Happy Ragin’ Saturday Everyone!
This show was a bit of a bomb back in the day when it came to attendance figures, but the Main Event is one of my favourite matches of all-time so I decided to boot it up on the WWE Network to see how the rest of the show holds up.
Howdy Ho!
I’ve always loved this particular show and we’re now in August, so it makes sense from a seasonal perspective to review a SummerSlam event, so this one got the nod. I’m watching the Silver Vision VHS version of the show, which means pretty much all of the music has survived the editors. There’s only so much rubbish dubbing of Rick Rude’s theme that you can live with you know?
Main Event on this one is Hulk Hogan teaming up with Scrappy Hogan against Randy Savage and Zeus, with Ultimate Warrior going after Rick Rude’s Intercontinental Title in the mid-card. There are also some solid matches sprinkled throughout the card, so let’s quit jabbering about it all and watch some chuffing wrestling!
I wasn’t really feeling All Japan this week, so I decided to try something different. We might go back to it, we might not, I’ll see how I feel in a few weeks.
This week we’re going for something a bit different, in the form of Continental Wrestling, which was a territory operating out of Knoxville and Dotham that ran from the 50’s to the 80’s before finally going out of business in 1989.
The main reason I chose this particular episode is that it has a young Mick Foley working in one of his first territories, and I believe it was in Continental that he invented the famed “Nestea Plunge” bump off the apron, which of course led to him taking it night after night for a while, because wrestling.
He was also in World Class/USWA around this time as well though and I haven’t sat down to re-read “Have A Nice Day” in a while, so he might have invented it there instead, but he was still young in his career at this stage at any rate, so this should hopefully be an interesting time capsule.
If you’d like to watch along with me you can do by clicking HERE
Hello You!
I used to watch this one quite a bit back in my younger days as I had it on VHS, so seeing as we’re not far removed from the 2019 version of the show I decided to set the way back machine 30 years for some classic Survival action. In a nice bit of symmetry this event also took place in Chicago as well.
Back in 1989 we didn’t have “brand supremacy” or singles matches on Survivor Series events. Instead every match on this show is a survival format, with the change being that they’ve gone from 5 person teams to 4 person ones. This of course means the “Teams of Five, Strive to Survive” tagline is now ruined. They didn’t bother coming up with a new one for the four person teams. The best I could come up with was “Teams of Four, Go to War”, but if you can think of a better one then feel free to share it in the comments section.
Anyway, let’s watch some chuffing wrestling eh?
Hello You!
Back again with some NWA/WCW stuff (I’m not exactly sure what Turner’s company was called at this time and Wikipedia isn’t especially that helpful either as it lists both groups as hosting the event. The box art for the VHS release says WCW, but that might have been added in after the fact). Seeing as we’re creeping ever closer to December I decided I’d have a look at a show that I’ve never seen in full before with Starrcade 1989.
I remember watching the Turner Home Video cut of the show many moons back, but that featured a lot of clipped matches so that they could trim it down to fit onto the tape. However, thanks to the miracle of the WWE Network, I can now watch the near 3 hour show in its entirety.
Whether that’s a good idea or not is yet to be seen, as this Starrcade fell into the dreaded category of “concept show” (Which is something that happened quite a lot with Starrcade actually now I think about it. It’s strange how they did that so often with their biggest gala event instead of just promoting some big matches that fans cared about and then delivering them) with the concept being Round Robin tournaments for both the singles and tag divisions.
Of course the tag section is immediately weakened by not having The Midnight Express in it, with Jim Cornette relegated to commentary of all things, but the singles tournament features four genuine stars in the form of Ric Flair, Lex Luger, Sting and The Great Muta. It’s hard to think that having those four guys all working with one another couldn’t produce at least a couple of good matches.
I actually did this the old fashioned way by watching the show with an actual notepad and pencil before going away and typing it up later. Of course hand writing stuff takes a bit longer than typing so if I miss something pertinent it might be because I was busy scribbling something down, so apologies in advance if that should it happen.
This was released on May 19th, 2015
The interview was conducted by Sean Oliver
It runs for three hours and thirteen minutes long
Before they start discussing the topic at hand, Cornette shows us all the materials that he brought for the interview: booking sheets, TV formats, contracts, and books among other things.
JANUARY
The first question asked is about the “Bunkhouse Stampede” series, which started on Christmas in 1988 and ran through January of 1989. Cornette said that it was Dusty’s idea and it was great when it started (1986). When asked if the guys liked working the Bunkhouse Battle Royale matches, Cornette said it depended who it was as some guys did not like putting extra clothes in their bags to wear for the match. Cornette won the Manager’s Bunkhouse match on New Years Day 1989 after tossing out J.J. Dillon. He said that only Oliver Humperdink and himself were babyface managers at the time so they decided to give it to him.
On the Midnight Express vs. Midnight Express feud, Cornette starts by saying they were making a lot of money feuding with Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson but they left for the WWF. The Midnight’s and Cornette went back to working with the Fantastics then Cornette went to Dusty and asked him to bring back Dennis Condrey, who just got back into the business and was managed by Paul Heyman, and also bring in Randy Rose. This was back in November of 1988. They devised an angle to have the original MX managed by Heyman attack the current version on TV. Cornette said they were not supposed to “get color” on TBS but Dusty told him he could get a little bit. Cornette tells the story of how he took a wild bump, suprising himself that he was not hurt, then swiped his forehead with the blade but nothing came out. Cornette said afterwards he learned the studio was only 55 degrees so it took a while for the blood to come out but at the time he was clueless about that so he swiped the blade several more times then after that a “waterfall” of blood was pouring down his face. He then turned toward the camera and had the blood all over his white jacket and after that everyone backstage was talking about the blood as Cornette said it helped kickstart the angle. However, Dusty got axed as booker when TBS got mad when Dusty booked the Road Warriors to stab himself in the eye with a spike as he was bleeding all over the place, saying it was too violent, so when Dusty was replaced, the Midnight Express feud was relegated to the bottom of the card.
Still on the Midnight Express feud, Cornette said that the company no longer wanted to pay for the managers to be at the House Shows. Cornette said Heyman and himself were integral to the feud, especially Heyman as Condrey and Rose, who were not as over as the other team. Cornette then proceeds to tell us a great match is like a “hand job.” He said if you are already hard, you can just grab it and go but if not hard, you have to do all sorts of things to get it hard. Cornette then said that Heyman and himself also offered to pay their flights to make the shows but Turner denied their request. He then talks about how Jim Crockett was the interim booker from when Dusty was fired to when they brought in George Scott and how he hated Randy Rose and wanted him to eat the pin in a “Loser Leaves Town” match then have Condrey get a new partner, which Cornette thought was awful because they were the original team. When that happened, Condrey no-showed as he knew he would be in trouble with a new partner and that was the end of that. Cornette then said when George Scott came in he was going to have the current version of the Midnights. Cornette then tells a story about Scott, who said he never heard of them when hired as booker, walked right past Bobby Eaton as he held the door for him one day. He said that when they first met with Scott, he told them he did not know what to do with them as Cornette goes on about how they were one of the top drawing teams of the past few years in the NWA at that point. Cornette said they all thought he either had Alzheimer’s or was the biggest goofball ever due to the way he presented himself.
On the Western States Heritage Title, Cornette said that Dusty loved flying out to Texas and wanted to have a belt for when they toured there but they barely ran in that area as he talks about how no one gave a shit about the belt and it got phased out as a result.
Jim Herd was hired on January 3rd as the Executive Vice President. Before that, Herd was a regional manager for Pizza Hut and a station manager for KPLR-TV in St. Louis. Cornette said that it wasn’t until Turner bought the company when they got involved in backstage politics as before that, they were all making money and just did what they wanted after the show. He said TBS officials brought in top guys in for a meeting to ask about Dusty, under the pretense that it was confidential but it was not as Tully talked badly about Dusty, who found out by those conducting the meeting, so Dusty kicked Tully off of the Crockett’s plane and as a result, Tully & Arn Anderson left for the WWF. Cornette said that Herd was the station director when his station played “Wrestling at the Chase” but his wife was close to someone higher up and he got the job.
On January 17th, Dusty Rhodes resigned from WCW after being removed from the head booker role. Cornette said it would be awkward for him to go from the head booker to a regular guy in the locker room. Cornette said he loved Dusty and still thinks that he is a great booker despite repeating finishes and puts him over for making him a shitload of money too.
Ricky Steamboat returned to the company on January 21st after he was revealed as Eddie Gilbert’s surprise partner. Cornette said that he believes this was when Scott became the booker as he had close ties to Steamboat from the Carolinas. Cornette then drops a whole lot of knowledge about the Carolina territory and how Scott took it from a primarily tag team territory to a top one as he brought in all sorts of guys like Ric Flair.
FEBRUARY
On when Hiro Matsuda bought the contracts of Barry Windham and Ric Flair from J.J. Dillon, Cornette said that J.J. was leaving for the WWF and saw the writing on the wall when Dusty was removed from the head booker position. He puts over Dillon’s book then puts over the accomplishments of Matsuda but how he was not a good promo and wrong for that role as Cornette then said that Scott was 10 years behind the times and starting to bring in guys he worked with over 20 years ago.
Cornette talks about Tony Schiavone leaving for the WWF. He said he wasn’t there for everything but heard that Schiavone was upset over being passed over by Jim Ross for the top commentator position as he had been there for several years. Cornette calls Schiavone a friend then tells a funny story of when he was with the Midnight Express and Arn Anderson as Schiavone as his family pulled up in their station wagon to drop him off so he could head on Crockett’s plane. When the doors opened, Cornette said you heard all of the kids screaming and Tony slammed the door as he got out. Arn then went over to Tony and told him that he had “enough cum in him to shampoo a buffalo.” Cornette then goes back to Tony, saying he was a good announcer but that Ross was just above everyone else and it wasnt a slight on Tony because everyone else saw that. He then said when Tony came back to WCW the following year he was miserable.
