WWF WrestleFest (July 1988)

 

Original Airdate: July 31, 1988

From Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Your Hosts are Sean Mooney, Lord Alfred Hayes, and Superstar Billy Graham

Opening Match: Big Boss Man v Scott Casey: He was always a big dude, but boy, Boss Man was a big dude in 1988. He’s like Season 6B Tony Soprano. Boss Man kind of takes his time with this, like he’s still in JCP, before finishing with a scrapbuster at 4:10. This one wasn’t on the Coliseum version I previously reviewed, so no original rating. I feel comfortable saying that my rating wouldn’t have changed. DUD

Brutus Beefcake v Hercules: Posturing to start, controlled by Beefcake. Hercules manages to get him down, and he slaps on a chinlock, as the action turns around. Brutus fights free, and goes on the comeback trail. Beefcake with a ten-punch in the corner, but Hercules drops him on the turnbuckle to slow him down again. That allows Hercules to slap on the full nelson, but Beefcake drops into the corner to force a break. A sleeper wears Hercules down, allowing Beefcake a schoolboy at 9:34, to a huge pop. I found this to be pretty slow, but the crowd was into it, so it’s hard to consider it anything less than a success. This one also wasn’t on the Coliseum version. ½*

The Killer Bees v The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers: Mooney is not a good lead commentator. I like him as an interview or hype guy, but he doesn’t have this skill. “The bell has gone, and the action is… underway?” Posturing to start, until the Brothers get control on Jim Brunzell. They briefly work him over, until Raymond Rougeau telegraphs a backdrop, and gets nailed. That allows a tag to B. Briar Blair, and he hammers on Ray’s leg. Jacques Rougeau catches a tag in, and the Brothers use heel tactics to frustrate Blair. The Bees manage to avoid getting mentally derailed, and they get Jacques down, working him over with quick tags. The heels gain control on Blair again, but Brunzell gets the hot tag, Roseanne Barr the door! In the brawl, the Brothers get the advantage, and score the pin at 13:51. This was pretty much the end of the Bees, as they worked another month in non-televised outings, before Blair left the promotion. ¾* (Original rating: *)

Bret Hart v Bad News Brown: Hayes goes on an extended rant about Bret wearing sunglasses, despite this show being outdoors, with the sun shining. Of all the shows to get worked up about that. He then botches Bret’s nickname, calling him the ‘excellence of perfection.’ Brown hammers, but Hart outmoves him in the corner, and pounds. Bret with a bodyslam to set up a pointed elbowdrop, and the Hitman throws a stomp to the groin from there. Hart with a ropeburn and a cross corner whip, but the charge in hits a boot. Brown goes to the top, but Hart slams him off, and uses a 2nd rope pointed elbowdrop for two. Hart with a vertical suplex to set up a legdrop for two, but a backbreaker gets blocked with a poke to the eyes. That allows Brown to gain control, and he pounds on the Hitman. Brown tries a cross corner whip, but Hart reverses - only for Bad News to rebound with a clothesline. That allows Brown to try for the enzuigiri, but Hart ducks it. Brown charges in the corner, but that misses as well, and Hart backdrops him over the top. Hart keeps coming with a plancha, and he takes Bad News in for a pointed elbowdrop. Bret with a bodypress for one, and a slingshot sunset flip gets two. Hart with another try at the backbreaker, and he hits it this time, for two. Hart with a rollup for two, but Bad News reverses for the pin - with a handful of tights - at 6:25. This was good action throughout, they worked very well together. * ½ (Original rating: *)

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Honky Tonk Man v Jim Duggan: Gene Okerlund catches up with the champion on his way to the ring, but he doesn’t have much to say beyond general hype for the match. This basically amounted to the type of segment that would usually happen backstage between the matches on a pay per view. Honky stalls to start, but gets hammered once Duggan catches up with him. Jim with a ten-punch, and a series of turnbuckle smashes follow. Hacksaw lands a clothesline, so Honky bails. Duggan drags him back in, and goes for the kill, so Jimmy Hart jumps in for the DQ at 4:40. Not much to it, but it was energetic, and Honky was game to bump around. ¼* (Original rating: DUD)

The Powers of Pain v The Bolsheviks: The Powers rush in to kickstart things, and they clean house. The dust settles on Barbarian and Nikolai Volkoff, and they posture. Barbarian wins a power exchange, and Volkoff ends up on his ass. Tag to Warlord, so Volkoff asks for a test-of-strength. Warlord accepts, and dominates it, so Boris Zhukov comes off the top with a flying axehandle. And Volkoff still can’t get control of the hold! Boris dives a second time, but this time Warlord pulls Nikolai into his path instead. Tag to Barbarian, and he throws Boris around, but misses a charge in the corner. That allows the heels to briefly double up on Barbarian, but he fights them off with a double clothesline, and makes the tag. Warlord runs wild, and Roseanne Barr the door! The Powers whip them into one another, and then isolate Boris for a combo at 6:48. Solid enough for what it was. It was nothing special, but better than expected. ¾* (Original rating: ¼*)

