Monday, April 7th, 1986
Bayfront Arena
St. Petersburg, Florida
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Off The Grid, Volume 34:
Eric Bischoff lets us know that he's sitting in for Tony Schiavone and he is with Bobby Heenan and Gene Okerlund. The Renegade is involved in the main event, so I already know what I'm getting myself into. I have watched this show once before, but really don't have much recollection of it.
WCW Tag Team Championship Match
Nasty Boys vs. Harlem Heat
Apparently the Nasty Boys were attacked earlier in the night and only Jerry Sags is out when their music hits. We get a lot of stalling before Sags and Booker start brawling. Sags hits a big clothesline with Booker selling it big time. Sags then hits a double DDT and the crowd is into this. He then hits Sister Sherri with a right hand. Even Bischoff says that was uncalled for. Sags hits a pump handle slam on Booker and gets a 2 count. Booker gets a thumb to the eye and we get a double team to shift the momentum. Sags comes back and hits a leg drop below the belt, but Booker breaks up the pin attempt. Sags hits an elbow drop from the top rope, but again the pin attempt is broken up. Sags gets distracted by Sherri and it works. Sherri gets in a couple of slaps for some well deserved revenge. Sags tries to make a tag, but no one is there. Booker hits a somersault leg drop off the top rope, but doesn't go for the pin for some reason. He eventually does and Sags kicks out. Sags comes back and hits a piledriver and out comes Brian Knobbs with his ribs wrapped up. Sags makes the hot tag and Knobbs takes care of both men. He sends Stevie Ray out of the ring. Sherri goes up top, but Knobbs catches her and hits a spinebuster. He then throws her out of the ring and onto Stevie Ray. Sags hits an elbow drop off the top rope and we have new champions. The crowd was into this and the action was mostly good. I can't really argue with much other than Harlem Heat looked weak here. The Blue Bloods are out after the match to check out the Nasty Boys and then head to the back.
Match Rating: **1/2
Eric Bischoff is with the new champs and they say that the Blue Bloods can be the number one contenders.
Mean Gene is with Kevin Sullivan. They try to get over this stupid angle with Beefcake and I can assure you that no one cared.
The Man With No Name vs. Kevin Sullivan
It's very well documented, but Beefcake's run in WCW is an all timer. They go right at it and Beefcake knocks him out of the ring. I'm just going to call him Beefcake here, sorry. We get lots of generic 1980s WWF wrestling with punches and heads to the turnbuckles. Beefcake slaps on the sleeper hold, but Sullivan counters out of it with a jawbreaker. Beefcake is out of the ring and Sullivan throws him into the guardrail. God, please end this match. Beefcake hits a piledriver, but Sullivan gets his foot on the bottom rope. Beefcake hits one of the sloppier clotheslines you will ever see and then misses in the corner, hitting his face on the post. Sullivan puts him in the tree of woe and hits a knee to the midsection. He hits a double stomp and that's all. Thank God. This was embarrassing.
Match Rating: 1/4*
After the match, some guy is on the screen and tells Sullivan they need to talk about Hulk Hogan. Sullivan leaves through the crowd.
We go to Mean Gene with Jimmy Hart, Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage. Hogan talks about the new vein on the back of his triceps.
Dick Murdoch vs. Wahoo McDaniel
Oh boy, it's time for our legends match. Murdoch was just on Royal Rumble 1995 a few months earlier. Murdoch apparently had too many burgers at the last KKK barbecue. This is with Gordon Solie calling the play by play and it's being shown in black and white. Wahoo is 56 here and Murdoch is 48. Anyway, this match is absolutely awful and the crowd doesn't care. Murdoch throws Wahoo in the corner and then hits some sort of bulldog from the top rope that looked like about the least athletic thing you can think of. Well, if anyone deserves to be embarrassed, it's Murdoch. Wahoo hits a chop and that's it. This was one of the worst matches I have ever seen. Somehow they saw Beefcake and Sullivan and were just so determined to top it.
Match Rating: 0 Stars
We go to Big Bubba with Mean Gene. He looks like the Guardian Angel.
IWGP Championship Match
Great Muta vs. Paul Orndorff
Just for reference, Orndorff was 45 here. I'm not sure what was in the water backstage, but these two are off to a really slow start too. I've already dozed off twice in this match and three times in the last one. This has to be one of the all time worst stretch of matches put on a pay per view. Muta throws in a few cool moves here and there. He hits a top rope moonsault and that's all. This was just nothing to me. The match was quite a bit longer than I lead on, but it was not that great.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Arn Anderson is with Ric Flair, Vader and Mean Gene. They all cut their typical promos.
Terry Funk is shown talking about legends and that he doesn't think he's able to fill their shoes.
World Television Championship Match
Alex Wright vs. Arn Anderson
Wright is able to shine by showing off some mat wrestling, athleticism and outsmarting Arn. Wright is able to get Anderson out of the ring and then hits him with a dive over the top. Arn gets a little bit of offense in before getting hit with a spin kick. Wright hits a big dropkick and we get some nearfalls. Arn then tricks him into a DDT and picks up the victory. This was fine, but never felt like a pay per view match. I usually type so much more, but these matches just feel like there is nothing going on in them.
