knocks him to the floor with basic power stuff. Horowitz hits the floor again. Hes stalling more here than Larry Zbyszko did in 1987 alone. Barry grabs the leg and wraps it around the post a few times. Leg work abounds as this is probably the worst thing they could have done with a Philadelphia crowd.
Barry goes up and is slammed down as we talk about Bret vs. Savage for some reason. Oh ok its about having a bad ankle or whatever. At least its relevant and not pulling an Eric Bischoff here, which would be a bad idea in Philly even six years before ECW. Jack gets a clothesline to the back of the head/bulldog to end it.
Rating: D. Oh this was bad. Horowitz had FAR too much offense and Jack was a jobber to the stars at this point anyway. Totally the wrong show to open a show here and it didnt work in the slightest here. Jack would be gone rather soon and Horowitz holds the record for most losses in WWF history. You do the math.
Ultimate Warrior vs. Mike Sharpe
Guess whats going to happen here. Sharpe looks a bit like Don Muraco. He poses forever before Warrior is anywhere to be seen. Warrior has music now. Apparently the tassels are called Power Bands. Do they sing power ballads? Were still in the 80s after all. Sharpe runs the ropes a bit but Warrior winds the fist up and Sharpe grabs the ropes so fast that his feet go flying.
Basic stuff by Sharpe gets him nowhere and here comes Warrior. A clothesline puts Sharpe on the floor and he thinks hes done with this. Sharpe comes back but leaves all over again. Ok now were back in the ring and he wants a test of strength from Mr. Dingo. And yes thats what Sharpe said. After a kick to the ribs Warrior hits his knees. Its rather interesting to look at Sharpe looking down with all the anger at his face when he sees Warriors tassels and hair everywhere.
Why is this interesting you ask? Sharpe was known as being obsessive compulsive about things being perfectly neat. As in hes one of the people that would fold his clothes over and over again and wash his hands time after time just to make sure they were perfect. Now imagine that against a guy is as nuts as Warrior and is all over the place. After some cheating Warrior comes back but botched the slam. He gets him the second time though and thats the end. Sharpe has a cut over his left eye that looks legit.
Rating: D+. Just your standard Warrior squash although they didnt have the formula down yet. The guy was still out there as always and botched some basic stuff in there but that comes with the territory. Not a terrible match but it did the job it was supposed to do I suppose.
Bolsheviks vs. British Bulldogs
In a match with Soviets vs. Brits, the fans chant USA. Maybe theyre cheering for Slick? Matilda chases the Russians around a bit before the match. The referee does the old school checking for foreign objects. Wouldnt the Bolsheviks themselves or anything they bring with them (assuming theyre made in the Soviet Union) be foreign objects? Davey vs. Boris to start us off after some stalling.
We hit the heel double teaming early but Davey arm drags his way out of that. Off to Dynamite for the snap suplex and the arm work that Davey started continues. We get something kind of cool as we see an inset of Slick during the match. You dont often get to see what managers say unless the camera is on them which takes away from the match. Nice idea there.
The Russians start cheating with Nikolai coming in illegally. The referee gets in his face about it and counts him, then lets him in anyway. Wheres Fonzie to call it right down the middle (daddy) when you need him? Sunset flip by Dynamite is missed by the referee as Boris distracts the referee. Clothesline gets two for Nikolai and its off to a bear hug. Nikolai offers a nice twist on it and squats down so that Dynamites back is arched over his knees while the bear hug is still on. Thats rather awesome.
Off to Boris again who doesnt have the twist in his bear hug but he doesnt really resemble Chubby Checker anyway. Tag off to Davey but since its the 80s the referee didnt see it. Double shoulder block and both guys are down now. Stereo tags bring in Boris and Smith. Delayed vertical by Davey gets two. Small package gets two. Everything breaks down and the Russians send the Bulldogs into each other ..and it actually works??? When do you ever see that? Boris tries to suplex Davey back in but Kid pulls the leg and Davey falls on top for the surprise pin. Abrupt ending.
