Ted Blanchard Podcast- Wrestlefest ‘88

Hey yo. I recorded a brief podcast on the 30th anniversary of Wrestlefest at Milwaukee County Stadium. Have a listen- https://youtu.be/vKODSjor-pA
Also- my ebook of Saturday Night's Main Event reviews is finally here! https://t.co/SgmDl2H9to?amp=1

SNME ebook with bonus reviews available now!

At long last- my ebook of Saturday Night's Main Event reviews is finally here! https://t.co/SgmDl2H9to?amp=1
Thanks for reading!

Saturday NIght's Main Event-The bell tolls for thee, WWF

A quick note- this is the last episode I'm reviewing before I put out an ebook of the reviews (plus bonus content). I'll make a post here when said ebook is available, and there will probably be a link on the side of this page like there is for the Clash book right now.

We get a cold open with Vince McMahon and "Macho Man" Randy Savage. Savage tells Hulk Hogan he'd be worried if he was Hulk. Even after the reunion with Elizabeth Savage is still at best a tweener here, leaning toward the heels. After running down the card we finally get the usual musical open.

Savage talks to Sgt. Slaughter, Gen. Adnan and Col. Mustafa. We see Wrestlemania VII bonus footage, of Slaughter hitting Hogan with a fireball when he headed back to the locker room. It's ridiculous they were doubling down on the Slaughter as Iraqi sympathizer shit at this point. The war was long over, Hogan had the belt- just move on.

We see the Undertaker putting Warrior in a coffin on the funeral parlor. I didn't think that had happened so soon after WM7. Warrior tells Gene his fate has not been sealed.

Sgt. Slaughter vs. The Ultimate Warrior- It's funny they keep hinting at, but not spelling out, what Savage did during the first match between the two at the Royal Rumble. Warrior chases everyone out as he enters. He slams Sarge off the top and clotheslines him. Warrior hits him in the belly-welly,  and hits a baaaack body drop. Col. Mustafa tries to trip Warrior and gets his attention. Warrior knocks Sarge to the floor with a punch, and throws him back in. I like how Warrior had switched to air-brushed tights at this point. It looks like he had just gone on vacation to Florida. Slaughter gets an eye poke and eye rake, and throws Warrior out. Sheik rams Warrior's head to the mat. Slaughter then posts him, and rolls Warrior in. Sarge forearms Warrior's back, and gets a backbreaker. Slaughter grabs a bearhug. Warrior punches him and gets a body slam, but sells his back. Ugh, more bearhuggery, as Paul Bearer pushes down a casket. Warrior gets free, but is shocked at the Warrior-themed casket. Slaughter knocks Warrior to the floor by the casket. Slaughter kicks away as they head to break. Sgt. tosses him back in, and Warrior starts Warrioring Up. He hits several clotheslines, shoulderblocks Slaughter, and who should pop out of the casket but Mean Mark Callous. Warrior freezes when he sees him, and Sarge attacks from behind. Mustafa, Adnan and Taker then start quardruple-teaming Warrior, ending the match. *1/2 Hulk Hogan then makes the save, and has what is probably his first physicality with Taker, as he no-sells a belt shot. Hogan then focuses on an easier target, and chases Slaughter to the back. Taker misses two elbow drops, and then Warrior can't drop Taker with clotheslines. He finally clotheslines him over the top, but he still lands on his feet.

Gene talks to Jimmy "The Mouth of the South" Hart and the Nasty Boys. They're going to beat the crazy out of them, Sags says.

"Rowdy" Roddy Piper with the Bushwhackers. The Boys said they aren't nasty, but they lick Piper and he confirms their nastiness. They also try to lift his kilt, which definitely confirms their nastiness.

WWF tag team championship, Nasty Boys (c) vs. Bushwhackers- I'm just noticing the banners said "The Main Event." I wonder if this episode was going to be a Friday night special originally. Knobbs pounds on Luke but misses a corner splash. Knobbs gives him the 'Stop it Mr. Simpson" treatment in the corner.  Luke reverses a whip, and hits Knobbs. It turns into a Pier 6'er, the Boys get whipped into each other, Whackers do the battering ram, and the Nasties bail. Sags attacks Butch, who eventually hits a kneelift (!). Luke hits a clothesline and gets two. Butch hits Knobbs into the buckles, and the Whackers battering ram both guys. Knobbs kicks Luke in the head as he bounces off the ropes, and the Nasties doubleteam. Knobbs gets two off of an elbowdrop. Butch breaks up a pin by Sags. Both men tag, and Butch pounds Knobbs in the solar plexus. Sags comes in and gets clotheslined, but Sags breaks up a pin attempt. With the ref distracted, the Nasties doubleteam, but Luke breaks up a pin. A  fan facing the hard camera is waiving their chair (unfolded into the sitting position). ECW! ECW! Luke knocks Butch on top of Knobbs for two. Luke gets chided by the ref, and Knobbs pins Butch with an assist from Sags. No star. This was garbage, and all four men were in the ring for most of the match.

Gene talks to the Undertaker and Paul Bearer. They use plenty of puns about death.

20-man Battle Royal- Earthquake gets an entrance, followed by Hogan. Hulk points at everyone on the apron, and goes after Quake. Hennig stands on the apron. Hogan holds Quake as Jake Roberts punches him. Duggan takes a shot at Hogan but it's no sold. Kato works over Jake in the covrner. Jannetty headscissors Paul Roma over the top, and he in turn pulls out Jannetty. The Heenan family gangs up on the British Bulldog, but Jake saves him. Hogan and Bulldog then doubleteam Hennig. Kato punches and kicks Hogan. They really need some eliminations here. Michaels punches Hennig, but almost gets thrown out by a gang of grapplers. Hogan flips Hennig back in, and he and Valentine pinball Hennig. The Lord of War throws out the Bulldog. Haku kicks Jimmy Snuka through the ropes to the floor. Quake dumps Roberts out as he battles Hercules. Valentine attacks Quake, and Jake brings Lucifer the Snake out to scare Quake. All the wrestlers left move to the side away from the snake. Tugboat prevents Hogan from elminating Quake, and they slug it out. Warlord then hammers on Hogan's back, until Hulk throws him out. Barbarian dumps the Texas Tornado, no doubt bellowing, "Kerry Von Erich! Do you want to... get back in the ring?" Quake dumps Duggan. Hogan rakes Quake's eyes, and finally eliminates him. Hogan tosses Kato, and then Boat dumps Hogan! I really thought it was the other way around. Hmmm. Shawn Michaels, of all people, then dumps Boat. Bossman throws out Hercules right after. This was probably the unofficial start of Boat's heel turn, and an early sign that they could someday push Michaels. Hennig dropkicks Boss Man into a Barbarian backdrop out of the ring. Haku accidentally chops Perfect, and then Michaels dropkicks the future Meng out. HBK punches away at Hennig, and tosses Hennig over, but he tops on the mat. Michaels ropkicks him, but Hennig irish whips him to the corner. Michaels does a Flair flip over the corner, Hennig misses one shot to him but knocks him out with another. That was like a WCW Revenge sequence there. Hennig and Barbarian work over Valentine, but Hennig dropkicks Barbarian by mistake and Valentine tosses him out. The two remaining men chop away at each other, and Hammer atomic drops him into the corner. Hammer winds up and drops two elbows. Hammer tosses him but Hennig bounces right back in from the apron. Both men flip over the top, but only one of Hennig's feet touch the floor. Call it ** because of the last few minutes, but this thing dragged until they cleared some dead weight.

Ted Dibiase vs. Bret Hart- Dibiase now has Sensational SHerri with him. They lock up, and Dibiase knees bret in the gut. He hammers on Bret in the corner, but Bret hiptosses him and hits a clothesline., then another. Bret clotheslines him to the floor, and slingshots out onto Ted. You don't do that to a Ted! Back in, Bret locks a headlock for two. Dibiase then gets a near fall himself. Bret shoulders him down, but Sherri trips him. Bret pulls her up, and Dibiase hits a high knee. Bret gets two off of that. Bret gets a shoulderblock but then gets stun gunned. Dibiase piledrives Bret for two. Dibiase sidesteps Bret on a rollup attempt, sending the Hitman crashing to the floor. Outside, Dibiase rams him to the steps. Sherri then kicks Bret while the ref is distracted. SHerri also chokes him while he lays on the apron, and later forearms him. Dibiase rams him to the buckle, and chops him. Bret then takes his pattened sternum bump, as Dibiase readies the Million Dollar Dream. Bret rammed him backward to the buckles to break free, but I was hoping he'd do the flip-over manuever he got Steve Austin with. Dibiase tries an axehandle form the middle rope, but Bret hits him in the belly-welly. Bret punches away, and hits an atomic drop. A back elbow gets two. Russian Legsweep (for those playing Five Moves of Doom bingo) gets two. Bret then hits a backbreaker and drops an elbow from the middle rope for 2.9. Sherri trips Bret again, and he goes outside after her. Dibiase hits him with an axehandle.  Piper runs down to ringside from commentary, and chases Sherri away from ringside. Dibiase then goes after Piper, and Bret follows him out. The two men slug it out in the aisle and get counted out. **3/4. A better finish would've helped, but they just didn't hit the gear you'd think those two would reach together, if that makes sense.

Tito Santana vs. The Mountie- If the future of SNME was going to involve more Mountie/Rougeau matches, then to quote Seth Rollins: Burn it dowwwwn! Lockup, Jacques shouts his name in Tito's face, and gets punched. El Matador is now my favorite wrestler. Atomic drop and two dropkicks, and Rougeau cowardly escapes. Tito tries to knock Mountie and Jimmy Hart's noggins, but he hits Tito low. Tito rams him to the apron, and tosses Mountie back in. Another low blow. C'mon ref. Tito punches the jerk in the mouth, but a monkey flip by Tito is blocked. A kick to the ribs, and Mountie half-nelsons Tito and rams his head into the buckle. Jacques goes for a splash that was obviously going to be blocked. Tito hits the flying forearm, but that little runt comes in to break up the count. Tito hits him with a forearm, but that lousy fake cop shocks Tito in the throat, complete with fake sound effect. -*****. Like Macho Man said, "somebody wake up Jack Tunney!" 

