WWF WrestleMania IV (Version II)

Original Airdate: March 27, 1988

From Atlantic City, New Jersey; Your Hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura

Opening 20-Man Battle Royal: We've got: Sam Houston, Ken Patera, The Killer Bees, The Hart Foundation, The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers, The Young Stallions, Nikolai Volkoff, Boris Zhukov, Bad News Brown, Hillbilly Jim, Junk Yard Dog, Danny Davis, Harley Race, Sika, Ron Bass, and George Steele. Today this would (understandably) be regulated to the pre-show. The crowd (who aren't hardcore fans to begin with) isn't particularly into it either, the wide angle revealing a ton of people walking around in the stands as this one goes on. It comes down to Bret Hart, Paul Roma, Junkyard Dog, and Bad News Brown - Brown quickly backdropping Roma out. He and Hart decide to gang up on the JYD, but the Dog passes some headbutts around. The heels manage to overwhelm him and toss him, and Bad News somehow suckers Bret into thinking they'll split the winnings. Well, he always was too trusting. And, of course, Brown turns on him in short order, and knocks him over the top to win at 9:48. And then, just like in Montreal ten years later, Bret flips the fuck out and smashes a bunch of stuff. ¼* (Original rating: ¼*)

WWF Title Tournament First Round Match: Jim Duggan v Ted DiBiase: Just to be a dick, Andre the Giant obscures Donald Trump's view of the ring literally every time he comes out with DiBiase tonight. Duggan knocks Ted to the floor with an atomic drop early on, then adds a clothesline when DiBiase re-enters. Ten-punch count works, but a cross corner charge hits boot, and DiBiase turnbuckle smashes him. Cross corner whip and a clothesline setup a jumping stomp from the Million Dollar Man, and a 2^nd rope flying elbowsmash sets up a fistdrop for two. Backdrop, but Duggan actually busts out a sunset flip for two to counter, so Ted puts him down with a knee for another fistdrop. Vertical suplex, but Jim reverses, then gut-punches DiBiase as he tries a 2^nd rope flying axehandle. Duggan makes his comeback, but gets tripped up by Andre as he tries the 3-Point Stance, and DiBiase clobbers him to advance at 5:02. Like most everything else on this show tonight, it was really rushed, but they worked in quite a bit of stuff with the time allotted. * ½ (Original rating: DUD)

WWF Title Tournament First Round Match: Don Muraco v Dino Bravo: There was a lot of things I didn't care for with the gloomy Trump Plaza set, but I do dig the staircase aisle way, if only because it's so unique. It's not necessarily a good idea (and a lot of guys tripped on them during the two consecutive WrestleMania's at the venue), but it's unique, and unique is good. Muraco manages to take him down for a sloppy pump-splash for two, and a backdrop leads to an armdrag. Bravo manages to avoid a second armdrag, and hits a pair of elbowdrops, followed by a gutwrench suplex. Cross corner knee misses, however, and Muraco goes to work on it. Spinning-toehold, but Dino puts a finger up Don's butt, and Muraco lets off. Bravo capitalizes with a nice piledriver, but wastes valuable time covering, and only gets two. Another piledriver, but Muraco backdrops him to escape this time, and he wins a slugfest. Jumping forearm and a bodyslam hit, but Bravo pulls the referee into the flight path of another jumping forearm, and hits a sidewalk slam - only to get disqualified for shoving the referee at 4:54. Energetic, but nothing special. ¾* (Original rating: DUD)

WWF Title Tournament First Round Match: Ricky Steamboat v Greg Valentine: Steamboat brings his wife and baby to the ring with him, starting an annoying tradition he'd continue for a few years. Big criss cross to start, and the Dragon hiptosses him, then armdrags him over into an armbar. Savate kick and a forearmdrop get two, followed by a shoulderblock for two. Another shoulderblock gets two, but a third try gets Steamboat dumped over the top - only for the Dragon to skin-the-cat, and nail Greg with a dropkick for two. Standing wristlock, but Valentine slugs his way free, and hammers him with elbows. Forearm drop gets two, but Steamboat back flips out of a side suplex, and turnbuckle smashes the Hammer before going back to the armbar. Greg escapes with an inverted atomic drop, and clobbers him with a clothesline as the crowd continues to walk around, fairly disinterested, and waiting for the stars they actually recognize. Greg unloads with jabs, but Steamboat fights back with a series of chops for two. Bodyslam, but Greg topples him for two, and delivers a stomachbreaker. Figure Four looks to finish, but Ricky manages to shove him into the corner to block, and they slug it out. Greg manages a shoulderbreaker for two, and a flying tomahawk chop puts Ricky down for the Figure Four - Steamboat able to block again, this time with a punch to the noggin. Jumping backelbow puts Valentine down for a well executed flying tomahawk chop for two, and a series of turnbuckle smashes flops the Hammer. Flying bodypress looks to finish, but Valentine rolls through to advance at 9:11. Good showing from both, with really entertaining selling by Valentine throughout. * (Original rating: * ¼)