Rating: C. Just a standard 80s tag match here which means its far better than anything weve seen in the tag title division recently. The Bulldogs were going to steadily start their decline after this and Davey would become a far bigger star than his arguably more talented partner. Either way, not bad here but nothing great.
Hillbilly Jim vs. Dino Bravo
Frenchy Martin is Bravos new manager here. The fans actually tolerate Hillbilly at first before the boring chants start a minute or so in. Bravo hammers away but gets caught by a big boot and a headbutt to send him to the floor. Stalling results in a request for a test of strength. Hillbillys limited offense works away but he walks into a bad atomic drop to change the momentum again.
Bravo isnt exactly a master of the repertoire either so this isnt much of a match at the moment. Off to a chinlock as this power vs. power game continues. Crowd is dead as can be here. Bravo hammers away with his great variety of stomps. Theres Bravos side suplex which is usually his finisher but an elbow drop misses. Jim comes back and uses even more basic stuff, but goes after Frenchy. A knee to the back from Bravo ends it.
Rating: D-. Terrible match here so of course it got about 10 minutes. Who thought that was a good idea? They should be made to watch this match over and over again. Jim was a guy that was good for kids. Who thought he was a good idea to put in a match in PHILADELPHIA??? Terrible match and incredibly boring.
Jake Roberts vs. Sika
Nice reaction for Jake here. Jake (I keep typing Jack for some reason) goes after the arm as we hear about Sika being half of the Samoans. That team couldnt have been around that late. Jake outthinks Sika a bit here and hasnt gotten hit yet I dont think. Ah there we go. Sika steps on Damien and doesnt seem to mind for the most part. Sika chokes away in the corner but Jake fights back. He cant get the DDT but grabs a rollup off a missed charge for the pin.
Rating: D. Another weak match here although this was a faster one which helped it. Also, no DDT? Thats the whole point Jake was popular and we dont get it here. Boring match and only a few minutes long, but still rather boring to say the least. Sika would be gone rather soon and Jake would be about at this level forever.
WWF World Title: Hulk Hogan vs. One Man Gang
This should be fine. Big pop for Hogan. Gang shoves him into the corner to start and shrugs off a Hogan shoulder block. A knee puts Gang down but Hogan cant slam him. We enter into the Hogan formula as the monster hammers away with his big power stuff. This is a great example of where a formula works. The fans responded to it every time and thats all you needed to do. Why mess with what worked?
Hogan blocks a shot into the buckle and the comeback begins. Slick grabs Hogans leg and gets choked for his efforts. This gives the Gang the chance to pop him in the back and take over again. Off to the nerve hold which Hogan breaks with relative ease. They keep teasing the major comeback but it hasnt happened yet. See what I mean about how easy this can be at times?
Gang works over the back with double axes from a standing position to Hogan as he lays on his stomach. Some might call those falling axe handles but I need to fill in space so Im going to take two sentences to say that. Gang tries to use a test of strength on the mat which Hogan manages to fight out of, only to get hit in the stomach one more time. Theres the bearhug which I think is a requirement in 80s Hogan matches.
The announcers discuss if this is the biggest challenge Hogan has ever had, which sounds stupid in a post Mania 3 WWF, but when you think about it thats a good thing. Instead of saying well he beat Andre so whats the point now? theyre saying that this is pushing Hogan even farther. It should be a given that they would say that, but actually saying it helps.
Big splash hits but within a few seconds Hogan is on his feet and the finger is wagging back and forth. Hogan whips him back and forth over and over and theres the slam. That was a good one too as he threw Gang around like it was nothing. Obviously the pin is academic even after a faster ending than they usually have in these matches. Slick gets a shot too.
Rating: C+. Its Hogan against a monster in the 80s. What were you expecting here? Hogan is criticized for being repetitive but this is almost like the Harlem Globetrotters against various teams they play. Yes its the same opposing team just in different uniforms, but no one cares who theyre playing. Youre here to see the stars, not the opponents. Thats why Hogan worked: the opponent didnt matter and it worked every time.
Two minutes of posing leads us to this.
