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Piper said it was his first time here and said, "Holy cow." The crowd chanted for Piper. He told the crowd that he loved them. He said that he was supposed to fight Terry Funk tonight. He said Funk is one of the greatest guys he's ever known. Piper did some Funk impressions and talked about being hit by the mic in LA.
Piper talked about WrestleReunion and said that it gives a place for the younger guys to appear. He said that there's no place for guys to work anymore. He said that WWE is doing great and said that he just did Smackdown, then made a spitting noise, joking he's been fired there five times. Piper said that he saw the last match and it was amazing so he thought maybe he should let someone else do the Pit.
Piper said that he wanted the guy who got pinned to come out and host his own Pit and then Piper will tell him how he did. Konley came to the ring, As he did, Piper joked about Legends House and said, "Ha, my career is over." Piper said that in WWE, you get told you have three minutes to tell people who you are and told Konley to tell Piper who he is. Konley cut a good heel promo about hating Piper when he was a kid and then realizing that he wanted people to hate him too. It was good.
Piper said that was giving Konley some advice and that was to never let go of the microphone. Piper told him to introduce his guest and whispered a name in Konley's ear. Piper said that if he messes this up, he'll club him like a baby seal. Konley introduced Bruno Sammartino.
Bruno came to the ring. Piper said it was a pleasure to have him here and joked that Bruno still scares him. Piper said that this is a legend, since the word gets thrown around way too much. Konley asked Bruno how he is doing and Bruno said he was great. Konley asked him about where he was born and when he came to the United States. Konley said that he thought he could benchpress more than Bruno and Bruno talked about his own benchpress records. Konley asked him if he was on the juice. Piper took over and set the stage for Bruno to talk about doing 38 reps of 330 pounds. Piper then led the crowd in a Legend chant.
Konley asked Bruno how he thought he would fare against Caleb. Bruno said he was an old man and retired. Bruno said that he may be talented but in his day, he picked up and slammed Haystacks Calhoun. He still runs 5 miles several times a week and pumps iron every other day. Sammartino said that if Konley tried something, Bruno would face him and give him a little spanking.
Piper said that Konley did a good job and told him that when he had that chance, people smacked him and pushed him around. He started hitting Konley, who fired back. They slapped each other and finally Piper got the better of him and ran Konley off. He told Konley to work on winning matches and go back to kindergarden. Piper then raised Bruno's arm.
A little long and while I liked the idea of Konley getting the rub here, I think fans would have been just as happy with Piper and Bruo.
Dave Finlay vs. Harry Smith
They had some nice back and forth wrestling early. Finlay spotted a short woman in the crowd (about 4'6") and played off of her. The fans chanted "Mrs. Swoggle." They actually brought her into the ring for a comedy spot. The crowd loved that.
After that, they went into some good back and forth wrestling on the mat. Smith controlled Finlay on the mat with a side headlock. Finlay fired back up but was cut off and brought back to the mat. Finlay finally backed him into the corner, forcing a break and broke clean.
They locked up again with Harry grabbing a side headlock. Smith was sent into the ropes and shoulderblocked Finlay down. Finlay sidestepped a charge, sending Harry to the floor. When Harry went back into the ring, Finlay kicked the ropes and crotched him, turning heel (I think). He attacked Smith on the floor and rammed him backwards into the ringpost.
Returning to the mat, Finlay controlled him with knees to the back and pulled him into a surfboard position. Finlay drilled him and covered him for a two count. He fired with shots to the back and uppercuts. Finlay tossed Smith to the floor. When Smith returned, Finlay worked over his arm and drilled him with a short arm clothesline. He dropped a knee and covered him for a two count.
Smith mounted a comeback with a series of clotheslines and right hands. Finlay kicked him off a charge but when Finlay tried to come off the ropes, Harry nailed him and turned him over into the Sharpshooter. Finlay made it to the ropes but was caught with a running powerslam for the pin.
Your winner, Harry Smith!
Solid back and forth match with some really nice matwork. Finlay is just out of this world as a worker.
They embraced after the match to a loud round of applause. Big Finlay chant.
Vader vs. The Necro Butcher for the first time ever.
I don't know about you, but I think Lou Thesz is on the edge of his seat watching this one from above! OK, maybe not.
They locked up and Vader muscled him into the corner. They locked up again with the same result but this time, Vader drilled him with a series of punches in the corner. He whipped Necro into the ropes and drilled him with a double arm clothesline and continued battering Necro in the corner.
Vader drilled Necro with another chest bursting double clothesline, then peppered him with punches. He choked Necro against the corner and drilled him across the chest with hard shots. Necro poked him in the eye to back Vader. Necro backed him into the corner with uppercuts and chops. Vader fired back with punches and they battled back and forth.
Necro was shoved off but was fired with a series of punches. Vader slammed him and nailed the Vader splash for a two count. Vader chokeslammed him and scored the pin.
Your winner, Vader!
OK but disapointing given the aura of the brawlers in the ring on paper. It was probably an unfair expectation but I was hoping for something a little more out of control.
Coverage continues on Page Three!
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