Well I thought seeing as Mania is only a few weeks away and I’ve been meaning to do this review for a while why not use a free evening to do the review?
We’re in the Trump Plaza
You’re hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura
It should be noted that this is the WWE “Tagged Classics” version of the show and not the full version so matches may be shorter to fit them all on to the DVD
King Haku w/ Bobby Heenan Vs Hercules
Wow our first dead wrestler and it’s only the opening match! Shame I quite liked Hercules and he gets a rather healthy face pop on his way to the ring. Haku jumps Herc to start and unloads with some strikes in the corner but Hercules fights back with some power stuff but gets distracted by Heenan and walks into a Haku clothesline. Back inside Hercules gets some right hands and he looks far too blown up for this early in the match making me think some cutting was done. Hercules gets a Power Slam for two and heads up top but lands into a Haku super kick. Haku goes to the second rope but misses his elbow and Hercules gets the back suplex for the win
WINNER – HERCULES
½* – Match was cut to a short three minute win for Hercules so I can’t really rate it fairly but it was okay of what I saw
Akeem and Big Bossman w/ Slick Vs The Rockers
The Rockers have about as much chance here as Paul London does of winning the World Title tomorrow but they seem motivated at least. Bossman and Shawn start and Bossman gets cocky which leads to a Shawn missile dropkick. Shawn dodges and strikes keeping away from his much bigger opponent. Akeem comes in and The Rockers work the left arm but Marty leap frogs into a Bossman bear hug and Akeem crushes him while in the hold. Neat little double team there. Marty takes a total shit kicking and is crushed in the corner by both Akeem and Bossman. Marty attempts a comeback but that goes nowhere and the beat down continues. Heel miscommunication leads to a Shawn hot tag and he gets a 10 punch in the corner and Marty comes back in and they get a double shoulder block from the second rope. Akeem nearly takes Shawn’s head of with a clothesline and Bossman tries a top rope splash (wft?) but misses. The Rockers do some more double teaming and it all breaks loose. Bossman catches a Shawn rana with a Power Bomb and Akeem comes in and flattens Shawn for the win
WINNERS – AKEEM AND BOSSMAN
**1/4 – That was a seriously fun big guys Vs little guys match
Tony Schiavone is backstage with Ted Dibiase and he promises victory over Brutus Beefcake.
Ted Dibiase w/ Virgil Vs Brutus Beefcake
This was back before Dibiase had ring music and it’s hard to imagine such a thing. Beefcake gets a huge pop for bringing out the hedge clippers. I’m a total Beefcake mark for his stuff during the late 80’s and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Beefcake starts out with some back body drops and Dibiase bails. Back inside lock up leads to a slugfest which Beefcake gains the better of but Virgil interferes and that allows Dibiase to take over. Dibiase gets an elbow off the rope and a fist drop for two. Gorilla says that Beefcake is “very well coordinated” as Jesses tries to explain why the ref didn’t admonish Virgil for the trip. Beefcake gets a small package out of nowhere for two but Dibiase fires back with a vertical suplex. Dibiase sets up for the Million Dollar Dream but Beefcake makes the ropes. Dibiase eats some turnbuckle courtesy of Beefcake and Brutus starts his comeback. Brutus gets the Sleeper but Virgil interferes again and drags Beefcake outside but he fights back and Dibiase gets involved leading to a double count out
DOUBLE COUNT OUT
*1/2 – what a lame ending. Post match Beefcake beats down Virgil and Dibiase and grabs the hedge clippers at which point they bail. I’ve seen much better matches between these two
Mean Gene Okerlund is with Bobby Heenan and Rick Rude. Rude guarantees a win against Ultimate Warrior tonight
The Fabulous Rougeaus w/ Jimmy Hart Vs The Bushwhackers
The Whackers attack Hart to start and try to destroy his coat but the Rougeaus make the save. Thank God the coat wasn’t damaged I can now sleep at night. Jacques and Butch start and the Rougeaus cheat like crazy. I really like The Rougeaus as a heel tag team and I bet if Demolition weren’t a top team during this period they might have got a tag title run. The Rougaeus make the mistake of celebrating too early and the Bushwhackers use the opportunity to get a battering ram and double gut buster for the win.
