Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are doing commentary, and they are taped from San Antonio, Texas. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, these tapings took place on April 24 and drew a sellout crowd of 10,700 fans.
Footage of the end of the Intercontinental Championship Tournament bout between Brutus Beefcake and Dino Bravo on WWF Superstars is shown.
Opening Contest: Jimmy Snuka (4-1) beats Paul Diamond (1-1) after the Superfly Splash at 3:28:
After Diamond got a win on Prime Time Wrestling, he gets a high profile match. All he can muster is a forearm blow off the ropes, though, as Snuka squashes him with a headbutt off the ropes, a slam, and the Superfly Splash. The finish looks great as the hard camera pans back and camera bulbs flash at Snuka gracefully splashes down onto Diamond.
Lord Alfred Hayes’ Special Report segment recaps how the Bolsheviks had dissension at the end of last week’s telecast but have put their differences aside.
The Genius (1-0-1) beats Dale Wolfe after a somersault senton bomb at 2:21:
Prior to the match, the Genius’ poem insults Brutus Beefcake’s intelligence. The Genius follows up with a split screen promo that says that Beefcake did not cut enough of his hair at WrestleMania, leading Monsoon to call out the wig that the Genius is wearing. Wolfe tries to pull it off but gets poked in the eyes. It is impressive that the Genius is able to wrestle with the wig at all as it starts to get messy as the match continues. A few kicks ground Wolfe and the Genius finishes with the one-two punch of a moonsault and somersault senton bomb.
Intercontinental Championship Tournament First Round Match: Rick Martel (10-1) wrestles Roddy Piper (8-0-1) to a double disqualification at 5:11:
The winner of this match is scheduled to face Mr. Perfect in the semi-finals. Of course, if fans in some markets tuned into WWF Superstars, they would have already known the results of this match as the telecast spoiled it. And the WWF went ahead and taped the finals of the tournament the day before in Austin. The bout is a knockdown, drag out fight and punches and fighting the corners dominates the encounter. What puts it over is how Piper and Martel struggle with each other throughout the contest, giving the match a great atmosphere. In desperation, Martel grabs Arrogance and he and Piper struggle over the atomizer. When Martel wins, Piper retreats to grab and chair and then hilariously uses it to block getting sprayed. He smashes Martel in the face on the floor and again in the ring to a big pop, but the referee opts to disqualify both men, leaving Perfect and Santana as the last two men standing in the tournament, each benefitting from a bye and avoiding the semi-finals. It also makes Perfect’s decision to interfere in the previous day’s match between Dino Bravo and Brutus Beefcake look stupid as he could have forced Santana to have to wrestle another opponent before meeting him in the finals. Rating: **
Non-Title Match: Demolition (WWF Tag Team Champions) (9-0) defeat Buddy Rose & the Black Knight when Ax pins the Knight after Demolition Decapitation at 2:51:
Monsoon puts over how the Demolition’s feud with the Hart Foundation will be profiled in the next edition of WWF Magazine. Still bitter over WrestleMania VI, Heenan says he hopes the Foundation win the feud and take Demolition’s titles. Thus far, most Demolition’s feud with the Foundation has consisted of each team doing promos on each other and it has been boring. The match gives Demolition exposure as they destroy each of the jobbers in turn and finish with Demolition Decapitation.
Gene Okerlund interviews Ted DiBiase and Virgil. DiBiase says he did not need the Big Bossman’s help to get back the Million Dollar Championship Belt. He insists that everyone has a price, vowing to make the Bossman grovel for his money whereupon he will shove it down his throat.
Koko B. Ware’s squash match from Prime Time Wrestling is shown.
Rick Rude’s training regimen has moved from the gym to the beach as Bobby Heenan times him running along the beach. Rude promises to pummel the Warrior’s body endlessly, just like waves pound the beach. He goes off to run five more miles to end the segment.
A replay of Dusty Rhodes and Sapphire welcoming out Elizabeth at WrestleMania VI airs.
