Garth Presents… WWF @ Toronto Maple Leaf Gardens – 10.08.1989

We’re in Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens for some Sunday Funday action. It’s Week 5 of the NFL Season, featuring the winless Cowboys (they would finish the season 1-15) losing to Green Bay, a shootout with the Buccaneers outlasting the Chicago Bears 42-35, and YOUR New York Giants dropping a heartbreaker to the dastardly Philadelphia Eagles. The WWF is running three tours at once, with shows in Washington DC and Des Moines, IA. DC doesn’t have a full lineup of results, but they got Warrior crushing Andre in 30-seconds, The Rockers vs. The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers in a 60-minute marathon match, and Strike Force EXPLODES! Des Moines results are not available, but featured an advertised lineup that includes Jake Roberts vs. Ted Dibiase, Dusty Rhodes vs. The Big Boss Man, and Demolition vs. The Brain Busters.

For the longest time, I was always curious about the broadcasting rights to these shows, as they were typically taped with commentary, but I think it was pointed out that there was an obligation to feature content taped in the market for the area’s programming, and some matches just end up on the cutting room floor unless someone in the WWE archive room decided to put the entire show out there years later (with this card coming out via the WWE 24/7 On Demand service that preceded the WWE Network). All matches feature commentary from Gorilla Monsoon and Lord Alfred Hayes, unless otherwise noted.

Paul Roma vs. Boris Zhukov:
Roma in later years caught a lot of flack, specifically for stuff in his WCW run of the mid 90’s, but he’s a bit of an underrated talent with a good look and decent ring awareness. After a little more than a year as prelim fodder for the tag team division, Roma and Powers split (with very rare team-ups following) and both fell back to being opening match geeks, though Roma would get stick it through and eventually get a renewed push in 1990, while Powers just kept being who he was since he started working for the WWF in the mid 80’s. 

Zhukov has worked solo for most of the year as that very bottom of the barrel scrub along the lines of Iron Mike Sharpe or Barry Horowitz, getting squashed on syndication but having competitive matches on the live events. His former partner, Nikolai Volkoff disappeared from WWF programming earlier in 1989, making his last appearance for the company in the days leading up to WrestleMania V, but was brought back shortly after the Survivor Series, no doubt in response to the Rougeau Brothers AND Brain Busters both giving notice leading into the PPV, and giving a new lease on life to the Bolsheviks.

I didn’t expect to get that long-winded, but this is my first time covering an ‘89 WWF card around here. ANYWAY, Zhukov does his god-awful fake rendition of the Soviet anthem. Boris takes a cheap shot for the early advantage, but is sent to the outside following a hip toss and dropkick. Back inside, Roma controls with a side headlock (yanking the beard for illegal advantages) and with targeted blows to Boris’ enormous cranium. Zhukov tricks Roma into giving chase around ringside and takes advantage of the high ground. We slow things way, way down as Boris rests with bearhugs and a chin-lock, basically giving Roma nothing for 6-7 minutes. Roma with the comeback, coming out of a head-collision double-down. He takes Boris over with a suplex, but Boris rolls through a flying cross body for a near-fall. Whip into the ropes and Roma catches Zhukov on the rebound with a powerslam to end this one at 14:18. Low-effort opener here, with Zhukov taking most of the match and doing very little with his time. ½*

“Rugged” Ronnie Garvin vs. Greg “The Hammer” Valentine:
This could be a decent little treat to wash the taste away from that opener. These two have been part of each other’s orbit for a good chunk of 1989, starting with Valentine “retiring” Garvin on an episode of Superstars in April, and Garvin picking up whatever jobs he can to linger around and be annoying, including several months as a referee, and at least one appearance (SummerSlam ‘89) as a ring announcer, causing The Hammer trouble until asking for Garvin’s reinstatement and a series of matches around the horn, culminating at the 1990 Royal Rumble.

