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WWF House Show 8/6/1988

Written by: Justin Rozzero

Boston Garden House Show
Boston, MA
August 6, 1988

Announcers: Sean Mooney, Bill Graham & Lord Alfred Hayes

1) Ron Bass defeats Koko B. Ware after hitting him with his bullwhip at 8:52

Bass is in the ring to start as Koko enters to “Piledriver” off the album by the same name. Koko looks to be in great shape here, probably the best of his WWF run. The announcers discuss Koko’s new haircut in depth for some reason as the two men stall a bit to start. Bass takes control but Koko ducks a whip and nails a pair of dropkicks and headscissors, sending Bass to the floor. Superstar gushes over Koko’s dropkicking ability as Bass stalls on the floor before getting back in. Bass tries to take control again, but Koko eludes him once more and gets a quick roll up for a near fall. Koko works the arm for a moment before faking a body block and nailing an axehandle from the second rope. A disheveled Bass hits the floor again as Koko has kept him off balance. More discussion about Koko’s haircut and how it helps him look more in shape as Koko takes control of the arm again. Bass hits a couple of knees and finally seems to have Koko under control, as Graham says Bass needs to stay on him and take over now. This team of announcers actually isn’t as bad as I feared when the show started, as they are providing decent analysis. Bass continues to work Koko over with a variety of knees and punches, mainly focusing on the midsection. Bass gets two off a backbreaker as Alfred calls Bass a lazy wrestler, saying he doesn’t put his full energy into the match. Bass is distracted by the crowd and Koko battles back, landing punches, a dropkick and getting a two off fist to the head off the second rope. Bass begs off and Koko goes up for the ten punches to the head and follows with an Irish whip to the corner. The ref backs Koko off, allowing Bass to grab Miss Betsy and pop Koko in the face for the win in a surprisingly frisky opener. Grade: 2.5

2) Fabulous Rougeau Brothers defeat the Hart Foundation when Jacques Rougeau pins Bret Hart after an Axehandle by Raymond Rougeau at 12:01

No awesome theme music for the freshly turned Rougeaus. They are carrying the mini flags though, and they tell Mel Phillips to amend his introduction to let everyone know they will be moving to the USA in the near future. No music for the Harts yet either, which is odd to see. Jimmy Hart is MIA as a fan shows Bret an oil painting portrait of the Hitman. Alfred says the painting is awful and laughs his ass off at it. I must admit, these three are entertaining me quite a bit. Alfred wants to know why the Rougeaus don’t have more American emblems on their trunks and then gives Billy and Sean a French lesson. Damn, Hayes is on tonight. Anvil and Raymond start things off with a lockup, which Anvil wins. The two trade some basic holds back and forth until Anvil drills Ray with a stiff shoulderblock. Ray is able to land a dropkick and the two reset and lock up again, as the announcers do a good job breaking down the teams. Anvil turns the table and hits a dropkick of his own, sending Ray to the floor in shock. Ray finally tags in Jacques and Anvil reciprocates and tags in Bret. Jacques offers the left handed handshake but Bret refuses it, as Mooney ponders if the left handed shake is a Canadian thing. Another lock up as Mooney makes a great point about the Rougeaus stalling to dictate the pace of the match. Jacques drops down for a monkey flip, but Bret drills him in the face with an elbow, sending Jacques into a near seizure in the corner. Ray is back in as Jacques recovers, but Bret keeps control and backs him into the corner. Anvil in and he pounds Ray to the mat and they start doing some quick double teaming behind the ref’s back leading to a Bret reverse chinlock. Jacques is able to trip Bret as he hits the ropes as the Rougeaus take control of the match. Rougeaus work some basic offense and use quick tags to maintain control. Jacques locks in a sit down reverse chinlock and eventually they do an illegal switch and Ray takes over the hold. We are getting some good duel double team action by four masters right now. Jacques locks in an abdominal stretch after a near fall on Bret. Ray hits the patented side kick, sending Bret down to the mat, but Anvil breaks up the pin attempt. Ray goes for a monkey flip in the corner but gets caught with a good reverse Atomic Drop. Bret hits the hot tag to a good pop and Anvil comes in and cleans house. A clothesline gets a two count and the Harts hit a version of the Decapitation Device for another two that Ray breaks up. Bret locks in a sleeper on Jacques as Anvil and Ray battle in the corner. Jimmy Hart appears and distracts the Anvil and the ref, allowing Ray to drill Bret in the back with an axehandle and Jacques happens to fall backwards on top for the pin. Fun little tag match that gave a big win to the Rougeaus and that helped further the Jimmy Hart vs. Hart Foundation angle. Grade: 2.5