Jim Neidhart v Lanny Poffo: Neidhart tries to sneak attack, but it goes badly. That allows Lanny a bodyslam, but the flying moonsault hits the knees. Neidhart hammers him. And hammers him. And hammers him. This guy had nothing without Bret. Neidhart with a powerslam at 2:36. Poffo might have been able to make this interesting, but Neidhart just gobbled him up here. DUD (Original rating: DUD)

WWF Title Match: Randy Savage v Ted DiBiase: A distraction by Virgil allows DiBiase a sneak attack, and he delivers a pair of turnbuckle smashes, then whips Randy into the ropes for a backelbow. DiBiase with chops in the corner, but another backelbow misses, and Savage delivers a clothesline. Corner whip rebounds Ted into a backelbow, and a kneelift sends the challenger to the outside. Ted beats the count, so Macho sends him right back over the top with an atomic drop. Ted stalls out there to break the momentum, and he comes back in throwing rights. Sunset flip, but Macho blocks, and follows up with a clothesline. DiBiase dumps him to the outside to buy time, and he follows to smash Macho’s face into the timekeeper’s table a few times. Inside, DiBiase keeps hammering him, and a clothesline gets the challenger two. Turnbuckle smash, but Randy reverses. Savage with a cross corner whip, but he runs into a boot on the charge, and DiBiase leaps with a 2nd rope axehandle for two. Backbreaker gets two, but Savage reverses a suplex, and they stagger to their knees for a slugfest. Macho gets the better of it, and a criss cross allows him a bodypress for two, but DiBiase cuts him off with a clothesline for two. Ted grounds him in a chinlock, but Savage fights free. He tries a high knee in the corner, but Ted sidesteps, and Macho smashes his knee into the buckles. That allows DiBiase to try for a figure four, but Randy blocks, and DiBiase takes a bump over the top. Ted tries diving back in with a flying axehandle, but Savage blocks, and makes a comeback. Series of turnbuckle smashes get him two, and Savage snaps his throat across the top rope. He limps to the top for a flying axehandle, and then back upstairs for the flying elbowdrop, but Virgil distracts him. That allows DiBiase a sneak attack, but it backfires, and Macho schoolboys for two. I thought for sure that was the finish. Savage goes for a backdrop, but he’s tired, and telegraphs it, allowing DiBiase to block. That’s enough to allow Ted to slap on the Million Dollar Dream, but Savage gets into the ropes. Virgil responds by whacking him with a chair, and Ted covers for a dramatic two. The crowd totally bought that as the finish. DiBiase with a pair of fistdrops, but Randy counters a bodyslam into a small package at 14:50. This took a little while to get going, but it was really strong once it did. ** ½ 

Terry Taylor v Curt Hennig: This is extremely early in Curt’s run, to the point where this is only his second match, and he hadn’t even appeared on TV yet. Taylor was also a newcomer, with only a few weeks in the WWF under his belt, and though he’d taped some stuff that would air on TV later, he still hadn’t made an appearance. Curt gets dominated early, and Taylor dropkicks him out of the ring. Back in, they feel each other out on the mat, and Curt pinballs around for a bit. Terry grounds him in a side-headlock, but Hennig escapes, and delivers a bodyslam. Taylor hooks a backslide for two, but Hennig cuts him off, and uses a kneelift. Sleeper, but Taylor drops into a jawbreaker to escape. Taylor with a 2nd rope bodypress for two, but Curt catches him with a forearm while coming out of the corner, and that’s it at 4:51. I think this guy needs a better finisher, and a gimmick. ½*

Rick Rude v Jake Roberts: Roberts blitzes him, and goes to town until Rick bails. Rude manages a shot to take over, but Jake nearly snaps off a DDT, before Rude hits the deck, and bails again. Rude gets a chinlock on to kill some time, and he goes to work on Roberts. Lots of chinlocking and headlocking involved. I get why they went that route because they did a time limit draw at WrestleMania IV, but why was every other match they ever had together plagued with the same issue? It’s especially surprising given that this was 1988 WWF, where you get fifteen matches on a card like this, and brevity was often the name of the game. But, every time they were booked against each other, it was really long, and filled with restholds. Rude with a flying fistdrop for two, with the cradle reversed by Jake for two. Rude cuts him off, and goes up again, but Jake crotches him this time, and makes a comeback. Jake with a short-clothesline, and he calls for the DDT, the the referee gets bumped in the process. They spill to the outside in absence of an officiant, but the referee revives, and calls a double countout at 15:47. ¼* (Original rating: ¼*)

