The Islanders and the Moondogs

The Islanders v The Moondogs (WWF, 9/22/86)

This is the earliest Islanders in MSG footage I've seen. I'm not sure the crowd were completely sold at the start but they were fairly rocking for them by the end. Hayes is on commentary with Gorilla and calls them Haka and Tomma. He tells us the Moondogs are rich in wrestling proficiency but perhaps wont to neglect their homework. Hayes says a lot of things. The Islanders' start was super energetic, especially Tama who was leapfrogging the cavemen and hitting big knife edge chops, while Moondog Spot was bumping around with some real VIGOUR. Spot was great in this, getting to stretch out and show some nice athleticism on bumps, stooging big when it was required and being an imposing presence when the Moondogs were on offence. Rex was less about the stooging and bumps but he brought some big pieces of offence, including a cool delayed powerslam. The transition into Tama in peril was great, with Tama running the ropes and Spot pulling down the top rope, Tama going hurling outside and flying into the barricade. Lord Al's point about the Moondogs not being ones for scouting opponents rings true when Spot throws exactly one headbutt that Tama absorbs, then as Tama starts firing up Spot immediately shuts him down with a big inverted atomic drop. Not once did Spot or Rex make the mistake of throwing another headbutt, so if nothing else perhaps these Moondogs are capable of learning on the job. Tama's splash off the top really is the blueprint for all Samoans hitting a top rope splash. Just a beautiful thing.