Gene asks Slaughter if there are any depths to which he won't stoop? Slaughter doesnt really answer, but Sheik's reaction behind him are funny.

Piper talks to Hogan. It's like an '87 Piper's Pit! Apparently Slaughter committed crimes against mankind when he torched Hogan's poster? Maybe he burglarized Mick Foley's house? I'm just grasping at straws here, plus I don't care at all about this feud. 

Vince and Macho wrap things up. Like, forever, but they likely didn't know yet the show was getting canceled. 

In my mind, this was the last time SNME aired on NBC. Though Wikipedia lists more episodes in the horrible decade called the Oughts, I'm not concerning myself with those (until God willing, there is an updated edition of my ebook). There were two more episodes that aired on Fox, so we still need to deal with those someday. But I need to tie a bow on this ebook.

The Main Event #5- I hope you're really into '91 Hogan, and his feud with Slaughter

We start with footage of Hulk Hogan on (I believe) a USO tour. He even did a zipline-like thing.

Hosted by Vince McMahon and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. Piper has a yellow ribbon on, like the stripe down Sgt. Slaughter's back.

Earthquake/Dino Bravo vs. Tugboat/Hulk Hogan- This is the typical SNME blowoff months after a feud ended on the house show circuit, though I guess Hogan and Quake faced off at the end of the Royal Rumble a week or so before this. Hogan starts off with Bravo, and the gorilla shoves him into the corner. They lock up again,and this time hogan overpowers him. Back bodydrop, punch to Jimmy Hart, punch to Quake, atomic drop and Bravo gets pinballed between Hulk and Tugboat. Boat works Bravo's arm. The Canadian tries to get the tag, but can't reach. Tug eats boot on a charge, and gets atomic dropped. Quake gets tagged and misses an elbowdrop. Hulk in, and he punches Tenta and slams Bravo. Hogan bodyslams the nasty stinky wart-infested giant. The faces pinball quake, and Hulk gets a clothesline. Hogan punches and bites in the corner, and tags Boat. The faces do a double big boot. Tug runs into a boot in the corner, and Quake then impressively kicks him. Quake chokes Boat on the ropes. Dino bearhugs Boat until Hogan gets a blind tag, but the ref missed it. Quake and Dino double-slam Boat, and Quake sets up his big move. Hogan though clotheslines Quake as he prepares the butt drop, then gets the legal tag. He quickly big boots and rolls up Dino for the win. * Hulk was obviously ready to be done with Quake (and Boat, really). 

We immediately go to footage from the Royal Rumble, as Randy "Macho King" Savage helps Sgt. Slaughter defeat the Ultimate Warrior for the title, since Slaughter guaranteed he'd give Savage a title shot while Warrior said no to that request. Savage did an awesome job in this whole deal, though Slaughter winning the title suuuucked.

Gene with Gen. Adnan and Slaughter. Gene accuses him of employing questionable tactics. "It doesn't matter how I came to power. It doesn't matter what devices I used." I could easily see another, current tyrant saying this. Hint- he was in attendance at Wrestlemania VII. I just knew too much at this point to see Slaughter as a threat. I had watched him for years getting fatter in the AWA, and the first Iraq War was all but finished by this point.

WWF championship, Sgt. Slaughter (c) vs. "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan- Hogan comes out as Duggan's flagbearer, in case there was any doubt who would win this match and who would challenge at Mania. Slaughter shoves Duggan, as McMahon explains Hogan got sent to the back. Duggan eventually shoves Slaughter to the mat. Sarge slugs away and chokes Duggan. Thrilling. Duggan reverses a whip, and punches Sarge in the corner. Baaaack bodydrop, and Duggan clotheslines Slaughter to the floor. Duggan picks him up in a slam position, but Adnan trips him and Slaughter gets two. Adnan then holds Duggan but Sarge whacks his very own manager. Duggan hits a back elbow and "hoooo!s." Sarge kicks Duggan on a back body drop attempt, and chokes Duggan on the ropes. Slaughter drops an elbow with Duggan on the apron, and hits Duggan in the throat with his 2x4. Slaughter stands on him for two. Sarge rakes his back to really up the workrate. He rams Duggan to the turnbuckles, and he no sells.Duggan punches away and Slaughter takes his usual whip to the corner bump. Duggan whips him over the step outside, then into "the iron ringpost." Adnan distracts Duggan, and Slaughter hits him with the chair for the DQ. 1/2* Slaughter works him over with the chair and riding crop, until Hogan runs in. Slaughter whacks him with the chair, and walks out. Hogan helps Duggan to his feet. 

The Orient Express vs. The Legion of Doom- Gene talks to the L.O.D. The Warriors make a lot of car-related puns. It's "Oh, what a feeling vs. Ohhhh,what a rush!" Ok, that was clever. Animal throws Kato to the corner, then tosses him from like a front chancery position. Kato chops Animal, then the Warrior chases him around ringside. Back in, Kato gets powerslammed, and Tanaka gets backdropped to the heavens (a dipsy doodle, according to Piper). Hawk and Tanaka come in legally, and Pat gets shoulderblocked down. Twice. Kato grabs Hawk's foot, then the Express double-Irish whip him. Hawk misses a double  clothesline, and Kato bails rather than taking one. Animal press slams him back in, though., and Hawk clotheslines him right back out. Animal then clotheslines Kato on the floor. Tag to Tanaka, who flips out of an armbar and gets clotheslined. Noggins are knocked, and Fuji throws salt in Animal's eyes. Tanaka savate kicks Animal, and Kato rakes his face. Kato holds Animal on the ropes and Kato jumps on his back. Animal gets a double clothesline, tags Hawk and he shoulderblocks Kato down. He clotheslines Tanaka, hits Fuji, and the Doomsday Device finishes. * What was the point of this? The Hart Foundation could've squashed the Express; they were the champs heading into Mania.

Gene introduces Jack "Best President since Noriega" Tunney to make the formality of Sarge's Mania opponent. 

Sean Mooney talks to Sarge. "Hogan has never faced an opponent like me before. " He says he'll do whatever it takes to win. 

Hulk then appears for the umpteenth time on this hour show in the ring. Blah blah, Hulkamania, shooting down his SCUD missiles. Hogan pledged to his countrymen and God that he'll be the next champion. He then leads the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance. Nope, not over the top at all.

Wrestlemania VII is one of my favorite Manias, but this show was straight-up garbage. No wonder NBC soon canceled them. Oh, and I should probably mention that after the next review, I will finish my ebook collection of these reviews, which will include never before released bonus content. In the meantime, go ahead and click one of the links to the right to buy my previous ebooks. Buy the books!

Main Event #4: Good, but not a blowaway show

This was originally intended to be a ful SNME episode, but NBC changed its mind and instead this became a Friday night primetime special. The show also was to included the Hart Foundation-Rockers 2 out 3 falls match where the top rope broke and the title changed, but Vince and Co. decided it wasn't good enought and it was erased for about 18 years.

We start with "Mean" Gene Okerlund interviewing Ted Dibiase. We see clips of Dibiase kicking the basketball away from SHAWN!, and kicking kids out of a pool to use all by himself. Worst of all, he used twin ref magic to steal the WWF championship.

Sean Mooney is with the Ultimate Warrior for a counterpoint. Warrior spews some cheesy puns that were obviously written for him by someone from NBC or Once a Month Productions.

WWF championship- Ted Dibiase vs. Ultimate Warrior (c)- As Vince McMahon and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper introduce the show, Piper holds a drumstick and says he'll soon look like Roseanne Barr. That reference has somehow become topical again, though I don't think she uses "Barr" anymore. They lock up and Warrior shoves him to the corner, twice. He tries an overhead wristlock, but Warrior still puts him down. Dibiase knees him in the gut and chops away. Warrior ducks a clothesline and hits one of his own. Warrior clotheslines Dibiase to the floor and poses in the corners as Ted and Virgil huddle. Noggins are knocked, and heads are smashed into the apron. Warrior hits an axehandle coming back in, and pounds away in the corner. He whips Dibiase to the corner, but runs into a knee in the corner and gets clotheslined. Dibiase hits an axehandle of his own for two. The MDM then piledrives (!) the Warrior. A second attempt gets reversed, Warrior tackles him twice, but Virg grabs his ankle. dibiase then clotheslines Warrior to the floor. Raw, I mean the Main Event, rolls on... We're back! My tape had a Michelob Dry and an "In the Line of Duty" ad. Dibiase pounds on Warrior and necksnaps him. Fistdrop gets two. Warrior Hulks Up out of a headlock, and they shoulderblock each other in a stalemate. Dibiase clotheslines Warrior down, and when he ucks down Warrior gets a sort-of backslide for two. Dibiase suplexes him for two. warrior blocks another, and SUNSET FLIPS Dibiase for two. Whoa. MDM throws Warrior to the floor, and rams his head to the steps. MDM throws him back in, and punches away. He goes for a fisherman's suplex (Perfect Plex), but gets suplexed himself. The two collide coming off the ropes, and the ref starts counting both men down. DIbiase is up first, goes off the middle rope but Warrior punches him in the gut. warrior shakes them ropes and gets his special, and hits several clotheslines. He hits a flying shoulderblock, but Virgil breaks up a pin. DQ, ***. Warrior hits a huge clothesline on Virgil and gorilla presses him, but Randy "Macho King" Savage runs in and hits him with his scepter (like he was delivering his elbow drop). He then jumps off the top and hits Warrior in the throat with it. Savage throws down some referees, and chokes Warrior on the mat. Sherri also kicks and chokes Warrior. Warrior eventually holds up the belt to thunderous applause.

Okerlund talks to Savage and Sherri. Savage says he accepted the royal payment. He'll be the new World Wrestling Federation champion, sez he.

Nikolai Volkoff vs. Sgt. Slaughter- Sarge tells Gene "to hell with Nikolai Volkoff and to hell with Old Glory." He only salutes the Iraqi flag. The U.S. has no guts, so therefore they have no glory. Get the hook. After a break Slaughter attacks Volkoff from behind with a riding crop, and puts him in the camel clutch. "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan then runs out with his 2x4. Duggan would challenge Slaughter for the WWF title (spoilers, I know) at the next Main Event broadcast in February, after Slaughter beat Warrior with Savage's help. At least stories were being advanced here. Oh, and there was no Sarge-Nikolai match.