They open with a feeling out process and extended lockup, reluctantly breaking in the corner and trading shoves. They’re laying in strikes, and I’m here for all of it. It’s definitely a far cry from the quality of strikes we saw in the previous match from Mr. Zhukov. Valentine gets warmed up, taking Garvin to the canvas and dropping a series of elbows. Both men tease a piledriver, and neither can pull it off. Garvin eases up with the punishing blows, slowing the action down with a front face-lock. Valentine forces a break in the corner, and it’s back to trading blows. WE’RE GETTING THE GARVIN STOMP, which is always worth a star boost. 

Garvin wastes time playing to the crowd, and his attempt at a Scorpion Death Lock is countered with a thumb to the eye. Valentine starts to target the knee, spins around the shin guard and applies the Figure-Four! Garvin fights through the pain and somehow gets his hands on the ropes to force a break. Valentine makes the unwise decision of going to the top rope and gets slammed off. Garvin successfully removes the Hart Breaker and teases using it, but referee John Bonello causes a distraction that allows Valentine to yank the tights and roll up Garvin for three at 13:23. The fight continues after the bell, with Garvin standing tall in the end. Gritty, hard-nosed action with them successfully getting across these are two men who really don’t care much for each other. ***

The Bushwhackers vs. The Powers of Pain (w/ Mr. Fuji):
Oh boy… Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t believe there is any TV angle to explain this marriage for the live events, just something to do. The Powers of Pain have teamed infrequently following WrestleMania V and the Bushwhackers are probably at their most protected in their WWF run, arguably more protected than the Rockers on the babyface side of the tag team depth chart.

Lots of licking and whacking as we milk the Bushwhackers entrance. The Barbarian has enough of the shenanigans and attacks, only for Luke to save by biting him on the rear. We follow that with the school-yard trip spot. Warlord and Luke tag in to continue the good times. Luke’s body blows have no effect, but a poke of the eyes works wonders. The Warlord doesn’t appreciate the dirty tactics and grabs a bearhug, with Luke fighting free by biting his nose. Butch gets worked over, allowing Fuji to get his token cane shot in while the referee is distracted. It’s weird to watch Butch as the face-in-peril, I definitely recall Luke filling that role much more frequently. Barbarian misses the elbow from the second rope, allowing Luke to get the hot tag. The Battering Ram comes into play, stunning both opponents. Fuji has had enough and enters the ring to get another cane shot, but the referee catches him and gives it to the Bushwhackers via disqualification at 10:22. I was expecting much worse (like negative stars worse). It wasn’t good, just a typical Powers of Pain punchy-kicky match and a little bit of Bushwhackers comedy. *

Billy Red Lyons is standing by for a special in-ring interview with Bobby Heenan to get the crowd worked up about tonight’s Main Event between Roddy Piper and Rick Rude. Heenan taunts them about the American League Championship Series, saying he got word from Bob Costas that Toronto is losing to Oakland, 5-3 (the final score was 4-3 Oakland, and eliminated Toronto). Heenan notes that Piper is wild and unpredictable, but he wears a skirt and Rude knows how to take care of business.

“Superfly” Jimmy Snuka vs. “Macho King” Randy Savage (w/ Queen Sherri):
Savage won the King’s crown from Jim Duggan at the TV taping in Portland, ME on August 30th, though the match never aired in full, only showing the finish via Update segments on Superstars of Wrestling. Duggan is on this card, so I’m surprised we’re not going with that match-up, as they were working regularly around the horn. Jimmy Snuka returned at WrestleMania V following a near-4-year hiatus from the WWF, and is still accepted comfortably in a mid-card spot, though the shine would wear off by year’s end, and he’d fall to JTTS status soon after. 

Savage with the usual bit of stalling to start the match. Snuka assumes control of the action, lighting up Savage with a series of strikes and shrugging off an attempted distraction play from Sherri. She keeps making herself a presence and hooks the leg, allowing Savage to take over, dumping Snuka to the floor and coming off the top with the double axe-handle. Back inside, Snuka’s teased comeback is cut short with a rake of the eyes. A piledriver attempt is blocked, but Sherri again gets involved, preventing the referee from making a count on a Snuka pin attempt. Savage from behind, knocking Snuka into the referee and wiping him out in the process. Snuka counters a double axe-handle, plants Savage with a slam and comes off the second turnbuckle with a diving headbutt. Sherri comes into the ring, drawing Snuka’s attention. The distraction backfires, with Savage knocking Sherri off the apron. Savage ends up trapped in the ropes, but Sherri is back, smacks Snuka with the loaded purse, and Savage steals the match at 11:53. A post-match attack is teased until Jim Duggan saves. This was a lot of shenanigans, but it’s the story of many matches with the Macho King and Queen Sherri, with Sherri getting involved frequently for heat, even if it is too much at times. This was fine, nothing too bad, but mostly gaga with a few decent spots. **

