Survivor Series 1990
Date: November 22, 1990
Location: Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, Connecticut
Attendance: 16,000
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Roddy Piper

I haven’t looked at this one in a long time so we might as well do it here. This is a big one from a historical stance, with an all time debut and something that is much more infamous than anything else. Other than that, we have the usual Survivor Series matches, plus an idea that they never used again. Let’s get to it.

We get the rather cool squares intros, showing all of the matches tonight, including the team names, which always add a nice flavor to the whole thing.

So the other deal here is that we have the Grand Finale Match of Survival, where the winners will face off again in a final Survivor Series match. Yeah I don’t get the point either.

The Ultimate Warriors promise to win. Well in theory that’s what Warrior says, as he rambles on about sacrifice and forming a bond with no medicine being able to cure what they have. I think.

Ultimate Warriors vs. Perfect Team

Ultimate Warriors: Ultimate Warrior, Texas Tornado, Legion Of Doom
Perfect Team: Mr. Perfect, Demolition

Mr. Fuji and Bobby Heenan are here with the villains. They take their sweet time settling down until Animal tackles Smash to start fast. A shot to the ribs slows Animal down and it’s Perfect coming in to stay on said ribs. Animal powerslams his way out of trouble and gets in an atomic drop, allowing the double tag to Von Erich and Ax (whose hair isn’t slicked back and who pretty clearly doesn’t want to be anywhere near this show). The Claw has Ax in trouble and it’s off to Warrior for the shoulder and splash for the elimination at 3:24. That’s the last you would see of Ax in the WWF ever again, and he can’t get out of the ring fast enough.

Crush comes in to clothesline Warrior but it’s off to Hawk to choke Perfect. One heck of a missed charge hits the post though and Demolition gets to hammer on Hawk. That doesn’t last long as Hawk is back up with a top rope clothesline and everything breaks down. The referee isn’t playing with this one and disqualifies the Legion of Doom and Demolition at 7:45, leaving us with Perfect vs. Warrior/Tornado. Piper: “I’M WRITING IT DOWN!”

Warrior comes in but Perfect wants Tornado, who comes in and knocks Perfect over the top. Perfect needs a breather on the floor so Warrior sends him into Heenan. Back in and Perfect avoids a charge into the post before going to the eyes to really keep Tornado in trouble. A ram into an exposed buckle into the PerfectPlex finishes Tornado at 11:05 and we’re one on one.

Warrior comes in and gets PerfectPlexed for two, but because it’s a finisher, he’s down for a bit. A clothesline gets two, with Warrior’s kickout sending Perfect onto the referee. That doesn’t have an impact this time as Warrior fights up and starts the clothesline comeback. The shoulder and splash finish Perfect for the win at 14:21.

Rating: D+. This was just lame in every sense of the word, as they never bothered to put in any effort, the double DQ was just lazy, and the ending was never in doubt as the villains were fighting from behind for most of the match. It was clear that Warrior had nothing to do at the moment and Perfect wasn’t a serious challenger. Pretty awful match here and still one of the worst in the show’s history.

The Million Dollar Team is ready to win, even with their absent mystery partner.

Dream Team vs. Million Dollar Team

Dream Team: Dusty Rhodes, Hart Foundation, Koko B. Ware
Million Dollar Team: Ted DiBiase, Rhythm And Blues, ???

So this is a famous one as DiBiase (Virgil) brings out the mystery partner, complete with his own manager Brother Love, the Undertaker. And this is immediately a hit, with Piper getting in the famous line of “LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THAT HAMHOCK!” This is one of those cases where everyone collectively went “….whoa” as you don’t see something like this very often and the people knew it.

Hart and Undertaker start things off and the proto chokeslam takes Hart down. Neidhart comes in and is immediately slammed so it’s off to Ware, who is piledriven (Monsoon: “He just got hit with the Tombstone!”) for the elimination at 1:45, instantly making Undertaker look like an absolute monster. Hart comes in and hammers away, so Undertaker glares at him and tags out in an almost eerie moment. The good guys start taking over on Valentine’s arm but he gets a knee up in the corner to cut Hart off. Honky Tonk Man comes in and is promptly powerslammed to give Neidhart the elimination at 4:24.

It’s off to DiBiase to hammer on Neidhart (makes sense on an Anvil), who fights up for the tag to the (non polka-dotted) Dusty. Elbows and a dropkick have DiBiase in trouble so it’s back to Neidhart, who gets tripped by Virgil. That’s enough for DiBiase to hit a clothesline for the elimination at 5:57, because people get pinned by clotheslines at the Survivor Series.

Hart comes back in and stomps away in the corner before Rhodes comes in and gets dropped with a shot to the face. It’s back to Undertaker, who chokes Hart in the corner but hands it back to DiBiase, who gets atomic dropped. Rhodes comes back in and gets dropped again, with Undertaker hitting a top rope ax handle to pin Rhodes at 8:33. Undertaker throws Rhodes over the top so Love can stomp away. That earns him a stalking to the back, with Undertaker following and getting counted out at 9:26, as they had to do something to avoid him getting pinned in his debut.

So it’s Hart vs. Valentine/DiBiase, but Hart small packages Valentine for the pin at 10:02 to get us down to one on one. Hart wastes no time in knocking DiBiase outside for a slingshot dive and a posting. Back in and Hart hammers away in the corner but DiBiase is back up with some chops. Hart seems to hurt his leg running the ropes, but it’s the not yet standard goldbricking so he can roll DiBiase up for two. Hart gets two off the middle rope elbow and tries a crossbody, with DiBiase rolling through for the final pin at 14:02.

Rating: B. This was a tale of two star making performances as Hart (who was dedicating the match to his brother, who had passed away the day before) had another one of those showings that made you know he was going to be something special. That being said, there’s a reason the Undertaker’s debut is one of the best ever, as sweet goodness he looked like an absolute star and you knew it was something special. Granted I don’t think anyone could have guessed how special, but it’s still effective over thirty five years later, so they’re definitely onto something.

Hart yelling F*** into the camera after the fall is oddly missing here.

The Vipers are in the shower and ready for a bunch of individual battles in their team match.

Vipers vs. Visionaries

Vipers: Jake Roberts, Rockers, Jimmy Snuka
Visionaries: Rick Martel, Power and Glory, Warlord

This is built around Martel blinding Roberts with his arrogance cologne. Snuka is looking horrible here, with a huge afro and a not so great looking face. Jannetty and the Warlord start things off, meaning Piper can make I Am The Walrus jokes. Warlord misses a charge into the corner to start but is fine enough to shrug off some dropkicks. Jannetty picks up thee pace with some right hands and Shawn clotheslines Warlord into a sunset flip.

Martel comes in and gets hiptossed into a dropkick with Martel bailing out to the floor. Roberts grabs a wristlock on Roma and it’s quickly off to Hercules vs. Snuka. The rapid fire tags bring Jannetty back in to hammer on Warlord, who powerslams him out of the air (that looked great) for the pin at 5:19.

Michaels comes in with a hurricanrana before it’s back to Roberts for a clothesline to put Warlord down. One heck of a backdrop sends Michaels flying and Hercules drops him with a clothesline. A hard whip into the corner gets two on Michaels but he avoids a charge into the post. Snuka comes in to unload in the corner before firing off a middle rope crossbody, but Martel rolls through and grabs tights for the pin at 9:46.

Roberts comes in to go after Martel, who hands it off to Hercules, much to Roberts’ annoyance. The threat of a DDT sends Hercules bailing out to the floor and a cheap shot (as Roberts can barely see) takes Roberts down. Roma misses a top rope fist drop though and it’s back to Michaels (who was injured by Power & Glory). A middle rope elbow gets two on Roma but Hercules comes in off a blind tag to deck him from behind. Hercules drops him with a gorilla press and the PowerPlex makes it 4-1 at 15:17.

Warlord wastes no time with a bearhug but Roberts gets out. Since 4-1 isn’t enough, Roma offers a distraction so the referee doesn’t see the DDT….or Martel spraying Roberts with Arrogance. That’s enough for Roberts, so he grabs Damien and chases Martel (not legal, so not eliminated) to the back for the countout to wrap it up at 17:04.

Rating: C-. While not as bad as the opener, this was another boring match with pretty much nothing going on. Martel and company weren’t a good team but they were running through the Vipers like they weren’t even there. Michaels was his usual good self, but Snuka looked ancient, Jannetty wasn’t there long enough, and Roberts hit his one move. Another bad match as this show is remembered for one good thing for a reason.

The Hulkamaniacs have been surviving for a long time and now it’s time to do it again here. They also dedicate the match to the armed forces and are ready to go fight Saddam Hussein.

Hulkamaniacs vs. Natural Disasters

Hulkamaniacs: Hulk Hogan, Tugboat, Jim Duggan, Big Boss Man
Natural Disasters: Earthquake, Dino Bravo, Haku, Barbarian

Jimmy Hart and Bobby Heenan are here with the villains as commentary tries to figure out the lineup for the Grand Finale match. How do you know that Rick Martel is going to be a heel? Maybe he’s a Little Warrior. Big pop for Hogan too, as there was something left to this Hulkamania thing. Piper: “What are they chanting?” Gorilla: “Hogan!” Piper: “That might have been the dumbest question I’ve asked in 1990.”

Duggan and Haku slug it out to start until Haku misses a middle rope crossbody (oh geez he can fly too). Duggan’s elbow misses as well so it’s off to Bravo for an atomic drop. Boss Man comes in to slug away on Haku, who hits a dropkick to cut him off. That earns him the Boss Man Slam and Haku is out at 3:15. Boss Man kicks Barbarian in the face but goes after Heenan, allowing Barbarian to come back with a belly to back suplex. Duggan comes in but gets powered into the corner by Earthquake, who isn’t about to be slammed. Instead Duggan grabs the 2×4 to chase Hart but stops to hit Earthquake for the DQ at 6:12.

Hogan comes in to slam all three villains and hammers away at Earthquake in the corner. That’s broken up and Earthquake plants him down, allowing Bravo to drop an elbow. Hogan goes technical though and small packages Bravo for the pin at 8:00 as the villains are playing from behind again. Boss Man comes in to slug away at Earthquake….who catches a high crossbody in mid air. Sweet goodness that’s insane. Hogan breaks it up but Barbarian gets in a cheap shot from the apron. Some elbow drops get rid of Boss Man at 9:10 to get us down to 2-2, with even commentary forgetting that Tugboat was there.

Hogan hammers on Earthquake but can’t slam him this time. He can bring in Tugboat though and the brawl with Earthquake goes to the floor for the double countout at 11:34, making it Hogan vs. Barbarian. The slow beating is on and a not great piledriver gives Barbarian two. A double clothesline leaves both of them down and it’s Barbarian up first with his big clothesline. Hogan fights up and the big boot into the legdrop finishes at 14:50.

Rating: C. And that’s the second best match of the night. This was Hogan and his friends doing Hogan’s greatest hits against a pretty generic group of villains. You could see that the magic was wearing off with Hogan as he didn’t have a top opponent (after beating Earthquake at Summerslam) and the match was only so exciting. Beating Earthquake by countout on back to back pay per views didn’t help either.

Hogan beats up Heenan for fun.

Here is Randy Savage to be annoyed at being accused of….eating Thanksgiving dinner? Either way, he’s after the Ultimate Warrior and the WWF Title, because it is being held by the Ultimate Chicken. Queen Sherri did NOT do his fighting for him when he slapped the Warrior because he is the greatest Superstar of all time.

Alliance vs. Mercenaries

Alliance: Nikolai Volkoff, Tito Santana, Bushwhackers
Mercenaries: Sgt. Slaughter, Boris Zhukov, Orient Express

Before the match, Slaughter mocks the American troops in the Middle East for not having a good Thanksgiving dinner. Piper is TICKED over this, to the point where I’m surprised he and Slaughter never had a title match. Butch hammers on Zhukov to start and it’s off to Santana for the flying forearm and the pin at 50 seconds. As the heels are behind AGAIN. The Battering Ram gets rid of Sato at 1:51 as they’re making it pretty clear that this match doesn’t need to be a Survivor Series match because a bunch of people are going to be gone fast.

Tanaka kicks Butch down and misses a headbutt, meaning it’s another forearm to make it 4-1 at 2:11. Volkoff comes in to hammer away in the corner but gets dropped with a clothesline. Some elbow drops begin the slow beatdown, capped off with another elbow for the pin at 5:26. The Bushwhackers are in with a double clothesline but Luke’s top rope splash hits knees. A gutbuster gives Slaughter the pin at 6:32 and Butch is out to a clothesline at 6:55.

So it’s Santana vs. Slaughter with Santana coming in off the top with a forearm to take over. Slaughter is right back with a neckbreaker and a backbreaker gets two. A suplex gives Slaughter a delayed two but the referee gets bumped. Santana hits the forearm but General Adnan comes in with the flag shot for the DQ to end this at 10:35.

Rating: D+. This show is terrible and there isn’t much of a way to hide it. It was clear that this needed to be Santana vs. Slaughter, as the match would have been better and let us skip six eliminations in about seven minutes. At the same time, Slaughter wasn’t feeling like a top heel here and there wasn’t much of a way around it.

Ted DiBiase and the Visionaries are ready for Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior and Tito Santana, because Warrior and Hogan had issues just a few months ago at Wrestlemania.

And now, it’s time for the egg to hatch. Yeah there has been a big egg for weeks and it finally hatches to reveal….a humanoid turkey thing which Gene Okerlund dubs the Gobbledy Gooker. He and Gene go to the ring to dance and the fans boo this out of the building, as it’s just a big waste of time that adds nothing. The idea was to make a fun mascot for kids but that could have been covered by someone like Jim Duggan in a costume. Also, when you’re expecting anything interesting and get…whatever this was. This is an all time disaster and it has become a running joke for almost forty years as a result.

Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior and Tito Santana don’t think they’re behind because the Hulkamaniacs are in their corner.

Hulk Hogan/Tito Santana/Ultimate Warrior vs. Visionaries/Ted DiBiase

Santana forearms Warlord for the pin at 24 seconds. Roma powerslams Santana down and DiBiase comes in with a suplex for two. Santana misses the forearm and gets caught with a hot shot for the pin at 1:52. Hogan comes in to hammer on DiBiase but Hercules comes in to get a few shots of his own. The villains keep taking turns hammering on Hogan as even Piper is telling him to get it together already. DiBiase gets two off a fist drop but the PowerPlex triggers the Hulk Up.

The clothesline finishes Roma at 5:39 so Martel comes in for the ineffective hammering. Hogan kicks him down and hands it off to Warrior who slams Martel a few times, allowing Hogan to clothesline Martel to the floor for a countout at 7:23. It’s down to DiBiase/Hercules, which would be a lot more interesting about two years ago. Hogan powers DiBiase into the corner, hits the boot and drops the leg to make it 2-1 at 8:38. The powerslam lets Warrior come back in for a shoulder and the splash to win it all at 9:09.

