WWE Vintage Collection Report: 29th June 2008
By Shaun Best-Rajah.com Reporter
Hosted by: Mean Gene Okerlund
Welcome to another helping of classic action from the MSG archives. I apologise for the belatedness of this report. Work commitments. This week's action comes from September 1986 with three matches on display. Your commentators are Gorilla Monsoon and Lord Alfred Hayes. Let's get started.
Hart Foundation w/Jimmy Hart vs The Rougeau Brothers
At this point, the Harts (in their black and green singlets) were the heels, as opposed to the fan favourite Rougeaus (in black trunks). As we all know, within a few years that would change, but I digress. The Rougeaus use double team tactics at the start to overpower the Harts, who go outside to regroup. Lord Al reveals the Rougeaus had two other brothers somewhere. That would have been a fun stable. Bret uses a test of strength to start working on Jacques' arm. Jacques uses a series of rolls and flips to escape, before dropkicking a pissed off Bret to the outside. Bret shoves Raymond on the apron to entice him in. Raymond scores with a side headlock, shoulder tackle and dropkick to put Bret back on the outside again. The Harts tease a walkout before opting to come back. Anvil drops the straps on his singlet to signal he means business. Jacques fails to budge the laughing Anvil with a couple of shoulder tackles. Jacques goads Anvil into trying himself. Anvil takes the bait and Jacques catches the big guy with a slam. The Mountie would never have been that clever. Jacques applies a boston crab on Anvil, which Bret quickly breaks up. The Harts go to work and hit Demolition's decapitator finisher, before Bret goes low with a boot, which puts Jacques on the outside. Anvil slams Jacques onto the concrete then rolls him back in, where Bret works him over with a snapmare and chinlock. Jacques manages to monkey flip Bret off the ropes, but Anvil stops him from tagging by clamping on a front facelock. A referee distraction allows the Harts to work over Jacques in the corner and keep him isolated. Anvil Irish whips Jacques. Jacques leaps off the second rope, but Anvil ducks a cross body and Jacques crashes and burns. The Harts deliver a battering ram in the corner. Bret ties Jacques up in the ropes and hits a running dive and backbreaker. Bret misses an elbow from the second rope and Raymond gets the hot tag in. Raymond lands punches, an Irish whip to Anvil and a mule kick to Bret. Anvil receives a hiptoss and dropkick, before Raymond picks him up by his goatee and whips him into Bret's gut. Raymond catches Anvil in a sleeper which Bret breaks up. Jacques goes out to get ambushed by Bret. Back inside, Anvil whips Raymond into Bret's feet. Suddenly from the outside, Jacques gets a sunet flip on Anvil and the referee counts to three, despite Jacques not being the legal man in. In all fairness, the referee didn't see the switchereoo as he was busy getting Bret out. Nonetheless, this was quite a good match to start us off this week. Here Are Your Winners: THE ROUGEAU BROTHERS.
Tito Santana vs "King" Harley Race w/Bobby Heenan
Both of these were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004. Back here though, Santana was on the cusp of his Strike Force days while Race had just won the kingship in a tournament earlier in the year. Race gets a side headlock but runs into a dropkick. Santana follows up with a slam and armdrag. Heenan goes to the announcers table to plug Race, as Race clotheslines Santana. Race misses a headbutt allowing Santana to slam and deliver another armdrag. Race backs Santana to the corner to headbutt his way free, following a lengthy stay in an armbar. Santana reverses an Irish whip and Race takes a back bump out of the ring. Race pulls Santana out to throw him head first into the guardrail. Race lands a falling headbutt, with Santana lying on the concrete floor. Santana manages to reverse a ram into the steel ringpost as he starts to fight back. Back inside, Race has the advantage, as he methodically works over Santana with a knedrop and elbow drop. Race applies a side headlock, but a shoulder tackle sends Santana down and Race over the top rope to the floor. Heenan stands between Race and some rowdy fans throwing garbage. Race headbutts Santana to the mat, before going up top. Race wastes time, allowing Santana to sneak up and throw him to the mat. Santana goes for a figure four, but Heenan distracts the referee and Race goes to Santana's eyes. Race delivers a piledriver but misses with a falling headbutt attempt. Santana fights back with counter punches, an Irish whip and sleeper. As Race fades, he manages to sneak in a low blow behind the referee's back. Both men recover and Santana shows Race how an atomic drop is delivered. Santana covers, but Race gets his foot on the ropes. Race counters a backbodydrop with a boot to the head. A Race kneedrop finds the mark. Race misses a top rope falling headbutt as Santana goes for the figure four once again. Heenan gets on the apron, Santana grabs him and Race gets a botched rollup (as in he lost his grip) for the cheap pinfall. Despite being slow in parts, the match was fine, apart from the botch-up at the end. Here is Your Winner: "KING" HARLEY RACE. Post match sees Santana argue the decision then go after Race, who manages to escape.
