Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura handle commentary today, taped from Austin, Texas. This was the same location as the recent Saturday Night’s Main Event taping, taking place on April 23 and attracting 8,500 fans.
Opening Contest: The Bushwhackers (10-0) defeat Buddy Rose & Elmer Johnson when Butch pins Johnson after a double stomachbreaker at 2:31:
Ventura makes light of Rose’s t-shirt saying he weighs 217 pounds. McMahon clarifies that only refers to Rose’s weigh “from the waist down.” In the split screen, Rhythm & Blues and Jimmy Hart promise a new hit for the Bushwhackers. This is a fun squash as Rose puts on his usual bump clinic and the Bushwhackers make short work of Johnson with the Battering Ram and double stomachbreaker.
Gene Okerlund’s Update segment recaps Ted DiBiase and Virgil attacking the Big Bossman several weeks ago on Saturday Night’s Main Event. DiBiase and Virgil do a promo where DiBiase reiterates that no one can cross him. The Bossman rebuts by promising to chase them all over the country so he can administer his style of justice.
The Barbarian squash from Prime Time Wrestling airs.
Intercontinental Championship Tournament First Round Match: Dino Bravo (w/Jimmy Hart) (12-3-1) wrestles Brutus Beefcake (9-0-1) to a double count out at 4:55:
The winner of this match is pegged to square off with Tito Santana next week. In the split screen, Mr. Perfect cuts a curious promo about how he is going to run through the winner to become the next Intercontinental champion. That is strange since Perfect is on the other side of the bracket and would not meet one of these men until the finals. For long-time WWF fans this is also a clash of former members of the Dream Team as Bravo replaced Beefcake as Greg Valentine’s tag team partner in 1987. The match is perfectly acceptable TV fare, with Bravo and Beefcake trading offense and not letting anything drag. Beefcake flattens Bravo with a high knee and traps Bravo in the sleeper after avoiding a clothesline. Hart moves to distract the referee and as he does so, Perfect runs out and pulls Beefcake to the floor. They proceed to fight, but referee Earl Hebner does not call for a disqualification. Bravo rolls out and starts fighting Beefcake and the two keep each other from beating the count back into the ring, thereby giving Santana a bye to the finals. Perfect’s interference signals a renewal of his feud with Beefcake, but it is odd that the WWF went for a draw instead of having Bravo advance to face Santana. Rating: *½
After the bout, Beefcake grabs his shears and tries to grab Hart, but the manager escapes.
The Orient Express squash from Prime Time Wrestling is shown.
Dusty Rhodes and Sapphire are this week’s guests on the Brother Love Show. Love rubs in Randy Savage and Sensational Sherri’s beating of the two of them several weeks ago. Rhodes puts over he and Sapphire’s humble origins and says that no one embarrasses them in public without paying a price. When Love gets in Sapphire’s face about what she thinks about the situation, she slaps him. After that she quickly hides behind Rhodes, so it is not a very empowering moment for her.
McMahon tells the audience that despite last week’s fighting between the Bolsheviks they have reconciled. The Bolsheviks do a taped promo where Boris Zhukov says there are no problems, even though Zhukov is Russian and Nikolai Volkoff is Lithuanian.
Earthquake (w/Jimmy Hart) (14-0) beats Jerry Monti after the Earthquake Splash at 1:05:
Hacksaw Jim Duggan does an insert promo pledging not to rest until he beats up Earthquake. Ventura laughs that off by saying an earthquake can break apart a 2×4. Earthquake continues the company’s best win-loss record by powerslamming Monti, dropping an elbow, and finishing with the Earthquake Splash.
After the bell, Earthquake does two more Earthquake Splashes. When paramedics put Monti on a stretcher, Earthquake chases them off and gives Monti another one. Earthquake teases a fourth, but Duggan makes the save and drives off the big man with a 2×4.
In a new training vignette, Rick Rude jumps rope in the background as Bobby Heenan tells the Ultimate Warrior that it will soon be all over for his title reign. Rude acknowledges that his training has been hard and a match with the Warrior will be harder. However, he claims to have an edge because he has already proved he is better than the Warrior and he will “break him like a wild stallion.”
Tugboat (7-0) pins the Brooklyn Brawler after a splash at 1:34:
Hulk Hogan appears in the split screen and puts over Tugboat as a friend of his, claiming to have brought him to the WWF. Ventura is quick to jump on that, claiming that Hogan is befriending big men, so he does not have to wrestle them. Tugboat continues his winning ways with the avalanche-splash combo.
Tune in next week to see the Rockers face the Bolsheviks! There will also be another match in the Intercontinental Championship Tournament! Also, Bad News Brown, Ted DiBiase, and Demolition will be in action!
The Last Word: This was a good show since a lot of the company’s existing storylines were advanced. The Bolsheviks still seem like a fragile alliance that could break at any time, so next week’s match with the Rockers will tell the tale. And Mr. Perfect taking Brutus Beefcake out of the Intercontinental Championship Tournament is another subtle hint that he is going to win the title since it is positioning Beefcake as his first challenger.
Up Next: Wrestling Challenge for May 13!