Rating: D. Good grief they actually made it less interesting. I didn’t think this could get worse as the rest of the show had bee but they pulled it off. I’m not sure what the point of this was other than to get Hogan and Warrior out there again, but it doesn’t really make much of a difference when we saw them both in the last few hours. Nothing to see here, with Hogan and Warrior running through some midcard villains in short order.

Overall Rating: D. There is one good match in almost two and half hours here and that match is mostly memorable for one debut and nothing more. Other than that, it was a good illustration of how things needed to change. The 80s were over and Warrior wasn’t working on top, but Hogan’s act was fairly tired and not the long term solution.

That being said, the biggest problem is the lack of major villains. Warrior had Mr. Perfect, Hogan had already had his big match with Earthquake, and other than that you had Savage on the way up, but that’s not enough to fight two superpowers. Slaughter was getting a reaction but it absolutely did not have any kind of long term shelf life. Undertaker looked good, but it was his first night and he needed time to be turned into something big.

The whole thing didn’t work and it just kept getting worse. The Gooker stuff was the big, horrible icing on the whole thing as this was a bad show, with Undertaker and Bret Hart not being enough to come close to saving it. This show was pretty bad and the company was in need of a big overhaul, which would take a lot of time.

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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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Summerslam 1990
Date: August 27, 1990
Location: Philadelphia Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 19,304
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Roddy Piper

This is the requested redo for the year and I’m rather happy about that. I watched this show more times than I can count as a kid as it was the first wrestling show I had on video. I’ve seen it so many times that I can probably quote at least a bit of the commentary from every match and know most of the matches by heart so looking back at it should be fun. It’s a double main event as Hulk Hogan returns to face Earthquake and Ultimate Warrior defends the WWF Title against Rick Rude in a cage. Let’s get to it.

The opening video hypes up the show, including the main events. This gives us the classic 80s Vince McMahon hype voice and that is always going to work. At the end of the day, the guy is a promoter and a really good one.

Rockers vs. Power And Glory

Vince promises this this is going to be a HUMDINGER so you know he’s serious. Shawn comes to the ring so gingerly that you would think he had a bad knee and wasn’t ready to go here or something. Power And Glory, already in the ring, (it was a different time) jump Michaels before the bell and hit him in the knee with the chain to give him a reason to be down. Why is that so much to ask?

Roma hammers on Jannetty to start but Marty fights back with armdrags and dropkick (why yes, he is a face in a tag team). Slick (the evil, yet stylish) manager offers a distraction as Piper wants to know which one is the power and which is the glory. You mean him being named HERCULES isn’t a hint? Jannetty gets beaten down as Piper talks about Mick Jagger and David Bowie, perhaps missing the idea of the Rockers.

We pause to take out Michaels again as this continues to be a handicap, including a gorilla press to Jannetty. A small package doesn’t get Jannetty out of trouble as Roma comes back in and hits some backbreakers. Jannetty powerslams his way to freedom and hits the top rope fist drop (such a simple yet good looking finisher) with Hercules having to make a save. That’s finally enough as the PowerPlex puts Jannetty away at 5:59.

Rating: C. Kind of a weird way to start the show here but I do like the idea of just getting in and out without trying to do anything nuts. Power And Glory weren’t some great team but they could beat Marty in a handicap match. That’s all you had here and it went well enough, even if it was pretty clear that Shawn shouldn’t have been out there in the first place.

Post match Shawn gets in the ring and the big beatdown is on, with Marty trying to cover Shawn’s knee (another Jagger/Bowie reference from Piper). Of note: the VHS that I remember glitched at this point so I didn’t remember seeing the last minute and a half of the match until I was almost twenty years old. Shawn does a stretcher job and would be out of action for about a month and a half.

Mr. Perfect isn’t worried about facing the Texas Tornado on less than ten days’ notice, even if he knows almost nothing about Tornado. Bobby Heenan talks about how worthless Texas tornadoes are because you can see them coming a mile away. Then Perfect gets REALLY serious and says no one beats him.

The Texas Tornado promises to come out of the clouds and be powerful, unpredictable and devastating. Then he’ll go back into the clouds with the Intercontinental Title. For some reason, that one has always stuck with me, even if it isn’t very good.

Intercontinental Title: Mr. Perfect vs. Texas Tornado

Perfect, with Bobby Heenan, is defending. Of note: Tornado was in yellow trunks for the interview and is in white here so he doesn’t match Perfect’s yellow and blue singlet. The lockup goes to Tornado, who shoves him into the corner without much trouble. That’s enough to send Perfect outside, as commentary thinks they might be surprised by the strength. So they haven’t even looked at Tornado?

Back in and they circle each other a bit as Piper wants to know what Heenan knows about wrestling. A hard whip into the corner sets up a slam on Perfect and a clothesline puts him on the floor, with the required big bump from Perfect. Back in again and Perfect slugs his way out of a wristlock, setting up a sleeper. Some shots to the face in the corner don’t do much to Tornado, who catapults Perfect into the post and grabs the Claw. The Tornado Punch (HUGE bump from Perfect) connects for the pin and the title at 5:15.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t much of a match as Tornado was a bit all over the place (shocking) and a lot of the stuff was rather basic. That being said, this was all about the surprise factor as Tornado gets the title almost immediately after debuting. Of note: for someone perfect, Perfect lost every pay per view match he had in 1990, though finishing as runner up in the Royal Rumble could have been worse.

Perfect staggers out of the arena in even more great selling.

In the back, Gene Okerlund can’t find Sweet Sapphire (uh oh) but Heenan and Perfect come in to rant about the bad refereeing. Tornado CHEATED by sending him into the post and now it’s time to pay. Well not now but in the near future, though that might qualify as semantics.

Sweet Sapphire vs. Sensational Queen Sherri

Sherri has a huge mask on which absolutely TERRIFIED me as a kid. And there’s no Sapphire, despite the music playing multiple times. That’s going to be a thirty second countdown forfeit and no match. Granted the fact that Sherri was in a full length dress makes me wonder what she was exactly planning for this one anyway. Commentary is very confused by Sapphire’s whereabouts.

Dusty Rhodes is in the back and says he doesn’t know where Sapphire is either as she disappeared ten minutes after they arrived. No one has seen her and he is rather worried. Cue Jim Duggan for a rather random cameo, saying everyone is still looking for Sapphire. With Duggan gone, Dusty says that Sapphire is getting a lot of really expensive gifts but that isn’t his business. GEE, I WONDER WHO IN THE WWF IS RICH ENOUGH TO SEND HER THOSE PRESENTS!

Tito Santana vs. Warlord

Slick is here with Warlord and Piper promises to not make a bunch of taco jokes about Santana. A headlock doesn’t work for Santana to start but a dropkick manages to put Warlord down. Back up and Santana looks to load up a hurricanrana (not quite in 1990) so he can hammer away to knock Warlord outside.

That’s fine with Warlord, who drives him back first into the post, allowing Slick to stalk him with a shoe (yes a shoe). The slow forearms keep Santana down until he gets a boot up in the corner to slow Warlord down. The flying forearm rocks Warlord but he gets the foot on the rope at the last minute. Warlord blocks a monkey flip out of the corner though and a running powerslam finishes at 5:28.

Rating: C. This is a fine example of a power vs. speed match and Santana knows how to do that as well as anyone else from this era. Let Santana go out there and run around while Warlord uses his power game in short spurts. It is a formula that has worked forever and it worked well enough here, even in a short form match.

Survivor Series is coming. That’s the Undertaker debut show, which always blows my mind. Look at this card and consider that three months later, you would have someone who has faced Rusev and AJ Styles.

Demolition, all three of them, won’t say which two of them will be facing the Hart Foundation. Hint: it’s probably the two holding the belts here. Either way, they aren’t worried about facing the Legion of Doom after this, because they’re just a bunch of impostors. This was just after Crush was added to the team so Ax could be written out due to what was thought to be a heart problem. In reality it was a bad allergic reaction to some kind of shellfish (not a joke) and he was fine soon enough.

Tag Team Titles: Hart Foundation vs. Demolition

Demolition (Crush/Smash) are defending in a 2/3 falls match and we cut to the back where the Harts say they’re a bit surprised. They promise to win the titles because they are two Harts beating as one (always loved that line). Bret and Smash start but Neidhart comes in to knock an interfering Crush outside. Smash gets taken down into an armbar but knocks him away without much trouble, allowing Crush to come in instead.

Crush pulls a crossbody out of the air and slams Bret down but charges into a boot in the corner. It’s off to Neidhart vs. Smash, with the former getting kicked in the back by Crush (that cheater). A clothesline out of the corner gives Neidhart a breather and he hands it back to Bret, which seems rather quick after Bret took a good bit longer beating.

Everything breaks down and Demolition is sent into each other so Crush falls outside. The backbreaker and middle rope elbow get two on Smash, with Crush dropping a leg for the save. With Neidhart down on the floor, the Demolition Decapitator finishes Bret for the first fall at 6:19.

Bret and Crush start the second fall and a choke shove drops Bret fast. The neck crank goes on for a bit but Bret is back up with the Hart Attack clothesline (minus the whole Hart Attack thing). The hot tag bring in Neidhart (despite Crush holding Bret’s leg) for the house cleaning on Smash. There’s the powerslam for two and everything breaks down with the Hart Attack hitting Smash.

Crush DIVES over and grabs the referee, who he carries around the ring. Believe it or not, yes that is a DQ and we’re died up at 10:40 (total). Why in the world wouldn’t you just break up the cover there? That doesn’t exactly make Crush look smart but Demolition was never the brightest team.

The third fall begins so here is Ax to hide underneath the ring like a villain should. Bret comes back with a sunset flip on Smash, followed by Neidhart powerslamming Bret onto him (that was awesome) for two. Then we get to the “REALLY?” part of the match as Ax switches with Smash (ignore the referee WATCHING HIM COME OUT FROM UNDER THE RING) and starts hammering away. Even when I was three years old, I never got how this was supposed to make sense (Smash’s face paint was even wiped off and Ax’s was fresh).

Smash comes back out to double team Bret but cue the Legion of Doom to pull Ax from under the ring and break up another Demolition Decapitator. Neidhart slingshot shoulder blocks Crush into a cradle from Bret for the pin and the titles at 15:50 in one of the all time great feel good moments.

Rating: B+. A lot of this is nostalgia but I LOVE this match and always have. What I didn’t get when I was a kid was that this was the culmination of a years long quest for the Harts to get the titles back and prove that they could do it without Jimmy Hart. The win felt like it meant something (Vince’s call is perfect as you can feel him get happy on saying THREE) and it still holds up to this day. Heck of a match, but this was more about the emotion and it worked great.

Wrestlemania VII ad. I can still remember the phone number.

The Legion of Doom is happy because they have been waiting on Demolition. What a rush….for them. The Harts come in and say they’ll fight anyone anytime anywhere no matter the odds. Quite the emotional burst there.

Sean Mooney is outside of Demolition’s locker room where you can hear them ranting and raving about the Legion of Doom.

Queen Sherri brags about her win over Sapphire and laughs off the idea that there were “early sightings” of her earlier today. Sherri: “WHAT IS SHE: A UFO???” On top of that, Sherri has heard rumors about Sapphire that makes her think Sapphire might be the smartest person around here. Sherri: “THIS IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE!!!”

Five minute intermission, thankfully without the countdown graphic included.

Gene Okerlund runs down the rest of the card and we see one of Bad News Browns’ Harlem sewer rats.

Damien, Jake Roberts’ snake, is in the shower.

Big Boss Man, who is guest referee for Brown vs. Roberts for no explained reason, doesn’t mind snakes or rats.

Nikolai Volkoff, now very pro-America, is glad to be in a tag team with Jim Duggan. Volkoff describes Duggan as his idol and calls the team the American Express (as opposed to the Orient Express you see).

Earthquake, with Dino Bravo and Jimmy Hart, is ready to crush Hulk Hogan for good, just like he did to Tugboat. He might as well crush Big Boss Man as well! Bravo promises to take care of the Boss Man while Hart promises a double stretcher job. Earthquake also brings up Tugboat asking fans to send Hogan cards and letters to make him feel better.

1. That was designed to replenish the WWF’s mailing list.

2. Each fan reportedly got a note signed (well, “signed” but close enough) by Hogan thanking them for their prayers.

3. That’s brilliant, and it’s the same thing the WWF did when the Islanders dognapped Matilda a few years earlier.

Jake Roberts is ready to turn Bad News Brown into a mouse.

A good chunk of these promos were not on the home video, likely for time.

Jake Roberts vs. Bad News Brown

Big Boss Man is guest referee and the fight starts before he gets to the ring. Jake tries a very early DDT but Brown slips out and kicks Jake down. Another DDT attempt doesn’t work and they head outside, where Brown hits him in the ribs with a chair. That’s good for a warning from Boss Man and Brown stomps away back inside. Roberts fights back with the snap jabs and the fans are already wanting the DDT. Brown counters it a third time, which Piper attributed to an oily head. More pounding on the floor ensues and that’s enough to get Brown disqualified at 4:48.

Rating: D+. Nothing to see here as it felt like a match they advertised and then forgot to do anything which, which didn’t make it much better. Throw in the Boss Man as the tacked on referee and there was only so much to get out of something like this. It just wasn’t very good and I’m not sure what they thought they had here.

Post match Brown goes to drop a leg on Damien but Boss Man makes the save. Brown beats on Boss Man but Jake grabs Damien and clears the ring, sending Brown out of the WWF for good. The rats were never seen, save for a closed crate at ringside.

Demolition rants about the numbers game in their match and swears vengeance, first on the Legion of Doom and then on the Harts.

It’s time for Brother Love, who scared the heck out of me when I was a kid (and in modern times, scares me for entirely different reasons). Love asks if kids remember being told what to do when they were younger. Now they still need someone to do that because they are soft and weak. His guest is the man who can tell you what to do so here is Sgt. Slaughter. Er, make that DRILL Sgt. Slaughter this time.

Slaughter has been looking around and wants to find a great American. That’s what he has found here, which is why he has The Great American Award for Brother Love. That makes him think of Nikolai Volkoff, who suddenly loves America. Slaughter isn’t happy with that and declares war on Volkoff, because America has gone soft. If Saddam Hussein (or “who’s on” as Slaughter pronounces it) declared war on us tomorrow our boys would be destroyed. Saluting ensues, as we have a new top heel.

Mr. Fuji and the Orient Express are ready for their match but we cut to Gene Okerlund, who has found Sapphire….who goes into a room and locks the door behind her. Nice one Gene.

Orient Express vs. Jim Duggan/Nikolai Volkoff

Piper doesn’t quite buy the idea of Duggan and Volkoff being that bright. Before the match, Duggan and Volkoff belt out God Bless America, because of course they do. Duggan says God bless the troops and the Express attacks, only to be knocked outside without much trouble. The villains come back in with Tanaka bouncing off of Volkoff (Piper: “Yep, real dumb.”). The US chants are on as Volkoff shrugs off a shot to the throat and brings Duggan in to clean house. Everything breaks down and the Express is sent into each other, setting up the three point clothesline to finish Tanaka at 3:22.

