Saturday Night's Main Event #4

Before we go back in tiiime, I'd like to encourage you to click on the Amazon link on the right for my ebook "Clash of the Champions: The Story of Sting" (revised edition). There is also a paperback edition, which has done surprisingly well in the UK. I also just finished my second edition of AWA TV reviews, which you can also find to the right.

From the Sun Dome in Tampa. If it's still around, I hope the hurricane doesn't hit it. Seriously, best wishes to everyone in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Texas.

We see Hulk Hogan and "Mean" Gene Okerlund poolside. Hulk makes a Python Protein drink for Okerlund. Then we see "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Jesse "The Body" Ventura spying on the hillbillies poolside.

Vince McMahon runs down the card, and Ventura walks in to hype his match later.  Yes- Bobby "the Brain" Heenan is subbing for him! Upgrade.

Okerlund with Piper and Bob Orton, and eventually Jesse. Blah blah, and that match is first. The hillbillies also say nothing of note to Gene. 

Piper, Orton, Ventura vs. The Hillbillies- Heenan bemoans the hillbillies not wearing gear. Elmer starts with Ventura. This literally may be the only match I've seen Jesse wrestle. I should search on the Network, perhaps. Elmer chokes and drops Jesse. Jim headlocks Jesse, who knees him in the midsection and tags Piper. Now Luke comes in, and I'm not even sure this is the same guy from the previous SNMEs. Orton and Piper doubleteam Luke, and make quick tags. Jesse in, and steps on Lukes head. He then holds Luke for Piper to slap him. More quick tags, and then when Jim tags Luke the ref misses it. Luke finally tags Elmer, and he brawls with Piper. Bearhug, but Roddy pokes his eye. It turns into a pier-sixer, and the heels try to regroup outside. They run back in, and order is eventually restored. Damn. Now the heels triple team Jim. I'm seriously sick of watching these hicks, and I hope they're gone by the next SNME (though I know Jim won't be). Piper gets Luke in a sleeper, but he judo throws Roddy off. Orton uses his cast to wallop Luke, and Piper locks the sleeper back on to get the win. 1/2* Let's please be done with this now.

Ventura is already back in the booth, sadly. 

Gene is whereever in Florida, as it's time for a water slide competition. Jimmy Hart is competing with the Junkyard Dog. The heavier Dog wins. Thrilling. Jesse is somehow there, interviewing Funk. He wants to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated when he beat Hogan tonight. 

We see Funk attacking Hogan with the branding iron in Denver. Hogan says he humiliated me and all of Denver. JYD will be in his corner, and he says some stuff.

WWF championship, Hulk Hogan (c) vs. Terry Funk- It's funny now there's still no standard for the WWF "look" yet. The Denver clip had the ropes in the correct "red, white and blue" order, but SNME doesn't. The mat is kind of blue-gray too, instead of the lighter one we're all used to. And last but not least, Hogan is wearing blue gear instead of yellow, and Funk is in red trunks instead of his disco pants. JYD forces Hart onto a chair outside as we head to break. Hogan reverses a whip and clotheslines Funk, and does Happy Gilmore's bull dance in celebration. I like how they seemingly brought in all of the former NWA champions they could in this era to put Hogan over. I wonder if Dory (or "Hoss," I guess) ever got a shot, too. Hogan clotheslines him over the top. On a drop down Hogan keeps stepped on Funk's back, until Funk takes a comical spill onto the announce table. JYD throws in a chair for Hulk to sit on. I'm waiting for the heat portion that I think I remember to kick in here. Funk chops him but then hogan punches him. To the corner, and Funk does a Flair Flip. Hogan gets two off of a back suplex. Funk goes up but Hogan shakes the ropes to crotch him. Atomic drop on Funk, and Hogan headbutts him. Clothesline, elbow, but no legdrop. Jimmy Hart tries to trip Hogan, gets chased, so he goes under the ring. Funk then chokes Hogan with tape in the ring, and Hart comes back out. Funk piledrives Hogan in the ring, but kicks out at 2.99. Funk stomps on his face, but when he punches Hulk it's Hulk Up time. Back elbow, and the big boot knocks him to the apron. Hulk suplexes him in but gets branding iron-ed by Hart and Funk falls on top. Hogan gets his foot on the rope. Funk argues with the ref, JYD headbutts Hart, and Hogan clotheslines Funk for the win. **3/4. Funk then tries to attack the ref. I honestly remembered this being better.

Funk drags Hart back to the dressing room by the ankle. Hogan tells Okerlund he hasn't had enough. Is there a rematch on the next show?

We see the events leading up to George "The Animal" Steele vs. Randy "Macho Man" Savage. George also frolics at the water park. Jesse asks Savage and Liz if they're planning strategy. Savage is teaching Liz how to swim, which consists of him throwing her into a pool while Jesse laughs.