3) DJ Peterson defeats Lanny Poffo with a roll up at 5:51

Lanny grants us with a poem about Lord Alfred before he battles the AWA stalwart, Peterson, who was in between AWA stints here. Peterson would end up being one half of the final AWA Tag champions in 1991 with the Trooper. Peterson was killed in early 1993 in a motorcycle crash. A bit of foreshadowing here as Alfred claims that Poffo is a genius. Alfred speculates on what DJ stands for, tossing out “Disc Jockey” and “Diamond Jim” and then mentions that he has great balance. Poffo hits a hop toss and arm drag before hitting the mat and working the arm. Graham speculates that Peterson and Jake Roberts may be related because they look alike, but for his sake I hope that isn’t true. Poffo works in a nice hammerlock on the mat, which Peterson bridges out of. Both men back to their feet with a lock up, but Poffo continues to control and locks in another armbar. Poffo with a leg scissors, but Peterson grabs control with some punches and a smooth float over suplex for a 1 count. DJ locks a chinlock, but then is able to wrap Poffo into a nice crucifix for a near fall. Peterson has some good offense, even though the crowd doesn’t seem to agree. DJ with a dropkick followed by an Irish whip and another dropkick attempt, but Poffo moves out of the way and takes control. Peterson is down; Poffo heads outside and hits a great springboard Senton for a two count. Poffo goes for a scoop slam, but Peterson holds on and rolls Poffo up for the quick pin. Peterson looked solid and it was a really impressive outing for Poffo, as Graham notes as well, “However he still lost,” Superstar adds in at the end. Poffo was quite wasted in his run in the WWF, however you gain more respect with each house show match you see him wrestle. Grade: 2

4) Honky Tonk Man defeats Brutus Beefcake after hitting him with the megaphone at 6:01 to retain the WWF Intercontinental Championship

Honky makes his way down with Peggy Sue and the I-C belt in tow. Peggy has a megaphone in hand and a handkerchief over her face and Mooney claims that “she has looked better” as the three take shots at her. I am sure we can all see where this is headed. Beefcake makes his entrance, and accompanying him is his timid “girlfriend” Georgia, who is clearly George Steele in horrible punk rocker drag. Mooney claims Georgia has “nice cleavage” and is topped by Graham saying it is “hairy cleavage” in an exchange I don’t think I want to hear ever again. Steele is looking like Elton John as he poses in the ring with Mine. We get all sorts of posturing and stalling to start up here and I don’t think it will get much better as we move along. The announcers are still playing along tongue-in-cheek with the Georgia and Peggy Sue stuff. Honky is still stalling, but at least Steele is finally out of the ring. Brutus is talking to Georgia in the corner and Honky finally pounces to take control early. Beefcake reverses things in the corner and drills Honky’s head to the buckle 10 times and follows with a reverse Atomic Drop and headbutt. Honky is down and Brutus spread Honky’s legs and drops a low elbow. Brutus drapes Honky on the second rope where he is assaulted by Georgia. Brutus takes Honky from corner to corner and hits the 10 punches in both before putting him down with a clothesline. Just as Graham is chiding him for not taking advantage, Beefcake gets the sleeper early and Honky is fading. Peggy is into the ring, but Georgia chases him out. Peggy drops the megaphone in the ring on her way out, which Honky grabs and drills Beefcake with for the win. Beefcake beats Honky down after the match and he and Georgia are able to grab Peggy Sue and strip her down to reveal Jimmy Hart under the disguise. Unfortunately, Hart is wearing some sort of bra and thong, which is pretty unsettling. Georgia hands Beefcake the belt and Mooney proclaims that Georgia is announcing Beefcake as the new Champ, but thankfully Alfred is here to tell us that isn’t true. Grade: 1.5