Rating: D+. This was little more than a debut squash for Duggan and Volkoff and that is fine, though seeing the Express lose so quickly despite having some awesome matches with the Rockers was a little weird. It wasn’t bad for a match there to play off of current events but it was fine for a quick one. As long as the WWF doesn’t think Duggan and Volkoff are a big deal, it doesn’t mean much.

Dusty Rhodes can’t get into Sapphire’s dressing room and has to go to the ring for his match. He’ll be back.

Sean Mooney, standing on a ladder, talks to Randy Savage, who thinks the rumors about Sapphire are true. Savage talks about how the Founding Fathers weren’t thinking about people like Dusty when they talked about the American Dream and this is a grave situation. Speaking of graves, the ring is where Macho is going to bury Dusty so DOWN THAT AISLE! Savage was kind of feeling it here.

Dusty Rhodes vs. Randy Savage

This is Macho King (with Queen Sherri) and Dusty is as serious as he has been in his WWF run. Hold on though as here is Ted DiBiase (with Virgil) on the platform to say his money can buy anyone or anything. He brings out Sapphire with a bag full of money (the trip around the world and the Cadillac seem more valuable, though I’d love one of those WWF gym bags) and talks about how money will get you whatever you want.

Dusty goes after them but Savage jumps him from behind. They head inside and the fight is on, with Dusty getting in some shots of his own. Savage is knocked outside and hides behind Sherri, who sneaks him the loaded purse. One shot is enough to knock Dusty cold for the pin at 2:14.

In the back, Ted DiBiase, Virgil and Sapphire leave in the limousine, with Dusty Rhodes giving chase to no avail. That always made me sad as it was a rare instance of evil flat out winning and Dusty not being able to do anything about it.

Hulk Hogan and the Big Boss Man are ready for revenge on Earthquake. They dedicate the match to Tugboat and quite the beating that goes with the match.

Earthquake vs. Hulk Hogan

Jimmy Hart, Dino Bravo and Big Boss Man are here too and make no mistake about it: this is the show’s real main event. Feeling out process to start and we get the big shove off out of the lockup. That does not great for Hogan and far better for Earthquake, with Hogan dropping backwards. After a quick chat with Boss Man on the floor, Hogan slugs away and tries a slam, only to hurt his back (it worked in the Andre match).

Some right hands and chops stagger Earthquake (and drop Bravo/Hart) until a big right hand puts Earthquake down. Everyone heads outside where the seconds get involved, including going inside. A double big boot drops Bravo and another one knocks Earthquake into the ropes as Piper wonders what the referee is thinking. The referee gets Boss Man out so Bravo and Earthquake can hit a double slam on Hogan.

The big elbow gives Earthquake two and we hit a Boston crab, which is quite the visual. Hogan tries to power out but for once gets smart and grabs the rope right next to him (you could tell things were different in 1990, as Hogan using a ROPE to escape is just hard to fathom). Bravo gets in a slam on the floor but Earthquake misses another big elbow. The slam still doesn’t work for Hogan as Earthquake crashes onto him for two more to bang up the ribs even more.

We hit the bearhug (required) but Hogan fights out and tries…..a crossbody???? What the heck man? Either way, Earthquake powerslams him down and hits the Earthquake. Then he does it again and I think you know what that means. The comeback is on, complete with the slam working this time. There’s the legdrop but Bravo offers a distraction and Hart comes in to jump Hogan. Everything breaks down and it heads to the floor, where Hogan slams Earthquake onto (not through) a table and that’s enough for the count at 13:12. Hogan jumping up and down in celebration always looked weird.

Rating: C+. I love Hogan but the magic was starting to fade. You can tell that there is a lot going on here to try to keep the energy up, but Hogan just isn’t as special as he once was. At the same time, the countout was lame and while Hogan slammed him, it was hardly some big win. They build Earthquake up very well, but there is only so much that can be done when he’s Hogan’s rebound feud.

Post match the beatdown is on with Earthquake choking Hogan. Boss Man hits Earthquake in the back with a metal stool and just annoys him, allowing Bravo to come in as well. In a great visual, Boss Man whips out the nightstick and is ready to go, which is enough for Earthquake and Bravo to bail. Hogan poses (after suggesting that Earthquake is a chicken) but Piper doesn’t think Hogan won anything with the countout. Two things.

1. Piper getting on Hogan just feels right.

2. I know it’s for the house show rematches, but dang that countout always felt kind of lame.

Rick Rude, now short haired and serious, promise to win the WWF Title in the cage tonight and get his statue outside of the Spectrum next to Rocky Balboa. Bobby Heenan explains the idea of a cage match and promises no sequels. Rude: “And there ain’t gonna be no rematch!” I didn’t know that was a Rocky reference until YEARS later. Of note: Heenan started this promo by saying “he’s going to get that Intercontinental Title back”, which is the kind of thing that he would be saying because he could do more than one thing at a time.

Dusty Rhodes is fine with Sapphire taking the money because he offered up his innocence to her and she paid him back in scorn (he used that line a lot in his career and I’m still not sure I get what it means). Now the fans are asking when he’s going to get mad and even. He’s coming for Ted DiBiase because….America can give him shelter from the storm? Ok then.

Lord Alfred Hayes explains how the cage is built for the main event.

Hulk Hogan talks about how there are new buildings being built around the world and they are all earthquake proof. Hogan is going to take that big fat dude (his words) around the world and beat him over and over until he is the #1 contender. That’s not how you usually become #1 contender. Anyway, Hogan has a fourth demandment: believe in yourself. For now though, he going to get a new nine foot surfboard (or gun as he calls it) and go to the beach to chase sharks, at least until he finds that TITLE wave. Then he pretends he’s on a motorcycle and rides backwards out of frame. Hogan was a weird dude.

With welts on his back, Earthquake promises that it isn’t over with Hulk Hogan and promises more pain next time. Dino Bravo and Jimmy Hart rant a lot too.

Ultimate Warrior: “Do you know what Bobby Heenan has in common with the Liberty Bell? One is cracked and the other is a ding dong.” Would that be Ding or Dong? A lot of Founding Father references are made with Warrior promising to beat Rick Rude. The idea of the match is that Rude beat Warrior back at Wrestlemania V (which is never mentioned by name) so he could do it again here. In short, it didn’t work and this is a really lame main event as a result.

WWF Title: Rick Rude vs. Ultimate Warrior

Rude is challenging in a cage and they start fighting on top of the cage. Warrior knocks him down and hits a top rope ax handle to take over, setting up the ram into the cage. Another ram into the cage drops Warrior and Rude goes up, where he has to kick Warrior away. For some reason Rude comes back down and keeps stomping away but it’s too early for the Rude Awakening.

Warrior knocks him down but the splash hits knees, allowing Rude to hit the Rude Awakening. For no adequately explained reason, Rude goes up to the top of the cage for a right hand to the head. He STILL won’t cover so he goes up again (Heenan: “WHERE ARE YOU GOING???”) and gets punched out of the air this time.

Warrior goes for the door and gets it slammed on his head for two, as this just keeps going. Rude goes for the door as well but gets pulled back in, with the tights coming down in the process. This time Warrior pulls Heenan in and knocks him down, followed by an atomic drop out the door. Some clotheslines into the gorilla press lets Warrior escape (complete with hip swivel) to retain at 10:01.

Rating: D+. Not only was it a completely nothing match, but it was a match that didn’t stick around for very long. In this case that might be a good thing though, as Rude was a lame duck of a challenger as you could have. There was no one for Warrior to face and it showed badly, making this a pretty weak main event. It might have worked as a quick house show main event, but (allegedly) headlining Summerslam? Not quite.

Warrior celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Nostalgia plays a big role in this one but it’s actually a rather good show. They keep things moving and important things take place, including Hogan’s return and two title changes. It’s still the very tail end of the Golden Era and now things can move forward into the new era. It’s not a classic show, but it is a lot of fun and certainly memorable (at least for me), which is something I’ll take every time.

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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AND

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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

We’re back with another edition of the show with another tag team main event. This time it’s the now heel Savage teaming with an actor named Zeus to face Hogan and Brutus Beefcake. This isn’t even the blowoff match between the teams which makes the match even more of an odd choice. The other major match tonight is Rick Rude defending the Intercontinental Title against Ultimate Warrior, the man he stole the title from back at Wrestlemania. Let’s get to it.

Jesse blames Tony for having Heenan run off the air. I have no idea what he’s talking about as Heenan is on the show later tonight.

We get an intro video similar to the opening of a regular TV show with various highlights and people enjoying the warm weather.

Hart Foundation vs. Brain Busters

The Brain Busters (Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard) won the tag titles a few weeks before this show, but since the match was already signed this is non-title. Why it wasn’t changed to a title match is beyond me but there’s no way this won’t be awesome. Heenan is with the Brain Busters here, making what Jesse said even more confusing. Bret and Tully get things going with Hart going straight for the arm. Arn comes in to take Bret to the mat with a headlock, only to have Bret crank on his arm as well.

A hammerlock slam puts Arn in a cute bit before it’s off to Neidhart for some powerful cranking on the arm. The Harts change two more times and both guys get to crank on the arm before Bret puts on an armbar. Arn slips out and brings in Tully who has his own arm pulled on by Anvil. Blanchard pulls on the beard to escape but can’t hiptoss the big man over. Back to Bret for more arm work before Anvil sneaks in without a tag. It’s only cheating if you get caught remember.

Anvil completely no sells some chops to the chest and sends Tully into the buckle before bringing Bret back in. The fans are all over Heenan with a Weasel chant while Bret works on a hammerlock. Tully grabs a top wristlock but Bret bridges off the mat to escape and the Busters are sent to the outside. Back in and Bret wins a slugout with Tully but gets suckered into a chase with Blanchard making a blind tag to Arn who blasts Bret from behind.

Everything breaks down again with the Brain Busters being knocked out to the floor once again. Back in and Bret sends Tully’s face into Anvil’s boot before bringing Neidhart again. Things break down again but Bret accidentally whips Jim into the buckle to give the Busters control. Arn drives a middle rope elbow into Neidhart’s back before it’s back to Tully for a reverse chinlock. Neidhart picks him up but Tully makes another blind tag off to Anderson to block a tag.

Arn punches him down but Anvil LAUNCHES Anderson off at two. Back up and both guys collide before Bret gets in a knee to Arn’s back to give Neidhart a breather. The hot tag brings in Hart vs. Blanchard with Bret dropping the middle rope elbow for no cover. Everything breaks down for the third or fourth time tonight with Bret being whipped into Tully to put both guys down.

Arn and Jim go to the floor but Bret slingshots Jim over the top into a shoulder block to Tully. Anvil powerslams Bret onto Blanchard but Anderson hits an ax handle to Bret’s head for the pin (while covering his head so the referee doesn’t see it’s Arn in the ring because Arn Anderson is more awesome than you).

Rating: B. I could watch Arn Anderson matches all day because of stuff like that at the end. I mean, who would think of such a little thing like that at the end of a match? This was a very solid opener but again I have no idea why the titles weren’t on the line here, especially if the Busters were going to go over by pin. The Harts wouldn’t even be a factor in the title scene for another year and even then they were big underdogs.

Dusty Rhodes talks about how the man in the blue suede shoes told him he can dance better than the Honky Tonk Man. This is a bit of a step down from Hard Times.

Honky Tonk Man vs. Dusty Rhodes

Dusty recently stole the Boss Man’s hat and nightstick after debuting early in the summer. We start with a dance off before Dusty takes him into the corner for a clean break. Honky bails to the floor to avoid the Bionic Elbow but comes back in for Dusty to grab his arm. Instead of driving an elbow into the shoulder though, Dusty messes with Honky’s hair to really get on his nerves. An atomic drop and the Bionic Elbow put Honky down with Dusty in full control.

Ten right hands in the corner drop Honky to the mat and it’s off to Dusty’s totally lame leg lock (meaning he stands there and turns Honky’s foot) fills in some time. Honky fires off some right hands but drops down to avoid a running Dusty. Jimmy Hart trips Dusty up and Honky just lays on the mat instead of going after Rhodes as Jimmy is stalked. Honky gets Jimmy’s megaphone for a shot to Dusty’s ribs and finally takes over with a chinlock.

It’s the long form version as we’re still in the hold about two minutes later. Dusty fights up and misses an elbow so it’s back to the chinlock. Rhodes fights up again and pounds away with right hands but Honky sends him into the referee to make this match go even further. Jimmy accidentally knocks Honky silly with the guitar and Dusty drops a big elbow for the pin.

Rating: D-. Who in the world thought this deserved ten minutes should be carried into the street and shot. Between the leg lock and the WAY too long chinlock, this could have been cut in half and nothing would have been lost. Honky was fine as a jobber to the stars at this point and he would maintain that position for months to come. This was way overbooked for what it was worth, but the fans loved Dusty which is the point of the match.

Honky asks someone to help him find the stage and wants to know where Priscilla is.

Demolition and King Hacksaw Jim Duggan are ready for their six man tag against the Twin Towers (Boss Man/Akeem) and Andre the Giant.

Mr. Perfect vs. Red Rooster

Perfect is still perfect at this point. They shove each other around to start until Hperfect shoves him down and hits a hiptoss. Things speed up a bit with both guys running the ropes and Perfect trying a slam. Rooster slips down the back and tries a slam of his own but can’t get Perfect up in a weird spot. Perfect sends him to the floor for a second and pounds away back inside, only to be shoved to the floor by Rooster. Perfect wins a quick slugout on the floor before going inside for the PerfectPlex and a very fast pin.

Rating: D. This was very odd with the match finishing out of nowhere after no build at all. The match had to be cut for time or maybe an injury because there’s no way this was the match they were planning. Or maybe they didn’t have time because we needed Dusty to have an even longer chinlock. These two are capable of having a far better match though and did many times.

Survivor Series is coming.

We go to Gene with Rude and Heenan in the back but the set falls down and the interview never stars. They try it again and the heels say they’ll do whatever it takes to keep the title.

The Rockers/Tito Santana vs. Fabulous Rougeau Brothers/Rick Martel

This should be awesome. Martel teases getting in there against Tito to start but sends Jacques in instead. As is his custom, Jacques requests a handshake but sneaks in some choking on Tito instead. The Rockers come in without tags and the good guys hit stereo dropkicks to send the French Canadians to the floor. Things settle down to Marty vs. Jacques with the latter going to the middle rope and head faking Marty, but Jannetty is faking the head fake and punches Jacques on the way down.

The advantage is short lived though as Ray Rougeau gets in a knee to the back from the apron and a kind of superkick to put Marty down. Off to Martel for right hands and some dancing followed by a cartwheel out of the corner. Marty is tired of the dancing and dropkicks Martel down but Rick runs away from the charging Tito. Instead it’s Santana putting a headlock on Ray before getting two off a clothesline.

