WWF Danger Zone was a 1986 professional wrestling event put on by the World Wrestling Federation. It is the ninth event overall in the alternate WWF timeline, and the first to emanate from outside the US. Taking place in the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto Ontario Canada, the event was broadcast on the USA Network. The main event of the evening was a WWF title match between WWF Champion Hulk Hogan and challenger Alexei Koloff, who had his "uncle" Ivan in his corner. Also on the undercard was a tag team match between the Funk cousins against Andre the Giant and Paul Orndorff, an Intercontinental Title match between Randy Savage and former champion Brutus Beefcake and a six man tag match with the World Tag Team Titles on the line as the Midnight Express and their manager Jim Cornette faced The British Bulldogs and their manager, Capt. Lou Albano.
The event is also notable for Roddy Piper participating in commentary, filling in for Jesse Ventura, who was filming Predator at the time.
Prelude[]
The previous year, former WWF champion Ivan Koloff had returned to the Federation seeking a title match with the current champion, Hulk Hogan, something that the champion was quick to grant. After dispatching the Russian Bear, Hogan thought little else of it, but Koloff vowed revenge. This led to Ivan bringing in his "nephew" Alexei Koloff into the WWF to stop Hulkamania. Since his arrival, Alexei had been unbeaten in singles competition, leading to Hogan accepting the Russian's challenge for a title match in this event.
Following their defeat at Wrestlemania 2, the Funks continued to try and make life difficult for Hulk Hogan, and to a greater extent the Eighth Wonder of the World Andre the Giant. While Hogan was busy dealing with Alexei Koloff, he told Andre to join up with his "good friend" Paul Orndorff to face the Funks. While Orndorff was somewhat annoyed with Hogan simply "assigning" him to team with Andre, he didn't say anything much and agreed to team with the Giant.
Following their narrow loss at Wrestlemania, the Bulldogs demanded a rematch with the Midnight Express, but Cornette was reluctant to grant one. Eventually WWF Commissioner Arnold Skaaland intervened, stating that not only would the Bulldogs get a rematch, but they would get one in a unique six man tag team match in which they would team with Capt. Lou Albano while Cornette would team with the Midnight Express. If the Bulldogs won, they would win the Tag Team Titles.
Event[]
The event began with three non-televised dark matches, as Greg "The Hammer" Valentine defeated Lanny Poffo, The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers defended their US Tag Team Titles against the masked Nightmares, and David Sammartino (now paired with Mr. Fuji due to the retirement of Fred Blassie) defeated Hillbilly Jim. The television portion of the event began with a TV title defense, as Ricky Steamboat wrestled to a time limit draw with Hercules Hernandez. This was followed by a six-man tag as Jimmy Hart/Slick's tandem of The Hart Foundation and the "Adorable" Adrian Adonis took care of The Chicanos and Hillbilly Jim.
Randy Savage and Brutus Beefcake capped off their long standing feud with Savage successfully retaining his title, though once again he showed overprotective jealousy towards Miss Elizabeth, despite the fact that Beefcake never really showed any overt advances towards the manager. Following King Kong Bundy literally squashing Tony Atlas with an Avalanche Splash, we saw The Midnight Express team with their manager against The British Bulldogs with Capt. Lou on the other side. The two tag teams each put up a clinic against each other, with the managers only getting involved sporadically, though Albano eventually did get Cornette up in the Airplane Spin and disoriented him greatly. The match ended with a Davey Boy powerslam to Dennis Condrey followed by a diving headbutt from The Dynamite Kid, allowing the British Bulldogs to win and, per the stipulations of the match, win the world tag team titles.
The Tag Match between the Funks and Andre/Orndorff ended in disqualification after interference from Jimmy Hart, yet after the match things took a turn when Andre and Brody fought in a sort of mini-match all its own, leaving the Giant standing tall over both Funks as a result. It is also worth noting that Roddy Piper, on commentary, called Orndorff a "mini-Hogan" in his tearing down of his former rival. The main event followed this with Koloff nearly beating Hogan with a massive bearhug that knocked the wind out of the challenger. Despite this, Hogan persevered yet again, and finished off the Soviet Monster with his trademark legdrop finish.
Results[]
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1D | Greg "The Hammer" Valentine d. Lanny Poffo by Submission | Singles Match | 5:33 |
| 2D | The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers [Jacques & Raymond] (c) d. The Nightmares [Nightmare #1 & Nightmare #2] by Pinfall | Tag Team Match for the WWF US Tag Team Titles | 6:18 |
| 3D | David Sammartino w/Mr. Fuji d. Bob Bradley by Pinfall | Singles Match | 3:59 |
| 4 | Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat (c) & Hercules w/Bobby "The Brain" Heenan wrestled to a time limit draw | Singles Match for the WWF Television Title | 15:00 |
| 5 | The Hart Foundation [Bret "The Hitman" Hart & Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart] & "Adorable" Adrian Adonis w/Jimmy Hart & Slick d. The Chicanos [Tito Santana & Hector Guerrero] & Hillbilly Jim by Pinfall | Six-Man Tag Team Match | 13:04 |
| 6 | "Macho Man" Randy Savage w/Miss Elizabeth (c) d. Brutus Beefcake by Pinfall | Singles Match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship | 11:09 |
| 7 | King Kong Bundy w/Bobby "The Brain" Heenan d. "Mr. USA" Tony Atlas by Pinfall | Singles Match | 2:04 |
| 8 | The British Bulldogs [Davey Boy Smith & The Dynamite Kid] & Capt. Lou Albano d. The Midnight Express [Bobby Eaton & Dennis Condrey] & Jim Cornette (c) by Pinfall | Six-Man Tag Team Match for the WWF World Tag Team Titles | 9:58 |
| 9 | "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff & "The Eighth Wonder of the World" Andre the Giant d. Terry Funk & Brody "Hoss" Funk w/Jimmy Hart by Disqualification | Tag Team Match | 12:00 |
| 10 | Hulk Hogan (c) d. Alexei Koloff w/Ivan Koloff by Pinfall | Singles Match for the WWF Championship | 8:48 |
Aftermath[]
The idea of being "mini-Hogan" would wear on Orndorff to the point where he would challenge the Hulkster to a title match at the first ever Summerslam, eventually allying himself with Hogan's arch-enemy Bobby "The Brain" Heenan in the process and turning heel on his former friend. Randy Savage's jealousy would also find a new target in George "The Animal" Steele, who truly did lust after Elizabeth. Sadly, the feud between Andre and Brody would never see resolution, as Bruiser Brody left the company shortly after this event, with Terry Funk following not long after.