Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are in the booth and they start a new taping cycle in Chattanooga, Tennessee. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, this taping took place on January 8.
Gorilla Monsoon and Roddy Piper are in charge of commentary, broadcasting live from Miami, Florida. According to profightdb.com, the show drew a crowd of 16,000. On pay-per-view the show drew a buyrate of 2.4, the equivalent of 440,000 buys. This was an increase over the previous year’s show, which drew a 2.0 buyrate (260,000 buys).
Since the Gulf War had commenced days earlier, the WWF plays the national anthem for the crowd. Piper is also amped up, wearing a yellow ribbon around his arm for the troops watching the show from the Middle East.
Vince McMahon, Roddy Piper, and the Honky Tonk Man are in the booth, wrapping up a long taping in Tampa, Florida. This show aired the day of The Royal Rumble and would be Honky Tonk Man’s last appearance on WWF television until 1997.
Jake Roberts’ squash from Prime Time Wrestling starts the show.
Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan provide commentary for today’s episode, taped in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Hacksaw Jim Duggan’s squash from Prime Time Wrestling begins the telecast.
Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are in the booth for a new set of television tapings from West Palm Beach, Florida. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, these tapings took place on December 12.
Vince McMahon, Roddy Piper, and the Honky Tonk Man are doing commentary, beginning a new television taping cycle in Tampa, Florida. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping took place on December 11 and drew a crowd of 11,500.
The opening match is Mr. Perfect’s squash from Prime Time Wrestling.
Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are commentating the action today, concluding the taping cycle in Syracuse, New York.
Vince McMahon, Roddy Piper, and the Honky Tonk Man are in the booth and they start a new television taping cycle from Rochester, New York. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping took place on November 19 and drew 8,000 fans.
Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura commentate today’s action, concluding the taping in Miami, Florida.
Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan do the studio duties for tonight’s show.
Tony Schiavone and Jesse Ventura are in the booth and they are live from Orlando, Florida. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, this show drew a sellout crowd of 16,000 fans. It also drew a buyrate of 2.0 (an estimated 260,000 buys), an increase from the 1.5 number the Rumble did the previous year. This would also be the last pay-per-view that Schiavone would call for the WWF.
Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura are in the booth, kicking off a new set of tapings in Birmingham, Alabama. These tapings took place on January 2.
The opening match is the Jimmy Snuka-Brooklyn Brawler bout that aired on Prime Time Wrestling.
Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura are doing commentary and they are concluding the tapings in Huntsville, Alabama.
1989 was a strong year for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). The Mega Powers angle between Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage created a strong buyrate for WrestleMania V and rematches between the two throughout the spring and summer generated healthy gates. In addition, the company expanded its revenue streams by adding The Royal Rumble to its pay-per-view lineup in January. And other competitors were faltering as the American Wrestling Association (AWA) was on its last legs and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was riven by divisions between Executive Vice President Jim Herd and talent like Ric Flair. Times were good for the WWF’s Golden Age.
However, there were some cracks underneath the surface that the WWF would grapple with as 1990 began. The company’s star, Hulk Hogan, wanted to make his mark on Hollywood and WWF owner Vince McMahon wanted to find the next big act to replace him. And without Hogan it was unclear whether casual fans, who fueled the WWF’s rise throughout the late 1980s, would continue to tune in. Intercontinental Champion the Ultimate Warrior appeared the most likely successor, with a physical build similar to Hogan’s and laying claim to being the second-biggest star in the company. Both men had been kept away from each other in storylines and McMahon looked at a clash between them as a way to resolve the conundrum. And beyond the Hogan-Warrior transition there were questions as to who the big heels of the company would be. Randy Savage and Ted DiBiase had failed in their efforts to win the WWF Championship, reduced in standing by multiple losses. Mr. Perfect, Rick Rude, and Zeus were considered possibilities but Perfect had not held a singles title yet, Hogan refused to work a program with Rude, and Zeus was limited in the ring. So, the WWF was on the look for new talents that they could slot into main event programs and continue to draw houses on par with those of the late 1980s.
–Gordon Solie, Dusty Rhodes, and Larry Zbyszko are doing commentary and they are taped from Dalton, Georgia. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, 1,400 fans attended the tapings.
–Jim Ross and Todd Pettengill are in the booth and they are concluding this set of tapings from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