Much like his brother did earlier, Jacques interferes for Ray and the Rougeaus take over on Santana with a double back elbow. Martel comes in to pound on the weakened Tito like a true weasel. Rick stomps away against the ropes as the fans are getting angrier and angrier at the Model. Jacques comes in again and hooks a front facelock to block the hot tag. Back to Martel but Tito fires off right hands to send the crowd into a frenzy. Jacques quickly pulls Tito’s hair to break it up but Tito gets a sunset flip for two.

Rick puts Tito down with a backbreaker and Ray hooks a Boston crab to stay on the weakened back. Back to Jacques for an abdominal stretch with a helping hand from Martel on the apron. Rick comes in again to break up another hot tag attempt and Ray stops Tito’s comeback just like Jacques did earlier. Tito hits a quick cross body for two and the Rockers finally come in to break up the interference. Ray comes in to keep Tito down but Jacques’ flying knee hits his brother, FINALLY allowing Tito to make the hot tag to Shawn.

Martel tries to hide in the corner but gets caught in a huge backdrop to send him running even further. A dropkick and a suplex put Martel down and the top rope right hand gets two as everything breaks down. Tito hits the flying forearm to send Martel to the floor and Marty rolls up Jacques, only to have Martel slide back in and blast Jannetty with a right hand, giving Jacques the pin.

Rating: B. Take six guys and two feuds, give them fifteen minutes in front of a hot crowd and witness the awesome. That’s exactly what happened here and the crowd got WAY into it, especially the Martel vs. Santana stuff. Those two just started feuding a few months before this and people were drooling to see Tito get his revenge. Really solid old school six man tag here which worked exceptionally well.

We recap Rude vs. Warrior. Rude attacked Warrior during a posedown at the Rumble before stealing the IC Title at Wrestlemania with help from Heenan. Tonight is the rematch with rude defending against a ticked off Warrior after Warrior spent months fighting through the Heenan Family. This was also used to set up Warrior vs. Andre the Giant over the winter.

Warrior rants about Andre before saying he’ll get his title back from Rude.

Intercontinental Title: Ultimate Warrior vs. Rick Rude

Rude isn’t sure what to do with Warrior to start so he tries punching him in the face to no avail. A clothesline puts Rude on the apron and a sunset flip is easily blocked with a right hand to the champion’s face. Warrior easily picks him up and gorilla presses him to the floor as this is one sided so far. Rude is sent into the barricade as Jesse is losing his mind over the referee not disqualifying Warrior.

Warrior gets two off a top rope ax handle before throwing him into the corner and pounding away. A shoulder block gets two on Rude and there’s an atomic drop to crush Rude’s spine a bit more. Warrior swivels his hips but gets crotched on the top rope to Jesse’s glee. Rude pounds on the back as he did in the Wrestlemania match and gets two off a suplex. Off to a reverse chinlock with Rude dropping down onto Warrior’s back for good measure. Back up and Warrior breaks up the Rude Awakening but gets caught in a sleeper.

Warrior finally fights out with a jawbreaker but after they run the ropes a bit, Rude sends Warrior into the referee to put everyone down. It’s Rude on his feet first but Warrior starts to Hulk Up to a HUGE reaction. A big backdrop and a clothesline put Rude down followed by a powerslam but there’s no referee. Warrior hits a piledriver but the referee crawls over for two. A powerslam sets up the splash but Rude gets his knees up to slow Warrior down again.

Rude hits a kind of powerbomb (basically driving Warrior’s head into the mat) for a close two as things slow down again. Rude hits a top rope right hand to the jaw as Roddy Piper strolls down. A piledriver puts Warrior down but Piper flashes Rude, allowing Warrior to suplex him out of the corner. Warrior hits a quick shoulder block followed by the gorilla press and splash for the title and an ERUPTION from the crowd.

Rating: B. If there has ever been better chemistry between a talented guy and a guy who could barely survive against anyone else, I’m not sure where it is. Warrior looked great out there and got the win back to conclude a very well done feud. Good stuff here as this show is cooking after a somewhat weak start. That pop for Warrior pretty much gave him the world title right then and there.

Mr. Perfect says he’s perfect.

Roddy Piper laughs about costing Rude the title, setting up his first feud after returning to the ring.

Ronnie Garvin is in a tuxedo and gets to be a guest announcer tonight. Heenan comes in to interrupt him and rants about Piper coming to the ring and costing Rude the title. Rude isn’t pleased either and yells as you would expect him to.

We go to an intermission, which is just a graphic with a countdown clock until the show continues.

We recap the main event tag match. Hogan was in a movie with Tiny Lister portraying the villain. The idea of the story is that Lister’s character Zeus felt that he could beat Hogan in Hogan’s real life job so he beat up Hogan before a cage match. This would be like Harrison Ford picking a fight with Mark Hamill because of what Hamill did on the Millennium Falcon. I don’t know if we were supposed to take it seriously or not, but the main problem here is obvious: Zeus is an actor instead of a wrestler, meaning there isn’t much he can do in the ring.

Savage and Beefcake got involved to make it a tag match so Zeus didn’t fight alone. Hogan couldn’t hurt Zeus with a chair to the back but raking the eyes had an effect, giving Hogan an opening tonight. Savage was still a big deal at this point so this really was a big heel team to face Hogan and Beefcake. We get full clips of these moments as the intermission continues.

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

Duggan is King of the WWF and has his face painted like Demolition but is rocking an American flag pattern of course. Akeem starts with the King with Duggan absorbing the trash talk and pounding away on the big man before it’s off to Ax for some pounding on the arm. Smash comes in and Demolition pounds Akeem down before bringing Duggan back in to crank on the arm as well.

Akeem finally gets in a shot to Ax’s ribs and it’s off to Boss Man who is immediately pounded down by the fresh Smash. Boss Man rakes the eyes to slow Smash down but Smash rakes the eyes right back in a good bit. Ax comes in again and cranks on the arm but gets sent into the wrong corner so Andre can come in and pound away with big right hands.

Akeem comes back in but misses a slow motion splash, allowing for the hot tag back to Smash who slams Akeem down in an impressive power display. Everything breaks down and Akeem hits a bottom rope splash on Smash, but Duggan hits Akeem in the back with the 2×4 to give Smash the pin.

Rating: C. It wasn’t much of a match but for above seven and a half minutes with these six guys, this was as good as you were going to get. Duggan was about as big as he was going to get in the WWF at this point as the fans were WAY into his Hogan-Lite character. Demolition was fresh off losing the tag titles but but they were still the most popular tag team in the company. Good, fun little match here which was much better than I was expecting.

Ted DiBiase says he’ll beat Jimmy Snuka because he’s cultured and Snuka is a savage.

Greg Valentine vs. Hercules

Ronnie Garvin is guest ring announcer after being fired from being a referee. He takes a ton of shots at Valentine (“Weighing in at 249lbs…..but he looks about 30lbs heavier and wears a robe with cheap rhinestones.”) since Valentine got him suspended in the first place. Hercules jumps Valentine to start and powerslams him down for two. A quick rollup gets two for Greg before they head to the floor for nothing of note. Back in and Valentine pounds him down with some elbows but the Figure Four is broken up. Hecules suplexes him down but gets rolled up with Valentine’s feet on the ropes for the fast pin.

Rating: D. This was all about furthering Garvin vs. Valentine with the stuff before the match and a bit we’ll get to in a second. I’m no Garvin fan at all but this was an amusing angle given where you could turn your brain off and laugh at some stupid jokes for a few minutes every show. There’s nothing wrong with comic relief and having a talented guy like Valentine out there made it a bit easier to sit through.

Post match Garvin announces Hercules as the winner, which apparently is good enough to get Valentine disqualified. Like I said, this is the time to turn your brain off.

Randy Savage, Zeus and Sister Sherri gather round a cauldron and predict bad futures for Hogan, Beefcake and Liz. The late 80s were weird in case you were wondering.

Ted DiBiase vs. Jimmy Snuka

No story here as they’re just out there to fill in a few minutes before the main event. Snuka headbutts DiBiase to the floor before the bell and avoids a charging Ted to send him into Virgil for a big crash. An atomic drop sends DiBiase to the floor and the match slows down a bit. Back in and Snuka can’t get high enough for his reverse leapfrog so he sends DiBiase into the corner to keep control. Ted goes to the eyes to get a moment’s breather but gets caught by a shoulder to put him back down.

A quick stun gun sends Snuka into the top rope and Ted can stomp away like a good 80s heel. DiBiase works on the back with knees to the spine and a backbreaker for no cover but a middle rope elbow misses. Jimmy slams Ted down and hits a middle rope headbutt but Virgil breaks up the Superfly Splash. Snuka chases him around on the floor but gets sent into the post by DiBiase for the countout.

Rating: D. Another lame match here and I’m not sure why DiBiase couldn’t get a pin. Either way, the match was there to give the fans a breather from that EPIC Hercules vs. Valentine heat before the main event. Snuka was still a fan favorite so having him out there wasn’t the worst idea in the world.

Post match Snuka hits the Superfly on Virgil.

Hogan and Beefcake talk about riding motorcycles across a river (just go with it) with Liz riding on the back of Hogan’s bike. Savage and Zeus weren’t mentioned at all.

Genius recites a poem about Summerslam, saying he thinks Zeus and Savage (his real brother) will win.

Zeus/Randy Savage vs. Brutus Beefcake/Hulk Hogan

Before we get going, Liz gets her own full entrance as the secret weapon. It’s a brawl to start but Hogan can’t hurt Zeus. He goes to the eyes but can’t slam Zeus down so the monster chokes Hulk down. Beefcake tries to dive on Zeus but gets caught in midair. Now it’s a bearhug on Hogan but here’s Savage off a tag. Why in the world would you change when you had Hogan in trouble like that? A top rope ax handle gets two for Randy and it’s off to the sleeper.

Hogan elbows out of it and hits some shoulder blocks but Zeus knees him in the back to slow him down. Back to Zeus for another bearhug which takes Hogan down to the mat for some two counts. It’s back to Savage to snap Hogan’s throat over the top rope and a suplex gets two. Savage misses some elbow drops and there’s the hot tag to Beefcake. A high knee gets two on Savage and Beefcake hooks his sleeper. Savage rams him into the middle buckle and it’s off to Zeus, but Brutus puts him in a sleeper as well.

Randy breaks up the hold with Sherri’s loaded purse but he suckers Hogan into the ring instead of covering. Hogan stops Savage from attacking Liz but Beefcake is still in big trouble. Back to Zeus for some choking on Beefcake until the referee makes the save. Savage comes back in but walks into a double clothesline to put both guys down. The hot tag brings in Hogan to clean house but Sherri trips Hulk up to give Savage control again.

The big elbow hits but Hogan is up before there’s any cover. Savage runs away and it’s time for the showdown with Zeus. Hogan pounds away and finally puts Zeus down to one knee. Liz takes out Sherri and Beefcake intercepts Savage, causing him to drop the loaded purse. Hogan blasts Zeus in the face with the purse, slams him down and drops the leg for the pin.

Rating: D+. Amazingly enough, a non-wrestler like Zeus wasn’t capable of having a good match on any size of a stage. Beefcake and Savage were just window dressing here, but in this case the window dressing carried the match for his team. Zeus was just horrible here and was basically the original promotional stunt for a wrestling movie, which never works.

Post match Liz cuts Sherri’s hair. Much posing ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. There’s a lot of bad stuff here but the good matches are more than good enough to make up for the lame short ones. The crowd is VERY hot all night to lift the show even higher up which helped a lot. The main event was horrible and while the cage match that blew it off a few months later was better, this is the match that should have been the big deal. Still though, the show is worth checking out but you should fast forward a few of the matches.

Ratings Comparison

Hart Foundation vs. Brain Busters

Original: B+

Redo: B

Honky Tonk Man vs. Dusty Rhodes

Original: F

Redo: D-

Mr. Perfect vs. Red Rooster

Original: C+

Redo: D

Rick Martel/Fabulous Rougeaus vs. Tito Santana/Rockers

Original: B+

Redo: B

Ultimate Warrior vs. Rick Rude

Original: A-

Redo: B

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

Original: C+

Redo: C

Hercules vs. Greg Valentine

Original: F-

Redo: D

Ted DiBiase vs. Jimmy Snuka

Original: D

Redo: D

Hulk Hogan/Brutus Beefcake vs. Randy Savage/Zeus

Original: B-

Redo: D+

Overall Rating

Original: B-

Redo: C+

About the same this time.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/07/23/history-of-summerslam-count-up-1989-gather-round-the-cauldron/

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Wrestlefest 1992
Commentators: Sean Mooney, Lord Alfred Hayes,
Hosts: Gene Okerlund, Bobby Heenan

This is another Coliseum Video in a series that ran for a few years. That being said, it isn’t like there is much of a theme to the thing, which was hardly a surprise given how many recurring titles you would see on WWF home video. This is an interesting time for the company as Hulk Hogan is mostly gone and we’re off to people like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels so let’s get to it.

Okerlund and Heenan are playing tennis, with Heenan thinking it’s table tennis. Heenan is off to find the rules so let’s go to our first match.

From New York City, New York, March 23, 1992.

Virgil vs. Shawn Michaels

Sherri is with Michaels as Mooney says Virgil is “one of the most popular figures the World Wrestling Federation has ever known.” I have to say this a lot about Mooney, but LIAR. Virgil has his nose guard on, which felt like it was around for a good while. We stall for a good bit before the bell until Sherri heads outside and…I don’t think we ever had a bell at all.

Michaels takes him into the corner and punches the nose guard, which goes as well as you would expect. Virgil chases him to the floor as Hayes wants Virgil to have to remove the mask. Back in and Virgil grabs a headlock as commentary explains Bobby Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon (who broadcast this on the MSG Network) as being there for an armed forces broadcast. Eh I’ve heard worse excuses. Michaels fights out but gets a bit too cocky, meaning the headlock can go on again.

Back up and Michaels avoids a charge to send Virgil crashing out to the floor so we can have a quick breather. Virgil gets back in so Sherri offers a distraction, allowing Michaels to raise the mask for a shot to the bad nose. The chinlock goes on for a big until Virgil fights up, only to be sent into the buckle. A backslide gives Virgil two but Michaels drops him with a clothesline for the same.

Michaels sends him face first into the buckle, knocking the mask off and leaving Virgil looking like he had been stabbed. The referee even puts the mask back on and Virgil hits a faceplant, setting up an atomic drop to send Michaels into the corner. Virgil makes the comeback with clotheslines and a dropkick before sending Michaels hard into the corner. A running knee misses for Virgil though and Michaels hits the teardrop suplex for the pin at 12:14.

Rating: C. Virgil was trying and he could have been worse, but he is one of the most “he exists” wrestlers I’ve ever seen. There is nothing to him that makes him stand out in any way and that was the problem here. It was the most generic offense and Michaels put him away without much trouble. Just as it should have been.

From Toledo, Ohio, April 7, 1992.

Tag Team Titles: Money Inc. vs. Bushwhackers

Money Inc., with Jimmy Hart, is defending (in case you were very confused). The champs jump them from behind to interrupt the pre-match whacking and the Bushwhackers collide for a double knockdown. Back up and they send Money Inc. together, setting up a double bite. Some clotheslines send Money Inc. outside and it’s time for a breather.