Ricky Steamboat defeated Ric Flair for the WCW World Title at the “Chi Town Rumble.” Cornette said they both were the gold standard in terms of ring work. He also said he would order the PPV’s so he could watch them at home as that way he could hear the commentary. Cornette then talks about how every Wednesday was promo day as he then pulls out a script that the camera shows us as he said that he would write down every opponent, city, and spot on the card for that particular match for the promo itself.
The Iron Sheik came back as Cornette said that Scott brought him back as they worked together in the 70’s but Sheik’s star power had faded greatly and could no longer go in the ring as he talks about how people say he is out of touch for instilling old school logic with today’s talent while Scott wanted the same exact people he had on top in 1978 in 1989. He also said that Sheik only wrestled about 10-12 matches and got sent home for the rest of his contract, which was $100,000 for a year. Sheik then came back after the year ended as they forgot to send the notice to cancel his contract so as a result it rolled over as the Sheik got paid for another year but is work was still so bad that they sent him home again until his contract finally ran out.
MARCH
The “Danger Zone” talk show segment with Paul Dangerously made its debut on March 4th. Cornette said that he was a great talker. Jack Victory was brought in as the bodyguard as Cornette talks about all of the different roles Victory had in wrestling. Cornette said he was a great guy.
On the debut of the Great Muta and if the company missed an opportunity with him, Cornette said yes and no as he was talented and caught on quickly but did not get a lot of heat as a heel because the fans reacted to his cool moves. They were going to turn him face but Cornette said that Gary Hart convinced him to stay heel.
He talks about Don Glass, who was hired from the WWF where he was the assistant under Ed Cohen, who booked the arenas. Cornette said Glass was an idiot and basically a go-fer for Cohen then talks about how he decided, for the first time in history, to book a show in Greensboro, NC on a Wednesday night and it only drew $19,000, the lowest ever for that city. Cornette asked Joe Pedecino why they booked that night and he was told they were saving the weekend shows for the bigger cities as Cornette went through his book and showed him they usually drew six-figures there has Pedecino had no idea. He then said that Glass booked a show in San Antonio on Easter Sunday, in a predominantly Catholic city, that took place in a 15,000 seat arena and ended up drawing 600 people.
APRIL
Cornette is asked about WCW putting on the Clash of the Champions opposite of WrestleMania 4. He said they drew 5,300 fans in a 70,000 seat arena and how that area was facing tough economic times so no fans came. Cornette said it looked like a “pisshole in a snow bank” on TV as there was no way to hide the amount of empty seats. He then said that Scott did not want to promote the show because it would kill the house show business if people saw them on TV as Cornette talks about how ridiculous that notion is as they had ran these specials for over a year. He said the ratings were shit as it was not promoted, which was insane as WCW was owned by a television company.
After the debacle that took place at Clash of the Champions, George Scott was fired and replaced by a booking committee. At that time, it featured Jim Herd, Jim Barnett (who Cornette credits for inventing “studio” wrestling), Jim Ross, Eddie Gilbert, and Jody Hamilton (Who Cornette said was in charge of the jobbers and the ring crews).
Cornette then talks about how they gave notice after Scott told them he had no plans for them and there contract was expiring in May but Scott got fired before that and Jim Ross asked them if they would reconsider. Cornette talked about how they had arrangements to work a few shows in Memphis for Bill Dundee but told Ross he would go on TV and cut a promo about how they were hurt and needed to heal up so they could perform, allowing them to go away for a few months as they could re-build their image as they were losing a lot of matches at that time. So, Cornette met with Herd for the first time and talked about wanting to be loyal and help the company as they moved forward so Herd offered him $100,000 a year while Stan & Bobby received $75,000, which were significant pay cuts across the board. Cornette told Herd that Stan & Bobby deserved more as Herd kept telling him that he would get more because he could also do color commentary. He left after declining the deal then Herd countered with $125,000 for him and $90,000 for Stan & Bobby. Cornette then told Herd he would take the $100,00 for himself, as that was a lot for a manager,but Stan & Bobby needed to get $150,000. They went back and forth as Cornette said he would offer Stan & Bobby a little more each time but he kept raising Cornette’s amount, when he said he would accept the initial offer as Herd then came back with $150,000 for Cornette, $50,000 more than what he asked for and offered Stan & Bobby $125,000. He asked his team if they wanted that as they said yes, as Bobby also had three kids to support.
MAY
The Dynamic Dudes made their debut at the May 6th TV tapings from Center Stage. Cornette said that Jim Ross wanted to re-create the Rock & Roll Express and saw that Skateboards were popular and thought it would work but the gimmick was awful. He also said that Johnny Ace had two left feet and could not even ride a skateboard then talks about how they were the only team Herd liked less than the Midnight Express and that was why they worked a program together.
Cornette talks about Terry Funk returning and how he wanted to show everyone that he could still go in the ring. He even worked with a broken tailbone and even had to fly by kneeling into the seat and hunching over the chair due to the pain but still wrestled. Funk also brought in Eddie Guerrero to a TV taping attempting to get him a job during this time.
He talks about losing the Tag Team Tournament Finals to the Freebirds but the air conditioning in the building was broken and it was over 100 degrees in the building. Cornette talks about this version of the Freebirds as at that time, Terry Gordy was willing to work here but wanted to keep his Japan dates. However, the company wanted a full-time Freebird so they got Garvin. Cornette said that Haynes wanted to re-create the Freebirds of old and that Garvin, who was 5’10 and 210lbs started to take “supplements” and wanted to work like a bad-ass so they both didnt want to sell. Cornette said that Garvin flipped out on him once because he didnt sell a punch enough as Cornette talked all but said he was on steroids and wanted him to be carried to the back after getting punched once as Cornette also brings up how Garvin was chickenshit heel is whole life. He said Haynes refused to sell the tennis racket because he said they had to get over huge, despite teams like the Road Warriors selling the racket. Cornette goes into his book and how during a Bash Tour at the Boston Garden and how after working a six-man teaming with Dr. Death, the Freebirds beat them, barely selling during the match, then decided to all of a sudden attack them afterwards to get more heat so Dr. Death got fed up and grabbed a chair then whacked Garvin repeatedly for trying to fuck with him. After the match, they went to the locker room as Garvin was all busted up as Eaton yelled at the Freebirds for not just being there to get them over as things were tense and that seeing Eaton, who rarely ever yelled, got the Freebirds to think a bit and they started to sell more for them after that.
JUNE
Cornette confirms that the Ding Dongs were a Jim Herd idea. He said that the idea of this gimmick was that the WWF had all the kids as fans so they thought this would attract some. Cornette even said Herd once said if he had a 6’5 one-legged guy he would have his “Long John Silver” as Herd wanted to turn wrestlers into movie characters.
On Lex Luger turning heel at “Clash of the Champions VII,” Cornette said that Luger was a tremendous athlete and a nice guy but never a wrestling fan growing up and had no idea he was insulting people in wrestling when he was there as he always made money and was the focus so he did not know better. Cornette said that Luger was not a natural worker and had a hard time feeling out wrestling but was a solid heel.
JULY
He is asked about the “Great American Bash” PPV but first talks about the tour and how it was making no money as he lists off the meager house show draws. Cornette said that the PPV was heavily promoted and sold out Baltimore. He talks about his Tuxedo Match against Paul E. Dangerously and the night before he tore cartledge in his knee in a house show match. He iced the knee the rest of the night but it was stiff when he got up in the morning. They both wanted the match to be a grudge instead of comedy then talks about how he was the most experienced worker of the two and how that was a bad thing. He gathered up a Percocet, Vicodin, and an anti-inflammatory then decided to walk down the aisle and not limp, which was painful, then said he wanted Dangerously to hit his knee as hard as he can because his brace would absorb most of the it but Dangerously hit the wrong leg as Cornette says you can see him tell Dangerously to hit the other leg.
AUGUST
Cornette is asked about Ricky Steamboat leaving for foot surgery. He talks about Ricky’s wife Bonnie and how she was vocal behind the scenes and how she once did not allow him to attend a Smoky Mountain Show because she had something to do with him. Cornette then goes on about how no one wanted to see Steamboat the family man and that he looked lame in comparison to Flair, who was cool and fucking all of the women.
Ric Flair became the booker at his request as Cornette said that Flair had enough and went in after the disaster that was the “Great American Bash” tour. Cornette names off the ratings for the shows, which were bad, and said Flair was promised full control. Flair then called Cornette at that time that he wanted him on his committee but first he had to take care of something, which was getting rid of Eddie Gilbert. Flair did not like Gilbert’s Memphis-style of booking and that Gilbert once changed a finish to put himself over Ron Simmons in Memphis which pissed Flair off so Cornette was going to replace Gilbert’s spot. Cornette then pulls out some of his booking notes, shooting formats, and announcer’s notes, and even the list of job guys as Cornette said he always wanted to use Louie Spicolli as Bobby Eaton’s younger brother as they looked alike. Flair also wanted a lot of interviews but Herd did not want that as Sam Mushnick in St. Louis did not use them much and would change the shows as Cornette said that Flair would keep the original notes Cornette wrote. He said Herd was dividing the guys as he put word out that Jim Ross changed the scripts, which he did after being told to by Herd himself and that caused a lot of problems.
SEPTEMBER
When asked about the angle in which Funk put a plastic bag over Flair’s head, Cornette said that it got over as Funk was convincing in his role. Cornette said that it brought in complaints but TBS was not prepared for calls from wrestling fans actually calling and believing that Funk was trying to kill Flair and the corporate guys took the complaints seriously.