WWF intercontiental championship, Randy Savage (c) vs. George Steele- Wait- I'm being told by my man Woodrow in the back I jumped the gun and that Savage is not actually the champion yet. Savage is arguing with fans as George literally paws at Liz. Savage is of course irate. Savage bails a couple of times. Then Steele tosses him to the floor. It's really a shame how much time Savage had to waste wrestling Steele in '86 and '87. Punchy-kicky, and Savage pulls Steele out. He runs and pulls Liz in front of him. Steele slams Savage, then rips off the buckle. He puts the padding in Savage's face, but gets distracted by Liz. Savage hits him with an axehandle for the win, then picks up Liz and walks off. 3/4*

Hulk and Gene introduce a 1985 in Review music video. The Network version has obviously changed music. This is actually a longer version of the famous Coliseum Video, um, video I spoke of last time. The song keeps saying "there's a riot in the streets," but I couldn't find it on YouTube. 

Gene talks to Blassie, Sheik and Volkoff. Sheik is there for "moral support," but Gene points out he doesn't have a manager's license. 

Jesse talks to Corporal Kirchner. He is such a scary looking dude. I basically only knew him from his LJN figure. He rides a zipline and drops into a pool.

Peace match: Nikolai Volkoff vs. Corporal Kirchner- They shake hands to begin. They break clean against the ropes a couple of times. Um...is Dean Malenko refereeing?! 

Kirchner gets an armbar and a takeover for two. Now a top wristlock, and still a clean break. Nikolair rolls him up with a bridge for two. Corp rolls him up for one. Another small package gets two. Nikolai then headbutts him in the gut, drops him on the top rope, then kneedrops him in the face for the 1-2-3. *1/2. At least there was a little wrestling. Kirchner goes nuts on Sheik and Volkoff afterwards. 

We see video of Muraco surfing and getting mobbed by girls. JYD is basically Kane in these early SNMEs, in that he is everybody's special partner or backup, and the heels cower at him. And oh God, Fuji talks about boiled and fried dog. Someone arrest that man; he admitted it!

Steamboat tells Gene the only thing those guys haven't done to him is defeat him. 

Magnificent Muraco, Fuj the Stooge vs. Ricky Steamboat, JYD- Muraco dropkicks(!) Dog to begin. Fuji throws Steamer to the floor as Muraco works over JYD. Fuj slams Steamboat on the floor. JYD gets a baaaaack bodydrop on Muraco, but misses a headbutt. Fuj uses his karate but gets slammed. JYD armdrags and slams Muraco. A headbutt possibly breaks Rock's nose, but Fuj takes back over. Muraco in and he mises a charge, and Steamer gets tagged. Ricky chops both of the heels, and hits an enzuiguri. He slingshots Muraco into Fuj, then hits a flying bodypress. Fuj breaks up the pin. JYD tagged, and a headbutt gets the win. * Everyone continues to brawl. 

I'm really struggling getting through these early SNMEs. The wrestling is basically non-existent, save stuff like Hogan-Funk. I'm hoping things will pick up in '87 when we get to the shows I saw when they were new. 

Saturday Night's Main Event #3- Halloween Havoc!

We see Bobby "The Brain" Heenan bobbing for apples. He's dressed as Davey Crockett, and "Mean" Gene Okerlund is like a wizard.

Hulk and Andre say nothing, and Jesse Ventura talks to Roddy Piper about interrupting Uncle Elmer's wedding on the last episode.

Gene talks to newcomers Terry Funk and Jimmy Hart. Funk will face the Junkyard Dog, and spits tobacco on the camera.

Vince McMahon welcomes us, as we see fans in costumes. We also see Terry Funk beating up a ring attendant from weeks back. Jimm Hart tells Okerlund that was television tricks, that he didn't really do that. "We got some branding to do!"- Terry Funk in 1985, or Stephanie McMahon in 2017?!

We then see a clip of Funk working the Junk Yard Dog over with his branding iron at Madison Square Garden. JYD tells Okerlund tonight is his day (every dog has, get it?).

Drunk Terry Flunk vs. JYD- The dog cheapshots Funk to begin, then bounces him crotch-first on the top rope. So many of the clips from the Coliseum Video ad come from these early SNMEs. Funk bails, then gets a slam back in. He misses an elbow, and gets slammed. Now JYD tosses him over the top. JYD slams him and headbutts Funk, who rolls out to the apron. Jimmy tried to trip the Dog, so he chases him around outside, then backdrops a charging Funk. Funk punches away back in, then grabs a sleeper. JYD then gets a sleeper of his own, but drops Funk to pull Hart in. Funk waffles him with the megaphone and gets the pin. * The Dog blocks the branding iron and hits Funk with it, then punches Hart in the face. JYD pulls Hart's pants off, and brands his butt.

