- The HITMAN383 Rant for WWF WrestleMania V! This is one of
the biggest shows of the eighties, as the Mega-Powers angle came to an end with
a huge Hogan/Savage main event (where the Mega-Powers …. EXPLODE!). At the
time, people disliked this card, but over the course of a few years, it has
taken the “Citizen Kane” route, as people now appreciate it more. (And
now it’s sort of went back the other way, where people don’t particularly care
for this show much)
- Also, the NWA wanted to screw up the WWF’s buyrate on this
one buy running the Clash of the Champions VI over on TBS. It featured the
famous Flair/Steamboat 2/3 falls match, but this shows buyrate didn’t get hurt
at all. In fact, it’s one of the biggest wrestling PPV buyrates EVER.
- BTW, I use this system: ***** - Excellent, **** - Great,
*** - Good, **- Okay, * - Decent, DUD - Awful.
- Live from Atlantic City, New Jersey at Trump
Plaza. Same site as
WrestleMania IV. I guess Vince and Donald are good buddies. I mean two WM’s in
his building, and he had front row seats for WM VII. (…and at WrestleMania XX. And he
got physically involved at 23. And Vince did an episode of Celebrity
Apprentice. Yeah, I’d say they’re pals)
- Your Hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura.
- Rockin’ Robin sings America the Beautiful. Ever see
Sofia Coppola in Godfather III? Take that performance, and pretend she was
singing. To say the least, it was bad. What, they couldn’t afford REAL celebs
for this show? Unlike the other WrestleMania’s before it where there where like
5,000 celebs in the first hour? (Seriously, how hard would it have been to
get some c-list pop singer to do it? They’d gotten legends like Ray Charles and
Aretha Franklin in past years, but suddenly we’re stuck with Rockin’ fuckin’
Robin?)
- Another comment on this building: It’s a nice arena, but
there is a HUGE staircase leading from the entrance to the ring. NOT a good
idea, as everyone trips on the way to ringside, and looks stupid. (It’s
a stupid, drab, depressing arena – stairs or not)
- Opening Match: King Haku vs. Hercules: They
actually carry Haku on the throne to ringside, and DIDN’T trip. I’m impressed.
Maybe it’s because his ‘fro wasn’t out of control yet, so they were able to
manage that weight without falling. (Talk about top-heavy) Haku jumps
him from behind, and chops away at Herc. Hercules hits a hip toss, and a slam
to comeback, then a faceslam. He clotheslines him to the floor, and then
suplexes him back in for good measure. He decides to be stupid, and goes after
Heenan on the floor, which allows Haku to jump him. Stupid move by Hercules,
there. He hits a couple backbreakers for two, and hooks a bearhug. Hey, at
least he’s using psychology, right? Jesse claims that HE got Trump the front
row seats he has for this show. Hey Jesse, you do know it’s HIS building,
right? (Obviously that was a joke, but it’s true. I have a friend who owns a
moderately sized arena, and you’ll see him in the front row of literally every
sporting event, concert, or political rally held there) Hercules powers
out of the bearhug, but takes a superkick for his troubles. A criss cross leads
to a Hercules crossbody for two. I thought it was over right there. Hercules
hits a series of jabs, and then clotheslines. Powerslam for two, and he dives
off the top at him, but eats superkick. Haku tries a 2nd rope splash, but
misses that, so Herc hits a side suplex to pin him at 6:40. Hey, other than the
long bearhug spot, this was fun. **.
- The Rockers give an interview backstage, and seem VERY
high. They probably were, too. (They were very hung over, yeah)
Anyway, they threaten the Twin
Towers, who are Akeem and
the Big Bossman.