“Hacksaw” Jim Duggan vs. Akeem:
We already established what Duggan was up to (and why not just run that match and put Snuka vs Akeem underneath instead?). Coming off program chasing Demolition for the Tag Team Titles, the Twin Towers went in separate directions, with the Big Boss Man working regularly against the newly arrived Dusty Rhodes, while Akeem is stuck in prelim purgatory, filling a spot on the card against whoever needed something to do, and that’s pretty much the story of the remainder of his run. 

Akeem attacks from behind, still wearing his dashiki. Duggan quickly returns fire, and that’s pretty much going to be the entire match. Akeem misses a charge to the corner and it’s more punches from Hacksaw. Akeem crushes Duggan in the corner with an avalanche on the second attempt and chokes him across the ropes. We go to the bearhug, and despite two attempts at an escape, Akeem maintains control. Duggan avoids the big splash and rams Akeem repeatedly into the turnbuckle. Another whip is reversed, another avalanche attempt misses the target, and Duggan rolls up Akeem for three at 5:56. Is it considered low-effort if this is all you can get out of some people? Not good, but it was short at least. ½*

Hillbilly Jim vs. The Genius:
I LOVE LOVE LOVE when we get random match-ups like this, stuff you would never see more than once, and you know it’s going to be crap. Despite having a minimal presence on syndicated shows, Ol’ Jim was working regularly in 1989, and even got a short run against Andre the Giant after Big John Studd walked out in June. If you didn’t see him wrestling on TV, you might have seen him co-hosting shows like All-American Wrestling, and fans in the New York market got to hear him calling color on MSG Network (and he wasn’t too bad). The Genius is more manager than wrestler now for the syndicated audience, having formed an association with Mr. Perfect, but he’s still going to wrestle regularly on live events.

Genius’ pre-match poem doesn’t go too well as his microphone was turned off on the first attempt. Jim’s dance routine is more effort exerted than from Akeem and Duggan combined. If you haven’t watched a match with the Genius, his approach is mostly flamboyant schtick, which was the style at the time. Jim is unphased and frustrates the Genius with a kiss on the cheek. Genius uses a break in the corner to cheap-shot Jim, and it’s another battle of Punch-a-Mania. Jim catches Genius in the corner head-scissors, but the comeback is short-lived as Genius yanks the denim to send Jim to the floor. They fight around ringside, and in a truly ridiculous finish, Genius gets in the ring, goes back through the ropes to kick Jim away from his person, and re-enters the ring to win via count-out at 7:02. I have seen some dumb count-out finishes (look at Bam Bam vs. Gang from Mania IV for another classic), but this was up there as one of the worst. ZERO STARS

Richard Charland vs. Barry Horowitz:
Charland is a local worker filling in for Jim Powers, often appearing on cards that come to Ontario and Quebec. You might have seen Charland, at least in a photo or two, as one of Bill Eadie’s post-WWF Demolition partners, working as “Blast”. Horowitz has held a spot as a prelim heel for the WWF since the Summer of 1987, but hasn’t seen any kind of elevation, and briefly departed the WWF following WrestleMania VI, getting a similar spot in WCW and working for Global as “The Winner”, getting a modest push that involved multiple reigns as the Global Light-Heavyweight Champion.

