WrestleFest 1990
Commentators: Sean Mooney, Lord Alfred Hayes, Gorilla Monsoon, Hillbilly Jim, Tony Schiavone
Host: Sean Mooney

So here we have another Coliseum Video as part of a series that the company did for a few years. I’ve done this before and probably rented the tape about seventy two times back as a kid so we’ve probably got some good stuff here. I have a grand total of no memory about what we’ll be seeing though so let’s get to it.

Sean Mooney is our host and is at the control desk to run down the lineup. I’ve heard worse.

From Miami, Florida, January 22, 1990.

Randy Savage vs. Roddy Piper

Queen Sherri is here with Savage. We pause to start, with Savage chilling on the ropes and Sherri slowly circling Piper. Sherri goes to look under Piper’s kilt and gets spanked around a bit, which finally brings Savage off the ropes for the ax handle to get things going after nearly two minutes. Now of course the fans are rather into things already because of the antics with Sherri and they have done one move, but I guess the match is dull due to the lack of action?

Piper clotheslines him right down and sends him into the corner, setting up another clothesline for two more. A sunset flip gives Piper two so Savage elbows him in the face, only to be chased out to the floor. Piper of course gives chase and they brawl back inside, where Savage gets in the neck snap across the top rope. The top rope ax handle connects and Sherri gets in a shot of her own. Back in and a knee drop gives Savage two more and we’re off to the sleeper.

That’s broken up and Piper hammers away in the corner with rights and lefts. Savage even gets tied up in the Tree Of Woe for some stomping before Piper stomps him in the middle of the ring instead. An airplane spin gives Piper two so Savage is right back with an even faster airplane spin, leaving Savage dizzy for a change. For some reason Savage tries to go up and falls down in a heap. Piper follows and keeps hammering away, with Sherri jumping on his back for the DQ at 9:32.

Rating: B. Oh yeah this was amazing with the two of them doing all kinds of stuff without doing much of anything at all. You could tell they were having a great time out there and it wound up being incredibly entertaining. If nothing else the battle of the airplane spins was great and the fans certainly seemed to like it. This was a perfect illustration of what happens when two talented wrestlers are given a chance to have fun, as they barely did anything big and still gave the fans a great performance.

Post match Piper sleepers Savage and then Sherri, with the villains being whipped into each other. Piper whips Savage with a belt to send them running.

A fan from Houston, Texas (with terrible penmanship) wants to see Ultimate Warrior vs. Dino Bravo.

Bravo is ready to face Warrior.

Warrior is ready to face Bravo.

From Tucson, Arizona, February 14, 1990.

Intercontinental Title: Ultimate Warrior vs. Dino Bravo

Bravo, with Jimmy Hart and Earthquake, is challenging. Ignore that the Warrior was wearing the WWF Title for his pre-match promo while the Intercontinental Title is on the line here. As I chuckle about the camera operator having to chase Warrior down the aisle, Warrior knocks Bravo down to start and this a top rope ax handle, only for Earthquake to grab Warrior’s foot.

That’s enough of a distraction (it might be due to Earthquake’s weird brown singlet) for Bravo to get in a cheap shot but Warrior sends him into the corner back inside. Earthquake grabs him again and this time Bravo gets in a clothesline out to the floor. Naturally Warrior gets clever by crawling underneath the ring, allowing him to steal Hart’s pants. Back in and Warrior grabs a quick suplex but the splash hits raised knees.

Naturally Bravo tries a test of strength before avoiding a charge into the corner. The bearhug (with Bravo bouncing for some reason) goes on until Warrior reverses into one of his own. That’s broken up and Warrior is knocked outside, where Earthquake gets in a slam on the floor. Back in and Bravo’s side slam gets two and Warrior is right back up with the flying shoulders. Now the splash connects so Earthquake comes in for the DQ at 8:16.

Rating: D+. Yeah this was about what you would have expected, as these two fought a bunch of times and it never worked. It’s just a power match but neither of them are any good for the most part so how was it supposed to work? The ending seemed stupid but at least they did something to set up the Wrestlemania match, which is at least better than just doing a lame ending for no payoff.

Post match the big beatdown is on with Earthquake going up so here is Hulk Hogan for the save. This segment was in the hype package for Hogan vs. Warrior at Wrestlemania.

This month’s manager profile is on Mr. Fuji, who talks about how he teaches his wrestlers to make others suffer. That makes him very, very happy and we see a montage of various assaults. We also see Mr. Fuji doing a 5k race at Wrestlemania V weekend, naturally in his tuxedo, which felt shenanigansy.

Brutus Beefcake wants to mess with Rick Martel’s hair.

Martel isn’t going to deal with this and promises to make Beefcake smell the sweet smell of Arrogance.

From New York City, New York, December 28, 1989.

Brutus Beefcake vs. Rick Martel

Martel bails out to the floor to start as Beefcake is way too enthusiastic with those clippers. This means a lot of stalling as they show off their physiques until Martel charges into a hiptoss about two and a half minutes after the bell. Beefcake scares him out to the floor and it’s already time to stall. Back in again and Martel offers a handshake, with even BRUTUS BEEFCAKE not being dumb enough to fall for this.

They do eventually shake hands and Beefcake kicks him in the ribs for a change before firing down the right hands in the corner. A stomp to the head and the headknocker just seem to wake Martel up as he comes back with an atomic drop. Martel knocks him down and hits the chinlock, setting up the choke…and another chinlock.

With that broken up, Martel gives him a slam and backbreaker, leaving Beefcake looking a bit dead. For some reason Martel goes up top but gets crotched down, allowing Beefcake to slug away. Beefcake fights back with the atomic drops, apparently a fan of Martel’s selling too. Martel gets knocked outside and is pulled back in, only for him to grab a rollup with the rope for the pin at 14:40.

Rating: C. This was a bunch of chinlocks but that’s probably better than asking Beefcake to go that long. He wasn’t the most versatile in the ring and there was no way around that. Let him do his thing and pop the crowd with his rather strong charisma, which is what we got here. The match wasn’t great, but the fans were certainly into it.

Post match Beefcake takes issue with the whole thing and gets jumped by Martel. That just earns Martel a sleeper to knock him out. Bobby Heenan of all people comes in to save Martel from a haircut.

It’s time for the Tag Team Profile, which is focusing on the Hart Foundation. This involves Jim Neidhart freaking out over not having the Tag Team Titles, with Bret Hart having to calm him down and sending us to a match against the Powers Of Pain.

From Fort Myers, Florida, January 23, 1990.

Hart Foundation vs. Powers Of Pain

Mr. Fuji is here with the Powers. Neidhart and Barbarian start things off and they stare at each other a lot and then trade shoves. Neither those nor Neidhart’s headlock go anywhere so Barbarian clotheslines Warlord by mistake. Hart comes in to hammer on Barbarian before making a blind tag to Neidhart for a clothesline. The Harts take turns working on Warlord’s arm, with Warlord missing a shoulder in the corner to make it even worse.

Warlord finally knocks Hart down with a clothesline and hits the forearm to the back, allowing Barbarian to hit a running headbutt to the back. The Powers take turns working on said back, with Hart having to escape over for the tag back to Neidhart. That means a bunch of shoulders can have the Powers in trouble until Fuji trips Neidhart down. The fight goes out to the floor and only Neidhart beats the count to win at 10:39.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t the best start to the profile as you would think the Harts winning via pinfall would make more sense. Either way, the Harts getting to show off their chemistry and mixture of power/speed was good, especially with the Powers being pretty one dimensional. The Harts could work well with anyone and the Powers were solid enough, even with the less than perfect ending.

Post match the Harts clear the ring with the cane.

The Harts talk about the importance of teamwork, including facing a team without much experience.

From Oakland, California, August 8, 1989.

Hart Foundation vs. Dino Bravo/Honky Tonk Man

Jimmy Hart is here with the villains and Bravo shoulders Hart down to start. A high five doesn’t count as a tag with Honky Tonk Man for some reason so Bravo gets to stomp on Hart for a bit. Hart is back up with a crossbody so Honky Tonk Man comes in, earning himself a quick double wishbone. Neidhart fires off the shoulders in the corner and it’s already back to Bravo, who gets in an atomic drop.

A cheap shot knocks Hart off the apron and the double elbow drops Neidhart again. The reverse chinlock seems to annoy Neidhart more than anything else but a knee to the face keeps him in trouble. Bravo drops a big jumping elbow but misses a knee, allowing Hart to come in again. That means Honky Tonk Man gets beaten up for a bit, with an O’Connor roll giving Hart two. Everything breaks down and Hart is whipped into Honky Tonk Man and Neidhart intercepts the Megaphone. A few shots to Honky Tonk Man draw the DQ at 8:57.

Rating: C. Why would you include this? It’s a makeshift team and the Harts can’t beat them? The match was nothing and then it ends like this, making the Harts look like losers. I don’t get this at all and it was boring the whole way through. Just a big waste of time here and it would have been better off by just having the Harts win a squash.

The Harts know the Rockers are good, but they’re not sure if they’re THAT good. Neidhart concludes that they’re just scared kittens.

From Springfield, Massachusetts, August 29, 1990.

Hart Foundation vs. The Rockers

Hart and Jannetty start things off (that’s an interesting one) with Jannetty grabbing an armbar. Michaels comes in with an ax handle to the arm and sits down on it for a bonus. Hart gets in an atomic drop for a breather and Neidhart is in for two off of a slam. Neidhart grabs a chinlock with a knee in the back, followed by a rather hard backdrop for two. The slingshot splash misses but Hart is back in, with Michaels charging into a raised boot in the corner.

The middle rope elbow misses though and it’s back to Jannetty to pick up the pace. A jumping back elbow and dropkick have Hart in trouble and the powerslam gets two. Hart gets in a clothesline of his own, only to get kneed back down for two. Michaels is back in for the double superkick and a suplex gets two. Hart fights back and gets over to Neidhart for the tag, meaning it’s time to clean house. Everything breaks down and Hart is sent outside but here are the Rougeaus to jump both teams for the double DQ at 12:20.

Rating: B. I’m surprised that Michaels and Hart had this much chemistry together as they’ve never shown anything similar to it before. Anyway, of course the match was good and I could have gone with a heck of a lot more of it, which tends to be the case whenever these teams are together. The Rockers were punching up here and shockingly they were more than up to the challenge.

That wraps it up, with the Harts going 1-1-1, with the win coming via countout.

We get a rather cool look at the fleet of trucks that carry everything to the arenas. I remember seeing this when I was a kid and it was fascinating for some reason.

From New York City, New York, January 15, 1990.

WWF Title: Hulk Hogan vs. Mr. Perfect

Perfect, with the Genius, is challenging. Hogan shoves him into the corner to start and then does it again, with Perfect falling out to the floor. That means a slam to Genius, who is thrown inside in a less than brilliant move. Hogan shrugs off some double teaming and Perfect gets tied up in the ropes, leaving Genius to get atomic dropped out to the floor. Hogan knocks Perfect down again and gives him a hard whip into the corner. A mistimed duck lets Perfect get in a kick to the chest though and Perfect gets to stomp away.

Hogan is sent outside, where he’s fine enough to reverse a whip into the post. It works so well that Hogan does it again but Perfect is able to slap on a sleeper back inside. Hogan eventually fights up but gets sent into the corner, with Perfect going up. That’s not the best idea and Hogan crotches him a few times, followed by an atomic drop, which seems a bit excessive.

The elbow misses so Perfect grabs the PerfectPlex for two, meaning it’s Hulk Up time. They actually go outside though as we mix it up a bit. Hogan misses a swing with a chair and Perfect gets in a foreign object shot for….almost a countout as Perfect distracts the referee (in a rather smart move). Back in and Hogan fights back and grabs the foreign object to knock Perfect cold, which is enough for the DQ at 13:38.

Rating: C+. These two always has good chemistry together and the finish should set them up for another match in the Garden. That’s a good way to go and it worked well enough here, with Perfect being a different kind of challenger. The Genius continues to be a good manager for Perfect, as he can take the funny bumps that Hogan can give so well. Fun match here, which is hardly a surprise.

From Sacramento, California, March 6, 1990.

Ultimate Warrior/Jake Roberts vs. Ted DiBiase/Akeem

Big Boss Man is the guest referee. Roberts works on the arm to start but DiBiase is right back with some shots to the bad neck. Back up and the threat of a DDT sends DiBiase running to the floor, which is probably wise. Roberts is fine with working on the arm for a bit before trying the DDT again, sending DiBiase bailing again. Akeem comes in and misses an elbow, allowing Warrior to come in and knock him into the corner. A clothesline puts Akeem down and it’s back to Roberts who still can’t get a DDT.

DiBiase comes back in to take over as commentary talks about the Boss Man, who has been a non-factor thus far. A piledriver gives DiBiase two and it’s back to Akeem for the running crotch attack on the ropes. DiBiase’s chinlock is quickly broken up with a jawbreaker and a running clothesline sets up the fourth failed DDT attempt. Roberts finally gets smart by handing it back to Warrior, who cleans house and splashes DiBiase for the pin at 6:28.

Rating: C-. The idea here was fine but Boss Man didn’t do a single thing as referee. Roberts not being able to hit the DDT was almost the story of the match but this was really more about Warrior getting to come in and wreck everyone. I’m a bit surprised Akeem didn’t take the fall as it’s not like he was doing much of note at this point. At least DiBiase had the Million Dollar Title and the feud with Roberts, but he took the fall anyway. Odd indeed.

Post match Virgil comes in and gets hit with the nightstick, setting up the DDT (they built it up enough).

Sean Mooney gives us a quick wrap up.

Overall Rating: C+. There were enough good moments on this tape to make it worth a look, especially if you like this era. You get a nice mixture of stars from the era, including the rather bizarre choices with the Hart Foundation. It’s a completely watchable tape, though you might want to fast forward some of the matches.

Results
Roddy Piper b. Randy Savage via DQ when Queen Sherri interfered
Ultimate Warrior b. Dino Bravo via DQ when Earthquake interfered
Rick Martel b. Brutus Beefcake – Rollup while holding the rope
Hart Foundation b. Powers Of Pain via countout
Honky Tonk Man/Dino Bravo b. Hart Foundation via DQ when Neidhart used the Megaphone
Rockers vs. Hart Foundation went to a double DQ when the Fabulous Rougeaus interfered
Mr. Perfect b. Hulk Hogan via DQ when Hogan used a foreign object
Jake Roberts/Ultimate Warrior b. Ted DiBiase/Akeem – Splash to DiBiase

 

 

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WWF House Show
Date: March 19, 1990
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Attendance: 9,500
Commentators: Lord Alfred Hayes, Gorilla Monsoon, Hillbilly Jim

We’re about two weeks away from Wrestlemania VI and that means we probably won’t be in for the biggest card here. The thing is you never know what you might see with one of these things, as house shows can go anywhere between outstanding and incredibly boring. Let’s get to it.

Commentary runs down the card.

Mike Sharpe vs. Jim Powers

This match is so important that commentary doesn’t even acknowledge it starting for a bit as they’re too busy talking about Wrestlemania. Sharpe bails to the apron to start and then hits a loud chop as we’re a minute into the match with absolutely no acknowledgment of it from commentary. Powers dropkicks him out to the floor and Monsoon FINALLY mentions the match as Sharpe staggers around ringside.

Sharpe gets pulled in and knocked outside again, which has him considering walking out. Back in and Sharpe wants a pose off and we go to a test of strength as commentary lists off locations where you can see Wrestlemania on closed circuit. Monsoon prefers pay per view because he can pick his nose in peace. Powers kicks out of the test of strength and goes after the arm but Sharpe is up with a chop. This lets commentary reference Sharpe’s obsession with taking showers before Sharpe gets a boot up in the corner.

The shoulders to the ribs in the corner allow a camera shot of A LOT of empty seats as there is no reason to sit through a match like this. Imagine paying that much attention to it. Anyway Powers’ sunset flip gets two so Sharpe kicks him in the head for the same. A crossbody gets two more, earning Powers a toss out to the floor. As Powers walks around for a bit, Monsoon talks about a sign on the ceiling of his wrestling room saying that if you can read this, you’re not doing well. Back in and Powers’ dropkick gets two, followed by the powerslam to give Powers the pin at 12:52.

Rating: C-. It’s not that it was a bad match on the technical side but it was a dull match between two people who mean nothing in the company. These two were there so there could officially be a match going on while fans were getting concessions and such. It doesn’t make for anything interesting though and that was true here, with nothing to see at all.

Black Bart vs. Hercules

Hercules shoves the bigger Bart around to start and easily powers out of a full nelson. For some reason Bart wants a test of strength, with the reason being revealed as a simple kick to the stomach. The cheating lets Bart take over with more shots to the ribs and a running crotch attack to the back. Commentary’s subject at the moment? The mixed tag at Wrestlemania.

Hercules gets sent face first into the buckle and it’s off to the choking. A swinging neckbreaker and legdrop (to the forehead) get two and we finally hit the chinlock, which you knew was coming. The closeup shows how weak of a chinlock it is, with even Hayes having to admit that it’s bad.

Bart pulls him back down into another chinlock as this is somehow dying even more despite already being dead. Hercules fights up but gets caught with a clothesline for two and my goodness it’s another chinlock as this match has to keep going. The comeback is finally on as Hercules hammers away with the snap jabs, hits the knee lift, and torture racks him for the win at 12:25.

Rating: D. It was boring and that’s all there was here. It’s a match that could have been done in about five minutes without nearly as many chinlocks. Instead, this was another match where they were sent out there to kill time. It gets annoying to sit through these things and it doesn’t make me want to see Hercules facing Earthquake at Wrestlemania.

Orient Express vs. Demolition

Mr. Fuji is here with the Express and yeah I still dig that “all Japanese wrestlers use this song” music. On the other hand, Demolition’s music is scrubbed in quite the disappointment. Smash and Tanaka lock up to start with Smash knocking him down, allowing the tag off to Ax for the chinlock. Sato comes in and gets elbowed in the face but Tanaka gets in a cheap shot from the apron.

That just earns Tanaka a rapid fire beating, with Smash getting two off a backbreaker. The armbar goes on and Ax comes back in to work on the arm as well as Tanaka takes quite the beating. Sato comes back in and gets beaten down and….something happens with Smash getting knocked down, though the camera totally misses it, leaving Monsoon with no idea what happened. Smash is taken outside for a cane shot to the back before going back inside to keep up the beating.

Tanaka has to trip Smash up to cut off a comeback, with the camera mostly missing it as well. Smash clotheslines his way out of the corner and….I’m assuming tags Ax but the camera misses that too! Sweet goodness how hard can it be to know when the tag is coming? IT’S A TAG MATCH! Ax rams Sato into the corner a few times and a powerslam gets two. Everything breaks down and Ax gets the cane to stalk Fuji. Sato is right there with the salt though and Ax is counted out at 10:58.

Rating: C. This wasn’t a great match either but it was far better than anything in the previous two matches. I’m guessing this was designed to set up a title rematch after Wrestlemania, which is fine, and at least Demolition didn’t get pinned. Some of the action here was fine and it didn’t drag, so things are looking up a bit.

Frenchy Martin vs. Koko B. Ware

Martin misses a right hand in the corner to start and gets taken down with a quick armdrag. They fight over a top wristlock and go absolutely nowhere, which shouldn’t be much of a surprise. Martin rams him head first into the turnbuckle, which just makes Ware mad. A thumb to the throat has Ware in trouble for a change and we’re off to the nerve hold.