About Paul E. Dangerously got fired, Cornette said that back then you were told in your promos to get yourself over so Dangerously cut a promo appealing to the “sheet readers” as Flair was next to Cornette backstage and said “fuck this guy” and Flair told him he was done. Dangerously thought he meant done for the night but Flair told him he was fucking done for good. Cornette said that Dangerously’s rendition was incorrect as Flair slammed the door after yelling at Heyman then a little bit after that, Dangerously tossed the garbage can while Flair was behind a closed door.
OCTOBER
On October 6th, TBS Executive Vice President Bob Levi and Vice President of Programming Jeff Carr sent out a memo that said there would not be anymore violence on their shows, due to the plastic bag angle and mugging of Scott Steiner. Cornette reads some of the new guidelines at that time. He then talks about the awful tension at the booking meetings and how no one got along and nothing got accomplished as Herd suggested stuff that would hurt the product and wanted to change what Flair wanted to do.
Ole Anderson returned to the company. Cornette said that Ole could still cut a promo and contribute so he was brought back.
He said that the bit were he was in the hotel room with Woman was his mother’s favorite angle.
Cornette talks about the Thunderdome match. He said they thought the match would look cool but when they got there, the special effects were set up terribly as Muta was trying to blow out the fire with his mist as Tommy Young went over to put it out and it came off terrible. On Bruno Sammartino as the special referee, Cornette said that having him brought into Philly would draw a good house.
NOVEMBER
On the “I Quit” match between Flair and Funk, Cornette said Funk was not happy about quitting and said how he was told about the match before he agreed to it as Cornette said Herd wanted to make Funk a color commentator.
He talks about the angle when he tricked the Dynamic Dudes after they were feuding with the Midnight Express, culminating in a match at “Clash of the Champions IX.” Cornette said that it was his idea for the finish but then said he underestimated the sympathy the Midnight Express got from the fans for being booked like shit and how the fans loathed the Dynamic Dudes.
Flair wanted to defend the title against Bobby Eaton as Flair thought he was the best wrestler and did not want to even beat him as it ended in a DQ. Cornette said the rating for the match was the best in a year but Herd was pissed that Flair did not beat Eaton. So, Flair booked a rematch then Cornette booked a finish in which he and Stan tried to interfere but it backfired as Flair beat them all up with the racket and that rating topped the show that featured their initial match.
Cornette talks about Tully & Arn coming back to WCW for $250,000 a year but when Tully failed a drug test, Herd found out and rescinded the offer as he said it looked bad. Cornette suggested all sorts of things such as Tully going to rehab then come back as they could say TBS helped him out but Herd said no then cut Arn’s deal for $150,000 a year because he was less valuable by himself and Arn already gave notice to the WWF had to take the deal for $100,000 less than was promised to him.
DECEMBER
On the Round-Robin Tournament for “Starrcade,” Cornette said that it was problematic choosing who would be in there and who would job and they all struggled to come up with finishes.
Cactus Jack made his debut. Cornette said that Continental was closing and Jack came over to a show. Cornette and Sullivan liked him and brought him in and said the more he dropped the elbow from the apron the more crazy the fans got and it caught on so he got a chance to get in full-time. However, most guys at the time saw nothing in him.
Cornette talks about how he fought Shane Douglas but before that in a match the crowd was yelling “Johnny sucks dick” at Johnny Ace as fans draped a bedsheet over the balcony that read “Johnny sucks Shane’s dick.” He then said that he came up with the idea that he would accidentally sign a contract to wrestle Shane. Cornette said he likes Shane but at the time he was young and told him in the airport he was not going to sell any of the “Memphis stuff” as Cornette said that while he was a Jr. member of the booking committee, Shane was a Jr. member of the talent roster and did not realize he was doing him a favor as this was a chance to get him over. After the match, Herd said that a wrestler should not sell for a manager after Shane called and complained so Herd ordered them to re-tape the match in a different city with Stan Lane wrestling on his behalf as they baited-and-switched the fans.
Flair resigned from the booking committee as Cornette tells us Flair sent a memo to everyone about how he had Herd changing his ideas and was not promised full control as promised and would go back to being a wrestler full-time.
Final Thoughts: I thought this was good but nowhere near as wonderful as his 1997 WWE Timeline. Cornette enjoyed himself and was in good spirits here. And for those wondering, there were no mentions of Russo or politics as he stayed on the topic at hand.
There were some entertaining stories and you got a good picture of what it was like to work on the booking team. However, the major angles were not discussed all that much, and Cornette himself was away from the company for several weeks when he was between contracts. The Midnights also did not work near the top of the card at the time either so he does not have much to say about being directly involved in the key feuds either.
Cornette loves wrestling and that shows here. As far as the WCW Timeline installments are concerned, this is probably the best one. I do recommend this as it is entertaining but again, do not expect it to be as great as his 1997 WWE Timeline.
You can purchase this On Demand for $20.99 or the DVD, which is a Two DVD set for $25 by clicking on the link below.
1. I noticed while watching the credits at the end of the ppv that Jim Herd was executive producer in 1989. I've only heard Jim Herd be universally trashed by any of the talent who worked for the company at that time. 1989 is universally regarded as the golden year for the NWA though. As an aside HH 89 might be the most underrated ppv of all time. Back to the point though, if Jim Herd doesn't deserve any credit for 1989 who does for the direction of the company that year?
2. In place of the awful round robin format, what would you have booked for the top 4-5 matches for Starrcade to top off that year properly?
New champions are crowned. Hogan and Zeus settle things inside a steel cage.
WWF World Championship Scene: (currently held by: Hulk Hogan)
During the December 12th taping of Wrestling Challenge, Hulk Hogan teamed up with Brutus Beefcake to take on Randy Savage and Zeus inside a steel cage. The match would be aired on December 27th, 1989. Hogan was able to overcome one of his biggest challengers to date when he pinned Zeus following three leg drops.
For the rest of the month, Hogan would defend the WWF World Championship on the house show market but would lose to Mr. Perfect by count-out. Despite losing the matches, Hogan retained the championship.
WWF Intercontinental Championship Scene: (currently held by: the Ultimate Warrior)
The Ultimate Warrior continued to have issues with Dino Bravo and the Canadian Earthquake. After Bravo had a match during the December 13th taping of WWF Superstars, the Ultimate Warrior made an appearance but was distracted by Earthquake which allowed Bravo to use a chair on Warrior.
While Warrior had to deal with Bravo, Jimmy Hart and Earthquake he also had his mind focused on winning the 1990 Royal Rumble so he could challenge the WWF World Champion at WrestleMania VI.
Back to his issues with Bravo, they would have matches on the house show market with Warrior managing to pick up pin fall wins over Bravo on a regular basis.
WWF World Tag Team Championships Scene: (currently held by: Demolition)
The Heenan Family was able to regain the WWF World Tag Team Championships during the December 13th taping of WWF Superstars. Andre the Giant and Haku won the titles after Andre dropped an elbow on Smash. Ax wasn’t able to get involved in the match due to constant double teaming and thus was unable to make the save.
On the house show market, Demolition would lose to Andre and Haku by count-out more often than not.
Other Happenings:
– With the Royal Rumble next month, a lot of focus was put on the wrestlers giving their reasons as to why they will win the bout and main event WrestleMania VI. However, there were a few minor storylines taking place outside of the championship scenes.
– Brutus Beefcake got under Rick Martel’s skin as he was modeling clothes during the December 13th taping of WWF Superstars. Beefcake ended up getting on the podium after his match and shredding Martel’s clothing.
– During the December 13th taping of WWF Superstars, the Bolsheviks came out while the Bushwhackers competed and waved their Soviet Union flag. There wasn’t any confrontation but it could be hinted at as a future angle between the two teams.
– After a few months of feuding, Roddy Piper defeated Rick Rude on December 28th inside a steel cage at a Madison Square Garden show.
Bob’s Opinion:
It’s rather surprising to me that Andre the Giant was holding a championship this late in his career. I’d imagine it was more of a thank you for everything throughout his career. Demolition back in the chase is always a good thing too, I suppose.
I’ve never been a fan of Dino Bravo. He isn’t entertaining to me whatsoever. A feud between Warrior and Earthquake would have been better, but Earthquake was being saved for bigger and better things down the road. Warrior hasn’t been able to find a suitable opponent since winning the championship.
Finally the end to Hogan/Zeus. Personally, I didn’t find it all that interesting. Zeus was never any good in the ring and was simply used as a way to promote No Holds Barred.
The cage match between Rude and Piper is really good and worth a watch, by the way. A really good feud towards the end of the year.
What are your memories of the WWF at this time? Leave them below!
Hulk Hogan has plenty of challengers to deal with. Will he survive with the gold?
WWF World Championship Scene: (currently held by: Hulk Hogan)
Hogan was the captain of a Survivor Series team which would compete against Ted DiBiase’s team at the Survivor Series later in the month. Hogan led Jake Roberts, and the WWF World Tag Team Champions Demolition. DiBiase led Zeus, and the Powers of Pain. At the Survivor Series event, Hogan’s team prevailed over DiBiase’s after Hogan was able to pin DiBiase following a leg drop.
Hogan still had issues with Mr. Perfect who destroyed the WWF World Championship during last month’s taping of SNME.
He was also defending the championship against Bad News Brown on the house show market on a regular basis. Perfect continued to assure everyone that he would win the WWF World Championship.
As you may also recall, Hogan was having problems with Zeus and Randy Savage centered on the No Holds Barred movie. During the November 20th taping of WWF Superstars, it was announced that Hogan and his longtime friend Brutus Beefcake would compete against Randy Savage and Zeus inside a steel cage match.
WWF Intercontinental Championship Scene: (currently held by: the Ultimate Warrior)
At the November 19th Maple Leaf Gardens house show, Warrior was able to successfully defend the championship by beating Andre the Giant. The previous month Bobby Heenan had tricked Warrior into accepting a cage match against Andre to set up the match.
