Donnie watches WWF 1988

[BigVanDonnie]

WWF World Champion: Vacant-13/2/88
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Honky Tonk Man-13/6/87
WWF Tag Team Champions: Strike Force-7/11/87

WWF SATURDAY NIGHT'S MAIN EVENT
MARCH 12TH, 1988
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
NASVILLE MUNICIPAL AUDITORIUM

-HEAR ME NOW THERE'S NO PLACE IN THE DANGER ZONE FOR YOUR KIND OR MONEY. YOU'RE A BAD CHEQUE AND I'M GOING TO BOUNCE YOU OUT OF HERE FOR GOOD. MACHO TALKS AND MONEY WALKS.
-Ted says he's bought class and fiscal responsibility to the WWF, unlike what he brings to it. He's going to bring something worth its weight in gold tonight.
-Brutus speaks in haircut puns. Dude, now i REALLY hate you.
-Slick and OMG say that Ken Patera will do what all US Olympians do best, and that's lose
-Bobby Heenan says Hogan will be on his hands and knees, showing proper respect to the King, Harley Race
-Hogan says he will never bow or break, and better men have tried, dude. He says he'll crown Harley Race like he's never been crowned before.

Vince and Jesse show the footage of Main Event for the 100th time this week.

Mean Gene-
-Hammer and Jimmy finally snap at Gene for making hair jokes, and Jimmy screams he knows nothing about wrestling as they walk out.

Mean Gene-
-Brutus says he's he can CUT in the ring and his skills are SHARPE and he has the EDGE in the ring.

Match#1 Greg Valentine w/Jimmy Hart vs Brutus Beefcake
Brutus's open flurry is ok as he's at least leaning into things and hitting hard, and Hammer's selling and bumps are the best part of it. Brutus gases himself out because he's eaten a ton of steroids this year and is moving super slow and badly. Hammer cracks him with a punch to the forehead to take over, and we get out good as heck Hammer control seg as he's the most reliable pro wrestler. Brutus hurts his knee on the outside, and Honky comes out and grabs the mic and makes fun of of him for being a loser and whatnot, and hey fair call. Refs make him leave, and Hammer attacks Brutus knees for a while. Great stuff on it as he's Hammer, and Brutus sells it as well as he can. He makes a bad comeback for a minutes or so. Hammer slips in a back suplex and both mens shoulder's are down, but Brutus gets his up to win.
**

Post match, Hammer lose his shit, and Brutus is able to sneak behind him and cut some of his hair. Hammer goes after him but Brutus scares him off with the sheers. What an asshole.

Mean Gene-

Gene accuses him of being partially responsible for the title vacancy. Heenan says he'd love to shoulder some of that responsibility, and it's a beautiful sight to see the end of Hulamania and see the snot pouring out of the humanoids noses.He says Hulkamania will continue the downslide tonight before it dies at WrestleMania, and now Hogan will show true respect to the true king of the WWF, Harley Race. Race says Hogan is mortal as it's been proven, and all mortal men must bow to the king. Bobby says he's also going to kiss his feet, so lets go to the subjects.

Mean Gene-
-Hogan says Hulkamania will NEVER die as the wheels are churning on. Race is the last thing in his way before he gets his title back. He only bows to one man, AND THAT BIG DUDE WALKS ON WATER. All the weasels men will not be able to put the king back together again after tonight.

Match#2 King Harley Race w/Bobby Heean vs Hulk Hogan
Again, seeing Hogan without the worlds title is such a weird sight after all this time. Race drops a series of elbows to start and then a SICK series of headbutts right to the dome, and Hogan no sells and beats the crap out of him for it, and we get tremendous Race bumps. Hogan takes his face off with a lariat and sends him down onto the timekeepers table knees first in a scary moment. Hogan picks him up and rams him face first into the post. Hogan keeps on him and Race is now bumping like a lunatic on the outside, and it's a festival of the coolest shit he can do. Hogan is a house of fire as his offence looks better than it has in a long time all stiff and amazing looking. He takes his wrist tape off and chokes and punches Race with it, and Jesse calls out the ref for being his buddy Joey Marella once again helping him out. Bobby trips Hogan, and Race clobbers Hogan in the back of the head to cut him off, and he drops knees and elbows as fast as he can, and even a sweet looking Belly to Belly., and then the Spike Piledriver. Race beats him outside and lays him on the table

HOLY FUCKING SHIT. Race has now done permanent damage and caused a hernia and it will end his career in two years. What a way to go out, though. He somehow doesn't die and keeps on the attack, and hits the diving headbutt. Hogan makes his incredible comeback and rips his face off, and it's the best one he's done in aged and ages. He nails the Legdrop to win.
***

Post match, Heenan hits Hogan and nearly dies, BUT HE RUNS AND JUMPS OVER THE TOP ROPE AND RUNS FOR IT. He poses as Jesse makes fun of him for thinking he's still champion.