Gene talks to the Big Boss Man. Heenan did his mama wrong. "Justice may be blind, but no when it comes to weasels insulting my mama!"

Mr. Perfect vs. Big Boss Man- Hennig may have been Intercontiental champion again at this point; I'm not sure when he actually beat Texas Tornado vs. when it was broadcast. BBM chases Hennig out of the ring to start. Heenan is not out there. Hennig slaps BBM, then ducks out of the ring. BBM chases him around the ring, and pulls him down by his hair. Back in, BBM whips Hennig, who evades a clothesline with a cartwheel before Boss Man connects with one. Perfect oversells a punch. BBM whips him to the buckle, with authority. When he does it again Perfect does a front-flip sell. BBM then drags perfect around by his hair, then biels him with hit which cause Perfect to crotch himself on the post. Boss Man gives Hennig a backbreaker, then goes to the top and misses a splash. Hennig then does that neck snap thing he likes to do (Tony Schiavone and Conrad Thompson recently discussed the lack of a name for it) for a one count. Perfect kicks BBM in the ribs. He gets two off of a small package. Perfect continues to work BBM over and try for pins. Hennig takes off a turnbuckle pad, but BBM stops him from rmming BBM's head to it. Instead, what is good for the goose is also satisfactory for the gander. BBM punches him down to the mat. BBM snaps Hennig's head between hi knees, but gets whipped to the buckle by Hennig. Heenan runs out and encourages Hennig. He goes for the Perfect Plex, but gets small packaged in the process. Hennig then chops away but BBM answers with punches. Hennig then hits the P-Plex, but BBM kicks out at two. Heenan then holds the top rope down, but Hennig falls out of the ring. BBM then chases Heenan out of the building. We even see a Heenan prat fall in the back. Hennig by countout. ** Hennig's selling was downright ridiculous at times, and a decision in the match would've been nice.

We got back to Okerlund, and Heenan flies into the scene, asking Gene to help him.

We see the infamous "Playboy" Buddy Rose Blowaway diet video. Just like  today,the WWF was entertaining an  audience of  one  here.

Rick Martel vs. Tito Santana- I'm such a mark for this theme for Tito. Martel attacks to start, and tosses Tito to the floor. Martel then charges, but hits his arm on the ringpost. Tito smashes it on the apron and throws Martel back in. Tito axehandles him from the second buckle, and gives him a drop of the atomic variety. Tito then works the arm. The Model leakfrogs Santan coming off the rope, but when Martel goes down for a monkey flip Tito just kicks him in the head. Simple but effective. More arm wringing. Martel then gets a leapfrog, but Tito small packages him for two. Arrrrrrrmbar. Tito punches him to bweak fwee (sorry; I feel bad making fun of Arianna Grande at this point) . He gets a snapmare then a headlock, which Tito reverses to a hammerlock. Martel makes the ropes, and then as Tito argues with the ref over a cheap stomp, Martel flings him into the turnbuckles, and chokes him on the mat. Martel rams him head to the top buckle, and punches him a lot. Martel grabs a headlock and chokes while the ref isn't looking. Tito hits him in the belly and Martel rakes his eyes. Martel gives him a backbreaker, and then another. After teasing it Martel finally goes to the top, and Tito crotches him. He flips into the ring, and Tito kicks away at him. Tito whips him into the corner, and forearms Martel. Tito hits a dropkick, , then a backbreaker of his own. Tito goes to the middle rope and hits a forearm for two. Martel gets an atomic drop, but Tito goes for the figure four. Martel then rolls him up for two. Martel then locks in his boston Crab. Tito taps but I think he verbally submits before the ref calls it. ***1/2. I think you could call this the blowoff to the Strike Force breakup, even though their paths would cross again.

Gene talks to Jake "The Snake" Roberts and shows when Martel blinded him with Arrogance (Martel's cologne in an atomizer). My tape cuts this off, though. I can tell you that this week on Saturday Night Live: Rick Moranis and Ricky Lee Jones.

Mooney talks to Warrior. He's holding the belt and mumbling, talking about muscle tissue and Macho King trying to break his bond with his Warriors. Macho will see nothing but "Raaaaaaage!"

We close with a shot of Warrior raising up his belt.

This is a strange show. I don't really count it as a part of the same series as the live versions that featured Hogan-Andre, the Megapowers exploding and even Hogan-Macho with Buster Douglas refereeing. I liked all of the matches enough, though.

Saturday Night's Main Event #28 (for real this time)

We see scenes from the Oktoberfest party that they will check into several times. I think it's supposed to seem like they don't think they're on their air yet.

Hosted by Vince McMahon and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper.

The three members of Demolition cut a promo. They're gonna celebrate Oktoberfest Demolition-style. Then we go to the Legion of Doom, for more German puns. Warrior pops up from the floor, and he and his partners chant "blitzkrieg."

Demolition vs. Legion of Doom/Ultimate Warrior- Why yes, the Ultimate Warrior was the WWF champion at this point. Why do you ask? I didn't care; this was a dream match I never knew I wanted back then. The faces charge the heels to start. The Demos regroup outside, as we get a peak at Dustin Rhodes in the crowd. Smash clotheslines Animal down, and chokes him on the ropes. Animal hits a powerslam for two on a charging Smash. Ax comes in, but Animal tags Warrior. He kicks Ax in the midsection several times. Ax eats boot and gets shouldered down several times. He clotheslines Ax, slams Smash, slams Crush, and then one for Ax. Axis the Demolisher moves from an attempted Warrior splash, however. Smash throws Warrior to the floor, where Crush rams him to the apron and chops him in the throat. Warriors gets double and triple-teamed in the corner. Crush comes in with an axehandle, and chokes Warrior. More corner chicanery from the Demos. Animal comes in to throw Crush out, but Smash knocks him out. Hawk then breaks up a Demolition Decapitation. Hawk gets tagged, and he hits a back elbow on Smash, and a shoulderblock. Hawk hits a clothesline from the top. The pin gets gets broken up, but Warrior is tagged. He hits a splash off the top. Warrior knocks the other Demos to the floor, hits a shoulderblock on Smash and pins him with a splash. **1/2 These teams met at the Survivor Series after this, with Mr. Perfect and the Texas Tornado added to the respective teams. 

"Mean" Gene is on the scene at Octoberfest. He tries to throw it to Lord Alfred Hayes, but he's having a pint while talking someone's ear off. 

"Macho King" Randy Savage (with Sensational Queen Sherri) vs. Dusty Rhodes- Don't get excited. Piper says Sherri is the only person the Ultimate Warrior is afraid of, after she recently slapped him thrice. Dusty embraces his son at ringside. I'm sure Dustin won't figure into the match at all. Dust chases the King and Queen out to begin. Savage rips up a Warrior poster on the outside. Dusty chops Savage, whips him to the buckles twice, and locks on a bearhug. Savage rakes his eyes to escape, but Dusty gets a backslide for two. Sherri jumps on the apron, and Savage knees Dusty in the back. Sherri chokes Dusty and Savage distracts the ref. Savage gets two off of that. They work a headlock for a bit, as Ted Dibiase and Virgil make their wa to ringside. Dusty gets a shoulderblock. Dibiase and Virg bought off the fans in the front row, so they are sitting by Dustin. Dusty runs out to yell at Dibiase. Macho King chokes Dusty after a break, and Sherri does the same. Savage gets two from that. Savage snaps him throat on the top, and hits an axehandle for two. Dusty fights back, and rams Savage's head to the buckle. Savage misses a buttsplash with Dusty on the bottom rope. Dusty headbutts Savage, and gets two on a near fall. Savage goes to the top but Dusty punches him in the gut. Dustin stands up to Dibiase and gets hit with a chair outside. Dusty goes out to protect him, but Savage hits a flying axehandle on the floor. Savage wins by countout. 1/2* Dusty laid on the mat for most of the match. Dusty covers Dustin as Dibiase and Virgil continue to attack. 

Sean Mooney talks to Hogan and Tugboat. They aren't gonna celebrate until they even the score with Quake and Dino. They're taking the Autobahn. Rhythm and Blues will be playing in an Oompah band, too. Sounds like Hogan's on the good, Wrestlemania IV shit again.

The Bushwhackers cut the cheese at the Cheese Factory (presumably not the maze at Chuck E. Cheese I'd get lost in for hours). Yep.

Rhythm & Blues vs. Hulk Hogan and Tugboat- After a break, Hulk drops elbows on each, knocks noggins (Vince makes a knockwurst pun), whips both into Tugger's boot. Tag to Tugboat, who works Valentine's arm. Quick tags, as they continue working on the arm. Greg rakes the eyes, and chops Tug. Honky tagged, but gets bearhugged. Valentine axehandles Tugger in the back, and Honky takes over. Tag to Hammer, who drops elbows and fists. Honky drops an elbow, but Hulk breaks up a pin. More doubleteams on the big man. A double-elbowdrop misses, and Hogan gets the tag. Hulkpunches both men and Jimmy Hart, and knocks noggins. Hart runs to the back as Hulk clotheslines Valentine, and Hammers on him. Hogan hits a back elbow, big boot, but Tugboat stops him from ropping the leg because Earthqyake was walking back out. Ugh, this match continues after a break. The faces hit a double clothesline, and Tugger splashes Hammer in the corner. He goes after Jimmy Hart, and Honky kabongs him with the guitar. DQ, 1/2*. Hogan throws Hart onto Rhythm and Blues, and knocks Bravo's noggin into R&B. But Earthquakethen enters and slams Hogan, and the heels push Quake onto Hogan in a splash. He tries a buttdrop, but Tugger hits him with the guitar coming off the ropes. I didn't enjoy any of this. 

Back at Oktoberfest for a sausage stuffing contest, with sausage-stuffing hall of famer The Genius (I didn't get that Mean Gene joke back in the day). It's a competition between The Orient Express/Mr. Fuji and The Hart Foundation/ "Hacksaw" Duggan. Fuji drops a premade sausage on the table with one second left. I'm not sure what that accomplished. Gene tries to throw it to Lord Al, but he's blubbering on drunkenly.