King Haku v Sam Houston: Haku kickstarts things, but Sam outmoves him, and an armdrag sends Haku bailing to break the momentum. Back in, Sam uses an armdrag into an armbar this time, but Haku fights free, and snaps him under the bottom rope with a catapult. Haku stomps on him from there, and he works a nervehold. Haku uses a bodyslam to set up an elbowdrop, but Houston dodges. That allows Sam to go on the comeback trail, and a jumping clothesline gets him two, but he eats a superkick on a criss cross. That allows Haku a headbutt drop at 5:01. Nothing to this one. DUD

Weasel Suit Match: Ultimate Warrior v Bobby Heenan: Heenan stalls, of course. Warrior chases him around, until Bobby gets hold of a weapon, and pops Warrior with a few loaded fists. Warrior staggers, but doesn’t really go down, and eventually just starts no selling. Bobby bumps around the ring for the comeback, and Warrior finishes him off with a sleeper at 4:28. Warrior using a sleeper as a finisher feels odd, but fits for this match type. Afterwards, Heenan gets put in the suit, and his reaction is priceless, of course. ¼* (Original rating: DUD)

WWF Tag Team Title Match: Demolition v The British Bulldogs: Smash and Davey Boy Smith start, and Smith manages a sunset flip for two to avoid getting cornered. That trade wristlocks from there, with Smith in control, and he passes to Dynamite Kid. Kid gets an armbar on, but Smash powers into the heel corner for a tag. Ax wrecks him on the way in, but telegraphs a backdrop, and gets nailed. Kid grabs a wristlock, but the heels manage to double up on him, and they gain control. Demolition work Kid over, until Ax hits a boot on a corner charge, and Davey gets the hot tag - Roseanne Barr the door! A backdrop on Ax gets two, and he tags Kid back in to pop Smash with a chop. Kid adds a clothesline, and a snap suplex gets him two. The Bulldogs double up with combos, so Mr. Fuji passes the champs his cane, and Kid gets popped for the pin at 7:04. ¾* (Original rating: ½*)

Ken Patera v Dino Bravo: Can we just get to the main event, already? Patera blitzes him, and beats Bravo from post to post. Patera with a slam to set up an elbowdrop for two, but he telegraphs a backdrop, and Bravo delivers an inverted atomic drop. Bravo adds an elbowdrop, and he chokes Patera down. Ken manages to tag him with a backelbow, and cradle gets him two. Ken with a corner whip, but he misses the charge in, and Dino delivers a sidewalk slam at 3:26. This was fine for the quickie Superstars match it was. ¼* (Original rating: ¼*)

Main Event: Cage Match: Hulk Hogan v Andre the Giant: Hulk tries coming at him with fists to kick start the match, which quickly proves to be a mistake. Andre chokes Hulk with Hogan’s own t-shirt. Andre works him over in his usual dull, late 80s fashion, but Hulk fights back in the corner, and climbs the ropes to bootchoke him against the top turnbuckle. Ten-punch count, but Andre comes back with another choke, since that’s about all he can manage at this point. Andre goes for the door, but Hulk manages to grab the ankle to stop him, so Andre goes to a bearhug to slow Hogan down. Hulk escapes and tries climbing, but Andre pulls him down, and delivers an elbowdrop. He goes for the door again, but Hulk cuts him off, and delivers an axehandle. Andre quickly fights him off, and goes back to pounding, drawing blood from the Hulkster. Andre sends him into the cage a few times (with Hulk taking the ‘bump’ into the area between the metal), but Hogan cuts off another escape attempt. He makes a comeback, and delivers the legdrop, so Bobby Heenan runs in to prevent an escape. That allows Andre to try and climb (which is pretty crazy for him, all considered), but Hogan knocks him down, and the Giant ends up caught in the ropes. Hulk takes out Bobby for good measure, and he’s left with a clear path up and over at 9:54. Andre looked terrible here, barely mobile, and all his stuff looking loose and phony. And that’s not even touching on how poor his selling was at this stage. It’s astounding to think that he still had a tag title run ahead of him, though that really was the perfect use of him for his last hurrah. -¼* (Original rating: -½*)

BUExperience: Though the actual runtime was only two hours and forty minutes, this felt like a long show, with match after match after match, and nothing particularly good. This was a drag, and not worth spending time on. 

DUD