Mean Gene-

Ted says this is sleazy politics, but he'll have his belt in a matter of weeks. Andre says he has a big surprise tonight, and says he's the man who's destroyed Hulkamania, and now he'll destroy the Madness too. Gene asks about the comment about having something worth more than gold, and Ted quickly tells him to mind his mouth. He finshes by saying there's nothing more macho than a man with money.

Mean Gene-
-Randy says he talks and money walks and they proved that when he came up bankrupt trying to buy Hogan. He's going to bounce him all over the WWF. In his corner is something worth it's weight in gold, the bravest little woman in wrestling, Miss Elizabeth. She walks on and as Randy says it's time to cash in.

ANDRE THE GIANT MAKES HIS WAY DOWN AFTER RANDY REACHES THE RING. Oh fuck.

Match#3 Randy Savage w/Miss Elizabeth vs Ted DIBiase w/Virgil & Andre The Giant.
Randy bitch slaps Virgil when he tries to get to Liz, and Ted kicks him in the head and beats the shit out of him. His offence is fantastic looking as he's reached his peak in ring and out, and Randy is beaten down pillar to post as Ted drops him with big strikes in the corner. He drops him with a double fist to the head and beats his face and head in on the mat, and Randy's selling is on another level as Ted smacks harder and harder. Savage finally flings him in the corner and nails the knee to the face and then one to the back to send him to the floor, and he comes back to life as he unloads a beating super fast and meaner than hell. Randy rams his throat into the top ropes and Ted flies backwards in a wild bump, and then he takes another gross one to the floor. Randy is too fired up, and it allows Ted to sneak in a knee to the ribs to cut him back off, and he returns fire with even harder shots this time. Randy again manages to kick him off to the floor, but Ted drags him under the ropes and fights him. Andre walks towards him, and Virgil hits Randy from behind and gets kicks him out. We come back to Ted still in control, and it's got all that fire with everything he does. He locks in a sleeper and chokes the daylights out of him, and Randy ramps up his selling and facials as he's once again turning purple and near death until he can finally get out. He fights back and puts Ted to the sword now even angrier. Ted accidentally runs into the ref with a shoulder block to kill him, and Randy sends Ted to the floor and hits the Axe Handle, BUT ANDRE GRABS RANDY AND HEADBUTTS HIM IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD AND THROWS HIM INTO THE POST, AND LIZ RUNS AWAY. Andre bashes the fuck out of Randy o the outside using the rails, and Ted covers the refs face so he can't see the attack. He lets him go as Randy is now dead, and he counts him out. Aww son of a bitch.
***1/4

Post match, Virgil comes back out and helps the heels beat him down some more, BUT HULK HOGAN RUNS DOWN WITH A CHAIR AND CHASES THEM AWAY. FUCK YEAH. Miss Elizabeth comes back as well, and Vince figures out she went to get his help. He praises her for loving and standing by her man, and Jesse is disgusted. Hogan helps him back to his feet and raises both his and Liz's arms. Fantastic stuff.

In the back, Jesse is with Bobby and the Islanders, and Bobby is wearing a full bee keeping mask. He makes honey jokes and says his fellas love animals of all kinds and might just pull some wings off to show how much they do.

Match#4 The Islanders vs The Killer Bees
Thankfully only 3 minutes as the Bees make TV again despite being the lowest team on the totem pole. They do their fine ass basics to start and it's good, but so below every other team at this point. The Islanders take off and beat Jim's stupid face in for being alive, and it's way better work as they're just the coolest dudes kicking and chopping these dopes to death. Haku kills Blair with a lariat as he's got a pin on Tama, and Haku jumps on top and covers his face as the 3 is counted.
*

Mean Gene-
-Slick mocks all the olympians being losers and cheats and not real athletes like his OMG. He then makes fun of the Yankees for a while, and Gene is very sad about this.