Capt. Lou (as Julius Caesar) and King Kong Bundy (as Zorro) are about to have a pie eating contest.
We see the first SNME appearance of "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Elizabeth here. Albano is YOUR winner.

Piper's Pit with the hillbilly family. He calls Jim "Mrs. Elmer." He asks Elmer what went on on the wedding night, which Elmer answers is "none of your business." Jim says if Jesse Ventura is such a man, why doesn't he come up here and say his comments from the wedding to their faces. Jesse gets in the ring and says he isn't backing down on nothin'. Bob Orton bends over behind Cousin and they schoolboy him, but Jim and Elmer clear the ring.  I think you can see what is being set up here.

It's time for the Great Pumpkin Dunk. JYD (dressed as a Mummy), Cousin Junior and Tito Santana (also Zorro?) vs. Heenan, Savage and Elizabeth. Heenan cheats because of course he does. Heenan gets seven to Junior's four.

Okerlund with Heenan, Bundy and Big John Studd. They predict victory over Hogan and Andre. Gene calls the faces the Dream Team, while Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake are already tag team champions with that name.

Studd and Bundy vs. Hogan and Andre- Albano is with the faces, possibly to counteract Heenan. Hogan shoves Bundy to start, and drops him with a kneelift. Hogan almost gets Bundy up for a slam, and hits his usual. Andre in, with chokes and butt-related offense. Hogan hits an axehandle from the top, but gets doubleteamed. Studd shoulders Hogan down, but Hogan back suplexes him. Andre back in with chops. Andre accidentally struck the ref, according to Ventura, as a donnybrook breaks out. Another ref comes out and restores order...as Saturday Night's Main Event rolls on. Andre pounds on Studd when we return, and Hogan tags and clothesline him. Vince calls Andre the Big Boss Man as he steps back in. Big boot by the Giant, and Bundy gets Andre caught in the ropes. Bundy splashes Hogan, and the heels doubleteam Andre while he's tied up. Now the ref calls for the bell. *1/2. I know the workers here are horrendous, but I thought a match this big would get more time. Hogan and Andre get their hands raised by Joey Marella. Okerlund talks to them, and Andre "didn't get enough!"

Okerlund tells us we are moments away from a Tito Santana-Randy Savage intercontiental title bout. Cool! So this is even before the title change. Elizabeth is asked why she is managing Randy, and says she's always had an interest in sports. McMahon calls out Okerlund for looking letcherously at Elizabeth. Pot, kettle.

WWF Intercontiental title, Tito Santana (c) vs. Randy Savage- I figured Savage won the belt on his first try, so this is interesting. After some stalling and punching Savage takes advantage, gets hiptossed but hits an axehandle for two. Jesse questions Chico's cardio after that one. Macho slams him and goes for an axehandle, but Tito hits him in the midsection. Tito fires away as a dude in the front row jumps up and down. Tito slam, and Savage bails. Tito fires on him outside, and Savage slides into the ring to cheapshot him. Savage tries a piledriver and they both get counted out. *3/4 Had I known about this match (and been watching at the time), I would have thought it was only a matter of time before Savage won the belt.

We see the famous (at least with my friends) clip of Mr. Fuji seemingly twisting his ears, in preparation for his match with Ricky Steamboat. Then we see what appears to be the Sheik and Volkoff making out, but it turns out they are playing the pumpkin passing game.

We go to Roddy Piper's "rented American house." Ooooh- is this the Halloween Safety Tips as heard on Wrestlecrap Radio? Actually, Piper is wrapping bricks and bowling balls for the children, so probably not. Vinnie Mac conducts the interview, and infers Piper's home in Scotland doesn't have indoor plumbing. One kid is Hulk Hogan, and IS THAT STEPHANIE MCMAHON?! The bowling ball breaks a kid's bag, and Piper steals the candy. To be fair, that's why you use a plastic pumpkin for TorT'ing. The kids gave Piper chocolate covered red peppers.

Hulk tells Vicious Vince he likes what he just saw.

Fuji breaks a break with a karate chop, and a board on his head.

Kung Fu Challenge match, Mr. Fuji vs. Ricky Steamboat- We see a clip of Magnificent Muraco and Fuji choking Steamboat. Ricky tells Gene tonight he will break out the Dragon. Maybe he should crawl to the ring and be all scarily painted up. Anyway, Fuj throws chops that get blocked, then Steaboat chops him and hits an enziguri (!). Fuj kicks his legs like Jose Aldo, and drops a headbutt to the groin, just like Bruce Lee was famous for. More chops and kicks, then Fuj hiptosses Steamboat. Fuj tries a suplex, which Steamboat reverses. What exactly are the rules here? Steamboat goes to the top and hits a dropkick for the win. * Muraco then blinds Steamboat, who gets double-teamed.