- The Twin
Towers vs. The Rockers:
The Towers chase them before the match even starts, but the Rockers are too
fast, and elbow both fat boys in the head. It starts officially with Shawn and
Bossman, and the Bossman slaps him across the face. He counters that with a 2nd
rope dropkick, and then kicks both guys asses! You go Shawn! Akeem tags in, and
after a dance off, both Rockers work on the arm with tandem moves. Shawn keeps
the arm bar on the fat ass, and then allows Marty to have his fun with the
hold. Bossman tags in, and the Tower’s sandwich poor Marty. Bossman hits the
Nash rope-choke spot, and then Akeem splashes him. Lot’s
of quick tags in this match, too, as we’ve seen atleast 20 tags so far. The
Towers use their fat to work Marty Morton over in the corner, but a heel
miscommunication spot allows Shawn to get the hot tag. He gets the five-punch
count on Akeem in the corner, and they hit a double 2nd rope shoulderblock for
two. Akeem gets pissed, and nearly KILLS Michaels with a clothesline. I mean,
ouch. Bossman heads up top, but misses a splash, getting Shawn a two count. The
Rockers do some more handy double-teaming, including two top rope dropkicks for
another two. Shawn tries a rana from the top on Bossman, but gets powerbombed
for his efforts, and Akeem splashes him for the pin at 7:51. Good match, but
the Rockers should have gone over. ***.
- Ted DiBiase vs. Brutus Beefcake: Before the match,
Ted goes over to Donald Trump to show off the Million Dollar Belt. Good for
him. It is a nice belt, to say the least. (I owned a replica of it once, and if that
was any indication of how bulky and uncomfortable that thing was… then it was
really bulky and uncomfortable…) Long stall-fest to start, as DiBiase
talks trash to Beefcake. Brutus gets pissed, and attacks with some backdrops.
Ted bails out to re-group, and when he comes back in, it’s a slam-fest by
Brutus, and then he clotheslines DiBiase to the floor. The crowd is gone. (According
to Beefcake, the crowd was pumped for this, so ignore me or your own senses) Slugfest
won by the Barber, but Virgil holds the foot to allow DiBiase a cheep shot.
Back elbow, and a fist drop get two for the Million Dollar Man. He hits a 2nd rope axe handle for two,
and tries a backdrop, but Beefcake gets a quick small package for two. They
fight over a suplex, which Brutus wins, but he can’t capitalize on Ted. A criss
cross leads two a double clothesline, and Ted recovers first for a suplex. He
hooks the Dream on, but Beefcake makes the ropes quickly. Ted tries to ram his
head to the corner, but Beefcake reverses, and takes Ted to the corner. Sleeper
hooked on, but Virgil breaks it up, and Ted knocks him to the floor for some
abuse for Virgil. Beefcake no sells it, however, and goes for Virgil, but
DiBiase is right there to jump him. They have a slugfest out on the floor, and
the ref. counts both guys out at 10:01. What a piece of crap this match is.
DUD. Afterwards, the fight continues. How enthralling. (Seriously, I get that they were
trying to keep both guys strong, but a double countout at a WrestleMania in
1989 is just ridiculous)
- I just want to say, this crowd sucks. They are pretty dead
the whole way through so far.
- The Rougeau Brothers vs. The Bushwhackers: Butch
proves my point about the stairs, and trips on his way to the ring. Then again,
he’d have tripped without the steps. The ‘Whackers sandwich Jimmy Hart between
the Rougeau’s, and they bail to re-group. Raymond outsmarts Luke, as Gorilla
and Jesse have a big conversation about kicking foreigners out of the U.S., and
tearing down the Statue of Liberty. It may sound bad, but it’s one of the
funniest conversations I’ve ever heard. Jesse is hilarious. The heels keep
control throughout here, and Ray slams Luke, but when he has him up for it,
Luke strokes his crotch. WTF? (Yeah… that was… weird…) It gets
two. This match sucks. Finally, after eight hours, the ‘Whackers hit the
battering ram for the pin at 4:42. Big, fat DUD.
