0.5 points: a win via DQ or count-out; extra for falls in stipulation matches (ie: iron man matches, elimination tag matches, traditional Survivor Series elimination tag team match, etc)
1 point: main-eventing the show; winning via pin or submission (in a tag team match, the person getting the winning fall will get an EXTRA 0.5 points); winning a stipulation match; successfully retaining a title
2 points: capturing a title
The star rating: the exact star rating a match gets will be considered points for all the participants
Vice-versa for those wrestlers who get pinned or drop titles, as the exact same number of points will be TAKEN from said wrestlers
In case there’s a draw, those two (or more) wrestlers involved will be untied by a) number of victories; b) the overall number of main-events; c) direct confrontations between each other; and d) the number of appearances, as I will give the edge to the wrestler who appeared less times on the reviews and managed to get as many points as someone with more appearances
There are always changes when necessary, such as in “unique” gimmick matches (ie: the WWF/E’s Royal Rumble match, etc) – I will let you know at the beginning of the particular show’s review.
Welcome everyone to the review of the second edition of The Main Event as we get closer and closer to WrestleMania V. There’s only one edition of SNME to go before the big event, with a Clash of the Champions and Chi-Town Rumble from the NWA happening before ‘Mania as well.
These were the champions at the time:
WWF Champion: Randy Savage
Intercontinental Champion: The Ultimate Warrior
Tag Team Champions: Demolition (Ax & Smash)
Women’s Champion: Rockin’ Robin
The hosts are Vince McMahon & Jesse Ventura
The Mega Powers (Randy Savage & Hulk Hogan)(w/ Miss Elizabeth) vs. The Twin Towers (Akeem & The Big Bossman)(w/ Slick)
Both heels took turns attacking the Mega Powers on different editions of the Brother Love show to get us here. Meanwhile, the babyfaces have obviously not been getting along so well during the last few months mostly due to Savage being paranoid over Elizabeth and Hogan being an asshole. Bossman and Savage start but Bossman wants Hogan. Savage brings him in so it’s Hogan starting instead. Hogan obviously dominates and forces the heels to regroup while generously allowing Savage to get some shots in. Man, could anyone ask for a better tag team partner than the Hulkster!? Savage gets in with an axehandle to the African Dream before getting Hogan back in. However, the heels corner Hogan to take over with Bossman hitting a piledriver. Hogan tries to fight back only to walk right into a Bossman spinebuster for two. Hot tag Savage for a high cross that gets two, but Macho quickly finds himself playing face-in-peril and getting dominated by both Twin Towers after Slick gets a shot in. Akeem then sends Savage flying right into Elizabeth, knocking her down and out. Now the famous story and turn begins, as Hogan tends to Elizabeth and takes her all the way to the back while Akeem brings a visually jealous Savage by the hair back in. We go to break with Hogan worried about Elizabeth in the back.
Commercial
Back from break as Savage continues to get destroyed by both heels while Hogan is still in the back worried with Elizabeth. Liz wakes up from her coma and (rightfully) tells Hogan to go back to the ring and help Randy once she finds out the match is still going on. I mean he’s a wrestler, not a doctor. Which means not only would he not do anything to help Elizabeth, but he’s also leaving his partner alone in the ring at the same time and not doing anything to help him either. That’s a DOUBLE useless asshole move! With Hogan finally back on the apron Savage drops the axehandle on Bossman as Hogan desperately wants to get in but Savage ignores him and tries to win the match by himself. I mean, to be fair, Savage has been there alone for the last five minutes so why would he tag Hogan in now that he’s finally in control? Hogan keeps on crying in the corner so Savage finally has enough of him and brings him in the hard way with a slap to the face. Savage proceeds to grab his belt and now he’s the one leaving. Fair enough. If you’ve never watched any Hogan match in your life you might be thinking he’s in serious trouble at this point, now that he’s alone with the two baddest heels on the roster at the time. For those who have, you know what comes next. Hogan finishes both Akeem and Bossman with the Usual like they’re nothing, with Akeem taking that big leg and the pinfall at 22:00.
Analysis: This is not an easy match to rate as it was more of an angle to sell WrestleMania V than a wrestling match per say. The story, however, was fantastic and this was a pleasure to see. I feel all characters involved are right in some wau and everyone’s actions are justified, so it’s no secret why this feud worked so well. Just a normal tag match with your typical Hogan comeback to finish, but an all-time great angle and segment that people still remember today that has to elevate the rating. **
– Meanwhile, all three are in the back and Savage finally explodes in Hogan’s face letting him know everything that has been running through his mind. Hogan ignores him and turns his back to ask Elizabeth “please talk some sense into him” so Savage hits him with the belt in the back of the head to FINALLY turn heel and the beating is on. Savage even shoves the injured Elizabeth out of the way to make sure everyone knows he’s a bad guy now. Brutus Beefcake comes in to rescue Hogan but he too takes a shot as Savage leaves alone with his title. AWESOME.
(Alleged) main event: Ted DiBiase(w/ Virgil) vs. Hercules
Let’s be honest right about now… who gives a crap about this after that? These two have been having a decent feud, but there’s no way they can follow the EXPLOSION and everyone knows it. Hercules fights out both DiBiase and Virgil to start with a gorilla press slam on DiBiase. DiBiase cheats to get Hercules outside of the ring, and back in the million dollar fistdrops get two. So does a flying elbow. Hercules tries to come back with a suplex but ends up running into a boot for two. Hercules hits a powerslam to get back in control, though, and Virgil wraps Herc’s chain around the turnbuckle. DiBiase is the one who ends up eating it for a nearfall. Another whip into it sets up the torture rack, but with the ref busy trying to remove the chain, Virgil gets involved and allows DiBiase to get a roll-up with a handful of tights at 7:12.
Analysis: Decent enough and watchable but like I said before, who cares? *1/2
– Hulk Hogan does not want to comment about what happened today and he tries to find Savage as we fade to black.
END OF THE SHOW
FINAL THOUGHTS: What a great show to sell WrestleMania. The whole Mega Powers storyline was terrific and is still remembered by fans these days. You obviously should not go into this show expecting to see spectacular wrestling matches, as this was about building up Hogan vs. Savage for WrestleMania V. It did that and then some. I won’t even talk about DiBiase/Hercules because there’s literally no point. 9/10
Here are the points for the show:
Hulk Hogan: 3.5 points (2 for star rating + 1 for winning + 0.5 for winning the fall)
Ted DiBiase: 3.5 points (1.5 for star rating + 1 for winning + 1 for main-eventing)
Randy Savage: 3 points (2 for star rating + 1 for winning)
Hercules: 1.5 point (1.5 for star rating + 1 for main-eventing – 1 for losing)
Big Bossman: 1 point (2 for star rating – 1 for losing)
Akeem: 0.5 points (2 for star rating – 1 for losing – 0.5 for losing the fall)
As always, thank you so much for your time. We’re getting close to WrestleMania V and the legendary Hogan vs. Savage main-event, but we still have a few stops before getting there. Up next is my very first review of an NWA show, Chi-Town Rumble. And if you want to talk about legendary.. Flair vs. Steamboat! Until next time.
Hello everyone. Welcome to the review of the very first PPV of 1989. This is the second ever edition of the Royal Rumble, the first to be broadcast on PPV – Rumble ’88 was televised. Considering this is a PPV with a very unique match, there will obviously be some changes to the point system. As far as all the regular preliminary matches go, I will use the regular point system, which works like this:
1/2 point (0.5): a win via DQ or count-out; extra for pinfall/submission falls in stipulation matches (ie: iron man matches, elimination tag matches, steel cage match, etc)
1 point: main-eventing the show; winning via pin or submission (in a tag team match, the person getting the winning fall will get an EXTRA 1/2 point); winning a stipulation match; successfully retaining a title
2 points: capturing a title
The star rating: the exact star rating a match gets will be considered points for all the participants
Vice-versa for those wrestlers who get pinned or drop titles, as the exact same number of points will be TAKEN from said wrestlers
In case there’s a draw, those two (or more) wrestlers involved will be untied by a) number of victories; b) the overall number of main-events; c) direct confrontations between each other; and d) the number of appearances, as I will give the edge to the wrestler who appeared less times on the reviews and managed to get as many points as someone with more appearances
As far as the Rumble match itself goes, every elimination made will be worth 0.5 points. Getting eliminated will cost the wrestler 1 point. As for winning the whole thing, it will earn the victorious wrestler 5 points. Enjoy the review!
The hosts are Gorilla Monsoon & Jesse Ventura
Two Out Of Three Falls Six Men Tag Team Match: The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart) & Jim Duggan vs. The Fabulous Rougeaus (Jacques & Raymond Rougeau) & Dino Bravo(w/ Jimmy Hart & Frenchy Martin)
Neidhart starts things off with Dino for the Vince McMahon favorite – THE BATTLE OF THE BIG SWEATY MEN. Bravo briefly wins that but misses an elbow, which allows Anvil to bring in Duggan and Bravo wants none of him. Raymond tries his luck only to get slammed as Duggan tags in Bret. The Hitman goes after Raymond’s arm and the two quickly get into an exciting pinning sequences, with Bret scoring two off a small package, sunset flip and finally a crossbody. Raymond has enough of that and brings in Jacques, with the two sharing a hug for moral support. The crowd gets they’re doing this to slow down Bret for a while and it draws good heat. The Rougeaus have been a pleasure to see since their much-needed heel turn. The heels end up having a taste of their own medicine, though, as Bret stacks the three of them in the corner and Neidhart comes in running everyone down like a truck. However, the Rougeaus end up sending Bret to the floor to kill the momentum dead. Back in, Bravo with a side suplex and Le Bombe Des Rougeaus give the heels the first fall at about 5:30.
Bravo & Rougeaus 1-0 Duggan & Harts (Raymond over Bret)
Winner and loser of the previous fall have to start the next fall as per the rules, so it’s back to Raymond and Bret. Gutwrench suplex puts Bret down as Jacques gets in to add an elbow for two. Dino Bravo tags in and gets two off the classic Bret Hart turnbuckle bump. Atomic drop gets two more. Double-team knee by the Rougeaus earn the heels another nearfall. Back to Bravo for a bearhug, with the crowd cheering Bret on while chanting ‘USA’. Kinda funny considering one of Bret’s best work was as the Canadian hero who hated America. Jacques goes really old school (even for ’89) with the camel clutch, while the Rougeaus add some nice heel shenanigans behind the ref’s back. Bravo comes in for a sloppy forearm that looked really bad. The way Bravo tags out of the match is really stupid, you have to see it to understand. Back to the Rougeaus for an abdominal stretch and more cheating, as poor Bret has been playing Ricky Morton for the entire second fall so far. Bret briefly reverses a Raymond slam by landing on top of him for a nearfall, but the heels quickly cut the ring in half and bring him back to their corner for more heat. Simple and effective formula that always works in tag team wrestling. Jacques tries a monkey flip but Bret finally has the distance he needs to bring in Duggan for the hot tag. And I do mean HOT tag, as the crowd goes nuts for it. Duggan runs wild on anything and everything that moves. He slingshots Neidhart into Raymond for two, but then he does the same with Bret and that ties things up at almost 14:00.
Harts & Duggan 1-1 Bravo & Rougeaus (Duggan over Raymond)
Duggan goes after all the heels to start the third fall, only to quickly be caught and dominated by them. Choking follows and a Bravo elbowdrop gets two. Bret comes in again with a backbreaker on Bravo and he goes up only for Raymond to shove him off. That draws everyone in and it quickly is BREAKING LOOSE IN TULSA. Bret rolls up Bravo in the middle of the confusion for two and a shot by Duggan with the 2×4 behind the referee’s back gives Bret and the babyface team the winning pin at 15:42.
Harts & Duggan 2-1 Bravo & Rougeaus (Bret over Bravo)
Analysis: Even though it’s arguable that they missed the peak of the match by three or four minutes, this was a very enjoyable tag team bout that was (smartly) left in the hands of the more technically sound Hart Foundation and Rougeaus for the most part. It was smartly worked with the heels doing a terrific job of cutting the ring in half while Bret played the Ricky Morton role to perfection as usual. The hot tag to Duggan at the end of the second fall is an example of how effective he was in that role. Good opener. ***
– Meanwhile, a confident Ted DiBiase picks his entry number for the main-event. His confidence dies as soon as he looks at the paper though, and he quickly calls Slick to talk some business. The Honky Tonk Man is next and he is not impressed with his number. The Bushwhackers are like whatever and switch their numbers anyway because .. being stupid is their gimmick. Bad News Brown no-sells his entry number and just says he has bad news for everyone. Finally, The Rockers are just happy to be in the match. I always enjoy these segments and I have no idea why they’re not done anymore.
WWF Women’s Championship: Rockin’ Robin(c) vs. Judy Martin
This is the first female match on PPV in the WWF since Survivor Series 1987 by the way. They are also rarely on TV. The former champ Sensational Sherri joins us on commentary for this one. Martin misses a blind charge to start and Robin quickly takes over with a slam. Robin wants to follow with a Boston crab but gets small packaged for two instead. Martin misses an elbow but ends up hitting a slam of her own for two. Backslide gets two. Robin gets her own nearfalls with a boot to the face as well as a small package. Robin fakes a flying high crossbody to distract Martin before hitting it the second time for the win to retain at 6:24.
Analysis: Nice little finish, but apart from that this was nothing more than a glorified bathroom break between two characters who rarely appeared on TV and were therefore not over whatsoever with the audience. Easily the least important thing on this show. 1/2*
– Meanwhile, Sean Mooney confronts Slick about the meeting with DiBiase. Slick says he hasn’t been with Ted DiBiase for over a month, but when Mooney brings up the meeting from earlier, Slick says he was talking about a different Ted DiBiase – the one who shines his shoes. Funny stuff!
Posedown: The Ultimate Warrior & Rick Rude
This is a posedown with the winner (Warrior, duh) to be decided via crowd reaction. The four rounds are: “the double bicep pose”, “best abs”, “most muscular” and “posing medley”. Warrior obviously wins all four before Rude attacks him in the back of the head with his metal workout bar. This was entertaining enough thanks to Rude and Heenan’s ridiculous antics such as Heenan putting oil on Rude’s abs before the abs round while Warrior was Warrior as usual. Plus it set up their fantastic feud over Warrior’s IC Title. Thumbs up.