Warrior was the captain for another Survivor Series team as he led Jim Neidhart and the Rockers into battle against the Heenan Family, which consisted of Andre the Giant, Haku, Arn Anderson and Bobby Heenan. Warrior gained the win for his team after pinning Heenan following a splash.
On the house show market, Warrior primarily continued to defend the championship against Andre but also defended the championship against Mr. Perfect and the Genius.
WWF World Tag Team Championships Scene: (currently held by Demolition)
There weren’t any major new developments for the champions this month as they were partners for Hulk Hogan for the Survivor Series match at the pay per view. They continued to defend the championships on the house show market primarily against the Powers of Pain and the team of Arn Anderson and Haku.
Other Happenings:
– During the November 18th Superstars episode, Rick Martel began modeling clothing to continue his new model attitude.
– Tully Blanchard was fired from the WWF after the November 1st taping of Wrestling Challenge due to a failed drug test. Haku took his place teaming with Arn Anderson on the house show market as a result and Bobby Heenan took his spot at the Survivor Series event.
– Dusty Rhodes continued his feud with Big Bossman by costing Bossman a match against Tito Santana at the Survivor Series Showdown by using his nightstick. During the November 20th taping of Superstars, Bossman taunted Sapphire at ringside but Rhodes made the save again.
– Ron Garvin and Greg Valentine continued their feud that will seemingly not end. During the November 20th taping of Superstars, Garvin prevented Valentine from using his illegal shin guard on Jimmy Snuka.
– Rick Rude and Roddy Piper had their feud continued as Rude stuck up for Brother Love who was embarrassed by Piper.
– Mr. Fuji issued a challenge to the Rockers on behalf of the Powers of Pain to a match during the November 20th taping of Superstars. The Rockers responded by attacking Fuji which would essentially be a yes.
Survivor Series 1989 Results:
– Dusty Rhodes, Brutus Beefcake, Tito Santana and Red Rooster defeated Big Bossman, Rick Martel, Bad News Brown and the Honky Tonk Man in an elimination match. After the match, Bossman attacked Rhodes and Beefcake but Beefcake recovered to scare Bossman away from the ring with his hair clippers.
– Randy Savage, Dino Bravo, Greg Valentine and the Canadian Earthquake defeated Jim Duggan, Bret Hart, Ron Garvin and Hercules in an elimination match.
– WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan, WWF World Tag Team Champions Demolition and Jake Roberts defeated Ted DiBiase, the Powers of Pain and Zeus in an elimination match.
– Rick Rude, Mr. Perfect, and the Rougeau Brothers defeated Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka and the Bushwhackers in an elimination match.
– WWF Intercontinental Champion Ultimate Warrior, Jim Neidhart and the Rockers defeated Andre the Giant, Haku, Arn Anderson and Bobby Heenan in an elimination match.
Buy-rates:
Survivor Series 1989: 3.3
Bob’s Opinion:
It’s good to see Hulk Hogan involved in more than one feud. He had his issues with DiBiase, Perfect and the combo of Zeus and Savage still going on. Heck, Bad News Brown was in on the action as well. I recently had a co-worker talk about Brown believing that he should have won the WWF World Championship. I don’t see that being a good idea.
Anyway, Hogan has a lot going on and there is a lot of interest in the WWF World Championship scene.
I always enjoyed the Model gimmick. It was a shame that Martel wasn’t able to gain singles success with a Intercontinental Championship run.
Not much of an opinion of what was going on at the time. What were your thoughts on what was going on in the WWF at this time?
Your host is Sean Oliver
Before the interview begins, Sean runs down all of the non-wrestling things that were happening in 1989, with one of those things being the top song of the year, which was “Every Rose Has It’s Thorn” by Poison. Brutus then mentions that he knows the lead singer (Brett Michaels) but could not remember his name. He said that they were both living life on the edge at the time and trying to clean themselves up. When asked about the life on the road, comparing it to Rock Stars, Brutus claims that the rock stars all wanted to be like them, not the other way around.
Before the interview begins, Sean brings up that Brutus mentioned to him when this idea was approached that he wasn’t sure how well his memory would hold up.
JANUARY
On December 1st, Linda McMahon issued an interoffice memo to Pat Patterson asking that Dr. George Zahorian no longer attend WWF events. Sean reads from the memo (that is also displayed on the screen), which Linda writes about the state of Pennsylvania was most likely going to launch an investigation into the use of illegal steroids. An officer from the state department mentioned this to WWF attorney Jack Krill at a fundraiser, knowing that Krill’s firm represented the WWF, and also said that he knew about the relationship that Zahorian had with the WWF. The memo also mentioned that Vince thought it was a good idea to keep Zahorian away and tell him about the possible action that the Justice Department would be taking. It also ended with Linda telling Patterson that the talent would be having a meet and greet with State Athletic Commission on December 26th and they definitely would not want Zahorian to be there. Brutus is asked if he remembers Zahorian and he said yes, while laughing. Brutus said that he took care of them and that the wrestlers would line up to get stuff from him. Brutus then talks about how a man has to know his limits and mentions that Rick McGraw probably died due to all of the access to pills he had from Dr. Zahorian. He also points out how Dr. Zahorian didn’t force the drugs upon anyone and also says that Vince wasn’t responsible for what the doctor was prescribing.
On December 26th, the WWF promoted 6 shows, three matinees and three evening shows, in six different cities. Sean asks about how much talent they had on the roster and how much money they were making. Brutus said that Vince was a genius because he could make superstars out of just about everyone on the roster, through vignettes and interviews, along with other features. Brutus also adds that Vince probably wishes he could do that now. Brutus said that there were probably 25 people in the office that coordinated all of the travel and plane tickets.
On December 30th, Beefcake won a nine-man battle royal at a house show in Wisconsin. Sean calls it the worst battle royal ever then lists of the other eight competitors: Jake Milliman, Tom “Rocky” Stone, Brooklyn Brawler, The Genius, Jimmy Snuka, Jake Roberts, Ted DiBiase, and Rick Martel. Brutus said that it was probably the only battle royal he had ever won in his life but does not recall the match.
Final Thoughts: A highly entertaining timeline. Brutus kept it fun, no matter what you think of him. He also coined the term “waving the Pat Patterson flag.” Sure, it might not be the most insightful timeline and he went off topic at times, but when he did, it was entertaining. Sean also asked some follow up questions that led him to go off-topic as well. For all I know Brutus was on drugs during this, after all he has quite the history of using, but the guy also survived an accident that caused a traumatic head injury and admitted that he has some memory problems (like not remembering Brett Michaels name after saying that they were friends). Brutus certainly had a problem with the Ultimate Warrior and the Four Horsemen and it showed here but did not have an agenda with this timeline. Sure, he might have thought of himself a bit too highly but most people do in these interviews anyway. He certainly came off as likable in this and he ended up being more insightful than I would have imagined. Brutus was a good choice for 1989 because he was huge that year, which was probably the best of his entire career when I look back. I give this a very high recommendation.
Mr. Perfect makes his way up to the main event scene. Do we get a perfect champion?
WWF World Championship Scene: (currently held by: Hulk Hogan)
While Hogan had to deal with Ted DiBiase and his Survivor Series team, he also had new challengers for the WWF World Championship, the Genius and Mr. Perfect. At SNME #24, which was taped on October 31st and aired on November 25th, Hogan lost to the Genius by count-out. The bigger story was Mr. Perfect coming out and putting gum on the championship claiming that Hogan wasn’t a perfect champion. Perfect caused Hogan to lose after hitting him with the championship and escaped to the backstage area with the championship. This market the occurrence of Mr. Perfect destroying the championship with a hammer and demanding a title shot against Hulk Hogan!
WWF Intercontinental Championship Scene: (currently held by: the Ultimate Warrior)
During the October 2nd taping of WWF Superstars, the Ultimate Warrior competed against Dino Bravo in a test of strength competition. Bravo did a few push-ups with Jimmy Hart sitting on his back. Bravo proceeded to do more push-ups with a larger man that was randomly picked out from the crowd named John. Bravo managed to do several push-ups with John on his back. When the Ultimate Warrior attempted to do the same thing, John hit Warrior with a sit down splash and along with Bravo attacked Warrior. At the October 31st taping of WWF Superstars, John would be revealed as being the Canadian Earthquake.
At SNME #24, Warrior defeated Andre the Giant by disqualification to retain the championship. Heenan tried to get involved by Warrior took care of him by tossing him into Andre.
On the house show market, Warrior continued to beat Andre the Giant in just a matter of seconds to retain the title at least that was the case at MSG. In Toronto, Andre and Warrior would have a steel cage match next month for the championship after Bobby Heenan tricked Warrior into accepting a rematch.
WWF World Tag Team Championships Scene: (currently held by: Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard)
Demolition managed to regain the WWF World Tag Team Championships at the October 2nd taping of WWF Superstars where they defeated Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard. Ax pinned Blanchard, who was illegal, to win the titles. Andre the Giant and Haku stated during the taping that they would beat Demolition and bring the titles back to the Heenan Family.
Other Happenings:
– During the October 22nd edition of Wrestling Challenge, vignettes of Mr. Perfect and the Genius playing golf, darts and bowling and proclaims that Hulk Hogan couldn’t do it better than Perfect. They would continue to air vignettes taunting Hogan believing that Hogan wouldn’t be able to compete at a high skill level like Perfect can compete at.
– Dusty Rhodes continued to prevent Big Bossman from beating down opponents with his nightstick. Rhodes saved Tito Santana from a beating during the October 3rd taping of Wrestling Challenge after Santana wrestled Honky Tonk Man.