Back up and an elbow to the face sets up the nerve hold again as I’m having Black Bart flashbacks. Martin sends him outside for a ram into the apron as Frankie….does nothing, as he’s kind of a useless second here. The sunset flip is blocked and we’re back to the nerve hold as you can feel the lack of energy in the building.

Ware gets up and is quickly knocked right back down for two, meaning we hit the….what is this, the fourth nerve hold? Another comeback attempt is cut off with a clothesline before Ware misses a splash in the corner. Martin chokes some more and the BORING chants are getting louder and louder. AND MARTIN PUTS THE NERVE HOLD ON AGAIN! Holy sweet goodness this is pathetic. Ware fights up and hits a headbutt, followed by the Ghostbuster for the pin at 12:39.

Rating: D-. Oh sweet goodness no. This was a match where they should have been embarrassed with what they did out there, as it was just so dry with Martin not trying in the slightest for the most part. They did the same rest hold about five times in a match and the fans were rejecting the whole thing. Absolutely terrible as this show is dying in an amazing way.

Jim Duggan vs. Earthquake

Jimmy Hart is here with….well you should already know this but it’s Earthquake in case you’re new at this. Earthquake backs him into the corner to start so Duggan is back up with some running clotheslines. Hart trips him up though and Earthquake knocks Duggan outside as I admire a fan’s neon green hat.

A missed charge sends Earthquake crashing out to the floor, where he posts Duggan to cut him off again. Back in and we hit the bearhug for a good while, with Duggan biting his face to escape. Duggan slugs away to put Earthquake on his knee and does it again to put him down, where some more big right hands have Earthquake rocked. Hart offers another distraction though and it’s a splash into an elbow to pin Duggan at 6:37.

Rating: C. I’ll take this after watching that horrible Ware vs. Martin match. Duggan’s comeback was really energized and it’s where Duggan tended to shine. I was surprised that Earthquake didn’t win with the usual, but I guess they didn’t want Duggan to be crushed like that here and then be in the ring at Wrestlemania.

Post match Earthquake elbows him again, with Jim Powers and Koko B. Ware’s save attempts failing miserably. Duggan chases Earthquake off with the 2×4.

Bret Hart is ready to face Rick Martel, who is more worried about his appearance and scent than his wrestling.

Martel calls Hart jealous and knows he’s better than Hart.

Brutus Beefcake (we must be in intermission) is only worried about which way he should lay Dino Bravo for his haircut.

Mr. Perfect is not happy with Ultimate Warrior saying he’ll end Perfect’s perfect record. And Warrior is nuts anyway! Well yeah.

Rick Martel vs. Bret Hart

Fink’s reaction to the Arrogance being sprayed is great as he looks annoyed but what is he supposed to do about it? Hart gives his sunglasses to a fan who has what appears to be a bootleg Mario shirt. Eh I’d wear it. Hart backs him up against the ropes and lets him go, with Martel looking rather disgusted. It works so well that they do it again as they might as well put up a big sign saying WE’RE GOING TO A DRAW.

Hart blocks an O’Connor roll attempt and Martel flips backwards for a rather smug pose. Martel jumps over him out of the corner and gets knocked down, with a small package giving Hart two. That’s enough to send Martel bailing out to the floor before he elbows the buckle by mistake. Hart starts in on the arm with a standing armbar and then takes him down to keep the armbar going. Martel powers out but misses an elbow and the arm is banged up even worse. The armbar goes on again and Hart is looking rather bored.

Martel finally makes it over to the rope but gets pulled back into the armbar, with Hart getting to adjust his kneepad. Back up and Martel sends him crashing to the floor, meaning it is time for some jumping jacks. A suplex back in gives Martel two and he can’t believe the kickout. Hart gets whipped hard into the corner (and actually lands back first for a change) and Martel grabs the abdominal stretch to work on the ribs. The referee isn’t about to have Martel grabbing the rope so he kicks the hand away, leaving Martel to miss a charge into the post.

Oddly that doesn’t turn things around as Martel is right back with a failed Boston crab attempt. A backbreaker puts Hart down again but he gets his knees up to block a slingshot dive. Back up and they collide for a double down before Martel takes him into the corner. An atomic drop out of said corner has Martel in agony and Hart turns it on with a suplex and elbow for two. The middle rope elbow gets two more and Hart backbreakers him to the floor. Back in and Hart hits a dropkick and they go back to the floor, where they brawl to a time limit draw at 21:36.

Rating: B-. Those armbars were a bit dull but this was a mostly hard worked match between two people who can make a good impression inside the ring. Hart was getting another chance to showcase himself and Martel is one of the best options for being a good hand in the ring. It’s easy to see why Hart was being teased for the singles run but it wasn’t quite there yet, and wouldn’t be for about a year and a half.

Post match the brawl stays on with Hart clearing Martel out.

Dino Bravo vs. Brutus Beefcake

Jimmy Hart is here with Bravo and they have a bit of a history from the Dream team days, which won’t be mentioned here. Beefcake only has some small scissors with him, which is weird as the big sheers were pretty much his whole thing. Bravo powers him into the corner to start, leaving Beefcake’s lips rather puffed out for some reason. Another lockup has Beefcake up against the ropes where he comes back with some right hands, including one to the ribs.

A clothesline to the back of the head sends Bravo to the floor and the fans seem to approve. Back in and Bravo takes over with a test of strength (as the brilliant Beefcake was willing to try one), with Beefcake having to fight up and strike away. Some right hands in the corner are cut off with an atomic drop for a rather delayed two. Beefcake sends him into the buckle and tries a slam, with Bravo falling backwards onto him for two more.

The bearhug goes on as it’s hard to ignore how red Beefcake is appearing. Geez it looks like he’s covered with a sunburn. Or a weak ketchup. They even drop to a knee before Bravo gets up again and keeps the hold on. This goes on for a bad, bad while until Beefcake makes the clothesline comeback. An ax handle looks to set up the sleeper but Hart offers a distraction, allowing Earthquake to sneak in and break it up, including posting Beefcake on the floor. That’s enough for Beefcake to be counted out at 11:29.

Rating: C-. It’s amazing to see how well Beefcake could get over with the fans despite having such a limited offense. He couldn’t do much more than punch and do the sleeper but the fans got into it every time. That’s what charisma can do for you and it carried this as far as it was going to go here.

Post match Earthquake beats on him some more with referees having to make the save.

Tugboat Thomas vs. Pez Whatley

Whatley tries to go up and is quickly slammed down, which shouldn’t be a surprise. With that not working, Whatley tries a waistlock, which fails even more. Tugboat knocks him down again and grabs the bearhug, with Whatley not even being able to break it up with a thumb to the eye. Instead Tugboat drives him into the corner but misses a charge, allowing Whatley to knock him down and then dance.

The middle rope elbow gets two, with the kickout sending Whatley right back onto the rope. Another slam off the top has Whatley down again and the jumping splashes in the corner keep him in trouble. Hold on though as Whatley tries to pull out a foreign object, earning himself a choke. Another whip into the corner seems to set up a running clothesline from behind but Whatley falls down, meaning it’s just a running slap to the head. The big splash (and Tugboat does get height) finishes Whatley at 5:37.

Rating: D. Tugboat is one of the most interesting cases from this time as I was a fan when I was a kid but my goodness it’s just not there. He’s your standard big guy who can’t do anything but splashes and slams, but he was around for a long time. You need a bit more than that and his stuff really does not hold up. Whatley’s dancing was nice at least.

The Fink announces the April 30 show, with a main event of Earthquake vs. Hulk Hogan. Oh yeah the fans like that one. This brings out Earthquake and Jimmy Hart, with Earthquake promising to get rid of Hogan for good.

Ultimate Warrior vs. Mr. Perfect

I believe this is non-title but it’s not entirely clear. Warrior runs to the ring and the bell rings so they do the crisscross, with Warrior knocking him out to the floor. The chase sends Perfect outside again, followed by quite the shove into the corner. Perfect gets knocked outside again but this time Warrior drags him back inside by the hair for a faceplant. Another whip crotches Perfect against the post and Warrior knocks him down again.

A big backdrop looks to set up the Splash, which just hits raised knees. This time Warrior is knocked outside and Perfect slowly kicks at the ribs. Warrior actually tries a sunset flip for two, with Perfect starting in on the back again. We hit the reverse chinlock for a good while, with Warrior’s arm dropping twice. That means it’s time to shake the rope and start the comeback, even with a clothesline being pretty badly mistimed. The gorilla press drop and the Warrior Splash give Perfect his first televised loss at 10:11.

Rating: C. Naturally Warrior had all kinds of energy and the loss at the end felt like a big deal, but the chinlock in the middle wasn’t exactly thrilling stuff. Perfect was bumping as well as he could here but you were only getting so much here. Warrior could do better and these two did on occasion, but this was ok at best.

Overall Rating: D. What a lame show, with one good match throughout the whole thing. I’m assuming they were setting some things up for after Wrestlemania but my goodness were they trying to kill the interest on the way there? This came off like most of the people weren’t trying and it was just a show they had to do. Bad stuff here, but Wrestlemania would wind up being good enough. Watch that instead.

Results
Jim Powers b. Mike Sharpe – Powerslam
Hercules b. Black Bart – Torture rack
Orient Express b. Demolition via countout
Koko B. Ware b. Frenchy Martin – Ghostbuster
Earthquake b. Jim Duggan – Elbow drop
Bret Hart vs. Rick Martel went to a time limit draw
Dino Bravo b. Brutus Beefcake via countout
Tugboat Thomas b. Pez Whatley – Splash
Ultimate Warrior b. Mr. Perfect – Warrior Splash

 

 

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Wrestling Gold #5: Beat Me If You Can
Commentators: Dave Meltzer, Jim Cornette

It’s the last volume of this set and I think you get the concept at this point. If for some reason you’re reading this out of order, it’s a bunch of territory matches with Jim Cornette and Dave Meltzer doing commentary to provide history and stories. The match quality isn’t exactly the point but some of it has been effective before. Let’s get to it.

As usual, I’m giving my best guess to some of the locations and dates.

From San Antonio, Texas, 1981/1982.

Terry Allen vs. Nick Bockwinkel

Bockwinkel’s AWA World Title isn’t on the line….at least I don’t think. Allen is of course better known as Magnum TA and is very new here. They go to the mat to start and Allen keeps escaping, which has Bockwinkel somewhere between surprised and frustrated. Bockwinkel sends him into the corner though and grabs a short armscissors to keep Allen down. Back up and Allen slams him down a few times before grabbing a headlock as Cornette explains the story of Allen’s car crash. Allen grinds away before missing a dropkick in the corner. Bockwinkel is right back up with a knee and the piledriver finishes Allen at 5:24.

Rating: C+. This was a case of trying to get Allen in the ring with a veteran who could teach him on the job and there were few better for that role than Bockwinkel. Of course the result was never in doubt but that’s not the point of a match like this. It went fairly well as Allen did what he could, but Bockwinkel being there to walk him through it probably helped a lot.

From San Antonio, Texas at some date not listed and I only know the location because of the referee’s shirt.

Ivan Putski vs. Eddie Mansfield

Oh boy Eddie Mansfield. Basically he wasn’t very good and blamed everyone else for his lack of success and then exposed the business, which made him as popular as you would expect. Putski jumps him to start and is quickly knocked to the floor without much effort. Mansfield gets in a few ax handles and a middle rope elbow to the back. The choking doesn’t work very well for Mansfield, who is knocked out to the floor. This lets Cornette bury Mansfield for about the fourth time in a few minutes. Putski pounds him down but shoves the referee out of the way for the DQ at 4:16.

Rating: D+. I can see why Mansfield wasn’t exactly a household name until his 20/20 interview, as he was an incredibly generic wrestler who had nothing that made him stand out. Putski was a good enough power guy and his physique was more than enough to get him by. The size issue eventually got to him but he was quite the star for awhile. Unlike Mansfield you see.

From San Antonio, Texas, likely in the very early 1980s.

Tito Santana vs. Kelly Kiniski

Santana takes him down by the arm to start and works on the armbar. That’s enough to send Kiniski over to the rope so Santana is right back to the arm. A dropkick lets Santana grab a third armbar before a quick headknocker gets two. Back up and Kiniski powers him into the corner but Santana hits a flying forearm for two. The running crossbody finishes for Santana at 4:51.

Rating: C. Yeah you can kind of see why Kiniski was never a big star. He’s someone who was technically sound and that’s about it, as there just wasn’t much else to make him stand out. Santana was far from what he would become, but you could see the fire in there and that is always a good starting point.

From…..well it could be Detroit, Toronto, or Cincinnati, which is the only place I can find these two facing each other. If it’s Cincinnati, it’s January 28, 1967, but that could be totally off.

The Sheik vs. Tom Jones

Sheik has the referee check Jones for a foreign object and then jumps him anyway (customary for the Sheik) but hold on as we have to pause for his prayer. We actually get going and Jones jumps him in the corner, only for Sheik to grab quite the nasty flipping hammerlock. It’s nasty enough to make Jones give up at 1:40.

Post match Whipper Billy Watson comes in to make the save and is quickly beaten down. The fans go NUTS and throw trash into the ring (at Sheikh’s manager Abdullah Farouk, as Sheik is already gone) but unfortunately we cut away.

From Detroit, Michigan, probably in the mid 70s.

Bobo Brazil vs. Michael Angelo

I would have laughed so hard if it was a wrestling turtle. Anyway Angelo jumps him to start fast and sends Brazil into the buckle, which just makes him mad. Brazil (who is towering over Angelo) works on the wristlock but gets knocked into the corner. A running elbow wakes Brazil up again and he raises his leg to kick Angelo on top of the head. The Coco Butt (jumping headbutt) finishes Angelo off at 3:53.

Rating: C. The match had a comeback and Angelo tried but there was no way around Brazil when he was rolling like this. Brazil was an absolute star and one of the most important wrestlers ever when it came to race issues so it’s nice to see him doing something here. Granted this wasn’t exactly some classic, but that’s not the point of this thing.

From San Antonio, Texas, probably in 1980.

Tully Blanchard vs. Wahoo McDaniel

Blanchard jumps him to start and McDaniel chops him into a frenzy. A quick shot lets Blanchard knock him down, earning even more chops in the corner. McDaniel flips him out of the corner and the chinlock goes on. Blanchard has to flip out of an abdominal stretch and is quickly suplexed back down.

Back up and Blanchard knocks him down, which means it’s time for McDaniel to go back to the chops. The chops have Blanchard looking mostly dead, with a butterfly suplex giving McDaniel two. Blanchard is chopped out to the floor so he pulls McDaniel out with him, because getting into a brawl with WAHOO MCDANIEL is a good idea. Anyway McDaniel throws the referee down and we’re cut off with presumably a DQ at about 6:15.

Rating: C+. It was fun to see McDaniel just beat the fire out of Blanchard, who was selling them like he was dying out there. McDaniel is another person who was incredibly underrated, as he was one of the most athletically gifted stars ever in wrestling. You don’t hear much but praise of him, and yet he still seems better than advertised whenever I see him. Not bad.

From Memphis, Tennessee, likely in the early 1980s (I’m sure Cornette will know).

Jerry Lawler vs. Eddie Gilbert

Gilbert slams him to start but Lawler is right back up with a slam of his own, sending Gilbert bailing to the floor. And yes Cornette confirms that this is from 1984 because of course he knows that stuff. The stalling begins until Gilbert backs him into the corner for a shot to the face and Lawler is a bit surprised.

We even hit the crisscross but Gilbert bails out to the floor, where he gets to signal his intelligence (he might be faking). Back in and Lawler drops him with a single right hand, sending Gilbert bailing to the floor again. Gilbert gets inside again and hammers away to take over but Lawler pulls the strap down and unloads with even more right hands. Cue Rick Rude and Jimmy Hart to go after Lawler for the DQ at 6:43.

Rating: C+. Yep this was certainly Memphis, with Gilbert doing all kinds of over the top selling for his idol and likely loving getting punched in the face. This was a studio match as well so the shorter run time is hardly a surprise. Gilbert is someone who had all kinds of talent and love for wrestling but it never quite clicked, though wrestling so much like Lawler in Memphis probably didn’t help that much.

Post match Lawler grabs a chair to clear the ring.

From Toronto, Canada, likely around 1978.

Tiger Jeet Singh vs. The Sheik

This is a Mud Match and it’s exactly what you would expect. The ring is full of mud and Singh knocks him down and chokes a lot before throwing Sheikh’s manager down as well. Singh chokes but the referee gets knocked down and covered in mud as well. The claw goes on but Singh lets go to beat up the manager again, all while Cornette talks about the various ridiculous gimmicks that promoters used in the Great Depression and World War II to draw crowds (ice cream matches are discussed).

Singh grabs the claw again and then knocks Sheik outside, where he throws a chair inside. That’s fine as Singh beats on him with the chair and hammers away before driving Sheikh’s face into the mud. The manager offers another distraction and this time Sheik chokes Singh down with….something for the pin at 7:15.

Rating: C. This was barely a match as there is only so much you can do with that much slippery mud around. That was the problem here but it was certainly different and I’ll take that over doing the same stuff so many times. The idea was the fans wanted to see the Sheik lose but since he pretty much never did….well there’s a reason Detroit went out of business.

Post match Hank James (Bobo Brazil’s brother) comes in to go after the Sheik and chokes him down in the back with mud everywhere.

From Memphis, Tennessee, June 16, 1984.

AWA International Title: Masao Ito vs. Austin Idol

Idol is defending and gets pounded down to start. The slow forearms have Idol in trouble so he comes back with some slams. The Las Vegas Leglock is loaded up but Ito’s manager goes for a distraction, allowing Ito to kick him to the floor. Said manager knocks Idol cold with some nunchucks and that’s a countout at 2:56. It’s also apparently a title change.

Post match Dutch Mantel and Jerry Lawler come out to check on the out cold Idol.

From San Antonio, Texas, some time in the early 80s.

Scott Casey/Terry Allen vs. Tully Blanchard/Gino Hernandez

Casey headlocks Hernandez down to start so it’s off to Allen to work on Blanchard’s arm. Blanchard gets in a cheap shot so it’s back to Casey to hit him in the face. Everything breaks down and we get a collision so Allen drags Blanchard into the corner. Casey gets in a few right hands before it’s back to Allen for a bearhug, which is quite the visual given Allen’s rather small trunks at this point. Hernandez makes the save and drops a backwards top rope elbow on Allen for the pin at 4:42.

Rating: C+. This was just a little taste of Blanchard and Hernandez, who were rather one of the more underrated teams of their era. They worked well together and it was fun to see them getting together and doing their thing by being sneaky and underhanded. Casey continues to be a nice hand in the ring and I’ve gotten more into him during this series, as he was good at what he did.

Blanchard and Hernandez have a big celebration in a funny bit.

From Memphis, Tennessee in late 1981/early 1982.

Terry Taylor vs. Sabu

Not that Sabu, as this one is better known as Coco Samoa. Sabu flips around to start and sends him into the corner as we get an early standoff. A hammerlock with a pull of the hair brings Taylor down and Sabu rakes the bare foot over Taylor’s face. The right hands don’t work for Taylor as Sabu knocks him right back down, meaning we can hit the chinlock.

Sabu’s legdrop misses though and Taylor gets two off a backbreaker. Another backbreaker gets another two but Sabu knocks him back down. Some choking on the apron sends Taylor outside so he comes back inside to slug away. With nothing else working, Sabu throws him over the top for the DQ at 10:06.