– Meanwhile, Miss Elizabeth has thought about each and every possibility in the Rumble match. Except for a showdown between Savage and Hogan. She doesn’t even want to think about that. Great facials and character work by Liz, she was just awesome at it.
Battle For The Crown: King Haku(w/ Bobby Heenan) vs. Harley Race(w/ Bobby Heenan)
After the then-King Harley Race took a sabbatical due to injury in early 1988, Heenan replaced him with Haku as the new King. Race returned in late 1988 with intentions of winning back his crown despite still being a heel. The big selling point here was to see who Heenan would eventually side with. A bunch of local workers carry Haku on the throne and Race brings him out of there the hard way. Race whips him into the post and hits a suplex back in for two with Heenan cheering him on. Race ends up running into the post as Heenan now cheers for Haku, but goes back to Race’s side after he hits an atomic drop. Haku dumps Race to the outside before (obviously) winning the battle of the headbutts. Rule number one in wrestling: never headbutt a Samoan. Race hits a piledriver for two. Haku with a suplex gets two. Race with a suplex of his own as he tries another piledriver, this time on the floor, but Haku backdrops out of it. He ends up hitting it on the floor anyway, though. Race gets two off a kneedrop back in, with Haku missing his own knee. Race follows it up by going for a flying headbutt (again, remember rule number one in wrestling…) only to miss and for Haku to finish with the thrust kick at 9:01.
Analysis: The whole Heenan soap opera on the outside was great, while the match itself was not. It was just kinda there. Heenan obviously left with the winner in typical Heenan fashion. *1/2
– Meanwhile, we get final comments from the participants before the Rumble match, which is up next. This time Ted DiBiase is much more confident about his number than he was before. One can only wonder why, HAHAHAHAH!
Main-event: Royal Rumble Match
Number one goes to Ax while number two goes to… Smash. They immediately go at it to get the first ever 30-man Royal Rumble match underway. A slugfest is won by Smash but he misses a charge and Ax hits a clothesline and goes to work on his partner. Ax tries to eliminate Smash but can’t to do it, and in comes Andre the Giant at #3. The tag champs obviously team up to take on Andre and proceed to choke him in the corner before Mr. Perfect comes in at #4. He goes after everyone while Andre puts Smash out for the first elimination. Now Perfect and Ax go to work on Andre, but they can’t get along as well and Ax turns on Perfect which allows Andre to take over. Ronnie Garvin is #5 to go after Andre as well. Andre ends up cleaning house anyway with Perfect standing out as he literally flies off Andre’s punches before Greg Valentine joins the gang at #6. It’s still not enough to take down Andre, however, and Garvin ends up getting eliminated by Andre instead. He proceeds to choke out Ax in the corner and Jake Roberts is finally in at #7. He ends up choking Roberts to absolute death in the corner and dumps him out like he’s nothing as a bald Ron Bass joins at #8. It’s back to Andre vs everyone while the others just kick and punch each other in the corner with Shawn Michaels entering at #9, years before being a contender. Meanwhile, Ax is finally thrown out (long after Smash) by Perfect. He dumps Michaels too, but Michaels pulls a Steamboat and skins the cat to stay in. He dropkicks Perfect out but he too gets back in and stays in the match. Bushwhacker Butch is #10 while Roberts comes back in with the snake, causing Andre to eliminate himself. L A M E. Absolutely lame. The whole point of the first third of the match was to put over how tough Andre is, only to have him run away because of his fear of snakes. Plus not to mention that Roberts (the babyface might I add) was fairly eliminated by Andre and just came back looking like a sore loser who couldn’t get the job done when it counted. I absolutely hate this feud.
With Andre gone it’s now down to nothing but midcarders kicking and punching in the corner. Honky Tonk Man joins the match with #11, forming a partnership with Valentine and Tito Santana is #12. Same thing, gets to run wild for all of fifteen seconds before it’s back to kicking and punching in the corner. Apart from that nothing is really going on. Bad News Brown joins at #13 while Tito sends Honky back to Memphis. Valentine manages to survive, though, and he teams up with Bass to choke out Tito only for Michaels to save him. Valentine almost puts him away but he hangs on as fellow Rocker Marty Jannetty enters at #14. A double dropkick by the Rockers put Bass out. Randy Savage is in at #15 and hopefully it’s time to start cleaning house. Nope, he just gets worked over in the corner like everyone else. Arn Anderson enters at #16 to eliminate Michaels alongside Savage, who then goes after Bad News. These two were in a feud over the title but I think they never had a meaningless match over it, as instead Brown lost his undefeated streak in a match to Hogan. Yeah, I’m shocked too. Tully Blanchard is #17 to join Anderson, and they get rid of Jannetty. Here comes Hulk Hogan at #18, and you better believe now it’s time to clean this house. Perfect falls victim to the power of Hulkamania and goes flying to the floor. He tries to slam Bad News out, but Bad News turns that slam into a guillotine in a pretty sweet reversal. Tito gets thrown out by the Brain Busters. Then all the heels team up to go after Hogan, but Savage is distracted fighting with the Bushwhacker in the other corner and doesn’t save him. Bushwhacker Luke is #19 but his cousin is quickly eliminated by Brown. More heat on Hogan while Savage is busy with Brown this time and Koko B. Ware is #20. Nice little story between the Mega Powers going on at this point. Arn goes to the top only to get slammed off by Hogan. Koko stays true to his Birdman name and goes flying out at the hands of Hogan. The remaining Bushwhacker is out as well. Both Brain Busters go via Hogan too. Warlord is #21 and he’s immediately clotheslined out by Hogan after two seconds. He then clears the whole ring by coming up from behind to eliminate both Brown and SAVAGE. Uh oh.. Savage, having done nothing to Hogan, comes back in and is rightfully pissed off but they end up talking and shaking hands before Savage leaves the ring. The Big Bossman is #22 and the crowd goes insane over this confrontation. Hogan drops some elbows but ends up taking a piledriver and Akeem is #23 to make this even more interesting. Now Hogan is in there alone against both Twin Towers. Don’t put your partner out from behind like a dick next time, Hulkster. The Twin Towers take advantage of their (legal) numbers advantage to eliminate Hogan, who then obviously throws a tantrum and gets back in to eliminate Bossman. This Hulk Hogan would SO not work these days. First of all the fact he ended up in a disadvantage against Akeem & Bossman was all because of his stupidity, had he not eliminated Savage it would’ve been two-on-two, plus he was cleanly eliminated and then came back just because his strategy ended up not working. How is that supposed to be anyone’s fault but his!?
We’re now down to Akeem and entrant #24 Brutus Beefcake. Akeem dominates Beefcake quite easily and Red Rooster comes in at #25 only to get slammed by Akeem. Barbarian is #26 and hopefully he does better than his partner. He’s already been there for over two seconds, mission accomplished. With the whole Mega Powers/Twin Towers storyline gone, this now goes back to midcarders kicking and punching each other in the corner while waiting for the next guy to come in. Meanwhile Akeem gives Rooster the 747. The returning Big John Studd is #27. Nothing happens and Hercules comes in next at #28. Rick Martel is #29, him too making a return after getting injured by Demolition shortly after ‘Mania IV. The crowd couldn’t care less, though, and he ALSO joins the corner slugfest. Finally, who else but Ted DiBiase comes in at #30. He immediately dumps Rooster but Hercules gets in his face. Beefcake jumps Hercules from behind with a sleeper, though, which allows DiBiase to dump both over the top rope at the same time. And we’re down to…
Final five: DiBiase, Akeem, Studd, Barbarian & Martel
Barbarian goes up with a flying headbutt on Martel only to then miss a charge and get eliminated by Martel with a dropkick. Martel gets all excited with his elimination and starts running wild on the heels before Akeem catches him quite easily and puts him out with a slam. DiBiase makes Akeem an offer to double-team Studd and they do, only for Studd to pull DiBiase in front of him on a corner splash by Akeem. Studd proceeds to eliminate Akeem and we’re down to Studd and DiBiase. Studd hits a double-arm suplex while DiBiase asks for mercy and gives him some money, but Studd refuses and eliminates him to win the Rumble.
Analysis: This is a pretty hard one to rate, so let’s go in parts. The first third of this match was all about Andre, and I absolutely hated how they finally eliminated him. His feud with Jake Roberts continues to suck and is only killing the mystique of Andre. At the prior year’s Royal Rumble, for example, Andre was having a big contract signing with Hulk Hogan for their epic rematch at The Main Event weeks later, which would be seen by 30-something MILLION people! Here, one year later, he’s afraid of snakes. The second third of this match was all about the Mega Powers storyline. Despite some of my comments earlier about how the Hogan persona wouldn’t work today, remember that I was talking about TODAY, here in 1989 it worked and the teases with Savage are only getting more and more interesting. The final third of this match was about DiBiase and his money, and it would be nice to actually see him win a big match at least once. His character work is ridiculously great anyway, but his record in big matches is basically losing to the Mega Powers and now losing the Rumble to Studd. It would help him and the company make even more money if he won important matches here and there to piss off the fans. Plus, as you probably know now, Studd’s win ended up not meaning much, as Studd quietly left and retired a few months after this anyway. Too much kicking and punching in the corner between these stories didn’t help either. This was the first 30 man Rumble match and is therefore special for that. Overall, I’d say it had its moments but it was a struggle to get through at times. I’d put this right at the middle of the scale at **1/2.
END OF THE SHOW
Final thoughts: I’d say this ended up being an enjoyable show, apart from the nothingness that was the women’s match as well as some dead spots in the Rumble match. Apart from that there was always something going on. The match of the night in my opinion is the opening six men tag match with two out of three falls rules between the teams of the Hart Foundation & Jim Duggan and the Rougeaus & Dino Bravo. I’d give the show 6/10.
The points for this show:
Big John Studd: 9.5 points (2.5 for star rating + 1 for main-eventing + 1 for two eliminations + 5 for winning)
Hulk Hogan: 7.5 points (2.5 for star rating + 1 for main-eventing + 5 for ten eliminations – 1 for losing)
Jim Duggan: 4.5 points (3 for star rating + 1 for winning + 0.5 for winning a fall)
Andre the Giant: 4.5 points (2.5 for star rating + 1 for main-eventing + 2 for four eliminations – 1 for losing)
Bret Hart: 4 points (3 for star rating + 1 for winning + 0.5 for winning one fall – 0.5 for losing a fall)
Jim Neidhart: 4 points (3 for star rating + 1 for winning)
Savage & DiBiase: 4 points (2.5 for star rating + 1 for main-eventing + 1.5 for three eliminations – 1 for losing)
Arn Anderson, Akeem & Barbarian: 3.5 points (2.5 for star rating + 1 for main-eventing + 1 for two eliminations – 1 for losing)
Mr. Perfect, Michaels, Butch, Santana, Brown, Jannetty, Blanchard, Bossman & Martel: 3 points (2.5 for star rating + 1 for main-eventing + 0.5 for an elimination – 1 for losing)
Ax, Smash, Garvin, Valentine, Roberts, Bass, Honky , Luke, Koko, Warlord, Beefcake, Rooster & Hercules: 2.5 points (2.5 for star rating + 1 for main-eventing – 1 for losing)
Rockin’ Robin: 2.5 points (1 for pinfall win + 1 for successfully retaining a title + 0.5 for star rating)
King Haku: 2.5 points (1.5 for star rating + 1 for pinfall win)
Raymond Rougeau: 2 points (3 for star rating + 0.5 for winning a fall – 1 for losing – 0.5 for losing a fall)
Jacques Rougeau: 2 points (3 for star rating – 1 for losing)
Dino Bravo: 1.5 point (3 for star rating – 1 for losing – 0.5 for losing a fall)
Harley Race: 0.5 points (1.5 for star rating – 1 for pinfall loss)
Judy Martin: -0.5 points (0.5 for star rating – 1 for pinfall loss)
As always, thank you for your time and support. Don’t miss the next review of WWF’s The Main Event II, a show in which something historic happens. Something along the lines of an explosion! Until next time.
Hey there everyone. Welcome to the very first review of 1989. We kick things off with an edition of SNME, which features a hair match as well as a SummerSlam rematch between Warrior and Honky Tonk Man, and much more. Plus, the point system to determine the 1989 wrestler of the year starts here as well, with the NWA/WCW joining the party from this year going forward. Here’s how the point system works:
1/2 point (0.5): a win via DQ or count-out; extra for pinfall/submission falls in stipulation matches (ie: iron man matches, elimination tag matches, steel cage match, etc)
1 point: main-eventing the show; winning via pin or submission (in a tag team match, the person getting the winning fall will get an EXTRA 1/2 point); winning a stipulation match; successfully retaining a title
2 points: capturing a title
The star rating: the exact star rating a match gets will be considered points for all the participants
Vice-versa for those wrestlers who get pinned or drop titles, as the exact same number of points will be TAKEN from said wrestlers
In case there’s a draw, those two (or more) wrestlers involved will be untied by a) number of victories; b) the overall number of main-events; c) direct confrontations between each other; and d) the number of appearances, as I will give the edge to the wrestler who appeared less times on the reviews and managed to get as many points as someone with more appearances
There will of course be some special exceptions to these rules in some particular matches, such as the Royal Rumble or Survivor Series, but I will mention that at the time. Finally, the champions in the WWF at the time of this show:
WWF Champion: Randy Savage
Intercontinental Champion: The Ultimate Warrior
Tag Team Champions: Demolition (Ax & Smash)
Women’s Champion: Rockin’ Robin
Enjoy the review!
Your hosts are Vince McMahon & Jesse Ventura as usual
– ‘Outlaw’ Ron Bass opens the show with a promo on Brutus Beefcake. Bass says typical heel things while Mean Gene sells the presence of Miss Betsy.
– Brutus Beefcake is next. They show a recap of the feud, which started all the way back in the summer when Bass brutally attacked Beefcake and cost him his IC title shot at SummerSlam, which opened the door for Warrior. Beefcake wants revenge.