The Warlord (w/Slick) (3-0) defeats Sonny Blaze with a running powerslam at 2:26:
Like his former tag team partner, the Barbarian, the Warlord gets a wardrobe makeover, wearing some armor to the ring with a Phantom of the Opera-like mask and carrying a staff with a “W” on it. He also opts for short black tights to replace his long tights from the Powers of Pain days. In many ways, the Warlord looks like a more muscular “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Monsoon puts over the Warlord’s power as he lays waste to Blaze, and Slick puts over the Warlord as “new and improved” in the split screen. Due to needing to put in the insert promo, the squash overstays its welcome.
Mr. Perfect and Tito Santana each promise to win the Intercontinental Championship Tournament.
Tune in next week to see the Orient Express, Tugboat, Akeem, and the Bushwhackers! Also, the Big Bossman will be interviewed!
The Last Word: The Intercontinental Championship Tournament started off as a promising concept, but lazy booking ruined it with two draws in the first round. That means next week’s WWF Superstars will feature Tito Santana against Mr. Perfect for the title, and Santana’s odds are not good since he has not won a big match in a while. Although the setting for Rick Rude’s promos is changing, they are starting to get repetitive. It would help if the Warrior offered a rebuttal somewhere, but chances are that most fans would not be able to understand it anyway.
Here is a sampling of the WWF’s house show action for the week of May 7-13, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:
Long Island, New York – The Nassau Coliseum – May 11, 1990 (8,800): Al Perez defeated Jim Brunzell…Koko B. Ware beat Black Bart…WWF Tag Team Champions Demolition wrestled the Hart Foundation to a double disqualification…The Warlord beat Tito Santana…Brutus Beefcake defeated the Genius…Paul Roma pinned Frenchy Martin (substituting for Buddy Rose)…Sensational Sherri pinned Sapphire…Dusty Rhodes beat Randy Savage after hitting him with Sensational Sherri’s purse.
Chicago, Illinois – The Rosemont Horizon – May 12, 1990 (4,900): Akeem defeated Jim Powers…The Barbarian pinned Jimmy Snuka…Hillbilly Jim pinned Bob Bradley with a boot to the face…Hercules defeated Haku via count out…WWF Tag Team Champions Demolition wrestled the Hart Foundation to a double disqualification…Jake Roberts pinned Bad News Brown….Dusty Rhodes & Sapphire (w/Elizabeth) defeated Randy Savage & Sensational Sherri (w/Brother Love) when Sapphire pinned Sherri after Elizabeth hit Sherri with Sherri’s purse.
Stevens Point, Wisconsin – Quandt Fieldhouse – May 13, 1990: Paul Diamond beat Pez Whatley…Tugboat defeated the Brooklyn Brawler…Rick Martel beat Ronnie Garvin…The Rockers defeated the Orient Express…Brutus Beefcake beat the Genius…WWF Champion the Ultimate Warrior beat Mr. Perfect.
Backstage News*: There are rumors that Vince McMahon has inquired about purchasing WCW from Ted Turner, but Turner has said that he would not sell to McMahon in the past under any circumstances. WCW is not in good shape as it has losses as high as $1 million per month, owed largely to bad house show attendance. Aside from the WWF, cable conglomerate ComSat has made an offer to buy WCW.
*The WWF hoped that using Elizabeth would boost the gates for some of the C-house shows, which have not drawn well with Dusty Rhodes and Randy Savage on top, but that has not worked.
*Hulk Hogan will be taking time off for the summer, so an angle to write him out will be put together.
*The WWF appears to have shelved the idea of turning Tugboat into a “Bronto the Caveman” gimmick, at least for the time being.
*In talent relations news, the Road Warriors appear headed for the WWF as they have tired of backstage politics and rejected a creative idea to split up, feud, and reform. The Road Warriors are likely to be given the name “the Legion of Doom” when they arrive so as not to create confusion with the Ultimate Warrior’s gimmick. It is also unclear whether the WWF will allow them to use face paint.
*Backstage news was provided by Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for May 21.
Up Next: Prime Time Wrestling for May 14!