Okerlund introduces a set of pre-taped promos before our Main Event. To capitalise on his popularity in Japan, Hulk Hogan worked a brief gimmick under a mask known as Hulk Machine. Here, as Hulk Machine, he joined forces with Super Machine (the future Demolition Ax) and Big Machine (Blackjack Mulligan) who were also under masks. They were facing Bobby Heenan, Big John Studd and King Kong Bundy who we hear from first. Dubbed the mastermind, Heenan isn't worried about Hulk and the Machines. Heenan says he will single handedly take the Machines apart piece-by-piece. Monsoon says Heenan has brain damage, but Heenan declares he has a team that can't be slammed. Monsoon informs Bundy that the Machines are bigger than his team. Bundy says as a pure scientific wrestler, Heenan has no equal. Bundy says Monsoon knows what he and Studd can do as that's why he's stayed in retirement. Studd detects a dislike on Monsoon's part, because Heenan makes Monsoon look bad as an announcer. Studd says Monsoon dislikes him and Bundy because they've done more in wrestling that Monsoon could ever hope to do. Studd says he knows the Machines aren't from Japan and he's going to rip some masks off. We cut to the Machines. Hulk sports a yellow mask and red Hulkamania jacket, while the other Machines have black and gold masks on. Super Machine puts on a fake Japanese accent as he says they have prepared many evenings for this matchup. Hulk has told Super Machine many things about their opponents. Hulk has trained them well and Heenan (Weasel) san can't hide and run. The Machines are prepared for war. Hulk tells Monsoon not to worry what mask he's going to wear during the match. Hulk says he's been at the gym, where he bench-pressed one more pound than Hulk Hogan, five times in a row. In a play on words, Hulk repeats several times that the people 'fripped' (instead of flipped) out. Hulk boasts about the size of the Machine's arms as all three spout some more jibberish, before Monsoon wraps the interview up.
Hulk Machine, Super Machine & Big Machine vs
Bobby Heenan, King Kong Bundy & Big John Studd
We pick this one up with the Machines working over Bundy and sending him to the outside. Bundy and Studd meet on the outside to discuss tactics. Back inside, Bundy clubs at Hulk. Hulk reverses an Irish whip then catches Bundy with a slam. Hulk motions Studd in, but Studd has second thoughts, as does Heenan. Hulk plays to the frenzied fans. The Hulk/Studd faceoff doesn't last long, as after a few shots, Hulk tags in Big Machine. Big Machine delivers an Irish whip. Big Machine gets Studd up for a slam before deciding to put him back down again. Big Machine takes Bundy down after two shoulder tackles. Super Machine comes in and finds himself in the wrong corner. He recovers to hit Studd with a cross body for a nearfall. Super Machine goes to slam Studd, who is too close to the ropes and is able to block. Back from a commercial, Super Machine is getting worked over. Bundy backelbows him down then misses a splash. Bundy recovers to hold Super Machine for a Studd back club from the top rope. Heenan comes in to put the boots to Super Machine, but a headbutt attempt knocks Heenan silly, and he doesn't notice Super Machine tag in Hulk. Heenan craps himself, before Hulk unloads with punches, then sends Heenan upside down with an Irish whip. Hulk punches away on both Bundy and Studd, before bringing Heenan back into the ring, the hard way from the apron. Hulk stops Heenan from tagging, by pulling him away from his corner by the leg. Hulk tags in Big Machine and Heenan tags in Bundy. Bundy and Big Machine slug it out. Studd blindtags in and gets the worst of a brief exchange. Super Machine tags in and tries a slam, but Studd falls on top of him for a nearfall. Bundy tags in to Irish whip Super Machine. Bundy lands a splash in the corner. Studd and Bundy exchange without tagging. The referee sees this and puts a stop to it. As he turns his back, Hulk and Super Machine pull a switcheroo which even the heels don't see. The heels finally make a legal tag as the crowd sense something's coming. Studd pulls Hulk up and sends him off the ropes. Hulk ducks a clothesline and finally slams Studd. Hulk punches both Bundy and Heenan on the apron, then nails Studd with a legdrop for the 1-2-3. The other Machines come in during the count and Heenan hilariously launches himself over the top rope to get out of dodge. Here Are Your Winners: HULK MACHINE, SUPER MACHINE & BIG MACHINE. Post match sees Hulk pose to 'Real American' as he peels part of the mask off to reveal......shock horror...it was Hulk Hogan all along. A typical Hogan matchup. While there was little to no wrestling here, Hulk always had his routine, which the fans loved to lap up.
Okerlund wraps things up to end the show.
Best match: Hart Foundation vs The Rougeaus.
Worst match: The Machines vs The Heenan Family.
Show verdict: Thumbs in the middle. See you next week. Shaun.
If anyone wants to sound off, chew the fat or talk wrestling get in touch. Comments/praise/feedback/criticism/discussion points please direct to shaunmb1@hotmail.com.