Match#5 One Man Gang w/Slick vs Ken Patera.
OMG jumps him with his fat and chokes him with his jacket, and it's a wonderful sight seeing this nerd get blasted. He fights back with some good strikes of his own and gets a bearhug on the big man, and Vince is in shock he was able to get his arms around him. Race switches to the Full Nelson, and shakes and wears him down with nasty punches to the back of the skull. OMG manages to use his fat to stop the blows, but Ken won't die as he keeps on him, and even hits a sick looking knee to the jaw to stumble him. THEY GET FREE AND KEN THROWS HIM AGAINST THE ROPES FOR A LARIAT, BUT OMG HITS ONE OF HIS OWN AND FALLS ON TOP OF KEN TO GET THE WIN OUT OF NOWHERE. HOLY SHIT THAT FINISH RULED.
**1/2

Post match, OMG beats him up some more, but Ken won't die and somehow picks him up for a slam, but fucking Slick drills him with the cane to the side of the head and gets OMG out of there.

Mean Gene-
-Hogan is laughing like a lunatic as Gene talks about the happenings of tonight. Gene says he's never seen such maniacal behaviour from him. Hogan laughs it off and says when they showed the cash, they threw the rule book out and that's why they're laying flat on their backs. Fee Fi fo fum, he's coming for that stinky giant.

Tremendous episode of Wrestling.

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWF World Champion: Vacant-13/2/88
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Honky Tonk Man-13/6/87
WWF Tag Team Champions: Strike Force-7/11/87

WWF Wrestling Challenge
March 13th, 1988
Topeka, KS

Match#1 The British Bulldogs vs Terry Gibbs & Mike Sharpe
You could tell me i've seen this exact squash 30 times in the last year, and i wouldn't argue it. Standard stuff from the Dogs as they once again don't bother to change anything up, and i'm pretty much dead to their shit at this point until the Demo feud begins. Iron Mike looks amazing at least, and once again should be the WWF world champion for a decade plus. Rocket Launcher pins our guy.
*

WWF Update-
-Craig talks about the dream of all wrestlers becoming world champion from a young age, and with THREE titles on the line the dream could come true for anyone.
-He covers the brackets once more and all the possible matchups we could get from it.
-Slick says it's funny to be asked who wins out of Reed and OMG when it's the Slickster who wins.

Match#2 Greg Valentine w/Jimmy Hart vs SD Jones
Hey, 1984 wants its squash back, Vince. Really don't get how SD hung on for so long when he was always bad and crumby, but that's oddness of wrestling. Hammer works the legs for a while and it's good times from his end, but SD sucks a ton of shit. Bobby talks about how Hammer can beat Dragon in 5 minutes, and Gorilla is baffled and speechless. They then talk about the chance of Dragon vs Randy again, and Bobby says it was one of the toughest and most scientific matches he ever witnessed. Love that a whole lot. Hammer keeps destroying SD's lame knees, and the crowd hates him for it. He wins with the Figure Four.
*3/4

Craig-
-HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
He keeps shouting it's close, the opportunity of a lifetime. The thing all wrestlers dream about and think about when they're brushing their teeth and combing their hair. He's not overlooking Ted DiBiase as he's got all the skills, but he's ready for a fight tough guy.
-Ted says he's got class from head to toe, and Hacksaw can't even find the ring so what chance does he have against him. He's beaten everyone since he got here, and this is HIS day.

Match#3 Don Muraco vs Rick Renslow
Another perfectly fine squash for 2 minutes for babyface Don Muraco. Heenan and Gorilla make fun of Pat Patterson being a loser, and Bobby asks who hasn't beaten him, and Gorilla can't help but laugh. Don does his basics and hits the kid a few times, and hey fine whatever. Can't wait for some new blood to show up and change the game from these old heads. Tombstone gets him a win.
*

Match#4 Ron Bass vs Scott Casey
Hey, he's facing that jobber who talked shit about him a few months ago! CASEY HITS A DIVE OFF THE TOP AND THEN DOES A SERIES Of TAKEDOWNS. Bass Shuts him down with a Gutwrench and beats the tar out of him, and Bobby says he's getting more seedy and mean on the way to WrestleMania. He has a cut in saying he's going to take everyone out so he can prove he's the king of the hill. He attacks the neck and really smacks the kid around, and then his wins with a cool looking Swinging Neckbreaker for something different.
**

Craig-
-Jimmy and Honky bring on the guitar and say it's the big surprise for Brutus Beefcake.
-Brutus says they might want to play a tune on him, but they'll be playing sour notes when they face him because he's going to CUT them right down to size. The belt will be around his waist and he's going to have a LOCK of his hair.

in the back, Ted and Virgil buy Bob Uecker to prove everyone has a price.