WWF Intercontiental championship, Haku vs. Texas Tornado (c)- How does Meng keep getting these SNME title shots? I have no recollection of this match at all. His graphic still calls him TT Kerry Von Erich. Heenan tells Kerry he can give him the belt and we'll call it even. Kerry gets an armdrag and body slam, and tries for the claw. The Islander rolls outside to confer with Heenan. Back in, Haku reverses a whip and gets a standing side headlock.Haku turns it into a choke while Heenan distracts the ref. Kerry somehow gets out of that and punches away. Haku splashes Kerry in the corner, which looked botchy, like Kerry was supposed to move. Then Kerry whips him into the buckles and locks on the Iron Claw. Haku gets the ropes, forcing a ref break, so Kerry then hits him with a discuss punch for the win. *

Mooney talks to Hulk and Tugboat. Hogan makes a bunch of nautical references. But does he have a nautical-themed pashmina afghan?! Other than his partner being named Tugboat, I don't know what this all has to do with anything. Quake is going to sink 20,000 leagues under the sea. Maybe he can find the sea creature from Southpaw Regional Wrestling?

Koko B. Ware vs. Sgt. Slaughter- Ugh. In case you don't know, Slaughter had returned to the WWF as an Iraq-sympathizing heel. At first it was topical, but the U.S. defeated Iraq in the first Iraq War long before the turncoat angle concluded. Koko evades him to begin. Gen. Adnan yells "you're gonna get it" to Koko. I think Adnan was at least an Iraqi. Koko hits a dropkick, hiptosses and dances. Koko hits a shoulderblock, but can't drop Slaughter. Koko goes under Slaughter and dropkicks him, but misses a charge. Slaughter throws forearms and hits a baaaack bodydrop. Slaughter covers him for two, then forearms him some more. Backbreaker gets two. Koko hits a Shake, Rattle and Roll (!) and then two dropkicks. A headbutt knocks Slaughter into the ropes, but Slaughter catches a charging Koko for a hot shot. The noogie gets the submission. Um, 1/2* for Koko's spirited offense, I guess. Nikolai Volkoff starts waving the American flag on the interview platform. I hate the Slaughter turncoat character now, and even back then I thought it was offensive and unbelieveable, since I had been watching Slaughter for years in the AWA. He never even won their world title!

Now we see Anvil and Slick having a dance off at Oktoberfest. I feel like the crowd is biased here. Al is now schnockered, and his friend walks away in disgust. A food fight breaks out, and it's reminiscent of that TNT wedding reception that WWE desperately wants to convince us is funny. 

Mooney talks to the Warrior. We see Sherri challenging (and slapping) Warrior. He accepts Savage's challenge. Piper then talks to Sherri and Savage. Warrior has sealed his destiny, she says. Piper slaps Sherri on the behind, and says "Farfegnugen."

My recording ends here, so if there was more than that I apologize. This show at times felt like a fever dream, full of bad matches and stupid skits. I do really like the Warrior/L.O.D. vs. Demolition match, if for nothing else than for pairing all the face painted guys in one match.

Saturday Night's Main Event #28- We got your Summerslam main right here!

My copy starts with Vince McMahon and Jesse "The Body" Ventura running down  the card. We then get the intro video.

From Omaha, Nebraska.

Bobby "The Brain" Heenan says it's survival of the fittest. "Ravising" Rick Rude is the deadliest predator of them all, apparently. The Ultimate Warrior knows no boundaries, and fears no predators. He's the Ultimate Animal!

WWF championship, Rick Rude vs. The Ultimate Warrior (c)- Rude jumps Warrior to start, but Warrior reverses an attempt to ram his head to the top buckle. Warrior whips Rude back-first into the corner, then tosses him into it the same way. More back work, then an atomic drop. Warrior clotheslines Rude over the top, in front of Heenan. Noggins get knocked, and Warrior comes out to ram Rude's head into the mat. Back in, Warrior clotheslines Rude and GOES UP! Warrior hits an axehandle, runs the ropes, but the pool is dry when he attempts a big splash. Warrior rolls out to the floor, and with Heenan distracting the ref, Rude hits Warrior with the belt. Rude seems content to win by countout, but eventually rolls out to rough up Warrior some more. Rude goes up to the top but Warrior hits him in the belly-welly, and gets an atomic drop. Warrior charges but eats knee, then gets clotheslined. Rude goes for a slam, but Warrior stops and hits him in the back. Warrior gets his own slam, but then gets sleepered. The ref raises Warrior's leg, which he raises on the third try. Warrior gets a Stone Cold Stunner, but Rude punches away. Rick goes for the Rude Awakening, but Warrior blocks it. Rude kicks him low and hits the Awakening. Rude covers lazily, and only gets two. Warrior gets his special, clotheslines Rude several times, and shoulders him. Heenan pulls Warrior off on a pin attempt, and Warrior goes after him. Warrior presses Rude, but Heenan knees Warrior in the back to put Rude down. Warrior rams the Brain's head into the buckles back in, then tosses Heenan over the top. Warrior wins by countout. **3/4. There wasn't much story here; the heat went back in forth until the end sequence. And it probably shows the lack of challengers Warrior had that he faced his Summerslam opponent here, and would have pinned him if not for Heenan. I will always contend Warrior should have gotten the Earthquake feud instead of Hogan.

So all night long, they have skits with Lord Alfred Hayes and "Mean" Gene Okerlund in like the Wild Kingdom. Hayes calls Gene "Jim," and Okerlund makes a Pete Rose "up the river" joke. How 'bout it?

Mountain Dew Slam of the Night! It's the Big Boss Man. I feel like they used this exact one multiple times.

Now we see the famous Hulk Hogan tribute video, complete with ominous tones and sour notes of "Real American," as they show Earthquake squashing Hogan on the Brother Love Show. I was one of the dopes who wrote Hulk a letter urging him to "Get Well, Soon," so you know this worked on me. I also got a postcard back from "Hulk," which I sold in the last year on eBay. Yay me?

Vinnie Mac himself conducts Hogan's return interview. Hulk continues his trend of wearing alternate merch/gear on SNME, this time sporting the re Hulkamania shirt with yellow text. He's back, he's going to write to all of the Hulkamaniacs to wrote him, etc. Quake, Dino Bravo and Jimmy Hart come out and menace Hogan until Tugboat comes to rescue Hogan. I'm still not sure why Tugboat was taken out from seconding Hogan at Summerslam '90 vs. Quake.

Hayes and Jim discover Koko B. Ware and Frankie, Jake Roberts (in tights) and Damian, and the Bushwhackers marching down railroad tracks.

WWF tag team championship, Demolition (c) vs. The Rockers- This may have been the Rockers' first WWF title shot, unless the match against the Collosal Collection was one. Jannetty starts with Smash, and the Rocker gets clubbered. Smash misses a charge, and gets armdragged, clotheslined, clipped and dropkicked out of the ring. The three Demos huddle outside, but Smash and Crush get headscissored reentering, and dropkicked to the floor. Jannetty gets hit low, but Jannetty tags Michaels, and Jannetty dropkicks Smash's back for a victory roll or somesuch. Crush then takes Michaels' head off with a clothesline, perhaps previewing King of the Ring '93.  Crush then gets tagged, and works over Michaels. The Rockers double hiptoss Crush, and make quick tags. Crush sets Jannetty on the top, then chokes him. Jannetty, though, hits a sunset flip for two. Jannetty works a headlock, and Michaels comes in on Crush's arm. Jannetty does the same. Jannetty slips between Smash's legs to the floor, but gets a "love tap" (according to Ventura) from Ax on the outside. After a break Smash is pounding on Jannetty. Smash chokes Marty on the top rope, and hurls him outside. Crush then press slams him into the ring. Crush goes to the top and drops an axehandle to Jannetty's back. Crush does a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, brah. Crush then breaks his back the normal way, and doesn't go for a cover. Crush chokeslams a charging Jannetty, and tags Smash. Darsow grabs a bearhug. Marty tries a sunset flip but Smash punches him. Crush in, and Marty takes Bret Hart's sternum bump. Marty takes Crush over on a backdrop attempt, and both men tag. Michaels hits a tackle and dropkicks Crush. Michaels whips them together, and the Rockers double-dropkick both. Double sweet chin music, and the drop fists on Smash. Crush breaks up a pin attempt, Shawn rolls up Smash again, but with the ref distracted Ax clotheslines him and covers Shawn himself. *** The heat machine didn't like that. The Hart Foundation and the Freakin' Legion of Doom then run out to protest.

Gene and Marlon Hayes continue their expedition. Gene gets stung by a mosquito and then acts like various animals. Yep. I bet Burger King was proud to get a shoutout right after that one. 

WWF Intercontiental championship, Tito Santana vs. Mr. Perfect (c)- "It's Saturday night; I'm at my best," Perfect tells Gene. I was sure he'd say it's alright for fighting. Perfect forearms Chico (hey, that's how the color man constantly refers to him) on his shoulders, but Hennig gets hiptossed,, armdragged and dropkicked over the top rope. Tito then chases him in and out or the ring, and chops him outside. Back in, they trade arm wringers, and Perfect kicks Tito on a backdrop attempt. Perfect then clotheslines him down with his elbow, as Hennig is want to do. Perfect hits a kneelift, then chops and punches Tito. A standing dropkick puts Tito down, but he kicks away at Hennig. Perfect slams him, and locks on a chinlock. While Heenan distracts the ref, Hennig chokes Santana. Tito lifts his arm on a third try, and punches Hennig to get free. Hennig chops away, but runs into Tito's foot in the corner. Santana hits a big clothesline, and Perfect begs off. Tito nails Perfect, who falls on the ref's knee. Santana kicks Perfect's leg an he does a 360 sell. Tito grabs the figure four, but Earl Hebner (?) is still holding his leg facing the other way. Tito goes to help the ref, then hits the flying forearm. Tito covers and Hebner slowly crawls over and finally counts a close fall. Tito is livid. Santana hits a clothesline from the middle rope, and Hebner still takes forever. Santana rops a knee,and waves down another referee. So this of course is the commercial break, as they always kind of restart the match when they come back. Hennig punches and kicks Tito, but Santana hits a bodypress for two. Hennig punches and chops Tito. He hits his neck snap thing, and Heenan towels him off. More kicks from Hennig, but Tito gets Arribaderci (TM the Ultimate Warrior), and Hulks Up. Hennig twists Tito's neck between his knees. Tito eventually punches Hennig over the top rope, and goes outside to chop him. Back in, Tito beals Hennig by the hair, and Hennig posts himself. Santana atomic drops him twice, Hennig boounches into the top buckle, Santana clotheslines him, and gets a 2.9 count. Tito gets a small package when Hennig tries the Perfect Plex, but Hennig rolls over for the win. ****.  Just excellent. .