– Greg Valentine and Ron Garvin continued to feud as well. Garvin prevented Valentine from using his shin guard numerous times. They would wrestle on October 8th in Toronto, Ontario where Valentine picked up the win.
– Dusty Rhodes danced with a mystery woman during the October 31st taping of WWF Superstars, who ended up being Sapphire. Rhodes successfully defeated Big Bossman at SNME #24 after Bossman was distracted by Slick arguing with a fan at ringside. Rhodes would dance with Sapphire afterwards.
– The Rockers defeated Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard at SNME #24 in a best two out of three falls match. After the match, Bobby Heenan insulted Anderson and Blanchard saying that they were the worst team he had ever managed and promptly fired them.
Ratings:
WWF SNME #24: 8.7
Bob’s Opinion:
It’s quite refreshing to have a young heel in the main event scene working with Hogan. It’s especially different with Perfect not being bigger than Hogan. So, Hogan working with not only a good worker but a smaller one at that, was interesting. Plus, the scene when Perfect destroys the championship was really memorable and a great way to insert Perfect into the championship scene.
I’ve always been a huge fan of Earthquake, and his debut by attacking Warrior was pretty cool as well. Maybe it’s odd, but a feud between Warrior and Earthquake is rather interesting. I’ve been liking the fresh heels being brought in.
A quick reign by the Brainbusters, and quick tenure with the Heenan Family. Their run lasted just about a year and they could’ve done so much more had they stuck around. Anderson would head back to WCW while Tully tried as well but failed a drug test and didn’t get a contract.
The undercard feuds aren’t exactly interesting to me. Bossman/Dusty seems like a waste of Bossman to me, but Dusty had always been popular so I suppose a few wins over Dusty would help Bossman moving forward.
What are your memories or thoughts on the WWF at this time? Share them below!
The Million Dollar Man and the mighty Zeus are still coming after Hulkamania.
Bob’s Opinion:
The feud between Hogan and DiBiase continued though it’s pretty clear that DiBiase is never going to get the championship. At least DiBiase is given a few strong moments even if it included the help of Zeus. Also am a fan of Jake Roberts helping Hogan and getting a spotlight in a main event caliber feud.
I know that Andre was on his last legs in terms of health and in-ring ability, but to have him lose to Warrior in under a minute had to have pissed off some people. I would’ve loved to have seen Andre live even if he could hardly move. Getting a minute or less of a match with Andre jobbing couldn’t have been all that satisfying.
Savage continuing to be involved in lower level feuds is rather depressing. I guess the main event guys can’t always have top level feuds even when they are out of the main event scene. Though, that doesn’t exactly apply to Hogan, ever.
The feud between Piper/Rude is a great feud to have on the undercard. I’ve watched a few of their matches on the house show circuit at the time and they put on some good matches. Their cage match a few months later is an enjoyable one as well. I never really considered to be all that great in the ring, but considering I have mostly watched his stuff from ’94 onward I’m clearly missing his more memorable stuff.
It’s a shame to see the Rougeau Brothers, a promising heel tag team, lose to the Bushwhackers and made out to be fools.
I had for some reason lost all the sign in stuff for the blog here, but it’s good to back!
What are your memories of the WWF at the time? Please share them! Thanks!
The WWF gets ready for the fall and winter months with several new feuds developing.
Bob’s Opinion:
Quite a bit of new developments taking place as the WWF prepares for the fall and winter months. I’m actually interested in most of the feuds. Rude and Piper are two great characters and from what I’ve watched from ’89, their feud was quite heated. They are two big names and should help the undercard for the WWF.
I’m not interested in a Andre/Warrior feud over the Intercontinental Championship.
Barry Windham’s return to the WWF isn’t all that exciting for me personally. He had a good run in the NWA with a few entertaining matches against Flair. I;d have to look into how his performance was. I will be able to do that since I recently got Superstars ’89 DVD set.
Considering Rick Martel is an underrated wrestler, in my opinion, it’s good to see Martel develop a heel persona with the Model gimmick. It’s a gimmick I enjoyed and thought more could have been done with it.
I kind of want to find the Rockers/Rougeau sixty minute iron man matches. I wonder if any of them were recorded. Did anyone ever attend a show with that match happening?
Yearly Review should be back and running on here. Please feel free to share your thoughts on what was going on in the WWF during this time.
Also, check out my blog Wrestling Recaps and if you enjoy the series support the blog by liking it on Facebook!
Thanks for reading and for your support!
A title change occurs before SummerSlam.
Bob’s Opinion:
It was nice to see the Brainbusters win the tag titles, though I thought it was also surprising. A match between the Brainbusters and Demolition at SummerSlam would have been nice to see. Regardless, Anderson and Blanchard will make for great champions and have some good matches with the tag teams in WWF.
A feud between Dusty Rhodes and Ted DiBiase was a no brainer. It’s just too bad that DiBiase wasn’t able to remain in the main event scene.
Not a lot going on here as we heads towards SummerSlam 1989. What are your memories of the WWF during this time?
Also, check out my blog Wrestling Recaps and if you enjoy the series support the blog by liking it on Facebook! Today marks the three year anniversary of the blog. Your support is greatly appreciated!
A few former NWA top names arrive in the WWF.
Dusty Rhodes was brought into the company looking like a joke but managed to some how make it work. I guess that would prove that Dusty is a talented worker. We will see more of him over the next couple of years with a few memorable feuds.
The main event feud isn’t interesting me all that much. While Zeus is a monster of a man, he doesn’t look like a good opponent for Hogan, which would explain the tag match they are going to have in the future.
What are your thoughts on what is going on in the WWF at this time? Feel free to share below!
Hogan has a monster he has to deal with.
I don’t have a lot to comment on here, so I apologize for the lack of information.
The fallout from WrestleMania sees a lot of new developments.
WWF World Championship Scene: (currently held by: Randy Savage)
At WrestleMania V, Hulk Hogan was able to defeat WWF World Champion
Randy Savage to win the championship following a leg drop. Hogan kicked
out of the elbow drop in the closing seconds before dropping the leg and
winning the championship. On the house show market, Hogan would
actually lose to Savage by count-out due to Sherri Martel getting
involved in the matches.
Hogan’s first defense, aside from against Savage on the house show
market, would take place at the April 25th taping of Saturday Nights
Main Event #21 which would not be aired until May 27th. The match would
take place inside a steel cage as Hogan squared off against the dominate
Big Bossman. After ten minutes of action, Hogan was able to escape the
cage after handcuffing Bossman to the top rope.
The house market would see Hogan lose to Randy Savage by count-out,
or see him defeat Big Bossman inside a cage. Hogan wrestled Savage at
Madison Square Garden on April 24th, losing by count-out after Sherri
Martel prevented Hogan from returning to the ring.
Another challenger to Hogan’s WWF World Championship made their debut
as Zeus, co-star of No Holds Barred, entered the company confident he
would beat Hogan for the championship.
WWF Intercontinental Championship Scene: (currently held by: the Ultimate Warrior)
At WrestleMania V, the Ultimate Warrior would lose the WWF
Intercontinental Championship to “Ravishing” Rick Rude. Rude was able to
win the championship after Heenan tripped Warrior on a vertical suplex
attempt and held his foot down allowing Rude to get a three count. After
the bout, Warrior press slammed Heenan and chased after Rude.
While Rude would compete against Warrior on the house show market, he
would lose the matches by either disqualification or count-out. He
wrestled against Jim Duggan at SNME#21 which he lost by count-out as
well.
WWF World Tag Team Championship Scene: (currently held by: Demolition)
At WrestleMania V, Demolition retained the WWF World Tag Team
Championships over Powers of Pain when Ax pinned their former manager
Mr. Fuji who had previously thrown salt into the Warlord’s eyes
accidentally.
For the rest of the month, Demolition would defeat Powers of Pain,
Akeem & Big Bossman , and Rhythm & Blues by disqualification to
retain the titles. However, they did lose to the Brainbusters by
disqualification when Ax shoved the referee out of frustration.
Other Happenings:
– Rick Martel turned on Tito Santana after Santana accidentally hit
Martel with a flying forearm smash during their tag match against the
Brainbusters. Martel revealed in an interview at WrestleMania V that he
was sick and tired of Santana riding his coat tails. This effectively
ended the tag team known as Strike Force. Martel would end up having
Slick as his manager.
– At the April 5th taping of Wrestling Challenge, Sherri Martel and
Randy Savage beat down Brutus Beefcake on the Brother Love Show for
calling Sherri “Scary Sherri”. The beat down allowed Savage to cut off
some of Beefcake’s hair. With Savage having a new manager, Miss
Elizabeth announced during the April 26th taping of Superstars that she
would manage WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan for as long as he wanted her.
– At the April 4th taping of Superstars, Ron Garvin and Greg
Valentine agreed to have a career vs. career match the next time they
competed against each other. During the same taping, Valentine defeated
Garvin in under four minutes to force Garvin into retirement, though he
would make appearances as a referee.
– Jake Roberts was attacked by Ted DiBiase after beating Virgil
during the April 4th tapings of Superstars. DiBiase injured Roberts neck
with the Million $ Dream forcing him out of action for several weeks.
– Jim Duggan made it clear that he was going to take the crown away from King Haku.
– The Rougeau Brothers brutally attacked Shawn Michaels with Jimmy
Hart’s megaphone during the April 25th taping of Wrestling Challenge,
causing Michaels to bleed from his mouth. The Rougeau called the Rockers
copycats for singing their theme music and believed they were superior
to the Rockers, anyway.
WWF WrestleMania V Results:
– Hercules defeated King Haku
– The Big Bossman & Akeem defeated the Rockers
– The Bushwhackers defeated the Rougeau Brothers
– Mr. Perfect defeated the Blue Blazer
– WWF World Tag Team Champions Demolition defeated Powers of Pain & Mr. Fuji to retain titles
– Dino Bravo defeated Ron Garvin
– The Brainbusters defeated Strike Force
– Jake Roberts defeated Andre the Giant by disqualification. Big John
Studd was the referee for the match and was attacked by Andre.