Match#5 Dino Bravo w/Frenchy Martin vs Gary Jackson
Dino's job as the show killer keeps its streak alive with another piece of rotten fruit squash. Horrid power moves and awkward strikes as he can't do a thing right, and it would almost be funny if i wasn't being forced to watch him every week. Sidwalk Slam gets a win.
1/9*

Craig on the Stage-
-Hulk Hogan is our guest.
-For four and half long years, Hulkamania has been running wild. Andre didn't kill it off, all he did was accept a bribe and steal his title. His pythons are swelling as the hours count down and the hulkster gets bigger and bigger. To beat him, you've got say your prayers and take your vitamins, jack. The title is a materialistic thing and it doesn't matter at all. If Andre couldn't beat him on the 5th, how is he going to do it at WrestleMania 4.
-He did beat you, dude. I've seen the footage ten thousand times, don't you lie to me.

WrestleMania report
-The Hart Foundation don't mind who wins because they're not fussy
-The Stallions are young and hungry and going in there as a team.
-HERCULES YOU FELT THE POWER THAT MAKES THE SKIES RUMBLE AND THE EARTH SHAKE. ALL YOU HAVE TO BRING IS ANGER AND FRUSTRATION AND HE LIVES FOR THAT. COMBAT IS GOING TO BE AT WRESTELAMANIA 4
-Herc says this match was made in the heaves and he's going to meet his ultimate doom.
-Strike Force says it's time for Demolition to worry about them.
-Smash says he's happy they stepped up, and Fuji told them to break bones and they're going to. Ax says they're the monsters on the other side of the ring and they're coming right at them.
-Jake talks about attitude again being a thing that changes when you get hit, and Rude is going to learn to dance to the tune of the DDT.
-Slick is sick of hearing how bad Savage used to be, he's a used to be and Reed is going to take care of him. OMG is going to make sure Bam Bam is gone after this.

Match#6 The Young Stallions vs George Petraski & Tom Stone
Three minutes of babyface basics for the pretty fellas as they do that, and well not much else. Bad News has a cut in saying he doesn't care if its singles or a team, he's going to hit them and throw them out. Powers wins with the Powerslam after a boring squash.
3/4*

Craig-
-Hercules says he's seen the fear in Warrior's eyes when he left him on the field of battle, and he's going to see it again at WrestleMania.
-Warrior says he saw the battle scars on his body and he likes that, but this is going to be a battle he can't win and it'll be World War Threeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWF World Champion: Vacant-13/2/88
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Honky Tonk Man-13/6/87
WWF Tag Team Champions: Strike Force-7/11/87

WWF Superstars of Wrestling
March 19th, 1988
Winston-Salem, NC

Jesse and Vince are now our A show duo until 1990, thank God.

Match#1 Honky Tonk Man w/Jimmy Hart vs Jim Evans
Solid 90 seconds for our Elvis guy as seems to be the norm with him settling into a easy and fine routine. SSR gets him a win on the way to Mania.
*

Post match, he tries to sing but his music is cut off before he can, and he demands it's turned back on. Brutus Beefcake walks out to the stage and says he turned it off, boy. He's going to take his title in a week and CUT his hair an inch or two. He raises his sheers above his head to an insane pop.

WWF Update-
-Craig talks about us being a week out from WrestleMania with all tickets sold out, but you can see it on closed circuit near you, or on a PPV basis.
-He again covers the brackets.
-Dino says Don is facing the worlds strongest man. Frenchy speaks French.
-Don says Dino is the first peak he will climb, and he's ready right now.
-Jake says they've been around since the dawn of time and his weapons are the best, and he doesn't mind using them.
-Rick Rude says this night is going to belong to the sexiest man alive.