Pumpkin Pass- JYD passes to Santana, who passes to a Hillbilly, who passes to Jim, to Albano, who dropped it. Now the heel team's turn- Bundy to Nikolai to the Sheik to Elizabeth. Piper rubs up against Liz for awhile until it's dropped. Savage yells at her, though he should really be mad at Piper. That clip was also in the Coliseum Video ad, and I didn't know what non-sexual thing could've been happening there with Piper and Liz. I unfortunately couldn't find that ad to act as a visual aid. Sorry.

Saturday Night's Main Event #2

From the Meadowlands

"Mean" Gene warns we may be on the brink of an international crisis. Nikolai Volkoff says he's going to win the belt, and take it back to Russia. He's also wearing a swank jacket.

Hulk (without Gene) says Volkoff is no threat to him or America. He's hot about Volkoff going around, waving his flag.

Gene talks to Hillbilly Jim and Uncle Elmer about Elmer's upcoming wedding. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper comes in and rambles.

WWF title match, Nikolai Volkoff vs. Hulk Hogan (c)- Nikolai gets the treatment that Rusev does today when he tries to sing his national anthem. Hogan then spouts some patriotic BS that also could come into play today. Volkoff attacks from behind, and rams Hulk to the buckles. Hogan in white gear does take some mental readjustments to get used to. Hogan clotheslines him twice, and drops an elbow. Headbutt, and a punch drops the Russian. Volkoff takes a big boot to the chest and falls out. First he sends Nikolai to the post, but then Volkoff reverses a similiar attempt. Volkoff drops an axehandle to Hulk's back. Volkoff presses Hulk into a backbreaker, which was actually impressive. That gets two. Hogan gets whipped into the corner. Hogan gets a backdrop, but Volkoff takes over. Bodyslam gets two, then we get the Hulk Up. Volkoff misses a charge, Hogan legdrops him for the 1-2-3. Hulk then spits on the Russian flag and cleans his boot with it. No wonder the rest of the world hates us. Then Hulky gets to wave the flag around.

Gene with Hulk. He's gonna show that "wrestlers are nice people too" at the wedding later.
They show us the bride. I hope Elmer isn't watching. We then go to the three hillbillies. That Cousin Junior sure looks the part. But where is Big Bart?!

Uncle Elmer vs. Jerry Valiant- Is this the guy Vince Jr. always emulated and wanted to be? Valiant charges, Elmer slams/falls on him, and that's all she wrote. That easily beats Bundy-S.D. Jones.  And in fact they go to a clip of that match. Elmer's was six seconds.

Arnold  Schwarzenegger is shown in the crowd. This is 14 years before he socked Triple H and got a WWF title belt, and 32 before he was on Celebrity Apprentice and became an unlikely voice of reason.

Jesse hosts The Body Shop with guest Bobby Heenan. He says Paul Orndorff fired him. I'm kind of confused by this- didn't Orndorff turn face against Piper on the last SNME? Now Bobby has a $15,000 bounty on Orndorff.

Paul Orndorff vs. Roddy Piper- Orndorff has his fists taped, so you know he's ready to go. The ref has to hold him back as Piper enters. We also see Heenan coming out with a briefcase, calling for Roddy. The two slug it out, and Piper gets a clothesline. He kicks Paul in the head, then rams his head into the mat. I have a feeling this will end in a schmoz soon. Piper hits a DDT and stomps his head. They spill outside, and they ram each other into a table. Paul axehandles him inside, and hits a suplex. Piper gets an eyepoke, then a kneelift. They collide and fall to the mat. Piper dives onto knees, and they both flip to the floor. Piper misses a chairshot, and they brawl to the back. Piper slips into his dressing room, and won't let Orndorff in.

Weddin'.  Mean Gene tickles the ivories, and Jesse famously says he looks like the Phantom of the Opera. I have no idea what events led up to this. Andre is there complete with trunks and Giant gut. Judge George Sorvino doing the honors. "I, Uncle Elmer..." Elmer was gone from the WWF like a year later, too. Maybe NBC wanted Vince to do a wedding on an SNME, and this was the best he could come up with. So of course Piper comes out during the objection portion. Hogan points at him and Piper leaves. "It looks like two carp in the river going after the same corn"- future Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura.

There are loose pigs at the reception backstage, because of course there are.

Gene with Bobby Heenan, Big John Studd and King Kong Bundy. I've been rewatching '93 and '94 Raws, and now I'm wondering something- did Bundy get an eye job or something before his return? They seem more pronounced and bulging upon his return.