- Mr. Perfect vs. The Blue Blazer: The Blazer is
Owen, for those that don’t know. Good heel heat for Hennig, too, from this dead
crowd. A wrestling sequence leads to a Hennig hip toss, but Owen takes him down
with a drop-toe-hold, and a series of slams. Dropkick knocks Hennig to the
floor, and Owen hits a nice baseball slide. Uppercuts on the floor, and chops
in the ring, as Hart unloads. Man, Curt used to be REALLY skinny. (I
loved that he got super pudgy during the WCW days, but never bothered to buy
new tights) Another wrestling sequence leads to a slam, and a dropkick
by Owen. Backbreaker for two, and a Northern lights suplex for one. The Blazer
heads up stairs, but hits the knee’s on a splash (HARD, too) and Curt works the
back with a camel clutch. Owen with a powerslam for one, and a belly to belly
for two. Crucifix almost gets him, but Hennig knocks his head off with a
clothesline. One Perfect-plex later, Curt Hennig is your winner at 5:28. Not as
good as people make it out to be, but still ** ½. Really good by eighties
standards, but not that amazing today. (Yeah, people went nuts for this in 1989,
but it would be totally forgettable, mid-card Smackdown stuff today)
- Jesse Ventura poses in front of the crowd. And he
complains about HOGAN’S ego? He needed a special intro to POSE on PPV! What a
hypocrite.
- We see Mr. Fuji in the “WrestleMania V marathon” on the
boardwalk, where he “runs 5 KM” in a tux to prove he’s ready for his match.
Yeah, whatever.
- RUN DMC does a WrestleMania rap. I fast forward. (I
sort of became a fan of Run during his MTV show, but this was such a time
waster. Of course, today, we often have to sit through concerts at WrestleManias,
so maybe I should just shut up now)
- WWF Tag Team Title Handicapped Match: Demolition vs.
The Powers of Pain and Mr. Fuji: This came about when Fuji turned on the
Demo’s at Survivor Series, and they decided to have a handicapped match for the
gold, so they can get their hands on Fuji. Warlord starts with Ax, and Ax
pounds him. This crowds main problem: Good heat in the entrances, but they are
DEAD the rest of the way through. (Because they’re not wrestling fans. They’re
casually interested in seeing guys they’ve heard of, but they couldn’t give a
fuck about the workrate or the outcomes, let alone understand cues like hot
tags and heat segments) A minute into this, and Ax goes to the rest
holds, then tags Smash for some hammering. Warlord over powers Smash, and they
work him over in the corner, but Smash comes back quickly to tag Ax. He
clotheslines the Barbarian, and slams him. Lots of quick tags from the Demo’s
here, as they tag about every 30 seconds. Barbie comes back with a chop on
Smash, but when he tags Warlord, Smash kicks his ass. A big brawl ensues, and
the heels get Ax down for some triple teaming. Fuji tags in, and puts the chops to Ax, and
drops a head down low. Barbie tags back in for a shoulderblock, and tags
Warlord. Ax is now officially Rick Morton, as Barbie powerslams him, and Fuji goes for a top rope
butt splash, but misses! Ax catches Warlord with a clothesline, and makes the
semi-warm tag to Smash, who cleans house on the heels. I hate this crowd.
Demo’s with a stun gun for two, and everyone’s in for a big brawl. Fuji tries
to toss the salt at Smash, but it’s WrestleMania IX all over again (Or
WrestleMania IX was this all over again, more like), as it hits Warlord
and the Demo’s hit the Decapitator on Fuji to retain at 8:54. Crap match, but
the crowd liked to see Fuji
get his. ½*.
- Tony Shavonie tries to talk with the Macho Man, but nearly
gets run down by him for trying to get an interview. Gorilla comments that we
may have seen the last of old Tony, but unfortunately that isn’t true.
- Dino Bravo vs. Ronnie Garvin: Can you say, shit?
Walk into your momma’s room and say it. Did you get slapped? Then you said it
right! Hey, Eddie Murphy should have been a wrestling commentator, face it.
