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Madison Square Garden – New York City, NY – Monday, August 26, 1991
Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, and “Rowdy” Roddy Piper are on commentary.
MATCH #1: Six-Man Tag Team Match – Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, British Bulldog & Texas Tornado vs. Power & Glory & Warlord
Paul Roma, Hercules, and Warlord have Slick in their corner, but they didn’t even get an entrance. Steamboat and Roma start the match and Roma actually takes first control. Roma gloats about it a little too much and Steamboat makes him pay for it with armdrags and a dropkick. Hercules tags in and Steamboat continues the advantage. Tornado tags in and keeps control on the babyface side. Warlord and Bulldog tag in and the crowd is juiced to see it. Bulldog knocks Warlord off his feet rather quickly and even hits a vertical suplex! That gets a two-count. Steamboat tags in and comes off the top rope with a chop to the head, but Warlord cuts him off with his superior power and Slick’s trio finally has control. Hercules, Roma, and Warlord isolate Steamboat and work him over for several minutes. Warlord takes forever up on the second rope and Steamboat is able to give him a boot to the kisser. Tornado gets the hot tag and MSG is going banana. Bulldog follows and the referee loses control, with all six men brawling in the ring. Amidst all the chaos, Steamboat is able to catch Roma with a high cross body block from the top rope to get the pin at 10:43. That was an ideal opener, with fun action and a trio of babyfaces the fans loved. It set the tone well for the rest of the night. Good stuff here.
Rating: ***
MATCH #2: Intercontinental Championship Match – Bret “Hit Man” Hart vs. Mr. Perfect
Perfect has been the Champion since 12.15.90, and this is his sixth major defense. I believe this is Bret’s first singles match on pay-per-view. Bret’s parents Stu and Helen are in the audience tonight. Perfect is accompanied by Coach, the third manager of his WWE career. Bret gets an early takedown and he looks confident. He gets a crucifix for two and then goes to the side headlock. Perfect tries to use the hair to escape, so Bret gives it right back to him. He gets a cross body block for two, and Perfect’s kick-out sends Bret to the floor. He gets right back in with a sunset flip for two and goes right back to the side headlock. Perfect escapes but Bret has a counter for everything he tries. He takes a powder and heads to the back but Bret goes out and grabs him, ripping his gear in the process. Perfect takes a cheap shot and finally goes on offense. He knocks Bret off the apron and he takes out a camera man on his way down. Back in the ring the champion stays in control. Perfect tries a sleeper and Bret fights out and tries a crucifix, but Perfect slams him down for two. He then hits the Perfect-Plex and Bret kicks out, and he’s the second person to do that after Hulk Hogan, but Heenan, Piper, and Monsoon try to sell it on commentary like he was the first. Bret unloads with a flurry of offense and several near falls but can’t put the champ away. He gets frustrated with the referee after one particularly close near fall, which gives Perfect the chance to score an O’Connor roll for two. They go to the floor and Bret whips Perfect off the ring post. Back in the ring Bret goes for the Sharpshooter and Coach gets up on the apron, and the distraction allows Perfect to kick Bret in the groin. He then drops a leg on the groin region. He tries a second one, but Bret grabs his leg and rolls him into the Sharpshooter and Perfect immediately submits to win his first singles title at 18:02. That match really holds up over time and was a passing of the torch kind of match. Bret would then go on to be even more successful in WWE than Mr. Perfect was.
Rating: ****½
MATCH #3: Natural Disasters vs. Bushwhackers
Luke and Butch have Andre the Giant in their corner. Andre is walking with canes now and looks especially rough. Earthquake and Typhoon of course have Jimmy Hart in their corner. They go after Andre before the bell and the Bushwhackers make them pay with a poke to the eyes. The match starts proper with Typhoon and Butch in the ring. Butch and Luke use their speed and unorthodox tactics (like butt biting) to control the early going. They use Earthquake as a battering ram to take out Typhoon, and then send Earthquake to the floor with a double clothesline. Back in the ring the Disasters use their size and strangth advantage to wear Butch down. Eventually Luke gets the tag and all hell breaks loose. Earthquake hits the vertical splash on Luke for the pin at 6:28. That was what you’d expect from these two teams. At least it wasn’t very long. After the match Earthquake and Typhoon go after Andre but the Legion of Doom come out to make the save.
Rating: ½*
MATCH #4: Million-Dollar Title Match – Virgil vs. Ted DiBiase
DiBiase has Sensational Sherri in his corner. Virgil attacks right away and he’s a house afire. He quickly clotheslines DiBiase to the floor and follows him out for some more punishment. Back in the ring it’s still all Virgil, and DiBiase gets sent to the floor again. Virgil tries a house show dive but DiBiase avoids it and finally has a minute to catch his breath. DiBiase is in full control now and wears Virgil out for several minutes. He misses a clothesline and Virgil locks on the Million Dollar Dream! Sherri comes in the ring and hits Virgil with her purse to draw the disqualification at 6:15. But wait! The referee has decided to kick Sherri out of the arena, and that the match will continue! That’s awesome. Virgil is energized by the restart and he is all over his former boss. The referee gets knocked out. DiBiase keeps Virgil down with a succession of suplexes and then a piledriver. He removes one of the turnbuckle pads and tries to ram Virgil’s face into the steel, but Virgil counters and bounces DiBiase’s face off the steel instead! The referee has recovered and Virgil crawls over to make the cover, score the pin, and win the Million Dollar Title at 13:11. That was a really well booked match that kept the crowd engaged at every turn. Probably Virgil’s best match ever.
