WWF Superstars of Wrestling (March 5, 1988)

 

Original Airdate: March 5, 1988 (taped February 16)

From Wichita, Kansas; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon, Bruno Sammartino, and Jesse Ventura

Randy Savage v Iron Mike Sharpe: They’re giving Macho the top shelf jobbers now, so clearly they had already pencilled him in for the world title. Meanwhile, Butch Reed split screens in, ready for Savage in the tournament. Randy with the flying elbowdrop at 2:04. DUD

Craig DeGeorge is in the studio for Update, and we officially have the ‘corrected’ brackets now. They don’t actually make mention of the change, but it’s official now. The actual individual pairings for the first round haven’t changed, they’ve just been moved around

Demolition v Mike Richards and Jim Evans: WWF Tag Team Champions Strike Force split screen in, ready to defend against Demolition at WrestleMania. Demolition put it away with their finisher at 1:50. DUD

Don Muraco v Frankie DeFalco: Dino Bravo split screens in here, promising victoire over Muraco in the tournament. Don with a tombstone at 1:51. DUD

DeGeorge catches up with Ted DiBiase, who is still crying about Jack Tunney robbing him

DeGeorge catches up with Jim Duggan, who warns DiBiase not to underestimate him

Brutus Beefcake v Steve Lombardi: Brutus with the sleeper at 2:04, as Vince full on promises that Honky Tonk Man will suffer the same fate at WrestleMania. DUD

DeGeorge catches up with the Islanders, who laugh off all their animal threats 

Bob Uecker likes Duggan’s chances in the tournament, which earns him dirty looks from DiBiase. Bob was funny here, he had great comedic timing

The British Bulldogs v Terry Gibbs and Brian Costello: The Bulldogs with a combo at 2:05. DUD

DeGeorge brings WWF Intercontinental Champion Honky Tonk Man out for a podium interview, and Honky clarifies that Brutus Beefcake isn’t even a real accredited barber. Facts! That draws Beefcake out, and he chases Honky away with his hedge clippers. I appreciate when they actually build matches with interactions, as opposed to just cutting isolated promos at each other

DeGeorge is in the control center for the WrestleMania IV Report, and the big news this week is the addition of a battle royal

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Harley Race, Rick Rude, and Hercules: SD Jones, Scott Casey, and Sonny Rogers: Hercules wraps this up with a torture rack at 1:23. DUD

DeGeorge catches up with Ultimate Warrior, who is having PTSD over Hercules’ chain attack. Warrior is so subdued at this point, compared to how he’d be not long later

BUExperience: Not much doing this week, as they just kind of coast towards WrestleMania, though there’s still time for some exciting incidents along the way.