Weird moment here, as both guys are already in the ring, and THEN they bring
out Jimmy Snuka who bows in the ring, and walks out. What? The shmuck couldn’t
wait until after the match to do his little pose? (His dealer was waiting outside)
He looks high anyway. Bravo jumps him to start, and delivers an elbow drop
followed by some back pounding. He hooks the bearhug, as I wonder what
possessed the WWF to do this feud. Dino tries a powerbomb, but Garvin does the
Rey Jr. spot out of it for two. He hammers away on Bravo, to a dead crowd, as
Monsoon say’s “they’re in awe.” Sure, Gorilla, Sure. He tries a piledriver, but
Dino backdrops him, so Garvin uses the sunset flip for two. Atomic drop by Dino,
and the sidewalk slam gets three at 3:52. ¼*. Afterwards, Ronnie gives Frenchie
Martin (Bravo’s manager) the “Garvin Stomp” which is up there with the “suplex”
Andre the Giant used to do in terms of finishers.
- The Brain Busters vs. Strike Force: Oh yeah! This
was like the “return” of Strike Force as they hadn’t teamed up in a long time,
but got back together for this one. (Not sure why return is in quotes, since
that’s literally what it is) Tully starts with Martel, and they wrestle
around on the mat. Anderson
gets a cheep shot in off an Irish whip, and they pound Martel in the corner,
which leads to a big brawl. Strike Force wins it with a double dropkick, as I
call for a Strike Force/Rockers match NOW! (That would have been awesome)
Martel wrestles Arn down for some two counts, and they do a test of strength on
the mat. Rick turns it into a Boston Crab, but Blanchard nails him, and tags
in. Tito gets the blind tag too, and bulldogs Tully into a figure four. Arn and
Martel run in too, so Rick gets Arn in the figure four as well! Ric Flair
backside sequence gets Tito two, and a small package for one. Santana blind
tags Martel, but they make a mistake and Tito nails Martel to the floor by
accident. The ‘Buster’s work over Tito as a result, but Tito gets a flying
bodyblock for two. It doesn’t help in much, however, as Arn keeps the hurt on
him. In addition, everytime Tito does some offense, the ‘Busters quickly stop
it. Finally, Tito slams Anderson
off the top, and goes for the hot tag to Martel, but Rick refuses to tag! The
crowd is pissed off at this, and Martel further upsets them by walking out on
Santana! The ‘Busters, like sharks, seize the moment and kill Santana. Arn hits
a spinebuster slam, but Tito tries to make a comeback anyway! It backfires
quickly, and the ‘Busters calmly hit a spike piledriver for the pin at 9:13.
Solid match, ***.
- Backstage, Martel says that he always carried Tito, and
he’s sick of carrying such a loser. Hey, it’s TITO. Do you blame him?
- It’s time for a special edition of Piper’s Pit, live in
the ring! The crowd likes the idea of that, and after a long intro by Finkel
for Piper, Brother Love comes out with a kilt on. Crowd doesn’t like that one.
He does a special little edition of the “Brother Love show” and proceeds to
interview himself, playing both Brother Love and Roddy Piper. He does a pretty
good Piper impression, actually, but the crowd is not impressed, chanting for
Piper. Love brings out his next guest: Morton Downey Jr., (Speaking of c-list celebrities…)
who proceeds to smoke about 40 cigarettes, and make fun of Love. After that,
the real Piper comes on out and makes as ass of Love, then tears off his kilt
and sends him running. This is a pretty big waste of time, really. He deals
with Morton next, who seems like he’s annoying Piper in real life as well as in
the show. Crowd is gone, too. He keeps blowing cigarette smoke in Piper’s face,
too, which continually annoys him, but their verbal sparring is pretty funny.
The end of the bit is that Piper grabs a fire extinguisher, and puts Downey, and his
cigarettes, out. (This segment has grown on me a bit over the years, but it had no place
taking up that much time on an already bloated show in front of an already dead
crowd)
- Mean Gene shills for the “new blockbuster film” No Holds
Barred.” For those that don’t know, not only did it suck, but it started the
crappy Hogan/Zeus feud. Just DON’T ASK. Or better yet, visit wrestlecrap.com.
