Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are in charge of the telecast, still broadcasting from Madison, Wisconsin.
One match is missing from my copy of the show. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, Rick Rude (8-1-1) defeated Sonny Rogers in the opener, his first televised match since the April 2 edition of Prime Time Wrestling.
Lord Alfred Hayes’ Special Report encourages fans to get a Hulk Hogan friendship bracelet and recaps Tugboat’s plea for more support.
The Big Bossman squash from Prime Time Wrestling airs.
Akeem’s squash from Prime Time Wrestling is shown.
The Rockers squash from Prime Time Wrestling airs.
Gene Okerlund interviews Earthquake and Jimmy Hart. Hart mocks the Hulk Hogan letter writing campaign by reading some letters that have come to him celebrating Hogan’s demise. Earthquake yells about wanting to put Hogan out of wrestling and end Hulkamania. Okerlund pivots the segment to Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Earthquake says that Duggan will suffer the same fate that Hogan did, adding that the 2×4 is illegal and has no place in the WWF.
Dusty Rhodes (w/Sapphire) (10-0-1) defeats Al Burke after the Polka Dot Drop at 1:43:
Rhodes goes through the motions of firing up the crowd but doing little in the ring, finishing off Burke with the Polka Dot Drop. He does not seem to be as motivated as he was at the beginning of the year, though, possibly due to the C-shows with Randy Savage not drawing well.
The Orient Express (w/Mr. Fuji) (10-0) defeat Koko B. Ware & Jim Evans when Sato pins Evans after a sitout powerbomb at 3:00:
It is never a good sign when a wrestler is teaming with a jobber on these shows, but that is Ware’s situation today. He gets a shine against the Express until Evans loses the advantage. In the split screen, the Rockers tell Monsoon that the Express have some weaknesses and they will be rockin’ and rolling all over them in the future. This feud needs more interaction between the teams because neither is good enough on the mic to put it over.
The Last Word: As this review attests, the show featured little in the way of new or interesting content. Earthquake is more than holding up his end of the Hulk Hogan feud on the mic, though, and if he was around today, he would be a multi-time world champion.
Here is a sampling of the WWF’s house show business for the first full week of June, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:
Springfield, Massachusetts – Civic Center – June 7, 1990 (2,100): Jimmy Snuka pinned Akeem…Tugboat beat Dino Bravo…Tito Santana pinned Mike Sharpe…Jake Roberts defeated Bad News Brown…The Rockers beat the Orient Express via count out…Hercules pinned Black Bart…Brutus Beefcake defeated Intercontinental Champion Mr. Perfect via disqualification.
East Rutherford, New Jersey – The Meadowlands – June 8, 1990 (13,400 paid): Hercules defeated Mike Sharpe (substituting for the Barbarian)…Tugboat pinned Black Bart…Dino Bravo beat Tito Santana…Jimmy Snuka pinned Akeem…The Bsuhwhackers defeated Rhythm & Blues…Brutus Beefcake beat Intercontinental Champion Mr. Perfect via disqualification…WWF Champion the Ultimate Warrior pinned Rick Rude after a splash.
Las Vegas, Nevada – Thomas & Mack Center – June 9, 1990 (2,000): Shane Douglas pinned Paul Diamond…The Brooklyn Brawler beat Jim Powers…Hillbilly Jim pinned Buddy Rose…Rick Martel pinned Ronnie Garvin…The Rockers defeated the Orient Express via count out…Jake Roberts beat Bad News Brown…Earthquake pinned Hacksaw Jim Duggan.
San Francisco, California – The Cow Palace – June 9, 1990 (8,400): Koko B. Ware defeated the Genius…The Warlord defeated Brady Boone (substituting for the Red Rooster)…Jim Brunzell beat Al Perez…Haku defeated Paul Roma…The Big Bossman beat Ted DiBiase…WWF Tag Team Champions Smash & Crush (w/Ax) defeated the Hart Foundation…Dusty Rhodes & Sapphire (w/Miss Elizabeth) defeated Randy Savage & Sensational Sherri (w/Brother Love).
Backstage News*: It is expected that Hercules and Paul Roma will be put together in a tag team. They will be positioned as babyfaces but will occupy a low position on the card.
*Dave Meltzer speculates that one of the reasons for the poor box office for the Ultimate Warrior-Rick Rude program might be because the Warrior is already beating Rude clean in major markets.
*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for June 18.
Up Next: Prime Time Wrestling for June 11!