– The Hart Foundation defeated the Honky Tonk Man & Greg Valentine
– Rick Rude defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion the Ultimate Warrior to win the title
– Jim Duggan fought Bad News Brown to a double disqualification
– The Red Rooster defeated Bobby Heenan
– Hulk Hogan defeated WWF World Champion Randy Savage to win the title
WWF SNME #21 Results:
– Jim Duggan defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion Rick Rude by count-out
– Randy Savage defeated Jim Neidhart
– WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan defeated Big Bossman in a steel cage match to retain the title
– The Brainbusters defeated WWF World Tag Team Champions Demolition by disqualification
– Jimmy Snuka defeated Boris Zhukov
Buy-rates:
WrestleMania V: 5.9
SNME #21: N/A
Bob’s Opinion:
Before I share my opinions on the month, I wanted to note that I skipped posting March 1989 on here for the simple fact that nothing new occurred during the month. I didn’t think there was a point to waste anyone’s time with me saying “no new developments” happened several times in the post.
Hogan’s championship win wasn’t all that surprising and provided a good main event with Savage at Mania. The cage match with Bossman is also a hidden gem, in my opinion. They had a few good cage matches on the house market, too. The involvement of Zeus is just humorous and is something I can’t take seriously. I mean, it’s the guy from Friday (the movie).
I’m very happy that Rick Rude has won the WWF Intercontinental Championship. In my opinion, he is probably the best heel going in the company alongside Randy Savage and Ted DiBiase. It’s shocking to me that Rude never had a long lasting program with Hogan.
The split of Strike Force is rather interesting. Martel quickly showed that he was capable of being an entertaining heel and would be just that over the next three or so years in the WWF. Sadly, Tito wouldn’t get much steam during this singles run.
Heading into the spring we’ve got the following feuds heating up…
Hogan vs. Savage for the WWF World Championship
Rude vs. Warrior for the WWF Intercontinental Championship
Demolition vs. Powers of Pain or Brainbusters for the WWF World Tag Team Championships
Ted DiBiase vs. Jake Roberts
Rick Martel vs. Tito Santana
The Rockers vs. The Rougeau Brothers
Jim Duggan vs. King Haku
Personally, if that was a regular house show card during this time, I’d have no problem forking over some serious money to watch it.
What are you memories of the WWF at the time? Feel free to share them!
Also, check out my blog Wrestling Recaps and if you enjoy the series support the blog by liking it on Facebook!
Due to request, Caliber’s 2013 Tour of the Classics is making a stop at Halloween Havoc 1989.
Mike Rotunda vs. The Z-Man
Rotunda obviously spent his GAB money on a perm,
which I assume had something to do with him being Gabe Kaplan’s stunt double.
Doesn’t matter what a person does, there’s no way someone is getting over with
a name like Z-Man. I’m soon proven this as this match is absolute death. It’s
insanely slow, with constant stalling, and once the action gets going it’s
leap-frogs and wrist-locks. Thankfully, they do figure out what this match
needs to pick it up, SEVERAL submission spots. Leg-scissors, abdominal stretch,
sleepers, it’s all there, and it all sucks. Thankfully The Z-Man, a nickname
the ladies gave him, turns a flying cross body into a pin.
The Z-Man pins the future boat captain at 13:23 | *
We get an interview with Bruno who was the
definition of a barrel chest.
This is Sir Oliver Humperdink. He was out on behalf of the SST & Samoan Savage. I’m including this picture because I started reviewing this PPV late at night, and fell asleep. For some reason, I have no idea why, my VLC player froze the file on this image. So, I literally woke up to this on the computer monitor about 2 feet from my face.
The Midnight Express & Steve Williams vs. The
Samoan Swat Team & Samoan Savage
I often wonder if wrestling organizations in other
countries are as xenophobic. Does a promotion in England do the Samoan savage
crap? Are there any American characters who are either Million Dollar Man-esque,
or Zeb Colter? I wonder if any promoters fucked with Samoan type wrestlers now
and again. Like, you have Fatu come into the office for his first meeting;
Promoter: We wanna go with something new! You’re
gonna be a Harvard educated-type Samoan. A man of culture and class, who’s here
to change stereotypes and ways of thinking
Fatu: Really?!
Promoter: Nah, just kidding. Here’s a raw fish,
get to eating.
Enough with the fun, let’s get back to the match.
MX and Dr. Death are pretty great, that goes without saying. The Samoans are
death as far as any entertainment goes. Speaking of death, once the good Doctor
comes in, the place explodes. He really gets going, getting you whipped up for
the match, but then you realize it’s The Samoans on the other side, not The
Southern Boys or the 4 Horsemen. Eventually, because I say this with no
exaggeration or stretching of the truth, this match goes on for at least 4
hours, and finally Stan is pinned by The Samoan That Is Not Fatu, not to be
confused with The Harris Brother That Sid Did Not Pin.
Stan runs into Corny and is pinned at 18:16 | **
[all of these stars are for Dr. D and MX]
We get an interview with Terry Funk in which he
states that tonight a new dance will sweep Philly, the 10,000 Watt Electric
Boogie featuring Ric Flair and Sting. I for one am looking forward to this
match, simply to see how Funk acts when he gets electrocuted.
Tommy Rich vs. The Cuban Assassin
It’s great how Ross keeps talking up Rich, and how
he’s “the comeback man of 1989” as the crowd screams “TOMMY RICH
SUCKS!” There is nothing to note of this match, other than the crowd
shitting all over it. Man, this PPV better get going, because so far it’s
God-awful. Honestly, this picked up a little near the end, and that’s all I
have to say about it. I can’t believe Rich won with a Lou Thez Press in 1989.
Cuban Assassin eats a pin after getting hit with a
finisher that wouldn’t get over in 1089 A.D. let alone 1989 at 8:26 | *1/2
FREEBIRDS! Man, they were DYING to make those
Terminator shades happen. Let us also not forget the waist high leather
jackets.
The Freebirds [C] vs. Dynamic Dudes – WCW Tag-Team
Championship
The Freebirds do have a great move where Hayes
will run over to Garvin after getting roughed up and have him adjust his hair.
I’ll give it to the Dudes, they’ve got some decent double-team moves. The
crowd, because it’s the birthplace of smark, is chanting like crazy for the
Freebirds. So much so that Garvin and Hayes get into it. The crowd is so sick
of the Dudes’ pathetic babyface pandering that they blow the roof off with a
cheer when Hayes cheapshots Johnny. Near the end, The Dudes look to be
finishing off the Birds, drawing absolute heel heat. They go for the Wipeout [a
double sling-shot back-drop] on Garvin, Hayes holds Ace’s foot, allowing Garvin
to turn into a pin and retain the titles, much to the delight of the crowd.
Now, I’ll admit, I was dreading this, but this match absolutely won me over.
The crowd laid a great foundation for the match, proving it’s always awesome
when people will not just eat the white bread like they’re told. I also have to
give due to the Dynamic ones, as their double team moves and energy helped them
pull their own weight. Same goes for The Freebirds, as they were ridiculous,
and absolutely soaking up the adulation. Good stuff.
Garvin pins Douglas after a botched Wipeout at
11:28 | ***1/2
Interview with The Steiners. It’s so weird seeing
the voice, and sheer idiocy of Big Poppa Pump coming out of this dumb looking
dude with a mullet.
Doom w/ Woman vs. The Steiners
You know, I often hear about how broken down Scott
was once he hit the BPP stage of his career, however it wasn’t until I started
watching old NWA stuff that I saw it for myself. Literally everything he does
is faster, from simple things like walking and punching, to leaps off the top
rope and Frankensteiners. Definitely one of the hardest hitting matches I’ve
seen, as the Steiners are typical to their rep, but Simmons and Reed are giving
as good as they get. Rick and Scott are controlling at first until Doom starts
gloriously pulling out every cheap heel tactic they can. They get Scott in
their corner and beat the hell out of him with numerous double-team moves, my
favorite of which being what appeared to be a double-suplex but they end up
just throwing Scott to the ground once he’s up in the air. Eventually Scott
nabs the hot tag, but Woman places an international object in the mask of Reed,
allowing him to deliver a super-head butt on Rick and earn the victory. Of
course, the announcers don’t call in to question the absolutely inane action of
putting something like a roll of quarters in your mask as opposed to just your
hand, but whatever gets the job done, I suppose. It’s a pretty good match
that’s made on the simple fact of how hard-hitting it is.
Reed head-butts Rick for the pin at 15:26 | ***1/4
Brian Pillman vs. Lex Luger – US Heavyweight
Championship
The match started off with Brian doing whatever he
could to get the edge on Luger, but Lex just kept cutting him off at the knees.
Eventually, Pillman is able to work Luger’s left arm in hopes of disabling the
Torture Rack. All this does is piss Lex off, as he eventually beats the hell
out of Pillman with clotheslines to the back of the head and powerslams. This
is the role that Luger should play always, whoever wanted to see him as a face
is out of their mind. Or digs crap. Philly seems to really love themselves some
Lex, and we even see him jawing with Hat Guy from ECW. Luger catches Pillman
with a Stun Gun, and that’s enough to put him down. I too am stunned at Luger
being able to have another good match that wasn’t with Flair. I don’t think
it’s anything worth seeking out, but it definitely helps elevate the PPV, and
at the time made Pillman look like a star.