We settle down to DiBiase knocking Butch down and choking away as commentary talks about Money Inc. walking out on their title match at Wrestlemania. Butch manages a bulldog for a needed breather and the champions are rammed together. Back to back Battering Rams send DiBiase and IRS outside and it’s time to whack around the ring even more.

DiBiase comes back in to choke Luke on the ropes and we get some non-tag exchanges. IRS grabs his required abdominal stretch before it’s off to DiBiase for one of his own. It’s back to IRS for the chinlock but DiBiase comes back in and gets kicked in the face. Butch gets the tag to clean house but Hart offers a distraction, allowing IRS to knee Butch down and retain at 8:32.

Rating: C+. This was a fine way for the champions to get in a title defense as they get to beat a fun team in the Bushwhackers. As a bonus, it always helps to have challengers who aren’t going to be hurt by a loss like this. Money Inc. was a good choice for the titles as they worked well together and it was easy to boo them so things were looking decent enough for the titles’ future around this time.

Okerlund tries to explain the art of the serve to Heenan, with Heenan having drinks instead of practicing.

From Biloxi, Mississippi, March 10, 1992.

Rick Martel vs. British Bulldog

This could be interesting. Martel starts fast by sending him into the corner and then flipping into some jumping jacks. Bulldog grabs a headlock to grind away a bit before working on the arm as well. Martel misses a charge into the buckle and gets armbarred, followed by a more basic style of cranking.

Back up and Martel manages to send him outside for some ax handles to the back to take over. Some knees to the back and some choking oddly wake Bulldog up, only for him to charge into Martel’s raised knee. Bulldog hits some running clotheslines to send Martel outside and it’s a sunset flip to give Bulldog the pin back inside at 5:22.

Rating: C. Well “could be” was right because it certainly wasn’t. Martel was starting to get a bit of something going and then it just wrapped up. Bulldog was getting geared up for something bigger in the coming months (to put it mildly) but this wasn’t much of a first step there. Give them some time and have Bulldog more motivated and this could have worked, but they didn’t have much of a chance.

Bret Hart talks about some of his bigger matches and how he always gives it his all. This includes winning the Intercontinental Title for the first time by defeating Mr. Perfect at Summerslam 1991, retaining over Skinner at This Tuesday In Texas and…apparently that’s all!

From Springfield, Massachusetts, November 12, 1991.

Intercontinental Title: Bret Hart vs. Barbarian

Hart is defending but Barbarian steals the title and poses with it while Hart gives his glasses to a fan. We get going with Barbarian driving him into the corner and then hitting a shoulder out to the floor. Back in and Hart avoids an elbow and starts in on Barbarian’s arm. That’s broken up and Barbarian takes him outside for some rams into the post.

Back in and Hart is sent chest first into the buckle, followed by the bearhug that you get in every Barbarian match. With that broken up, Hart gets a boot up in the corner and it’s a running clothesline to drop Barbarian for two. The middle rope elbow and Russian legsweep get two, with the kickout sending Hart outside. Back in and a suplex gives Barbarian two so he tries it again, only to be reversed into a small package to retain Hart’s title at 12:24.

Rating: C+. The more I see from Barbarian, the more I appreciate someone like him. He’s a great example of someone who is going to do his thing and do it in a certain way, but he makes it work every single time. That’s the kind of thing that will always work in wrestling and it worked again here, albeit with an all time master like Hart.

Heenan can’t return serves from Monica Seles’ sister’s best friend’s partner (or something like that). He threatens to choke her.

From Biloxi, Mississippi, March 10, 1992.

Nasty Boys vs. Natural Disasters

Jimmy Hart is here with the Nastys. The Disasters chase them to the floor to start before Typhoon sends Sags into the corner for an early splash. Earthquake comes in to run Knobbs over without much effort and an elbow to the back makes it worse. Sags gets in a cheap shot from the apron though as commentary bickers about which team they like more. Earthquake easily slugs his way out of trouble but Sags is right there to prevent the tag. Earthquake grabs a bearhug on Sags and Typhoon comes in for a double standing splash. With Typhoon cutting Hart off, Earthquake drops an elbow for the pin at 6:31.

Rating: C. The Disasters are a good example of an idea that made sense but only worked so well in practice. The issue is really simple: only a handful of teams can do much with them, which made for some not so great matches. While the Nastys can do a heck of a brawl if given the case, this was more of a standard match and that’s not playing to either team’s strength.

From Kalamazoo, Michigan, April 8, 1992.

WWF Title: Randy Savage vs. IRS

IRS, with Jimmy Hart, is challenging and stalls on the floor for a good while to start. Once inside Savage grabs a headlock and we immediately stall some more, this time with Savage going after Hart. Back in and Savage hits some running clotheslines to send IRS outside. IRS gets back inside and is atomic dropped to the floor, so Savage goes outside to prevent more boredom.

The top rope ax handle gives Savage two back inside but Hart offers a distraction, allowing IRS to knee Savage in the back. Savage gets thrown outside this time as this is getting rather repetitive. Back in and IRS grabs the abdominal stretch, followed by a chinlock as this isn’t exactly shaking his reputation for being boring (or sweaty).

Savage fights up and grabs him by the tie so Hart comes up with the briefcase. IRS’ charge hits said briefcase and after decking Hart, Savage drops the big elbow for the pin at 11:16. Mooney: “And a clean victory here for the WWF Champion!” After IRS was RAMMED INTO A METAL BRIEFCASE, once again proving that Mooney is a LIAR!”

Rating: C-. Again, IRS is someone who could be put out there to give Savage an easy win, but dang it would be nice if he could do something even slightly interesting. IRS could wrestle a perfectly competent style, but his offense was straight out of the 70s and it showed badly. Also, even though IRS is a champion, Savage couldn’t just get a clean win here?

Mr. Fuji and the Berzerker explain how to throw a party. Berzerker recommends kidnapping to get guests, and a lot of “little gimmicks” like those streamers that you blow to make them roll out, and finger sandwiches, decorated with fingers. This was oddly funny as Berzerker has a weird charisma to him.

From Kalamazoo, Michigan, April 8, 1992.

Tito Santana vs. Repo Man

Santana knocks him into the corner to start but Repo takes him into another corner. Repo’s arm work doesn’t work so Santana pulls him down into an armbar. A crossbody gives Santana two and the armbar goes on again. Repo comes back with a clothesline for two and he pulls Santana into something like a cross armbreaker. That’s broken up and Repo hits another clothesline, only for Santana to hit one of his own. Repo gets knocked off the apron so he grabs the grappling hook. A shot to the ribs is enough to draw the DQ at 7:33.

Rating: C. Yes, we really are going with the guy who repossesses things over the bullf…ok maybe it isn’t as crazy as it sounds. This was not the strongest time when it came to midcard gimmicks and there is a reason it took so long to turn things around. Both guys are talented, but this was a bit too goofy to really work.

Post match Santana gets posted and choked with the hook, leaving him frothing at the mouth.

From Niagara Falls, New York, April 28, 1992.

Nasty Boys/Money Inc. vs. Natural Disasters/Legion Of Doom

Dang this tape loves Money Inc. and Jimmy Hart is here with the villains while Paul Ellering is with the good guys. DiBiase and Hawk start things off with DiBiase actually taking over in the corner. Everything breaks down in a hurry though and Hart’s guys need a meeting on the floor. Back in and it’s IRS coming in to face Hawk, who connects with a big boot.

DiBiase offers a distraction though and IRS gets in his trusty knee to the back. Hawk gets pulled into the wrong corner, with Animal’s attempt at a save causing Hawk to get choked even more. Hawk fights up and hits a clothesline to put IRS down, followed by a double version with DiBiase. That’s enough for the tag off to Animal, who fires off a dropkick as everything breaks down. Earthquake sits on Sags for the pin at 7:59.

Rating: C. As usual, there is only so much that can be done in this situation with so many people in there and so little time. The ending was kind of amusing with Earthquake just sitting on him for the win, but that was about it. The Legion Of Doom never got to do much either, which sums up a lot of their problems in the WWF in the first place.

Post match Ellering decks Hart for a funny moment.

Okerlund explains the appeal of being a gracious winner and then Heenan crotches himself trying to jump over the net. Some fans pop up to meet Okerlund, who wraps it up to end the tape.

Overall Rating: D+. Yeah this didn’t work, with nothing standing out in the slightest. It was a bunch of people just having matches, none of which were remotely memorable. On top of that, I was sick of seeing Money Inc. by the end and that shouldn’t be the case with someone as good as DiBiase. The Heenan/Okerlund stuff was really weak too and that took away one of the best parts of these things. Not their best effort here, with the Bushwhackers and Barbarian having the best match, plus that oddly funny Berzerker segment being the highlights.

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

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

MSG Steel Cage Matches
Commentators: Byron Saxton, John Bradshaw Layfield, Rich Brennan, Sean Mooney, Brother Love, Gorilla Monsoon, Hillbilly Jim, Tony Schiavone, Lord Alfred Hayes, Superstar Billy Graham, Roger Kent, Gene Okerlund

It’s time for another WWE Vault collection and as usual, the name speaks for itself. In this case, we have a bunch of cage matches from the company’s home base. That could go in a variety of directions as there have been cage matches throughout the venue’s history. I’m optimistic about this one so let’s get to it.

From WWE Live From MSG.

US Title: John Cena vs. Seth Rollins

Cena is defending and Rollins’ WWE Title isn’t on the line. They take their time to start with Cena working a headlock but Rollins is back up with the knee to the face (which previously broke Cena’s nose). Rollins knocks him down again and goes up but Cena cuts him off rather quickly. A bulldog off the top gives Cena two but Rollins is back up with a top rope knee to the face for two more.

Cena manages a desperation (or as desperate as you can get about five minutes into a match) dropkick and climbs up, only to be pulled back down for a Sling Blade. Rollins drives him face first into the cage and drops him for two more but Cena manages an electric chair. Cena goes up and tries the top rope Fameasser, only to dive into a sitout powerbomb (ala Batista in 2008) for two, leaving them both down.

Back up and Cena goes into the cage but Cena reverses and does the same right back to him. The comeback is on with Cena initiating the finishing sequence but Rollins cuts off the Shuffle. Rollins tries his own Cena finishing sequence but Cena catches him with a ProtoBomb. Rollins’ dive is pulled into the STF until he pulls them into the ropes for a creative break.

Both of them dive for the door to no avail so Rollins slams it onto Cena’s head for a near fall. Cena is back up with a catapult into the corner, with Rollins rapidly climbing up. That’s cut off and Rollins goes into the cage, only to come up and cut off Cena’s climb as well. The superplex into the Falcon Arrow gets two on Cena and they’re both down again. Rollins goes up so Cena runs the corner and catches him on top for the slugout, only to have Rollins crash back down.

A top rope DDT gives Cena two and they both need another breather. Rollins goes up and kicks the door into Cena’s face for a nasty counter but Cena pulls him back in for the AA, with Rollins sticking the landing. The basement superkick gives Rollins two but Cena pulls him into the STF again. This time Rollins reverses into the crossface (sweet) so Cena powers up and tries the AA, which is countered into a low blow. Cue Kane though, leaving Rollins stuck on top (because climbing down in a hurry wasn’t an option). Instead Rollins misses a dive off the top and gets AA’d to retain Cena’s title at 22:45.

Rating: B. These two work well together so there is no shock that they did it again here. Cena beating the World Champion to retain the US Title is acceptable enough due to reasons of “it’s Cena”, but I was never a fan of this double champion story they were doing. For a main event on a Network special though, this was quite good.

From January 21, 1991 (oddly enough, this is the second review in a row featuring a match from this show).

Ultimate Warrior vs. Randy Savage

Savage has Queen Sherri with him and hides outside the ring to jump Warrior during his entrance for a smart move. I mean it doesn’t work as Warrior cuts him off and starts the brawl on the floor but it wasn’t a bad plan. Warrior throws him through the door and then climbs over the cage because that’s what a rational person does. An atomic drop has Savage in more trouble but he sends Warrior into the cage for a breather.

A rake to the eyes and that running clothesline that Savage always does connect, though Warrior hits a clothesline of his own. Savage gets a rather delayed two so Warrior gets up, only for a Sherri distraction to allow Savage to knee him into the cage. With nothing else working, Warrior opts to punch him in the face, earning some choking against the ropes.

Savage pounds him down and drops the top rope elbow for two (with the referee having to climb inside to count), with Warrior launching him off the cover. Warrior Warriors Up and makes the clothesline comeback but the splash hits knees. Savage gets up and over but can’t master the art of jumping four feet, allowing Warrior to pull him back up. Sherri decks the referee and climbs in to choke Warrior…which actually works as Savage falls down to win at 10:33.

Rating: B-. You could always see the chemistry between these two and that was on display again here as they had a good match. Warrior losing is weird enough to see, though they protected him well so it doesn’t really hut things. Throw in that he was two days after losing the WWF Title though and the writing was pretty clearly on the wall for him at this point.

From December 28, 1989.

Roddy Piper vs. Rick Rude

Bobby Heenan is here with Rude and for the first time, pinfalls or submissions are allowed as well. Rude jumps him fast to start but Piper is back with a whip into the cage. Piper finds a belt to whip away, followed by a big right hand with the belt around his fist. A bite to the head makes it even worse for Rude as Monsoon goes over the possible ways to win.

As expected, Rude’s tights are pulled down on the way up the cage, which is one of his favorite spots. Piper sends him into the cage again but this time Rude pulls Piper’s trunks (and Piper) down. The bloody Rude wants the door open as we get a cool wide shot to show how everything looks at once. Piper grabs the boot so Rude just unloads with big forearms to put him down.

Rude goes for the door again and gets pulled back in, with his tights coming (and staying down). That means Piper can make the comeback, but the big blurry spot is rather distracting. Rude grabs a quick Rude Awakening, though he crawls around instead of covering (in theory because of the blood in his eyes but that’s a stretch).

Piper gets up and cuts Rude off at the door again so a double clothesline can leave them both down. They both go up and slug it out on top before climbing down at the same time. A double ram lets them jump down at the same time and….they just keep fighting. Therefore the match continues (the fans approve) so Rude hits him in the head with a chair. Back in and Rude (still with the big blurry spot) knocks him down again before going all the way to the top or the cage.

The big fist drop connects for a rather delayed two, followed by a piledriver to knock Piper silly again. Rude wants to go up top again so Piper shakes the cage for the big crotching. Piper ties him in the cable on top of the cage, leaving Rude hanging upside down (nope). Heenan slams the door on Piper’s head for a quick two though and it’s time….for what looked like a comeback to be cut off by a belly to back suplex. We get a foreign object thrown in but Piper knocks it away. A big running shot to the head knocks Rude cold and Piper walks out for the win at 12:57.

Rating: B. Oh yeah this is still a classic, with Piper getting to have one of the best brawls of his career. These guys beat the fire out of each other and it made for a heck of a match, with the fans getting way into the whole thing. You don’t get to see Piper going this hard this long very often and it was awesome to see these guys like this. If nothing else, this is on Supertape 2 so it’s easy to find otherwise.