Jesse talks to Earthquake about his Summerslam match with Hogan. Thankfully we also hear Dino Bravo vow Tugboat won't interfere, he'll see to that. That one ended up being true.

More Gene and Hayes bullshit. They spot Superfly, Akeem and Slick. Hayes whips Gene into a river. Gene finally corrects him that his name isn't Jim. Thrilling.

Kerry Von Erich (The Texas Tornado) vs. "Playboy" Buddy Rose- Rose does jumping jacks to begin. This is Von Erich's WWE debut. Von Erich goes for Rose's leg, unsuccessfully. Rose slaps Kerry after a rope break, and bails outside. Rose goes for a hiptoss, and does one of his own. Rose goes for a slam, but Kerry slams him, twice. Kerry whips Rose to the corner, and when he does it again Rose flips into the buckles. Dropkick by Kerry gets two. Kerry hits him and Rose gets tied up in the ropes. Kerry punches away, and Rose falls out on his ass. Rose rakes his eyes and neck snaps Von Erich, and goes up. Kerry slams him off of the top, and hits the discuss punch to win. * This was really odd for a big debut; I guess it was kind of impressive for Von Erich to slam around such a big man, but Rose was kind of getting himself over with the overselling. I only remember Rose being a job guy in the WWF in 1990.

This is one of the better SNMEs if not the best, workrate-wise. It also does a good job of setting up Summerslam '90.

Saturday Night's Main Event #26- Texas! Texas! Texas!

New WWF champion The Ultimate Warrior says he won't walk in Hulk Hogan's footsteps. He'll walk where no man has ever been, instead. Bobby "The Brain" Heenan says Haku will make history in Texas and become the WWF champion. He also says Warrior will be another lonesome cowboy.

Vince and Jesse are riding horses in the aisle.

Sean Mooney talks to Mr. Perfect and the Genius. Hogan will show the world his only perfect quality- being a perfect loser. Sounds about right.

Mr. Perfect vs. Hulk Hogan- Here we have your typical SNME feud blowoff weeks or months after the feud ended on the house show circuit. Hulk talks to Gene; I played it twice and still didn't hear anything of note. This is non-title because Hogan lost the belt at Wrestlemania VI. The Genius has a permed-out wig because Brutus Beefcake cut his hair at that event. Hogan shoves Hennig to the buckle, and he goes over the top. Hennig hiptosses Hogan, and Poffo skips around ringside. Vince hypothesizes that Texas isn't ready for the Genius. Hogan hiptosses and slams Perfect twice. Hennig walks it off outside. Hennig pulls hair to get Hulk to the corner, and whips him to the other buckle. Hogan crumples, and Hennig kicks him in the ribs. Hulk whips Hennig and tries for the big boot, but Hennig evades and heads to the floor. Hennig goes over to Genius and Hogan chops him. Hogan whips him to the "iron" ringpost. Perfect cowers from Hogan, who picks him up for a clothesline. Hogan whips him to the corner and follows with a clothesline. Hogan hits an axebomber, and a back elbow sends him over the top to the floor. Hogan pounds on him on the floor, and thwarts an attack attempt by the Genius. Hogan tries to chase him into the ring, but Hennig nails him with the metal scroll. This of course leads to a commercial break. Perfect works him over outside, and rolls Hogan back in. Hennig necksnaps Hogan, and chokes him on the top rope. Perfect drops elbows, but finally misses one. Hogan starts Hulking Up. He whips Hennig to the ropes, slaps his left shoulder, then Hennig kicks that shoulder. I'm thinking that was a signal. Hennig hits the Perfect Plex, which Hogan kicks out of at two. The sequence has also been reignited. Big boot, legdrop. ** This was aiight. Poffo hits him with the scroll, and Hogan tosses him to the floor. I'm surprised Hennig has any credibility left after this, even with his I-C title tourney win. I should note how annoying McMahon is being here with all of his Texas-related references. He says something like "we got ourselves a bar-B-cue!" here, showing his lack of awareness of anything outside his little bubble. See also the story of his introduction to the burrito.

The Mountain Dew Slam of the Night (!) shows Randy Savage doing an axehandle and elbowdrop.

Noted cowboy Rick "The Model" Martel does an ad for Arrogance cologne.

Jesse talks to Earthquake and Jimmy "Mouth of the South" Hart. Jimmy says something about making Hillbilly Jim squeal like a pig. I didn't get the connection, but I usually zone Jimmy Hart out anyway.

Earthquake vs. Hillbilly Jim- Gene talks to Jim. He rambles about whatever, and at the end he and Gene say hello to Jim's Granny. The only "granny" I recognize is Gladys Gibson. Quake charges while Jim hangs his horseshoe on the ringpost, and Jim gives him chops and punches. He rams Tenta's head to the top buckle repeatedly. Hillbilly then chops Quake, and does a fuckin' cartwheel. Quake then rams his shoulder to Jim in the corner, splashes him once, but misses a charge and gets booted in the head by Jim.  Hillbilly claps around Quake's ears, but gets distracted by Hart going after his horsehoe and gets splashed in the corner. Quake does the tremors and butt splashes Hillbilly into obscruity. * Was there any good reason to give Hillbilly that much offense? When was the last time he was relevant before this. Quake gives him two more butt splashes after the bell and drops elbows, despite the Hulkster wrestling immediately before this. Hulk is the worst friend ever, followed closely by John Cena.

We see Martel's commercial for his fragrance, "Arrogance." The two ladies popping up from below makes this even more Val Venis-like (listen to their respective theme songs once).

Jesse talks to Bret "Hitman" Hart and Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. When they say the Rockers will have a heart attaack, Jesse adds "sounds like angina to me!' Even Vince is like, "what now?"

Hart Foundation vs. The Rockers-  The Rockers tell Gene they want a shot against Demolition, too. Hart starts with Jannetty. Marty goes under and over Bret, but gets hip tossed. Shawn hits a body press after getting a tag. Marty tagged, and they both kick Bret in the gut and get a double Russian leg sweep. Anvil comes in and clotheslines them both. Bret then gets the tag. He shoulderblocks Janntty, who then evades him coming off the ropes and trips the Anvil. Jannetty tags Shawn, who can’t shoulder or slam the Anvil down. A Michaels dropkick gets two, though. Anvil catches Shawn on a crossbody attempt, and gets a big body slam. Bret tagged, and he atomic drops Michaels coming off the ropes. Bret gets a clothesline, then wishbones him. Anvil in, and Bret knees Michaels coming off the ropes. Anvil gives Shawn a baaaaack body drop. Bret in with a head Butt to Shawn’s back, then a neck snap. He drops an elbow to the throat, and whips Shawn hard into the buckles. Anvil hammers Shawn’s neck, and shoulders him in the corner. Anvil whips Bret, who reverses and sends the Anvil in for Two. Shawn gets a sunset flip as Ax and Smash come for a closer look. Bret gets a back breaker, but Bret gets distracted and Shawn drop kicks him out before the break. Bret rams Shawn to the top buckles, as Demolition is still there. Shen eats boot on a charge, but Bret misses an elbow from the middle. Shawn tags Jannetty, who hits a flying back elbow (and gives the Anvil a taste, too). He gets a powerslam, and sweet chin music gets two. Jannetty gets a sunset flip for two. Bret gets a swinging neck breaker, and tags Anvil. The catapult misses, and Shawn gets tagged. Anvil shoulderblocks him for Two, and Shawn clothesline’s him for two. Shawn gets caught on a body press attempt, and gets tossed to the floor. Demolition picks him up, but Jannetty runs over and hits Ax. The Demos spill into the ring, and a schmoz causes the DQ. It was a great match until then. *** It was interesting hearing Jesse be so critical of Demolition; I guess they hadn’t started their official heel turn yet.

Mooney talks about what he did to Hillwilliam, and also Hogan. Gene then talks to Hulk. Obviously things are brewing between the two.

Jesse talks to Heenan and Haku, after a recap of The Ultimate Challenge. Texas will finally have someone and something to be proud of.

Gene talks to the new WWF champion. His first title defense on TV will be against a Heenan Family member. Well that makes a little more sense; before I was wondering why a man who just lost the tag team titles was getting a world title shot. He has been chosen to lead his Warriors through the darkness without fear, and carry the sacred banner of the WWF. He's a different Warrior than the Heenan Family has faced in the past. Haku is only moments away from being obliterated.

WWF championship match, Haku vs. The Ultimate Warrior (c)- Haku chops his throat to start. Warrior kicks and chops, and hits a baaaaack bodydrop. Warrior tries to clothesline him over the top, but he falls and rolls out instead. Haku rolls back in, an Warrior shoulderblocks him. Warrior chops him, and works his arm. He then tosses a charging Haku to the floor. Haku attacks Warrior coming into the ring, but gets his head rammed into the top buckle. Warrior whips Haku, but runs into a knee. Haku drops Warrior after two clotheslines, but Warrior keeps popping up and gets clotheslined again. Haku dropkicks him for two. Heenan lectures the ref. Haku headbutts and chops Warrior, then backbreakers him for two. Haku hitsa back suplex for another two. Haku slams him and hits a splash for two. Warrior then Hulks Up, basically. He clotheslines Haku repeatedly, then shoulderblocks and splashes him for the win. Heenan tried to trip him during that but failed. *1/2. The match did what it was intended to, but started the trend of Warrior getting weak challengers.

Now Martel is playing tennis, at night apparently.

We see footage from Wrestlemania VI, as Ted Dibiase attacked the Big Boss Man before his match with Akeem. Sean Mooney then talks to Slick and Akeem. Slick says Dibiase has upped his ante, and given them an offer they can't refuse. They're going to finish BBM tonight. Slick's promos have been a bright spot on these SNMEs for me; I find them quite entertaining. And that's not even mentioning his dancing.