Bundy/Studd vs. Andre/Tony Atlas- Andre chokes Bundy with his own singlet to start. Andre rams his butt into Bundy in the corner, and delivers chops. Andre used Atlas' head to headbutt Bundy because, well, you know. Bundy elbows Atlas but misses an elbowdrop. Studd in, and he shoulderblocks Atlas, who leapfrogs and headbutts him. Atlas almsot slams him, then misses a dropkick. Andre headbutts Studd from the apron, then Bundy splashes Atlas. Big boot on Studd, but Bundy attacks his sternum. Studd rammed Atlas into the ringpost outside back-first. Bundy avalanches Andre, and Studd does the same as the ref calls for the bell. Andre and Atlas won by DQ. Andre knocks their noggins but the numbers game gets the best of him until Hogan runs in. Atlas then becomes the third wheel, the Hercules to Hogan and Andre's Mega Powers. I'll give it a * and move on.

Gene talks to Hogan, who says Andre and Atlas are the real winners.

We see Gene dressed for safari in a tiger-striped truck. Ah, they're at the Detroit Zoological Park, makes sense. He finds George Steele by a camel. We also see a clip of the classic Steele "how now brown cow" segment from TNT. They look at a bunch of animals, inclding a "Detroit" tiger, according to George. Gene would don the same gear for a safari segment on SNME five years later.

WWF tag team championship, Rene Goulet/Lanny Poffo vs. The Dream Team- Trivia time- did Jimmy Hart ever manage Brutus Beefcake back in his 80s heel days? I remembered Johnny V, but when I was watching '93 Raws I could've sworn Jimmy had managed Brutus before. Gene asks them about Barry Windham and Mike Rotundo, who Beefcake and Greg Valentine won the titles from. The U.S. Express is watching from ringside, though I think Windham was gone from the WWF soon after. Valentine grapples with Leapin' Lanny on the mat. Valentine slams him and tags Brutus. Lanny fights them both off, and dropkicks the Butcher. A slam sets up a moonsault (!) for two. Valentine breaks it up and Beefcake takes over. The Dreams double team and make quick tags. Brutus bodyslams Poffo, who then tags Garea. Hiptoss and dropicks by Garea, and a bodypress gets two. Brutus gets a backelbow and tags Valentine, who gets Garea in the figure four. Garea waves to submit, and Beefcakes dumps Poffo out. **1/2. The Dream Team keeps working over Garea. The champs have the familiar 80's belts now.

Wedding reception- Vince and Jesse are at Hulk and Orndorff's table. Hulk says "it was a beautiful wedding, Vicious Vince." Orndorff thought it was great. Gene shows Cousin Junior how to eat, and Poffo reads a poem. Hillbilly Jim then does a toast. Joyce and Elmer welcome Tiny Tim, who was a part of his own TV wedding. He gave them a ukulele. Jesse then reads a poem about missing wrestling and romance. He must not have liked the WAR promotion in the '90s, then. Hillbilly pushed Jesse into the cake after that.

Vince tells Hulk that Heenan accepted the challenge, and Hogan and Andre will face Bundy and Studd in four weeks on the next episode. So just chillllllllll....

Saturday Night's Main Event #1

May 11, 1985, at the Nassau County Coliseum

Cyndi Lauper tells Wendy Richter not to let the Fabulous Moolah grab her hair, and to "beat, annihilate and destroy" Moolah. Hulk and Mr. T pity "Cowboy" Bob Orton. That's mean; Randy was only like 8 then!

Vince and Jesse welcome us to the festivities. Two title matches!

The Iron Sheik/Nikolai Volkoff/George Steele vs. Barry Windham/Mike Rotundo/Ricky Steamboat- In the pre-match interview Capt. Lou threatens to bust Freddie Blassie wide open. Sheiky Baby and Nikolai beat Windham and Rotundo for the tag team belts at Wrestlemania 1. Steamboat is in regular trunks, as was the style then. Windham and Sheik start off the first-ever SNME match. Barry hits right hands, and tackles him down. Sheik does a leapfrog (!) and gets hiptossed and slammed. Quick tags as they work Sheik's arm. Rotundo slams and elbows Sheik for two. Steamboat hits chops and Sheik wraps him in an abdominal stretch. Hiptosses by the faces all around AS SNME ROLLS ON. When we returns Steamboat powerslams Sheik, then hits a dropkick off the top, then a flying bodypress. Volkoff breaks it up and gets tagged. Steamboat and Windham get double-dropkicks, and the U.S. Express gets back elbows. Steele breaks up a pin attempt, and Rotundo gets a couple more nearfalls. Windham gets a great jumping sunset flip, then Steele is finally tagged. His partners drop to the floor when he tries to tag out, then Windham rolls him up for the pin. I wonder if this is Steele's official face turn? Since his partners jumped him and he cleaned house, I'm gonna say yes. Albano then calms Steele down.

"Mean" Gene Okerlund interviews the heels, which ends in a brawl when Steele and Albano walk past them.