5) Demolition defeats the British Bulldogs when Smash pinned Dynamite Kid after an Axehandle by Ax at 9:03

Mel Phillips informs us that this is a non title match as the Tag Team champions are led down by Mr. Fuji and thankfully have their theme music in tact here at the Boston Garden. Dynamite and Davey head down the aisle looking jacked up, but sadly do not have Matilda with them. We get more solid analysis by Alfred as he lauds Fuji for being able to make this a non title match, but explains that the Bulldogs had to take the match to move up the ladder. Fuji joins us on commentary for a moment as Davey takes early control over Smash. Davey and Dynamite pull off a blind switch while the ref is turned and Dynamite works the arm, but Smash overpowers Kid and is able to tag in Ax. Dynamite is able to regain control after an Ax flurry and works an armbar and a hammerlock and then switches with Davey, who takes over on the hammerlock and then we get another switch while the ref is turned and Dynamite keeps the hold on and works the arm. Alfred and Sean talk about Demolition’s match against the Harts at Summerslam as the Bulldogs continue to quick tag and control the match. Smash is in and he and Davey trade blows until Davey catches an axehandle off the second rope and nails a Powerslam for a near fall. Ax back in and is able to switch momentum on Kid and they trap him in the corner and beat him down a bit. Now Demolition is quick tagging and working Kid’s neck. Fuji gets a cheap shot with the cane as Demolition continues to pound Kid into the mat and eventually to the floor, where Fuji lands another cane shot on Kid. Smash drills a suplex from the outside in and Ax goes back to the rear chinlock, but Kid breaks it with a jawbreaker. Kid hits the hot tag and Davey is in with a pair of dropkicks and a flurry of punches. He slams Smash and then Ax as the crowd gets fired up. A pair of clotheslines leads to a cover, but the ref is distracted and Ax kicks out. Running body press gets another close 2 count, but Ax kicks out. Dynamite back in with a clothesline and snap suplex on Smash and then things break down as Fuji gets on the apron and all four are in the ring. Davey goes after Fuji as Dynamite hooks in an octopus style move, but Ax drills him in the neck from behind and Smash picks up the pin. This was a decent match, but a little choppy and not as good as I expected out of these four. Grade: 1.5

6) Randy Savage defeats Ted DiBiase by count out at 7:06; Savage retains the WWF World Championship

DiBiase heads down the aisle rocking his super swank green suit which I used to think only existed for his action figure and in my dreams. The Champ and Liz make their way out to an excellent ovation and I am excited for this matchup. The announcers talk about their last match at the Garden, and say that nothing was settled there. DiBiase attacks before Savage can get his robe and belt off, but Savage thwarts him and tosses him around, eventually hitting him in the back with the belt and sending him to the floor. The crowd is rocking for Macho, which is always fun to see. Savage flips DiBiase into the ring and then yanks him from the corner and drops him on his back. Savage sends DiBiase to the floor again after slamming him face first into the mat a couple of times. Savage spits in DiBiase’s face and then whips him into the corner, but he eats boot when he charges. DiBiase misses an elbow and gets whipped to the buckle again, but dodges a running knee by Macho and is able to gain control. Ted wraps Savage’s knee around the post three times and the crowd is getting ornery. Savage lands a few punches, but DiBiase is able to fend him off, land a snap mare and a knee to the chest. DiBiase locks in a reverse toe lock, but Savage flips out of it. DiBiase again wards off a Savage flurry and takes Macho back to the mat. Ted goes for a spinning toe hold, but Savage kicks him all the way back over the top to the floor in a cool move. Ted up to the top, but Savage lands a punch to the gut and the two then trade punches. DiBiase begs off, but Savage attacks with punches and hits a smooth neckbreaker before sending Ted to the floor again with a clothesline. Savage follows, but gets tangled with Virgil and Ted gets control. Savage hits a reverse atomic drop, sending Ted into the post and then slips into the ring for the countout win. DiBiase grabs Liz’s ankle and twists it while she is on the apron and is trying to pull her down, but Savage finally turns around and chases him off. Liz is hurt and Savage helps her to the back. That was really fun while it lasted, but I am kind of disappointed that it ended so abruptly, as it could have easily gone another 15 in front of this crowd and still been red hot. It seemed as if they were definitely setting up a rematch for the next Garden show, especially when you consider the talk about the last match at the beginning. Grade: 3