WINNERS – THE BUSHWHACKERS
½* – Nothing special happening here
Mr. Perfect Vs Blue Blazer
Blue Blazer was the serious version of Hurricane if you can imagine such a thing. It’s actually Owen Hart under the mask and it was thanks to this stupid gimmick that someone came up with the bright idea of making him come down to the ring from the ceiling that lead to his death. Perfect is also better known as Curt Hennig who sadly died in 2003 leaving our death tally on this show so far as four. Man there just isn’t something right with that is there? After seeing what this business can do to you I’ve pretty much decided never to get into it. The chances of making it are slim and the chances of living these days are even slimmer. Anyway lets move away and get to the match that it actually rather good. Blazer gets some tight near falls but ends up walking into the Perfect Plex and that ends his night
WINNER – MR PERFECT
** – No doubt who was going over but it was a fun little match
Run DMC come down to the ring to do some rapping and I fast forward
2 on 3 handicap match
WWF Tag Team Championship
(C) Demolition Vs The Powers of Pain and Mr. Fuji
I’m going to have Demolitions theme stuck in my head all week now. Warlord and Axe start out Axe gains the better of that situation by simply pounding the shit out of him. That’s why I love Demolition their whole gimmick was that they’d just punch, kick and generally beat the hell out of you to get the win and had no shame in doing it. Smash and Barbarian go at it and trade some strikes and that ends in a stalemate. The Demo’s get a double clothesline on Warlord but Axe gets caught in the heel corner and Fuji comes in with some manager offence. Axe gets worked over for a while and gets Power Slammed by Barbarian but Fuji misses a top rope move and Axe makes a spring for his corner and his held back. Finally he makes the tag in to Smash who gets the better of both Powers. Axe and Warlord fight outside and inside Fuji throws salt at Smash but Smash dodges and Barbarian takes it to the face. Demolition use the ensuing chaos to get the Decapitation Elbow on Fuji for the win
WINNERS – DEMOLITION
*1/2 – It was mostly punching and kicking but I enjoyed it.
Schiavone tries to interview Randy Savage who is destroying his locker room so of course he doesn’t get very far.
Dino Bravo w/ Frenchy Martin Vs Ronnie Garvin
Before the match Jimmy Snuka comes out and does a lap of the ring before going to the back again. Well that was rather weird. This must have been his return to the WWF. Garvin is a guy a lot of guys dislike because he got a fluke NWA Title win in 1987 but I bear him no grudge and quite like him as a worker. Bravo does some pounding to start and goes to a bear hug. Bravo fights out of a Power Bomb with some right hands and starts his comeback with some open hand chops and gets a couple of near falls. Garvin goes to the sleeper but that leads nowhere fast so he tries a piledriver but he gets back dropped out but turns that into a roll up for another near fall. Garvin fails on a 10 punch attempt and Bravo gets a side slam for the win
WINNER – DINO BRAVO
* – Man the 80’s were a weird decade weren’t they? Anyway Garvin beats down Martin with his Garvin Stomp post match
The Brain Busters w/ Bobby Heenan Vs Strike Force
This was Strike Forces return after Martel was put out by Demolition. It doesn’t last long till all four are going at it and Strike Force clear the ring. Martel and Anderson go at it inside and have a nice mat wrestling exhibition. In a nice spot Martel turns a body vice into a Boston Crab and Tully makes the save. Santana gets the tag and Strike Force do the old “double figure four” spot. Tito and Tully do a pin fall sequence. Santana goes for the Flying Jalapeno on Tully but hits Martel by mistake. The Busters then start working over Tito in their corner. Tito gets a body press on Tully but gets held back from making the tag and Anderson puts him in a camel clutch. Tito runs into a raised Anderson knee in the corner but is able to catch him on top and throw him off. Tito crawls into his corner but Martel won’t tag him and makes his way to the back. Tito then has the hell kicked out of him by the Brain Busters and Spike Piledriver ends it soon after
WINNERS – THE BRAIN BUSTERS
*** – Good tag match but it really needed to be longer and Tito had to have been beaten up much longer. Martel turns heel in a post match promo and would become “The Model” soon after
Pipers Pit
This is the famous Pit where Brother Love dresses up as Piper before getting run off and Piper sprays Morton Downey Jr. Brother Loves impersonation of Piper is quite good but besides that it’s pretty dated. I thought Brother Love was brilliant as everyone wanted to kill him and he avoided getting beaten up for so long until finally Ultimate Warrior got his hands on him and tied him up half naked. That’s on the “WWF Funniest Moments” video which I HAVE to do a review of one day
Recap of the Mega Powers. Basically, for the four of you who don’t know, Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage were a team throughout 1988 but Savage grew jealous of Hogan and felt that Hogan was going after Elizabeth so he turned on him in early 1989 and that set up the big match at this show.