Afterwards, Jesse throws a major fit that Hogan is invading Hollywood,
and says that if Hogan wants to come to Hollywood
he can drive Ventura’s
limo! (Today, Ric Flair might actually apply for that job)
- We take a look at the Mega-Powers story line, which
started the year before at WrestleMania IV, and all leads to this big bout at
WM V. The whole deal is that Savage thinks that Hogan is trying to steel Liz,
and wants to kick his ass.
- Gene talks with Hogan, who gives a whacked-out, crazy
interview about what he’s gonna do the Macho Man.
- Okay, okay, it’s been like half an hour since the last
match, so lets please get back to wrestling.
- Match with special ref. John Studd: Andre the Giant vs.
Jake Roberts: Okay, never mind. Let’s not get back to the wrestling. Please
no, I’ll watch more of No Holds Barred instead. Oh, wait. No. Actually, I’d
rather see this. (Sophie’s Choice has NOTHING on this show) Andre jumps him
right off the bat, and rams Jake’s head to the exposed corner (which he exposed
during the Snake’s entrance.) Andre goes right to the sleeper, like a loser,
and the crowd is not appreciative. He uses his ass to ram Roberts into the
corner, as he talks trash to Studd. Remember, Studd and Andre battled back at
the first WrestleMania, and there is still bad blood between them. The Giant
continues to lumber around and use his size on the drunk, as I ready myself for
a nap. I mean, Andre seems like a real nice guy, but he sucks as a wrestler. (More
that he was broken down and deteriorating further by the second) Eventually,
Jake hooks Andre in the ropes and pounds away. That goes on for about a minute,
but Andre gets loose and chokes him out. More lumbering. Jake gets dumped to
the floor, and if you look at the ring apron, you can notice that the skirts
are from WrestleMania IV, but they just tore the “I” off, to make it “V.” It’s
obvious, too. Cheep-o McMahon, I guess. (That still bugs me, actually) Andre
and Studd get into an argument, and Andre nails the big Studd, then they start
to fight! In the chaos, Jake finds the snake, but Ted DiBiase runs out to steal
it, then runs off! Jake steals it back, and dumps it in to get Andre running.
Studd then awards to match to Roberts by DQ at about 9:38. Really, really, bad.
- **. (Considering how much Andre hated Jake in real-life, that was probably
the best we could hope for, really) Monsoon and Ventura then argue over why Andre was DQ’ed.
DUH! He attacked Studd! What, are they too drunk to pay attention or something?
(What
is this, mid-90s WCW?)
- Rhythm and Blues vs. The Hart Foundation: Bret,
too, trips on the steps. Hart and Honky Tonk start off, and Bret quickly rolls
him up for two. Atomic drop by Hart, and then another. He tags Greg, who takes
one too, then a dropkick. The Harts work him over in the corner, and Jim hits a
slingshot shoulderblock for two. I really dig the Harts, BTW. Bret with a
backbreaker, but he misses a 2nd rope elbow, and Valentine hammers. R&B
make Bret into Ricky Morton and pound him in the corner with the usual 80’s
offense. Honky suplexes Hart, and tags Greg for an atomic drop. Honky catches
Bret with the Shake Rattle and Roll, but doesn’t cover. Instead, he tags The
Hammer, who goes for the figure four. Hart escapes, but still takes a stomach
breaker for two, and more abuse from the heels. Jim gets the hot tag and
dropkicks (!!) (He does that a fair amount, actually. Not sure why it impresses me so
much every time, but I appreciate the effort) both guys, but can’t put
away Valentine thanks to Honky. He tags in Bret, who slams Honky, and connects
with the 2nd rope elbow. Bret with a great suplex for two, and a brawl breaks
out between all four guys. Jimmy Hart’s mega-phone gets involved, but the Harts
intercept it, and clobber Honky with it for the pin at 7:40. Solid outing here,
** ¾.
- We get highlights of the Warrior/Rude feud, including
shots from the “SUPER POSE-DOWN” that went down at the Rumble. It was dumb, to
say the least.