WWF Title Tournament First Round Match: Randy Savage v Butch Reed: Savage tries sticking and moving, but gets caught in the corner, and Butch snapmares him to setup a fistdrop. Vertical suplex sets up an elbowdrop for two, and he snaps Savage's throat across the top rope before putting him down again with a backelbow. 2^nd rope fistdrop hits, but Savage manages to block a backdrop, and unloads with jabs. Reed cuts him off with a clothesline, but makes the mistake of flirting with Elizabeth while climbing to the top rope, and Macho slams him down - following with the Flying Elbowdrop at 4:09. Not much to this one, with Savage just getting beat up the whole time, before making a quick comeback, and finishing with the elbow - ala his WCW babyface matches. ¼* (Original rating: DUD)

WWF Title Tournament First Round Match: Bam Bam Bigelow v One Man Gang: Gang jumps him before the bell, and unloads in the corner, but misses an avalanche, and Bigelow splashes him for two. Bodypress gets two, and Bigelow starts unloading headbutts by the dozen. He goes for the kill, but Slick pulls down the top rope to send him crashing to the floor, and Gang wins by countout at 2:55. Butch Reed may have done fucked up, but at least Slick made it to the next round anyway! DUD (Original rating: DUD)

WWF Title Tournament First Round Match: Jake Roberts v Rick Rude: This one was always where I would come dangerously close to falling asleep whenever I'd rent this tape as a kid. Rude manages a pair of bodyslams early on, but Jake reverses a third, and adds a second to even the score! Rude begs off and tries a sneak attack, but Jake is ready with a right, and he grabs a standing wristlock. Roberts manages to take him down in the hold, but Rude escapes, so Jake dives at him with a 2^nd rope flying high knee. DDT, but Rick hits the deck to avoid it, and bails to the floor. Back in, Jake wins a big criss cross with a bodyslam, but a swinging kneelift misses, and Rick puts the boots to him. Clothesline and a forearmdrop get two, and Rude grabs a chinlock. Jake escapes, so Rude throws a 2^nd rope tomahawk chop at him, then jumping clotheslines him down for two. Back to the chinlock, but Jake escapes again, so this time Rude flapjacks him, then delivers a flying kneedrop for two. Back to the bloody chinlock. The problem with this match isn't really that it's 'bad' (it isn't, the quality of the work is fine), it's just so fucking boring and restholdy in order to stretch time. Jake tries to escape with a side suplex, but Rude hangs onto the hold for two, then delivers a pointed elbowdrop for two. Back to the chinlock, but Roberts escapes, and this time manages to follow-up with a backdrop and a short-clothesline. DDT, but Rude railroads him into the corner to block. Jake tries a stomachbreaker instead for two, but Rick counters a headlock with a side suplex for two. Double-knockout spot follows as they continue to stretch time, and Rude hooks a cradle with two feet on the ropes to counter another DDT attempt - only for the time limit to expire at 15:15. I've always understood the logic of booking the draw here, but why they couldn't simply do a chaotic brawl for a double countout or double DQ in half the time, I won't pretend to understand. * (Original rating: ½*)

Ultimate Warrior v Hercules: Warrior actually has the balls to run down the steps at full speed during his entrance. Staredown to start, and they do a power-stalemate. Warrior takes control with some chops, but Hercules throws a series of three clotheslines to knock him down. Short-clothesline gets reversed, and they spill to the floor for Warrior to smash him into the steps a couple of times. Back in, Hercules manages to take control, and executes an inverted atomic drop. He dodges a cross corner charge from Warrior to setup the Full Nelson, but Warrior kicks off the ropes to counter into a cradle for the pin at 4:36. Really poorly worked match, as Warrior was still green, and Hercules didn't do a whole lot to guide him through this. DUD (Original rating: DUD)

WWF Title Tournament Quarterfinal Match: Hulk Hogan v Andre the Giant: The crowd wakes up for this, given that these are the two biggest stars on the card, with the biggest feud going in. Hulk tries to rush Andre, but gets clobbered, and knocked around with headbutts and forearms. Hulk fires back with some rights, and a series of chops leaves Andre tied up in the ropes. Ted DiBiase and Virgil free him, and Andre slugs Hogan down, then slaps on a nervehold. Hulk fights free, and goes for the slam, but DiBiase whacks him with a chair to save. Hulk no-sells and fights him off, and he and Andre trade chair shots for a double disqualification at 5:23. Given that pretty much everyone in the crowd was waiting for this one, they probably should have given this a little more than five minutes to give people their monies worth. I mean, yeah, it would've sucked from a match quality standpoint, but that's never stopped them before. And it's not like keeping it short helped make it great or anything anyway - this was easily the worst of their three high profile outings. –¼* (Original rating: DUD)