Hair vs. Hair: Brutus Beefcake vs. Ron Bass
Bass chokes away using Betsy before Beefcake can even enter the ring. Beefcake escapes the attack and steals Betsy from him, which makes the Outlaw bail while Brutus taunts him. Beefcake gets it away, and Bass is back in to get things going. Beefcake catches him with a high knee and sends Ron all the way to the floor. He keeps trying to get back up to the apron, but Beefcake keeps knocking him back down as the crowd is pretty much into it. Back in, a slugfest is won by Beefcake and the crowd counts along as he pounds away with punches. The confident Beefcake struts. Into the corner, where Bass finally gets something going by catching Brutus with a reverse atomic drop out of the corner. Bass proceeds to work over the midsection, with repeated knees and rights to the gut. He stays on it, adding an elbow, a forearm and a kick. Ron grabs Brutus’ head and arrogantly slams it into the mat to get heat. And back to the midsection he goes, with more of the same kicky punchy stuff. Ron with a piledriver, but he doesn’t want the pin yet. He proceeds to snap Beefcake’s throat on the top rope, but he still hasn’t had enough fun. Clothesline and he finally covers, but it only gets a nearfall. Now Bass is pissed, who argues with the ref. That allows Beefcake to block a second clothesline, and the sleeper puts Bass (and his hair) away at 7:40.
~Commercial~
– Back from break, ‘The Barber’ goes to work on the haircut to end the segment.
Analysis: As a match, it was very basic with lots of punches and kicks. There was some psychology(?) over Beefcake’s midsection, but no big deal was made out of it, and I never once saw Beefcake sell it like it could cost him the match. Neither did it factor in the finish. However, I will say it was nice to see them actually having a winner and delivering on the promised stipulation, unlike the whole Roberts/Rude deal. So props to them on that. **
– Mean Gene is in the back with Slick and The Twin Towers (Akeem & The Big Bossman). Akeem has a match with Hogan next, and Gene wants to know what is the Bossman doing there. Slick says it’s to keep things fair since Hogan likes to break the rules here and there.
– Hulk Hogan & Miss Elizabeth are next. Gene is worried about how Hogan has everything against him. Hogan disagrees, saying that he always has Lady Luck on his back with Liz by his side. Randy Savage (the 1988 wrestler of the year) shows up to even the odds for the babyfaces.
Hulk Hogan(w/ Miss Elizabeth) vs. Akeem(w/ The Big Bossman & Slick)
Savage stays in the back watching the match with Mean Gene, while Liz goes to ringside with Hogan. Akeem misses a charge to start, with Hogan sending Slick flying into Akeem. Poor Akeem even gets Hogan’s attire in his mouth (literally) as Hogan pounds away and takes out all the heels. Hogan mocks Akeem’s dance before going for a bodyslam, and if you’ve watched at least one Hulk Hogan match in your life you know what happens here. Akeem takes control from there, only to miss another corner charge and get his head rammed into the turnbuckle repeatedly. A clothesline doesn’t take Akeem down, but a second one does and Bossman gets to take a bump for Mr. Superman too. That does open the door for a distraction, though, which allows Akeem to grab Hogan by the hair right into a wristlock. Hogan obviously punches his way out of that one, once again taking Akeem down after two clotheslines. Akeem goes flying into The Bossman, and he finally pleads for mercy on his knees. I know this is Hulk Hogan, but after all that concern by Mean Gene earlier, it would be nice to see the heels actually get something going. Otherwise, what was that concern all about? Has Mean Gene never seen a Hulk Hogan match like ever? Hogan of course mocks Akeem’s dance a bit more, so Akeem pulls the ref in the way of a Hogan corner charge. With the ref down and out, the usual heel beatdown follows. We cut backstage where Savage is watching the match alongside the still worried Okerlund. Savage is not going out there, he believes in Hogan. “GO HULKSTER!” Unlike Mean Gene, Savage has seen Hogan matches in the past, there’s nothing to be worried about. Meanwhile, we return to ringside with Akeem hitting Hogan with the 747 numerous times as the ring starts to get filled with garbage. I miss kayfabe! Liz has finally had enough, and she goes to the back to ask Savage for help. And we take a break.
~Commercial~
We come back with Akeem going up only to miss a flying splash. Meanwhile, Liz wants Savage to go to ringside, but he insists in staying. He has faith in Hogan. Akeem pounds away as Elizabeth returns to ringside. Not long after that Hogan is hulking up, thus proving Savage was right all along. The 24 INCH PYTHON CLOTHESLINE OF DEATH leaves Akeem seeing stars, which gives Hogan enough time to beat up both Bossman and Slick on the outside. Back in, the big boot still doesn’t put Akeem down, but the bodyslam does. It’s time to follow with the big leg, but Bossman hits Hogan in the back with the nightstick for the DQ at 8:06.
– Bossman joins for another beatdown, still no Savage. They turn their attention to Elizabeth to finally cross that line, as Savage runs in with a chair in hand to send the heels to the back. However, Liz is concerned with Hogan which Savage doesn’t appreciate. He argues with Liz, but she pretty much ignores him and walks away with the injured Hogan while Savage follows them yelling “ELIZABEEETH” to end the segment.
Analysis: I won’t even talk about the match itself, it was literally every basic Hulk Hogan TV match ever. Akeem hit his finisher numerous times and was still a victim of the deadly Hulk Hogan comeback like he was nothing, so that is clearly a down after all the hype. With that out of the way, I know this existed for one reason and one reason only: to build up The Main Event II and the inevitable feud between the Mega Powers. They were effective when it comes to that. I am very excited to see what comes next between these two. *1/4
– Meanwhile, Mean Gene is in the back with The Honky Tonk Man & Jimmy Hart. Honky says he’s the greatest Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion of all time and he’s taking it back tonight. He adds he’s going to be the first wrestler to regain said belt. Apparently Don Muraco never existed? What is a Pedro Morales? Nice heel promo by Honky.
– The Ultimate Warrior is up next. Mean Gene questions his strategy in accepting this rematch, considering Honky has had time to study him unlike at SummerSlam. Warrior ignores him and instead punches his cheeeeeest a loooooooooot before saying (or yelling)… something. I’m sure it was effective.
WWF Intercontinental Championship: The Ultimate Warrior(c) vs. The Honky Tonk Man(w/ Jimmy Hart)
But not before a break.
~Commercial~
We come back with Honky trying to run away from Warrior. That is before Warrior catches him and puts him back inside the ring with a gorilla press slam. Meanwhile, the clock surpasses the 00:30 mark, therefore meaning Honky has already done better than at SummerSlam. Way to go Honky! Warrior hits a big boot back in, and cracks Honky and Jimmy’s heads after the latter climbs up on the apron. Warrior spears Honky in the corner but a second one finds nobody. Hart distracts the ref allowing Honky to use the megaphone to take control. Hart even gets his little shots in while Honky distracts the ref, and the crowd hates it. Honky follows with some knees to the back, which are ultimately no-sold by Warrior but he misses an elbowdrop. Honky thinks about ramming Warrior’s head into the turnbuckle (seen that a lot on this show), but ends up eating that himself instead. Warrior splash finds knees for two. Warrior clothesline and the shoulderblock does it at 5:07.
Analysis: This was what it had to be. Despite being (way) longer than their SummerSlam bout, this was still smartly kept short so it wouldn’t expose the Warrior too much as they usually did. Honky got in some heat at least, so good for him. But at the end of the day, this was still nothing more than a glorified Ultimate Warrior squash. *
– Meanwhile, Mean Gene is once again in the back with Slick & The Twin Towers. Slick is happy for the beatdown, before questioning the Mega Powers’ relationship and saying his stable is like a family.
– Jesse Ventura interviews Bobby Heenan & The Red Rooster. Heenan and Ventura completely ignore Rooster and mock him for being rubbish, saying the only good thing about him is Heenan’s brain. I guess Terry Taylor really missed working marathons with Ric Flair over the NWA World title at this point in his career. I certainly can’t blame him.
The Red Rooster(w/ Bobby Heenan) vs. Tito Santana
This match is totally pointless, as it’s totally about Heenan and Rooster constantly fighting. Mat sequence to start, Rooster backs off and Heenan gives him advice. He ends up running into a dropkick anyway. Rooster stomps away, hitting a jawbreaker to create some distance before choking away. Santana with a takedown and he pounds away. Rooster turns the tables and tries a sunset flip, but Santana holds on and drops a right hand to Rooster’s jaw. Head meets the turnbuckle (again!) followed by a backdrop. Tito wants the figure four, but Rooster grabs the hair to escape. Heenan pushes Rooster off the ring to abuse him, and Rooster finally has enough and shoves him back.
~Commercial~
We come back to Santana hitting a suplex for two. Rooster comes back with a Flair kneedrop for two. Backbreaker gets two more. Rooster tries a suplex that Santana turns into a small package for two. Backslide gets two. Santana charge finds boot and a piledriver gets two. Out of all the matches to use the piledriver for a nearfall… this one? No wonder why the piledriver is more than dead nowadays and has been for years. Santana takes control but Rooster goes to eyes and stunguns him. Figure four is blocked and Santana dumps Rooster with a clothesline. Heenan puts him back inside the ring himself, and Santana follows with a quick roll-up from behind for the win after 7:27. Rooster finally snaps and attacks Heenan afterwards to turn face.
Analysis: Technically solid but this was way too long for what it truly was, filler. The Heenan/Rooster drama was the focus of this whole thing and it went a little bit too long. Still, the match was good enough. **
– Mr. Perfect interview. It’s his first appearance on SNME, so it’s nothing more than a basic promo to introduce the characters to those watching him for the first time. He basically likes to say the word ‘perfect’ a lot.
Main-event: Mr. Perfect vs. Koko B. Ware
Fast wrestling sequence gets things going, which ends with Koko dropkicking Perfect all the way to the outside. Perfect takes over back inside. Koko armdrags him and they go into another fast sequece off a lockup that ends with Perfect running into another Koko armdrag. Perfect (prepare to get shocked) rams him into the turnbuckle before Koko tries to do the same to Perfect only to eat an elbow. Dropkick sends Koko flying. Back in, Koko catches him with a clothesline but misses a charge and the Perfectplex ends things at 3:10.
Analysis: A squash, but fast paced and exciting while it lasted. *1/2
– The Mega Powers are backstage. Hogan says when you mess with one of them, you mess with both. They are as one. Savage adds they all feel the pain together and celebrate glory together. Elizabeth is the power that keeps them going.
– Vince & Jesse promote The Main Event II to end the show. Make sure you don’t miss my review of that show too.
END OF THE SHOW
Final thoughts: Nothing out of this world, but easily the best edition of SNME in over a year. ‘The Main Event I’ aside, this is the best SNME since the one featuring Savage/Bret all the way back in late ’87. The matches were not great as usual, but the show did a great job of putting an end to the Warrior/Honky and Beefcake/Bass feuds as well as making people invested in the Hogan/Savage promo and their inevitable feud. 6/10
The points for this show:
Mr. Perfect: 3.5 points (1.5 for star rating + 1 for pinfall win + 1 for main-eventing)
Brutus Beefcake: 3 points (2 for star rating + 1 for submission win)
The Ultimate Warrior: 3 points (1 for star rating + 1 for pinfall win + 1 for successfully defending a title)
Tito Santana: 3 points (2 for star rating + 1 for pinfall win)
Hulk Hogan: 1.75 point (1.25 for star rating + 0.5 for DQ win)
Koko B. Ware: 1.5 point (1.5 for star rating + 1 for main-eventing – 1 for pinfall loss)
The Red Rooster: 1 point (1 for star rating – 1 for pinfall loss)
Ron Bass: 1 point (2 for star rating – 1 for submission loss)
Akeem: 0.75 points (1.25 for star rating – 0.5 for DQ loss)
The Honky Tonk Man: 0 points (1 for star rating – 1 for pinfall loss)
That’s it for the very first review of 1989. Don’t miss the next review, where I’ll cover the first PPV of 1989, Royal Rumble.
Welcome everyone to this special year-end article, in which I’ll take you back to some of my favorite matches of 1988 as well as reveal who were the top wrestlers in the WWF, based on the points. I only reviewed the WWF in 1988, but I will add the NWA once I get to 1989. Enjoy!
BEST MATCHES OF THE YEAR
First of all, a basic top five list with my favorite matches in 1988. The reviews that I will leave below each match are copied from the respective shows they took place, so feel free to skip those you’ve seen if you wish.
5. Ricky Steamboat vs. Greg Valentine (WrestleMania)
This finally looks a bit better on paper, doesn’t it!? Classic Steamboat armdrags to start, going after the arm immediately. Valentine cuts him off and dumps him, but Steamboat skins the cat and dropkicks him for two back in. Valentine finally drops Ricky throat first on the ropes to stop Steamboat for good, chopping away and hitting the hammer for two. Backdrop suplex is blocked by The Dragon, though, who whips Hammer into the corner and goes right back to working the arm.
Valentine escapes that with an atomic drop and a clothesline, going after the throat on the outside. He only succeeds in waking up The Dragon, however, who fires away with some violent chops. Valentine catches him with a gutbuster and he goes to work on the legs. He gets into a chopfest with Steamboat, which doesn’t sound like a good idea, and indeed Ricky wins that one.
Hammer goes to the eyes to cut him off, though, and hits a shoulderbreaker. He drops a forearm off the top and is thinking Figure Four, but Steamboat chops his way out of it. The mega flying chop gets two. Steamboat sends Valentine into the turnbuckles a lot of times and goes up for the kill, but Valentine rolls over for the upset win to advance.
Good match between two great workers. Steamboat proceeds to do his classic pose and wave goodybe to the fans, having just worked his final match for the WWF before leaving to have the best trilogy ever with Flair in the NWA the following year. I can understand Valentine getting the win here, but considering Valentine wasn’t going to get a mega-push and the winner of this would meet Randy Savage in the next round, I would’ve personally put Savage over Steamboat instead in return for III. Valentine could’ve been protected with a DQ or some kind of finish that could set up a future program for him, but it is what it is. ***
4. Team Mega Powers vs. Team Twin Towers (Survivor Series)
In what has to be both the most hilarious and distracting moment of the night, Koko has the back of his tights blurred on the Network. He had WWF written on his ass, so I’d assume they blurred it to avoid legal actions from the Panda. The big secret here, though, is… did the B. in Koko B. Ware stand for Blurredass all along?