- WWF Intercontinental Title Match: The Ultimate Warrior
vs. Rick Rude: Warrior, ever the nutcase, RUNS down the stairs that
everyone else trips on all night. Criss cross to start, and Warrior kills
Rude’s back. You know Rick is CUT, but he’s such a skinny boy. I mean, his legs
are freakin’ twigs. Obviously no steroids there. (Rude didn’t have that typical ‘steroid
bloat,’ but he was on the gas for sure, sorry HITMAN383) Bearhug city
from the Warrior, but Rick breaks and hits a missile dropkick for two. Warrior
goes on the no-sell streak, and slams the hell out of the challenger, then
re-hooks the bearhug. Rude tries to break with another eye-poke (like he did
before), but the ref. stops it. Warrior lets him out, backdrops him, then tries
a splash but lands unprotected on the knees. Ouch. Piledriver for two by Rude,
and a chin crusher. He tries to do the hip swivel, but sells the injury and
can’t do it. Good psychology there. Rude with a clothesline for two, and a
neckbreaker for two. He works the back, but Warrior makes his usual
rope-shaking comeback. He shoulderblocks him down, and hits two hard faceslams
to follow. He tries a slam, but screws it up, and clotheslines him instead. He
misses a corner splash, however, but Rude can’t hit the Rude Awakening, and
Warrior knocks him to the floor. Back in for more rope shaking, and Warrior
tries a suplex from the apron, but Heenan pulls the leg and holds it down for
Rude to win the title at 9:34. Okay little match, ** ¼. They’d go on to have a
better one at SummerSlam. Afterwards, Warrior slams Heenan for revenge.
- Bad News Brown vs. Jim Duggan: This is the pretty
famous “snot match.” Bad News jumps Duggan off the bat, but misses a
shoulderblock and Jim pounds away. Bad News bails out, and starts to leave the
ring area, then thinks better of it and comes back. Duggan sure does yell
“hooooooo” a lot, doesn’t he? Bad News tries to work on Jimmy’s head, but it’s
no good, so he kicks him in the gut. To the floor, News posts him, but misses
the ghetto blaster. Duggan hits the 3-point stance clothesline, so News grabs a
chair from ringside and challenges Duggan to a duel. Duggan gets his 2X4, and
they duel with the weapons which causes a double DQ at 3:47. Afterwards, Duggan
kicks his ass with the 2X4, and then shows off to the crowd while he has a big
piece of snot hanging out of his nose. Jim Duggan, you disgust me. DUD.
- Bobby Heenan vs. The Red Rooster: This came about
when Heenan slapped around Taylor,
and Terry kicked his ass. It’s all reviewed in my “MORE Saturday Night’s Main
Event” rant. Anyway, Heenan is still hurt from the Warrior’s beating, but
manages to get into Andre the Giant’s wrestling tights. (Bobby was a trooper)
Back when Andre was seven, anyhow. Heenan runs away in fear, but it doesn’t
work as the Rooster pounds on him. Heenan misses a corner charge, however, and Taylor quickly pins him at
:29. DUD, obviously. After the bell, the Brooklyn Brawler attacks Taylor for Heenan. Why
the hell is the Brawler on PPV? And at WRESTLEMANIA, no less. (Oh,
I think we all know the answer to that one)
- Gene talks with Miss Elizabeth to continue the hype for
the Main Event. For those that didn’t have the pleasure of seeing Liz back in
the 80’s, she was HOT. I mean, whoa. Liz say’s she’s gonna be in the neutral
corner for this one. (Still one of the hottest women to ever be
associated with wrestling)
- Sean Mooney is in the crowd, and asks the fans who’s gonna
win the title match. You can guess who they picked. (Daniel Bryan)
- Main Event, WWF Title Match: Randy Savage vs. Hulk
Hogan: Savage needs about 400 security people with him to get to the ring.
