[1987-10-16-WWF-MSG, NY] Strike Force vs The Islanders (2/3 Falls)

[Superstar Sleeze]

Strike Force vs The Islanders - 10/87 MSG 2 Out of 3 Falls

I couldnt find this one either.

Strike Force try to start off early, but the Islanders are wary of this and bail. Bock is on commentary again and does not know what to make of it when Gorilla posits that The Brain maybe in drag somewhere in the building. Neither do I, Bock. Was there an angle at the time? There is obviously the Weasel Suit, but I know nothing of drag. Anyways, Strike Force starts off hot with Strike Force controlling the action. They use a headlock as a base in this match. Tito hits a pretty sweet Thesz Press that only gets two. Haku catches Martel with a back suplex while in the headlock shades of Mr. Saito. Tama and Haku do some double teaming on Martel. Martel is a lot better than most WWF babyfaces in working underneath by mixing in hope spots. He tags in Tito who immediately goes in for the kill with the Figure-4. However, the Islanders break it up.

Haku sends Tito crashing to the floor and as pay back attacks Tito's right knee. THIS AINT MEXICO, HAKU!!! Tama follows this up by stomping the left knee.

This leads to a continuity problem the rest of the match as Tito & Haku are on the same page with the right knee psychology, but Tama works over the left knee. The knee psychology is sound and refreshing in this match up. Tito maybe a bit better at selling than Martel as he is really milking this injury. The Islanders are really relentless making this a very dramatic segment. Martel gets fed up with this, but inadvertently allows The Islanders to hit their double diving headbutt to pick up the first fall.

There should be a short respite in between the falls, but the Islanders want to keep the full court press on Tito's knee. So Martel stands over the fallen, hurt Tito challenging to take both the Islanders on at the same time. It is just a great visiual and I am a total sucker for things like this as it is such great drama.

The second fall is wicked short as they work on the knee briefly before Martel reverses a cradle attempt for Strike Force to even it up. THE CROWD ERUPTS!! The babyface cheating is justified by the Islanders being total assholes constantly blindsiding Tito and Martel throughout the build-up. They do same angle during the respite.

Haku just slaps Tito around a bit to start. At this point, Gorilla notices the leg discontinuity,  he claims that Haku is the one who fucked up by going after the right leg even though Tito had been selling the right leg. But like most Americans, he was accustomed to left side work so did not notice that Tito was selling the right leg. The Islanders go for the kill with the double headbutt, but Thou Shalt Not Hit The Same Spot In The Same Match In America.

ITS RICKY MARTEL TIME, MUTHAFUCKAS~! THE GARDEN IS ROCKING!!! Backdrop, strikes, reverse crossbody. Haku thinks he has Martel, but YOU CANT HOLD DOWN RICK MARTEL and he moves out of the way causing Tama to send Haku crashing to the apron and Martel to get the reverse sunset flip victory. STRIKE FORCE WINS!!! Martel does his usual I just won the World Title celebration!

I would say this is below the September tag match, which just had so much more action and really showed how much Strike Force wanted to pummel The Islanders. I liked the drama with Tito's knee, but it just felt a little too compressed. Plus I would have liked a little bit more definitive ending like a Boston Crab or cross body block to really put Strike Force over. That being said, they had the Garden with them every step of the way. This series has had incredible heat. This would be my WWF Feud of the Year and best Tag Feud I have seen from 80s WWF. This is just really classic stuff. ****1/4