Rating: C+. Sabu felt like someone who could have been a thing if he was a bit bigger (he was barely 5’2 and that wasn’t going to be enough), as he had the look and enough in-ring abilities. Taylor was as white meat of a wrestler as you could have wanted and he made a nice fired up comeback here. The match went a bit long and the ending came out of nowhere, but the pieces were there.

From somewhere in the Central States territory (possible Decatur, Illinois on August 10, 1984).

Wahoo McDaniel/Tommy Rogers/Marty Jannetty vs. Ted Oates/The Grapplers

This isn’t the Fantastics’ Tommy Rogers and the Grapplers are Len Denton/Tony Anthony. Jannetty dropkicks Oates (his trainer) down to start and it’s off to Denton, who gets armdragged into an armbar. The good guys take turns on Denton’s arm but Denton slams him back down. The middle rope elbow misses though and it’s off to Anthony, who gets taken down by the arm as well.

Jannetty’s dropkick means it’s time to work on the arm, only for Anthony to grab a powerslam. A double back elbow drops Rogers and Oates hits a knee, followed by a suplex for two. Jannetty’s attempted save doesn’t work so we hit the chinlock before Rogers is sent into Denton’s boot in the corner. Everything breaks down and Denton misses a flying clothesline, allowing Jannetty to hit a Thesz press for the pin at 10:17.

Rating: B-. This was a fast enough paced match with Jannetty feeling like a young star who could have become a much bigger deal if hew as given the chance. That is more or less what happened and it was fun to see what he would become. I could have gone for more McDaniel here, but that is the case pretty much all the time, whether he is in the match or not.

Post match Oates jumps Jannetty and piledrives him on the chair. That’s a big angle for back then.

Overall Rating: C+. You could tell they were running out of material by this point as there’s nothing on this disc that I must see and it’s also a bit shorter than the previous two. The concept remains exactly the same and you could easily swap most of the matches around without losing anything. It’s still fun, though I wouldn’t recommend doing a bunch of them in a row as some of the charm goes away upon all of the viewings. Still though, not bad and for an hour and a half, it could have been a lot worse.

 

 

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Wrestling Gold #4: No More Mr. Nice Guy
Commentators: Dave Meltzer, Jim Cornette

We’re over halfway done with these things and I had a good time with the third disc so we might as well look at another. I’m not sure what to expect from these things, but again the matches are kind of secondary to the audio, with the two historians on the call. It worked before and it should again so let’s get to it.

As usual, I’m giving my best guess to some of the locations and dates.

From Memphis, Tennessee, September 3, 1984.

Rick Rude vs. Randy Savage

This isn’t something you saw very often and Jimmy Hart and Angelo Poffo are here too. Savage wastes no time in sprinting after Hart to chase him into the crowd and Rude is already hitting the stall button. Rude finally gets back inside and they fight over a top wristlock before Savage grabs an airplane spin. They’re already on the floor again with Savage grabbing the mic and throwing what looks like confetti at Rude. Back in and a Hart distraction lets Rude throw him over the top for a crash to the floor.

They get inside again with Rude hammering away in the corner and dropping Savage with a suplex. A clothesline lets Rude strut and pat the referee on the head, which is quite the odd personality from him. Back up and Savage sends him outside for the top rope ax handle, followed by a high crossbody but there’s no referee. Instead here is a massive King Kong Bundy (with HAIR) to deck Savage and give Rude the pin at 10:25.

Rating: B-. I don’t think there’s much of a surprise that these two had a good match, even though Rude was just getting his first major time in the ring. He certainly had charisma to go with the look and the match worked, with Savage clearly looking like he was ready to move on to the biggest stage in the world. It wouldn’t be much longer before he did, debuting in the WWF less than a year later.

From Toronto, Ontario, Canada, I believe February 17, 1974.

The Sheik vs. Andre The Giant

I believe this is a Texas Deathmatch (basically Last Man Standing in this case). Sheik, with Abdullah Farouk (the Grand Wizard Of Wrestling), goes right at him to start, which goes as well as you’re going to get by going after Andre. Some big right hands give Andre about eight each but Sheik comes back with the fire ball…and Andre is down for ten at 2:32. The whole match is listed elsewhere at 3:32 so I’m wondering if some stalling was edited out. Anyway, this was a REALLY bad idea, as Sheik hadn’t lost in Toronto in seven years and this showed the fans that he just wasn’t going to lose, so why buy tickets?

Post match Andre is tended to and gets quite the reaction.

From I have no idea.

Pampero Firpo vs. Jeff Doney

The much shorter (and much more famous) Firpo takes him down with a headscissors to start. The claw finishes Doney at 1:35. Well that’s a shame, as I wanted to see more Firpo, who has quite the wild reputation.

Post match Firpo helps Doney up.

From San Antonio, Texas, likely in the early 1980s.

Bruiser Brody/Scott Casey vs. Kelly Kiniski/The Spoiler

Brody and the Spoiler lock up to start and takes him down by the leg, allowing Casey to take over. Kiniski comes in and gets taken down by the leg as well, with Casey dropping some knees. The escape doesn’t work either but Spoiler comes in to work on Casey’s leg for a change.

That doesn’t last long either as Casey reverses into something of an STF, with Spoiler crawling over for the tag back to Kiniski. Casey grabs an ankle lock and it’s back to Brody to wrap the leg around the post. Back in and Spoiler takes over with the claw, which Brody breaks up rather quickly. Everything breaks down and Brody hits a dropkick, followed by the big knee for the pin at 6:48.

Rating: C+. The leglocks were a fine enough story for the match and it was fun to see Brody snap at the end and take over. As usual it feels like a shame that his career was cut short because dang he was great at his style. Casey is someone who wasn’t around very long and felt like he was rather good when he was out there, even if you didn’t see him outside of Texas very often.

From Memphis, Tennessee, September 17, 1984, likely fallout from the first match on the disc.

King Kong Bundy/Rick Rude vs. Jerry Lawler/Randy Savage

No DQ. Lawler and Rude start things off with Lawler sending him into Savage’s elbow to the head. Bundy (sans hair this time) comes in and powers Lawler into the corner without much trouble so Savage sneaks in for an elbow to the head. Bundy’s missed charge knocks Rude off the apron, earning some applause from Lawler, with the crowd eating it up of course. A missed charge in the corner has Bundy in more trouble as commentary compares loud reactions from the fans.

We settle back down to Savage beating on Rude and dropping the top rope ax handle to the floor. Back in and Rude goes to the eye but Savage breaks up a piledriver attempt. Lawler gets taken into the wrong corner but quickly gets out of trouble with the double noggin knocker, because it’s the 80s and that was still cool. Savage comes in for an airplane spin to send Rude staggering into the corner, followed by an atomic drop but unfortunately before the classic Rude sell.

It’s back to Bundy, who sends Lawler into a raised boot in the corner and the big elbow gets two. Things slow down and Rude draws Savage (who is shockingly on a thin edge) in so Bundy can get in some cheap shots. Bundy comes in behind the referee’s back to drop a knee but the splash misses…and it’s time to stagger up. Lawler slugs away and everything breaks down, with the referee getting bumped. Lawler has a foreign object of some kind to clean house and the referee calls the DQ for….well it could be a few reasons at 15:36.

Rating: B. This again felt like a big time match and that’s what you would want out of such a showdown. If nothing else, the idea of Lawler and Savage teaming together is rather unique, as they had been such heated rivals for so long. Once again Lawler is in his element against a monster and you could see the Ravishing side of things starting to come together.

Post match they brawl all the way to the back.

From some place in history at some point in time.

Chief Jay Strongbow vs. Don Kent

So this is a Shark Cage match, meaning two people inside one of those cages used to raise a manager above the ring. As you might expect, there is only so much you can do when the cage is about three feet wide. They ram each other into the cage and punch a lot as they try to get out of the cage to win.

Both are pulled back inside and Strongbow lifts him up for a ram into the roof. Kent rams him into the cage and chokes him down as this continues to die. Strongbow fights to his feet and manages to Hulk Up to hammer away. We’re actually clipped to Mark Lewin running in to choke Kent, allowing Strongbow to escape at 6:43 shown.

Rating: F. Imagine a match where the wrestlers’ feet were stapled to the floor. That’s about what you had here and it got as far as it was going to get. Commentary rightfully buried the thing because, again, they were fighting in a shark cage. This was firmly in the “this is dumb” category and thankfully it wasn’t something you saw very often. Just dumb.

Post match Lewin turns the cage over because he just wasted time on that thing.

From Memphis, Tennessee, May 14, 1984.

AWA International Title: Randy Savage vs. Austin Idol

Savage is defending and jumps him from behind to start and sends Idol outside for the top rope ax handle. Back in and Savage hammers away even more so Idol tries to grab a crutch from…well from the guy at ringside with a crutch. That earns Idol a neck snap across the top and Savage slugs away with the left jabs.

Idol Hulks Up and slugs away, including the right hands in the corner. More right hands set up the Las Vegas (Figure Four) Leglock and the crutch man (apparently Angelo Poffo) yells a lot….as Savage gives up at 7:01??? Either way it’s a new champion and I’m trying to remember Savage quitting more than a handful of times in his career.

Rating: C+. I could still go for more of Idol, as he certainly had a charisma to him and his promos were more than good enough. This was a match between two guys who felt like stars and while they didn’t have much of a high quality match, it did what it was supposed to, with the crowd going nuts and being into the whole thing. Good match here and both guys looked solid.

From Buffalo, New York, possibly on February 24, 1967.

Terrible Ted vs. Gene DuBois

Ted takes him down to start and gets on DuBois’ back, followed by a snapmare to put DuBois down again. They go to the mat, with the referee getting chased off by Ted, which doesn’t seem right. Back up and DuBois’ rollup attempt is shrugged off and the rather irritated Ted goes after the referee in the corner. For some reason Ted covers the referee in the corner and DuBois counts the pin…which of course doesn’t count. DuBois wrestles him down again but gets snapmared for a quick pin at 5:05.

Rating: D+. This was almost more of a comedy match than anything else, with Ted going after the referee over and over, which lost its charm rather quickly. You would think he could do something better than that and it only got him so far here. DuBois was doing most of the work and it went about as well as it could have all things considered.

Oh and one more thing: Ted is a bear.

From Memphis, Tennessee, July 16, 1984.

Tommy Rich vs. Rick Rude

We’re joined in progress with Rude grinding away on a headlock to start as Cornette explains the Memphis backstory, as only he can. Rich fights up and hits a quick atomic drop over the top. Back in and Rude goes low to escape a full nelson before knocking him into the corner.

Rude goes up and slips off the rope for a nasty crash, with Rich slapping on the sleeper. That’s broken up and the referee gets bumped, allowing Rude’s girlfriend Angel to come in. Cue Jerry Lawler to ram them together and steal a chain from Angel, allowing him to knock Rude cold. Rich gets the easy pin at 5:57.

Rating: C+. You could see Rude getting bigger and better around this point and it was cool to see what would become a great star. He wasn’t quite all the way there yet but the skill was coming together. Rich was someone who could get over anywhere in the south and it helps to have Lawler helping you in Memphis. Short but fun here.

From Memphis, Tennessee, early 1983.

AWA World Title: Nick Bockwinkel vs. Jerry Lawler

Lawler is challenging and Bockwinkel wrestles him down to start without much trouble. Bockwinkel works on the arm, including a top wristlock. Lawler gets sick of the arm cranking and fights up but we’re clipped to Bockwinkel sending him into the corner. Back up and Lawler hits a quick crossbody but Bockwinkel sends him crashing to the floor. Lawler fires up out of the corner and the comeback is on, with the right hands letting Lawler knock him into the corner.

Bockwinkel sends Lawler into the referee though and that’s….not a DQ actually as Bockwinkel hits a top rope ax handle for two and they head outside, with Lawler sending him into the announcers’ table. Back in and Lawler and just unloads with rights and lefts but shoves the referee. Bockwinkel hits the referee (intention unclear) and it’s finally thrown out at 12:13 shown, with Lawler winning by DQ. The roof comes off and then the referee hands the belt back to Bockwinkel to kill the energy immediately.

Rating: B. There are very few things that will always work in Texas and the Lawler comeback in Memphis was one of them. It worked again here, as the fans were buying the idea of Lawler being able to win the title. Unfortunately that was something that they did for so long that it stopped working so well. Granted Lawler did finally win the title, albeit in 1988, but he did get there. Bockwinkel deserves so much more credit than he gets, as you do not see many people as skilled in the ring as he is. My goodness that man could make anything look smooth and it was fun to see him take someone apart.

From Memphis, Tennessee, 1984.

Randy Savage vs. Austin Idol

Angelo Poffo is here with Savage, who bails out to the floor to start and the chase is on. Back in and Savage hammers away in the corner with the big elbow connecting for two, which isn’t treated as a big deal here and man that’s bizarre. Savage sends him outside and Idol chops away to take over, meaning it’s time to slug away back inside.

Idol tosses him right back outside but Savage takes over again, with Idol being busted open. Savage slams him down a few times for two each and some elbows set up another slam for two more as Savage isn’t exactly mixing it up here. Another slam is countered into a small package to give Idol two so Savage jumps to the top for an elbow to the head. Savage bites the head and pulls at the cut, which means it’s time to Hulk Up.

The comeback is on and Idol drops a middle rope elbow and starts hammering away as well. A running elbow misses but so does Savage’s jumping knee, meaning it’s time to go after the leg. The Las Vegas Leglock is loaded up so Poffo gets on the apron to throw in the knuckles. The loaded right hand finishes Idol at 11:41 shown.

Rating: B-. Other than that weird string of slams, this worked well again with Idol having so many of the characteristics that Hogan stole from him over the years. Shockingly enough, Savage and someone like Hogan worked together for a good match. I liked this again, but dang it could have been fun to hear them talk to each other even more, as that was Idol’s best work.

From Indianapolis, Indiana, early 70s.

Bob Ellis vs. Bobby Heenan

So this is the classic story of Heenan being the evil manager who sends his wrestlers after Ellis, who beats them all and now it’s time for Ellis to get his hands on Heenan. Well in theory at least as Heenan comes to the ring on crutches and claims a knee injury. Cornette is of course aghast at the suggestion that a wrestling manager would fake an injury to avoid a beating.

Heenan wants to postpone the match for five to six months so he can heal properly but the referee isn’t having it and we’re ready to go. Heenan swings with the crutch but only hits the buckle, meaning it’s time for Heenan to send in the Blackjacks. That just means a pair of bulldogs from Ellis so Heenan dives over the top in that trademark spot of his and it’s a countout at 1:06. Just a funny angle rather than anything important but Heenan could sell this as well as anyone ever.

Overall Rating: B-. It’s another case of having a good time watching old wrestling and just getting a sample of what is available out there. The interesting part about a lot of these things is how much they do with so little. These are bare bones sets but the fans are into these people and it still works to this day. You can get into the stories they’re telling and it makes these matches entertaining. Throw in Cornette and Meltzer on commentary and it’s quite the interesting look at things.

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Wrestling Gold #3: We Like To Hurt People
Commentators: Dave Meltzer, Jim Cornette

So for those of you who have forgotten, this is a DVD set released back in 2001, featuring a bunch of territory matches from around the country. The big draw though is special commentary by Jim Cornette and Dave Meltzer, which is often a lot more interesting than the matches themselves. Let’s get to it.

As usual, I’m hoping for the best on the dates/promotions for these matches.

From Memphis, Tennessee, June 25, 1984.

Phil Hickerson/The Spoiler vs. Tommy Rich/Eddie Gilbert

Street fight so naturally it’s a big brawl to start as commentary buries the idea of Rich and Gilbert as the new Fabulous Ones. Spoiler chokes Gilbert on the floor and then goes back inside as Rich is kicked down. Gilbert comes back in to clean house with a boot and they split off again as commentary talks about Gilbert skipping high school graduation because he was in a match. Cornette: “Who’s going to go to your high school graduation when you’re booked?”

Gilbert unloads on Spoiler inside as Hickerson is sent into the post and atomic dropped on the floor. A backdrop gets Gilbert out of a piledriver attempt and Gilbert gets to hammer away as the rather bloody Rich comes back inside. Spoiler gets in a boot shot to Rich but Gilbert backdrops him to the floor. Commentary realizes they’re sounding “like a WCW announce crew” as Rich has stolen Spoiler’s (loaded) mask. A middle rope headbutt knocks Hickerson cold for the pin at 6:35.

Rating: B-. This was indeed a bloody, violent match and that’s exactly what you would have expected in the Mid-South Coliseum when a street fight was advertised. Memphis could get violent with the best of them and it helps that Hickerson, one of the more underrated stars of the territory era, was there to help make it work. The ending was a unique one as well and I could have gone for a lot more of this.

From Memphis, Tennessee, sometime in the summer of 1984.

Lanny Poffo/Randy Savage vs. Rock N Roll Express

Yeah this should work and Angelo Poffo is with the non Rock N Roll. Savage and Morton lock up to start with Morton knocking him down without much trouble. Savage slams him down and goes up but gets punched out of the air, allowing Gibson to come in for a change. It’s off to Lanny, who is knocked outside and we’re clipped to Savage sending Morton outside for a top rope ax handle.

Morton is sent into the apron and Lanny knees him in the back as commentary basically ignores the match to talk about the greatness of Randy Savage (fair enough). Gibson gets drawn in, allowing Morton to get kneed right back down. An elbow to the face isn’t enough for Morton to get over to Gibson and we’re firmly in Ricky Morton Selling period, with the fans getting all the more into it.

Gibson is distracted to the floor so Morton has no one to tag, leaving Angelo to send Morton onto the announcers’ table. Morton backdrops Savage onto the table and it’s back to Gibson to clean house (with Cornette giving a great explanation behind the psychology of the hot tag and how Morton set up that turn of the story). Angelo comes in with a boot though and that’s a DQ at 8:30 (13:06 according to commentary, which could make this July 16, 1984) shown.

Rating: B. Believe it or not, this was rather good stuff with both teams knowing how to work together so well. Morton getting the hot tag to Gibson is one of the classic spots in wrestling and it works so well because Morton could sell like no one else. Savage and Poffo didn’t team much (if at all) on the big stage and it’s a shame as they’re rather good together.

Post match the brawl stays on and the fans go absolutely nuts.

From San Antonio, Texas, possibly in September 1981.

Dory Funk Jr. vs. Dick Slater

Slater slams him down to start as commentary talks about how similar Slater was to Terry Funk, which would be an understatement. Funk takes him down and grabs a headlock as you can see just how smooth Funk can be out there. An atomic drop gets Slater out of trouble, only for Funk to grab the headlock again.

Back up and Funk’s atomic drop sends Slater to the apron, with commentary pointing out how much Slater looks like Terry again. Back in and Slater takes him down for a knee drop as commentary explains how the Funk Brothers had to get out of their father’s shadow, which worked everywhere but Amarillo. Funk snapmares him down into an elbow drop and it’s time for the forearms. A collision sends Slater outside though and Tully Blanchard runs in to jump Funk for the DQ at 6:17.

Rating: B-. This felt more like a preview of something even bigger but I’ll take that for an old TV show. The more I see of Funk, the more impressive he is and it was fascinating to see Dory against someone so close to Terry. The Funks only wrestled once so you don’t get to see it very often, making this all the more interesting. It could have been more, but this worked well enough.

Post match the beatdown stays on with Scott Casey running in for the save.

From….I have no idea actually. Toronto seems to be the most likely place but there’s no official listing.  Likely the late 70s.