WWF Title Tournament Quarterfinal Match: Ted DiBiase v Don Muraco: DiBiase comes down sans glittery tuxedo, which is kind of an odd choice given that he was already wearing it while standing in Andre's corner during the last match. Muraco attacks him on the floor before the bell, and brings him in hardway for a powerslam for two. Backelbow and a 2^nd rope forearmdrop get two, and Don snapmares him to setup a somersault necksnap. Standing dropkick is worth two, and DiBiase wisely bails, but he runs into Superstar Billy Graham out there, and Muraco hammers him. Don with a cross corner whip, but DiBiase manages to run him into the turnbuckle before Muraco can follow-up, and he chokes him down in the corner. Clothesline gets two, and a pair of fistdrops get two. Bodyslam sets up a 2^nd rope diving backelbow drop, but Don dodges, and makes his comeback - only to run into a stungun from DiBiase at 5:35. Decent enough. ¾* (Original rating: ¼*)

WWF Title Tournament Quarterfinal Match: Greg Valentine v Randy Savage: I know we all bitch about it, but I get the logic of not running Savage/Steamboat II here, as putting Randy in there with a sympathetic babyface like Steamboat would be counter productive for what they were aiming to achieve with this show. Not to mention that it would probably be cut down to only a few minutes, and only disappoint everyone anyway. Greg hammers him in the early going, but Savage manages a couple of turnbuckle smashes, and a snapmare sets up a kneedrop for two. Greg slams him off the top to take control, and drops an elbow for two. Shoulderbreaker gets two, and he tosses Randy over the top to the floor for a flying elbowsmash off the apron. Back in, Greg with a hanging vertical suplex for two, and a forward-backbreaker is worth two. Into the corner, but Savage pops him one, and adds a quick flying axehandle for two. Jimmy Hart lends a distraction to allow Valentine a cheap shot before Randy can finish him off, and Greg tries for the Figure Four - only to get countered with an inside cradle at 6:07. It had its moments, but fairly dull overall. ¾* (Original rating: ¾*)

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Honky Tonk Man v Brutus Beefcake: We're already twelve matches into the show at this point, and there's still over an hour to go! That's insanity! Even if this was a building full of diehard fans, that's asking a lot of an audience. Honky tries blitzing him, but Beefcake fights him off, and delivers an atomic drop. He stops to mess up Honky's hair, and the champ understandably bails to the floor. Back in, Beefcake unloads turnbuckle smashes, and a high knee sends Honky running back to the outside. Back in, Honky dodges an elbowdrop to take control, and he puts the boots to his challenger. Snapmare sets up a fistdrop, but Beefcake holds onto the top rope to block the Shake, Rattle, and Roll, then backdrops the champion. Sleeper looks to finish, so Jimmy Hart thinks fast, and takes out the referee with the megaphone. Beefcake, like an idiot, somehow interprets that as a submission, and lets off to celebrate. Of course, it doesn't work that way, and the referee disqualifies Honky at 6:50 when he wakes up. This would have been on the short side for a TV match, let alone a title match at WrestleMania. But, given that is was pretty shitty, that's not really a complaint on my part. ¼* (Original rating: DUD)

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Koko B. Ware and The British Bulldogs v Bobby Heenan and The Islanders: Dynamite Kid attacks both Islanders to get us started, and the dust settles on Kid and Tama. Kid backdrops him before sending him over the top with a slingshot, and tagging out to Davey Boy Smith. Koko rolls Tama in for Smith to bodyslam, but an elbowdrop misses, and Haku gets the tag. Power-showdown ends in Davey bodypressing him for two, then hitting a bodyslam and hooking a crucifix for two. Chinlock, but Haku counters with a wristlock, and passes back to Tama. He tries a wristlock of his own, but Davey press-slams his way out, so Tama rakes the eyes. Tag back to Haku for a backelbow, but Davey back flips to escape a backbreaker, and tags out to Koko. Ware nails Haku with a nice dropkick, they passes back to Dynamite to chop him. Clothesline puts Haku down, but a corner charge doesn't end well for the Kid, and Haku pounds him. With Kid down, Heenan (wearing a dog catcher suit, in a nice touch) tags in, and puts the boots to him. Back to Tama for a backdrop as the heels cut the ring in half on Dynamite, but a pump-splash hits knees, and Kid tags to Koko. He's a birdcage of fire, but quickly runs into an eyerake from Haku, and Tama hits a flying axehandle. Tag to Bobby, and Heenan goes to work on Koko, but gets reversed during a cross corner whip, and dropkicked. The Islanders attack before Koko can finish him, which draws the Bulldogs in - a brawl breaking out. The Islanders get the best of it (Haku? Getting the best of a brawl? You don't say!), and slam Heenan onto Koko for the pin at 7:35. I kinda wish they'd have just run Islanders/Bulldogs in a straight tag match here, since those portions of the match were really fun and lively. * ½ (Original rating: DUD)