Next is Piper's Pit. We first take a look at the Mania main event six weeks ago. Paul Orndorff is the guest. He orders "Dunce" Orton to get in the corner. This is done in the ring; I always preferred these segments done in the sets in the back of the arena. Roddy points out Orndorff is the one who got pinned, not Piper. Piper says Paul lost his guts, and Orndorff says Piper has been drinking too much of his own bathwater. Piper feigns leaving ,but tries to attack. Orndorff gets the better of him and tries a piledriver, but he gets waylayed by Orton's cast. Mr. T then comes out for the save. I can't wait to get to the point of the Orndorff-Hogan breakup and cage match on these shows.

Okerlund with Hogan. Hulk says it'll be a special match for his mother, brother.

WWF championship, Bob Orton vs. Hulk Hogan (c)- I think it's funny how Hulk seemingly got a new, different title belt every year during his reign. This one's at least better than the horrendous green one he won from the Sheik. Orton tries to attack from behind, but Hogan engages him in fisticuffs. Baaaaackbody drop, then two slams. Make that three. Orton bails to confer with Piper. Orton whips him into the buckle, but Hulk evades his charge. Arm wringer and elbows by Hulk, who then bites Orton's head. Hulk smashes Orton's casted arm into the post, but eats a flying knee afterwards. Orton drops elbows and other basic offense for near falls. Hogan eventually Hulks Up, and hits a clothesline and elbowdrop for two. Hulk punches him in the corner, but Orton atomic drops him. Orton tries a superplex, but gets knocked down. Hulk hits an elbow off the rope, then the legdrop, but Piper interferes. *1/2. This didn't move me at all. Orndorff runs in to help Hogan and Mr. T. I think this will be the beginning of a beauuuuutiful friendship.

Gene talks to the Fabulous Pimp, Moolah. She's sick of Lauper interfering. I'm sick(ened) by the stories I've heard about her in the past couple of years, so there.

Now Gene's with Lauper, Richter and David Wolf. Cyndi says if Moolah's upset about what happened at "Wrestlingmania," something unintelligible. My original copy tells me they played Lauper's "Good Enough" video, which featured lots of WWF wrestlers, here.

WWF women's championship, The Old Pimptress vs. Wendy Richter (c)- The music they dubbed over "She Bop" is far less exciting. Moolah gives Howard Finkel a scroll (which she probably stole from Cleopatra) that says Lauper is banned from ringside. Moolah dominates with chokes and hair pulls. The dinosaur tosses Richter out, and knees her in the chest. Moolah taunts the crowd, and talkes an awkward bump to the floor. Richter attacks her and throws her back in. Baaaack bodydrop by Moolah, and Richter eventually wins with a small package. They were too busy focusing on Lauper. * by 1985 standards, but if this was on Smackdown today there would be riots.

The Junk Yard Dog with his mom. He brought her to New York for Mother's Day. "Bertha" is real proud, and hopes he comes home really soon.

Pete Doherty vs. JYD- Good for the Duke of Dorchester, appearing on the first SNME.  JYD headbutts Doherty, and hits a big clothesline. JYD pulls the Duke's hair, then throws him back in. There he no-sells Duke's punches, then headbutts him on the mat. JYD slams Duke off the top, and headbutts him. Powerslam for the 1-2-3. * JYD and supposed mother dance in the ring afterward.
A Mother's Day part is being held in the back. Bertha is still "real proud." Sheik is sick and tired of Lauper. Blassie pulls the bit of his mother being a young woman, which I didn't get when Jerry Lawler did it, either. Hulk appears with his shoot mother Ruth, who was there when he won the belt. Lauper's "mother" is also there, though I smell BS. Moolah struts in dressed like DX Shawn Michaels, and berates Lauper's mother. Moolah says she looks like a latrine, and she and Gene get thrown into a cake. Hilarity!

I'm sure the workrate will be mostly non-existant on these shows, but I'm looking forward to getting into late-86, early-87, the period when I started watching. This particular episode didn't move me, but YMMV.

WCW Great American Bash 1998

June 14, 1998

Hosted by Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, and Mike Tenay.

Live from Baltimore Arena, Baltimore, MD

 “Mean” Gene goes over the history of Sting and The Giant over the tag team championship. They won the title at Slamboree when Giant was nWo Black and White, and Sting later joined nWo Wolfpac. The winner picks their tag team partner, and The Giant said he would pick The Disciple.