Rating: ***¼
MATCH #5: Jailhouse Match – Big Boss Man vs. The Mountie
The loser of this match will spend the night in jail. Mountie has his manager Jimmy “Mouth of the South” Hart in his corner. Boss Man strikes first with a series of punches. Mountie fires back with his own punches, but Boss Man punches harder. Boss Man lands a splash for two. He continues the abuse and keeps Mountie reeling. The Mouth of the South distracts Boss Man on the floor, allowing Mountie to knock Boss Man into the steel steps. Back in the ring Mountie goes to work. This goes on for a few minutes and Mountie hits a piledriver, which Boss Man sells in hilarious fashion. Hart distracts the referee and Mountie tries to use his cattle prod but Boss Man avoids it and lands an uppercut to the jaw. Boss Man hits another uppercut and the Boss Man Slam but Mountie somehow kicks out! Mountie sweeps Boss Man’s legs out from under him. He goes for another piledriver but Boss Man counters to an Alabama Slam to get the pin at 9:38. That was perfectly fine but was all just a means to an end to get the awesome bits with Mountie going to prison that they sprinkle throughout the rest of the show.
Rating: **¼
MATCH #6: World Tag Team Championship Match – The Nasty Boys vs. Legion of Doom
Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags have been the Champions since 3.24.91, and this is their fourth major defense. They have Jimmy Hart with them. This is a no countout, no disqualification match. Hawk and Animal don’t even wait for the bell or to take their shoulder pads off to attack. Sags and Hawk fight on the floor while Animal hits Knobbs with a powerbomb in the ring for a near-fall. The referee enforces the one man in the ring rule, which I always found silly in a no-DQ match, and that momentary distraction allows the Nasty Boys to take control. Knobbs and Sags focus on Hawk for several minutes and wear him down. Finally Hawk is able to get a boot up when Knobbs leaps off the second rope, and Animal gets the hot tag. Animal cleans house and hits Knobbs with a powerslam for two. All four men get in the ring and it’s mayhem. The Nasty Boys use Hart’s motorcycle helmet when the referee’s back is turned (isn’t this no-DQ?), but they still can’t put Animal away. Hawk recovers and grabs Hart’s helmet and hits Knobbs with it on the floor, and then goes to the ring to drill Sags with it. The LOD then hit the Doomsday Device to get the win and their first WWF Tag Team Titles at 7:46. There wasn’t much going on there, even with the no-DQ stipulation, which they never really used to any sort of affect. It was fine for the participants involved I suppose.
Rating: *¾
MATCH #7: Irwin R. Schyster vs. Greg “The Hammer” Valentine
Hammer starts off with a headlock and then knocks IRS down with a shoulderblock. This goes on for a bit so IRS takes a powder. Back in the ring Hammer gets a sunset flip for two and then hits a bodyslam, so IRS goes outside again. This time Hammer follows him out and beats on him some more. Back in the ring IRS catches Hammer with a boot and then puts on an abdominal stretch. IRS uses the ropes for extra leverage. Hammer hiptosses his way out of it, but IRS catches him with the Write-Off and then an elbow drop for two. IRS keeps the pressure on and goes up top but Hammer slams him down. Hammer unloads with a series of strikes and starts going after the leg. He puts on the Figure-Four Leglock and IRS is able to reach the ropes. Hammer misses an elbow drop but he keeps going after the leg. He tries the Figure-Four Leglock again but IRS is able to counter to an inside cradle to get the pin at 7:07. Just a little buffer match before the main event, seemed like something more fit for a main event of Superstars on the last half hour of Saturday Night’s Main Event.
Rating: *½
MATCH #8: Match Made in Hell – Hulk Hogan & Ultimate Warrior vs. Sgt. Slaughter, Col. Mustafa & Gen. Adnan
Sid Justice is the special guest referee. Hogan is the current WWE Champion at this point. He starts the match with Slaughter and dominates, even taking time to take shots at Adnan and Mustafa. Warrior tags in and he continues the beating. After a few minutes Slaughter resorts to dirty tactics to take control of Hogan, and now the Triangle of Terror takes over. Mustafa locks on the Camel Clutch and Warrior comes in to break it up. Hogan gets beat on and triple-teamed for several minutes. Slaughter goes to the top rope and Warrior walks over and shoves him to the floor. Great spot. That allows Hogan to make the hot tag and Warrior is a house afire. Warrior accidentally runs into Justice, who of course doesn’t move. While Warrior and Justice stare at each other Slaughter takes the opportunity to reclaim control. Eventually Warrior ducks a clothesline and levels Slaughter with one of his own. Hogan gets the hot tag and he unloads on Slaughter. He hits the Big Boot and all hell breaks loose. Warrior chases Mustafa and Adnan to the back with a chair, leaving Hogan and Slaughter alone in the ring. Justice gets distracted by Warrior with the chair and doesn’t see Hogan throwing powder in Slaughter’s eyes. Hogan hits the Leg Drop and Justice counts really fast to give Hogan and Warrior the win at 12:43. That felt rushed and never really got going anywhere all that interesting, even with Sid out there.
Rating: **
