October 22, 1988
From the Allen County War Memorial in Fort Wayne, IN
Your hosts are Jesse “The Body” Ventura and Vince McMahon
In action this week are Jake Roberts, King Haku, Akeem, and the Powers of Pain. Plus, Hulk Hogan on the “Brother Love Show” and more.
King Haku w/ Bobby Heenan vs. David Isley
Before the match, Heenan attempts to get the crowd to bow for Haku, who is met with boos. Haku beats on Isley before hitting a suplex. He then starts biting Isley then hits a dropkick as the camera shows Heenan smiling. Haku then kicks Isley down before hitting a thrust kick for the win (2:25).
Thoughts: They are still trying to establish this gimmick for Haku but its not really working. The crowd “Sweetening” seems really obvious here to as the noise is loud but the crowd is just standing still in the audience.
Brother Love Show with guest Hulk Hogan. Brother Love introduces Hogan as a man without love or control. The fans go nuts for Hogan as he enters. Hogan does a lot of flexing as his arms are looking bigger. Brother Love talks about how Hogan put his hands on them the last time they met so he got himself some protection, which will help maintain control as Slick and the Big Bossman enter. Hogan warns Slick that he better take control as all of the Hulkamaniacs are watching out for him. Slick is holding something behind his back as he hides behind Bossman then Slick tells Hogan he will going into solitary confinement as Bossman whacks Hogan in the throat with his nightstick. Slick then sprays something in Hogan’s face as Bossman grounds Hogan then handcuffs him to a guardrail and beats him with a nightstick. Hogan then gets up as he has his hand around Bossman’s throat then picks up the guardrail he is cuffed to and chases them off. I really liked the segment but the part with Hogan getting up and chasing off Bossman while cuffed to the guardrail was a bit much. Hogan should have sold that beating a lot more, especially since they were having Vince trying to give us updates throughout the show. If he chased them off, why would you think Hogan is hurting that much at all?
Tito Santana vs. Pork Chop Cash
Odd seeing Cash, a veteran in Memphis and Mid-South, fill the role here as TV enhancement talent. Jesse wonders how Hogan will be able to live his life handcuffed to a guardrail as Santana hits a dropkick. Santana follows with a pair of armdrags as Cash stalls in the corner. The announcers talk about Hogan and Bossman as Cash uses an eye rake. Santana breaks as Cash once again stalls in the corner. Santana then fires away and hits a backdrop before hitting the flying forearm for the win (2:08).
Thoughts: The announcers kept talking about Hogan, which made sense as Santana had nothing at all going on at this point. Jesse was making me laugh speaking about Hogan performing everyday tasks while handcuffed to a guardrail.
Sean Mooney is in the Event Center. He puts over the segment we saw between Bossman and Hogan before the Ultimate Warrior tells us he was here to attack and show the power of the Warrior, referring to himself as a “freak of nature.” Bad News Brown then delivers a message to the people of Harlem and that is he will have a huge party on 125th Street because he will show us what a champion is all about. I really liked Bad News on the mic during this run. He was pretty damn good.
Bobby Heenan is in the ring by himself as Tommy Angel & Bob Emery are in the ring. Heenan talks about the Heenan Family growing and getting tougher as he introduces the newest members, Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson who will now be known as the “Brainbusters.”
Tommy Angel & Bob Emery vs. The Brainbusters w/ Bobby Heenan
We see the Brainbusters and Heenan in an insert promo as Arn calls them the “cement of a profound dynasty.” Back in the ring, the Brainbusters outsmart Angel then beat him down for a bit as Jesse puts over Tully’s career as a high school quarterback. Emery tags but Arn takes him down with an elbow smash. He follows with a spinebuster then tags Tully, who gets the win with a slingshot suplex (2:31).
Thoughts: Good showing here for the Brainbusters, who immediately came in and looked like threats, despite the dorky jackets they were sporting. Its obvious they are going to be pushed near the top of the Tag Team Division.
Gene Okerlund is in the Event Center as he tells us about the Survivor Series. The first match will have teams co-captained by the Mega Powers against the team Co-Captained by Big Bossman & Akeem. Plus, Ultimate Warrior & Brutus Beefcake as the co-captains against Honky Tonk Man & Ron Bass, Jake Roberts & Hacksaw Jim Duggan as the co-captains against a team led by Andre the Giant & Dino Bravo. And finally, a 10 tag-team match with Demolition and the Powers of Pain the co-captains of their respective teams.
Barry Horowitz vs. Jake “The Snake” Roberts
Jake works the arm to start. Horowitz comes back with a kick and an elbow smash for two but runs into a clothesline after being egged on by Jake, who signals for the DDT and hits that for the win (2:29). After the match, Jake dumps Damien on top of Horowitz.
Thoughts: Oddly enough, there was no mention of the Jake/Rude feud here and with the news that Andre was the co-captain of the Survivor Series Team Jake was also co-captaining, you can see they were foreshadowing the transition to a Jake/Andre feud.
WWF Update with Gene Okerlund. This week’s focus is on the Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs. Dino Bravo feud as we see a clip of their confrontation from the “Brother Love Show” last week. We then hear from Duggan, who has had enough of Bravo and Frenchy Martin looking down on America as he promises to carry the American Flag to the ring, countering the Quebec flag Frenchy brings to the ring.
We get an ad for Survivor Series, with a tagline of “where teams of five strive to survive.”
Akeem w/ Slick vs. Scott Hudson
Jesse tells us that Sugar Ray Leonard wanted Slick to be in his corner in his fight against Donny Lalonde then Slick is in an insert promo telling Sugar Ray he is too busy with his empire to spend time with a “loser.” Akeem takes control of the match from the start. He hits a front suplex but pulls up Hudson before the three count then hits a splash for the win (2:24). After the match, Akeem and Slick start dancing.
Thoughts: The Akeem act was so ridiculous but it was at least entertaining. And Akeem still wrestled like he was the One Man Gang for the most part, to maintain his credibility in the ring.
We get a replay of the Mr. Perfect vignette where he sinks a 40-foot putt.
Powers of Pain w/ The Baron vs. Larry Stevens & Bob Blackburn
The Powers of Pain manhandle their opponents as Vince informs us there is still no word on Hogan’s condition as Jesse wants to know if he is still handcuffed to the guardrail. Back to the match as Warlord hits a powerslam then Barbarian finishes him off with a diving headbutt (2:30).
Thoughts: The Baron has added nothing to the Powers of Pain act so far and this was one of his final appearances.
Mooney is back in the Event Center. Jake Roberts is talking about the Survivor Series and the odds are that someone is going to get hurt. Roberts runs down his team, which includes Junkyard Dog (already fired by the time this aired), Ken Patera, and Tito Santana, along with co-captain Hacksaw Jim Duggan as they face off against the team led by Andre the Giant and Dino Bravo.
In action next week will be Bad News Brown, The Rockers, Honky Tonk Man, and Brutus Beefcake. Plus, an update on Hulk Hogan and more.
Thoughts: This was a huge show. They kicked off the angle that led to the Survivor Series main event and even named all the co-captains of the Survivor Series teams. Plus, the Brainbusters made their debut. They advanced a few other top feuds as well. This was a fun show worth checking out.
Monday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 10/23/88
Tuesday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 10/29/88
Wednesday: EVOLVE 64 7/16/16
Thursday: Shoot Interview with Eddie Gilbert
Friday: WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event 10/29/88
Saturday: Mid-South Wrestling 2/4/82
Sunday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 10/30/88