Akeem vs. Big Boss Man- BBM tells Gene that justice is blind, but not when it comes to payoffs. You can't buy morality, honesty and integrity. And most of all you can't buy him. Things are bigger in Texas, including the beating he's going to give. They slug away to begin. Bossman drags him out of his corner by his feet, and hiptosses the big man. He hits his rope-assisted butt splash, and misses a corner splash. Akeem then splashes him in the corner, as Jesse's going on about this match being dirtier than the Democratic primary in Texas. I don't even know what that's about. Akeem then shakes his ass, and sits on his face in the corner. Is that the first-ever Stinkface? God I hated that when Rikishi did it. Slick was holding BBM. Akeem hits a back elbow and a splash, and BBM kicks out and starts a Hulk Up sequence. Akeem tries a piledriver but gets backdropped over the top. BBM brings him in the hard way, and hits a headbutt. BBM rams his head into the buckle, and AKeem keeps hitting his head even after BBM stops. He hits the Boss Man slam, but Dibiase and Virgil attack him for the DQ. 1/2* They hit a double clothesline, and stomp away. They handcuff Boss Man to the top rope, and work him over. Virgil gets the night stick, but BBM has a key, so he attacks the heels and retrieves the stick. He chases the heels out of the arena.

And yet another "Arrogance" ad. Did they cut out a match or something? This show is filler-a-rama. Oh, and now Mooney is with Heenan. He noticed weaknesses in the Warrior, and "Ravishing" Rick Rude will beat him again, this time for the WWF championship.

Warrior talks again before they sign off. The Harts-Rockers match was good, and it was nice to see a blowoff of Hogan-Hennig, especially since I saw them wrestle in December 1989 at a house show in Milwaukee. The trend of Warrior getting weak opponents as champion had already started, though.

The Main Event #3- If your ass is a Buster...

Randy "Macho King" Savage says he has the most powerful hand in the world. We see WWF president Jack Tunney informing Earl Hebner he will be the inside the ring referee, and new world boxing champion James "Buster" Douglas will be the outside the ring referee.

Live from Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. It's notable that in the intro video they showed footage from the Mike Tyson vs. Douglas fight. I don't even know who promoted/broadcasted the fight.

Gene talks to Randy "Macho King" Savage and Queen Sherri. He's glad "Iron" Mike Tyson pulled out as referee. He found out that Tyson's great-grandmother is a card-carrying Hulkamaniac, so there's no way he'd call it down the middle.

WWF championship, Randy Savage vs. Hulk Hogan (c)- Savage and Sherri get carried down in a double throne by some peasants, I mean jobbers. Gene talks to Hogan about how this is probably the last time he'll ever face Savage. Oh, Hulky. If Douglas doesn't call it down the middle, Hogan will end up the new boxing champion, too. After Hulk's entrance we go to Gene with Buster. He did it for himself, his country and his mother. He's going to call it like he sees it. I still feel like this match lost all of its intrigue once Tyson was out. I'm not even sure if him losing even mattered in this situation. So Buster comes out with some goof who McMahon says is his manager. Buster gets quite a pop, at least. Hulk and Savage lock up, and Hogan shoves him to the mat. Savage steps out for a breather. Hogan drops him witha ashoulderblock, Savage goes out and Douglas prevents Hogan from going after him. Savage knees Hulk's midsection, and punches him. He snaps Hogan's neck on the top, and knees him in the back to the floor. Savage goes up but Douglas stands between them. Savage kneelifts Sherri off the apron. Hulk gets a clothesline. Hulk rams him to the buckle, and hits a back elbow in the opposite corner. Hulk punches him on the middle turnbuckle, and hits the Axebomber. Hogan body slams Savage and drops elbows. He gets on top for puches in lieu of a pin attempt. He gets an atomic drop, but Sherri trips him coming off the ropes. Savage jumps on Hogan, knocking down Sherri. Savage gets a clothesline for two, and drops knees and chokes Hogan. Sherri chokes Hogan but Buster comes over and ejects her. That of course leads to a commercial break, and Douglas is running back out when we return. Savage has a sleeper on the mat, with Hogan Hulking Up on the third arm raise. He shoulderblocks Savage, but gets clotheslined. Savage makes an arrogant cover, and throws out Hogan. Savage hits an axehandle to the floor, and another back in the ring.. He gets two off of that. He makes several more pin attempts, all for naught. Savage punches Hogan to the floor. Macho prepares for the flying axehandle but Douglas stands between them. Savage instead elbows him in the throat. Back in, Savage body slams Hulk and goes up for the elbow. He hits it, and Hogan powers out at two. Way to kill his finish, Hulky. Hulk Up sequence activated. Hulk hits the big boot but Savage drags him outside. Savage rakes his eyes and rolls in. Hogan punches Savage (and referee Earl Hebner gets knocked out) and legdrops Savage, and Douglas counts the pin (fast, I might add, plus Savage was kicking out at three). Savage argues with Hebner, then points at Douglas. Hulk tries to instigate a fight between Savage and Douglas. Savage points in Douglas' face, and bounces around like Ali. Savage slaps Douglas, then lays on the top rope in the corner. Savage bobs and weaves, and grandstands in front of Hogan. Hulk shoves Savage into Douglas, who "hits" Savage once, then gets a good one on camera to KO the Macho Man. Man, Hogan was such a bastard to Savage. Hulk then poses with Buster. Douglas would learn, as Holly Holm did several years later in the UFC, that beating the man (or woman) doesn't cause you to replace them as a star. Especially when you lose your first title defense.

The Warrior (without Okerlund) says he can smell it; it's in the air. He never says what "it" is, but names some planets and says he can also feel it.

Fuck, Vince threw it to the Slam of the Night, but I was once again thwarted.

Jesse talks to Dino, Jimmy Hart and Earthquake. Bravo accuses the Warrior of not having brains. I hope Dino is counting Hart as his. Jimmy says Warrior doesn't have Earthquake insurance, and Jesse says it sounds like a case of double indemnity. Vince replies that Jesse doesn't even know what that is. Boy, how dumb do you have to be to not know what double indemnity is? Everyone know that! It's, um...hey, look at that snowy owl! (Runs out the door).

WWF Intercontiental championship, Dino Bravo vs. The Ultimate Warrior (c)- Now Gene talks to Warrior, who says he doesn't have Earthquake insurance. He doesn't need it, because the life that flows into their bodies is not that of the normals. A natural disaster can't prevent him from fulfilling the Ultimate Destiny. Warrior rushes the ring and gets a powerslam. Helwig heads to the top rope, and hits an axehandle. He tries to go up again, and Earthqyake grabs his ankle. When Warrior goes after him, Bravo cheapshots him. Back in, Warrior hiptosses Bravo, but Quake grabs his ankle again. Bravo clotheslines him to the floor, but Warrior rolls under the ring, and then pulls Hart under on the other side. Hart then comes out without his pants. Warrior throws him onto Quake, but Bravo hits him and then Quake body slams him. Bravo axehandles Warrior on the back, and grabs a bearhug. Warrior breaks the hold, and gets one of his own. Bravo rakes the eyes to escape, and hits the side slam for only two. Bravo keeps attacking the back, but Warrior does his own Hulk Up. He headbutts Bravo, punches and clotheslines him, and hits a shoulder tackle. A splash gets the pin. * Quake then imediately clotheslies him, and the Canadains stomp on Warrior. Warrior knocks their noggins, clotheslines Quake, and throws Bravo to the outside. Quake attacks Warrior, and drops a big elbow. He drops another and drags Warrior to the corner. Quake goes to the middle buckle, but Hulk comes out and stands between the two men. A punche drops Quake to the floor, but Warrior yells at Hogan. The ref gets betwen them, but they take turns pushing him, and then another ref, out of the way.

Vince himself is in the locker room, and show the Rumble footage for the umpteenth time, and then the fracas from the last SNME. Hulk says he felt Hulkamania at its peak at the Rumble, but the Warrior was the strongest force to ever attack Hulkamania. He says the clothesline was an accident. He says he wants the Warrior at his best at WMVI, so that's why he came out to help Warrior.

Gene is with Warrior, apparently at the official UW gift shop. What happened tonight was written long ago, Warrior says. He saw walls filled with fear when he looked in Hogan's eyes. I need not your protection, he says to Hogan. He says that he's the chosen one.

Gene talks to Buster. He had a "blast" (as he throws a punch). Buster and Hogan are going out "drinking," Hulk the buttermilk, Buster whole milk.  We see a highlight package before fading to black.

One the one hand, this show feels like a kind of a wasted opportunity because of the way the Tyson situation went down. However that perhaps let them focus even more on Hogan-Warrior, which should be the end goal. This episode of The Main Event is certainly a step down from the first one, and probably even the second.

Saturday Night's Main Event #25- Tyson! Tyson!! Tyson!!!

Instead of the usual promo-a-rama, Vince McMahon voices a package on the Ultimate Warrior and Hulk Hogan tag-teaming for the very first time. 

Vince makes a timely-ish reference to Guns N' Roses while introducing Jesse. That had to be from Dick Ebersole or someone else. 

"Mean" Gene Okerlund talks to "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan. We flash back to "Macho Man" Randy Savage beating Duggan to become King of the WWF. Duggan wants revenge for the people.