Hulk Hogan goes on a rant saying that Randy Savage couldn’t be the man he was and that he used him and the Hulkamaniacs. He then goes on about the building imploding and stuff.
Special Referee Big John Studd
Andre the Giant Vs Jake Roberts
This was a feud based around Andre being afraid of snakes and Jake nearly gave him a heart attack by throwing a snake at him. Andre pounds the crap out of Jake with some of his offence but Jake fires back with some right hands and ties Andre up in the ropes. Andre gets out and chokes Jake and nails some head butts. Andre very slowly beats Jake down and the crowd is less than enthused. Jake mounts a comeback and sends Andre into an exposed turnbuckle but he gets thrown outside. Studd and Andre have an argument about Andre not letting Jake get back in. Jake grabs the bag with Damian in it as Studd and Andre start fighting. Dibiase grabs the snake as Andre attacks Studd. Jake gets the snake back and makes the save.
WINNER – JAKE ROBERTS BY DQ
No Rating – That was pretty bad
The Hart Foundation Vs Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine w/ Jimmy Hart
Honky and Bret start out and lock up with Honky doing some punching. Bret flips out of a body slam and gets a rolling cradle for two. Bret gets a couple of atomic drops and Anvil comes in with a series of dropkicks. Anvil gets two from a clothesline on Valentine. The Hart Foundation pretty much stays in control throughout and Valentine makes the save after a vertical suplex. Jimmy Hart throws in the microphone but Bret grabs it and uses it for the win
WINNERS – THE HART FOUNDATION
½* – Pretty much a squash
WWF Intercontinental Championship
(C) Ultimate Warrior Vs Ravishing Rick Rude w/ Bobby Heenan
this was the beginning of the big Warrior Vs Rude program that went on throughout the summer of 89 and produced some great matches. Rude and Warrior just clicked and Rude could always get something out of him plus Warrior was on a roll around this time. Warrior wastes no time attacking Ride and targets the lower back with some forearms and throws Rude into the corner spine first a few times. Rude takes a hard Irish Whip and Warrior goes to the bear hug and the ref stops Rude going to the eyes to break. That was a neat touch. Rude manages to fight out but Warrior stays in control with a back body drop but takes some knees to the gut on a splash attempt. Rude goes to the ribs and gets a piledriver for two. Rude gets a chin crusher and attempts to do some grinding but his back is too hurt. Nice bit of selling there. Rude goes to a sit out surfboard but Warrior fights out and gets a big clothesline to start his comeback. Rude is selling like a trooper for Warrior here. Warrior misses a charge in the corner and Rude goes for the Rude Awakening but Warrior powers out of it. Warrior clotheslines Rude onto the apron and goes for a suplex but Heenan trips him up and Rude lands on top for the three count
WINNER – RICK RUDE
*** – Really solid match with some great selling by Rude. Believe it or not the Summer Slam match would go on to top this one if you don’t believe me check my archives. Post match Warrior gets a botched Gorilla Press on Heenan. No wonder Heenan hates him.