WWF Title Tournament Semifinal Match: Randy Savage v One Man Gang: We're getting there, kids. Savage grabs hold of Gang's goatee to snap the man's throat across the top rope, but gets hammered in the corner. Gotta hand it to Trump, he's still sticking it out in the front row for this one, without so much as a piss break thus far. That's quite good for a celebrity. Gang plods along for a while with punch-kick stuff, then bodyslams Savage for two. Elbowdrop gets two, and another bodyslam sets up the 747 Splash, but Savage dodges. Avalanche, but Savage dodges that as well, and knocks him to the outside with an axehandle. He goes right after him with a flying version, but fails to bodyslam him on the way back in, and Gang chokeslams him as Slick puts the moves on Elizabeth. I could see it. Gang grabs Slick's cane to bop Macho with, however, and that's a DQ at 4:35. Idiot! I get the non-definitive booking (Gang would be Savage's first Saturday Night's Main Event title defense), but the execution was flawed. I mean, he was in control of the match, why grab a weapon and risk disqualification at all? DUD (Original rating: –½* )

WWF Tag Team Title Match: Strike Force v Demolition: Rick Martel starts with Smash, and gets smashed. That was quite a blitz. Rick tries a bodypress, but gets caught, so Tito Santana rushes in to dropkick him onto Smash. That draws Ax in for a brawl, and the tag champs clean house. Dust settles back on Martel and Smash, and Rick works a wristlock. Tag to Tito for a 2^nd rope elbowsmash, and he grabs his own wristlock, but Smash knees free and tags. Ax hustles in, but gets caught with an armdrag into an armbar. Tag back to Martel as the champions take turns working Ax's arm, but he rakes the eyes, and passes back to Smash. Smash walks into an armdrag, and Strike Force go back to their wristlocking fun, but Tito walks into a cheap shot, and the challengers take control. They cut the ring in half on Santana, but Tito manages to win a criss cross with Ax with the jumping forearm for the tag. Martel is a maison of fire, and manages to get Smash in the Boston Crab, so Ax grabs Mr. Fuji's cane, and bashes Rick with it for Smash to pin at 8:02 - kicking off Demolition's record title reign. So many cheap finishes on this show. Really flat match, too. ¼* (Original rating: ½*)

Main Event: WWF Title Match: Ted DiBiase v Randy Savage: Bob Uecker acts as the guest ring announcer for this, with Vanna White as the guest timekeeper, and Robin Leach is on hand with the title belt. DiBiase's got the tux back on for this, at least. Good form, Ted. Andre is in good form as well, immediately earning his money by tripping Savage up. Now that's a quality henchman! He does it again during a criss cross, and DiBiase manages a wristlock out of the deal. Savage escapes and shoulderblocks him for two, so DiBiase hides in the ropes, and conspires with Andre. He chops Randy then puts him down with a backelbow, but another criss cross goes Macho's way with an overhead elbowsmash, and he snaps Ted's throat across the top rope. High knee knocks DiBiase to the outside, but Andre stands over him out there to stop Randy from diving after him with the flying axehandle. Realizing how this is going to play out, Savage whispers something to Elizabeth, and she hightails it to the dressing room. Unfortunately, that allows DiBiase to jump him, and a series of fistdrops get two. He grabs a chinlock to allow the crowd to focus on the fact that Elizabeth has returned with Hulk Hogan in tow, and the Hulkster grabs a seat in the Macho Man's corner. DiBiase doesn't like that, but keeps his focus on Savage. Andre aids in the assault, but now Hogan is here, and he slugs the Giant off his friend! DiBiase still retains control with a vertical suplex for two, and a gutwrench suplex is worth two. Bodyslam sets up a trip to the top rope, but Randy slams him down - only to miss the Flying Elbowdrop follow-up! That allows Ted to slap on the Million Dollar Dream, but Hogan sneaks it behind the referee’s back, and breaks the hold with a chair! With DiBiase out cold, Savage hustles back to the top, and delivers a picture perfect Flying Elbowdrop to win his first world title at 9:17. This was all angle, but it was a satisfying conclusion to the tournament and it worked as a payoff to the angle stemming from The Main Event that the show was built around, with Hogan getting his revenge on DiBiase and Andre in as well. Plus, it setup another big angle in the process to boot, one that would payoff the next year at WrestleMania V. Can't really ask for much more than that, even if the actual match was nothing. * ¼ (Original rating: *)

BUExperience: My thoughts on this one really haven’t changed. It’s still a long, dull show, with a poor venue choice, filled with half interested casual fans.

DUD