Chris Benoit vs. Booker T. Eighth match of the Best-of-7 for the TV title shot. On the previous Thunder, Bret Hart clobbered Booker with a chair, and Benoit didn’t want to win that way and told Nick Patrick, who disqualified him. Booker then said he wanted to go one more time at the ppv. Stevie Ray was not pleased with that decision. Benoit armdrags from a lockup to start, followed by a Booker hiptoss. Hart apparently offered an nWo black and white T-shirt to Benoit on Thunder, which he neither accepted nor rejected. Booker headlock, whip and Benoit trips him up. Benoit grabs a hammerlock, reversed by Booker. Benoit locks it on again, and Booker takes control with a punch and slam. Benoit gets a dragon screw legwhip to hurt Booker’s knee. Benoit lays in chops, and a couple of near falls. More restholds than I’d expect here. Booker leapfrogs, but eats a chop. Tenay says Benoit is using the headlock to weaken Booker for the crossface. Booker misses a bodypress off the top, and Benoit goes for the crossface, but Booker gets the ropes. Booker gets an enziguri and sidewalk slam, bodyslam and spinaroni. Benoit superplexes Booker before he can missile dropkick. Rolling Germans into a dragon suplex gets two. Benoit whipped into corner, and gets scissorkicked. Missile dropkicks gets the win. I’d say ***3/4 stars. He’ll fight Finley later in the show.

Chavo Guerrero talks to Lee Marshall at wcwwrestling.com.

Sat-turn (ooh yeah!) vs. Kanyon. Mortis had recently been unmasked, and was supposed to face Raven. A fake Mortis entered, and Kanyon sneak attacked from behind. Kanyon dominates and knocks Kidman off the apron. Saturn gets a kick combo, but Kanyon legdrops Saturn off the ropes. The Flock pulls out Kanyon, and Saturn dives on everyone. Saturn places Kanyon on the ropes, and hits a springboard clothesline to the outside. Saturn springboards off a chair inside, then a triple jump moonsault. Kanyon misses an elbow, Saturn hits a neckbreaker. The pace slows down, and Kanyon hits a hot shot. Both get near falls, Saturn turns the Rings of Saturn to a pin for two. Kanyon hits an F5 for two, then a reversed version of it for two. Saturn suplexes out of a reverse Russian Legsweep, tries a DVD, then a sidekick. Both fall outside from the turnbuckle, and Raven, dressed as Mortis, fights another Mortis inside and outside the ring. Reverse Russian Legsweep, and Kanyon wins. Raven Mortis Evenflows Kanyon. ***. Raven bashes Saturn verbally until the Flock strikes, and Saturn throws suplexes as Raven escapes.

Dean Malenko vs. Chris Jericho. Malenko forfeited the cruiserweight belt for another shot at Y2J. Winner gets the title. Jericho’s father Ted Irvine apparently appeared on the previous Thunder. Dean punches Jericho down, and chokes away. Jericho hits a shoulderblock, tries the Liontamer, but Dean gets out. Deano Machino hits a brainbuster for two. Flair flip from Jericho leads to a dive on Malenko outside. Suplex, and “C’Mon Baby!” pin. Jericho with the sleeper, and Dean locks in one of his own. Jericho takes over, and does the goosestep. He misses the Lionsault, and gets dropkicked, and Dean gets two. Bulldog from the top. Jericho hurricanranas Dean from the top. Jericho gets the Liontamer, but Dean makes the ropes. Another try, and Malenko gets the Texas Cloverleaf. Jericho gets the bottom rope, then gets a backbreaker. He taunts Dean about his deceased father, and Dean snaps and hits Jericho with a chair outside. They fight to the back, and Jericho flees, almost getting hit by a car in the process. ***-ish. Malenko is disqualified, and Jericho wins the title.

Eddie Guerrero apologizes to Chavo at the Internet position.

Juventud Guerrera vs. Reese- A video package shows Juvy (now unmasked) in Mexico. “Reese is tall, Juvy is small,” Lodi’s sign reads. Reese was a member of the Flock, and was a really big guy. Reese overpowers Juvy, who keeps punching and getting swatted away. Juvy plays cat-and-mouse outside, springboards onto him, but gets posted. Reese throws Juvy back in. Juvy attacks the knee. Juvy jumps on his back from the ropes, and rakes his eyes. Reese falls to a knee, but falls back with Juvy. Backbreaker stretches Juvy. He shakes Juvy in a bearhug. Juvy low blows him, but runs into a fist. Reese grabs a chair, the ref grabs it, and Van Hammer whacks Reese with a chair into a hurricanrana for the win. **. I believe Hammer had recently quit/been kicked out of the Flock.

Chavo vs. Eddie Guerrero- Chavo slaps Eddie to start. They exchange slaps, and Chavo backdrops him. Eddie hits his shoulder on the post, and Chavo takes over. Two hurricanranas, and Eddie bails. Chavo throws him in, but Eddie catches him. Chavo hits a moonsault for two. Eddie ducks and charges, and Chavo goes out. Brainbuster inside, and Eddie slaps him until Chavo snaps. Eddie runs, and Chavo chases until Eddie hides behind the ref, Eddie attacks the knee, and locks in a figure four. Gory special, to a camel clutch. Hanging backbreaker, and he spins Chavo and drops him. Eddie backdropped out, and corkscrew splash out. Eddie plays possum, and knocks Chavo off the top. Eddie misses a frog splash. Tornado DDT, and Chavo goes out. Hits another for a surprise win. Feels like another ***, as it just was slower than I would have expected.