From March 18, 1989.

Big Boss Man vs. Hulk Hogan

Slick is here with Boss Man and the place goes nuts for Hogan, as expected. Hogan chases Slick to the back before getting in and climbs in over the top of the cage, which Hayes says he’s never seen before. Oh come on dude. It’s not even the first time you’ve seen Hogan do it (Wrestlemania II for instance). Hogan chokes with his shirt to start and sends him into the cage, followed by the running elbow in the corner. Boss Man is down early and Hayes can’t believe what he’s seeing.

A suplex drops him again as Slick is back at ringside and Schiavone is screaming a lot. Boss Man gets in a shot of his own and they go up top, where Hogan hammers away again. A headbutt knocks Hogan backwards though and it’s quite the craw all the way down. Hogan runs back up to catch him and there’s the superplex to bring Boss Man back down, though it doesn’t land quite as clean as the famous one from Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Both of them are down again and Boss Man is slight cut open. The referee comes in for the arm drops but Boss Man goes for the door, with Hogan making the save. A spinebuster drops Hogan again and Boss Man chokes him down with a chain. Back up and Hogan manages a double ram into the cage, allowing them to very clearly talk to each other on the mat. Hogan goes up but gets pulled down, meaning it’s a slam to put Boss Man back down.

Now it’s Hogan getting the chain to knock Boss Man silly, giving us a bit more blood. Naturally Hogan motions that he wants the title, which has nothing to do with this match. Boss Man gets chained in the head a few more times, followed by some rams into the cage. The legdrop connects and Hogan goes up, which draws Slick in.

That’s broken up as well and Boss Man gets crotched…and handcuffed to the ropes. Hogan goes up and gets out just before Slick can unlock Boss Man (the same ending as Saturday Night’s Main Event). Boss Man does get to the floor before the bell but Hogan hits him in the head with a chair and wakes up the referee, which is enough to give Hogan the win at 11:14.

Rating: B-. The problem here is pretty obvious, as this match would be done again not long after this on a much bigger stage and quite a bit better. This is mainly a dress rehearsal for the famous version on Saturday Night’s Main Event and while it’s still good, it really just makes me want to see the well known version again. Not at all bad, but history has screwed this one over a bit.

Post match Hogan beats up Slick and takes his hat, which is quite the trend for him.

From June 25, 1988.

WWF Title: Ted DiBiase vs. Randy Savage

DiBiase, with Virgil (to oppose Elizabeth) is challenging and you’ve probably seen this one before. We get an awesome shot of the always gorgeous Winged Eagle (as opposed to a wingless eagle) title and DiBiase jumps him to start fast. The fist drop (dang that always looked cool) connects but DiBiase misses a knee drop. Savage hammers away but gets knocked right back down, giving us the often awesome sight of Savage taking a beating.

DiBiase goes up so Savage slams him down, only to get beaten down again. Savage catches him on top and tries to go out, only for Virgil to interfere so Savage gets tied in the Sapling Of Woe. That’s broken up so Savage tries another climb, only to be pulled down by DiBiase this time. Savage’s clothesline lets him try for the door but DiBiase cuts him off again. Some rams into the mat have Savage in trouble but he fights back again and gets a needed breather.

A suplex drops DiBiase again and an atomic drop sends him into the cage, as tends to be the case. Savage goes for the door but Virgil rams it onto his head, with Graham suggesting that Elizabeth get in the gym so she can fight Virgil. DiBiase goes for the door and loses a good deal of his trunks as Savage makes the save. Back in and Savage rams him hard into the cage before climbing up. Virgil is there to cut him off again (and a kid climbs the cage but gets pulled down, which is edited out here), only for Savage to ram their heads together and climb out to retain at 12:20.

Rating: B. I get why they cut it out but dang that ending is missing just a little something without the kid running in. It showed just how emotional this whole thing had gotten, but at the same time you don’t want to glorify something like that. Otherwise, another awesome match between these two, which is pretty standard for them.

From July 12, 1986.

Randy Savage/Adrian Adonis vs. Tito Santana/Bruno Sammartino

Well ok. Both have to escape to win here. Sammartino gets jumped on the way in but Santana fights back to make the save. A belt shot misses for Savage and Sammartino sends him into the corner to stomp away. Savage blocks a ram into the cage as Adonis takes over on Santana. Sammartino fights back on Adonis but has to get a running charge to cut off Savage’s escape.

Santana sends Adonis into the cage but gets pulled back down. Savage is tied in the Tree of Woe for some stomping but Adonis suplexes Santana. Adonis gets caught trying to escape and Sammartino crotches him on top. A ram into the cage has Santana busted open as Sammartino pulls Savage back through the door. Adonis rakes Santana’s face against the cage but gets kneed into the corner by Sammartino.

Savage goes up and Adonis punches him out of the air as Sammartino pulls Adonis back through the door as well. Savage is very busted open as well as he cuts off Santana in the corner. Adonis drops Sammartino and goes up but…well kind of misses a splash off the cage (grazing Sammartino on the way down). Savage goes up but Santana is there to catch him. With Savage knocked down and Adonis dropped, Sammartino bolts out the door and Santana climbs down to win at 9:53.

Rating: B+. There are very few people who could get more out of the most basic punch/kick offense than Sammartino. He didn’t do much in the ring but the fans absolutely loved him and that made these matches so much better. I had a blast with this, as you had four guys beating the fire out of each other until two of them survived. That’s the nature of a cage match and few could bring it like Sammartino.

From June 21, 1985.

WWF Title: Hulk Hogan vs. Magnificent Muraco

Hogan is defending and jumps Muraco to start fast. That doesn’t last long and they stop to stare at each other as the door is locked. Muraco can’t ram him into the cage but Hogan can’t make it work either. Instead Hogan rakes the eyes and sends him into the corner, where he still can’t get in a ram to the cage. Muraco gets in a knockdown and seems to hit Hogan low but it’s way too early for the door.

Another low blow cuts Hogan off but he wastes no time in Hulking Up and firing off….Mongolian chops of all things. A clothesline and elbow drop have Muraco in more trouble, followed by a bite to the head. Muraco gets rammed face first into the cage to draw some blood so Hogan does it again for a bonus.

Back up and Hogan gets rammed into the cage as well, giving him the chance to rather clearly blade. A slingshot sends Hogan into the cage again and he comes up bleeding, though he’s still able to catch Muraco on top. Some biting to the head has Muraco in trouble so he bites Hogan right back. Hogan crashes down and Muraco hammers away, only for Hogan to shove him away. That’s enough for Muraco to get tied in the ropes but he gets out, only to be punched away so Hogan can retain at 9:08.

Rating: C+. Kind of a weak way to wrap up the collection, but it pretty much had to be Hogan or Sammartino given the subject. Those two are synonymous with the Garden and Hogan did so many cage matches that he had to get on here a few times. Hogan was absolutely still figuring his stuff out though and it was weird to see him trying different things. Not a bad one here, but just a bit of a strange pick.

Overall Rating: B+. I had a great time with this as they picked quite the nice batch of matches. You had some of the greatest hits with Savage vs. DiBiase and Piper vs. Rude, plus the awesome tag match and Cena vs. Rollins. The rest ranges from good to good enough and that made for a heck of a collection.

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

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

Supertape 4
Host: Sean Mooney, Lord Alfred Hayes
Commentators: Sean Mooney, Lord Alfred Hayes, Bobby Heenan

It’s time for another in this series and that could mean just about anything, as this series likes to stretch the definition of “super”. You never know what you’re going to get on this thing, though I’d assume on some wrestling from the WWF. Other than that, it could be quite the variety of quality so let’s get to it.

This is presented in the most complete form, which is a weird thing for a home video.

Opening sequence, which is likely just a preview of what we’ll be seeing.

Sean Mooney is tasked with delivering the master tape of Supertape 4 to Coliseum Video and he has a cooler, van, driver and tour guide. The van is labeled with a piece of paper and the driver is Lord Alfred Hayes…who doesn’t let the food or driver inside. Hayes already doesn’t know where they’re going but the cooler is left outside.

Mr. Perfect, with Bobby Heenan, has the Intercontinental Title back and insists he is perfect enough to beat the Texas Tornado.

From West Palm Beach, Florida, December 12, 1990.

Intercontinental Title: Mr. Perfect vs. Texas Tornado

Perfect, without Heenan, is defending. Tornado tries to slug away to start but takes too long taking off his robe, allowing Perfect to knock him outside. Tornado pulls him outside as well and gets in some shots of his own before throwing Perfect back inside. That means Tornado can throw him right back outside, as Tornado doesn’t have the clearest strategy. Back in (again) and Tornado hammers away before grabbing the Claw…on the stomach. With that broken up, Perfect grabs the sleeper until Tornado powers into the corner.

Tornado misses a charge into the post though and Perfect pulls a turnbuckle pad off. A quick Tornado Punch sends Perfect outside but another one hits the post by mistake. Back in and Perfect sends him into the post for two but the PerfectPlex only gets two. Tornado gets the Claw so Perfect pulls the referee in, only for the Tornado Punch to connect for a delayed near fall. Back up and Tornado hits another Tornado Punch….but NOW the referee calls for the DQ at 7:45. What a ridiculous ending.

Rating: C-. Perfect was trying here but there is only so much that can be done when Tornado is in this kind of shape. Tornado was clearly not right out there, which was becoming an issue more and more frequently. The guy looked great, but it didn’t matter if he couldn’t have a coherent match most of the time. Throw in a screwy ending and there was only so much to be done with this.

Post match Tornado sends him into the exposed buckle for the big spinning sell.

From New York City, New York, January 21, 1991.

Koko B. Ware vs. Tito Santana

This is a very rare face vs. face match and even Heenan thinks this will be good. They shake hands and then go to a lockup to start, with Heenan saying that his Family could have a better match. An armdrag takes Ware down and Santana does it again as they’re certainly in first gear so far. Santana snapmares his way out of a hammerlock and actually suggests a hair pull. A shoulder block into an armdrag puts Ware down and they seem to be getting a big agitated.

We get an exchange of shoves (Heenan: “I LIKE IT!”) before Ware punches him in the face as things get a lot more aggressive. They go outside where Ware sends him into the post before going back inside to hammer away. Ware slugs him down and drops an elbow for two, setting up the nerve hold. Some snap jabs have Heenan rather pleased, with Mooney thinking Ware might belong in the Heenan Family. The top rope fist drop misses though and Santana makes the comeback. They both miss clotheslines but Santana hits the flying forearm for the pin at 10:10.

Rating: C+. This was so strange to see and oddly enough, it worked well. Ware knows how to work this style and Santana is as good of a face as you’ll find, but dang this does doesn’t feel right in the WWF. I’ll take something going this way for a change though, as it was cool to see a fresh take on a match instead of more of the same.

Believe it or not, Hayes is lost.

We look at wrestlers who have gone from wrestling to broadcasting (From The Mat To The Mike), including Gorilla Monsoon, who talks about making the transition and promises to be around more often.

Roddy Piper gets a look as well and insists he is NOT retired. He makes some jokes about Vince McMahon and Roddy Piper before saying it’s better to not get beaten up.

We also have Gene Okerlund, which is an excuse to show his match with Hulk Hogan against Mr. Fuji and George Steele.

Finally Randy Savage talks about going against the best of all time and giving everything he had. Naturally he’s as intense as a broadcaster as he was as a wrestler.

The van has engine trouble.

From West Palm Beach, Florida, December 12, 1990.

Undertaker vs. Tugboat

This is the Fan Favorite match, meaning someone actually requested to see it. We’re VERY early in Undertaker’s time as he still has Brother Love as his manager. Undertaker slugs away to little effect as Tugboat shoves him back. An exchange of shoulders doesn’t go anywhere so Undertaker tries a leapfrog but Tugboat just stops, resulting in a knee to the head instead.

Back up and Tugboat elbows him down, which is quite the big deal for Undertaker at this point. Another elbow drops Undertaker but Tugboat misses the elbow drop. Undertaker hammers away but misses a charge in the corner, with Tugboat falling down as he tries a slam. Some shots to the back have Tugboat down again but he’s back up with a powerslam. A kick to the face rocks Undertaker again but Tugboat misses a charge in the corner. Undertaker’s top rope forearm to the chest is good for the pin at 5:43. Mooney: “What a great match this turned out to be!” LIAR!

Rating: D. I was a fan when I was a kid but my goodness Tugboat was HORRIBLE. He was big, he was slow, and those are his good points. Other than that, Tugboat just did not have anything to offer in the ring and that was on display here. Things would get a bit better when he would turn into Typhoon, but this was not a good time for him whatsoever.

From Savannah, Georgia, January 29, 1991.

Shawn Michaels vs. Crush

Marty Jannetty and Mr. Fuji are here too. Crush pounds away to start and blocks a sunset flip. Michaels hammers back and hits a flying shoulder but the kickout sends him flying outside. Back in and Michaels goes simple with a front facelock, which Crush powers into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker.

A torture rack dropped down into a backbreaker keeps Michaels in trouble, followed by the required bearhug. With that broken up, Crush switches over to a bodyscissors but misses a top rope knee drop to leave them both down. Fuji gets on the apron as Crush catches Michaels, only for Jannetty to add a high crossbody to knock Michaels onto Crush for the pin at 7:19.

Rating: C+. Crush was little more than a monster for Michaels to slay here, as you could see Michaels’ singles star power trying to break through. That’s a great sign for his future and he is getting better before your eyes at this point. It’s no surprise that he is getting this kind of a singles push and it was working well enough.

Hayes and Mooney work on the van, with Hayes using Mooney’s jacket to clean up. They know the problem….but don’t know how to fix it.

From Huntsville, Alabama, January 7, 1991.

Mr. Fuji/Orient Express vs. Legion Of Doom

For some reason Fuji starts for the team but then switches out with Kato, while also playing pass the salt. Animal shoves Kato around and then does it again for a bonus. With that not working, Kato slaps him in the face and gets a chase going, allowing Kato to strike away back inside. Tanaka comes in and gets knocked down, where it’s time for a meeting with his cohorts.

Back in and Tanaka teases going after Hawk, who growls him away. Hawk fights off a double teaming and Kato bails out to the floor, where Animal picks him up for a gorilla press toss back inside. A running clothesline puts Kato on the floor again though and Animal clotheslines him there as well.

This isn’t going so well for him at the moment. Animal runs Tanaka over so Kato offers a distraction, with the salt to the eyes taking Animal down. That has Animal in trouble for all of a few seconds before he clotheslines his way to freedom. Hawk comes back in clean house and the Doomsday Device finishes Kato at 8:00.

Rating: C-. There was only so much you could get out of this kind of a match and there was no way around it. The LOD more or less squashed them here, with even the salt not being able to do much. That was part of the problem with the LOD: you could only put so many teams against them and that was the case at this point, as they didn’t have much in the way of competition.