Much like at WrestleMania earlier that year, Savage and DiBiase start the main-event of Survivor Series. DiBiase starts in control, before Savage connects with a clothesline and tags in Hercules, and DiBiase is having none of that. Rooster takes advantage of the distraction to hit a jawbreaker on Herc, who brings in THE BLURREDMAN to play Ricky Morton. Haku misses a legdrop, though, and Herc’s back in to pound on him. Hogan gets in to drop some elbows and a double-team big boot alongside Hillbilly gets two. A really nice missile dropkick by Koko gets two. Hogan gets back in to run wild on Rooster with the Usual, before allowing Savage to pin him like the great friend and tag partner he is via the Macho Elbow at 6:10.
Red Rooster eliminated (1 point to Randy Savage)
Haku gets in to bump around for the Mega Powers, before eventually catching Hogan with a dropkick. Hogan obviously no-sells it and even hulks up to hit some clotheslines before tagging Herc back in. He drops some elbows for two, but Haku gets the side suplex and it’s time for the AFRICAN DREAM. Herc tags in Hillbilly, who gets absolutely squashed in the corner and hits the showers (or did he? Gorilla always talks about how he’s been wearing the same boots since 1985 after all…) once Akeem follows up with the 747 at 10:00.
Hillbilly Jim eliminated (1 point to Akeem)
Koko jumps Akeem immediately and brings him to his corner, but that one doesn’t work out as well as he probably expected. Akeem pounds him down, tags in the Big Bossman, Bossman Slam and Koko The Blurredman is gonzo at 11:45.
Koko B. Ware eliminated (1 point to Big Bossman)
Hogan comes in to tease his big showdown with the Bossman, which gets a nice reaction as expected. Hogan pounds and pounds on Bossman but fails to get him down, as then Bossman puts him down after Hogan runs into a single spinebuster. Simple and effective psychology, enough of a tease to leave the fans wanting more, and Bossman brings in Akeem. Bossman continues to choke Hogan from the apron, allowing Haku to headbutt Hogan for two. DiBiase comes in with the million dollar fistdrops, but Hogan shockingly no-sells it and is immediately back up. It’s sad to see DiBiase going from being the hottest heel in the company to whatever he’s doing here, just a few months after the fact. Herc gets back in to finally get some of DiBiase. Virgil trips him up, though, and DiBiase pins Hercules with a cheap roll-up at 16:35.
Hercules eliminated (1 point to Ted DiBiase)
DiBiase mocks Hercules on his way out, allowing Savage to catch him with a cheap roll-up of his own at 16:57.
Ted DiBiase eliminated (1 point to Randy Savage)
Thankfully Hogan mentioned there were no weak links in his team earlier. Whatever you wanna call the three of them, they’re all gone now and it’s down to Hogan and Savage. Feel free to call them dead weight if you want, but weak links they are NOT, brother. Haku misses a headbutt on Savage, but connects with a thrust kick on Hogan. Akeem beats up Hogan for a while, but Haku is back in with a suplex for two before putting Hogan in a nice and comfortable massage, otherwise known as a nerve hold by some. Bossman hits the Bossman Slam but stops to celebrate instead of, you know, WINNING, and goes to the top (?) only to miss a splash. What in the hell was that all about? Savage comes in for the hot tag, only to get hit by Slick as he runs the ropes. Slick goes after Liz on the outside, forcing Savage to go after him. Suddenly everyone’s on the floor, but while Savage goes back inside, Bossman handcuffs Hogan on the ropes and gets counted-out while doing so for the REALLY LAME elimination at 23:24. I know you wanna protect him in defeat, but compare this to Andre’s elimination in the prior match… Bossman just looks dumb here.
The Big Bossman eliminated
He beats up Hogan with the nightstick before finally going to the back, leaving Hogan cuffed to the bottom rope. Meanwhile, inside the ring there’s still a match going on, and the heels double-team Savage until the ref DQs Akeem for kicking too much ass at 25:00…
Akeem eliminated
And yes, it’s down to King Haku alone with the Mega Powers. Guess how that one ends. Slick taunts Hogan with the handcuff key, but Haku misses a superkick inside the ring and superkicks Slick by accident instead. That allows Elizabeth to steal the key from him, Hogan’s free, hot tag, the Usual, boot, leg, thanks for coming at 30:10.
Apart from the really lame eliminations of Akeem and the Big Bossman, this match was fine a did a good job of teasing future encounters, particularly DiBiase/Hercules and Hogan/Bossman. ***1/4 After the match, Hogan completely ignores Savage and instead poses, before grabbing Savage’s wife (who was with him on the mat) and putting her in his shoulders. Uh oh. Wrong fucking move, big boy. Savage indeed poses with Hogan after a while to close the show, but not before giving him a very brief look while he has Elizabeth in his arms. Very brief look, but enough to let you know Savage is starting to get just a little bit sick of Hulk Hogan. Rightfully so, might I add.
3. Vacant WWF Championship: Randy Savage vs. Ted DiBiase (WrestleMania)
Finally!!! They lockup to start as Andre already trips up Savage to make his presence felt. He does it twice, and the crowd starts chanting for Hogan. DiBiase goes after the arm but Savage clotheslines him a couple of times, and DiBiase bails. Back in, DiBiase gets a few shots until Savage necksnaps him on the ropes, and a high knee sends Ted into Andre. He goes up but Andre shields DiBiase, and Savage sends Liz to the back, and the Hogan chants get louder!
DiBiase hits the chinlock, and out comes Liz with the Hulkster, who takes a seat at ringside. Andre again trips Savage, and this time Hogan is immediately there to attack him. DiBiase gets a number of nearfalls inside the ring, with an elbowdrop, a suplex and a gutwrench suplex. DiBiase goes up only to get slammed off, but the Macho Elbow misses. It’s Million Dollar Dream time with Andre adding a shot, which brings Hogan inside for a chair shot to DiBiase’s back. A second Macho Elbow attempt connects, and three seconds later Savage is the undisputed WWF Champion.
Easily the match of the night and the reason why this show is remembered. Although it wasn’t technically as good as Steamboat vs. Valentine, it was still a good match and had drama and a story to support it and elevate it. The Mega Powers celebrate to close the show, as the build-up to WrestleMania V officially begins! ***1/4
2. Team Warrior vs. Team Honky Tonk Man (Survivor Series)
The former members of Dream Team (V2), Beefcake and Valentine, get at it to start. Davis comes in, and he’s out via the Barber’s sleeper at 1:20.
Danny Davis eliminated (1 point to Brutus Beefcake)
It’s back to the explosion of the Dream Team, but Beefcake escapes the Figure Four and tags in the Blue Blazer. For those of you who might not know, this is Owen Hart playing the gimmick. Blazer does some lucha things and quickly brings in Jumpin’ Jim Brunzell, who hits an elbow on Valentine for two. In comes Bad News, who absolutely beats the living crap out of Brunzell. Brunzell gets his little hope(less) spot, but misses a charge and the Ghetto Blaster sends Jumpin’ Jim jumpin’ back to the showers at 5:30.
Jim Brunzell eliminated (1 point to Bad News Brown)
Sam Houston tries his luck next, and that one doesn’t go very well. Brown destroys him, but Valentine hits Brown while trying to add a shot of his own on Houston from the apron. That’s it for the loner Brown, who says ‘enough of this bs’ and walks away at 7:45, getting counted-out.
Bad News Brown eliminated
The heels can’t believe Brown would actually walk out on them, and that distraction allows Houston to almost eliminate Valentine with a roll-up, but it only gets two. A sunset flip goes horribly wrong, and in comes Ron Bass to beat him up. A couple of clotheslines get two, but Houston still doesn’t want to tag out. That ends up costing him and his team, as he’s gone via powerslam at 20:10.
Sam Houston eliminated (1 point to Ron Bass)
Warrior finally joins the match to clean house, launching Blazer onto Bass but it only gets two. Honky comes in, immediately taking a high cross for two. Honky soon catches Blazer with a knee to the midsection, and in comes Valentine only to walk right into a gutwrench suplex. Powerslam is followed by another splash, but Honky pushes him off and Valentine’s figure four puts him away at 12:20.
Blue Blazer eliminated (1 point to Greg Valentine)
Beefcake comes in to get some of Valentine, who brings in Bass to work over Beefcake. Honky’s back in to hit the Shake Rattle & Roll, which Beefcake escapes before Bass gets involved. Honky’s back in control and goes up, only for Brutus to slam him off. Atomic drop sets up the sleeper, but Honky bails and he’s outta there. Beefcake follows him for some reason, and we get a double elimination at 15:45.
Honky Tonk Man & Brutus Beefcake eliminated
Warrior is now alone in there with Bass & Valentine, and that smells BIG trouble. Nah, who am I kidding.. Warrior basically no-sells a bunch of stuff for a minute, before running over both heels and putting Bass away with a double axehandle at 17:30. Yes, a double axehandle!
Ron Bass eliminated (1 point to Ultimate Warrior)
A few seconds later, Valentine eats one as well and that’s all she wrote at about 18:00. A good opener that exceeded my expectations. ***1/2
1. WWF Tag Team Championship: Demolition vs. The Hart Foundation (SummerSlam)
The Harts turned babyface recently and dumped Jimmy Hart, who still owns their contract and is thus allowed to be at ringside. So that is exactly what he does, supporting their opponents, Demolition!
The challengers start in control, with Neidhart connecting with a massive shoulder block on Smash. Ax catches Neidhart with a boot to the face, who strikes back with an uppercut before getting Bret in. Jimmy Hart distracts the ref, allowing Smash to hit a shoulderbreaker on Bret followed by an armbar to take over.
They work over Bret’s arm, pounding on it and even smashing the arm into the post to get the heat. After a few minutes, Bret finally connects with a clothesline and gets the hot tag to Neidhart, but Ax distracts the ref and he misses the tag, getting the crowd even more on the Foundation’s side.
The Demos continue to work over Bret, who finally gets separation with a boot to the face and brings in Neidhart for real, getting a standing ovation from the crowd! Neidhart cleans house, dropkicking and bodyslamming everything that moves before hitting an assisted slingshot to the outside on Smash, with the crowd losing it at this point. Back in, Neidhart hits a running powerslam for a very close and hot nearfall.
Neidhart brings Bret back in, and a double-team shoulder tackle gets two. Ax gets in to save another pinfall attempt, which brings Neidhart in too. Fuji gets on the apron to distract Neidhart as well as the referee, allowing Jimmy to give Ax the megaphone for a shot to Bret, and Smash gets the pin to retain.
While not as classic as their… well… classic match at the same event two years later, this is still a fantastic encounter. Meltzer gave this *1/2, which I just can’t possibly understand. The psychology over Bret’s arm and the eventual heat spot that followed were fantastic, to the point where the babyface hot tag got a standing ovation!! To the modern wrestling fan, this is your go-to match from this show. ***1/2
BEST WRESTLERS
We’ll now take a look at the top five wrestlers of the year, based on who got the most points throughout the year in my reviews – across PPV and SNME.
5. Ted DiBiase
Kicking off our top five is ‘The Million Dollar Man’ himself. DiBiase’s year was full of ups and downs, with the highlight being wrestling for the World’s title in the main-event of WrestleMania against Randy Savage. A number of main-event matches throughout the year gave him a few extra points, as did his two wins throughout the tournament for the vacant title at WrestleMania. He’s since gone to the midcard, and I don’t expect to see him make the list in 1989, especially with NWA joining the party.
Best match: Vs. Randy Savage – WrestleMania IV
Total number of points: 20
4. Demolition Ax
Ax is the one on the left
Truly one of the highlights of the WWF in 1988, Demolition won the tag titles all the way back at WrestleMania from Strike Force, and haven’t looked back since. With successful title defenses over the likes of Strike Force and The Hart Foundation, as well as good performances on PPV, they deserved the spot in the top five.
Best match: Demolition vs. Hart Foundation – SummerSlam
Total number of points: 20
3. Demolition Smash
Smash is the one on the right
Just like the song says: here comes the Ax, here comes the Smasher. Not much to add apart from what was already said. Smash is ahead of Ax since he picked up a few more pinfalls in their matches than Ax did.
Best match: Demolition vs. Hart Foundation – SummerSlam
Total number of points: 20,5
2. Hulk Hogan
Hogan started the year as WWF Champion, successfully retaining over King Kong Bundy at the first edition of SNME in ’88. H ogan would soon drop the gold to Andre in February, and had arguably his worst WrestleMania of the golden Hulkamania era at IV, but his number of wins and main-event appearances helped him get this second place. Can ‘The Hulkster’ jump to first place in 1989?
Best match: Team Mega Powers vs. Team Twin Towers – Survivor Series
Total number of points: 22
1. Randy Savage
Was there ever any question? Even though Savage’s reign as the babyface WWF Champion hasn’t been great, and he’s sort of an afterthought compared to ‘great friend’ and the real top babyface Hulk Hogan, nobody was more consistent than Savage throughout the year. His performance at WrestleMania IV is one of the few highlights from a very poor WrestleMania, and he had a number of really good matches with Ted DiBiase as well as the tag matches at both SummerSlam and Survivor Series. Based on my point system, Randy Savage is officially the WWF’s best wrestler of 1988. Ohhhh yeahh!
Best match: Vs. Ted DiBiase – WrestleMania
Total number of points: 34,75
Honorable mentions to the five men that complete my top ten: at #10 with 10 points Brutus Beefcake; at #9 with 11 points Jake Roberts; at #8 with 11,25 points Rick Rude; at #7 with 12,5 points The Ultimate Warrior; and at #6 with 14,25 points Andre the Giant. And in terms of matches, the hidden gem of the year has to be Bret Hart vs. Paul Roma, which you can find on the January 12th edition of Prime Time Wrestling on the WWE Network.
As always, thank you for your time. Kicking off the year 1989 will be an edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event. Until next time!
Hello everyone, and welcome to what will be the final review of 1988. Before we move on to 1989, I will write an extra year-end article, looking back at some of the best matches in 1988 as well as the big reveal of who was the winner of the ‘WWF wrestler of the year’ award. The winner will obviously be the one who had the most points throughout all the reviews. Also, NWA coming up in 1989 as well…
Before starting, here are the champions at this time:
WWF Champion – Randy Savage
Intercontinental Champion – The Ultimate Warrior
Tag Team Champions – Demolition (Ax & Smash)
The hosts are Vince McMahon & Jesse Ventura
WWF Intercontinental Championship: The Ultimate Warrior(c) vs. Super Ninja(w/ Mr. Fuji)
The announcers and Mr. Fuji hype Super Ninja as a big deal and a spectacular athlete, thus making it quite obvious what’s about to happen. Warrior no-sells a superkick to start, before catching the poor guy’s leg and tossing him ON HIS HEAD. Ouch. Warrior dumps Ninja to the floor, beats him up for a while, and back in it’s clothesline (with extra mustard), gorilla press slam, splash and we’re out at 2:11. Nothing but a squash for the title. Effective for what it was, but if I have to throw a rating at it, it can’t be anything but a DUD.
