WWF at Madison Square Garden (October 24, 1988)

Original Airdate: October 24, 1988

From New York, New York; Your Hosts are Rod Trongard, Billy Graham, and Lord Alfred Hayes

Opening Match: Paul Roma v Danny Davis: Roma was spinning his wheels with Jim Powers in the tag division at this point, and Davis was pretty close to going back to being a referee, so this isn't exactly high profile stuff. Davis tries suckering him, then hides in the ropes when Roma comes for him. Lots of stalling from Danny, before he finally tries a sneak attack, but gets backdropped, and begs off in the corner. Davis manages a pair of bodyslams, but Paul slams him back, and Danny bails. Back in, Roma unloads a pair of hiptosses, so Davis rolls to the floor again to break the momentum. Back in, Danny manages to take control, and a snapmare sets up a bootrake. Davis works him over in dull fashion, and a 2^nd rope forearmdrop gets two. Clothesline is worth two, and Davis grounds him in a chinlock. Paul escapes and tries a sleeper, but Danny falls back into the corner to break, and re-applies the chinlock. Paul fights free again, and this time manages to slug Davis down to trigger his comeback. The fans can't even be bothered to cheer for him as he throws clotheslines, and a missile dropkick finishes at 12:22. Not much to this one, as it kind of segued from stalling to chinlocking, and didn't really go anywhere. ½*

Big Bossman v Koko B. Ware: Looks like they finally figured out that letting Bossman wear a full tool belt while wrestling isn't a great idea. Bossman tries to corner him in the early going, but Koko evades him, and sticks and moves. The New Day should bring Koko out for a cameo sometime. His bird dance would fit in perfectly with their vibe. Bossman finally catches up to him and puts him down with some rights, then tosses him to the outside. Koko beats the count, and Bossman makes the mistake of trying a headbutt, so Ware capitalizes with a slingshot sunset flip - only to get sat on for two. Straddling ropechoke and a chokeslam lead to a bearhug, as Frankie flips out on the floor. Koko escapes with an earringer, but can't follow it up, and Bossman bodyslams him. Splash misses, however, and Koko starts making a comeback - only to run into the Bossman Slam at 7:03. On par with their SummerSlam encounter in this same building from two months earlier. ¼*

WWF Tag Team Title Match: Demolition v The Rockers: Hell yeah! I'm not expecting a classic here, but this should be fun. Ax starts with Shawn Michaels, and overpowers him through the initial lockup. He unloads with a fast and furious series of forearms, and counters a bodypress with a bodyslam. Elbowdrop misses, however, and Shawn peppers him with punches before Ax can tag. Smash wants Marty Jannetty, and the Rockers oblige. They've still got the Rock 'n' Roll Express tights here, and not the flashier gear they'd use later. Marty tries sticking and moving, and the Rockers pinball Smash with dropkicks for two. Smash was really doing a bang-up job with the face paint at this point. I mean, his was always better than Ax's, but Ax was really hit-or-miss in 1988. The Rockers take turns working Smash's arm with SUPER quick tags, and when he manages to tag out to Ax, the challengers pick right up where they left off! Ax stops the effort by blasting Jannetty with a headbutt, and Demolition deliver a tandem backelbow as they begin cutting the ring in half. Marty manages to nail Smash with a jumping backelbow as they criss cross for the tag to Michaels, so Ax pulls the top rope down as he runs the ropes, and Shawn goes crashing out of the ring as a result. Smash vertical suplexes him back in, and slaps on a Boston crab as the champs get back to cutting the ring in half. Shawn manages to fight out of a bearhug from Smash, and he gets the tag off to Marty! Jannetty is a crackhouse of fire to ignite a brawl between the two teams, and the Rockers go to work with tandem moves. Rocket launcher looks to finish, but the Demos manage a cheap shot, and Smash pins Marty at 12:24. As expected, this was really fun, with the Rockers bringing a lot of energy to the table, and selling Demolition's stuff with enthusiasm. * ¾