"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan vs. "Macho King" Randy Savage- Gene talks to Savage and Queen Sherri. He says Duggan and the people are peasants. You've gotta love seeing the king's throne carried out by jobbers.  Duggan sneaks over and tips Savage out of his throne. Back in, Duggan rams his face to the buckle. He misses a charge and hits his head on the top buckle, but it of course has no effect on Duggan. Savage kicks Duggan off of the ropes, and finally a clothesline drops him. He chokes Duggan on the mat, and leaps over the top to elbow him in the throat. Duggan reverses an Irish whip for a clothesline, then hits another for two. Duggan gets an atomic drop, but gets distracted by Sherri. Savage then knocks him ot the floor with an axehandle, then drops one from the top rope to the floor. Savage goes up and hits an axehandle for two. Savage snaps his throat on the top, and leaps back in for two. Savage tries the Boss Man butt splash but misses. Duggan then misses an elbowdrop. Duggan backdrops Savage to the floor, but foolishly breks the count. Sherri then jumps up to the apron to break it again. On the floor, Duggan goes to clothesline Sherri but hits  Savage. Commercial break, and Duggan slams Savage back in. He drops a knee but Sherri distracts the ref and it only gets two. Duggan punches him and Sherri puts Savage's foot on the bottom rope. Duggan clotheslines Savage twice, and punches him to the floor. Sherri rakes Duggan's back on the floor. He chases her, and catches her in the ring. Her skirt gets hiked up and Vince says "goodness." Savage hits an axehandle while Duggan socks him in the gut. Sherri distracts the ref, tosses Savage her purse, and Savage socks Duggan with it. This time, though, it only gets two. Duggan gets a small package for a near fall. Duggan rams Savage's head to the buckle, and atomic drops him. Duggan hits two clotheslines, and sets up for the big one. The three-point stance sends Savage to the floor. When Duggan goes to suplex him back in, Sherri trips Duggan and Savage retains the crown. **1/2. That was one of the better Duggan matches I've seen.

Jesse knows there's a problem with Hogan and the Warrior. Conversely, he is with Brains and Brawn (Perfect and Genius). Genius says Hogan has a partner even stupider than he is, so he's going to lose again.

Mr. Perfect/The Genius vs. Hulk Hogan/The Ultimate Warrior- We see a clip of Hogan and Warrior's battle during the 1990 Royal Rumble. Hulk tells Gene they almost tore the building down when they fought. Now they are teamed as one, however. Perfect and Hulk start out, and Hogan shoves him to the corner. Perfect then climbs out to the apron. Back in, Hulk hiptosses, then slams Perfect and Genius in succession. The heels regroup outside, and Hogan tags Warrior. Helwig runs outside knocks their noggins, and rams them to the apron. Back in, he shoulderblocks Genius, and flips Perfect over the top rope. He then whips the heels into each other, and clotheslines Perfect over the top rope. Warrior then tags Hogan. He and Hennig lock up, and Hennig fires away in the corner. Hulk reverses a whip and hits a back elbow in the corner, sending Perfect to the floor. Hogan then whips Hennig into the post. Genius grabs his scroll to draft a strategy, as Hogan rams Perfect's head into the top buckle. Hogan hits a clothesline, and rams his head again. Perfect is overselling everything, so I hope there's going to be a heat segment at some point here. Hogan body slams perfect and drops elbows. He then mounts Hennig for punches. Hogan big-boots Hennig to the floor, and the Genius gives him the scroll. Hennig then whallops Hogan with it. What a strategy! Hennig then tries a chairshot, but hits the post. Back in, he kicks and boot-rakes Hogan, but Hulk gets a small package. Hennig chops away, and hits a forearm. Hennig does his neck-snap thing, and tags Genius. Poffo neck-snaps him off of the top rope, and holds Hulk for a Hennig axehandle. He forearms Hogan from a camel clutch position. Perfect measures Hogan with shots, and Now We're Going to See the Perfect Plex. Hennig actually stops the count, and tags in the Genius. Poffo goes for a moonsault but hits knees, and then Hennig leaps off of the top into a boot. Hogan then tags Warrior, who runs wild on the Genius. Perfect comes in and takes a punch and kneelift. Warrior clotheslines Poffo, then gives him the gorilla press/splash combo. Hogan blind tagged Warrior, and finished Poffo with the legdrop. ** Perfect then knocks Hogan to the floor, and Warrior fights with the two heels. He hits a clothesline on Perfect, then clotheslines Hogan, clearly on accident. Hogan reacts as well to this as you would expect. The two bulls butt heads in a visual that was used in the lead-up to their Wrestlemania VI match. 

We see Jake "The Snake" Roberts taking custody of Ted Dibiase's Million Dollar belt. Jake is coy when Gene asks where the belt currently is. 

Jimmy Hart tells Jesse they can't worry about what's in the bag. 

Jake "The Snake" Roberts vs. Greg "The Hammer" Valentine- Jake empties the bag, and the belt indeed is in it with Damian. Hammer armdrags Jake twice. Jake takes him down and goes for the DDT, but Hammer slips out. Hart grabs Jake's ankle, and Hammer takes advantage. Valentine whips Jake into the buckles on both sides. Valentine drops the hammer for two. He punches away, and an elbow gets two. Valentine drops a knee to Jake's back, and gets another two. Jake punches his way to his feet, and rams Greg into the buckles. He punches the Hammer down. A short-arm clothesline sets up the DDT, but Hammer backdrops out of it. Valentine misses an elbowdrop, but Jake misses a kneelift and hits the buckles. Hammer goes for the leglock, gets kicked into Jimmy, and Jake hits the DDT. Dibiase and Virgil come in and work Jake over, though. Virgil grabs the bag, but Jake punches them both down. He chases them away with Damian. I think it was a DQ, and **.

Jesse talks to Heenan and "Ravishing" Rick Rude. Heenan says I thought you were going to say "accompanied by a piano" when Jesse said Dusty Rhodes will be accompanied by Sapphire.

Dusty Rhodes vs. "Ravishing" Rick Rude- No idea why they can't use Rude's real theme on the Network. Gene talks to Dusty and Sapphire. Rude said he could have her at the snap of his fingers. I think she said he's nothing compared to my Dusty; I listened twice but I'm not sure. The disrespect of women has got to be through, basically. Rude pounds away on Dusty to start. Rude whips Dusty but he reverses and sends Rude back-first to the buckle. He drops an elbow and tosses Rude to the floor, and rams Rude's back into the apron. Back in, Rude tries a slam but further hurts his back. Dusty bionic elbows Rude, and mocks Rude's wobbly-legged selling. Another elbow drops the Ravishing one. Rude begs off and Dusty shoulderblocks him in the corner. Dusty necksnaps Rude, but misses a big elbow. Rude necksnaps Dusty himself, and grabs a headlock. Heenan goes over and tells Sapphire to shut up, while Dusty backdrops Rude. Dusty goes out to protect her, but Rude attacks him. The ref comes out and ejects Heenan and Sapphire, as we head to a break. We return with Rude kneeing Dusty to the back, knocking him out of the ring. He posts the Dream. Rude can't gyrate, though. Rude works on Dusty's elbow. Sapphire then takes a seat at ringside. Dusty headbutts him, but Rude rakes his face. Jesse mentions the Main Event show with Mike Tyson Feb. 23. Rude and Dusty knock heads and hit the mat. Rude gets hit in the belly, and Dusty knees his hamstring before attempting a figure four. Rude gets out and snaps his neck. Rhodes Hulks Up as Jesse yells to Rude "hit him in the gut!" Rude boots Dusty on a backdrop attempt. Sapphire gyrates at Rude, so he goes outside. Dusty follows him and they brawl down the aisle. Double countout. *3/4. Dusty and Sapphire dance back in the ring. 

Gene talks to Earthquake, Jimmy Hart and Dino Bravo.  Everyone but Hart in the next match are Canadians.

Dino Bravo vs. Ronnie Garvin- Dino knees him in the gut and pounds away. Dino misses a clothesline and gets chopped. Garvin grabs a headlock, but gets tossed to the floor. Quake rams him into the apron and tosses him back in. Bravo slams Garvin and drops an elbow for two. Dino suplexes him for two. Bravo kicks his head and punches Garvin down. Bravo grabs the rope to block a rollup, and misses elbow drops on Garvin. Ronnie punches and chops Bravo, and gets a baaaack bodydrop. Garvin flips Hart in and tosses him to Quake. Garvin Stomp commences, and Ronnie stomps Quake's hand. Dion rams him to the top buckle and tosses him out. Ronnie hits the top for a flying bodypress, but Dino rolls through from the win. *1/2. Garvin attacks Dino after the bell, Dino slams him and Quake butt splashes him. Quake hits an aftershock. Garvin gets stretchered out. 

Jeese interviews Randy Savage about the Main Event match with Hogan; Mike Tyson as the referee. There'll be no excuse when Macho beats Hulk Hogan. God, it's fascinating to think about what this would've been like had it actually gone down. Chances are that Buster Douglas was just slotted right into Tyson's spot, but Hogan and Tyson in the ring together in 1990 would have been the Sportscenter moment Vince always wanted.

Gene talks to Hogan. Hogan said he was the lone survivor in his SurSer match; stood tall after No Hold Barred: The Match (no mention of Beefcake); won the Royal Rumble, but people were always like, when are you gonna beat the Macho King? Is this like a John Cena, "Until you beat me with Mike Tyson as the referee, you haven't done nothin', jack!" thing?

Vince and Jesse chat some more about Tyson. They seriously spent the last seven minutes of TV time hyping The Main Event and Tyson. Oh, what could have been...

Saturday Night's Main Event #24- Nanananananana Batman!

Bobby "The Brain" Heenan tells the Ultimate Warrior this is no fairy tale. "I will take the belt," Andre the Giant says. Dusty Rhodes is going to teach the Big Boss Man that justice is a lady, and is blind. Slick calls Dusty a common thief; he stole from the finest American crime fighter since "nananananana Batman!" Hulk Hogan says we'll see how smart the Genius is, when he tries to solve the problem Einstein, Play-to (his pronunciation)  and Socrates (Johnson?) couldn't- whatcha gonna do when Hulkamania runs wild on you?

Jesse "The Body" Ventura's mustache looks fake.

We take a look at footage of the Ultimate Warrior carrying his beaten opponent to the back, being stopped by Heenan, and Andre attacking him and choking him.

Jesse tells Heenan and Andre that the Giant has a psycological advantage after the attack. Andre said something unintelligible while making a choking gesture.

