The first month of this WWF replay takes place in January 1985. There was one title change (Tito Santana winning the Intercontinental Championship), and one title victory (Brutus Beefcake and Greg Valentine claiming the vacant Tag Team Championship). Here are the results:
Saturday, January 5, 1985 – Hartford, CT – Civic Center
U.S. Express (Rotunda/Windham) vs. Moondogs – The Moondogs went for a foreign object early but the ref saw it. The U.S. Express wins by disqualification at 3:00.
Nikolai Volkoff vs. Tony Atlas – Volkoff battered Atlas, then knocked him out while outside of the ring. Volkoff wins by countout at 8:00.
Brutus Beefcake vs. SD Jones – Johnny V hit Jones when the ref wasn’t looking. Beefcake wins by pinfall at 8:00 after interference.
Junkyard Dog vs. Iron Sheik – Sheik hit a couple of suplexes early, JYD landed a couple of punches, but action moved to the outside of the ring almost immediately, and their brawl continued past the 10 count. No contest after a double countout at 2:00.
Jimmy Snuka & Tonga Kid vs. Roddy Piper and Bob Orton Jr. – Piper and Orton handed out most of the damage. Tonga Kid was exhausted, and Snuka was almost there. But, Snuka or Tonga Kid attempted five rollups on Orton at various points in the match, and the fifth time was the charm. Somehow, Snuka kept Orton’s back on the mat for the three count on the final one. Snuka & Tonga Kid win by pinfall at 14:00.
Greg Valentine (Intercontinental Champion) vs. Tito Santana – Valentine was wearing Santana down with constant attacks, but Santana kept hitting big moves. He put the figure four on Valentine twice, and hit him with flying forearms three times. Valentine managed to escape submission and pinfalls each time. Seeing the momentum swinging in Santana’s favor, Valentine tossed Santana to the outside of the ring, followed him to the floor, and wouldn’t let Santana get back in the ring. The result was a double countout – and a rematch at for the Intercontinental Championship on a future card. No contest after a double countout at 23:00.
Saturday, January 12, 1985 – East Rutherford, NJ – Meadowlands
Bret Hart vs. Pete Doherty – There was little competition in this one and Hart finished him off with an elbow drop off the second rope. Hart wins by pinfall at 4:00.
Tito Santana vs. Ivan Putski – Santana’s tuneup for a second shot at the Intercontinental Championship ended with a flying forearm and the 1-2-3. Santana wins by pinfall at 8:00.
Hillbilly Jim vs. Big John Studd – Studd had Hillbilly Jim at the brink of exhaustion but couldn’t land his finisher before the bell sounded. Declared a draw after the 30-minute time limit was reached.
Paul Orndorff vs. Junkyard Dog – Orndorff threw JYD toward the turnbuckle, but the referee got in the way and was knocked out. Orndorff hit a distracted JYD with a piledriver and covered him for the 1-2-3, but the referee was still dazed. When he finally came to, the referee disqualified Orndorff, who can’t believe the decision. He demands a rematch. JYD wins by disqualification at 5:00.
A nine-team tag team battle royal for the WWF Tag Team Championship featuring the U.S. Express (Mike Rotunda/Barry Windham); the Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff; Salvatore Bellomo and S.D. Jones; Jimmy Snuka and the Tonga Kid; Don Muraco and Adrian Adonis; the Dream Team (Brutus Beefcake/Greg Valentine); Tony Atlas and George Wells; the Moondogs (Rex and Spot); and Roddy Piper and Bob Orton. The eliminations went as follows:
Nikolai Volkoff tosses out SD Jones (Bellomo/Jones eliminated)
Greg Valentine tosses out Roddy Piper (Orton/Piper eliminated)
Jimmy Snuka tosses out Mike Rotunda (Rotunda/Windham eliminated)
Don Muraco tosses out Moondog Spot (Moondogs eliminated)
Nikolai Volkoff tosses out the Tonga Kid (Snuka/Tonga Kid eliminated)
Brutus Beefcake tosses out George Wells (Atlas/Wells eliminated)
Iron Sheik tosses out Adrian Adonis (Adonis/Muraco eliminated)
Greg Valentine tosses out Nikolai Volkoff (Sheik/Volkoff eliminated)
Brutus Beefcake and Greg Valentine win the battle royal and are the new WWF Tag Team Champions.