Hercules v Virgil: Ted DiBiase trash talks Hercules before the match, and gets beat up. Virgil tries using that distraction to sneak attack, but he gets backdropped as well, and Hercules backelbows him down to setup an elbowdrop. Mounted punches follow, and Virgil sells a cross corner whip with such zeal that Hercules can't even follow in with a clothesline! That was some grade-A selling. Front-powerslam sets up the Full-Nelson, and Virgil is toast at 2:15. Afterwards, DiBiase attacks, but Hercules no-sells everything he throws at him, and chases him to the dressing rooms. Nothing match, just dressing for the DiBiase/Hercules angle. ¼*

Blue Blazer v Steve Lombardi: The Blazer is Owen Hart under a mask, making his MSG debut here. This is also pre-Brooklyn Brawler for Lombardi. Steve wants a test-of-strength, and when he takes a cheap shot, Blazer runs the ropes, and hiptosses him. Blazer with a rana and a dropkick to put Lombardi on the outside, and he threatens to dive out after him, but Steve cowers. Blazer brings him in hardway by using the top rope as a slingshot, then delivers a 2^nd rope bodypress for two. Snapmare sets up a chinlock, but a backdrop is blocked, and Steve tries throwing him over the top - only for Blazer to land on his feet on the apron (!), then dive back in with a flying bodypress for two! Bodyslam sets up a kneedrop for two, and Blazer works a chinlock. Standing dropkick and a vertical suplex get two, and an atomic drop sets up a ten-punch in the corner. Love those camera angles during the ten-punches in the Garden, that let us see that famous ceiling. Lombardi manages to fight him off with a clothesline out of the ring, and he vertical suplexes him back in for two. Bodyslam gets two, and an inside cradle is worth two. Snapmare sets up a chinlock, but Blazer escapes for a criss cross - Steve putting him back down with a clothesline for two. Back to the chinlock, but Blazer quickly fights free, and delivers a gorgeous sunset flip - only to get blocked. Steve clotheslines him to setup a trip to the top, but Blazer kips up, and slams him down - following with a quick missile dropkick. Monkeyflip and a backbreaker lead to a well executed overhead belly-to-belly suplex, and a bodyslam sets up a flying moonsault for the pin at 8:09. Holy shit! Man, Owen was fantastic here, and Lombardi was game to hang with him! It's a real shame they didn't do more with Owen until 1993, because he could have been a really interesting addition to the roster at the mid-card level during this period. *** ½

WWF Title Match: Randy Savage v Andre the Giant: If Elizabeth or Bobby Heenan leave their corners, their charge is disqualified. Also, Macho can lose the title if he's counted out. What was with Savage defending in the mid-card during his first run as champion? And it's not even like Hogan is on the card, or anything! Andre really didn't have much left in the tank as far as singles matches went at this point, but he still had the name (and rub that went along with it), of course. Savage tries attacking, but gets choked, and headbutted clear out of the ring. He hustles back in ahead of the count, but runs right into another choke, and Andre grabs a chinlock. Savage jabs free, and tries a ten-punch, but Andre swats him off. The Giant grabs him from behind in a double-underhook, which visually looks like he's simply holding him for someone invisible to hit. That's a weird hold, and in fact, I don't think anyone else has ever used it in that context. Savage escapes and starts peppering the Giant with punches and elbows, and a running axehandle finally manages to knock Andre down. Flying axehandle follows, but the Flying Elbowdrop misses, and Andre bails to the floor to regroup. Savage is right on him with a nice flying axehandle out there, but Heenan gets involved - Andre getting disqualified over it at 6:59. Not a good match, but it was entertaining due to the charisma of the guys involved, as well as Heenan's antics. ¼*

Jim Duggan v Dino Bravo: Bravo attacks before the bell, and puts the boots to Hacksaw, but runs into a clothesline, and gets backdropped before bailing. Back in, Dino manages to overpower him through a few lockups, but Duggan atomic drops him, and Bravo bails again. He threatens to walk, and I feel like going back in time and punching each and every one of the fans booing him for it. Just let him go! Less Bravo is more! Maybe instead of going back in time (because, let's face it, that's usually a pain in the ass), I should just track them all down and punch them in the here and now. A good chunk are either probably old or dead, so that's another plus. Not a plus: this match, as Bravo works an extended chinlock. Duggan escapes and throws a sunset flip for two, but Dino cuts him off with an inverted atomic drop. Piledriver, but Duggan backdrops him, and makes his comeback. 3-Point Stance looks to finish, but it ends up knocking Dino to the outside. Jim follows, but gets distracted by Frenchy Martin, and Bravo beats the count in at 8:16. DUD