Tag Titles: Strike Force vs. Islanders
No word on if this is for the titles or not but I dont know why it wouldnt be. The Islanders jump the champions to start us off and Strike Force gets slammed. Martel vs. Haku starts us off officially here. Head Knocker by Tito is blocked but he speeds things up and sends Tama to the floor. Back off to Martel who hammers away.
Haku uses power to take over as were straight into power vs. speed here which is always awesome. Diving kneedrop misses Martel and its off to Santana. Strike Force tags in and out very fast. The heels resort to EVIL cheating to take over and beat on Santana for awhile. Tama was a guy I always liked that just kind of disappeared after the Islanders split. Shame too.
A couple of backbreakers by Haku as he shows off a bit. The guy was certainly strong. Ah yes this is a title match. I thought it was. Back off to Tama and Tito still cant make the tag. Martel snaps and comes in for a bit but it causes Tito to get caught in a neck crank. Tito tries to fight back but a knee to the ribs stops that pretty quickly.
After some more offense from the savage that is savage enough to tape his wrists and get tights that fit, a leg drop misses and here comes Martel. Everything breaks down and Tama gets caught in a figure four. Haku breaks that up, only for Martel to get a sunset flip on Tama seconds later to end this and keep the titles on Strike Force, who are surprisingly not murdered in Philly.
Rating: C+. Basic power vs. speed match here with the eternally underrated Strike Force doing their basic stuff out there but having the energy that made them awesome. This was perfectly fine and they did exactly what they were supposed to do. The titles were never in jeopardy, but this is a house show after all.
Some guy and ELEVEN friends won a contest and gets to be here tonight. Ok then.
Junkyard Dog vs. Hercules
I watched this same match in a house show I did a few weeks back that was 5 days after this. The match sucked then, so maybe they put everything they had into this. Yeah Ill go with that. Its a battle of the chains here. They stare it down and slug it out. Hercules wincing before each shot is kind of funny for some reason. Theyre moving incredibly slowly out there to say the least.
The fans chant boring and I cant say I disagree at all. Headbutt gets two for the JYD but a shot from Herc puts him down. Someone wake me up when this is over. Dog more or less just gets up and hits a powerslam for two, only to be sent back to the floor. This is a ridiculously boring match. Dog puts him in the ring and cant even do that right. Can he do anything but headbutt? Herc sends him to the floor again and they slug it out until a bell. Somehow Hercules wins by DQ? I think they meant to say count out but that would imply me caring so its whatever.
Rating: F. This was awful and they cant even get the announcement right. Absolutely terrible and we need to get on to something, and by that I mean ANYTHING, else.
King Kong Bundy vs. Bam Bam Bigelow
This is your main event and also was the main event at a show from late November (about two weeks earlier) in MSG. Andre is in Bundys corner. Bigelow comes out to Stand Back of all things. Yes, THAT Stand Back. Bigelow uses speed to start off as we hear about how awesome he was, which is rather true. Cross body by Bigelow gets two.
Bigelow hits a dropkick as security takes someone out. Bundys powers of fat take over and he drops a few knees for two. Bigelow is thrown to the floor for a few seconds. Let the pounding begin as were firmly in the battle of the titans here. Andre hooks the top rope and Bigelow hits the floor. Humperdink yells at Andre and that gets him nowhere. Luckily for him, Hulk comes out to even the sides. Not that it matters as Bigelow gets a forearm to win it like 8 seconds later.
Rating: C. This was exactly what it was supposed to be as Bigelow was getting more and more popular every day. Unfortunately his knee was in pieces at this point so its not like this push went anywhere. Anyway, standard battle of the giants and the Hogan/Andre confrontation was always something to see.
Andre wants more but were not going to see it.
We do however get the card for next month which is on January 9. The card isnt complete but wed get Harts vs. Strike Force, Rude vs. Orndorff (moderate pop for him) and Honky vs. Savage (solid pop there). Not bad for a B-show card.
Overall Rating: C-. Nothing great here but for a house show this wasnt too bad. The fans were of course overly brutal but to be fair to them, there were some bad choices on here. Hogan vs. Gang is standard fun stuff and the main event was fine. House shows were a different breed back in this time period so there was possibly one if not two others going on in different cities. Decent show but nothing great.