Pillman eats a Stun Gun and a pin at 16:48 | ***1/4
Skyscrapers vs. Road Warriors
Well, here’s the match that’ll give you your
money’s worth, workrate wise. The fact that Sid is still in a tag-team after
what I saw at the GAB 89 is amazing. The match is just about what you’d expect,
a lot of no selling, a lot of kicking and punching that help carry a giant
reminder that the LOD are not the greatest tag-team of all time. Teddy Long is
mobbing around with a giant gold key, leaving me to wonder if he melted down
the crown the Skyscrappers won at GAB. He probably opted for the key because
carrying around the crown looked stupid. Teddy tosses the key in and we get
ourselves a DQ.
The Skyscrapers are DQ’ed at 11:39 | *1/2
Interview with Sting and Ric Flair. Sting tells us
it’s Halloween, and it’s full of havoc. Oh…oh, I see what he did there.
Ric Flair & Sting vs. Terry Funk & The
Great Muta – w/ special guest ref Bruno Sammartino – Thunderdome Match
The match can only end when either Gary Hart
representing Muta & Funk or Ole representing Sting & Flair throw in the
towel for one of their guys. The Thunderdome cage is decorated with Halloween
garb that of course catches fire before the match starts. Once it does start,
it’s great, with everyone giving their all, and enjoying the hell out of
themselves. It’s almost as tough a brawl as the Flair/Funk match from the Bash,
but I feel like the cage is actually hindering the match. Instead of keeping it
in the ring, the guys have to occasionally work the cage, and it really
disrupts the flow. However, Flair does swing from a rope like Tarzan, so that
helps. However, if they’d just kept this as a basic tag match, they could have
had a great main event. Unfortunately, all this crap with the stupid
electrified cage, and throwing in the towel just ruined it. Completely killing
the flow, and turning the match into a disjointed mess of people randomly going
here and there and doing whatever, like touching the top of the cage despite
the fact we’re told it’s got 10,000 watts running through it. The second half
wouldn’t have been so bad had it not been built on the promise of the great
first half. Ole throws in Gary’s towel, and we have our winners.
Towel is thrown in for Funk & Muta at 21:55 |
***1/4
Showcase Showdown:
On the heels of GAB, as well as the other great
stuff I’ve been hearing about 1989 NWA, I really expected this one to be solid
as well. Although I’ve certainly seen a hell of a lot worse, there wasn’t
anything mind blowing here. Had more than one match been at least ***1/2, I
could probably give this a recko, but that isn’t the case. Dusty’s need to have
a gimmicked main event soured the final match on a card that was built on a
foundation that could be described as “OK” at best. I’d say look for
the Freebirds vs. Dynamic Dudes match on YouTube, and sure, check out the main
event while you’re at it, because the first half is some great stuff. This show
is the Second Showchase that’s not so bad, but still isn’t the first one that
had jet-skis and the Royal Rumble pinball machine.
As always much respect to my editor, Steven Ferrari. I met him when I needed to buy a new caravan for a boxer I was managing, and at the time he was living with a group of Gypsies. Dags? Oh yeah, I like “dags”.
Str8 Gangster, No Chaser
– I’ve started a new article series known as Man Etiquette, so you’ll
know how to act in certain situations, I pay tribute to the burliest of
the burly from the 8-bit era, talk
about people who shouldn’t use the internet [all of them], Saved By The
Bell
Archives, Comic Book Films You Didn’t Know Were Comic Book Films, movie reviews, wrestling articles, and plenty
of other goods.
WCW In 2000
– Recently updated with the infamous Bash at the Beach 2000. You know
what’s shocking? The PPV is GOOD. No joke, it’s seriously good, and
features the best match of WCW’s 2000 year so far.
Man Movie Encyclopedia Vol.1
– NOW ONLY 99CENTS! THAT’S LESS THAN A DOLLAR! My book about action films. Endorsed by Scott Keith & Maddox, as
well as well as fellow BoD’ers The Fuj & Kenny Chill. 5 star average on amazon.
Board for the BoD’ers – We average about 50 people a day stopping by, a constant cast of people posting, and you can talk about anything you want.
Any questions, comments, mailbag stuff you want posted – [email protected]
I’ve decided to take a trip through the classics. First stop, The Great American Bash 1989.
Teddy Long gives an interview on behalf of his
tag-team, the Skyscrapers. How fitting, Teddy managing a tag-team. Good God, he
use to look like he had 75 teeth in his mouth, and each one was around 3 inches
long. He looks like the Goblin King or something.
Brian Pillman vs. Will Bill Irwin
Bob Caudle, the announcer working with Ross,
states that “Brian Pillman has a real future, barring any serious injury.”
Sounds about right. The match starts off in Pillman’s favor, as he pulls off
about 5 drop-kicks. Irwin soon turns it to his favor, and he constantly taunts
Brian by screaming “C’mon, FLYIN’ Brian! Why don’t cha’ FLY! FLYIN’
Brian!” He’s actually rather entertaining. The two work together pretty
well, as Irwin is an old school type of guy. He’s not trying to do anything
flashy, he just wants to hurt you. Beating Pillman down, he keeps him there
with punches, kicks, suplexes and bodyslams. At one point, he actually grabs
Brian and throws him into the other ring. However, once he turns to jaw-jack
with the ref, Pillman flies from one ring to the other, splashing Irwin and
getting the three. A meat and potatoes opener that was hinged on the flashes of
Brian’s cruiserweight offense, and the entertaining Wild Bill, who wants to
know why the ref is bothering him when he’s simply trying to choke a man.
Pillman hits the crossbody on Irwin for the pin at
10:18 | **3/4
They introduce Jason Hervey as a ring announcer.
What the hell? Wasn’t he also a guest judge for one of Flair’s matches? Too bad
he’s not in character, as I’d love to see him call someone a butthead. Wayne
was always the man.
The Dynamic Dudes vs. The Skyscrapers
I grew up as a WWE guy, and only recently have I
been dipping into the NWA library, so this is the first time I’ve ever seen The
Dynamic Dudes, and wow. I once said the recent DX was the lamest tag team of
all time, yes, even lamer than the American Males. But The Dynamic Dudes? Holy
shit. They get some kid from the audience to throw a Frisbee with because it’s
dynamic. Spivey controls the first portion of the match, and it takes the
dynamic double moves of Shane & Johnny to get him off his feet. Once Sid
tags in you can hear from the crowd immediately that he isn’t long for tag teams.
Seriously, he tags out and within a minute the ENTIRE arena is chanting
“WE WANT SID!” Hopefully Spivey doesn’t feel too bad. The Cape Fear
remake is a few years away, just be patient. Sid back in for a moment, crowd is
happy. Sid tags out, and the crowd boos the hell out of that, starting another
“WE WANT SID!” chant. It’s pretty incredible that he wasn’t made
champion pronto. Finally, after having their asses kicked the whole match, John
starts getting some dynamic offense in, but Spivey cuts that short. He delivers
a power bomb, but with both of them being sweaty, John is damn near dropped on
his head, Pillman style. Very dynamic. The match was an extended squash, but
it’s worth seeing simply for the crowd’s reaction to Sid, it’s incredible.
Spivey power bombs John for the pin at 9:14 | *3/4
We get an interview with Cornette about his tux
match.
Paul E Dangerously vs. Jim Cornette – Tux Match
Heyman’s entrance music is the theme from
Halloween. That’s a great piece of music and I’m surprised other wrestlers
haven’t used it. Heyman quickly goes for the cheap heat by throwing
powder in Cornette’s eyes, followed immediately by beating up Corny’s knee with
his phone. Cornette said that before the match, he told Paul which knee it was
that was injured, so that way they could work Corny’s real injury into the
match. Well, Paul immediately forgot and kept beating the wrong knee, even
though Jim kept saying “Other knee! Idiot!” So, Paul just started
beating up both. Honestly, I usually hate these kinds of matches, but Paul and
Jim are both so good at what they do, with such passion and love for the
business that they make this really entertaining. The crowd is all sorts of
into it too. Easily the best tux match of all time, which I’m sure both Paul and
Jim are very proud of.
Cornette strips off Paul’s tux for the win at 6:22
| **1/4
Gary Hart is interviewed, believing Muta will
continue his undefeated streak and take home the TV title.
Kevin Sullivan & Mike Rotunda vs. The Steiners
– Texas Tornado Match
The Steiners come out to Welcome To The Jungle,
which blows away their eventual “Steiner Line!” theme, second only to
Sting as the lamest music in WCW history. The match doesn’t last long, but what
we get is one of the harder-hitting matches I’ve ever seen. No surprise when
you’ve got The Steiners in there, but Sullivan and Rotunda are giving as good
as they get. A lot of mayhem in a short period, all chalking up to a decent
brawl.
Scott hits a flying crossbody on Sullivan, pinning
him at 4:22 | **
We get an interview with The Stinger. He respects
Muta, and delivers one of the blandest promos of all time.
The Great Muta vs. Sting [C] – WCW TV Championship
The crowd goes insane for Sting. This match has
without a doubt the most exciting first few minutes I’ve ever seen. From Sting
jumping from one ring to another and off the top-rope clotheslines, to Muta’s
flips, kicks and moonsaults. It really needs to be seen to be given justice,
it’s great. This match was all about speed, cramming a 20-minute match into
almost 9 minutes. However, it wasn’t quick just for the sake of it. Muta was
bringing it to Sting as hard and as fast as he could, with Sting having little
to no problem keeping up, and throwing it right back in the Great One’s face.
Superb stuff that definitely was not seen during this time. The end sees Sting
hitting Muta with a belly to back suplex and going for the pin, only for the
ref to count three despite Muta having his shoulder up. He and Gary Hart run
off with the belt while the crowd chants bullshit.
Sting & Muta are both counted down at 8:40 |
***3/4
Luger does an interview where he says the DQ rule
must be waived, or no match at all.