7) Andre the Giant defeats Jim Duggan in a Lumberjack Match with an elbow drop at 7:57

All the other wrestlers on the card except Savage and DiBiase make their way out to play lumberjack as the announcers ponder how any of them can get Andre back in. Andre and Bobby make their way to the ring, followed shortly by Duggan, who is out to a good pop. Duggan confers with Dynamite and trusts him with the 2×4. Superstar claims it was a good decision as Kid is “honest and just”. Duggan starts with some big rights to rattle Andre, but Andre lands a headbutt, sending Duggan staggering back. Andre stalks Hacksaw and traps him in the corner and then slugs him down to the mat. Andre continues to hammer Duggan and traps him in the corner again, landing a punch and a chop and then biting him. Duggan rolls towards the ropes, but the lumberjacks push him back in to Andre, and the Giant drills Duggan with a knee to the face. Andre stalks Jim again and is able to wrap a huge standing reverse chinlock on him, using his tights as well. The crowd is rallying for Duggan and he gets the arm up on the third try, but Andre slugs him in the lower back and sends him to the floor. The lumberjacks toss him back in and Andre sits right on his chest four separate times, each time putting his thumb up and yelling “Hooo!” which was pretty funny. Duggan fights his way up and is able to land a huge clothesline, which send Andre into the ropes, where he gets tied up. Duggan pounds on him and the bites his nose and the crowd is rocking. Duggan tries to headbutt him, but hurts himself and Andre is freed by the lumberjacks. Duggan is down as Andre regains his composure in the corner, where he eventually takes off the top turnbuckle. Andre lands a headbutt and then sends Duggan into the exposed buckle. He sends him flying back into the steel a pair of times and goes for a headbutt, but Duggan ducks and the Giant runs into the steel. Andre is barely hanging on and Duggan slams his face into the steel again, and that sends the Giant to one knee. Duggan lines up the three point stance, drilling Andre to the corner back first. Duggan rams Andre’s head into the steel again, and Demolition jumps on the apron, drawing the ref over. This allows Dynamite to toss Duggan the 2×4 and he drills Andre, sending him to the floor. The lumberjacks try to get him back in, but he tosses them all off and rolls in himself. Duggan charges Andre, but gets caught with a punch to the gut and then rams Duggan’s head to the steel and drops a huge elbow on him for the big win. After the bell, all the lumberjacks hit the ring for a huge brawl, which Andre controls until Duggan hits the ring with the 2×4. Ok, sue me, I liked it a lot. Andre was moving pretty well and the match felt like a Heavyweight slugfest as the two just traded huge blows back and forth. The crowd was hot the whole time and was into all the big hits and all of Duggan’s comebacks. This was a surprisingly good end to a fun little house show. Grade: 2.5

Final Analysis

Well, I must say that was a fun show to watch. There was no blow away match, but nothing was bad either. I was a little disappointed by the Bulldogs/Demolition match, but the Main Event was really fun and balanced that out for sure. Peterson and Poffo put on a fun little match, as did Koko and Bass. I wish Savage/DiBiase was a bit longer, but I understand why they went the way they did. The announcers were shockingly competent as well, as they focused on calling and analyzing the action, and they did it well. Plus, Alfred was really funny throughout, which helped. Mix in a hot crowd, and you have the makings of a really entertaining house show. Final Grade: B

MVP: Jim Duggan & Andre the Giant
Runner Up: Randy Savage & Ted DiBiase
Non MVP: Demolition & British Bulldogs
Runner Up: Honky Tonk Man & Brutus Beefcake

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