US Title: The Sheik vs. Tiger Jeet Singh

Sheik is defending in a cage and Singh jumps him to start for a ram into the cage. Commentary immediately buries Singh as being terrible in the ring but he wound up being rich anyway because he’s a good businessman. Sheik sends him into the cage and gets in some pencil shots, only for Singh to take it away and stab him in the head.

Singh is rammed into the cage again but keeps Sheik from escaping with a pull of the trunks. More choking and brawling in the corner doesn’t go anywhere as Cornette places this match in the early 80s. Singh can’t get out of the cage either so he knocks Sheik down…and right through the door to retain the title at 7:46.

Rating: C-. This was all about the brawling and violence and, well, what else were you expecting? The match was just kind of dull and neither of them were going to be able to do much here but the fans were into it. That’s about as good as it gets for these two and thankfully they kept it short, which is often a positive move.

From San Antonio, Texas, April 9, 1984.

Southwest Championship Wrestling Tag Team Titles: Fabulous Blonds vs. Manny Fernandez/Al Perez

The Blonds (Eric Embry/Ken Timbs) are defending with Fernandez taking Timbs down with a headscissors to start as Cornette talks about how Embry could have been a star if he was taller, stronger or more tanned. Timbs takes over with an armbar and a backdrop into another armbar as commentary talks about how Perez could have been a star if he developed the muscles between his ears a bit more.

Fernandez is back up with a dropkick into an armdrag and of course commentary praises him a bit more, mainly because Fernandez was that much better. Perez comes in for a middle rope shot to the arm and the armbar goes on again. Some big knees to the arm keep Timbs in trouble as commentary goes into quite the discussion of cosmetic appeal in wrestling. Back up and Timbs misses an elbow and it’s right back to an armdrag into an armbar.

It works so well that he does it again but Timbs gets up and brings in Embry for the running forearm. There’s the double backdrop to put Perez down again and Timbs’ elbow gets two. An atomic and knee drop combine for two on Perez but he gets in a shot of his own. The tag is cut off though and Fernandez is drawn in, meaning the referee has to send him back.

Perez backdrops out of Embry’s piledriver attempt and Fernandez comes back in to clean house. Everything breaks down and the champions are sent into each other. Back up and Embry tries another piledriver but Fernandez drops him with a clothesline to give Perez the pin and the titles at 10:58.

Rating: C+. Things got better at the end and you could see the match building along the way, with Fernandez waiting to come in and run through everyone. Perez was indeed someone who could have been a star if he could put it all together but that never really happened. Fernandez was a star who could have been a lot bigger but almost always did well when he was given the chance, especially in a smaller place like this one. Good enough stuff here, with the ending boosting it up.

Post match the Blondes jump them again and the Sheepherders run in to beat on Perez and Fernandez. Bobby Jaggers and more run in for the save.

From Toronto, Ontario, Canada, February 6, 1977.

NWA World Title: Terry Funk vs. Harley Race

Funk is defending and we’re joined in progress with Funk getting two off a backbreaker. A piledriver gets the same and Funk drops a knee as it is so strange to see Funk wrestling such a basic style. Race is back up with a snapmare for two and a good backbreaker gets the same.

Funk gets in a flying headscissors of all thing to take Race down, only to be sent outside. Back in and Race goes up top but gets slammed down, setting up the spinning toehold. That’s broken up so Race tries a suplex, with Funk falling down on top of him for another near fall. Funk goes back to the spinning toehold but Race escapes again and hits a shinbreaker (on Funk’s bad knee). An Indian Deathlock, eventually, makes Funk give up at 7:14.

Rating: B-. You didn’t get to see much from the two of them, but of course it was technically sound and logical, because you shouldn’t expect anything else from these two. Race was about 33 here and a staggering 17 year veteran already as he wins his second title. That man was an incredibly rare case and it was always a treat to watch him in the ring. Funk on the other hand is a legend is in his own right and it’s still bizarre to see him doing something like this, as he was so good at this style in addition to the stuff that made him famous to more modern audiences.

Post match Race jumps up and down in celebration, which makes sense but dang it feels weird to see from him.

From Indianapolis, Indiana, probably around 1977.

Pepper Gomez vs. The Bounty Hunter

Gomez knocks him into the corner to start and grabs an armdrag for another knockdown. A right hand drops Hunter again as commentary talks about Gomez having a very strong stomach. Gomez works on an armbar and the referee kicks Hunter’s feet off the ropes, which doesn’t seem overly fair. Hunter fights back but gets taken down for a seated senton, setting up a jackknife rollup to give Gomez the pin at 4:21.

Rating: C. Not much to this one but Gomez was a massive name from his time so having him in here was a cool moment. That’s all you can ask for in a situation like this as a lot of his stuff has been lost to time. Hunter was nothing to see but he was basically just there to be a warm body anyway.

From Memphis, Tennessee, May/June 1984.

Austin Idol vs. Jim Neidhart

Neidhart runs him over with a shoulder to start but Idol’s manager Jimmy Hart trips Neidhart down. That means a lot of yelling ensues and Neidhart gets back inside, where we’re clipped to Idol grabbing a backdrop. Neidhart chokes him down into a chinlock and the comeback is cut off.

None of that matters though as Cornette is talking about Memphis history, reaching a level where even Meltzer is just left sitting there listening to him. Neidhart’s bearhug goes on and he even gets a near fall until we’re clipped again to Idol hammering away. Idol grabs a sleeper and here is the Spoiler to jump Idol with a cane. Neidhart covers so Hart comes in for the DQ at 4:53.

Rating: C. This seemed to be a much better match if you could see the whole thing, which is often the case with matches like these. Idol is someone who always felt like he could have been a bigger deal if he was ever on a bigger stage but that wasn’t going to be the case for him, as he just wasn’t going to do something he didn’t want. The draw here was Cornette getting to talk Memphis though, as he excels at it like nothing else.

Post match Neidhart and Spoiler beat Hart down but Idol makes the save. Hart even gets in a few shots of his own and rips off his jacket in a visual you don’t see very often.

From Memphis, Tennessee, May 21, 1984.

Butch Reed vs. Junkyard Dog

Dog knocks him down to start and drops a right hand, with Reed bailing out to the floor. Reed is pulled back in and the all fours headbutts send Dog outside, with commentary pointing out that Dog stole the move from Terry Funk. Back in again and Reed is choked down in the corner but gets in a cheap shot as Cornette gets to sing Bill Watts’ praises. A double clothesline leaves both of them down, allowing Cornette to tell more stories about Dog’s incredible popularity.

Reed grabs a chinlock into a front facelock, which goes on for a good while so it’s more Cornette Storytime (which granted is the big appeal of this whole set). Dog fights up with an atomic drop and a clothesline as you can feel the energy picking up. Said energy is capped off when Dog hits the Thump for the pin at 7:42.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t so much a good match as much as it was a match where you could see how great they could have been if Dog was at his best. The problem with Dog is he got out of shape fast and there wasn’t much that could be done to stop it. When he was at this peak though, it was something special and this wasn’t quite that, but it was still good enough stuff.

From Memphis, Tennessee, sometime in 1984ish.

Rick Rude/Jim Neidhart/Ox Baker/Japanese Assassin vs. Robert Reed/Tiger Mask/Keith Eric/Mad Dog

The Assassin kicks away at Eric and Rude, in a dress because of a Memphis stipulation, and it’s off to Neidhart to throw him around. Dog comes in and gets taken into the wrong corner for a beating from Baker. Mask (no not that one, as this is Ken Wayne) comes in and gets pummeled just as quickly and Reed gets beaten up as well. I guess Baker didn’t care for The Brady Bunch In The White House. Anyway Neidhart powerslams Eric and Rude adds a swinging neckbreaker for the pin at 3:17.

Rating: C. This wasn’t so much of a squash as much as it was a total and complete destruction, which was normal for a match on Memphis TV. Rude was ticked off because of the dress and Baker was ticked off because of who he was in general. It was fun to see this kind of a beating as it always looked good to see someone get decimated like that.

From Memphis, Tennessee, 1984.

Jerry Lawler vs. King Kong Bundy

Bundy, with Jimmy Hart, splashes Lawler in the corner to start and stomps the crown, with Cornette saying that’s going to come out of Bundy’s paycheck. Lawler gets elbowed down again and the ecstatic Hart is already cheering on the apron. Bundy sends him into the corner for a right hand and Lawler, tired of being squashed, rolls out to the floor. That just earns him a posting and an elbow drop for two back inside. The chinlock goes on and Bundy switches it to a bearhug, with Lawler finally breaking out. Lawler goes outside again and the chase is on, with Bundy getting tired rather quickly.

More stalling ensues, with the story of the match being that Hart is paying Bundy by the minute and Lawler wants to cost Hart money. As commentary points out, that means they can they can just run around and keep the story going without getting physical. Lawler finally gets caught by Hart though and Bundy takes over with some big right hands. Bundy drops an elbow but misses a splash and the strap comes down so it’s time for the comeback. Cue Rick Rude to distract Lawler though and Bundy gets in a chain shot, followed by the splash for the pin at 7:05.

Rating: C+. This was a great illustration of doing something with nothing, because people wanted to see Lawler cost Hart money and it worked like a charm. In other words, the company got creative with an idea and ran with it, which was what you had to do when you were running so often. It worked here and Bundy’s limitations were hidden at the same time. Not too bad.

From Detroit, Michigan, October 8, 1978.

Terry Funk vs. Mark Lewin

Lewin actually takes him to the mat by the arm to start and shrugs off some headbutts, with Funk hurting himself by mistake. An armdrag into another armbar has Funk in trouble and the fans rather pleased. The wristlock goes on as they head outside and then back inside as commentary talks about Paradise Alley.

Lewin switches off to a hammerlock but gets sent crashing out to the floor. Funk stomps away and grabs a chair, with Lewin bashing Funk in the head. Somehow that’s not a DQ so Lewin grabs a sleeper….and a rather large football player named Walter Johnson (of the Cleveland Browns) comes in to jump Lewin for the DQ at 5:55.

Rating: C+. The armbar was a bit repetitive but you could tell that the two of them had the energy and the crowd were way behind Lewin. The end was a big moment with the interference from an NFL player and the match certainly felt important. I was expecting more violence, but they did at least use a piece of a chair so we got something.

Post match Funk (bleeding) and Johnson beat on Lewin with a piece of the chair. That’s more like it.

From Memphis, Tennessee, July 9, 1984.

AWA International Title: Tommy Rich vs. Masao Ito

Ito is defending. The match listing gets Ito’s name wrong (“Massao”) but I doubt it was printed very often. We’re joined in progress with Rich grabbing a headlock takeover and a snapmare takes Ito down again. Ito shrugs that off and chops away before blocking an O’Connor roll. Rich knocks him down but gets chopped into the required nerve hold but Rich is up again to strike away.

That earns him another nerve hold but Rich gets up to lose a slugout. Ito’s middle rope splash misses so Rich hits an ax handle and the Thesz press (his finisher) but Ito’s goons make the save. Some powder to the eyes gives Ito two but Tojo Yamamoto gives Rich some salt to blind Ito right back. A crossbody gives Rich the pin and the title at 8:04.

Rating: B. This really got going and it was one of the best matches on the set thus far. Rich could do a fired up comeback like few others and the title change felt like a big deal. The fans were into Rich and it was cool to see this kind of thing happen, as it was quite the ordeal, showing you what can happen with a well told story.

From Memphis, Tennessee, June 4, 1984.

AWA Southern Title: Jerry Lawler vs. Kamala

Lawler is defending and Kamala rushes him into the corner for a fast start. Kamala chokes him down and sends him outside before Lawler’s right hand has no effect. More right hands just make Kamala jump into the air and grab the always lame pectoral claw. That’s only good for two so Kamala chops him on the mat and gets two off the splash. Lawler isn’t having this and fights up, with the strap coming down and the big right hand rocking Kamala for a change.

Kamala goes for the throat though and Lawler is right back down, which isn’t something you saw too often around here. The beating continues, with Lawler being knocked onto the announcers’ table as Jimmy Hart is thrilled at ringside. Lawler almost gets back inside so Kamala beats him down again, then does the same thing again. Hart gets the referee’s attention though and Lawler blasts Kamala with a chair. That leaves Kamala convulsing on the floor as Lawler wins by countout at 10:28.

Rating: B-. Kamala was a heck of a monster and it was easy to get behind anything Lawler was doing, especially in Memphis. The fans loved him no matter what and that was even more true when he was fighting a monster. That was a perfect spot for someone like Kamala and it worked rather well here. Good stuff, with Lawler looking like a hero by taking him out in the end.

From Indianapolis, Indiana, early 1970s.

Blackjack Mulligan/Ray Stevens/Baron Von Raschke vs. The Crusher/Dick The Bruiser/Sailor Art Thomas

Crusher and Stevens start things off with Stevens hammering away, earning himself a lifting choke. Raschke comes in and gets chased away as we’re clipped to Crusher taking over on Mulligan. Stevens goes up top and everything breaks down but we’re clipped again to Crusher working on Mulligan’s arm.

Mulligan powers him into the corner for some triple teaming and everything breaks down again. Stevens rakes Bruiser’s eyes so Bruiser goes nuts on him, even sending him outside. A young Bobby Heenan helps Stevens back in and everything breaks down again, with Raschke being rammed into Mulligan. Raschke gets double backdropped for the pin at 7:00.

Rating: B-. This was a big star studded match to wrap up the set and it was cool to see something from such a bygone era. The Bruiser and the Crusher were incredibly popular stars of their day and Stevens is one of the best in-ring performers of all time. It worked well and it felt like a big deal when everyone was in the ring. Fun match.

Overall Rating: B-. As has been the case with the previous two discs, and as will be the case with the other two discs, there wasn’t much to be said for a lot of the wrestling. Most of it was ok (and some of it was rather good) but the real draw here was all of the history lessons. You might not be into it if you’re not a fan of wrestling history, but there is some incredibly interesting stuff in there, with some of Cornette’s stories being a mixture of fascinating and hilarious. More good stuff here, and I’m sure I’ll have a good time with the other two.

 

 

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Summerslam 1991
Date: August 26, 1991
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Attendance: 20,000
Commentators: Bobby Heenan, Roddy Piper, Gorilla Monsoon

It’s a double main event, but in this case only one of those is a match. We have a handicap tag match between Hulk Hogan/Ultimate Warrior and the Iraqi sympathizers (ignore that the war had been over for months by this point) and a wedding between Randy Savage and Elizabeth. That’s quite the contrast, which is the selling point of the show. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at the Match Made In Heaven (the wedding) and the Match Made In Hell (Hogan/Warrior vs. Sgt. Slaughter/General Adnan/Colonel Mustafa).

Commentary welcomes us to the show.

The Dragon/Texas Tornado/British Bulldog vs. Power & Glory/Warlord

Dragon works on Roma’s arm to start and lifts him into the air to keep up the cranking. Tornado comes in to send Hercules into the corner over and over but a rake to the eyes cuts that off. It’s off to Bulldog vs. Warlord, with Bulldog grabbing a quick suplex. Dragon comes back in with a chop to Warlord’s head but a monkey flip is blocked (with Warlord not doing much, leaving Steamboat to just jump backwards).

The villains take over, with Roma getting two off a snap suplex. Some backbreakers from Roma set up Hercules’ delayed gorilla press as the beating continues. A clothesline cuts off the comeback attempt but Warlord, who is known for going up top, dives into raised boots, allowing the tag off to Tornado. Everything breaks down and Bulldog powerslams Roma for two (what a surprising kickout), followed by Dragon’s high crossbody for the win at 10:46.

Rating: C. This was a perfectly fine way to start the show, even with Roma’s kind of weird kickout at the end. Dragon was his usual good self, Bulldog was fine as a power guy and Tornado managed to not get lost coming to the ring so we’ll call it a success. Nice way to start the show, as a six man often is.

Mr. Perfect, with the Coach, says Bret Hart isn’t perfect enough to take the Intercontinental Title.

Intercontinental Title: Mr. Perfect vs. Bret Hart

Hart is challenging and Coach is here with Perfect. Hart’s parents are here in the crowd, just in case you didn’t realize this was a big moment. They take their time to start until Hart shoulders him down and sends Perfect crashing out to the floor. Back in and Hart grabs a headlock takeover to grind away for a pretty good while until Perfect gets up. That means a clothesline out to the floor, with Coach needing to do…well some coaching actually.

Perfect teases walking out but Hart sends him back inside, tearing Perfect’s singlet in the process. Back in and Perfect actually bothers to fight, knocking Hart outside and chopping him down. Hart is right back in to hammer away and a rollup gets two. Perfect cuts that off in a hurry and sends Hart back outside as Perfect is starting to overwhelm him. Hart gets inside again and is promptly caught in a sleeper.

A Samoan drop of all things gives Perfect two and he sends Hart hard into the corner for the same. The PerfectPlex gets two and the kickout has the fans right back into this. Hart hits some atomic drops to put Perfect in trouble for a change and the hair toss into the corner kind of crotches Perfect on the post. The Russian legsweep gives Hart two and the backbreaker into the middle rope elbow gets the same.

Hart sends him outside again for a posting (and of course Perfect’s bumping is great) before it’s time to kick at the leg back inside. Coach has to get on the apron to block a Sharpshooter (and remind us that he’s a thing), with the distraction allowing Perfect to kick the rope for a low blow. Perfect drops a leg between the legs but Hart blocks a second and reverses it into the Sharpshooter for the (very fast) submission and the title at 18:05 and kickstart his singles run.

Rating: A. Oh what else were you expecting? This match has been revered for decades now and that will be the case for a long time to come. It’s a great back and forth match with Hart getting his first major singles win and proving he can hang with the best of them. When the only flaw is “Perfect gave up really fast”, you’re doing something right. Awesome match, mainly due to how well both of them were able to do just about everything. You could see both of them doing their parts to almost perfection and it made for an all time classic.

Post match Hart rips the rest of the singlet off of Perfect and poses with the title, even going to celebrate with his parents.

Buy this Hulk Hogan pay per view!

Andre The Giant, looking terrible, is with the Bushwhackers and we see a clip of Earthquake attacking Andre and injuring his knee. Now Andre is backing the Bushwhackers to get revenge. Just because he’s big doesn’t mean he’s smart.

Natural Disasters vs. Bushwhackers

Jimmy Hart is here with the Disasters and Andre is with the Bushwhackers. They walk around to start until the Disasters go after Andre, earning themselves a double poke to the eyes from the Bushwhackers. Heenan: “If I was managing the Bushwhackers, I’d commit suicide.” We settle down to Butch vs. Typhoon with Butch getting backed into the corner but biting his way to freedom.

Earthquake makes the save (if you need to be saved from the Bushwhackers, perhaps it’s time to search for alternate employment) but the Bushwhackers clear the ring in short order. We settle back down to Earthquake hammering away on Butch as Heenan wonders which one is Larry, Darryl and Darryl. Butch gets crushed in the corner and has to fight out of a bearhug.

Typhoon elbows him in the face for two as Heenan leaves commentary to go talk to Hulk Hogan. That’s an odd change but Monsoon and Piper are happy. Butch gets away and brings in Luke to actually clean house. The Battering Rams send Earthquake to the floor, where he gives Butch a backbreaker. Luke steps on Typhoon’s toes but Typhoon can’t even sell that, allowing Earthquake to jump Luke from behind. The Earthquake is good for the pin at 6:27.

Rating: D. Well there was no way they were following the previous match, but what were they expecting out of this one? The match was never going to be much more than a squash and there was no reason to think otherwise. On top of that, Andre looked absolutely terrible and it was sad to see him out there barely able to move as such a shell of his former self.