Bad News Brown Vs Jim Duggan
I’ve heard that Bad News was considered for a title run at some point yet here he is in the death slot while Hogan and Savage main event. Funny how things like that happen isn’t it? I honestly can’t see Bad News as world champion but that could be down to the way he was booked. Duggan and Bad News go at it with Duggan gaining the advantage and Bad News bailing. Duggan no sells some shots to the head and they just sort of walk around the ring doing nothing of interest. Duggan gets some shoulder blocks in the corner but walks into a boot in the corner. Bad News sends Duggan outside and rams him into the post. Back inside he goes for a side kick but Duggan dodges it and shoulder barges him outside. Bad News grabs a chair so Duggan grabs his 2 X 4 and they go at it as the ref throws the match out
NO CONTEST
¼*
Bobby Heenan Vs Red Rooster
This was Roosters revenge for Bobby Heenan treating him like crap when he was his manager. Anyway Heenan is still hurt from the earlier Warrior beating so Rooster quickly pins him within 30 seconds and Brawler attacks Rooster after that to set up a that big feud that sold out every arena in the country. In fact both Terry Taylor and Steve Lombardi now live in houses made of gold thanks to all the money this feud made them. They once got a 8.7 rating for a big Texas Death Match that went on for 5 hours and was a ***** classic.
Mean Gene is with Elizabeth. She says she hopes that no one is seriously injured.
WWF Championship
(C) Randy Savage Vs Hulk Hogan. Elizabeth is in a neutral corner
Savage plays some mind games to start and they lock up with Hogan powering Savage down. Savage stalls some more to get Hogan riled up and goes to a side headlock and that leads to a drop down segment which ends with Hogan knocking Savage down and Savage bailing. Savage goes to the headlock again and gets some sly punches in when he can. Finally Hogan snaps and chases Savage around the ring but Savage uses Elizabeth as a shield as a chance to run away. Hogan gets a front face lock and turns that into a side headlock. Wow wrestling in an 80’s Hogan main event. Hogan gets some fists and then goes to the arm but Savage gets a thumb to the eyes and heads up with a double axe handle for two. Savage gets an arm bar as the fans get behind Hogan but Savage pulls what hair Hogan has to keep him on the mat. Savage is ruling it as super dick head in this one and Jesse is hilarious calling Hogan “The Chumpster”. Hogan fights out of the hold and uses leverage to send Savage to the outside which is fair game as Savage was pulling his hair. Hogan sends Savage into the ropes and gets the Axe Bomber and a series of elbows. Savage gets a boot to the face and a hart attack clothesline for two. Hogan is cut above the left eye here and Savage goes to the side headlock. Hogan fights out of the hold and gets a shoulder block and a big atomic drop but he misses an elbow. Savage knees Hogan chest first into the turnbuckle and gets a school boy for two. Hogan gets sent into the corner and falls to his knees and Savage shows no mercy by staying on the eye. Hogan does some hulking up and gets a clothesline in the corner and throws Savage out of the ring like a javelin. Elizabeth comes over to help him but he chews her out and goes back after Hogan’s eye. Hogan mounts a comeback and tries to send him into the ring post but Elizabeth asks him not to and Savage sends Hogan into the post. Savage starts shoving Elizabeth and the ref decides to send her to the back. Savage gets a big axe handle off the top to the outside sending Hogan throat first into the guardrail. Man I love Randy Savage. Savage goes right to the throat and is getting reams of heel heat from the crowd. Savage stays on the throat with a knee drop for two and chokes Hogan with some wrist tape. Savage just plain chokes Hogan next now THAT’S some hatred. Savage heads up top and gets the elbow but Hogan throws him off at two and starts hulking up. Hogan gets the punches, the boot and the leg drop and that makes him the two time WWF Champion
WINNER – HULK HOGAN
***1/2 – Really great match with Savage playing the heel awesomely and Hogan working his arse off to pull something special out
The Inside Pulse
Well this show is a pretty mixed bag. Most of the matches are pointless filler but there are a couple of good tag matches, a good IC Title match and the main event is a really good match with a great story behind it. It’s well worth a purchase if you live in the UK as you can buy it with Wrestlemania VI for 20 quid. Nothing short of a bargain
Oh and by the way my final death count at the end of the show – 8. My God that is just plain shocking with nearly every match having a deceased person in it.