Match Rating: **
Meng vs. Road Warrior Hawk
This one was added right before the show and Bischoff claims that this is a main event anywhere in the world. After the first 30 seconds, I can tell you that's not true. Meng hits a clothesline and then a piledriver, but Hawk pops right back up. He misses with a shoulder tackle in the corner and hits the ring post. Col. Robert Parker gets in a few cheap shots behind the referee's back. Hawk fights back and hits a shoulder tackle. Hawk goes up top, but misses with whatever type of splash he was going for there. They start brawling outside the ring and they both get counted out for the cop out finish. They bring out the jobbers to help pull them apart. I'm not really sure why they needed to book this since it was pretty clear that they weren't going to have either guy take the L. I will say they did try to make the match interesting, it just didn't really click.
Match Rating: 3/4*
It's time for the Legends Hall Of Fame portion and Gordon Solie is out again. He first inducts Wahoo McDaniel and he gets a modest ovation. He gives a short speech and we move onto Terry Funk. This one is kind of interesting because he's about to have a big ECW and WWE run in the near future. They do state that he is still active. Solie is so dull here as a host. They're so proud to let us know that the Japanese press is here to cover this as well. He doesn't say much more, but I'd much rather listen to Funk over a lot of people. It's now time for Angelo Poffo. He is so much like Lanny. He says about 10 words before they go onto Antonio Inoki. I have no idea why I picked to watch this show. I obviously did not remember how terrible it is. Big John Studd is a posthumous addition, who passed away 2 months prior to this show. His son accepts the honor, which had to be pretty tough so close to his death. The final addition is Dusty Rhodes. Solie perks up a little bit for this introduction. We also get young Cody on stage. He gives a pretty surprisingly mellow acceptance speech and then he announces that Gordon Solie into the hall as well. This brings out the true Dusty a little. Gordon gets a little emotional here before we end the segment. This was pretty long and featured no memorable moments. This was most likely a big bathroom/popcorn break for the live crowd.
We go to Mean Gene and he's with Sting. I do dig Sting's face paint tonight.
Lights Out Match
Big Bubba Rogers vs. Sting
Sting comes out holding a table over his head. You'd think that would signal a fast start and a brawl, but instead they start methodically. Just as I finished typing that, Bischoff is wondering the same thing. I as hoping this would at least be mildly entertaining, but so far it has been anything but that. Bubba tries to slam Sting's face into the table, but he blocks it and slams Bubba's face into it instead. Bubba throws some powder into Stings face and throws him into the table that's standing up. Sting hits an Irish whip on Bubba in the corner of the ring, but misses with the Stinger Splash and lands into the table. Bubba takes off his belt and starts whipping him. Bubba hits the Boss Man Slam, but Sting kicks out at 2. That got no reaction from the crowd. Bubba goes up top, but Sting powerslams Bubba. Sting now climbs upstairs and hits a splash for a 2 count. Sting puts on the Scorpion Deathlock and that's all. This was very uneventful and was more of a Saturday Night match.
Match Rating: *1/2
Ric Flair & Vader vs. Hulk Hogan & Randy Savage
Oh boy, Renegade comes running out and looks like he forgot to wipe his butt. What a stupid idea he was. We get a bunch of stalling before Hogan and Vader lock up. Please just let this show end. We are only about 8 months from Vader's WWF debut. Hogan's able to knock Vader out of the ring and Vader is frustrated. Savage comes out attacks him. They double team him back in the ring while Flair just kind of stands there not knowing what to do. Vader hits a double clothesline and then Flair battles with Savage outside the ring. Savage knocks Flair around for a little bit and in comes Hogan. They have an awkward exchange where they aren't on the same page and then Hogan puts on the Figure Four. We get some shenanigans and it leads to Arn Anderson coming in and the distraction eventually leads to Vader coming in and regaining control for his team. Out comes a large man and the announce team wants to know who he is. It is the Giant, but I guess we don't know that yet. Savage gets a hot tag and hits a top rope elbow drop, but in comes Vader and he dominates. He hits a Vader Bomb of the splash variety and then hits a series of rights and lefts. Hogan comes in and the things break down. We get crazy Savage, which is always fun and he brawls with Vader outside the ring. Then out of nowhere, Hogan hits the boot and leg drop for the victory. That was a terrible finish. This was a house show match to be honest.
Match Rating: **
Vader, Flair and Anderson attack the victors after the match. Angelo Poffo comes in to try and stop Flair and Anderson from attacking his son, but they knock him down and slap on the Figure Four. Savage is very distraught and wants an ambulance.
Airing just a few weeks before the infamous King Of The Ring, I'm not sure why there isn't a debate as to which is worse. I'll let you know in a few months when I get there. However, this is an absolutely terrible show. There was not one thing that was redeeming about it and the card is awful. Just a really bad show. Do not watch this.
Overall Rating: 16%
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