The Hart Foundation v The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers: Jim Neidhart starts with Raymond Rougeau, and they trade wristlocks. Test-of-strength goes Neidhart's way, and he blocks Raymond's attempted cheating. Both men tag, and Jacques Rougeau works the same bit they did on the Philly house show I recently covered, where they accuse Bret Hart of cheating before they even lockup. Criss cross goes Hart's way when he used a pointed elbowdrop to block an attempted monkeyflip, and Jacques bails. Lots of stalling follows, and Hart blocks a sunset flip as Jacques re-enters, before tagging out to Neidhart. The Foundation double-up on Jacques in the corner, and they are just taking forever to get going here. Like, we're ten minutes in, and it's still the feeling out process. The Foundation move things along as they cut the ring in half on Jacques, but Raymond runs in and attacks the Anvil while he holds a bearhug, and the Brothers take control. They cut the ring in half on Jim, but Ray stupidly tries a bodyslam, and gets toppled for two. Tag to Bret, and the Hitman unloads on Raymond in the corner, then bashes the Brothers' fabulous heads together! Hart with a backbreaker on Raymond, and he mounts him for some punches before hitting a pointed elbowdrop. A cheap shot from Jacques turns the tide, however, and he tags in for a well executed jumping backelbow for two. The Brothers go to work on the Hitman, but Ray gets clobbered with an elbowsmash while trying for a backdrop, and Jacques misses a splash as he tries to save things - allowing the tag to the Anvil. Neidhart comes in hot to ignite a brawl, and the Foundation look to finish Jacques with the Hart Attack, but time expires at 19:28. Oh, but wait a minute, it turns out that Raymond hijacked the timekeepers hammer, and rang the bell himself to fool the official, and save Jacques from eating the pinfall! Once that's discovered, the match is forced to restart - Hart legal with Jacques. The Foundation unload on Jacques, but now the real time limit expires at 22:32. Fun variation on the usual finish there. They've had better matches, but this wasn't terrible, or anything. *

Main Event: Finishing Move Match: Rick Rude v Jake Roberts: The match can only be won by using their respective finishing maneuver. Jake blitzes him at the bell, and grabs a wristlock. DDT, but Rude bails to the floor, and rakes the Snake's eyes when Jake tries to force him back in. Inside, Rick unloads with rights, so Roberts returns the favor with an eyerake of his own, and he follows with a series of jabs. Short-clothesline, but Rude ducks, and hits a clothesline of his own. He ties Jake up in the ropes so he can go out to the floor to harass Cheryl Roberts, but Jake saves. Rick manages an inverted atomic drop to keep control, however, and he posts the Snake's arm. Back in, Rick unloads turnbuckle smashes, and grabs a chinlock while taunting Cheryl. Roberts fights up to a vertical base and rakes the back to escape the hold, but a cross corner charge hits Rick's knee, and Rude snaps his throat across the top rope. Rude's perm is fucking epic here. He must have hit his New York stylist before this one. Rude Awakening, but Jake bites his hand to block, and they spill to the outside - Roberts posting him, then slamming him on the floor! Back in, Jake hammers him with a series of jabs and a stomachbreaker. Kneelift sets up the DDT, but Rude hangs onto the top rope to block. He tries bailing (giving us the obligatory full moon spot), but he manages to block the DDT again. Jake charges with another kneelift, but Rick sidesteps, and Roberts crashes into the corner instead. Rude capitalizes by going up for a flying fistdrop, but he stops to mess with Cheryl, and eats the DDT for the pin at 12:24. Boy, for such a hot feud, the matches almost always fell flat, didn't they? * ¼

BUExperience: As far as house show’s go, this isn’t a particularly memorable one, but that Blazer/Lombardi match is something of a forgotten classic, and worth checking out

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