Match#2 Strike Force vs Mike Sharpe & Johnny Ziegler
One more time! They get 2 minutes and change to be as sick and amazing as possible, so this is a jam as you'd expect. Tons of killer strikes and moves, and the crowd is insane for all of it. Jesse says Mike is called a dirty wrestler, but he knows he showers 3 times a day. DEAD. Mike gets some offence in and hits super hard, until he gets smacked in revenge and the fellas beat the snot out of him. Tito absolutely DRILLS Ziegler in the face with the Forearm to win.
**

Mean Gene-
-Ted, Andre & Virgil are here.
-Ted says when Jim is standing in the way of his destiny at Mania. He's out of class like a buffoon and he won't stand in his way. He's been a patient man because he can afford to be one, but no more. Hulkamania is going to die because Hogan is a beaten man, isn't that right, Andre?
-Andre says he's a winner and a giant, and that's why they call Hogan an ex champion. Ted DiBiase will become the new world champion.

Vanna White shows off her outfits for Mania.

Match#3 Koko B Ware w/The British Bulldogs vs Pete Sanchez
Wooo, Koko gets 2 minutes to show off on his way to WrestelMania, and it's a ton of fun as he's a ball of fire running circles and smacking the crap out of Sanchez. Again, he has the best dropkick in the world at this point, and he splats Sanchez's face twice with it and then hits the Ghostbuster to win.
**

Mean Gene-
-They AGAIN show the footage of Matilda being taken.
-Bobby repeats the same promo he's been cutting for 3 months. Love him to death, but fuck this.

In the back, Jake teaches Uecker how to hold and be friends with Damien.

Match#4 Ricky Steamboat vs Dave Wagner
Jesse says Uecker is here because someone likes him despite having no ability to speak of, and then he asks who liked Vince enough to stick him out here with him. HAHAHAHAHAH GET HIM. 90 seconds for Ricky in his last TV squash for this run. Good as hell, but i wish it was longer and he wasn't leaving, but Vince being a massive shithead ruined it. Ricky wins with his Crossbody.
*1/2

Match#5 One Man Gang w/Slick vs Ricky Hunter
OMG gets a minute to murder with his fat awesomeness, and its the best because fuck yeah fat monsters. He breaks out some gross forearms and elbows to mix it up, and then wins with the Gordbuster.
*

Craig on the Stage-
-Hogan is again the guest.
-Huklamania isn't dead no matter what Andre tried on the 5th. He didn't know the ref had been paid off by DiBiase, but he saw Ted laughing and it made millions of his fans cry as they knew he would never cry. YOU DID CRY, MAN. He says they see the truth that he can and will beat DiBiase and Andre, and show Hulkamania will live forever. He will see the dollar signs in Andre's eyes, he will prove that when you live by the buck, you die by the buck. Ted will hear the last laugh in his world after WresteleMania.
-Yeah, i don't like Hogan at the minute as he's a lying sack of shit unable to admit even the smallest of things. No way this doesn't get more annoying as the years roll on.

WRESTLEMANIA IV
-Gladys Knight & the Pips will sing the anthem.
-Hercules says this war is not too far away and Warrior needs to fear his strengths. He shall be his.
-They repeat Warrior's promo from Challenge.
-JYD is ready to fight some big wrestlers with his chain as they can't fight the swell????
-Race says 19 men are going to bow and beg, and he's going to win the battle royal.
-The Russians will prove their superiority.

Match#6 Ted DiBiase w/Virgil & Andre The Giant vs Scott Casey
Ted is given 2 minutes and it's a great one as he shows off all the cool shit he can do. Sick strikes and chops, and tons of stooging and shit talking. The best kind of squash. Jesse asks how Vince is going to watch it, and he says with his family in MSG, and Jesse laughs and says to have fun with that. Ted wins with a Back Elbow off the top.
**

Post match, Ted shoves some money in the jobbers mouth, and Andre laughs his balls off.

Craig-
-Watch WrestleMania in a city near you.
-Honky is madder than hell at Brutus's stunt earlier, as he can't leave him alone to enjoy his wins. Brutus knows he's the best IC champion of all time, along with the best singer and guitar player in the word. He wants to step on his glory and cut his hair, but that's never, never going to happen. He will never wear this belt because it was made special for him, and he's taking it with him when he leaves and placing it on the mantel.

NEXT WEEK. RANDY SAVAGE RETURN. AN INTERVIEW WITH DIBIASE AND ANDRE.