Post match the Disasters go after Andre but the Legion Of Doom come out to cut that off in a hurry. There’s your next big tag feud.

Heenan, with the Big Gold Belt, goes to Hulk Hogan’s dressing room to issue a challenge on behalf of Ric Flair. Hogan knocks the belt out of his hands and slams the door. Well in theory at least, as we never actually hear Hogan or see his face.

Randy Savage is talking to fans on a phone line.

Ted DiBiase laughs at some of the things he has made Virgil do for him over the years. Tonight, DiBiase is ready to take Virgil out again for daring to challenge for the Million Dollar Title. This is a city full of gutters so Virgil can pick where he wants to go. And he’ll throw in a crying towel!

Million Dollar Title: Ted DiBiase vs. Virgil

DiBiase, with Sherri, is defending. Virgil hammers away to start fast and DiBiase is knocked to the floor early on. Back in and an atomic drop sends DiBiase crashing out to the floor again but this time DiBiase gets in a knockdown of his own. Heenan is back on commentary, with Piper saying that’s it for the fun.

DiBiase sends Virgil knees first into the steps and it’s time for the falling fists back inside. The beating continues as Heenan thinks Virgil is dumb enough to have the gold title bronzed. Back up and Virgil ducks a right hand and grabs the Million Dollar Dream. DiBiase is in trouble and Sherri brings in the loaded purse for the DQ at 6:27.

Actually hang on a second as the referee isn’t ending the match, but rather ejecting Sherri and continuing the match. Piper, Virgil’s friend and trainer, is THRILLED as Virgil hammers away in the corner but the referee gets bumped. DiBiase stops to taunt Piper and then drops Virgil with some suplexes. The piledriver plants Virgil but there is no referee, even as Piper is LOSING HIS MIND screaming for Virgil. The turnbuckle pad is removed but DiBiase takes too much time and gets sent into the exposed buckle. Virgil slowly crawls over and gets the pin and the title at 13:12, sending Piper through the roof.

Rating: C+. This was the pinnacle of everything with Virgil as he wins the title, but much more importantly he beats his former boss, who was a huge star in his own right. Piper deserves some credit here too, as he was pushing Virgil as hard as he could. It made you want to see Virgil win and that’s a great addition to the whole thing. Not an all time classic, but an emotional match that paid off a story years in the making.

Virgil gets the big celebration in a nice moment.

The Mountie is ready to beat Big Boss Man and then see him locked up in jail. He wants these New York police guards to brutalize Boss Man for a bonus. We also see some clips of Mountie using his shock stick on Boss Man, which is a rather violent way to set up a feud. It should be shocking that Boss Man is mad.

Boss Man is ready to send Mountie to jail.

Big Boss Man vs. The Mountie

The loser spends the night in jail and Jimmy Hart is here with the Mountie. Boss Man punches him in the face to start fast and cuts off a comeback with a hard spinebuster. The neck crank has Mountie in trouble so Hart offers a distraction. The chase is on and Boss Man is sent into the steps, with Heenan being rather pleased. Back in and Mountie’s slam gets two, followed by an elbow for the same as things slow WAY down.

A kickout sends Mountie flying out to the floor, with Monsoon calling Hart a walking advertisement for birth control. Geez that’s harsh even for Monsoon. Back in and Mountie bites Boss Man’s face before getting him up for a piledriver. With nothing else working, Hart gets on the apron but Mountie misses the shock stick shot. The Boss Man Slam….only gets two (that’s not something you see very often) so it’s a rather nasty Alabama Slam to finish Mountie off at 9:33.

Rating: C. The match was slow, but this was all about the ending and the post match shenanigans. As weird as it was to have the Boss Man Slam only get two, it was a good false finish before the pretty great looking Alabama Slam. Mountie’s time on offense was so slow though and it brought down the rest of the match.

Post match Boss Man has Mountie cuffed immediately and he’s dragged out back to the police van.

Ted DiBiase thinks he was robbed.

Bret Hart says Mr. Perfect just wasn’t perfect enough.

Jimmy Hart wants his lawyers to deal with the Mountie while the Natural Disasters threaten the Legion Of Doom.

Big Boss Man says a jailbird can’t fly and promises more torment for the Mountie tonight.

Randy Savage is still busy talking to fans and Gene Okerlund can only get some quick comments about him being ready for the wedding.

Five minute intermission, thankfully omitted.

Commentary does their preview/recap to fill in time.

The Mountie is taken to jail, where he screams his catchphrase as he’s put in the cell.

Jimmy Hart, now with the Nasty Boys, says his lawyer is on his way to the jail. The Nasty Boys accuse the Legion Of Doom and Jack Tunney of “coagulating” together against them.

Mountie gets his picture taken, despite being upset, sending Hart into a crazed rant about how that’s an invasion of privacy. Hart is hilarious in these over the top segments.

The Legion Of Doom is ready to win the Tag Team Titles. Then they’re ready for the Natural Disasters.

Mountie gets fingerprinted, again against his will.

The Triangle Of Terror (looking ancient, because they mostly were) say the Ultimate Warrior and Hulk Hogan are the ones who are outnumbered. Sgt. Slaughter teases having a surprise for the match.

Sid Justice (guest referee in the main event) promises to call the main event down the line. We see a clip of the Triangle Of Terror talking to Justice earlier and offering him a spot on the team. Back live, Sid says he didn’t promise them a thing (and we never heard him give an answer) but tonight, justice will be served. Is he going to dinner or something?

Tag Team Titles: Legion Of Doom vs. Nasty Boys

The Nasty Boys, with Jimmy Hart, are defending and this is No DQ/No Countout. The Legion cleans house to start, with Hawk even hitting an enziguri for two on Sags. Animal and Knobbs brawl to distract the referee and Sags sprays Hawk with something, which commentary ignores. A tray of drinks to the back has Hawk in more trouble and Sags ax handles him in the back to keep him down.

Knobbs comes in to clothesline Hawk, even as the camera shot is from the corner for some reason. A running splash hits in the corner but a middle rope version hits a raised boot. Animal comes in to clean house, including the powerslam for two on Knobbs. Hawk gets sent to the floor and Hart sends in his helmet, with a shot to the back rocking Animal. The delayed cover gets two but Hawk takes away the helmet and clocks Sags. The Doomsday Device gives us new champions at 7:45.

Rating: C+. Pretty quick and to the point here, though it wasn’t total destruction. What matters the most here is that the Legion Of Doom get up to the top, as they had felt like the most dominant team for a good while. It helps that they kept this as more of a brawl than a match, which suited both of them better. The other thing that stood out here: Hawk and Animal looked happy to win. They were raising their hands and hugging each other, which is how you should celebrate a huge moment. Do that kind of thing more often.

Mountie is put in a cell. One very cool detail here: on the Superstars leading into this show, Mountie had promised that Boss Man would do each of these things in order but then had to do it himself. That’s a nice bit of continuity that you don’t often see around here and it made things a little better if you were paying attention.

IRS vs. Greg Valentine

Heenan: “This will be a good match.” Might want to try again there Brain. Feeling out process to start with Valentine knocking IRS outside. As we slow things down a bit (yes, in this match), Monsoon passes on a rumor that Jake Roberts and Undertaker (a freshly evil pairing) have been seen around here. Back in and Valentine slams him for another trip to the floor, this time following him to hammer away.

IRS gets in a cheap shot and the abdominal stretch goes on, followed by a big clothesline for two. The chinlock goes on as Heenan asks if Monsoon and Piper’s parents wore suspenders (like IRS). Heenan realizes there’s no point in asking Piper as his parents were never home, which seems to touch a nerve. Anyway Valentine cuts him off the top and starts in on the leg, with the Figure Four sending IRS over to the ropes. Valentine stays on the leg but gets small packaged to give IRS the pin at 7:10.

Rating: C-. As usual, I have no idea what the point was in Valentine’s face turn, as the matches might have been technically fine but it’s not like there was anything interesting about him. IRS wasn’t much better and that didn’t make for much of a match. It wasn’t terrible by any means, but what was anyone expecting out of this one?

Buy the Hulk Hogan pay per view!

Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior are ready for the Triangle Of Terror. Hogan says this is the perfect battleground while Warrior says they’ll walk instead of coming by boat or air. They’ll walk out the same too. We get a double Hogan catchphrase and Warrior gives him a rather odd looking….we’ll call it a hug.

Hulk Hogan/Ultimate Warrior vs. Triangle Of Terror

Sid Justice is guest referee. Slaughter and Hogan start things off, with Sid taking away a foreign object and yelling at Slaughter to quite the reaction. Hogan actually doesn’t capitalize and gets pummeled in the corner, only to come back with a hard whip into another corner. Slaughter gets caught between Hogan and Warrior (much like his title reign), with Warrior coming in for an atomic drop.

Hogan comes back in to send him into the corner and adds a middle rope ax handle for two, with Mustafa kind of touching Hogan’s shoulder for the….I guess you could call it a save. Hogan chokes away in the corner but Sid actually breaks it up to keep things even. Slaughter gets in a cheap shot so Adnan can come in and slowly chop away. Mustafa’s gutwrench suplex (that always looked good) sets up the camel clutch, with Piper making a rare reference to Mustafa being the Iron Sheik.

That’s broken up even faster than it was in 1983 and it’s back to Slaughter, who goes up. Warrior shoves him off the top, with Slaughter DIVING across the ring for a crazy visual. It’s back to Warrior to clean house but Mustafa cheats to cut him off. A suplex gets Warrior out of trouble but Slaughter gets back in to break up the tag.

The big flying clothesline gets Warrior out of trouble and there’s the big tag to Hogan. Everything breaks down and Warrior gets a chair to chase Mustafa and Adnan to the back (where he was promptly fired by Vince McMahon). Hogan uses the distraction to throw powder into Slaughter’s eyes and drops the leg for the pin (with a FAST count) at 12:41.

Rating: C-. What were you expecting here? Hogan had already beaten Slaughter on his own at Wrestlemania and adding in two old guys wasn’t going to be enough to overcome the addition of the Warrior. Normally this wouldn’t feel like the main event of Summerslam, but keep in mind that this is the fourth Summerslam and the third to have a tag match main event. That’s kind of what Summerslam did, though this never had the slightest bit of drama, with Sid mostly being a non-factor.

Post match Hogan makes funny faces and then calls Sid back to pose with him. Because they’re best friends and would never split up of course.

Mountie meets a man in leather in his cell. Make your own jokes. Or don’t.

We recap Randy Savage proposing to Elizabeth (Piper: “GET DOWN ON YOUR KNEES!”), who of course responded with an awesome OH YEAH.

We get a music video of Savage and Elizabeth, which really is one of the best long term stories the company has ever done. Savage grew and changed over the course of the whole thing and that’s why it worked: it was a story with people involved and you could see how we got here over the years.

With the video done (and the ring ready for the wedding), Savage comes out in his white tuxedo and feathered hat (of course) and we get the ring bearer/flower girl. Elizabeth comes out, everyone swoons, the minister does his thing, Savage takes the sunglasses off to say OH YEAH, Elizabeth says yes, they get married, they leave, the show ends. This was the better part of fifteen minutes and…well it certainly happened. This would later be followed by the reception, which was crashed by Undertaker and Jake Roberts, setting off Roberts’ feud with Savage and eventually Undertaker’s face turn. For now though, just a wedding.

Overall Rating: C+. This isn’t a show you watch for the wrestling (save for that whole all time classic thing near the beginning), but it’s the definition of an easy to watch, fun show. That was kind of the theme of Summerslam back in the day, as there would be one or two things in the middle, but it wasn’t the kind of show where something major was going down. It was about the good guys getting a win to set up something for later and that’s what we got here. This might not be a classic, but there is enough fun stuff to keep you entertained for a few hours.

 

 

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Summerslam 1989
Date: August 28, 1989
Location: Meadowlands Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Attendance: 20,000
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Jesse Ventura

It’s the second edition of the show and again the main event is a tag match featuring Hulk Hogan and his best friend of the moment. In this case it’s Brutus Beefcake, teaming with Hogan against Zeus and Randy Savage. Other than that, the big story is Ultimate Warrior challenging Rick Rude for the Intercontinental Title. Let’s get to it.

Commentary welcomes us to the show and hypes up the main event.

Opening video, which might as well be any weekly TV show, albeit with some people doing….I guess you could call them Summery things.

Brainbusters vs. Hart Foundation

The Busters’ (with Bobby Heenan) Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line because they won the titles after the contract was signed, which is kind of a stretch to put it mildly. Hart and Tully start things off and Ventura acknowledges how good these two are in the ring. Anderson comes in with a drop toehold but Hart is right back on the arm. A hammerlock slam has Anderson in more trouble and it’s off to Neidhart.

The Harts take turns working on the arm but Anderson gets over for the tag…which doesn’t count as Blanchard’s foot was on the bottom rope. That’s not something you see very often. Anderson kicks Hart away and brings Blanchard back in, only for Hart to catch his kick to the ribs. The Harts start in on Blanchard’s arm for a change and even change behind the referee’s back as the referee is arguing with Anderson.

Blanchard’s chops have no effect and it’s back to Hart to work on the arm as Ventura can’t believe how one sided this has been so far. Blanchard reverses into a top wristlock but Hart bridges up (that’s impressive) and then flips away when Anderson grabs a double top wristlock (that’s impressive too). The Busters are double armdragged to the floor and Heenan wants a conference.

That doesn’t work for Neidhart, who throws Blanchard back in for a slugout with Hart. Blanchard manages to make a blind tag to Anderson and Hart is knocked down, but a Vader Bomb misses. Everything breaks down and the Busters are knocked outside again. Back in and Blanchard is sent face first into Neidhart’s boot and everything breaks down again. Neidhart is sent chest first into the buckle and Anderson gets to talk some trash. Blanchard grabs a reverse chinlock until Neidhart powers up, only for Anderson to come back in off another blind tag.

Back up and Anderson and Neidhart collide for a double down. That’s enough for Neidhart to bring Hart back in to hammer on Blanchard in the corner. Everything breaks down and Hart collides with Blanchard. Neidhart powerslams Hart onto Blanchard but Heenan has the referee. Anderson hits a middle rope ax handle and covers (while covering his head so the referee can’t tell he’s the illegal man in a brilliant move) for the pin at 15:57.

Rating: B+. Awesome match to start the show here with two all time great teams having an excellent match. The idea here was that the Harts were the better team, at least on this night, but Heenan (and then Anderson) cheating at the end was enough to turn things around. This was about two teams who knew what they were doing getting the chance to showcase themselves and believe it or not, it worked great.

Dusty Rhodes, in a snazzy hat, is ready for his match against the Honky Tonk Man. He hasn’t been this excited since his first date with Sally Good. Honky Tonk Man has been saying that Rhodes can’t wrestle and it’s time to prove that wrong. Rhodes was clearly having a blast here.

Dusty Rhodes vs. Honky Tonk Man

Jimmy Hart is here with Honky Tonk Man. Believe it or not, there is some stalling to start with both of them dancing a bit. Rhodes backs him into the corner about a minute in and hits a backdrop but it’s way too early for the big elbow. Back in and Rhodes works on the arm before messing with Honky Tonk Man’s hair. The atomic drop sets up an elbow to the head as it’s all Rhodes thus far.

Rhodes cranks on the leg a bit but Honky Tonk Man gets out and fires off some right hands. That’s broken up so Hart tries a distraction, which fails miserably as Rhodes chases him off. The distraction does let Hart slip Honky Tonk Man the megaphone for a shot to the ribs and the villain takes over. Hart gets in a bit of choking (Ventura: “Don’t you just love him Tony?”) and we’re off to the chinlock.

This stays on for a LONG time, with Ventura getting in a rant about how Rhodes is one of those annoying wrestlers who gets inspiration from the fans. Rhodes finally fights up and slugs away, looking a good bit like Apollo Creed in the process. Honky Tonk Man sends him into the referee so he calls for the guitar. Hart hits Honky Tonk Man by mistake though and Rhodes drops the big elbow for the pin at 9:42.

Rating: C+. I remember not liking this match very much before but, aside from the LONG chinlock, it really is a lot of fun. Rhodes knows exactly how to play to the crowd and make something like this goofy fun. The dancing turned it into a funny enough comedy match and I liked it more than I did in previous viewings. Fun stuff.

Post match Honky Tonk Man talks about Priscilla and Lisa Marie. He has a concert to do so someone help him find the stage. Yeah he’s fine.

Demolition and Jim Duggan (who is the King, meaning he has an American flag, the crown, a Demolition mask and an American flag 2×4 with a crown of its own) are ready for the Twin Towers and Andre The Giant. They’ve been flipping cars over and now it’s King Demolition, because Duggan wants to break things. Duggan’s look was so insane that I had fun with this.

Red Rooster vs. Mr. Perfect

They shove each other to start until Rooster right hands him back. Rooster’s slam falls backwards though and Perfect hits a heck of a dropkick. Back up and Taylor sends him outside for the slugout. Back in and Perfect grabs a PerfectPlex for the win out of nowhere at 3:25. Rooster hurt his ankle/knee or something in there, hence the short match.

Rating: C. Yeah there’s only so much you can do here with so little time and Rooster getting hurt in the middle. They didn’t have a choice but to go home in a hurry and that’s the best option they had. At the same time, Perfect was on the ascension around this time and you would be seeing even more of him in the coming months.

Rick Rude promises to make Ultimate Warrior into the Ultimate Liar. Bobby Heenan promises to do whatever it takes to retain the title. This wasn’t the original version that aired, as the Summerslam sign originally fell down, causing Gene Okerlund to swear. The wrong tape was played live and Tony and Jesse were caught completely off guard. Instead, it’s just a generic heel promo.

Rockers/Tito Santana vs. Rick Martel/Rougeaus

Slick and Jimmy Hart are here with the villains and there is a lot of talent in this one. Santana wants to start with Martel but gets Jacques instead. Everything breaks down in a hurry, with Santana and the Rockers hitting dropkicks to send the other three outside. Back in and Jannetty punches Jacques out of the air but a superkick cuts him off. Jannetty fights back up and brings Santana in to face Martel, who bails outside (for some hair rubbing from Jacques).

They get back in and a shot to the knee takes Santana down. A double back elbow has Santana in more trouble, with Martel firing off some shoulders in the corner. Santana gets two off a quick sunset flip but Martel chokes him back down. It’s back to Raymond for the Boston crab before Jacques adds an abdominal stretch. The villains take turns switching without a tag and Ventura, of course, loves it. The chinlock goes on but Jacques eventually misses a running knee to Raymond.

Michaels comes in off the tag and the fans go NUTS as he cleans house. Jannetty gets backdropped onto Martel and Jacques elbows Martel by mistake. Everything breaks down and Santana forearms Martel out to the floor. The Rockers and Rougeaus brawl on the floor and Hart offers a distraction, allowing Jacques to knee Jannetty in the back. Jannetty reverses that as well but Martel gets in a cheap shot and steals the pin on Jannetty at 14:58.

Rating: B+. This was an absolute hidden gem, with everyone involved working hard with a hot finish. The fact that I’ve seen the match multiple times and was genuinely expecting Jannetty to get the pin before the last second save tells you a lot about how good this was. You had some outstanding talent in there and they had a killer match here.