Saturday, January 19, 1985 – Philadelphia, PA – Spectrum
Andre the Giant & Hillbilly Jim vs. Big John Studd & King Kong Bundy – Andre was in control early, but with the ref down, Studd sucker punched him from behind and ran off a series of attacks, hurting Andre. Andre was finally able to tag out, and Hillbilly Jim came in and was having his way with Bundy. But he made a bad decision in trying to power slam the massive Bundy, as he couldn’t lift him all the way up. Bundy came crashing down onto Hillbilly Jim. Andre wasn’t in any condition to make a save, and Bundy was able to keep Hillbilly Jim down for the three count – Bundy & Studd win by pinfall at 8:00.
Roddy Piper vs. Tonga Kid – Early on, Piper threw the Tonga Kid out of the ring, followed him the floor, and bashed the Tonga Kid’s head into a steel post. Tonga Kid was clearly hurt, and after a couple more attacks, the referee stopped the match. Tonga Kid will miss the next five weeks due to a concussion! – No contest at 6:00.
Bob Orton Jr. vs. Jimmy Snuka – Snuka survived Orton using a foreign object early, and bloodied Orton when the two went to the floor and Snuka threw him into the post. The combatants battled back and forth. With Orton slowing, Snuka went to the top rope and hit Orton with his finisher, the Superfly top rope big splash, and got the 1-2-3. But, Orton’s tag team partner Roddy Piper was lurking, and he came in and beat down Snuka following the match. – Snuka wins by pinfall at 21:00.
U.S. Express vs. Iron Sheik/Nikolai Volkoff – Shockingly, the match was over almost before it began. Nearly right off the bat, Sheik put Barry Windham into the cobra clutch, and there was no escaping it. – Sheik/Volkoff win by submission at 2:00.
Paul Orndorff vs. Junkyard Dog (rematch) – Orndorff demanded a rematch after a controversial DQ the last time they met. Both wrestlers were fired up and brawling early on. The ref stepped in but got hit by both of them simultaneously – and he called for a double disqualification. – No contest due to double disqualification at 3:00.
Greg Valentine heads to the ring holding his two belts – the Intercontinental Championship and the Tag Team Championship. He takes the mic and declares himself the best in the business. Tito Santana comes out and remind him the last time they met, it wasn’t going so well for Valentine. Their match begins with a brawl …
Greg Valentine (Intercontinental Champion) vs. Tito Santana – Valentine was getting in attacks at about a 2-for-1 rate, but Santana weathered the storm. Santana then surprised Valentine with a high crossbody. He got the 1-2-3 and we have a new champion! – Santana wins by pinfall at 9:00 and is the new Intercontinental Champion.
Saturday, January 26, 1985 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
Brutus Beefcake vs. Bret Hart – Beefcake appeared to have the match well in hand, but got greedy, taking a foreign object from Johnny V and smacking Hart with it. But, the ref saw it and Beefcake was disqualified. – Hart wins by disqualification at 11:00.
Iron Sheik vs. Barry Windham – the Iron Sheik has Barry Windham’s number. For the second straight card, the Sheik put Windham into the camel clutch almost immediately, and once again, Windham could not break the hold and had to tap out. – Iron Sheik wins by submission at 3:00.
Paul Orndorff vs. Junkyard Dog (no disqualification match) – JYD seemed to have control for most of the match, and hurt and bloodied Orndorff when the two went out of the ring. But Orndorff fought back and hit JYD with the piledriver twice, pinning him after the second attempt. – Orndorff wins by pinfall at 11:00.
Andre the Giant vs. King Kong Bundy – An impressive matchup between the two big men ended in disappointment. Both were able to hit their finishers, but the other was able to kick out. Andre backed Bundy into the corner, and with the ref trying to break it up, Andre accidentally punched the ref while trying to hit Bundy. The result was a disqualification. – Bundy wins by disqualification at 10:00.
Tito Santana (Intercontinental Champion) vs. Greg Valentine – Valentine had a shot to win back the Intercontinental title, but Santana was ready for his first title defense. Valentine tried to cheat early, but Santana kicked out twice. Santana also fought his way out of the figure four leglock late in the match. Finally, Santana hit Valentine with the flying forearm and covered him for the win. – Santana wins by pinfall at 41:00.
Hulk Hogan (World Champion) vs. Nikolai Volkoff – Volkoff gave Hogan everything he could handle. He put Hogan into backbreaker or bear hug submissions seven different times, but every time Hogan was able to escape. After nearly an hour, Volkoff didn’t have anything left when Hogan finally hit the leg drop, his finisher. – Hogan wins by pinfall at 58:00.
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 