I guess they were worried someone would attack him. Liz comes out 2nd, with as
many security guys, and Pat Patterson feeling her up the whole way. WTF? (Wonder
if Savage flipped out on him, too?) She stands in the neutral corner,
like she said she would, and Savage talks trash at her. Big ovation for Hogan,
as Jesse complains that Savage (the champ) had to come out first. I personally
don’t see what’s wrong with that, but whatever. Savage shows off the belt
before hand (Last time you’d ever see that belt, as when Hogan won they handed him
a totally different, brand new version of the same design – Savage’s super beat
up version disappearing forever), and draws GIGANTIC heel heat, and
Hogan draws face pops as big. Hogan goes after him to start, so Savage bails
and plays to the crowd some more. Macho hooks a side-headlock, but Hogan
shoulderblocks him down off a criss cross. Macho bails again, and keeps
threatening Liz, and getting more crowd heat. He goes back to the
side-headlock, and hammers on Hogan. Hulk tries to nail him off a criss cross
again, so Savage bails out, frustrating Hogan. Hulk chases, so he hides behind
Liz to further piss everyone off. Damn, Savage is just THE MAN for the
character. Back in Savage hits a side suplex, but misses an elbow, and Hogan
pounds away! He works the arm-bar, but Savage pokes the eyes and hits a double
ax for two. It’s Macho’s turn now, and he hooks the arm-bar on the Hulkster,
pulling the hair all the while. Or what’s left of it, anyway. Savage is one of
the greatest heels, EVER, period. Hogan decides to play dirty too, pulling the
tights to dump Savage out, and them kicking his ass from post to post. He drops
a series of elbows, and then rakes the eyes with his boot. He puts his head
down off a backdrop attempt, however, and gets kicked in the face, then
clotheslined for two. He’s busted open now, and Savage hooks a headlock on the
mat. Hogan powers out, and shoulderblocks Savage around for a bit, then atomic
drops him. He misses an elbow, however, and Savage rolls him up (tights in
hand) for two. Macho rams Hulk to the posts now, and shows off to the fans.
More heel heat for that. Savage, ever the heel, even stomps the hands as Hogan
crawls around in pain! G-D bless the Macho Man! Hulk no sells a shot, and
clotheslines Savage into the corner, then slams him all the way to the floor!
Good bump for Savage, too. Liz tries to help him up, but Savage nearly decks
her, so Hogan goes to save, but Macho works on the “cut” over Hogan’s eye. It’s
more like a trickle, however. Hulk powers up, however, and goes to ram Savage
into the ringpost, but Liz stands in the way. See, she wants no one to get hurt
here. Savage slips out, but isn’t the gentlemen Hogan is, and pushes Hulk right
into her! Once again, say it with me, SAVAGE RULES! Hogan is hurt now, so
Savage takes advantage of it and goes after Liz. The ref. breaks it up,
however, and evicts Liz from the arena. During all this Savage hits a double ax
from the top all the way to the floor. Good spot there. He works the throat
with some rope choke spots, as he draws un-real heel heat. Macho elbows him in
the Adam’s apple, and slams him for a two count. Savage takes off his wrist
tape, and keeps the hurt on the throat by choking Hulk with it. He now gives up
hiding it, and blatantly chokes Hogan in front of the ref! Hulk fades out, and
Savage goes upstairs for the big elbow! Everyone is sure it’s over, but it only
gets two! Hulk does his usual hulk up routine (to AMAZING heat) and hits the
big boot/leg drop combo to re-gain the title at 17:38. That is one of the
biggest pops I’ve ever heard. Wow. The match rocked, too. **** ¼. (Way
too liberal a rating there, but it was definitely a good match – and seemed
even better after sitting through the rest of the dull card)
- Afterwards, during Hogan’s pose-fest Jesse goes through a
big fit about what kind of punk Hulk is. The crowd loves it, however.
- Bottom Line: Like every other show from this
time-period this is VERY bloated, without a doubt. It runs some 3 ½ hours long,
and like the other shows from this period as well, it has it’s share of crap.
However, it has enough solid matches throughout (and a REALLY kick ass main
event) to like it enough for a recommendation. It also has the conclusion to
one of the coolest angles ever, the Mega-Powers!
- Easily Recommended.
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