Hercules vs. Virgil(w/ Ted DiBiase)
DiBiase attacks Hercules just as the match starts, and the pursuit is on. Back in, Herc takes control of Virgil, despite all the distractions. A kneelift is followed by multiple clotheslines. Virgil tries to make a comeback, but Herc quickly kills it dead and finishes with a running powerslam at 3:20.
Another squash between the babyface and the heel’s bodyguard. DiBiase abusing Virgil post-match totally steals the show, putting sympathy on Virgil and teasing a future rivalry between the two down the road. DiBiase is fantastic. This match, not so much. 1/4*
Meanwhile, Randy Savage talks about how you have to beat Andre in order to be a great champion, just like his great friend Hulk Hogan did. We’ll talk about this in a while.
WWF Championship: Randy Savage(c)(w/ Miss Elizabeth) vs. Andre the Giant(w/ Bobby Heenan)
Savage tries to slug it out to start, which obviously works against him. Andre pounds him in the corner, and not even Savage’s knee to the back allows him to escape the giant, as Andre puts him in a facelock. Andre chokes away with his strap and throws some headbutts. Savage tries to fight back, but Andre keeps on choking and headbutting. A jawbreaker finally allows Savage to escape, followed by the flying double axehandle. Jake Roberts joins us at this point for some reason, putting Damien under the ring as we take a break. God do I hate this Andre-Roberts feud…
We return with Andre in control, but he’s worried about the snake being at ringside as is Heenan. Savage uses the psychological advantage to take it to Andre, who still doesn’t go down. Meanwhile, Heenan finally finds the snake, and everyone gets into a big fight for the sportz entertainment finish at 8:51. Watchable match, stupid finish. *1/2
Now pay attention to that pre-match promo by Savage himself. You have to beat Andre in order to be a great champion, just like Hogan did. He goes out there and beats Andre? No. So basically Hogan great champion, Savage rubbish champion. Politics in wrestling rule, brother!
Flag Match: Jim Duggan vs. Boris Zhukov
A slugfest is won by Duggan to start, who hits an atomic drop and dumps him. Zhukov takes control back in with a kick and an elbow, and Duggan misses an elbow of his own. Zhukov slugs away in the corner, only for Duggan to clothesline him out and finish with the three-point clothesline at 02:27. And then Vince gets emotional on commentary while Duggan celebrates AMERICA, with Ventura rightfully making fun of him. 1/4*
Hulk Hogan & Slick on the Brother Love Show
Brother Love and Slick mock Hogan and cut him off just as he’s about to answer the questions, which is pretty funny. Hogan then steals the mic, does the same to the heels and abuses the heels to close the segment. Nice little segment as this Hogan-Bossman feud continues to build nicely.
Main event: The Fabulous Rougeaus (Jacques & Raymond) vs. The Young Stallions (Paul Roma & Jim Powers)
The Rougeaus announce they are finally Americans before the match. This act is quite stupid, in a good way, and it’s getting them over. They were just around as babyfaces, kinda like their opponents here. Jacques starts in control over Powers, overpowering him and hitting a dropkick. Powers turns the tables for a while, but Jimmy quickly cuts him off with a megaphone shot to the leg from the outside, allowing the Rougeaus to take over. Abdominal stretch is followed by a brief superkick party, and a back elbow by Jacques gets two. Crossbody misses, though, and it’s hot tag Roma. A missile dropkick gets two, but not long after that IT’S BREAKING LOOSE IN TULSA, and the Rougeaus take advantage of it to finish with La Bombe de Rougeau at 03:05. Another quick squash, but easily the best of the night. *1/4
Some stories and characters are growing well, but this was still quite easily the worst SNME I’ve seen since I’ve been doing the reviews. Skip this and you will miss nothing. 2/10
And finally, and also for the last time when it comes to 1988, the points:
Raymond Rougeau: 3.75 points (1.25 for star rating + 1 for main-eventing + 1 for pinfall win + 0.5 for winning the fall)
Jacques Rougeau: 3.25 points (1.25 for star rating + 1 for main-eventing + 1 for pinfall win)
Randy Savage: 2.5 points (1.5 for star rating + 1 for successfully defending a title)
The Ultimate Warrior: 2 points (1 for pinfall win + 1 for successfully defending a title)
Andre the Giant: 1.5 point (for star rating)
Jim Duggan: 1.25 point (1 for pinfall win + 0.25 for star rating)
Hercules: 1.25 point (1 for pinfall win + 0.25 for star rating)
Jim Powers: 1.25 point (1.25 for star rating + 1 for main-eventing – 1 for pinfall loss)
Paul Roma: 0.75 points (1.25 for star rating + 1 for main-eventing – 1 for pinfall loss – 0.5 for losing the fall)
Boris Zhukov: -0.75 points (0.25 for star rating – 1 for pinfall loss)
Virgil: -0.75 points (0.25 for star rating – 1 for pinfall loss)
Super Ninja: -1 point (for pinfall loss)
As always, thank you so much for your time. I’ll see you next time for a special article about 1988, where I’ll be looking back at some of the best matches as well as revealing who was the WWF wrestler of the year. And don’t forget, coming up in 1989, you’ll get NWA too!
Welcome everyone to the last WWF PPV of 1988, the second annual Survivor Series. Considering this is a “special” PPV with its own particular match type, some changes to the point system will be made. Considering one wrestler can very well be eliminated in seconds and still technically emerge victorious, only the survivors will get 1 point, while every member of the winning team (those eliminated included) will get 0.5. Each elimination will be worth 1 point, as usual.
The champions at this point are: (not that it matters at this show, but still here it is)
WWF Champion – Randy Savage
Intercontinental Champion – The Ultimate Warrior
Tag Team Champions – Demolition (Ax & Smash)
The hosts are Gorilla Monsoon & Jesse Ventura
Team Warrior/Beefcake (The Ultimate Warrior, Brutus Beefcake, Blue Blazer, Sam Houston & Jim Brunzell) vs. Team Honky/Bass (The Honky Tonk Man, Ron Bass, Greg Valentine, Bad News Brown & Danny Davis)(w/ Jimmy Hart)
The former members of Dream Team (V2), Beefcake and Valentine, get at it to start. Davis comes in, and he’s out via the Barber’s sleeper at 1:20.
Danny Davis eliminated (1 point to Brutus Beefcake)
It’s back to the explosion of the Dream Team, but Beefcake escapes the Figure Four and tags in the Blue Blazer. For those of you who might not know, this is Owen Hart playing the gimmick. Blazer does some lucha things and quickly brings in Jumpin’ Jim Brunzell, who hits an elbow on Valentine for two. In comes Bad News, who absolutely beats the living crap out of Brunzell. Brunzell gets his little hope(less) spot, but misses a charge and the Ghetto Blaster sends Jumpin’ Jim jumpin’ back to the showers at 5:30.
Jim Brunzell eliminated (1 point to Bad News Brown)
Sam Houston tries his luck next, and that one doesn’t go very well. Brown destroys him, but Valentine hits Brown while trying to add a shot of his own on Houston from the apron. That’s it for the loner Brown, who says ‘enough of this bs’ and walks away at 7:45, getting counted-out.
Bad News Brown eliminated
The heels can’t believe Brown would actually walk out on them, and that distraction allows Houston to almost eliminate Valentine with a roll-up, but it only gets two. A sunset flip goes horribly wrong, and in comes Ron Bass to beat him up. A couple of clotheslines get two, but Houston still doesn’t want to tag out. That ends up costing him and his team, as he’s gone via powerslam at 20:10.
Sam Houston eliminated (1 point to Ron Bass)
Warrior finally joins the match to clean house, launching Blazer onto Bass but it only gets two. Honky comes in, immediately taking a high cross for two. Honky soon catches Blazer with a knee to the midsection, and in comes Valentine only to walk right into a gutwrench suplex. Powerslam is followed by another splash, but Honky pushes him off and Valentine’s figure four puts him away at 12:20.
Blue Blazer eliminated (1 point to Greg Valentine)
Beefcake comes in to get some of Valentine, who brings in Bass to work over Beefcake. Honky’s back in to hit the Shake Rattle & Roll, which Beefcake escapes before Bass gets involved. Honky’s back in control and goes up, only for Brutus to slam him off. Atomic drop sets up the sleeper, but Honky bails and he’s outta there. Beefcake follows him for some reason, and we get a double elimination at 15:45.
Honky Tonk Man & Brutus Beefcake eliminated
Warrior is now alone in there with Bass & Valentine, and that smells BIG trouble. Nah, who am I kidding.. Warrior basically no-sells a bunch of stuff for a minute, before running over both heels and putting Bass away with a double axehandle at 17:30. Yes, a double axehandle!
Ron Bass eliminated (1 point to Ultimate Warrior)
A few seconds later, Valentine eats one as well and that’s all she wrote at about 18:00. A good opener that exceeded my expectations. ***1/2
Eliminations: 2 by Warrior (2 points); 1 by Beefcake, Brown, Bass & Valentine (1 point each)
The Powers of Pain (Warlord & Barbarian), The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart), The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith & Dynamite Kid), The Rockers (Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty) & The Young Stallions (Paul Roma & Jim Powers) vs. Demolition (Ax & Smash), The Brain Busters (Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard), The Fabulous Rougeaus (Jacques & Raymond), The Bolsheviks (Nikolai Volkoff & Boris Zhukov) & The Conquistadores (Uno & Dos)(w/ Bobby Heenan, Mr. Fuji, Jimmy Hart & Slick)
This one will be quite tough to discuss, at least while there’s TWENTY FUCKING PEOPLE standing in that ring! Davey and a Conquistador start, but Jacques soon gets in and works over Davey, until Davey press slams Jacques into Raymond. Scary strength. The Rockers get a chance to shine, and not long afterwards we get the most interesting of scenarios: Dynamite up against Jacques Rougeau. I will better explain this throughout this match. DK hits a nasty SNAP suplex on Jacques for two. Jacques dropkicks Jim Powers for two, and in comes Bret Hart, getting a massive reaction, second only to that of The Warrior. Bret small packages Jacques into safety at 5:35.
So, that story: a rib between the Bulldogs and the Rougeaus had gone horribly wrong not long before this event, with them getting into numerous fights backstage. That caused The Bulldogs to give their notice, and in order to avoid more problems (it was the Bulldogs’ last date and match with the company), the Rougeaus were eliminated early in order to get the hell out of the arena before the Bulldogs got to the back. And that’s why the Rougeaus were the first team eliminated, despite being the most over team on the heel side, apart from the champs. That’s your story, back to the match…
Rougeaus eliminated (1 point to Bret Hart, over Jacques)
Roma with a high cross on Voloff for two. Smash hits a big boot on a Conquistador, and the Demos go to work on Bret. Michaels comes in, but he too gets worked over by the heels. Another curiousity from this match, as this was the only time Bret & Michaels would ever team up on PPV. AA Spinebuster gets two(?) and so does a slam from a Conquistador. Get ready to see clothesline city eliminating people all over the place, while AA’s nasty spinebuster is only good enough for a nearfall. Marty comes in, but Volkoff sends him into the corner so he can tag out to Davey Boy. Well, that was weird. Davey hits a powerslam for two, but he soon gets caught by the heels. Barbarian comes in with a high kick on Smash, and Anvil’s running powerslam gets two. DK plays face-in-peril until Boris misses a charge, allowing Kid to bring in Powers for the hot tag. Powers hits a high cross, but Boris rolls over to put the Stallions out at 15:20.
Young Stallions eliminated (1 point to Zhukov, over Powers)
HBK gets in with a fistdrop, followed by a Barbarian shoulderblock. Boris tags in Blanchard, who hilariously struts over and tags in Volkoff, trying to get the Powers of Pain over at any cost. With his side finally in control, now Tully adds his shots in a nice touch. HBK makes the comeback on Boris, and brings in Marty to finish Boris with a sunset flip at 18:09.
Bolsheviks eliminated (1 point to Jannetty, over Zhukov)
Marty gets caught over on the heel corner, but Arn makes the mistake of getting his head down, allowing Marty to bring in Davey Boy. Tully also comes in, though, and he whips Davey Boy hard into the turnbuckle. Hey look, The Conquistadores are still in there! The Harts & HBK take turns beating up one of them, causing him to look for a tag… in the wrong corner. That earns him a SNAP suplex by Dynamite. He adds a flying kneedrop and a backbreaker, probably wishing it would be Jacques Rougeau. Barbarian comes in with a powerslam, and now Blanchard comes in. The heels work over the Barbarian using quick tags, before he gets to Bret so he can make the comeback by running wild with the Usual. German out of the corner into a bridge does it… but wait. Blanchard got one of his shoulders up, while Bret did not, so it’s the Harts who are gone at 27:03.
Hart Foundation eliminated (1 point to Blanchard, over Bret)
Dynamite quickly comes in with a tombstone piledriver on Blanchard, but it only gets two as the Harts were still arguing with the referees over their elimination. The Brain Busters are pissed, and they brawl with the Rockers all the way to the back for the double elimination at 27:57.
Rockers & Brain Busterseliminated
So we’re down to the Bulldogs & Powers of Pain on the babyface side, and Demolition & THE CONQUISTADORES(!!!!) over on the heel side. The Demos go to work on the PoP before a Conquistador misses a senton, undoing all the work that had been done like a complete idiot. This match is already feeling way too long. Delayed suplex by Davey gets two. He hits the powerslam, but instead of going for the pin he tags Ax back in. Come on. Davey hits an elbow for two. Dynamite hits a gutwrench into a headbutt, but it still only gets two. It’s the freakin Conquistadores, they do jobs to the Young Stallions in five minutes on Prime Time Wrestling and are going nearly half an hour on the PPV? Smash comes in to eat the snap suplex, but the diving headbutt misses and Smash clotheslines the Bulldogs out of the WWF at 36:02.