Ricky Steamboat vs. Lex Luger [C] – WCW US
Heavyweight Championship
The crowd seems to be chanting “Steroid
freak!” at Luger. I find that funny, considering backstage he was probably
comparing brands of Winstrol with Steamboat. Ricky tries to put away Luger
quick, and when that doesn’t happen, he goes for some quick offense, only for
Luger to simply cut that BS off with a knee lift to the face. From this point
on, neither one holds momentum for very long, as they beat the hell out of one
another at every given opportunity. The end sees Luger bring a chair in, which
Steamboat turns on him in one of the worst examples of business exposing.
Regardless, Steamboat gets a hold of that chair and goes ape shit. He throws
the ref Tommy Young to the outside and pummels Luger. Pretty cool to see
Steamboat actually lose control. I didn’t love this as much as others, because
I felt it really would have benefited from an extended finishing sequence.
Still some good stuff.
Steamboat is DQ’ed at 10:26 | ***3/4
Ric Flair interview. It’s incredible what they
did. Funk destroyed Flair and what did they do? They kept Ric off of TV, and
kept him from wrestling for two months. There’s absolutely no way that would
happen today. They would have had Ric back the next day, while Funk went on a
losing streak.
Terry Funk vs. Ric Flair [C] – WCW World
Heavyweight Championship
Right off the bat, Flair gets the best of Funk
with chops and rights and lefts. Funk, being awesome, just loses his mind over
this, and people BELIEVE IT. I mean, you see a fan talking shit to Funk, but
then backs off when he sees Funk may try him. Oddly enough, at one point Funk
attempts to suplex Ric, and Ross calls it a piledriver. Later, Funk goes to
piledrive Ric, and Ross calls it a suplex. Flair starts working on Funk’s
receipt by working on his neck, at one point piledriving him, and causing Funk
to run in a circle like Homer with something written on the back of his head.
Flair soon slaps the Figure 4 on Terry, giving you reason to believe it’s almost
over, but then Funk turns the tide when he smashes Ric with the branding iron,
busting Flair open. He soon has Ric in the center of the ring, dropping him
with neckbreakers, and screaming at Flair to say I quit, while Gary Hart
screams “Get the pin! Get the pin!” He doesn’t want the pin, he wants
Ric to quit. He doesn’t just want the title, he wants Flair’s dignity, it’s
awesome stuff. That’s a heel. He eventually gets busted open with his own
branding iron at the hands of Flair. Ironically, despite the old school
brutality of the match, it ends with a roll up on Flair’s part. It’s a hell of
a match, one that I prefer to their I Quit from Clash. They went out there and
showed you that you don’t need weapons, and light-bulbs, and all sorts of other
shit to create a brutal atmosphere. You need a purpose and passion.
Ric Flair defeats Terry Funk with the roll up
at 17:23 | ****1/4
Afterward, Muta shows up to help Funk pummel the
hell out of Flair. Sting eventually shows up, giving us our main event for
Havoc. It’s great because they keep brawling all over the arena. Even when Ross
and Bob are doing their wrap-up, the 4 of them just come raging by with Flair
swinging Funk’s branding iron. Awesome.
Showcase Showdown: For all the people who claim
that this PPV is the greatest of all time, I can’t fault them. It’s a damn good
show. From top to bottom, I was entertained with everything. It delivered
beyond my expectations. Now, I didn’t love it as much as some, but the
difference is negligible, really. The main event really delivered, and was
easily the highlight for me. Flair and Funk went out there and kicked the hell
out of each other, really selling the fact that they both wanted each other
dead. Fantastic stuff. For the few out there who were like me and hadn’t seen
the show, it’s definitely worth it. For those feeling lazy, then I recommend
just watching Flair vs. Funk, it’s fantastic and unfortunately gets lost in the
shadow of their I Quit match. The PPV’s subtitle is The Glory Days, how
appropriate.
As always, much respect and adulation to my editor, Steven Ferrari. I met Steven when I was young.. H couldn’t have been more than 28 or 29 at the time, but he was already a legend. He’d walk in the door and everybody
who worked the room just went wild. He’d give the doorman $100 for opening the door.
He’d shove hundreds in the pockets of the dealers and guys who ran the
games. I mean, the bartender got $100 for keeping the ice cubes cold.Str8 Gangster, No Chaser
– I’ve started a new article series known as Man Etiquette, so you’ll
know how to act in certain situations, I pay tribute to the burliest of
the burly from the 8-bit era, talk
about people who shouldn’t use the internet [all of them], Saved By The
Bell
Archives, Comic Book Films You Didn’t Know Were Comic Book Films, plenty
of other goods.
WCW In 2000
– Recently updated with the infamous Bash at the Beach 2000. You know
what’s shocking? The PPV is GOOD. No joke, it’s seriously good, and
features the best match of WCW’s 2000 year so far.
Man Movie Encyclopedia Vol.1
– NOW ONLY 99CENTS! THAT’S LESS THAN A DOLLAR! My book about action films. Endorsed by Scott Keith & Maddox, as
well as well as fellow BoD’ers The Fuj & Kenny Chill. 5 star average on amazon.
Board for the BoD’ers – We average about 50 people a day stopping by, a constant cast of people posting, and you can talk about anything you want.
Any requests, questions, comments, send’em to [email protected]
– Caliber Winfield
Bros before… The saga between Savage and Hogan continue.
WWF World Championship Scene: (currently held by: Randy Savage)
After defeating the Big Bossman and Akeem with his tag team partner Hulk
Hogan at the Main Event II on February 3rd, however the issues between
Savage and Hogan would heat up quickly. Backstage, Hogan would find
Savage with his valet Miss Elizabeth and began to cut a promo until
Savage decided to hit Hogan with the WWF World Championship. Savage
continued the beat down even as Elizabeth tried to check on Hogan.
Brutus Beefcake tried to make the save but failed at doing so. Savage
was convinced that Hogan was jealous that Savage was the champion and
had Elizabeth by his side. Hogan would later search for Savage but was
unable to find him.
It is safe to say that Savage “lost it” when Hogan carried Elizabeth
to the backstage area after being knocked off the apron to the floor.
Hogan returned to the ring to pick up the win over Akeem with the leg
drop. As you could tell, this whole situation saw Savage turn heel.
At the taping of SNME #20 on February 16th, both Savage and Hogan
were stating that they were going to have Elizabeth in their corner for
the WWF World Championship match at WrestleMania V. However, Elizabeth
stated she wouldn’t be in either man’s corner!
Throughout the month, Savage would compete in street fights against
Bad News Brown despite being a heel and would win each bout. He also
fought WWF Intercontinental Champion the Ultimate Warrior in title vs.
title matches but there was never a clean finish.
WWF Intercontinental Championship Scene: (currently held by: the Ultimate Warrior)
Throughout the month Warrior mainly worked with Savage, but was also
able to advance his feud with Rick Rude. During the matches with Savage,
Warrior would fight off Rude and as a result would be counted out.
Aside from that, Warrior would defeat guys like Ted DiBiase in a matter
of thirty seconds in some cases to retain the title on the house show
market.
WWF World Tag Team Championship Scene: (currently held by: Demolition)
There weren’t any new developments regarding the feud with the Powers of
Pain. Demolition continued to wrestle them on the house show market and
would come out victorious by disqualification each time.
Other Happenings:
– Ted DiBiase defeated Hercules at the Main Event II, the only other
match aired on the program. As a result, DiBiase won his feud with
Hercules by using Hercules tights for extra leverage. During the
February 15th taping of WWF Superstars, DiBiase revealed his Million
Dollar Championship for the first time.
– Bad News Brown continued to suggest that Miss Elizabeth was doing
favors for Jack Tunney and would wrestle Hulk Hogan at SNME #20. Hogan
would win the bout.
WWF SNME #20: (airing on March 11th)
– Brutus Beefcake defeated Rick Rude by disqualification after Andre the
Giant had came out to attack Beefcake. This lead to Jake Roberts coming
out to even out eh odds. Big John Studd also appearsed to have a stare
down with Andre.
– Hulk Hogan defeated Bad News Brown
– Ted DiBiase defeated the Blue Blazer
– The Rockers fought the Brainbusters to a double count-out.
– The Red Rooster defeated the Brooklyn Brawler, but was attacked by
Brawler and Heenan afterwards. Rooster was able to fight them off.
WWF WrestleMania V Card:
– For the WWF World Championship: ©Randy Savage defends against Hulk Hogan
– For the WWF Intercontinental Championship: ©the Ultimate Warrior defends against Rick Rude
– For the WWF World Tag Team Championships: ©Demolition defends against Powers of Pain and Mr. Fuji
– Jake Roberts vs. Andre the Giant
– Brutus Beefcake vs. Ted DiBiase
– The Brianbusters vs. Strike Force
– Bad News Brown vs. Jim Duggan
– Ronnie Garvin vs. Dino Bravo
– Mr. Perfect vs. the Blue Blazer (Owen Hart)
– Twin Towers vs. the Rockers
– The Red Rooster vs. Bobby Heenan
– The Hart Foundation vs. Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine
– King Haku vs. Hercules
– The Bushwhackers vs. the Rougeau Brothers
Ratings:
The Main Event II: 11.0
SNME #20: 10.0
Bob’s Reaction:
Most of the month was dedicated between promoting the feud between Savage and Hogan. They have done a great job with making Savage the overprotective type of character and his crazy mindset is just pure entertainment. The match build has been terrific. I actually don’t mind that it has gotten most of the attention for the month. It’s obviously the top program for the WWF.
Love the Million Dollar Championship being introduced. DiBiase being so obsessed with winning a championship that he had to create his own.
What are your opinions on the matches for WrestleMania V? The build for Savage/Hogan? Or anything going on in the WWF in February 1989? Share them below!
Also, check out my blog Wrestling Recaps and if you enjoy the series support the blog by liking it on Facebook!