And now, Gourmet Cooking Tips with the Bushwhackers. We start with a salad, which is thrown everywhere, then the mashed potatoes, which has a special ingredient, then broccoli, which results in bodily function jokes, and then walnut surprise cake, which is shoved into faces. We also get a flashback to Gene Okerlund becoming a Bushwhacker in the first Supertape thanks to some Bushwhacker Buzzard. Back in the kitchen, an apple goes into Okerlund’s mouth and the Bushwhackers want him for dinner. This was about ten minutes of not funny.

Hayes says he knows a good repairman and Mooney shows us to a profile on the Big Boss Man.

Boss Man talks about being the law and order around here and promises us three matches.

From Toronto, Ontario, Canada, September 16, 1990.

Earthquake vs. Big Boss Man

Jimmy Hart is here (minus the megaphone for some reason) with the non-Canadian Earthquake. They take their time circling each other to start and finally lock up, with Earthquake shoving him hard into the corner. For some reason Hayes finds this hilarious, though it might be Earthquake doing the posing. Back in and Boss Man does his weird bouncing headlock before punching him into the corner.

Boss Man gets powered into the corner but knocks Earthquake down, followed by chasing Hart around the ring. Earthquake misses a charge into the corner and gets low bridged down for two, only for Earthquake to hit him in the throat. Boss Man gets sent into the corner so Earthquake can sit on him, which doesn’t go well.

Back up Earthquake wins a slugout and an atomic drop has Boss Man in more trouble. Boss Man gets up with a shot to the back of the head and a kick to drop Earthquake, setting up the running clotheslines. That means Earthquake gets tied up in the ropes, but Boss Man goes after Hart and an invading Dino Bravo. Earthquake gets out and hits him in the back, setting up a big elbow for the pin at 10:04.

Rating: C+. I liked the match, but it’s a bit weird to see Boss Man losing in a match designed to be part of his profile. That being said, it was a good brawl, as Boss Man was always good at slugging it out at someone bigger than him. It worked very well against Vader and this was a similar enough idea.

Post match Earthquake goes after him again but Tugboat makes the save.

From Syracuse, New York, November 20, 1990.

Bobby Heenan vs. Big Boss Man

So Heenan has spent weeks insulting Boss Man’s mother so it’s time for payback. Before the match, Heenan brings out a Hulk Hogan wrestling buddy (that’s worth some cash these days) as a gift to Boss Man’s mother, along with roses that he has already sent to her. Boss Man comes to the ring and shoves the wrestling buddy into his face. Heenan gets in a shot with the microphone so Boss Man hits him with the nightstick for the win at 31 seconds.

Post match Haku comes in and gets beaten down just as fast. Boss Man handcuffs them together but Mr. Perfect runs in to go after Boss Man as the other two leave. That’s broken up as well and Boss Man clears the ring, with Mooney declaring it a “great matchup.” Again, LIAR!

From Toronto, Ontario, Canada, November 25, 1990 (I believe, as I’ve seen multiple dates and locations for this one).

The Barbarian vs. Big Boss Man

Boss Man slugs away to start and hits a big boot, followed by a running elbow to send him outside. Back in and Barbarian strikes away for a change, only to get clotheslined out to the floor. Barbarian gets back in but has a big boot blocked, allowing Boss Man to hit the running crotch attack against the back. That doesn’t last long as Barbarian knocks him down for some ax handles to the back.

The bearhug goes on for a good while but Barbarian lets it go. The middle rope elbow misses for Barbarian though and they slug it out, with Boss Man doing his always rather awesome “out on his feet” selling. Boss Man kicks him in the head and grabs a hot shot for two but can’t hit a piledriver. Instead Barbarian backdrops him down…and right into a sunset flip to give Boss Man the pin at 11:18.

Rating: C. There is something cool about the way Boss Man sells and it was working again here. At the same time, Barbarian continues to be the perfect choice for a spot like this as he can make someone like Boss Man work but doesn’t lose any status whatsoever in defeat. This wasn’t anything special, but it could have been far worse.

Post match Haku runs in to help Barbarian with the double team. And no one makes the save. What a great way to wrap up a profile.

Mooney pulls up his pants to cross a stream. Hayes uses the footbridge about twenty feet away, which Mooney somehow didn’t notice.

From Huntsville, Alabama, January 7, 1991.

WWF Title: Ultimate Warrior vs. Sgt. Slaughter

Slaughter, with General Adnan, is challenging. They take their time to start until Slaughter takes him into the corner and chokes/kicks/hammers away. Warrior kicks right back though and a right hand sends Slaughter over the top, with his massive chin getting caught on the bottom rope (that’s a new one). Back in and Slaughter gets knocked out to the floor again, this time allowing Warrior to send him back inside for the hard chops.

Slaughter manages to knock him outside and send him into the timekeeper’s table before hammering away back inside. A catapult into the corner gives Warrior a breather though and a double clothesline puts both of them down. Slaughter grabs a backbreaker for two and puts on the camel clutch, with Warrior getting to the ropes for the break. Warrior Warriors Up, hits a flying shoulder and drops the splash to retain at 9:57.

Rating: C. Yeah you could only expect so much out of a match like this, as it was a dark match from a TV taping to send the fans home happy. The problem with that is there was only so much joy to be found in a Warrior match. He was mere days away from losing the title to Slaughter, so it was almost weird to seeing him win clean like this.

Mooney and Hayes realize they’re walking around in circles. Hayes walks off on his own, presumably leaving Mooney to die in the woods.

Overall Rating: C-. These compilations can be a lot of fun, but at the same time, they can also be rather dreadful. Unfortunately the latter was the case here, as nothing on here was worth seeing, with even the profile on Boss Man only being so good. Total waste of a tape, which fits the era rather well.

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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Wrestling Challenge
Date: November 1, 1986
Location: War Memorial, Rochester, New York
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan

These shows continue to be easy watches and are making me want to see some of the live events where the feuds are blown off. That means they’re doing something right and I could go for seeing more of this stuff to see if they can keep it up in the short term. That’s tricky to do so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here’s what’s coming this week.

Intercontinental Title: Randy Savage vs. Billy Jack Haynes

Savage, with Elizabeth, is defending and commentary points out how rare it is to a title match on TV, which is rather true. Haynes shrugs off a wristlock to start and grabs a headlock. That’s broken up and Savage sends him hard into the buckle for two. Haynes fights up and hits a clothesline, setting up the full nelson. Savage swings and hits the referee, who calls for the DQ and the bell at 4:55.

Rating: C. Not much to see here, with the biggest story being the crooked referee. That is something that could go rather big if done properly and they seem to be on their way. Haynes could have been just about anyone in the role as Savage could work well with everybody. It wasn’t much of a match, but at least it moved a bigger story forward.

Post match Davis clarifies that Hayes swung Savage into him so Savage wins. Monsoon: “IT WAS SNEAKY!”

We get a Wrestlers’ Rebuttal from Hulk Hogan, who knows the fans believe in him. Orndorff is the one in the wrong and the fans want Hogan to destroy him.

Islanders vs. Mike Sharpe/Terry Gibbs

Gibbs and Tama start things off with Tama knocking him down. The insert promo from the Dream Team talks about how the Islanders are supposed to play hockey. Everything breaks down and Sharpe takes over on Tama, with a double back elbow putting him down. It’s off to Haku to clean house, including planting Sharpe. A top rope splash gives Tama the pin at 2:55.

Davey Boy Smith introduces Matilda, who we’ve already met. Dynamite Kid comes in to say they’re ready for any team, including the Dream Team.

George Steele tried to order fast food but could only say EAT. Well yeah.

Nikolai Volkoff/Iron Sheik/Hercules Hernandez vs. Lanny Poffo/SD Jones/Corporal Kirschner

Slick is here with the villains. Poffo does not like the Soviet National Anthem and reads a poem about how we should chant USA. Jones hammers on Volkoff to start and hands it off to Poffo to pull on the arm. Slick talks about how Hercules is going to win the WWF Title as Kirschner comes in, only to get suplexed by Sheik. Hernandez grabs the backbreaker (torture rack) for the submission at 1:23. I would have bet on Jones taking the fall there.

The Killer Bees think they deserve a Tag Team Title shot. B. Brian Blair is excited about an upcoming youth amateur wrestling tournament in his hometown. Nothing wrong with that.

Hart Foundation vs. Pedro Morales/Tito Santana

Jimmy Hart is here with the Harts. Neidhart knees Santana in the ribs to start but Santana is back up with a quick dropkick. Jimmy trips Santana down and we get an insert promo from Jimmy talking about how he would NEVER use the megaphone to cheat. Morales comes in and gets caught in the wrong corner, allowing for some assisted choking. A backdrop gets Morales out of trouble and it’s off to Santana as everything breaks down. They all fight to the floor and it’s a double countout at 2:52. That’s a surprise for the Harts, who were quite the up and coming team.

We’re off to the Snake Pit with Jake Roberts saying this is a special week for him. He brings out quite the big deal guest with Roddy Piper, who gets to join the NEW Pit. Piper makes it clear that he doesn’t like either kind of snake (meaning Damien and/or Roberts) but Roberts wants him to touch Damien. With that not happening, Piper decks Roberts and leaves.

Rougeau Brothers vs. Tiger Chung Lee/Barry O

Raymond works on a top wristlock with O to start before they both miss elbow drops. Dino Bravo pops in to say he’s the only worthwhile Canadian wrestler and the Rougeaus make him sick to his stomach. Lee comes in to take over on Jacques as Heenan asks which Rougeau is in the ring. Monsoon: “That’s Jacques.” Heenan: “Who cares?” Raymond comes back in and Le Bombe de Rougeau finishes O at 1:55.

Jack Tunney announces that the company is officially looking into Danny Davis’ ability to referee.

Ricky Steamboat vs. Moondog Rex

Steamboat grabs a headlock to start but Rex powers up and sends him into the corner. A quick rollup out of said corner gives Steamboat the pin at 1:25. Well that was short.

The Dream Team want the Tag Team Titles back and do not like being compared to dogs. Valentine: “WE’RE THE DREAM TEAM! WE’VE GOT DOLLS MADE OF US!” Valentine goes on a rant about how the Bulldogs are going to have to deal with them and the titles are changing.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Roll those highlights.

Overall Rating: C+. There were some weird choices for the decisions on here but the talent alone made it work. This show had appearances or matches from Randy Savage, the British Bulldogs, the Hart Foundation, Ricky Steamboat, Roddy Piper, Ricky Steamboat and more. That is an absolute murderers row of talent and just seeing them do basic matches is a lot of fun in a short span. It might not have been a great show, but it was nice to see all of these people in one place.

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Wrestling Challenge
Date: October 18, 1986
Location: War Memorial, Rochester, New York
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan

We’re back to this after nearly two years away and while that should usually make for some slight confusion, it isn’t like there is much to remember around here. We are on the way to pretty much nothing right now, but there are enough feuds to keep things interesting. I’ve always liked this show so odds are I’ll have a good time with it again. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here’s who to expect on the show.

Koko B. Ware vs. Steve Lombardi

During his entrance, Ware talks about the importance of Frankie, who Heenan wants in a back of Shane N Bake. Lombardi tries a quick takedown and gets blocked, sending Monsoon and Heenan into a funny argument over Ware’s intelligence or lack thereof. Ware claps a lot and sends Lombardi shoulder first into the post. An elbow to the face sets up the Ghostbuster (brainbuster) to give Ware the pin at 2:38. The smash cut to a closeup of Frankie the bird’s face is quite jarring.

We go to Wrestlers’ Rebuttal, with Roddy Piper comparing Don Muraco and Bob Orton to various pests, such as flies and roaches. Muraco would need a surfboard the size of the Bismark to get him into the water and just hurting Piper’s knee isn’t going to get rid of him. Not much time here but Piper got in some good lines as usual.

We go to a spa where Paul Orndorff gets his hair and nails done, along with a shoe shine because he demands perfection. As you might guess, he isn’t overly polite, even as he’s having his sneakers shined. The ranting and raving goes on for quite awhile.

Paul Orndorff vs. Tony Parks

Bobby Heenan is with Orndorff, who has the stolen real American theme in one of my favorite angles that needs to be brought back. Johnny V joins in on commentary and likes Orndorff having the song because it’s just such a perfect fit. Orndorff starts fast with a suplex and stomps away. The beating goes to the floor before a clotheslines drops Parks back inside. The piledriver finishes (with a hand to the ear on the cover) for Orndorff at 1:25.

Tito Santana wants to see Roddy Piper against either Don Muraco or Bob Orton. After speaking some Spanish to his fans, Santana promises to keep coming after Randy Savage and the Intercontinental Title.

Dick Slater vs. Bob Bradley

Yeah it’s the Rebel Dick Slater, which went as well as you would expect. Especially in a northern state like New York. Slater takes him into the corner to start but possibly crooked referee Danny Davis breaks it up. We get an inset interview from Davis (as luck would have it), where he says he doesn’t care about all the letters fans are sending in to criticize his abilities. What do they know about refereeing? A small package gives Slater two and Bradley tries a crossbody, with Slater ducking to send Bradley flying over the top in a great visual. Slater suplexes him down and hits a top rope elbow to the head for the pin at 3:02.

Rating: C-. Slater just had nothing to make him stand out in this role. He’s usually good when he’s more of a crazy evil southern/country boy but here he’s just a generic good guy with a rebel flag jacket. It’s not interesting and there’s no way around it, which was on display here. It’s a bad sign when the most memorable moment is a jobber missing a crossbody and crashing to the floor, but it’s more interesting than anything Slater was doing.

The Rougeau Brothers are still undefeated and want the Tag Team Titles. Jacques throws in some French for some flavor. Apparently he said he’s glad to meet French speaking fans on the road because that’s their native language.

Dream Team vs. Rick Hunter/Jerry Allen

Johnny V is here with the Dream Team as Valentine slams Allen down to start. We get an insert interview from V about being friends with Bobby Heenan, just in case you needed his evilness confirmed. Beefcake comes in to shrug off Hunter’s forearms and hit a powerslam. An elbow sets up the Figure Four to finish Hunter at 2:39.

And now, the Snake Pit. Jake Roberts says this is his place at his time so welcome to the theater of the cruel but fair. The guest if Junkyard Dog, who isn’t interested in being around snakes. Roberts accuses him of being superstitious and they argue about a potential match. Dog says the only things anyone is going to make him do is stay Black and die. He’s still done with the snake and we’re done after a kind of weird argument.

Sika vs. Jose Luis Rivera

Sika has the Wizard with him and jumps Rivera to start fast. Some forearms to the back set up a chinlock as Wizard gets an insert promo about….a shark’s tooth? The chinlock goes on again but Rivera fights up. A dropkick has no effect though and a running headbutt gives Sika the win at 2:07.

We meet the British Bulldogs’ new mascot Matilda, with Bobby Heenan coming up to insult her. The Bulldogs threaten Heenan with the removal of his leg and he’s gone.