Long recap of Ultimate Warrior vs. Rick Rude. Warrior lost the Intercontinental Title to Rude at Wrestlemania thanks to some cheating from Bobby Heenan so Warrior wants revenge. Rude attacked him early, with Andre the Giant playing security but not realizing that Warrior fought back. Later on, Warrior jumped Rude and beat him up for a change, only for Rude and Andre to beat Warrior up a few weeks later in quite the scary visual.

Warrior shouts a lot about the eighth wonder of the world and eating Rick Rude alive.

Intercontinental Title: Rick Rude vs. Ultimate Warrior

Rude, with Bobby Heenan, is defending. They circle each other to start with Rude realizing that he might be in trouble. Rude slugs away to no avail so Warrior clotheslines him out to the apron. Warrior knocks him to the floor, sending Ventura into a rant about how none of this is legal and how Schiavone is dumber than Gorilla Monsoon. Back in and Warrior hits a top rope ax handle for two.

The atomic drop gives us the required funny sell from Rude, with Warrior doing his own hip swivel. Rude gets in a cheap shot to the back and starts hammering away, setting up a suplex for two. We hit the reverse chinlock to stay on the bad ribs but Warrior is fine enough to block the Rude Awakening. Rude tries a sleeper instead, with Warrior countering but taking out the referee by mistake. Warrior hammers away and hits a powerslam but there is still no referee.

A piledriver gets a VERY delayed two thanks to the foot on the ropes. Warrior hits another running powerslam but the splash hits raised knees. Rude is back up with a piledriver of his own (though he knees forward like a Tombstone for a weird twist) for two of his own and he drops a top rope fist for the same.

Cue Roddy Piper (already having issues with Rude) as Rude hits another piledriver for two more (geez and I thought AEW killed that move)…and Piper distracts Rude by lifting up his kilt. Warrior German suplexes him off the middle rope and hits a flying shoulder into the gorilla press and Warrior Splash for the title at 16:03.

Rating: B-. While it’s not quite as good as the Wrestlemania version, this was another good match from two guys who certainly worked well together. That’s all it needed to be, with Warrior getting the title back on the way to his main event push. Rude didn’t feel like a flash in the pan and got a lout out of being champion, with what feels like an awesome feud against Piper coming up.

Sean Mooney is in the crowd and thinks this is awesome, even as Ventura rants about Piper.

Mr. Perfect calls the Red Rooster a stepping stone.

Roddy Piper laughs at Bobby Heenan’s loss and blows his nose before praising the Ultimate Warrior. OF COURSE he cost Rude the title. Why would you have expected anything else?

Ronnie Garvin, in a tuxedo, says he has a special assignment tonight but Bobby Heenan comes in to rant about how Piper had NO REASON to be at ringside. Rick Rude comes in and does NOT like being called the former champion. Rude rants about Piper and promises to be the champion again. Heenan wants the match started again and can’t even speak from being so upset.

We get a five minute intermission, thankfully cut out on Peacock.

We get a recap of Hulk Hogan vs. Zeus, which started back in May when Zeus beat him down before a cage match on Saturday Night’s Main Event. The idea was that Zeus was the villain in the movie No Holds Barred but wants a real life fight. Naturally he’s called Zeus (the character’s name) rather than anything else, because Hogan, real person, is fighting Zeus, the movie character. Maybe it’s better if you don’t think about it too much. Anyway Hogan hit Zeus with a chair to no effect but maybe he can make it work in a tag match.

Demolition/Jim Duggan vs. Twin Towers/Andre The Giant

Bobby Heenan and Slick are here with the heels (Big Boss Man and Akeem as the Towers if you’re not familiar). Duggan even has the American flag face paint in case the other four things weren’t enough. Demolition work on Akeem’s arm to start and pound him down as they are known to do. Ax elbows Akeem down but it’s quickly off to the Boss Man, who gets chopped in the head.

It’s back to Ax to hammer away but Boss Man manages a few shots of his own in the corner. Duggan comes in to start on the arm but Ax allows the tag to Andre, meaning it’s time for the real beating to begin. That’s broken up rather quickly and it’s off to Smash, who (rather easily) slams Akeem, only to get dropped by a single shot from Andre. The splash connects but Duggan blasts Akeem with the 2×4 to give Smash the pin at 7:29.

Rating: B-. I’ve long since been a Demolition fan and this was a good example of why. There was something so fun about watching them hammer people down, as they lived up to the idea of demolishing them. Good effort here, even if it was clear that Andre’s body was breaking down in a hurry.

Ted DiBiase, with Virgil, is ready to beat Jimmy Snuka.

Greg Valentine vs. Hercules

Ronnie Garvin is guest ring announcer, having been suspended as a wrestler and referee, and doesn’t think much of Valentine. Garvin introduces Valentine as “his so called opponent” with a pipsqueak of a manager named Jimmy Hart, who claims to be from Seattle, Washington and who Garvin thinks is overweight by about 30lbs. Oh and his robe is covered with cheap rhinestones and you can’t tell if he’s coming or going.

Hercules slugs away to start and knocks Valentine to the floor, including a beating in the timekeeper’s area. Back in and Valentine slugs him down but the figure four is broken up. A suplex goes to Hercules and he hammers away in the corner, only for Valentine to sweep the legs and get a cheating rollup for the pin at 3:04.

Rating: C. Despite my eternal dislike of Garvin, the feud with Valentine was funny and if he could have done a better series of insults to start, it would have been even better. The match itself was nothing, but dang it was funny watching Valentine getting angrier and angrier at Garvin. Fun stuff here, with the match being an afterthought.

And hang on as Garvin calls Hercules the winner, and after some consultation, Hercules is indeed named the winner by DQ. Valentine decks Garvin and slugs it out with Hercules but Garvin gets up and drops Valentine with the big right hand.

Randy Savage, Sherri and Zeus are around a cauldron and promise to destroy Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake. Sherri sees Hogan and Beefcake defeated and Savage sees…uh, the same thing. Oh and Elizabeth will be destroyed too. This is still one of the weirdest promos I’ve ever seen.

Ted DiBiase vs. Jimmy Snuka

Virgil is here with DiBiase, who brags about ending Jake Roberts’ career. DiBiase jumps him to start but Snuka fights back for a knock out tot he floor. Virgil gets decked as well and an atomic drop sends DiBiase over the floor (with one of his always great bumps). Back in and DiBiase shrugs off a ram into the buckle and hammers Snuka into the corner.

Snuka fights back until he charges into a hot shot, followed by a backbreaker. The falling elbow misses though and Snuka hits a top rope headbutt. Instead of covering he goes up though, allowing Virgil to offer a distraction. DiBiase is back up with a posting for the countout at 6:26.

Rating: C. Not much to this one, as it was little more than a midcard match between two guys who weren’t as big as they used to be. It seemed like more of a filler match to get us to the main event, which isn’t a great sign for someone who headlined this show last year. Not bad, but you could cut this from the card and not lose a thing.

Post match Snuka jumps both villains and hits the Superfly Splash on Virgil.

Sean Mooney is still in the crowd and still doesn’t have much to say.

Hulk hogan and Brutus Beefcake talk about….Moses and the parting of the Red Sea? Brutus talks about the sharpness of his blades and Hogan talks about some sexy legs wrapped around his motorcycle. Somehow, less weird than the cauldron. Not much less, but less.

The Genius reads a poem about Hogan and Beefcake losing because they don’t have the cards.

Randy Savage/Zeus vs. Hulk Hogan/Brutus Beefcake

Sherri is here with Savage and Zeus so Hogan has Miss Elizabeth introduced, freaking Savage out all over again. With that out of the way, Zeus chokes Hogan down to start and grabs the bearhug, with Savage adding a top rope ax handle to the back. Savage grabs a sleeper before it’s back to Zeus for the bearhug.

That stays on for a good while until it’s back to Savage, who gets suplexed down. It’s finally off to Beefcake for the running knee and a sleeper but Savage sends him into the buckle. Zeus comes back in so beefcake rakes his eyes and grabs the sleeper again. Sherri slips in the loaded purse though and Savage gets in the big cheap shot. The slow beating ensues with both villains getting in some choking.

Beefcake finally gets in a shot of his own though and it’s back to Hogan, who boots Savage to the floor. Zeus drops Hogan again so Savage comes in for the elbow….and Hogan pops up. Hogan slugs away on Zeus and a clothesline finally puts him down on one knee. Sherri tries to come in but Elizabeth shoves her in. Beefcake shoves Savage, with the purse, off the top. The loaded purse to the face rocks Zeus and Hogan slam him down. The legdrop finishes for Hogan at 15:12.

Rating: C. Maybe it’s the lack of Jesse Ventura as the referee, or a monster who knew what he was doing in the ring (not Zeus’ fault) but this falls pretty far from last year’s similar main event. I kept losing interest in this one and that’s not a good sign for the main event. If nothing else, it didn’t feel like some big blowoff, even with Hogan getting the pin on Zeus. Not much of a main event here, but to be fair they only had three wrestlers doing the work of four.

Post match Hogan and Beefcake hold them off with the sheers and CUT SHERRI’S HAIR. Posing ends the show.

Overall Rating: B. This show starts off great and then kind of sputters out near the end, but I had a lot more fun this time around than I was expecting. That was a nice surprise and at just over two and a half hours, it certainly doesn’t overstay its welcome. That first six man is more than worth a look and the opener is a genuine dream match from this era. It’s not an all timer, but it would have been very close with a better main event.

Ratings Comparison

Original: B+
2013 Redo: B
2025 Redo: B+

Honky Tonk Man vs. Dusty Rhodes

Original: F
2013 Redo: D-
2025 Redo: C+

Mr. Perfect vs. Red Rooster

Original: C+
2013 Redo: D
2025 Redo: C

Rick Martel/Fabulous Rougeaus vs. Tito Santana/Rockers

Original: B+
2013 Redo: B
2025 Redo: B+

Ultimate Warrior vs. Rick Rude

Original: A-
2013 Redo: B
2025 Redo: B-

Jim Duggan/Demolition vs. Andre the Giant/Twin Towers

Original: C+
2013 Redo: C
2025 Redo: B-

Hercules vs. Greg Valentine

Original: F-
2013 Redo: D
2025 Redo: C

Ted DiBiase vs. Jimmy Snuka

Original: D
2013 Redo: D
2025 Redo: C

Hulk Hogan/Brutus Beefcake vs. Randy Savage/Zeus

Original: B-
2013 Redo: D+
2025 Redo: C

Overall Rating

Original: B-
2013 Redo: C+
2025 Redo B

Yeah it’s better than I said, especially Rhodes vs. Honky Tonk Man.

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Fan Favorites
Commentators: Sean Mooney, Lord Alfred Hayes, Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan
Host: Sean Mooney

This is another random Coliseum Video but a good bit shorter than most of them. I’m not sure what that is going to mean and now I’m wondering what this is going to wind up being. Hopefully these aren’t the kind of lunkheaded fans who don’t like exactly the same things I do so let’s get to it.

This appears to be from around 1992.

The opening video seems to preview the card.

Sean Mooney welcomes us to the tape and says the card has all been chosen from fan requests.

From February 19, 1991 in Fort Myers, Florida.

Earthquake vs. Ultimate Warrior

Jimmy Hart is here with Earthquake…and this is from WrestleFest 91, even down to the same commentary. Earthquake jumps him to start and gets taken down with some running shoulders. That’s enough to send Earthquake outside while Warrior goes after Hart. The cheap shot lets Earthquake take over and power Warrior into the corner back inside. Earthquake crushes him in the corner and slowly hammers away. Stomping and an elbow set up the Earthquake, which of course triggers the comeback. Warrior hits the running clotheslines and a slam sets up the Warrior Splash for the pin at 5:41.

Rating: C-. Ok so they can’t all be winners. There was pretty much nothing here, but it just makes me wonder how things would have gone if Earthquake was the first real challenger for Warrior when he won the WWF Title. He would have been a perfect foil for Warrior and certainly fresh, but that doesn’t leave much for Hogan and that’s a problem. Unfortunately it wound up being Warrior’s problem, though the match was nothing remotely special anyway.

Post match Warrior throws Hart at Earthquake.

From February 18, 1992 in West Palm Beach, Florida (and from Battle Of The WWF Superstars 1992).

Randy Savage vs. Berzerker

Savage ducks some clotheslines to start but Berzerker hammers away. They go outside to keep up the pounding before going back inside so Berzerker can throw him over the top again. Back in again and Berzerker hits a piledriver before throwing him back outside for a slam on the exposed concrete.

They head inside again with Savage fighting back and commentary talking about how this is an EXCLUSIVE for Battle Of The WWF Superstars 1992, because that’s how cheap this tape is. The referee is ducked and Mr. Fuji throws salt in Berzerer’s eyes by mistake. A top rope cane shot sets up the top rope elbow to give Savage the pin at 4:08.

Rating: D. There are some outstanding Savage matches throughout history but there are also a lot that are basically him doing nothing but the basics before doing something to set up the elbow. This was the latter and the match was what you would expect. Thankfully Savage would get into a feud with Ric Flair soon after this and re-energize everything

From May 19, 1992 in Lexington, Kentucky (featuring Papa/Mama KB and I in the front row)

The Mountie/Beverly Brothers vs. Undertaker/Legion Of Doom

The Genius/Jimmy Hart/Paul Bearer/Paul Ellering are here too. For some reason the Genius mocks the other team before the match, which feels REALLY STUPID. Animal shoves Blake into the corner to start but Blake actually comes out with a powerslam of all things. That earns Blake a powerslam from Animal (I’ll let you guess which was better) and the villains all bail out to the floor.

Beau comes in and gets scared away by Hawk, meaning it’s time for another meeting on the floor. Back in and Hawk elbows him to the floor and the chase lets Beau get in some ax handles. Those work as well as Beau Beverly ax handling Hawk is going to and it’s a gorilla press to send Beau flying. Mountie comes in and gets to face Undertaker, who is having none of this I AM THE MOUNTIE jazz. A choke on the ropes has Mountie in more trouble so it’s back to Hawk vs. Blake.

For some reason Blake wants Hawk to try a running shoulder, which sends Blake flying. Hawk misses a charge into the post though and the bad guys actually get to take over for a bit. Beau adds a middle rope Hennig necksnap but Blake misses a middle rope headbutt. Animal comes back in to clean house, including a heck of a flying shoulder. A double DDT drops the Brothers and everything breaks down. Beau gets caught in the Dooms…actually a top rope Hart Attack (the old version) for the pin at 13:32.

Rating: C-. And that might be the match of the tape thus far. This was basically just a nothing house show match with the massive appeal being the Undertaker and LOD teaming up (though there was a heck of a potentially interesting….something with the managers on the floor). The Beverlys and Mountie were a weak team no matter what, but it was nice to see such an awesome team getting to slaughter people. Oh and one more thing: I’m supposed to believe that someone wrote a letter asking to see this specific six man? Really?

From This Tuesday In Texas (my goodness this is a lazy tape).

Intercontinental Title: Bret Hart vs. Skinner

Hart is defending and works on the arm to start, followed by some atomic drops. A running clothesline puts Skinner on the floor before it’s right back to the arm. Some cranking on the mat has Skinner in more trouble so he grabs the hair, only for Hart to twist the arm some more. Oh yeah this isn’t interested Hart and it’s showing.

Back up and Hart is sent hard into the post and Skinner gets in some choking on the floor. An abdominal stretch goes on, with Monsoon complaining about the form (there’s your free Bingo square), followed by a shoulder breaker to give Skinner two. The alligator claw to the throat has Hart in more trouble, though he does insist that it was a forearm. The chest first whip into the buckle lets Skinner go…for the leg? Even Heenan realizes that’s a bad idea and it’s the reverse DDT for two on Hart.

Skinner goes up and dives into a raised boot, which lets Hart start the comeback. The Russian legsweep and middle rope elbow give Hart two and he kicks Skinner outside to break up a rollup. Skinner goes up and gets slammed down, setting up the Sharpshooter to retain the title at 13:46.

Rating: C-. What were you expecting here? This is a match that I’ve seen a bunch of times as it’s on both the pay per view and Supertape 92. Hart clearly wasn’t interested and can you blame him? The match is against Skinner six days after he and Shawn Michaels headlined Survivor Series in a pretty great match. How hyped was he supposed to be here?

From March 10, 1992 in Biloxi, Mississippi (and from WrestleFest 1992).

Natural Disasters vs. Nasty Boys

The Boys have Jimmy Hart with them. Sags elbows away at Typhoon to start and tries a slam for some reason (the team never was that bright). Typhoon slams him instead and hits a splash in the corner so it’s off to Knobbs vs. Earthquake. Knobbs is dropped a few times to start and a slam makes it even worse.

An elbow to the back (after what looked like some missed timing) has Knobbs in more trouble but Sags gets in a cheap shot from the apron (I wonder if that was supposed to happen the first time) to take over. The Boys take turns beating on Earthquake, who just sits on Sags’ chest for two as Knobbs makes the save. Everything breaks down and Hart brings in the helmet. That’s cut off by Typhoon and Earthquake drops an elbow to pin Sags at 6:28.

Rating: D. This was a fittingly bad ending to an awful tape. There was nothing going on here with the Boys not being able to do much against the monsters. The Disasters winning off a basic elbow tells you just about everything you need to know here, as this was somehow less interesting than it sounds.

Mooney gets more letters and wraps it up.

Overall Rating: D-. I mean….dang man. What is there to say about something like this? There was nothing going on with this whole thing and nothing resembling a match you might want to see. It isn’t even a lack of star power as you have the Ultimate Warriors, Savage, Hart, the LOD and Undertaker but they couldn’t work miracles. This felt like something thrown together in about five minutes with the Mooney bookending segments probably filmed in even less time. Just nothing to see here and incredibly disappointing as they could have easily found anything better than most of this stuff.

Results
Ultimate Warrior b. Earthquake – Warrior Splash
Randy Savage b. Berzerker – Flying elbow
Undertaker/Legion Of Doom b. The Mountie/Beverly Brothers – Top rope Hart Attack to Beau
Bret Hart b. Skinner – Sharpshooter
Natural Disasters b. Nasty Boys – Elbow to Sags

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Hulk Hogan Mixtape
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Roddy Piper, Bruno Sammartino, Larry Zbyszko, Gordon Solie, Dusty Rhodes, Jesse Ventura, Gorilla Monsoon, Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, Gene Okerlund

Well they had to do this. The Mixtapes have mainly featured the biggest and/or most beloved stars in company history and Hogan is WWE mega royalty. These things are absolutely random, with all kinds of matches, promos and segments. The best part is that they often avoid the most well known stuff so it’s almost four hours of less than remembered content. Let’s get to it.

We open with Hulk Hogan’s bouncing chest before he talks about being ready to face Hercules. He’s checked Hercules out and yes he has a body of a god. Hercules even looks like the real one (Huh?) but Hogan has been hanging out in the Garden of Eden with his main squeeze Eve and going 20,000 leagues under the sea. This is where the power lies, meaning the palm of his hand. Hercules has Bobby Heenan with him and that’s nothing new to Hogan, who has beaten everyone Heenan has thrown at him. This is where the power lies (I feel like I’ve heard that somewhere before).

From Summerslam 1990, a show I’ve seen about 1,483 times.

Hulk Hogan vs. Earthquake

Big Boss Man is in one corner and Dino Bravo/Jimmy Hart are in the other. This is a big return for Hogan after Earthquake put him out of action (to film Suburban Commando, so we owe Earthquake a thank you). Earthquake shoves him down a few times and drops him with a shoulder, sending Hogan outside for a chat with Boss Man (who flat out tells him to rake the eyes).