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWF World Champion: Vacant-13/2/88
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Honky Tonk Man-13/6/87
WWF Tag Team Champions: Strike Force-7/11/87

WWF Wrestling Challenge
March 20th, 1988
Bristol, TN

Match#1 Randy Savage w/Miss Elizabeth vs Brian Costello
Yessssssssssssss. Super awesome 90 seconds from our main man as he rips heads off and shows why he's the best in the world. He never stops kicking the fuck out of the kid, and it's sooooo good. Also, he and Liz are wearing purple tonight in another incredible look. Ricky has a cut in saying he's facing Randy one more time!! Elbow gets a win after a proper murder.
**

Post match, Randy holds the ropes open for Liz, and Bobby is horrified.

WWF Update-
-Craig says the TV screens will be so large you can see the sweat coming off Andre's hand.
-JYD says this is the best thing to happen in this world since his mama gave birth to him, and he's going to be strong and win.

We see footage from what i'm assuming is Prime Time of Bobby stealing Frankie and getting caught.

Match#2 The Islanders vs David Stoudemire & Mark Young
Bobby stays on commentary because he wants to know what the Dogs and Koko say as he's not going to be made a fool of. The fellas gets 2 minutes in one of their last squashes as Tama is on his way to WCW for more money, which is more than fair. Classic kick ass affair as they treat the jobbers like punching bag and promptly rip them to pieces for being alive. Tama scratches and bites and really goes wild, and Haku plays cleans up duty. Tama wins with the Big Splash off the top.
**

Mean Gene-
-Gene brings on Brutus for another pun filled interview.
-He is going to CUT them out of the picture and it's all over but the crying.
-Honky says he has 6 days to get this guitar in tune for Brutus's head. The fans don't want him to lose as he's the greatest of all time, and knows they love him. Brutus didn't deserve this shot, but he's going to deserve the guitar shot.
-I never want to side wth HTM again, but holy shit i got no choice.

Match#3 Hercules w/Bobby Heenan vs Reno Riggins
Herc also gets 2 minutes and puts on a good power outing as he's sort of trying hard, and most of his stuff looks far better than ever before to his credit. They re-air Warrior's promo as a cut in for the 3rd time. Assuming it was the only one they could make sense of. Herc sends the kid to the floor super hard and beats his ass, and throws a gross Lariat to really fuck him up. He wins with the Rack.
*3/4

Mean Gene-
-Strike Force say they've been getting ready for a hell of a fight, baby.
-Martel says they're not scared and they're not running away from any fights.
-Smash says to look at Fuji's face because when he smiles, THEY'RE GOING TO TEAR YOUR HEADS OFF.
-Ax says 7 more days of nightmares and waking up in a cold sweat. They better show up or they're coming to their house and beating them up. He raises his fists and says each one is for Tito and Rick. This won't be pretty or a wrestling match, it's going to be a WAR.

Match#4 Butch Reed & One Man Gang w/Slick vs Mike Richards & Eric Cooper
The dream team is back together one last time as Butch is also on his way out of the WWF. This is not what i meant when i said it was time for people to move out of the way. Killer 2 minutes of both men showing off what makes them fantastic pieces of filth and trash, and the jobbers die a thousand times for them to make it even better. Gordbuster gets OMG the win.
**

Match#5 Jake Roberts vs Tom Stone
Jake also gets 2 minutes this week, and it's a good one as he's working on arms and doing his damndest to beat the kids face in. He hits the Short Arm and then the DDT to win.
*3/4

Post match, Damien meets the jobber.

Craig on the Stage-
-Ted and Andre say here for the 100th time.
-Ted again says Hacksaw is out of class and standing in his way of destiny to become the champion. He's done everything he said he would since he got here, and he's the reason Hogan isn't champion after 4 years. All the Hulkamorons have no faith in him because he's a loser defeated man, and he's a big loser.
-Andre says he's never lost and they'll still call Hogan an ex champion after WrestleMania IV.

They replay the Mania report.