British Bulldogs eliminated (1 point to Smash, over Dynamite)
Warlord comes in but misses a charge, allowing Ax to target his shoulder. They work over Warlord while Mr. Fuji stands on the apron, before accidentally pulling the rope down and knocking out his own man for the count-out elimination at 39:33.
Demolition eliminated
The Conquistadores are completely forgotten about at this point, as Fuji turns on Demolition on the outside and joins the Powers of Pain for the double-team. Great, the Demos were over on their own anyway and Fuji didn’t add much to the team. Oh, and by the way, the Powers of Pain put the Conquistadores away like they’re nothing after all this, with Barbarian getting the final pin over one of them (who knows if it’s Uno or Dos) after a whooping 42:12. This was obviously extended in order to allow the Rougeaus to get out of town before the Bulldogs got to the back, thus missing the match’s peak. The crowd didn’t really get the turn either, as the Demolition clean house as babyfaces post-match but get booed. Technically fine match but very, very, very weird. ***
Eliminations: 1 by Bret, Zhukov, Jannetty, Blanchard, Smash & Barbarian (1 point each)
Meanwhile, Bad News Brown says this concept is rubbish and challenges Savage for the WWF title. In other words, but that was his point. About that Savage thing, though, don’t be surprised if you end up working with his partner and losing your streak to him instead, brother.
Meanwhile part two, Mr. Fuji is like ‘Demolition bad, Powers of Pain good’.
Meanwhile part three, Bobby Heenan says Andre’s team is confident. When you have Scott Casey in the opposite team, you SHOULD be confident.
Meanwhile part four, the Mega Powers will survive later tonight, brother. Hogan claims there are no weak links in their team, which is the closest to him putting anyone over on TV in the glory Hulkamania days.
Team Andre/Bravo (Andre the Giant, Dino Bravo, Rick Rude, Mr. Perfect & Harley Race)(w/ Bobby Heenan & Frenchy Martin) vs. Team Roberts/Duggan (Jake Roberts, Jim Duggan, Tito Santana, Ken Patera & Scott Casey)
First of all, RIP to Andre’s team, whose five members have all passed away. In case you’re wondering what in the hell Scott Casey is doing on PPV, he’s subbing for The Junkyard Dog, who left for the NWA just weeks before this show. And apparently they had no one else, which shows how great the WWF’s undercard was at this point.
Rude starts with Patera, and it doesn’t take long for the latter to play face-in-peril. The heels take turns beating him up, until he shoves Mr. Perfect away and brings in Tito to start working the arm. Casey comes in to take a Bravo atomic drop and a pair of suplexes from Race, but luckily for him he manages to tag Patera back in. Duggan soon comes in and starts running wild with a clothesline on Perfect, but Andre chokes him out on the apron. Rude comes in to face Duggan as they collide for a double KO spot. Duggan recovers first and brings in Patera, but he misses a charge and walks into the Rude Awakening at 8:18.
Ken Patera eliminated (1 point to Rick Rude)
Casey comes in next, getting beat up by all the heels. He actually manages to backslide Bravo for two, but eventually hits the showers after taking Bravo’s side suplex at 9:27.
Scott Casey eliminated (1 point to Dino Bravo)
A brief Santana/Perfect wrestling sequence is teased as Perfect small packages him for two, but Perfect is soon a victim of Duggan’s goofy comeback thing. Andre again goes after Duggan on the apron with some headbutts, forcing him to tag out to Tito, who runs into Andre as well. Tito hits a high cross and a sunset flip on Rude for two, before Race comes in with a piledriver that also gets two. Clothesline gets two more. Santana explodes with the flying forearm for the pin at 13:20.
Harley Race eliminated (1 point to Tito Santana)
Andre finally tags in for the first time in this match, and Santana basically plays his bitch. He throws him around for fun, sits on him a few times, cuts off an attempted comeback and sits on him again to put him away for good at 14:40.
Tito Santana eliminated (1 point to Andre the Giant)
It’s now 4-on-2 for the heels, with only Roberts & Duggan left for the babyfaces and everyone but Harley Race left on the heel side. Duggan goes after Andre immediately, and it’s not long before Andre gets caught on the ropes. SHOCKING. This allows Roberts to get some shots on Andre, before Rude comes in to save him. Roberts tries to fight back, but he’s too close to the heel corner and they prevent him from reaching Duggan. Roberts finally catches Bravo with a short arm clothesline and he’s thinking DDT, only for Rude to sneak in with a clothesline from the apron. Bravo gets a piledriver for two, but he misses an elbow and it’s hot tag Duggan. Frenchy gets involved, though, and Duggan grabs the 2×4 and uses it to get DQ’d like a total idiot at 21:20.
Jim Duggan eliminated
Thus leaving Roberts alone against four heels. If I was Jake Roberts, I’d DDT him as a thank you. But I guess Roberts has never been known for being a nice guy, has he? Perfect is all cocky before eating a kneelift, getting Bravo in. Bravo shows off his strength but he almost ends up taking the DDT, backdropping him out and tagging in Rude. Rude gets his shots in as well, but the sensual posing earns him a DDT to blow off that feud once and for all (one month too late) at 28:45.
Rick Rude eliminated (1 point to Jake Roberts)
Andre’s finally had enough of this drama, and he decides killing Jake Roberts would be a nice way to spend his Thanksgiving night. He absolutely murders Roberts in the corner and chokes him, totally ignoring the referee and sacrificing himself as he eventually is gone via DQ at 29:40.
Andre the Giant eliminated
Roberts is finished, however, so Perfect comes in with a perfect cover for the win at 30:00. Solid match overall, with the highlights being Roberts doing a great job of having to fight from underneath against four bad guys and a creative finish that put Andre over as a killer, Perfect as a dick while still protecting Roberts in defeat. Nothing I’ll probably wanna watch again, but I liked it. ***1/4
Eliminations: 1 by Rude, Bravo, Tito, Andre, Roberts & Perfect (1 point each)
Team Mega Powers (Randy Savage, Hulk Hogan, Hercules, Koko B. Ware & Hillbilly Jim) vs. Team Bossman/Akeem (The Big Bossman, Akeem, Ted DiBiase, King Haku & The Red Rooster)(w/ Slick, Bobby Heenan & Virgil)
In what has to be both the most hilarious and distracting moment of the night, Koko has the back of his tights blurred on the Network. He had WWF written on his ass, so I’d assume they blurred it to avoid legal actions from the Panda. The big secret here, though, is… did the B. in Koko B. Ware stand for Blurredass all along?
Much like at WrestleMania earlier that year, Savage and DiBiase start the main-event of Survivor Series. DiBiase starts in control, before Savage connects with a clothesline and tags in Hercules, and DiBiase is having none of that. Rooster takes advantage of the distraction to hit a jawbreaker on Herc, who brings in THE BLURREDMAN to play Ricky Morton. Haku misses a legdrop, though, and Herc’s back in to pound on him. Hogan gets in to drop some elbows and a double-team big boot alongside Hillbilly gets two. A really nice missile dropkick by Koko gets two. Hogan gets back in to run wild on Rooster with the Usual, before allowing Savage to pin him like the great friend and tag partner he is via the Macho Elbow at 6:10.
Red Rooster eliminated (1 point to Randy Savage)
Haku gets in to bump around for the Mega Powers, before eventually catching Hogan with a dropkick. Hogan obviously no-sells it and even hulks up to hit some clotheslines before tagging Herc back in. He drops some elbows for two, but Haku gets the side suplex and it’s time for the AFRICAN DREAM. Herc tags in Hillbilly, who gets absolutely squashed in the corner and hits the showers (or did he? Gorilla always talks about how he’s been wearing the same boots since 1985 after all…) once Akeem follows up with the 747 at 10:00.
Hillbilly Jim eliminated (1 point to Akeem)
Koko jumps Akeem immediately and brings him to his corner, but that one doesn’t work out as well as he probably expected. Akeem pounds him down, tags in the Big Bossman, Bossman Slam and Koko The Blurredman is gonzo at 11:45.
Koko B. Ware eliminated (1 point to Big Bossman)
Hogan comes in to tease his big showdown with the Bossman, which gets a nice reaction as expected. Hogan pounds and pounds on Bossman but fails to get him down, as then Bossman puts him down after Hogan runs into a single spinebuster. Simple and effective psychology, enough of a tease to leave the fans wanting more, and Bossman brings in Akeem. Bossman continues to choke Hogan from the apron, allowing Haku to headbutt Hogan for two. DiBiase comes in with the million dollar fistdrops, but Hogan shockingly no-sells it and is immediately back up. It’s sad to see DiBiase going from being the hottest heel in the company to whatever he’s doing here, just a few months after the fact. Herc gets back in to finally get some of DiBiase. Virgil trips him up, though, and DiBiase pins Hercules with a cheap roll-up at 16:35.
Hercules eliminated (1 point to Ted DiBiase)
DiBiase mocks Hercules on his way out, allowing Savage to catch him with a cheap roll-up of his own at 16:57.
Ted DiBiase eliminated (1 point to Randy Savage)
Thankfully Hogan mentioned there were no weak links in his team earlier. Whatever you wanna call the three of them, they’re all gone now and it’s down to Hogan and Savage. Feel free to call them dead weight if you want, but weak links they are NOT, brother. Haku misses a headbutt on Savage, but connects with a thrust kick on Hogan. Akeem beats up Hogan for a while, but Haku is back in with a suplex for two before putting Hogan in a nice and comfortable massage, otherwise known as a nerve hold by some. Bossman hits the Bossman Slam but stops to celebrate instead of, you know, WINNING, and goes to the top (?) only to miss a splash. What in the hell was that all about? Savage comes in for the hot tag, only to get hit by Slick as he runs the ropes. Slick goes after Liz on the outside, forcing Savage to go after him. Suddenly everyone’s on the floor, but while Savage goes back inside, Bossman handcuffs Hogan on the ropes and gets counted-out while doing so for the REALLY LAME elimination at 23:24. I know you wanna protect him in defeat, but compare this to Andre’s elimination in the prior match… Bossman just looks dumb here.
The Big Bossman eliminated
He beats up Hogan with the nightstick before finally going to the back, leaving Hogan cuffed to the bottom rope. Meanwhile, inside the ring there’s still a match going on, and the heels double-team Savage until the ref DQs Akeem for kicking too much ass at 25:00…
Akeem eliminated
And yes, it’s down to King Haku alone with the Mega Powers. Guess how that one ends. Slick taunts Hogan with the handcuff key, but Haku misses a superkick inside the ring and superkicks Slick by accident instead. That allows Elizabeth to steal the key from him, Hogan’s free, hot tag, the Usual, boot, leg, thanks for coming at 30:10.
Apart from the really lame eliminations of Akeem and the Big Bossman, this match was fine a did a good job of teasing future encounters, particularly DiBiase/Hercules and Hogan/Bossman. ***1/4 After the match, Hogan completely ignores Savage and instead poses, before grabbing Savage’s wife (who was with him on the mat) and putting her in his shoulders. Uh oh. Wrong fucking move, big boy. Savage indeed poses with Hogan after a while to close the show, but not before giving him a very brief look while he has Elizabeth in his arms. Very brief look, but enough to let you know Savage is starting to get just a little bit sick of Hulk Hogan. Rightfully so, might I add.
Survivors: Hogan & Savage (1 point)
Winners (although eliminated): Hercules, Koko & Hillbilly (0.5 point)
Eliminations: 2 by Savage (2 points); 1 by Akeem, Bossman, DiBiase & Hogan (1 point each)
Overall, a much better show than SummerSlam was. I was expecting the giant elimination match between all the tag-teams to be the best match of the night, much like the year before, but it was obviously affected by behind the scenes shenanigans. All matches are enjoyable, some obviously more than others, also depending on your own personal interest for the characters and/or stories involved. Survivor Series 1988 is recommended. 7/10
Finally, the points:
Randy Savage: 7.25 points (3.25 for star rating + 2 for eliminations + 1 for being a survivor + 1 for main-eventing)
The Ultimate Warrior: 6.5 points (3.5 for star rating + 2 for eliminations + 1 for being a survivor)
Hulk Hogan: 6.25 points (3.25 for star rating + 1 for an elimination + 1 for being a survivor + 1 for main-eventing)
Perfect & Bravo: 5.25 points (3.25 for star rating + 1 for an elimination + 1 for being survivors)
Powers of Pain: 5 points (3 for star rating + 1 for an elimination + 1 for being survivors)
Bossman & Akeem: 4.75 points (3.25 for star rating + 1 for an elimination + 1 for main-eventing – 0.5 for getting eliminated by CO/DQ)
Brutus Beefcake: 4.5 points (3.5 for star rating + 1 for an elimination + 0.5 for winning – 0.5 for getting eliminated by CO)
Ted DiBiase: 4.25 points (3.25 for star rating + 1 for an elimination + 1 for main-eventing – 1 for getting eliminated by pin)
Andre the Giant: 4.25 points (3.25 for star rating + 1 for an elimination + 0.5 for winning – 0.5 for getting eliminated by DQ)
Bad News Brown: 4 points (3.5 for star rating + 1 for an elimination – 0.5 for getting eliminated by CO)
The Rockers: 4 points (3 for star rating + 0.5 for winning + 1 for an elimination – 0.5 for getting eliminated by DQ)
Rick Rude: 3.75 points (3.25 for star rating + 0.5 for winning + 1 for an elimination – 1 for getting eliminated by pin)
Hercules, Koko & H. Jim: 3.75 points (3.25 for star rating + 0.5 for winning + 1 for main-eventing – 1 for getting eliminated by pin)
Hart Foundation: 3.5 points (3 for star rating + 0.5 for winning + 1 for an elimination – 1 for getting eliminated by pin)
Valentine & Bass: 3.5 points (3.5 for star rating + 1 for an elimination – 1 for getting eliminated by pin)
Demolition: 3.5 points (3 for star rating + 1 for an elimination – 0.5 for getting eliminated by CO)
Roberts & Santana: 3.25 points (3.25 for star rating + 1 for an elimination – 1 for getting eliminated by pin)
Haku: 3.25 points (3.25 for star rating + 1 for main-eventing – 1 for getting eliminated by pin)
Red Rooster: 3.25 points (3.25 for star rating + 1 for main-eventing – 1 for getting eliminated by pin)
Blazer, Houston & Brunzell: 3 points (3.5 for star rating + 0.5 for winning – 1 for getting eliminated by pin/sub)
Honky Tonk Man: 3 points (3.5 for star rating – 0.5 for getting eliminated by CO)
Bulldogs & Stallions: 3 points (3 for star rating + 0.5 for winning – 1 for getting eliminated by pin)
Harley Race: 2.75 points (3.25 for star rating + 0.5 for winning – 1 for getting eliminated by pin)
Jim Duggan: 2.75 points (3.25 for star rating – 0.5 for getting eliminated by DQ)
Danny Davis: 2.5 points (3.5 for star rating – 1 for getting eliminated by sub)
Patera & Casey: 2.25 points (3.25 for star rating – 1 for getting eliminated by pin)
Rougeaus & Conquistadores: 2 points (3 for star rating – 1 for getting eliminated by pin)
That is it for the second edition of Survivor Series. Coming up next time, and closing the 1988 chapter on this website, an episode of SNME featuring Randy Savage vs. Andre the Giant for the WWF Championship. Make sure you don’t miss it. Also, don’t forget that starting in 1989, I’ll be reviewing NWA (Clash of the Champions & PPVs) as well. As always, thank you so much for your time. I’ll see you next time.