Back in and Hogan does rake the eyes but tries a slam, because that has worked so well for him over the years. Hogan gets sent into the corner but comes right back with some shots to the face, including a running right hand which has Hogan all staggered. The big wind up right hand puts him down (which is all the more impressive when Hogan winds up counter clockwise and then punches clockwise, which…my head huts).

Everything breaks down and the seconds come in, with Hogan and Boss Man hitting some double big boots (the referee doesn’t mind) but Bravo is back with a double slam to drop Hogan. The big elbow gives Earthquake two and he stomps on the fingers to make it worse. We hit the Boston crab (making Hogan tap, which means nothing in 1990 but it’s still a weird visual) and Hogan tries to push out before realizing he’s right next to the rope. Ever the genius, Hogan rolls outside right in front of Bravo, who gives him a slam.

Back in and Earthquake misses the big elbow and Hogan shows his brilliance again by trying, and failing at, a slam. Earthquake grabs the bearhug and Hogan grabs at the referee for some reason, even tearing his shirt. The right hands get Hogan out of trouble and some running shoulders stagger Earthquake. A crossbody of all things is countered into the powerslam, allowing Hogan to do his fish out of water twitching.

A pair of Earthquakes connect…and it’s Hulk Up time, with the fans getting right back into things. Earthquake hammers away and I think you know where this is going (as you’ve probably seen the match before). The big boot staggers Earthquake and a good slam puts him down for the legdrop. Hart comes in for the save and gets thrown at Earthquake as Boss Man takes Bravo out. Hogan goes outside with Earthquake where Hart misses the Megaphone shot. Another slam puts Earthquake onto (not through) a table (yes the show is in Philadelphia) for the countout at 13:17.

Rating: C+. This was all about Hogan’s big return and I’d call that a success, with the fans going coconuts for his usual stuff. Hogan has a reputation of mainly working with monsters and Earthquake is one of the best he ever faced. That was the case here, as Earthquake could move both himself and Hogan around while still looking imposing. The ending is a bit strange as it was designed to set up rematches at house shows, which is hardly what you expect in a high profile match like this. It’s not a great match, but it was all about the reaction from the fans and that worked.

Post match Earthquake chokes Hogan and Boss Man’s chair shots just annoy him. With that not working, Boss Man throws the chair down and whips out the nightstick for a big spin, which sends the villains running (probably the coolest thing Boss Man ever did in his career, as that just looked awesome).

Hogan introduces us to his parents and says he’s the same person he was growing up because of them. And then we have to do another take, complete with Gene getting makeup redone in between.

From I believe Championship Wrestling, August 20, 1980.

Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant

Freddie Blassie is here with Hogan. They lock up and Andre shoves him around without much trouble, though Hogan shoves him right back into another corner. That just earns Hogan a boot to the chest but he easily slams Andre. Another slam plants Hogan right back and a big boot sets up the missed splash. Hogan bails outside and Blassie loads up his elbow pad, which is enough to knock Andre silly. The pad is unloaded as Andre is bleeding…and Hogan and Blassie just leave at about 3:45.

Rating: C+. This had some cool visuals, of course including the slam, which is bizarre to see on an official WWE release from before Wrestlemania III, but it felt like it was there to set up a bigger rematch. Hogan certainly had a lot of his stuff down here, though dang it’s weird seeing him as a heel. That being said, he ticked off Andre and that is about the dumbest thing anyone can ever do.

Post match Andre yells a lot.

We get a quick outtake from an NWO vignette, with Hogan and the Outsiders laughing at how long the interview has gone.

From WCW Worldwide in February/March 1995.

Hulk Hogan/Randy Savage vs. Pretty Wonderful

Hogan and Orndorff start things off with some running shoulders putting Orndorff down. It’s off to Savage to work on Roma’s arm and Hogan even gets in a middle rope ax handle. A cheap shot from behind takes Savage down though and Orndorff hammers away in the corner. Hogan’s attempt at a save just causes more double teaming, further proving that Hogan is a terrible partner.

The double teaming keeps Savage down and Roma gets some near falls. Savage finally fights up and brings in Hogan, who cleans house like he’s Hulk Hogan beating up Paul Roma. The big boot (a size 12 according to Solie, which astounds me that I have bigger feet than Hogan) and legdrop finish Roma at 7:23.

Rating: C. Normally I would say the match was what you would expect, but who would have expectations for the Mega Powers vs. Pretty Wonderful? It’s such a random tag match and while Hogan was very different than what he was doing in his glory days, there is always something to be seen when he faces Orndorff. Roma being there to take the pin is…well pretty much exactly what you would expect.

Hogan does a photo shoot in 2002. Dang that Undisputed Title looked awesome.

We go to the Dungeon Of Doom where the Master and Kevin Sullivan sense Hogan getting closer. Hogan falls through a wall into the Dungeon and realizes there are no Hulkamaniacs here and he’s never been here before. The water isn’t even hot! Hogan goes over to the Master and Sullivan and explains the members of their team. Sullivan threatens to destroy Hulkamania and a wall explodes, with the Giant coming out to choke Hogan down.

From Toronto, Ontario, Canada, December 15, 1985.

WWF Title: Hulk Hogan vs. Terry Funk

Hogan is defending and steals Funk’s cowboy hat to start. The hat is thrown down and Hogan (in blue trunks and boots for a change) drops some elbows on it as Funk talks to Jimmy Hart. Funk runs away again before getting back inside, where Hogan knocks him into the corner without much trouble.

Funk goes outside again and this time picks up the megaphone, which doesn’t work that well. Back in and Funk chops away on the ropes but gets clotheslined out onto the announcers’ table. Hogan brings him back in and Funk apparently kicks him low, with Hogan heading outside this time. Back in and Funk chokes a bunch, followed by a piledriver for two.

Funk takes him out on the ramp, and Hogan actually Hulks Up out there. They go back inside for a clothesline and elbow to Funk, followed by the big boot (with Monsoon accidentally referring to Hogan as Terry). A suplex is loaded up but Hart trips Hogan, earning himself a big boot. Hogan takes Hart’s boot off and knocks Funk silly (Monsoon: “WHAMMO!”) for the pin to retain at 8:43.

Rating: B-. These two fought a few times and had some good chemistry together, which is at least partially due to Funk being willing to bump like a madman for anyone. Hogan didn’t wrestle people Funk’s size very often and it’s interesting to see him have to change up the offense a bit. Throw in the blue trunks and this was a very different style for him.

Post match Hogan chases Funk off with a chair.

Bill Apter presents Hollywood Hogan with the PWI award for the Most Hated Wrestler Of The Year for 1996 (I’m guessing, as he also won it in 1998). Hogan talks about how the NWO is all about change and he’s hated despite doing so much to put food on the table for so many people over the years. Including Apter.

From New York City, New York, March 24, 1980.

Hulk Hogan vs. Tito Santana

Hogan has Freddie Blassie with him and Santana is a Tag Team Champion. Hogan jumps him with a knee from behind to start and an Oklahoma Stampede (well with a regular slam instead of a powerslam) drops Santana early. Some elbows miss though and Santana fights up with right hands and a dropkick.

Santana works on the arm but Hogan hiptosses him down, setting up the elbow. Hogan knocks him outside and we hit the chinlock back inside. Santana fights up again whips Hogan into the corner, only to get clotheslined back down. A suplex with trunks gives Hogan the pin at 8:13.

Rating: C. This was a very different kind of match than you would see from Hogan but that was due to it being the very early 80s. Santana was already doing his fired up comebacks and knew how to get a crowd going, but Hogan was pretty clearly getting a push here. The lack of a legdrop was certainly weird to see, but this was very, very early Hogan and it showed.

Hulk Hogan runs into Ric Flair, Brie Bella and Jerry Lawler, Pat Patterson (who gets a picture with him and John Cena at a show. Apparently that show is Wrestlemania XXX (I love the RING THIS WAY sign).

We look at Hogan doing a promo in what looks like 1985 but he keeps screwing up his lines.

From Monday Nitro, August 9, 1999.

Hulk Hogan/Goldberg/Sting vs. Sid Vicious/Rick Steiner/Kevin Nash

Hogan is the World Champion and that’s quite the lineup. To make it even bigger, this is Hogan’s return to the Red and Yellow (and to the rather catchy American Made) after more than three years in the black and white. Hogan shoulders Steiner down to start so Steiner grabs a headlock. That doesn’t work for him either as Hogan knocks him down and drops three straight elbows.

Everything breaks down and Hogan beats up all three at once, making me wonder why Sting and Goldberg need to be there. The villains bail out to the floor and now it’s off to Goldberg, who gets to face Nash. The flying shoulder puts Nash down so Sid comes in to choke, only to get kicked down by Sting. A top rope splash hits raised knees though and Sid gets to take over for the first time.

Naturally that’s too much for Sid so it’s back to Nash for the side slam. A turnbuckle pad is ripped off somewhere in there so Nash loads up Snake Eyes, which the referee cuts off. The referee gets bumped so Sting hits some Stinger Splashes into the exposed buckle. Steiner brings in a chair to whack Sting but it gets taken away and Nash is laid out. The Scorpion Deathlock gives Sting the win on the out cold Nash at 8:09.

Rating: B-. In something you don’t hear very often, the crowd carried this so much higher. WCW might not be the most fondly remembered place in this era, but this was a situation where the fans were WAY into what they were seeing. You do not see that from this time and it makes me wonder what might have happened if WCW actually followed up on it, but you know, Russo was the way instead.

Hogan and Randy Savage are at Venice Beach, with Hogan very pleased that Savage has joined the dark side. This is still in 1995, with the two of them promising to get back at the Dungeon Of Doom. A man with a beard is sat between them and seems to agree.

From Huntington, West Virginia, June 15, 1993.

Mega Maniacs vs. Money Inc.

This is a lumberjack match and two days after Hogan lost the WWF Title to Yokozuna at the King Of The Ring. Money Inc. jump them before the bell and are quickly cleared out as Hogan gets to rip the shirt off to Real American. The referee is even fine with ringing the bell while Hogan chokes DiBiase, which has to be a tax violation. Money Inc. is chased to the floor so Jimmy Hart gives Hogan some advice (“Just go to WCW, this isn’t happening.”)

Hogan and DiBiase start things off with Hogan punching his way out of the corner without much trouble. DiBiase is sent outside and gets beaten up by the Steiners, allowing Hogan to grab a chinlock back inside. This allows Afa to caress IRS’ briefcase as Beefcake comes in for a headlock. What looks like a low blow is stopped so it’s off to IRS, who gets headlocked as well. IRS is sent outside for another beating before Hogan comes back in for the running clothesline.

Back up and Hogan is sent outside for a beating from the Headshrinkers, with the Steiners running over for the save (no one saved the villains, showing where the true friendship lies). Back in and the Million Dollar Dream has Hogan in trouble and stays on for such a long time that Hogan should be legally dead. The somehow still alive Hogan gets up and it’s a double clothesline to put them both down. Hogan gets sent outside and then right back inside, where DiBiase gets two thanks to a foot on the rope.

IRS comes in and gets slammed off the top, allowing the rather needed tag off to Beefcake. House is cleaned but Beefcake is sent outside for another group beating. Back in and Beefcake gets punched down for two, with Hogan making the save. A clothesline puts DiBiase down and it’s off to Hogan for the big boot. IRS tries to bring in the briefcase but Hogan takes it away and knocks DiBiase silly for the pin at 14:26.

Rating: C. It was just a post taping dark match with some big stars included in a Wrestlemania rematch. The fans were still going to care about Hogan and it was nice to see him doing something else. At the same time, Hogan and Beefcake weren’t the most thrilling team, mainly because Beefcake could not have been more of a warm body next to Hogan rather than an important part of the team.

Post match the lumberjacks all get in the ring for the brawl, with Hogan being left alone with Giant Gonzalez. Ever the nice guys, Hogan’s friends all stand on the floor and Hogan bails from Gonzalez without throwing a single punch. And this was never mentioned again, as Hogan wouldn’t return to TV before going to Hollywood.

To the AWA! Hogan talks about how he can beat the Heenan Family on his own. He knows he can take the title from Nick Bockwinkel and will wear it around his waist instead of carrying it under his arm like a box of shoes. It doesn’t matter where he has to go, because he will defend the title no matter where he goes in the world. Bockwinkel is only still champion because of Bobby Heenan but he can’t run forever.

From Minneapolis, Minnesota, May 2, 1982.

Hulk Hogan vs. Nick Bockwinkel/Bobby Heenan

Handicap match. Hogan draws a line in the ring and wants Bockwinkel, who is quickly knocked down. Bockwinkel gets shoved into the corner with ease before thinking twice about this. A headlock doesn’t work either as Hogan shoves him away at the “five minute” count. The villains are sent into each other and we pause for a meeting on the floor.

Back in and a shot to the throat and a low blow don’t do much to Hogan, who knocks Bockwinkel away again. Hogan sends him into the corner for the tag off to Heenan but Bockwinkel stays inside. A cheap shot (at the ten minute mark, which is really eight) lets Bockwinkel choke but Hogan reverses for a choke of his own.

The missed charge hits the buckle and now Heenan is willing to come in and stomp away. More choking has Hogan in trouble, with Heenan getting to use a towel for the same. Hogan powers up on the kickout and we start what would become the Hulk Up. Heenan comes off the middle rope with an ax handle and that goes as well as you would expect. Hogan sends them together and drops the leg on Bockwinkel for the 12:19.

Rating: C. This was more of a way to hype up the endless string of title matches between Hogan and Bockwinkel. Hogan pinned him here with the legdrop and he could do it again in a title match. At the same time, the match was pretty basic with a bunch of punching and choking. I was more than a bit surprised that Heenan didn’t take the fall, but this makes more sense.

Post match Hogan beats Heenan up again (no wonder Heenan never liked him) and sends Bockwinkel outside. Heenan gets choked a lot and then tossed over the top as well.

Hollywood Hogan spray paints a wall and explains that the HH are from him.

We get some behind the scenes footage of a Hollywood promo, where he is rather pleased about beating up the Giant and winning the World Title. Now they’re ready for WarGames…and Hogan messes up a line and we have to do it again. In another take, Hogan spray paints a globe to show that the NWO is going to rule the wrestling world. He paints a Hulk Hogan shirt as well and then does the NWO HH signature again. Anything less would be uncivilized. Geez he had some crazy charisma as a villain and it was on display here.

From Monday Nitro, January 19, 1998.

Hollywood Hogan vs. The Giant

Eric Bischoff is here with Hogan but hang on as Hogan has a neck brace. Bischoff says Hogan can’t do this but Giant pulls Hogan over the top and powers him up as the bell rings. Cue Kevin Nash at ringside as Giant slowly knocks him around and chokes in the corner. Giant knocks Hogan up the aisle and then throws him over the top and back inside.

A backbreaker puts Hogan down again but he manages to knock Giant into the corner. With Nash holding the foot, Hogan climbs up and hammers away as the fans keep pointing at the entrance. Hogan hits a running clothesline in the corner and drops the leg…as Randy Savage is here. Well eventually, as he gets up top at about the two count so the referee has to see him and stop. The distraction is enough for Giant to get up and hit a chokeslam for the pin at 5:59.

Rating: C-. Gah I was hoping for the Robin Hood match. The match was rather slow, but the point here was that Hogan lost. Granted it would have been better if he had taken a loss like this about three weeks ago at Starrcade when the loss to Sting needed to be this clean (and this wasn’t exactly clean) but I’ll take what I can get. It’s also not a good sign for the NWO, as the foundation is starting to crack.

We go to 2002 and the Montreal ovation, which just does not stop. If I remember correctly this had to be edited for TV, as it went on for the better part of nine minutes. Hogan’s reaction here is great as you can tell he’s touched.

From Landover, Maryland, July 28, 1984.

WWF Title: Hulk Hogan vs. Paul Orndorff

Hogan is defending and this doesn’t have any commentary and is shot from a camera on the floor rather than a regular setup. Hogan atomic drops him to start and Orndorff bails to the floor. Back in and Hogan sends him into the corner and hits some elbows as this closeup camera work is messing with me. The big boot puts Orndorff down again but he goes to the eyes to cut Hogan off.

The piledriver triggers the Hulk Up but he doesn’t quite have it down yet so Orndorff knocks him back down. Hogan is busted open but Orndorff knocks him into the referee. Now we get the real Hulk Up (with the fans going nuts) and Hogan fights back, as he is known to do. We seem to jump ahead and come back with Hogan holding Orndorff’s foreign object, which the referee sees and calls for the DQ at 6:29 shown (the whole match runs about 12:00).

Rating: C+. These two always worked well together and it was nice to see them again, even if it wasn’t quite in their heyday. Hogan getting DQ’d sets up the rematch, which is probably something that they did all over the place. The match was fine, though nothing that they hadn’t done better a lot. And with these two, it was a lot a lot.

We go to I believe 1989 with Randy Savage promising to take the title from Hogan at their match that night in England (I’m assuming London).

From New York City, New York, January 27, 1986.

WWF Title: Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage

Hogan is defending and Savage has Elizabeth in his corner. Hogan charges in to start but Savage knocks him down and gets in a belt shot, which is fine with the referee (even commentary gets on him about it). A top rope belt shot puts Hogan down again as Savage still has his robe on. Hogan gets in a shot of his own though and even steals Savage’s sunglasses before sending him outside.

Savage gets sent into the post to bust him open and you know Hogan is going to be right there to stay on the cut. Elizabeth offers a distraction though and Savage gets in a cheap shot to knock Hogan outside. That includes a posting for Hogan, setting up Savage’s top rope ax handle.

Back in and another ax handle connects, followed by the big elbow…for two. Dang that still feels weird to see. Hogan fights up (not Hulks Up but fights up) and hits the big boot before cutting Savage off from going to the floor. Instead Hogan sends him outside in a heap but Elizabeth gets in Hogan’s way to prevent a posting. That lets Savage slip away and post Hogan to win by countout at 8:36.

Rating: C+. Much like the Orndorff stuff, these two were always worth a look and it was a fine enough match, even if it was again set up for the rematch. If nothing else, it was always nice to see Savage getting a win over Hogan, which only happened so often. Monsoon freaking out about Elizabeth was funny too as he couldn’t stand managers, including her.

Post match Hogan is livid and grabs a bearhug, with the dream team of Tiger Chung Lee and Mike Sharpe running in to break it up. They’re finally separated before Savage gets in a cheap shot and runs away. Savage would continue his momentum by winning the Intercontinental Title in a few weeks.

Hollywood Hogan has a baseball bat and makes Back To The Future II references. He hit a home run with Nick Bockwinkel and they mock Sting, Lex Luger and Giant. I’m assuming they just let these things go on for such a long time and then just edited them together for the short clips you would see on the broadcast. Anyway, Hogan promises to win the WCW World Title at Hog Wild.

Hulk Hogan and Mr. T. train for Wrestlemania and my goodness these two would be annoying to be around, as they shout all the time and never shut up.

From WCW Worldwide, November 12, 1994.

Hulk Hogan/Sting vs. Bruise Brothers

The Brothers jump them to start but Hogan and Sting fight back. The Stinger Splash and big boot connect, with the Scorpion Deathlock going on and the legdrop getting the pin at 24 seconds. Well that worked. The post match celebration is a lot longer than the match.

Hollywood Hogan and Dennis Rodman shill shirts. Rodman tells him that it’s ok to go make some more movies because Rodman has this stuff.

From Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, August 8, 2005, a dark match after Raw.