Booker T vs. Fit Finley. I had forgotten about this one. Harlem Sidekick gets one. Chops, and Booker clotheslines him out, and dives onto him. Back in, but Finley turns a scissorkick into a powerbomb, then puts him in a leglock.  Finley stomps away, and works the leg. Booker gets two from a backslide. Not much is going on here. Finley throws him outside. Inside, Vaderbomb by Finley. Booker hits the sidekick, and a powerslam. Scissorkick, and spinaroni, but Finley knocks him down. He goes for a tombstone, but Booker reverses. Finley misses a charge, and Booker piledrives him for a win. **1/4, was kind of boring. Stevie Ray comes out to congratulate Booker.

Konnan vs. Goldberg. Curt Hennig and Rick Rude lead Konnan in. Hmm, Goldberg was from Parts Unknown at this point. He was also the U.S. champion. Goldberg headlocks K-Dawg, and puts him in an anklelock. Konnan kicks Goldberg, but gets speared. Jackhammer spells a quick end. This was his 100th win, supposedly. Hennig and Rude then jump their teammate, revealing an now black and white shirt. Lex Luger and Kevin Nash run in for the save. *

Piper/Savage vs. Hart/Hogan. Piper and Savage weren’t getting along, and were scheduled for a match following this. First time that either team has been together, Tenay says. Hogan was champion at the time. Piper brawls with Hogan to start, and Macho and Piper doubleteam. Quick tags on Hogan. Disciple slips Hogan the belt to hit Piper. Hart takes over on Piper. Doubleteam on Piper. Savage goes crazy trying to get in. Macho swings a chair on the outside, and Piper gets Hart with it. Savage gets in with Hogan, goes for the flying elbow, but his knee gives out and he falls. Hart locks on the sharpshooter, and Savage gives up. *1/2. Savage was crippled, Piper and Hogan were old, and Bret wasn’t that involved or maybe into it.

Mean Gene tries to get an interview, asking Piper how they can have a match, Piper helps Macho up, and Macho clotheslines Piper down. Elbowdrop from Macho for two. Macho nails the referee, and Piper locks on the figure four for the win. Barely was a match.

Giant vs. Sting, WCW tag team title- They had a rematch on Raw two years ago. Giant comes out smoking a cigarette, for some reason. Tenay said Sting talked about Giant needing to get in better shape and to stop smoking in an interview, and thought this was a response. He blows smoke in Sting’s face, and he slaps Giant. Giant misses a splash, and gets Stinger splashed. He kicks down Sting on another attempt, though. Chops on Sting in the corner. Sting tries a bodypress, but bounces off. Sting gets launched into the top turnbuckle. Bearhug, he gets out and hits two Stinger splashes, and bodyslams Giant. Impressive. Scorpion Deathlock, but Giant is too strong. Scorpion Death Drop gets only two. Sting blocks a chokeslam, and hits the Scorpion Death Drop again for two. Giant charges to the corner but gets kicked, and Sting hits the death drop off the turnbuckle for the win. **. Seemed short and was mostly both doing their finishers, but OK for what it was. Sting teamed with Nash and Luger later I believe, much like the Spirit Squad and Demolition have done.

Wrap-up: A decent show for the time period. The Hogan/Hart vs. Savage/Piper stuff did nothing for me, and Giant and Sting fighting over the tag belts wasn’t a great main event. As usual at the time, the undercard saved the show, though I felt Eddie and Chavo never did have the match they were capable of, here or in WWE. Jericho and Malenko was a great feud too, but they didn’t have a typical cruiserweight match here. Benoit and Booker was good too, but I think they had better, including earlier this year.

WCW Monday Nitro 5/8/00: Miss Elizabeth's only wrestling match!

Sigh.

5/8/00 St. Louis, MO TWA Dome

Before we go back in tiiime, I'd like to encourage you to click on the Amazon link on the right for my ebook "Clash of the Champions: The Story of Sting" (revised edition). There is also a paperback edition, which has done surprisingly well in the UK. I also just finished my second edition of AWA TV reviews, which you can find here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0725RBDLW

WWE OLD SCHOOL - MSG 4/14/75

Well, after a lengthy hiatus it's high time we got this show back on the road. There is plenty of content on the WWE Network for review and we may as well start with one of the older MSG shows available. This one was originally televised on some fledgling cable channel called "Home Box Office". Never heard of it.