Hey everyone, it’s Tomás here with yet another SNME review. SNME makes its return after a relatively long hiatus (since that April, to be exact). We’re getting closer to the end of 1988, with only Survivor Series and another SNME – apart from this one – left.
Once the year ends, I’ll post a top 10 list based on who got more points in 1988, as well as a top 5/3 best matches in ’88. Also, coming up once I reach ’89, NWA… you’re nuts if you think I was gonna live through ZEUS and miss Flair/Steamboat!!
Anyway, this show…
The hosts are Vince McMahon & Jesse Ventura
Jake Roberts(w/ Cheryl Roberts) vs. Rick Rude(w/ Bobby Heenan)
This has actually been the hottest feud of the year, and has elevated both men in their respective roles, so here’s a bit of background for you: a few months earlier, after winning a match, Rude seduced a woman in the audience as usual… however, that was Jake Roberts’ wife Cheryl, which started a brawl and a heated feud between the two. Throughout the year, Rude started wearing tights with Cheryl’s face on them, with Roberts ripping them once and telling him not to wear them again. Shockingly he did, with Roberts now wanting to give him a DDT and a slap via Cheryl, which brings us here to this match.
Basically, this is quite the big deal…
A furious Roberts goes immediately after Rude to start, quickly catching him in a front facelock for the DDT but Rude is outta there in a hurry. Back in, Rude blocks a short-arm clothesline and hits one of his own to take over. He stops to seduce Cheryl, however, and that earns him a clothesline with extra mustard. Roberts holds Rude by the ropes, allowing Cheryl to slap him, with the ref sending her to the back as we take a break.
We return with Rude sending Roberts to the post. Back in, Roberts is running wild but Rude blocks the DDT and hits an elbow for two. Fistdrop off the top gets two. Roberts reverses a backdrop and hits the DDT from out of nowhere… but Heenan runs in for the DQ finish at about 7:30. Well that finish can lick a horse’s dick, choke on it, die a slow death and ENJOY it.
After the match, Andre the Giant comes out to join the heel beatdown, but he’s apparently afraid of snakes and has a heart attack once Roberts gets Damien out of the bag. Yep, I shit you not. This was the culmination of one of the best feuds in that year, it deserved a proper finish. Not to mention Rude got himself over into superstardom, so it’s not like they couldn’t have the babyfaces win this feud and have Rude get his heat back later. Oh, and it also ruined Andre’s mystique, who was far from his prime but could still do great business in matches that could hide his physical weaknesses (ie: SummerSlam just a few months earlier). This started well, but turned into a huge mess that helped no one at all. A complete yawner and probably the disappointment of the year so far. **1/4
WWF Tag Team Championship: Demolition (Ax & Smash)(c)(w/ Mr. Fuji & Jimmy Hart) vs. The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart)
This is a rematch from SummerSlam, where the Demos stole the win via megaphone shot after an enjoyable contest. It would be nice to give someone else the spot, but to be honest there’s just no other babyface tag-team over enough to challenge the champs – the Rockers just joined the company, and the Powers of Pain are the ones being built up.
Ax and Anvil get things started, with Anvil getting tripped in the corner and worked over by the heels. The babyfaces do the same in a nice touch, and Bret dropkicks Smash followed by an elbowdrop for two. Ax comes in with the choking of death, and just like that Bret is playing face-in-peril. That doesn’t last long, as Neidhart quickly comes in for the hot tag and a running powerslam gets two. The champs collide but the Rougeaus soon join, and it’s BREAKING LOOSE ON SNME! In the middle of all the confusion, the Rougeaus give Smash the megaphone, and he retains over Neidhart at around 6:00.
Too short to be anything special, and the fact it was the very same finish from SummerSlam (only with a bit of Rougeaus added to the toppings) doesn’t exactly give the WWF any points for creativity. Still perfectly competent while it lasted. ** It’s also kinda interesting that despite going over the Harts twice, the Demos have nowhere to go and are just kinda there while the Harts have an interesting feud with the Rougeaus ahead of them. Shows you that while wins/losses do matter, wins/losses sometimes don’t matter that much. Sounds complicated? That’s pro wrestling in a nutshell for ya.
Hulk Hogan(w/ Miss Elizabeth) vs. King Haku(w/ Bobby Heenan)
Hogan’s ability to politically manipulate everything and everyone continues to amaze me. While Randy Savage has been the World Champion all the way since WrestleMania, Hogan is the one who gets to wrestle a member of the Heenan family here, and he’s the one starting a feud with The Big Boss Man, arguably the most over heel now that Andre’s a pussy and DiBiase’s lost enough big matches to be taken seriously anymore. Plus he gets to have Savage’s valet, the most over manager in wrestling, by his side. Impressive. Haku might have the king gimmick but you’re the one I bow down to, Hogan.
Haku pounds away to start, but Hogan has no problem stopping that midcard furry, brother. He drops an elbow and lays in the MAIN EVENT chops, but a distraction by Heenan allows Haku to choke him. A superkick dumps Hogan, but Haku hits Heenan on the way down instead and Hogan steals Haku’s crown and shows off with it. Unjustifiably so, might I add. Hero to millions. We take a break, and return with Haku hitting a suplex but then Hulk up boot big leg yadda yadda yadda at over 6:00.
This was fine. Would’ve been nice to see the first WWF title match in months, though, just saying. *1/4
Dino Bravo(w/ Frenchy Martin) vs. Ken Patera
Welcome to the last few minutes of SNME, where a bunch of filler matches take place!
Bravo runs away from Patera, stalls for a bit, gets back in and finishes with the sideslam after Patera eats corner on a blind charge at 3:00. That’s basically everything that happened here, moving on. DUD
Main-event: The Big Boss Man(w/ Slick) vs. Jim Powers
As mentioned earlier, Boss Man started a feud with Hulk Hogan the week before, so he gets to squash poor Jim Powers here before going on to captain his team at Survivor Series against Hogan’s (and Randy hey I am here too Savage’s) team.
That’s basically what happens here, as Boss Man throws Powers around for a while before finishing with the Boss Man Slam at 2:30.
Nothing but a good old-fashioned squash, but an effective one at that. DUD
End of show.
This one would mostly depend on Roberts/Rude, and what a disappointing end that feud had. Personally, I strongly recommend you to avoid this edition. Final score: 2/10
Finally, the points for this show:
Demolition Smash: 4.5 points (2 for star rating + 1 for pinfall win + 1 for retaining a title + 0.5 for earning the fall);
Demolition Ax: 4 points (2 for star rating + 1 for pinfall win + 1 for retaining a title);
Jake Roberts: 2.75 points (2.25 for star rating + 0.5 for DQ win);
Hulk Hogan: 2.25 points (1.25 for star rating + 1 for pinfall win);
Big Boss Man: 2 points (1 for main-eventing + 1 for pinfall win);
Rick Rude: 1.75 points (2.25 for star rating – 0.5 for DQ loss);
Bret Hart: 1 point (2 for star rating – 1 for pinfall loss);
Dino Bravo: 1 point (for pinfall win);
Jim Neidhart: 0.5 points (2 for star rating – 1 for pinfall loss – 0.5 for giving up the fall);
Haku: 0.25 points (1.25 for star rating – 1 for pinfall loss);
Jim Powers: 0 points (1 for main-eventing – 1 for pinfall win);
Ken Patera: -1 point (for pinfall loss);
Thank you all for your time. Don’t miss Survivor Series 1988, the second in history, coming up next time. Until then!
Welcome everyone to my review of the very first edition of SummerSlam, where The Mega Powers met The Mega Bucks.
Enjoy the review!
Before starting, here is the list of champions at the time:
WWF Champion: Randy Savage
Intercontinental Champion: Honky Tonk Man
Tag Team Champions: Demolition (Ax & Smash)
The hosts are Gorilla Monsoon & ‘Superstar’ Billy Graham
Match 1: The British Bulldogs (Dynamite Kid & Davey Boy Smith) vs. The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers (Jacques & Raymond Rougeau)
At this point, The Bulldogs were getting less and less featured, having even lost to Bobby Heenan at WrestleMania. Meanwhile, the Rougeaus were slowly turning heel, pretending to be huge American heros but ultimately being dicks and thus getting quite the heat for it. They’ve honestly been one of the most improved acts since WrestleMania, as they were just sort of there as babyfaces.
Fast wrestling sequence and quick hot tags from both teams get things started, before Dynamite gets caught with a suplex from behind that allows the Rougeaus to take over. The heels slap on sleeper holds on Dynamite and use them to mock the crowd and get even more heat, which works.
Finally Smith gets the hot tag and runs wild, crotching Jacques on the top rope and getting everyone involved for a slugfest. The babyfaces connect with their press-slam/diving headbutt finisher, but the time expires and it’s a draw.
This was a hard one to get into, as these two teams were not feuding at all with each other (to be fair, nobody on this card was apart from the main-event) and thus the match dragged a little bit due to its time-limit finish. It was technically good, though, and The Rougeaus had massive heat. Not a bad opener that could’ve been great with a proper story, no doubt. **1/2
Meanwhile, we’re shown footage of Brutus Beefcake getting absolutely destroyed by Ron Bass on TV a few days earlier. Therefore, he’s out of the IC Title match later that night, but Honky will still put the belt on the line against a new opponent. I wonder who that might be!
Match #2: Bad News Brown vs. Ken Patera
Much like in the opening match, here Bad News has been feuding with Bret Hart ever since WrestleMania… but he’s taking on Patera, who’s been doing a whole bunch of nothing for months.
Patera tries to get the upper hand to start, only for Brown to casually beat him like it’s nothing. Patera tries a number of comebacks that go nowhere, including trying to lock in a full nelson, before he misses a charge in the corner and Brown puts him away with the Ghetto Blaster.
Eh, this was a thing that existed, apparently. Brown has been awesome since making his debut, though. 1/2*
Match #3: The Junkyard Dog vs. ‘Ravishing’ Rick Rude(w/ Bobby Heenan)
In this one, Rude has been in a really hot personal feud with Jake Roberts, one of the best going at this point in time, but he’s up against Junkyard Dog for some reason.
This was unquestionably the worst match of the night when it comes to the in-ring wrestling ability, as it was literally just them kicking and punching each other a lot before Rude removed his tights to reveal another pair with Cheryl Roberts’ (Jake’s wife) face on it, which brings Jake in for the DQ finish.
Can’t say it was pointless, as it helped further the Rude/Roberts storyline. However, I strongly recommend you avoid the rest of this match and jump straight to that moment. Nothing was botched or particularly bad, it just didn’t click. 1/4*
Match #4: The Bolsheviks (Nikolai Volkoff & Boris Zhukov)(w/ Slick) vs. The Powers of Pain (The Warlord & The Barbarian)(w/ Baron Von something)
The Powers of Pain just recently made their debuts after WrestleMania, and are quite clearly being pushed for a future feud with Demolition over the tag straps.
The Russians catch the newcomers to start, working them over for the standard basic tag team formula. Only difference being that the Powers sell less than usual, if anything at all. Finally Barbarian gets the hot tag and they clean house, putting Zhukov away with a powerslam into a flying headbutt.
Another match that was just sort of there, with no real background story or any particular reason for it to be on a major PPV. 1/2*
And now, to bring love to your hearts…
BROTHER LOVE!
His guest is ‘Hacksaw’ Jim Duggan, who says some stuff (basically OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH) before chasing Brother Love away with the 2×4.
Match #5: The Honky Tonk Man(c)(w/ Jimmy Hart) vs. ??? ???????? ??????? – WWF Intercontinental Championship
With Beefcake out injured and unable to compete, Honky calls out anyone for him to wrestle. That brings out, as Vince McMahon used to say…
THE UUUUUUUUUUUUUULTIMATE WAAAAAARRIOR…
… who absolutely runs over The Honky era, splashing him in seconds for the pin to winthe Intercontinental Championship. N/R (no rating) as a far as the match itself goes, as you could’ve missed it if you went to the kitchen just to grab a drink. As a moment, though, this gets a million of a billion stars plus one of the biggest pops in history. In case you’ve never seen this, it’s only one of the biggest moments in wrestling (as well as MSG) history, so watch it… I do NOT recommend you to blink, though!
Match #6: ‘The Rock’ Don Muraco vs. Dino Bravo(w/ Frenchy Martin)
This is apparently to determine who’s the strongest wrestler in the world or whatever. Which I guess is Vince McMahon’s code for ‘to let the people go to the toilet and have something to eat and/or drink after the last match’.
A few things happen for two minutes, before Bravo blocks a bodyslam by “accidentally” hitting the ref, and steals the win with a side slam to become the undisputed strongest man in wrestling. Something along those lines.
I personally find my description of this match way more accurate, but you’re free to have it your way, folks! DUD
Match #7: Demolition (Ax & Smash)(c)(w/ Mr. Fuji & Jimmy Hart) vs. The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart) – WWF Tag Team Championship
The Harts turned babyface recently and dumped Jimmy Hart, who still owns their contract and is thus allowed to be at ringside. So that is exactly what he does, supporting their opponents, Demolition!