Charland claps his hands to get the crowd involved and it doesn’t take too well. Gorilla and Alfred make a reference to Terry Garvin, and how you’re better off behind him than the other way around. Uh… I’m just going to leave that one alone. Horowitz spends a bit of time hiding in the ropes. I don’t think we need these two going long. Horowitz yanks the hair to escape a hold and powders again. I hate to keep using the term low-effort, but good God, DO SOMETHING. Horowitz finally gets something going as Monsoon and Hayes have little love for the quality of Charland’s work. The way this is being called, Horowitz could be working with a couch cushion and having the same match. Charland gets the comeback going, hitting a dropkick and taking Barry over with a back body-drop. AIRPLANE SPIN and Charland covers for three at 11:55?! Monsoon keeps downplaying Charland, saying it’s not a win worth being proud of and to hit the gym. JESUS, GORILLA. ¾*

“Rowdy” Roddy Piper vs. “Ravishing” Rick Rude (w/ Bobby Heenan):
Our Main Event, and the final match of the card. In a rare instance of using Prime Time Wrestling as TV canon, the Rude and Piper feud was almost exclusively held on that program, as Piper and Heenan fought over co-hosting duties, which eventually brought Rude into the mix. Things escalated with Piper getting involved in Rude’s match at SummerSlam, leading to him losing the Intercontinental Championship back to the Ultimate Warrior. Piper had returned to the WWF at WrestleMania V, but this feud is what triggered his return to in-ring competition. 

Before we can complete Rude’s entrance, Bobby Heenan is found to have a foreign object on his person, and is ejected from ringside. Piper with a sign of disrespect, bending over and flashing Rude. He taunts Rude, using his kilt like a Matador would taunt a bull. Piper with an atomic drop, back body-drop, and spinning back-hand, knocking Rude over the ropes and landing on the ringside table. Back inside, Piper continues to frustrate his opponent and targets the rear-end.

Whip to the ropes and Rude hangs back to avoid a dropkick, followed up with a series of elbow drops. He catches Piper off the ropes and slows things down with a bearhug. Piper with an escape and counter of the Rude Awakening, but a charge to the corner meets a knee, giving control back to Rude. He goes back to punishing the back and sits down with a chin-lock. Rude goes to the well too often with a seated drop, landing on his tailbone. Piper stuns Rude with a jaw breaker and sends him face-first into an exposed turnbuckle. DO SOMETHING, REF! Piper peppers Rude with a flurry of rights and lefts. The referee gets squashed in the corner and we get a head-smack double-down. 

Rude Awakening is countered with a low blow. Piper with a swinging neck breaker, but the referee is still down. A running knee lift sends Rude flying over the top rope, and in yet another bizarre finish, Piper uses the limp body of the referee to count out Rude at 12:09… BUT WAIT! IT’S ACTUALLY A DQ VICTORY FOR RICK RUDE, which is less dumb, but a weak finish considering the circumstances. A pretty good match with a hot crowd, but that finish was all kinds of terrible. If the DQ is for the sandwich spot, that’s clearly not on Piper, and if it’s manipulating the referee to count Rude out, then that’s just ridiculous. ***¼

Strength of Card: Average. We’re running three tours at once, so we know we’re stretching to fill those cards, like one slice of bologna on white bread stretched. Roddy Piper vs Rick Rude on top really helps make up for some shortcomings, but the undercard does feature stars like Randy Savage and Jim Duggan (again, separated for whatever reason), and Valentine vs Garvin, while not a marquee attraction, has significant TV time devoted to it. 

Highs: Ignoring the puzzling finish, the Main Event delivered a satisfactory effort from both men, Garvin and Valentine was a very enjoyable meat-slapper, and it’s hard to be too disappointed in the manic performance of the Macho King and Queen Sherri. 

Lows: Some incredibly lame finishes. Piper and Rude ends with a wet-fart disqualification that doesn’t make sense, you have Hillbilly Jim taking a count-out loss to the Genius that defies logic (even in the world of professional wrestling), and those poor Powers of Pain taking a cheap DQ loss to the Bushwhackers. Not to mention some low-effort performances in the prelims.

Final Thoughts: If you trim out two of the prelim matches, let’s say Roma vs. Zhukov and Horowitz vs Charland, you still have some iffy matches in there, but it means we have a tighter 90-minutes of fun where the weaknesses don’t weigh down the overall card as much, and the lesser matches that remain are considerably shorter, making them easier to stomach. With that said, if you can’t get through the rough patches, at least check out the top three matches on the card, it’s still a solid batting average for the era.