British Bulldogs vs. Rudy Diamond/Steve Regal

Non-title and as always, no not that Regal. I’m not sure why Diamond doesn’t get a name graphic. Some headbutts rock Regal to start and a snap suplex takes him down again. Diamond comes in and gets taken down just as fast, with Kid dropping a knee. The running powerslam connects but Regal makes the save. That earns him a fireman’s carry and Kid comes in with a headbutt off Regal’s back for the pin at 2:16. Total squash.

Slick talks about his newest signee, Butch Reed, who will be a great addition to his team. Nikolai Volkoff and the Iron Sheik come in to pose as well. They want the Tag Team Titles and more posing ensues.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

The usual highlight package wraps us up.

Overall Rating: C-. Not one of their more thrilling shows this week, as the people featured were only so interesting. Granted it helps when the card is full of squashes as it allows more wrestlers to get on the show, but 45 minutes of such matches are only going to get you so far. The Orndorff and Piper stuff was good, but that shouldn’t be a surprise in the slightest. Still though, this stuff is such a breeze compared to everything else as it’s such a different style than modern wrestling, which makes it a great change of pace.

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WWF House Show
Date: April 22, 1985
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Attendance: 18,000
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Gene Okerlund

This is one of those random house shows that was put up on the WWE Vault channel and there is a good chance that it was put up forty years to the day. We are just a few weeks after the first Wrestlemania and that means it is time for the fairly unexplored fallout period from the then biggest show of all time. Let’s get to it.

Junior Heavyweight Title: The Cobra vs. Barry O

Cobra is defending but doesn’t have the belt here, which has commentary confused. O (short for Orton, and he has a nephew named Randy) jumps him to start fast, with a slam and jumping elbow getting two. Cobra gets sent outside, followed by a neck crank back inside. A running in place powerslam gives O two and we pause for O to grab his own head. Cobra breaks out of a front facelock and slugs away, setting up a slam int a legdrop for two.

O kicks his way out of a sunset flip but gets caught in a headscissors, which has Monsoon annoyed at the referee for checking for a choke. That’s broken up and O hammers away, only to get backdropped into an armbar. As commentary talks about the various champions and contenders, O breaks out but gets caught with a top rope forearm to the head. A middle rope knee gives Cobra two but O gets in a shot of his own.

O’s rope walk splash misses and Cobra just starts slugging away with forearms, setting up a jumping spinwheel kick (that was a big spot in this era). A stomp to the stomach has O bailing to the floor for a needed breather before coming inside to beg for mercy. O grabs the leg for a spinning toehold but Cobra is right back up with another spinning kick. A dropkick puts O on the floor, setting up the slingshot dive. Cobra suplexes him back inside but misses a top rope backsplash. Back up and Cobra grabs a jumping hurricanrana for the pin to retain at 13:20.

Rating: B. Oh man this was starting to get really good in the end but they went home when they should have. The biggest issue here was the clash of styles, as Cobra was wrestling a more lucha style match while O was your traditional heel. Cobra was WAY different than almost anything you would see here and O kept up with him as well as he could. This was a lot of fun and WAY better than I would have expected.

Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Matt Borne

You know, because we needed another big international star. Fujinami isn’t interested in a handshake to start so they fight over a lockup and go to the ropes. Some forearms have Borne down as commentary talks about Fujinami’s footwork. A headlock takeover lets Fujinami crank on him a bit, with Borne getting up. Fujinami backflips out of a suplex and we’re right back to the headlock takeover.

Back up and some shots to the face have Fujinami in trouble for a change, allowing Borne to yell at the referee. The chinlock goes on, allowing Borne to yell at commentary for a change. The choking continues so commentary talks about Jack Nicholson (Okerlund: “One of the biggest athletic supporters in southern California.”). Fujinami fights up, only to get pulled back into a headscissors as I’m not sure if this is the best way to use his talents.

Borne cranks away for a bit before hammering away in the corner. A front facelock keeps the bored fans all the more bored, as does Borne cutting off the comeback attempt. Fujinami finally fights out of a chinlock and hits a dropkick for two. A clothesline puts Borne down again and a bridging German suplex finishes him off at 11:31.

Rating: D+. Gah what was that? This was the clash of styles I was expecting in the opener and it was rough to see as a result. Borne was wrestling a basic style and didn’t let Fujinami do much of anything. You’re only going to get so much out of any legend when you have Borne holding him in a front facelock for so long and it killed anything they could do here.

Jimmy Hart is ready for King Kong Bundy to wreck Swede Hanson. Bundy says Hanson is tough but he’ll look small when they’re in the ring. Then it’s time for Hulk Hogan.

Swede Hanson vs. King Kong Bundy

Hanson is a big guy from North Carolina. They fight over a lockup to start as we hear about Bundy’s nine second win at Wrestlemania, because timing isn’t wrestling’s strong suit. Hanson gets in a shot of his own to rock Bundy and the fans rather approve. Back up and Hanson is rocked with a running forearm but he comes back with a forearm to stagger Bundy again.

Bundy rakes the eyes though and slowly hammers away before sending Hanson face first into the buckle. The slow beating continues as commentary lists off the reasons this company is so awesome. Hanson starts Hulking Up (as Monsoon puts it) and some chops put Bundy in the corner. That’s cut off by a quick Avalanche into a big elbow to give Bundy the pin at 4:38.

Rating: C-. While still not a good match, this was Hanson making Bundy sweat a bit more before Bundy put him away. You could clearly see that Bundy was being built up for something bigger down the line and that would probably be someone in red and yellow. Having him beat various people over and over would build him up and that’s what we saw here.

British Bulldogs vs. Rene Goulet/Johnny Rodz

This is the Bulldogs’ MSG debut as the new generation is coming in. Rodz and Kid start things off but we pause for Goulet to do his thing with his glove. Actually Goulet starts and they lock up after nearly a minute of shenanigans. Kid’s headscissors doesn’t get him very far so he spins around into an armbar to take Goulet down instead. Smith comes in and actually gets shouldered down before Rodz throws her over the top.

Back up and Smith hits a quick dropkick before a knee to the ribs cuts him off again. Kid comes in with a missile dropkick for the save (that didn’t look great) into a nipup (that looked better), followed by a gutwrench suplex for two. Rodz breaks up the chinlock and Goulet comes back in for a knee drop. Kid avoids a diving headbutt though and it’s back to Smith, who is taken down as well.

Rodz elbows Smith down but misses a legdrop, meaning the vertical suplex can connect for two. It’s back to Goulet, who grabs a test of strength on the mat, only to get monkey flipped away. Smith muscles Rodz up for the running powerslam and then fireman’s carries Goulet. Kid climbs onto Goulet’s back and hits a top rope headbutt to pin Rodz at 8:12.

Rating: B-. Not a great match, but you could tell the Bulldogs needed some better opponents. They were a great example of a team with a nice balance of power and speed and it worked well. The finishing sequence alone felt like something different than anything else you would have seen around this time and if you get them the right competition, it would go great.

Ricky Steamboat vs. Moondog Spot

Steamboat starts fast with a hiptoss into a pose into a chop to the floor as the fans seem to like Steamboat so far. Spot stays on the floor long enough that Steamboat goes outside and counters a headlock into a posting. Back in and Spot takes over with a shot to the face and an atomic drop, setting up the chinlock. That’s broken up and Steamboat gets his usually great looking sunset flip which is blocked with a shot to the head.

It’s back to the chinlock as you can see why the Moondogs aren’t so well remembered in the ring. Back up and they collide for a double down, with Steamboat not being able to slam him either. Spot’s shoulder breaker gets two so he goes up, only to get slammed back down. Steamboat strikes away, setting up the high crossbody for the pin at 7:25.

Rating: C+. Steamboat knows how to make a comeback like no other and that was the case again here. Spot wasn’t exactly great in the ring but at least he was able to be a good opponent for Steamboat. Granted it helps when you’re in the ring with one of the best ever, as Steamboat was certainly able to make anyone look good.

WWF Title: Hulk Hogan vs. Magnificent Muraco

Hogan is defending (shocking I know) and Muraco has Mr. Fuji with him. There are no entrances here, which means they didn’t want to edit out Eye Of The Tiger for Hogan. The place is just nuts for Hogan, even if he’s in the always weird looking white gear this time. A hiptoss and jumping knee send Muraco outside, followed by an armbar back inside.

That’s reversed into a slam but Hogan pulls him back down into a hammerlock (which didn’t seem to be the plan but they made a bit of a botch work fine). A legdrop onto the arm keeps Muraco in trouble and another armbar has what’s left of the arm in pain. Back up and Muraco seems to go low, setting up a pull of the leg to take Hogan down.

Muraco starts cranking on the leg but Hogan fights up and hits the corner clothesline. The big elbow misses though and Muraco drops some knees to keep Hogan down. The piledriver doesn’t work for Muraco and it’s time to Hulk Up, even though Hogan doesn’t quite have the sequence down yet. Muraco gets kicked out to the floor and Hogan follows, only for Fuji to offer a distraction. A ram into the apron/post keeps Hogan down for the countout at 13:36.

Rating: C+. This was a way to set up the rematch for the next month and that’s a fine way to go. Muraco is someone who was just big enough to feel like a threat without actually being one, though the fact that he wasn’t on Wrestlemania is a bit odd. Nice enough match to set up the ending though, with Muraco surviving most of the Hulk Up, which will make beating him all the better next time.

Post match Hogan grabs the belt and wants to keep fighting but cuts Muraco off from getting the title and chases him away.

Iron Sheik vs. Mike Rotundo

Freddie Blassie and Lou Albano are here too as Rotundo starts fast, taking Sheik down with a slam before he can even get his gear off. Sheik gets choked with his robe and sent outside for a needed breather. Rotundo grabs a headlock on the mat and cranks away a bit, followed by a sunset flip for two.

Back up and Sheik gets in a suplex before knocking Rotundo outside in a heap. A chinlock into a hammerlock doesn’t last long on Rotundo, who is back up with an atomic drop. Rotundo grinds away on a front facelock before sending Sheik outside for a change. Back in and Rotundo keeps it on the mat with a headlock, which makes sense for two people with deep amateur backgrounds.

Sheik comes back with some choking and sends him to the floor for a chair shot, which is fine with the referee for some reason. The abdominal stretch goes on, followed by the gutwrench suplex (which someone needs to bring back) but Rotundo manages his own suplex for two. Sheik misses a running knee in the corner and gets rolled up for the pin at 14:32.

Rating: B. This wound up being a heck of a match and probably the best Rotundo match I’ve ever seen. Sheik is best known as being almost a caricature for most of his career but he could have a good outing when he had the chance. This was a good example of two people having similar styles and meshing well together and that’s not a bad way to go.

Barry Windham vs. Nikolai Volkoff

Ah so it’s this kind of a show. Albano and Blassie are here again too. Windham works on the arm to start and cranks away at a wristlock. A rollup gets two on Volkoff and he claims a pull of the trunks. To be fair, there is quite a bit of trunk to pull. The arm cranking resumes with an armbar having Volkoff down but he comes back with a shot to the face. Some stomping has Windham in trouble and one heck of a gorilla press sends him flying.

The bearhug stays on the back, with Volkoff lifting him up and smiling about it like an evil powerhouse should. Windham fights out and grabs a sleeper, followed by a dropkick and atomic drop. A headbutt gives us a double down before Volkoff misses a charge into the post. Windham hammers away in the corner but the Iron Sheik comes in for the DQ at 12:29.

Rating: B-. This was another match that took me by surprise as the idea of Volkoff wrestling a good one is quite the odd thing to see. What matters the most here is that both guys were working hard and it was a solid showdown that made me want to see these teams fight again. Which they would, with Windham and Rotundo winning the titles back in about two months.

Post match the beatdown is on until Rotundo makes the save. Not bad for about thirty minutes between two singles matches to set up a tag rematch here. Though a six man tag with the managers would have been fun too.

The Fink hypes up the next MSG show on May 20. We run down the card, with Iron Sheik/Nikolai Volkoff defending against the US Express (Windham/Rotundo) and Muraco vs. Hogan II. There is a bonus match too though, as Brutus Beefcake and Johnny V will team up against David Sammartino (the fans know what’s coming and are more than up for it) and….BRUNO SAMMARTINO (and there’s the monster pop).

Tito Santana and Junkyard Dog are ready for Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake.

Tito Santana/Junkyard Dog vs. Brutus Beefcake/Greg Valentine

Johnny V and Jimmy Hart are both here with the villains. It’s a brawl to start with Beefcake and Valentine being knocked to the floor in a hurry. We settle down to Dog and Beefcake running the ropes to start with Dog knocking him down without much trouble. Valentine’s cheap shot from the apron doesn’t work as Beefcake runs into him, allowing Santana to come in.

Santana whips them into each other again and grabs a chinlock on Beefcake. That’s broken up and it’s off to Valentine for a gutbuster to drop Santana. The chinlock goes on for a bit before Beefcake sends Santana outside. Back in and Valentine slowly hammers (there we go) away before Beefcake uses the trunks to cut off a tag attempt. Santana fights up and hammers away, which brings in the other two.

Okerlund is begging for a double DQ but we settle back down. That doesn’t last long as Santana crawls around and gets over to Dog for the house cleaning. A falling headbutt gets two on Valentine but a second one misses as we settle down a bit. Beefcake and Valentine work on Dog’s leg but he gets over to Santana to slug away on Valentine, which just feels right. Santana’s big clothesline gets two on Valentine as everything breaks down again. The flying forearm is enough for Santana to pin Valentine at 13:14.

Rating: B-. There are certain pairs who are going to work well together no matter what they do and that is the case with Valentine and Santana. Those two could have turned a boat race into an exciting match and they made this into an entertaining tag match. If nothing else, it’s interesting to see what very well may have been the future Dream Team’s first match, only a few months before they would win the Tag Team Titles. Solid main event here, as Santana goes from starting Wrestlemania to closing the follow up show.

Post match the villains beat the winners down.

After a break, the arena clears out and the ring is swept of trash as commentary wraps us up.

Overall Rating: B. This was a heck of a show with some rather good matches (the opener, the Tag Team Title singles matches and more) and stuff to make you want to come back later. It’s interesting to see this period as well, as you pretty much don’t have much outside of Saturday Night’s Main Event to tide you over between the first two Wrestlemanias. The crowd was certainly still hot and it made for a good show here. You could definitely get the Wrestlemania fallout vibes here and that is a good sign for the coming months. I had a lot of fun with this and could definitely go with more from this era, which is critically overlooked.

Results
Cobra b. Barry O – Hurricanrana
Tatsumi Fujinami b. Matt Borne – German suplex
King Kong Bundy b. Swede Hanson – Elbow drop
British Bulldogs b. Rene Goulet/Johnny Rodz – Swan dive to Rodz
Ricky Steamboat b. Moondog Spot – High crossbody
Magnificent Muraco b. Hulk Hogan via countout
Mike Rotundo b. Iron Sheik – Rollup
Barry Windham b. Nikolai Volkoff via DQ when Iron Sheik interfered
Tito Santana/Junkyard Dog b. Brutus Beefcake/Greg Valentine – Flying forearm to Valentine

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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