The challengers start in control, with Neidhart connecting with a massive shoulder block on Smash. Ax catches Neidhart with a boot to the face, who strikes back with an uppercut before getting Bret in. Jimmy Hart distracts the ref, allowing Smash to hit a shoulderbreaker on Bret followed by an armbar to take over.
They work over Bret’s arm, pounding on it and even smashing the arm into the post to get the heat. After a few minutes, Bret finally connects with a clothesline and gets the hot tag to Neidhart, but Ax distracts the ref and he misses the tag, getting the crowd even more on the Foundation’s side.
The Demos continue to work over Bret, who finally gets separation with a boot to the face and brings in Neidhart for real, getting a standing ovation from the crowd! Neidhart cleans house, dropkicking and bodyslamming everything that moves before hitting an assisted slingshot to the outside on Smash, with the crowd losing it at this point. Back in, Neidhart hits a running powerslam for a very close and hot nearfall.
Neidhart brings Bret back in, and a double-team shoulder tackle gets two. Ax gets in to save another pinfall attempt, which brings Neidhart in too. Fuji gets on the apron to distract Neidhart as well as the referee, allowing Jimmy to give Ax the megaphone for a shot to Bret, and Smash gets the pin to retain.
While not as classic as their… well… classic match at the same event two years later, this is still a fantastic encounter. Meltzer gave this *1/2, which I just can’t possibly understand. The psychology over Bret’s arm and the eventual heat spot that followed were fantastic, to the point where the babyface hot tag got a standing ovation!! To the modern wrestling fan, this is your go-to match from this show. ***1/2
Match #8: The Big Boss Man(w/ Slick) vs. Koko B. Ware
This is Boss Man’s first PPV match, as he made his debut shortly after WrestleMania. Boss Man immediately dumps Koko to the outside like a sack of potatoes, but quickly eats a dropkick and a splash.
Boss Man turns things around with a headbutt, only to miss a splash off the top. He doesn’t really sell it and misses a charge instead, as Koko follows with quite the beautiful missile dropkick followed by a splash. Boss Man kicks out with authority, however, and a few seconds later Koko is done via Boss Man Slam.
At nearly six minutes, this was at least two minutes too long – considering Koko got pinned by Bobby Heenan at WrestleMania – but it was totally watchable while it lasted, despite not being memorable or anything. *1/2
Meanwhile, new IC Champ Ultimate Warrior cuts a promo in the dressing room. He said.. something.. way too fast and in his typical ranting style, which I’m sure was fantastic but I just could not understand!
Match #9: Jake Roberts vs. Hercules
As I mentioned previously, Roberts was in a heated feud with Rick Rude. Hercules doesn’t have Bobby Heenan with him, because he’s getting ready for the upcoming main-event.
Jake tries the DDT early on, but Hercules bails. Roberts bodyslams him instead, and follows with a chinlock. Hercules turns that into a headlock, and a clothesline gets two. Herc goes into another chinlock, which goes on forever. When Roberts finally fights his way out, Herc puts him back in it again…
Roberts escapes for good with a jawbreaker, and follows with a short-arm clothesline. Herc backdrops out of a DDT attempt, and drops an elbow for two after avoiding a knee lift as well. Herc tries a slam, but Roberts escapes and connects with the DDT for the dramatic pin.
This was technically fine and Roberts’ DDT got a huge pop as usual, but it was just boring as hell and didn’t need ten minutes at all. Especially considering this was in the death slot just before the main-event, which is exactly what everyone was waiting for while these two just kept putting each others in chinlocks. *
Main-event: Mega Powers (Randy Savage & Hulk Hogan)(w/ Miss Elizabeth) vs. Mega Bucks (Ted DiBiase & Andre the Giant)(w/ Bobby Heenan & Virgil) – special referee: Jesse ‘The Body’ Ventura
Ventura is the special ref, obviously paid off by DiBiase in the build-up despite pretending to be fair. Ventura even changes the tag ropes just because he wants them in another corner and he can do whatever he wants, while the babyfaces have matching attire… matched to Hogan’s red and yellow colors, because of course brother.
The Mega Powers take control to start, double-teaming DiBiase. Hogan has the brilliant idea of taunting Andre, who then headbutts him in the corner. Can’t say he didn’t ask for it. Andre now comes in legally, putting Hogan in the nerve hold. For quite some time.
DiBiase comes in next, clearly choking Hogan on a chinlock, which Ventura ignores. Hogan eventually fights out of that and brings in Savage for the hot tag, who runs wild on DiBiase before running right into a million dollar clothesline. And he brings in Andre, who can barely do anything at this point.
Andre works Hogan over but Ted misses the elbow, with Andre coming back in to headbutt Hogan while he’s putting DiBiase in a sleeper. That looks like it’s it for the babyfaces, but Liz gets up on the apron and removes her skirt. The heels all freeze for about two minutes, including Heenan and Virgil on the apron – apparently having never seen a woman’s legs – which allows Savage to hit the Macho Elbow on DiBiase, followed by the Leg Drop. Ventura refuses to count three, but Savage drops his hand the third time for the win.
This was a fun tag team match elevated by a super hot crowd, with awesome larger-than-life characters and/or personalities involved. In terms of technical execution, though, this is nothing more than a very basic Saturday Night’s Main Event-ish standard tag match, with an André who could barely walk at this point. **3/4
Overall, I’d strongly recommend Warrior’s historic win and the main-event as far as moments go, and the tag title match as the wrestling match of the night. Absolutely avoid everything else on this show and you will miss nothing. The inaugural SummerSlam gets a five out of ten from me.
Finally, the points:
Demolition Smash: 6 points (3.5 for star rating + 1 for retaining a title + 1 for pinfall win + 0.5 for earning the fall);
Demolition Ax: 5.5 points (3.5 for star rating + 1 for retaining a title + 1 for pinfall win);
Hulk Hogan: 5.25 points (2.75 for star rating + 1 for main-eventing + 1 for pinfall win + 0.5 for earning the fall);
Randy Savage: 4.75 points (2.75 for star rating + 1 for main-eventing + 1 for pinfall win);
The Ultimate Warrior: 3 points (1 for pinfall win + 2 for winning a title);
Andre the Giant: 2.75 points (2.75 for star rating + 1 for main-eventing – 1 for pinfall loss);
Jim Neidhart: 2.5 points (3.5 for star rating – 1 for pinfall loss);
The Big Boss Man: 2.5 points (1.5 for star rating + 1 for pinfall loss);
Dynamite Kid, Davey Boy, Jacques & Raymond Rougeau: 2.5 points (for star rating);
Ted DiBiase: 2.25 points (2.75 for star rating + 1 for main-eventing – 1 for pinfall loss – 1 for giving up the fall);
The Barbarian: 2 points (0.5 for star rating + 1 for pinfall win + 0.5 for earning the fall);
Bret Hart: 2 points (3.5 for star rating – 1 for pinfall loss – 0.5 for giving up the fall);
Jake Roberts: 2 points (1 for star rating + 1 for pinfall win);
Bad News Brown: 1.5 points (0.5 for star rating + 1 for pinfall win);
The Warlord: 1.5 points (0.5 for star rating + 1 for pinfall win);
Dino Bravo: 1 point (for pinfall win);
Rick Rude: 0.75 points (0.25 for star rating + 0.5 for DQ win);
Koko B. Ware: 0.5 points (1.5 for star rating – 1 for pinfall loss);
Hercules: 0 points (1 for star rating – 1 for pinfall loss);
The Junkyard Dog: -0.25 points (0.25 for star rating – 0.5 for DQ loss);
Ken Patera: -0.5 points (0.5 for star rating – 1 for pinfall loss);
Nikolai Volkoff: -0.5 points (0.5 for star rating – 1 for pinfall loss);
Boris Zhukov: -1 point (0.5 for star rating – 1 for pinfall loss – 0.5 for giving up the fall);
The Honky Tonk Man: -3 points (-1 for pinfall loss – 2 for dropping a title)
Thank you so much for your time, I hope you had a fun read. Join me next time for the return of SNME, featuring the culmination of the Jake Roberts/Rick Rude feud, Hulk Hogan vs. King Haku and more. Once again thank you all, see you there!
Welcome everyone to the review of what was the first edition of SNME after WrestleMania IV.
Enjoy the review!
Before starting, here is the list of champions at the time:
WWF Champion: Randy Savage
Intercontinental Champion: Honky Tonk Man
Tag Team Champions: Demolition (Ax & Smash)
Women’s Champion: Sensational Sherri
The hosts are Vince McMahon & Jesse Ventura
Match #1: ‘Hacksaw’ Jim Duggan vs. Hercules(w/ Bobby Heenan & Andre the Giant)
Duggan is feuding with Andre, having knocked the giant out with his 2×4 on TV after Andre helped Ted DiBiase eliminate him in the tournament’s first round at WrestleMania IV. Therefore, he’s facing Heenan family member Hercules here.
Hacksaw starts in control, with Herc wasting no time in leaving the ring to talk strategy with Andre. Back in with Duggan still running wild, until he eventually misses a charge and Hercules chokes away. Duggan gets the 2×4 to clear everyone out of the ring, and we take a break.
We return with Hercules going after the eyes and putting him in a bearhug. He chokes some more, before Duggan finally escapes and hits the Three Point Stance, with Heenan running in to break up the pin and cause the DQ. The heels then beat up Duggan for a while, until The Ultimate Warrior runs in and cleans house. This was what it was. 1/4*
Match #2: Brutus ‘The Barber’ Beefcake vs. ‘Dangerous’ Danny Davis(w/ Jimmy Hart)
Similar situation here, as Beefcake is feuding with IC Champion The Honky Tonk Man, and is facing another one of Jimmy Hart’s wrestlers here to continue that feud. This is why stables are so important and there should be more of them, because that way we don’t need to see the same match three times in the same month.
Beefcake runs wild to start, tossing Davis around for fun. Davis eventually gets some offense in, only for Brutus to catch him in the sleeper. Absolute squash here, with Beefcake cutting Davis’ hair afterwards. DUD
Match #3: ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage(w/ Miss Elizabeth) vs. One Man Gang(w/ Slick) – WWF Championship
This is Savage’s first televised defense of the world’s championship. One Man Gang was the only wrestler Savage could not pin in the tournament at WrestleMania, with ‘Macho Man’ eliminating him in the semis via DQ – hence him being the first challenger.
Gang dominates early on, overpowering the champion to keep him down. Savage connects with a bodypress for two. A slam off the top gets an even closer two, as does a stungun, before Gang squashes him like a bug to cut him off.
An elbowdrop gets two but Gang misses a charge and Savage connects with an elbow of his own. Savage hits the double axehandle only to get caught on a second attempt, but Gang misses the 747. Slick goes after Liz on the outside, distracting Savage, but a shot with the cane turns Gang’s lights out instead and the Macho Elbow is academic.
For a basic five-minute TV match, this was certainly acceptable. Savage is on fire as the WWF Champion, bringing the goods no matter the situation and, most importantly, having the crowd in the palm of his hands. *1/2
Match #4: Demolition (Ax & Smash)(w/ Mr. Fuji) vs. The British Bulldogs (Dynamite Kid & Davey Boy Smith)
This is a non-title match, which makes me wonder why this is happening in the first place. Smash beats up Davey Boy to start, being only stopped by a Dynamite clothesline. Ax gets in, only to get double-teamed by the babyfaces, until a cheapshot turns things back around for the Demos.
Smash backbreaker on The Kid gets two. A bearhug follows, with Dynamite eventually escaping and getting out of the way of a Smash charge. Hot tag Davey and he’s running wild, but eventually Matilda runs after Fuji as we take a break. We return with a mega brawl-for-all for the lame no-contest finish. Ughh.
There was no story in this one, so there’s not much to say. The action was going just fine, but the match was super short and the finish was beyond stupid. *3/4
Match #5: ‘The Million Dollar Man’ Ted DiBiase(w/ Virgil) vs. ‘The Rock’ Don Muraco(w/ ‘Superstar’ Billy Graham)
Another rematch from WrestleMania, where DiBiase defeated in the second round of the tournament in a hot match in which Muraco actually looked quite good.
DiBiase pounds away to start and he’s all cocky, only to get backdropped and immediately bail. Back in, Muraco is a house of fire, hitting a clothesline and a powerslam for two.
A clothesline kills The Rock’s comeback, though, and DiBiase gets a couple of nearfalls with a clothesline and a suplex. He walks right into a Muraco powerslam for two, but a suckerpunch and a cover full of ropes is enough to give DiBiase the chickenshit heel win. Another brief yet exciting match between these two, with everything looking good. **1/4
Main-event: ‘Ravishing’ Rick Rude(w/ Bobby Heenan) vs. Koko B. Ware
Rude is in a personal feud with Jake Roberts, while Koko was pinned by Bobby Heenan himself at WrestleMania… if that doesn’t tell you who’s going over here, I don’t know what will!
Koko runs wild to start, but that unsurprisingly goes nowhere. Rude poses and eats a dropkick, which only works in pissing off Rude. Rude hits a dropkick but misses a second one. A Koko pseudo-comeback again goes nowhere, and the Rude Awakening is more than enough to end it.
Rude is getting more and more over as a cocky heel, oozing charisma and feeding Koko’s comebacks like a true pro. *, all thanks to Rick Rude and his greatness.
Overall, this was watchable but suffered from being nothing more than RematchMania. This edition of SNME gets a three out of ten.
SNME now takes a break, with the next edition only taking place in October of that year. Don’t miss my review of the very first SummerSlam next.
Here are the points for this show:
Randy Savage: 1.5 for star rating + 1 for pinfall win + 1 for successfully retaining a title = 3.5 points;
Ted DiBiase: 2.25 for star rating + 1 for pinfall win = 3.25 points;
Rick Rude: 1 for star rating + 1 for pinfall win + 1 for main-eventing = 3 points;
Ax, Smash, Dynamite Kid & Davey Boy Smith: 1.75 points (for star rating);
Don Muraco: 2.25 for star rating – 1 for pinfall loss = 1.25 points;
Brutus Beefcake: 1 point (for submission win);
Koko B. Ware: 1 for star rating + 1 for main-eventing – 1 for pinfall loss = 1 point;
Jim Duggan: 0.25 for star rating + 0.5 for DQ win = 0.75 points;
One Man Gang: 1.5 for star rating – 1 for pinfall loss = 0.5 points;
Hercules: 0.25 for star rating – 0.5 for DQ loss = -0.25 points;
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