John Bradshaw Layfield/Kurt Angle/Shawn Michaels vs. Batista/John Cena/Hulk Hogan

This was released on the WWE Vault back in 2024. It’s a brawl at the bell to start and they head outside until we settle down to Batista shouldering Angle in the corner. Angle’s right hands just annoy Batista, who shoves him into the corner, where Angle grabs JBL around the waist in a slightly humorous way.

JBL comes in and backs Batista into the corner, where Batista switches him around for some choking. That’s enough for the tag off to Michaels, who actually knocks Batista into the corner. Batista isn’t having that and brings in Cena to slam Michaels off the top. JBL is back in to clothesline (not Clothesline, but clothesline) Cena to take over, with Angle getting to stomp away. Angle grabs a suplex and points at Hogan before stomping away even more.

Michaels comes in to send Cena outside and threatens to beat up the referee for his lousy attitude. Batista’s attempt at a save means the referee doesn’t see Cena using a small package, allowing JBL to…well have his suplex reversed actually. A sleeper goes on but Cena suplexes his way out again. Hogan comes in to clean house and everything breaks down. JBL makes the mistake of going after Hogan and it’s the big boot into the legdrop for the pin at 11:19.

Rating: C+. Ok so this obviously isn’t about the wrestling, as they were mostly in cruise control out there. That being said, the star power here is absolutely off the charts, with JBL, a World Champion and Hall Of Famer, a distant last in that category. You do not see lineups like this very often and it felt special, or at least really cool. It’s a fun thing to see and they probably did this at a lot of Raw’s to blow the fans’ minds.

Believe it or not, the winners celebrate for a long time.

At SuperBrawl V, Hogan is ready for Vader. Gene Okerlund is worried for him but Hogan insists that he’s ready to go even if it means playing possum. Jimmy Hart will be keeping an eye on Ric Flair too.

We get some footage of Hogan training with I believe the co-star of No Holds Barred, who isn’t quite as good in the gym.

We get a quick look at a Hogan/Zeus showdown in No Holds Barred.

From Boston, Massachusetts, June 6, 1987.

WWF Title: Hulk Hogan vs. Harley Race

Race, with Bobby Heenan, is challenging in a Texas Deathmatch. Hogan jumps him to start fast and they go outside, with Race being sent into the barricade and chaired in the head. Heenan gets chases off so Hogan can choke with tape, only to get kicked low. A falling headbutt on the floor has Hogan in more trouble and they get inside for the first time.

Race hits a piledriver and drops some knees for two so they head outside again. Hogan gets sent into the barricade and gets headbutted as Race slows things back down. Another knee drop gets another two but Hogan reverses a suplex into one of his own. Race chokes him right back down and they go through the entrance, with the curtain being knocked down. Back in and Race chokes him down again and goes up top, only for Hogan to grab the belt and block a headbutt. Another belt shot retains the title at 9:55.

Rating: B-. These two always worked well together, but it was kind of a mess with the belt being brought in at the end. The Texas Deathmatch rules weren’t exactly defined, though anything getting more hardcore around this time was a cool thing to see. Hogan got to mix it up a bit here and of course Race could work with anyone so this was a nice little addition.

Hogan was excited before going into the Hall Of Fame. He does tease getting back in the ring though. For some reason, his mustache looks extra wide here.

We get what looks to be a clip from after Raw, with Hogan doing a People’s Elbow to Scott Hall. This might be the night after Wrestlemania as they have a Canadian flag as well.

We get a vignette for Fall Brawl 1995 and WarGames, with Vader on the team before leaving for the WWF and being replaced by Lex Luger.

We get a sitdown interview with Gene Okerlund from 1991, with Hogan talking about having to deal with Ric Flair, who has signed with the WWF. Hogan talks about his daughter Brooke seeing him win the WWF Title at Wrestlemania and not understanding why Flair has his own title. He knows Flair is great but he wants to know how great. I’d like to know why this was mostly shot from behind Hogan, as it’s a weird visual.

From Halloween Havoc 1994.

WCW World Title: Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair

Flair, with Sherri, is challenging in a cage and it’s title/career vs. career (how fair) with Mr. T. as guest referee. They actually lower the cage once they’re in the ring and, because WCW, it doesn’t go on straight at first. Heenan sounds almost in tears to start as Flair’s career could be over. Hogan starts with a backdrop and right hands in the corner but Mr. T. actually breaks it up and shoves him away.

This lets Heenan get in a rant about how Flair earned his status and Hogan got here by being nice to kids and the elderly (Heenan: “MAKES ME SICK!”). Flair starts going after the leg to put Hogan down and Mr. T. shoves Flair as well. Flair’s snapmare takes Hogan down as Muhammad Ali is watching in the front row. Hogan fights back and rams him head first into the cage, giving us a Flair Flop. Hogan’s choke with the shirt is broken up by Mr. T. and they shove each other some more, sending Heenan into yet another rant.

Flair goes back to the knee and grabs a rather delayed vertical suplex. Back up and they chop it out before going up top, where Flair gets crotched. A small package gives Hogan two and he hits a big backdrops, followed by the ram into the cage. Flair’s head is raked into the cage and Hogan pounds away, sending Flair bailing over the top. That earns him more rams into the cage and another crotching on top. Hogan stops to do the hand to the ear, which is the kind of playing to the crowd that kept the fans behind him (Sting would do the same kind of stuff).

Flair is able to get in a shot to the knee though and the shinbreaker has Hogan in trouble. The kneepad is taken down and Flair crashes down onto the leg, followed by the Figure Four. That’s turned over and broken up, with Mr. T. getting bumped. Flair hits a belly to back suplex but there’s no referee, with Hogan’s kickout sending Flair onto Mr. T. again. Sherri tries to climb in and Jimmy Hart pulls her…well her skirt down.

Sting cuts Sherri off again but the Masked Man pops out from underneath the ring to beat up Sting and Hart with a lead pipe. Sherri comes off of the cage with an ax handle to Hogan. Flair gets in another shot to the knee and Sherri handcuffs Mr. T. to the rope. Hogan is sent head first into the Masked Man’s pipe and Flair beats on Mr. T.

There’s another suplex but Hogan Hulks Up and clotheslines Sherri and Flair. Sherri gets tossed off the top and Flair goes up, only to get knocked down for the third time. A big boot puts Sherri down and Hogan Hulks Up again, including the big boot. Heenan: “NOT THE LEG! NOT THE LEG!” Hogan drops the leg to retain the title at 19:26.

Rating: C+. Well that was….a lot. You had about five people interfering, a cage and Mr. T. as a terrible referee (who kept getting in the way and then had to be handcuffed so he wouldn’t screw anything else up). By the end, it felt like they were just doing the same stuff over and over to fill in time. Hogan and Flair can work a good match pretty much in their sleep but this was about five minutes longer than it needed to be and it hurt things a good bit.

Muhammad Ali presents Hogan with the title as Heenan is in tears.

Overall Rating: C. Maybe it’s the amount of Hogan I’ve seen over the years, but I was kind of bored by this whole thing. There were a few nice rarities, mainly of Hogan in pre-NWO tag matches in WCW and a few matches here and there, but nothing really stood out. Rather than some kind of awesome look at his career, this felt more like a bunch of DVD extras after you watched all of the good stuff on the main feature. Like, the Flair and Savage matches are fine but how many times can you see those two go after Hogan before it stops being must see stuff? Hogan worked with just about everyone from his era, but this was a lot of mediocre at best stuff.

 

 

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Crunch Classic
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan, Lord Alfred Hayes, Sean Mooney
Host: Roddy Piper

It’s a Coliseum Video and I’m curious to see what it includes. These things can go all over the place and that’s what makes them so much fun. Hopefully they focus on some of the more talented stars, as you can get some great matches, but you can also get some of the weirdest choices you’ll ever see. I’m not sure what to expect here and that makes it fun so let’s get to it.

This seems to be from 1992.

Host Roddy Piper welcomes us to the show and goes over some of his most famous moments (Cyndi Lauper, Mr. T., Jimmy Snuka), but he never won a title…until he met the Mountie.

From the 1992 Royal Rumble.

Intercontinental Title: Roddy Piper vs. The Mountie

The Mountie, with Jimmy Hart, is defending after winning the title from Bret Hart a few days earlier. Piper throws a jacket over Mountie’s face to start and hammers away, with Mountie bailing out to the floor. Back in and Mountie chokes on the rope but tries a monkey flip, only to get punched in the head.

A bulldog out of the corner drops Mountie as the fans are going nuts here as they realize Piper has a real chance. Mountie sends him into the corner to take over and the jumping elbow connects for two. Piper pops back up and hammers away, followed by a backdrop to send Mountie flying. The atomic drop sends Mountie over the top but he skins the cat, only to be sent into an interfering Hart. The sleeper gives Piper the title at 5:21.

Rating: C+. This was a case where it was all about the moment, as the Mountie was never going to be a major threat to beating Piper. The fans were with this the entire way and it was awesome to see Piper FINALLY get a title. No it wasn’t much of a match, but it doesn’t need to be but the point was the big moment and it more than worked.

Post match Piper gives Mountie the shock stick and gets the big AND NEW moment to an eruption. You can tell the fans are behind this and that’s awesome to see.

Piper loved that moment and it was the best day of his life….except maybe today.

From Dayton Ohio, October 22, 1991.

Money Inc. vs. Virgil/Big Boss Man

IRS and DiBiase get separate entrances (with Sensational Sherri coming to the ring with DiBiase) but Mooney calls the Money Inc. Virgil is the Million Dollar Champion. Boss Man shoves IRS around to start and Sherri is ticked off as Virgil and DiBiase come in. DiBiase doesn’t like the threat of fisticuffs and IRS offers a distraction to draw in the Boss Man

That’s enough for some evil double teaming and Virgil is in trouble (some things never change). DiBiase gets two off a suplex and IRS’ legdrop gets the same. Virgil fights up with a shot of his own and it’s back to Boss Man to hit a splash. It’s already back to Virgil for a top rope ax handle as everything breaks down. Sherri tries a shoe shot but hits IRS by mistake, allowing Virgil to get the rollup pin at 7:03.

Rating: C. It’s a perfectly decent tag match, though it also felt like it was something that belonged on a tape like this. Money Inc. would obviously get a lot better and were still figuring things out. Oddly the lack of Sherri helped them, as she didn’t really fit in here and would be much better off when she switched to Shawn Michaels not long after this.

Post match IRS yells at Sherri, who has to calm things down before DiBiase and IRS come to blows.

We get a day in the life of Jimmy Hart. He arrives in a rental car because the airline screwed up his limo. He goes into his hotel in Indianapolis and has to check all of his guys in. Most of his wrestlers have already arrived but his room won’t be ready for three hours. There is however a room ready in the basement, which he’ll take over nothing. We go to said basement, where Mountie needs help getting his shock stick working. IRS has also called, saying his plane was late and Mountie needs to just trust him.

Later, Money Inc. interrupt Hart when he is on the phone and ask about IRS’ briefcase. Hart gives him his newly initialed Tag Team Title and everyone is happy. After Hart asks someone about the Arsenio Hall Show and a movie, we cut to Hart asleep in his hotel room. The phone rings (Hart picks up a banana by mistake) and apparently DiBiase’s belt isn’t ready yet. And apparently the Nasty Boys have done…something.

Later, the Nasty Boys are warming up in the bathroom when Hart comes in, saying the bell rang and they need to go to the ring. Again later, Hart FINALLY goes to his hotel room while talking about how hard it is to manage this many wrestlers. And then his room key doesn’t work. I liked this, as it wasn’t exactly funny, but it was the kind of behind the scenes stuff you don’t often get. Of course managers have been a thing forever in wrestling and it’s kind of interesting to see what they do outside of the ring. It’s not some brilliant idea or classic moment, but it was nice for a five minute segment that went in a unique direction.

From Austin, Texas, December 4, 1991.

Nasty Boys vs. New Foundation

Jimmy Hart is here with the Boys and gets chased off by Neidhart to start. Knobbs knocks him into the corner but Neidhart isn’t having that and sends both Boys outside. Hart hits a heck of a dive and moonsaults back inside as the Boys need a breather. Knobbs comes back inside and gets his arm cranked but goes to the eyes. Sags comes in and gets armbarred as well, with Hart driving a knee into the arm.

Neidhart gets to stay on the arm before handing it right back to Hart, who gets choked on the ropes for a change. Sags’ chinlock with a knee in the back doesn’t really do much good so Knobbs drops some elbows to keep Hart down. The reverse chinlock does on but Hart is right back up to slingshot Neidhart in with a double shoulder. Neidhart shoulders Knobbs for two but Sags throws the referee out for the DQ at 7:28.

Rating: C. There were some nice moments in there but you could only get so much out of a match with so many chinlocks in not very much time. That’s where a lot of these matches tend to go and to be fair, it’s better to have the Nastys keeping it basic here if they can’t do a brawl. The New Foundation is a better team than they get credit for, as they’re always going to be compared to the original Harts, which just isn’t fair. They were good at their own style though, even with those amazing pants.

Roddy Piper talks about beating Adrian Adonis at Wrestlemania III in front of 92,000 fans, with Jimmy Hart getting beaten up there too. And let’s look at the match!

From Wrestlemania III.

Roddy Piper vs. Adrian Adonis

Hair vs. hair. This is weird as Gorilla Monsoon and Lord Alfred Hayes have redone the commentary, which just sounds so wrong after seeing Wrestlemania so many times. They go straight to the fight and Piper pulls out a belt to unload on Adonis. Hart tries to come in and gets sent into Adonis, allowing Piper to hammer away in the corner. Hart’s cheap shot from the floor takes Piper out though and Adonis hits a big clothesline.

Piper gets knocked outside and even Hart gets in a cheap shot. Back in and Piper tells him to bring it so Adonis slugs away, followed by the sleeper. Piper sends him into the corner but can’t escape and goes down, meaning it’s two arm drops…and Adonis lets go before the third, meaning Piper is still in it. Hart gets inside to celebrate but Piper is back up and avoids a big swing of the hedge clippers, which hit Adonis in his own face. Piper’s sleeper gets the win at 6:34.

Rating: B-. It’s always fun to see this match, but dang it makes me want to watch the original as the lack of Jesse Ventura takes something away. I do like that they threw in a classic match here, as it’s certainly more memorable than having the same midcard stuff that regularly populates these things. This was a nice flashback and ties in well with the Piper theme of the tape, but it does kind of make the rest of the lame stuff stand out.

Post match Brutus Beefcake comes in to give Adonis the haircut, with Piper loving the whole thing.

From Dayton, Ohio, October 23, 1991.

Undertaker vs. British Bulldog

This is a Fan Favorite request and Paul Bearer is here with Undertaker. Bulldog gets knocked into the corner to start, with Bulldog doing the slow look at him. Back up and a clothesline puts Undertaker on the floor, though of course he sticks the landing. A Stunner over the top rope drops Bulldog and Undertaker chokes away back inside.

Bulldog is knocked outside again but is quickly back inside to avoid an elbow. Undertaker goes with that annoying smother thing he did at this point and then falls on Bulldog to counter a slam attempt. The delayed vertical suplex (ok that’s not bad) connects, as does the powerslam, which draws Bearer up for the distraction. Undertaker gets in an urn shot for the pin at 7:10.

Rating: C. This is a match that could have worked a lot better with some more time and a bit less of the smother hold. Bulldog could make a heck of a comeback if he was given the chance but Undertaker hadn’t figured out a lot of his stuff just yet. The match was picking up near the end and that suplex was rather impressive.

Post match Bulldog clotheslines him outside for daring to try the body bag.

From Austin, Texas, December 4, 1991.

Texas Tornado vs. Rick Martel

This would have been a way different match about five years earlier. Martel poses to start and then hides behind the referee. The kick to the ribs is cut off though and Tornado sends him straight into the corner. A running clothesline sends Martel outside and Tornado rams the arm into the post. Back in and Tornado starts cranking on the arm but misses a charge to post his own shoulder. Martel goes up and dives right into the Claw, which is broken up in the ropes. That’s enough for Martel, who sprays Arrogance in Tornado’s eyes for the DQ at 6:00.

Rating: D+. The Tornado just did not have it anymore at this point and that was becoming more and more obvious every time he was in the ring. Martel is an incredibly talented star but there is only so much he can do when Tornado was basically sleep walking through the whole thing. It’s kind of amazing that Tornado lasted so long, because this wasn’t working in the slightest and pretty much never did after his initial appearances.

Roddy Piper doesn’t like snakes so let’s go to Jake Roberts, who thinks snakes should be your pets. They’ll eat anything and you don’t have to feed them every day. We look at the famous cobra biting Randy Savage segment before Roberts shows us a bunch of snakes. And that’s it.

From Cornwall, Ontario, Canada, September 10, 1991.

Skinner vs. Jim Neidhart

Neidhart chases him up the aisle to start and they go back inside for a hearty shove. Skinner is right back with a running shoulder and a hiptoss before they’re back up for a standoff. A headlock works a bit better, only for Neidhart to send him crashing out to the floor again. That works so well that Neidhart does it again with a clothesline, meaning it’s time for the long for stalling.

Back in and Neidhart gets his own headlock, which does on for a little while until Skinner heads outside again. This time Skinner finds his alligator claw to hit Neidhart in the throat, setting up a reverse chinlock. That’s broken up so Skinner…grabs the same thing again. Neidhart fights up again and hits a flying shoulder, followed by some rams into the turnbuckle. They brawl out to the floor and that’s a time limit draw at 13:20. No time is given but just be grateful for what you get.

Rating: D+. They were making it pretty clear that it was there to get to the time limit and nothing else, which is something that makes sense in some matches. This however, was Skinner vs. Jim Neidhart and not one of those matches. Skinner wasn’t a big star but he would get the occasional Intercontinental Title shot, so you would think he could go over a tag guy like Neidhart in a singles match, but why do that when you can have a bizarre time limit instead?

From Lubbock, Texas, January 27, 1992.

Jim Duggan/Sgt. Slaughter vs. Natural Disasters

Jimmy Hart is here with the Disasters. Duggan and Typhoon start things off with Typhoon shoving him away. Three straight clotheslines put Typhoon down and it’s off to Slaughter, who actually backs him into the corner. It’s already back to Duggan, with Earthquake grabbing him from the apron so Typhoon can take over. Earthquake drives Duggan into the corner and drops the jumping elbow for two.

Typhoon chokes on the ropes and grabs a bearhug, followed by Earthquake’s backbreaker. Earthquake gets his own bearhug and then Typhoon comes back in…for a third bearhug. Since that has to be broken up rather quickly, Earthquake misses a charge into the corner and it’s Slaughter coming back in to clean house. Everything breaks down and a double splash in the corner crushes Slaughter. Earthquake brings in the megaphone so Duggan grabs the 2×4 and wrecks everyone for the DQ at 9:20.

Rating: D. You really shouldn’t be getting to a third bearhug in a match that doesn’t even make it to ten minutes (or most matches for that matter). That’s on top of a lame DQ ending, as again, neither Duggan nor Slaughter could take a pin from a pair of monsters. It’s another bad match to end the tape on a rough note, making me question the “classic” moniker.

Piper wraps us up and a Piper montage ends things.

Overall Rating: D+. This started off ok and then fell apart fast. It’s a bad sign when you have to go back to the previous decade to get what is probably the best thing on the whole tape. The matches were just kind of dull and the last few were pretty terrible. Piper is fun due to energy and charisma alone, but he can only do so much, even when he’s the biggest name on the whole thing. Find something else. Like Wrestlemania III. Or the 1992 Royal Rumble.

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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