May 3, 1986 WWF Championship Wrestling results

The May 3, 1986 Edition of WWF Championship Wrestling is a Professional wrestling television show of the World Wrestling Federation, which took place on April 21, 1986 at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center at Poughkeepsie, New York.

Two of the WWF's top stars -- Roddy Piper and André the Giant -- were taking leaves of absences during the spring and summer of 1986; both of them were filming movies (Piper was in Hell Comes to Frogtown and Bodyslam; André was involved with The Princess Bride) and healing from legitimate injuries. André's injuries were shown to be part of a terminal health condition known as acromegaly, a condition that results from excess growth hormone (GH) after the growth plates have closed, and often results in health issues including headaches, joint pain, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, and high blood pressure; it would be a condition that would ultimately kill him.

Both absences figured heavily into storylines that would take up much of the rest of their year in 1986:


 * For André, a storyline was developed to rekindle interest in his long-running feud with Big John Studd, King Kong Bundy and their manager, Bobby Heenan. Two weeks earlier, on an episode of Championship Wrestling, Heenan announced he had signed a match pitting Bundy and Studd against André and a partner of his choosing. However, André did not appear for his match (aired on the April 26 episode); instead Hillbilly Jim and Ted Arcidi took on the heels, winning by disqualification. This particular episode focused on the fallout from that match: Heenan demanding that WWF president Jack Tunney immediately suspend André for being a no-show. No decision was announced on this program.
 * For Piper, it would be the debut of a replacement talk show segment, "The Flower Shop," with host "Adorable" Adrian Adonis. The segment was largely identical in format to "Piper’s Pit," which it replaced: the host (Adonis) inviting a wrestler onto the set -- set up with flowers, and the microphone encased in a boquet of flowers -- to either praise (if he was a heel) or insult (if he were a face), and often setting up a feud. In addition to filling the void of Piper's absence (he had taped four "Piper’s Pit" segments prior WrestleMania 2, which aired afterward), the segment was used to frame Adonis' gimmick as an effeminate cross-dresser. Adonis' first guest was Hillbilly Jim. The segment would play a huge role in Piper's future direction when he returned in August and become the genesis for Adonis' career-highlighting feud.

Results

 * Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.
 * (c) refers to the champion(s) heading into the match.


 * The Dream Team def. Tony Garea & Don Driggers when Greg "the Hammer" Valentine forced Driggers to submit to the figure-four leglock (4:22).
 * Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat def. Al Navarro after a flying bodpress (2:56).
 * The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff def. Scott McGhee & John Centeno when Sheik forced Centeno to submit to the camel clutch. (During the bout, Blassie joined the commentary team and challenged Corporal Kirchner to face Sheik the following week.)
 * The British Bulldogs (c) def. Psycho Capone & Paul Christy in a non-title match when Dynamite pinned Capone with a powerslam from the middle turnbuckle (3:04).
 * Jake "the Snake" Roberts pinned Serge Jodoin with the DDT (2:55).
 * "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff & Tito Santana defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion Randy "Macho Man" Savage & "Cowboy" Bob Orton when Santana pinned Savage with the flying forearm (4:08). Following the bout, all four men continued to brawl.

Other happenings

 * Several plugs for Saturday Night's Main Event.