WWF Intercontiental championship, Andre the Giant vs. The Ultimate Warrior (c)- I'm guessing this will be Andre's last appearance on SNME. Warrior tells "Mean" Gene Okerlund that he only feasts on the fruit of victory. Yep. Andre rubs his hands together waiting to get his hands on the Warrior. Helwig goes to the middle buckle and bounces and Andre attacks. He chokes Warrior against the top rope, and headbutts him. Heenan walks away (which Jesse says is because he's confidant in Andre), and Warrior goes back in. He chokes Andre with his strap, then chokes him bouncing off the ropes. Warrior went for a clothesline, but Andre evades him and Helwig hits the floor. Andre punches Warrior in the midsection, then stretches his arms behind his back. Warrior gets out by using his butt, and clotheslines Andre to the floor. Andre grabs the ref's ankle trying to get back in. When Warrior comes over Andre punches him in the throat. Andre chokes him with the bottom rope, and chops his neck. Warrior then locks in a bearhug. Andre headbutts his way out. Warrior charges him in the corner, and Andre locks on his own bearhug. Warriors clubs away with forearms. Andre headbutts him in the gut, but Warrior then slugs Andre in the tummy. Warrior unloads with chops, and Andre headbutts him. Andre misses a roundhouse right, and a clothesline knocks Andre into the ropes. Warrior then runs right into Andre's outstretched foot. Heenan grabs the belt, goes in the ring and tries to whip Warrior with it. He misses and Warrior gets ahold of it. Warrior forearms Heenan and throws him onto Andre. The ref then calls for the bed. Andre and Warrior fought over the belt outside. *3/4. Sue me, I enjoyed the match for what it was. It doesn't always have to be flippy-dos and Superkick Parties.

Jesse talks to the Genius, who is apparently over 10 feet tall between the ears.

WWF championship, Hulk Hogan vs. The Genius- Gene ask Hogan how he's going to deal with the Genius' IQ and acrobatics. Hogan said mathematically he can't win- take the Three Demandments, 24 -inch pythons, multiply by the Hulkamaniacs. Sounds like some Steiner math! Genius offers a handshake, and Hogan offer his left hand. Genius stretches in preparation, and floats liek a butterfly. they lock up, and Hogan shoves him to the floor.  Hulk points at his head, which in wrestling always means you're actually stupid. Hogan shoves Genius to the mat, but he kips up. Hulk hiptosses the Genius, and gives him a big bodyslam. Hulk tries the big boot, but Genius slides outside, then writes an equation on his scroll. Jesse calls it computerized wrestling, but Alexandra York didn't come along until a year later. Genius gets an arm drag, and skips around and celebrates. Genius backs Hogan into the corner, then slaps him. That's a good equation there. Genius cartwheels while Hogan waits in the corner. Hulk then gets mad and clotheslines him twice, rams him to the buckles, and hits a back elbow. Hulk then prances around like he's inferring something about Genius' preferences. Be a man, Hulk (sorry, wrong Poffo). Hulk atomic drops him, then mocks the Genius' selling. He hits a back suplex, and drops elbows on the Genius. Hogan then rakes his eyes with his boot. Hulk punches Genius in the corner, as Mr. Perfect comes out and grabs the championship belt. Hennig squishes his gum onto the belt's front plate. Hogan comes out and menaces Perfect, and Genius dropkicks Hulk into the post. He then whips Hogan into the post and rolls in. Genius kicks Hogan when he tries to roll in, until Hulk break the count. Genius goes for a moonsault, and that gets two. Hulk launches him off as he Hulks Up, though. He hits the big boot, but picks Genius up. Poffo rakes his eyes and back, and Hogan responds in kind. Hulk launches Poffo to the floor, and Perfect tends to him. Hogan goes out and pulls Perfect away, and throws Poffo back in. Perfect hits Hogan in the head with the belt while the Genius distracts the ref, and Poffo wins by countout. ** I guess we know now who is smarter. Hulk pushes Earl Hebner down and runs after them.

We see Dusty saving a jobber from the Big Boss Man beating on him after the bell, and obtaining Boss Man's night stick. Slick tells Gene Dusty is a three-time offender and loser. Boss Man law is "feel the pain, the whole pain, and nothing but the pain." Gene says they are the definition of cruel and unusual punishment: the Boss Man is cruel, and Slick is unusual.

Big Boss Man vs. Dusty Rhodes- This show is pretty blowoff-y, especially coming two days after the Survivor Series. Gene welcomes Dusty to SNME. He's going to show the people that justice does prevail. Dusty says the Slickster has been aiding and abedding, so he's going to pay, too. Jesse sings "he's just a common thief" to Dusty's theme. Slick is having problems with a fan at ringside, so Dusty wants him thrown out. Slick breaks out a manager's license (!), but Dusty throws it to ringside. Boss Man attacks but Dusty punches and Bionic Elbows him. Dusty goes after Slick, so Boss Man blindsides him again. Slick then chokes him and they head outside. The fan is arguing with Slick and Boss Man. I'm sure nothing will come of that, though. Slick goes to kick Dusty, but Dusty starts charging him. Boss Man then cheapshots him. Dusty gets posted and rolled back in. They engage in fisticuffs, and Boss Man works the arm. Dusty runs into a kneelift. He grabs a twisting armbar while Dusty lays on the mat, which is his fave. Slick's ready to sing his song ("Turn out the lights; the party's over") . Boss Man hits a back elbow, but Dusty elbows him in the gut. Boss Man rakes the eyes, whips Dusty to the corner but misses a splash. Dusty hammers away and Flip, Flops and Flies. Dusty looks for Slick and then misses an elbowdrop. Boss Man does his butt splash on the rope thing, and Slick fetches the night stick. He argues with the woman outside, though, and Dusty gets a distraction rollup. *3/4. Dusty then comes over and gets his own billy club. Boss Man yells at Slick outside, then at the woman. Dusty motions for the woman to get in the ring to dance. I thought this would be where she gets named and formally introduced, but the lady would obviously become Sweet Sapphire.

Gene talks to the Red Rooster, who is full of chicken-related puns. And so is Gene.

Red Rooster vs. Mr. Perfect- I saw these two square off at Wrestlefest '88, before they had their gimmicks. Jesse talks to Perfect, and asks him what he was trying to accomplish by stealing Hogan's belt. Hennig tells him you journalists are impatient. He's going to show he's the No. 1 contender. Perfect starts with a slap, and then shoves the Rooster. Taylor hits a kneelift and armdrag takedown, though. Hennig gets a drop toehold, but Rooster grabs a hammerlock and chicken wing. Perfect reaches the rope, and hits a back suplex. He gets a neck snap, but Taylor gets two from a sunset flip. Perfect twists Taylor's neck between his legs, and bad mouths him in the corner. Taylor gets a headbutt and right hand, but Hennig pounds away. Taylor boots a charging perfect, and hits a bulldog. Taylor smashes his head to the mat, and gets a baaaack bodydrop for two. Hennig punches out of a hiptoss attempt, and Now we're going to see the Perfectplex. **1/2. That was a brisk five-minute match, like Goldberg-Brock.

Gene talks to the Rockers. The dissention between the Busters isn't discussed there, but McMahon mentions how Heenan donned the tights at Survivor Series.
Gene then talks to the Busters, who are bickering with Heenan. Heenan says they don't have the tag titles, and Tully says to him we were great a couple of weeks ago when we did. Heenan tells them if they listened to him they'd still have the belts.

Best 2 out of 3 falls, Brain Busters vs. Rockers- The Busters are still having dissension, which on TV started at the Survivor Series days before this (though this match was taped prior). Tully and Marty start. Jannetty gets a headlock, and turns a hiptoss into a slam. Dropkick and armdrag into an ARM-BAR. Tully pulls him down twice by the hair, but Jannety kips, and hits a back elbow. Back to the ARM-BAR. Jannetty cuts off a tag, and Tully misses two elbow drops. Outside Jannetty fights off both Busters. Jannetty tries a sunset flip on Tully back in, but Arn grabs his partner's hands. Shawn Michaels then jumps onto Tully to break that up, and the Rockers take the first fall. Heenan lectures his men, and shoves Blanchard. Heenan bails outside, and the Rockers try a double-pin. Would Blanchard and Jannetty still have been the legal men?

The bell rings for the second round. The Rockers double leapfrog and then savate kick the Busters, who go to teh floor. Heenan heads back to the locker room, and says he's finished with them. Arn and Shawn slug it out. Shawn moonsaults over Arn, armdrags him, flying hurricanranas (for lack of a better term) Tully, and the Rockers whip Arn and double-dropkick both Busters. The Rockers double-hiptoss and elbowdrop Arn, and cheapshot Tully. Heenan is still peaking through the curtain. Arn lowblows Arn and He tags Tully. Marty flips over him punches him in the gut, and Shawn hits a kneelift for two. Arn hotshots Michaels when he tries a flying headscissors on Tully, and the Busters take the second fall.

Jesse catches up with Heenan. Heenan says they're the worst tag team he's ever been associated with. Someday they'll call him from a Skid Row soup kitchen with a dime they bummed from somebody asking him to take them back. "You're fired, you're through."

Third fall begins with Shawn sucking wind, and Tully hammers away on him. He gets whipped into Arn's knee. Arn hits a spinebuster with gusto, but Jannettty breaks up the pin. Arn gets two off of a test of strength, and slingshots Shawn into a Blanchard punch. Tully goes up and hits a forearm, and pops Jannetty before throwing Shawn over the top rope. Arn grabs him but the ref stops him from interfering. Tully tries to ram Shawn to the buckle, but Shawn reverses and hits a bodypress for two. Tully grabs Shawn's ankle to cut off a tag, and Arn comes in and grabs a front facelock. Jannetty punches Arn but he and Shawn knock noggins. Shawn goes under his legs for the tag, and he fires on both Busters. He slams both Horsemen, dropkicks Arn, and Shawn pulls Tully outside. Shawn gets posted, and Arn tries for a piledriver, possibly a spike one. Shawn hits a flying bodypress for the fall and the win. ***1/4.

Gene is back with Perfect and the Genius. Hennig is smashing the WWF championship belt with a hammer. "This has never been a perfect belt, and Hulk Hogan, you are not a perfect champion." He says he'll follow Hogan around to every arena and destroy every belt until he gets a title shot. Genius claims they're exercising their First Amendment rights, but I don't think that applies here. I've heard claims that this isn't the belt that became the Hardcore championship belt years later, but I think that's kooky talk.

Back to Gene, craddling the belt like a dead puppy. Hulk comes in and says it's eating him alive that the Genius got his hand raised. Mr. Perfect cut him to the bone, and is burning his soul alive! You can't ruin Hulkamania by destroying a material belt that symbolizes everything they believe in!