Match#6 Bam Bam Bigelow w.Oliver Humperdink vs Terry Gibbs
Bammer only gets 90 seconds compared to everyone else, but still a good time because he's fat and awesome and it's all he needs. He wins with the Running Headbutt.
*

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWF World Champion: Vacant-13/2/88
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Honky Tonk Man-13/6/87
WWF Tag Team Champions: Strike Force-7/11/87

WWF Superstars of Wrestling
March 26th, 1988
Winston-Salem, NC

Match#1 The British Bulldogs w/Koko B Ware vs Bill Newkirk & Iron Mike Sharpe
Perfect chance to do a cool six man and mix things up, but nope lets make Donnie watch another dull paint by the numbers Dogs squash. Hope Davey's return is good in two years, because yeah i'm done with them as a team this point. Rocket Launcher gets them another win.
*

WWF Update-
-Craig runs down all the different countries WrestleMania will air in as Vince's world plan starts to take over.
-The Bees are going to be buzzing as everyone has a bad case of the hive. Fuck off.
-George Steele is excited to see the Boardwalk, but hopefully he stops before season 5.
-Bass is ready to come and fight, so get ready.
-Bad News says not to show up because he's going to beat them mentally and take their spirts. Bad News for you.

Match#2 Hercules w/ Bobby Heenan vs Dave Stoudimiere
Hercules has another good squash in his resume with fine power stuff in between decent looking strikes as he might have turned the corner. He beats on the back throughout and wins with the Rack.
*1/2

Match#3 Jake Roberts vs Pete Sanchez
Short one for Jake as this is a proper fill in show on the way to Mania. Still, fine ass Jake work as he's too good to blow it. DDT lands the win for Jake.
*

Mean Gene-
-They re-air HTM and Brutus's promos.

Match#4 Demolition w/Mr Fuji vs Mark Young & Mike Richards
They're back to squashes. YES. Clubbering, clobbering and shit canning the fuck out of fat goofy jobbers is what i needed in my life. Ax throws one of them right into Smash's foot and crushes his poor face before he lands. Smash clubs and drubs the kid as well, and Fuji demands they hot shot him in front of him so he can enjoy it.
Decapitation ends the fun.
**

Mean Gene-
-Slick tells Bam Bam to stay at home and avoid a beating.
-Dink says this is where OMG's party ends.

Match#5 Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs Tom Stone
HOOOOOOOOOOOOO. 90 seconds of Hacksaw being a marching hitting machine, and anyone who doesn't like this isn't a tough guy. He has some sweet jumping punches to the back and messes the guy up before winning with the 3 Point Stance.
*3/4

Craig on the stage-
-Andre and Ted say nothing new or interesting.
-Fuck this.

WrestleMana Report
-Gene runs down the card and we see the same promos as the last few weeks.

Match#6 Randy Savage w/Miss Elizabeth vs Terry Gibbs
Fuck yeah, this is how you finish an episode baby. He's again a level of insane and great that few, if anyone could ever possible touch. All the great moments are here and Randy can make the littlest of things seems amazing. Like, even jumping over the ropes to the floor to punch Gibbs, feels HUGE. He win with the Elbow Drop.
**

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWF World Champion: Vacant-13/2/88
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Honky Tonk Man-13/6/87
WWF Tag Team Champions: Strike Force-7/11/87

WWF Wrestling Challenge
March 27th, 1988
Bristol, TN

Match#1 Brutus Beefcake vs Dave Wagner
Brutus is given two minutes as getting to WrestleMania is jounrey i must earn it would seem. Awful trash as his offence is now bad looking and he's lazy on top of it, so yeah not going to be be fun for the next few years. Sleeper ends it.
1/2*

Post match, Brutus cuts the jobbers hair.

Before the next match, Rude does his famous pre match intro taking his robe off as all the ladies take pictures of him.

Match#2 Rick Rude w/Bobby Heenan vs Lanny Poffo
90 Seconds for Rude as Brutus gets more time despite being a turd. He runs through Lanny and uses him to take all his anger out with great punches and kicks, and Lanny dies. RA gets Rude the win.
*1/2

Mean Gene-
-Koko and the Dogs say....wait for it. NOTHING NEW.
-The wall has been crashed into and it's called the last few shows until WrestleMania IV.

Buy the WWF magazine to get a poster of Hercules.

Match#3 Strike Force vs Barry Horowitz & Mike Sharpe
Now we're talking. 3 minutes for another tremendous squash for the champs. Arm work, killer strikes and massive bumps from the two best jobbers in the world, All due respect to Lombardi, of course. Martel is again a standout complete freak as it's all so perfect and cool.. Tito again takes Sharpe's head off to win.
**

Mean Gene-
-Bobby Heenan also says nothing new.
-STOP THIS RIGHT NOW.

Match#4 Don Muraco vs Bill Newkirk
Hey. Say it with me, fine ass Don squash. Tombstone ends it.
3/4*

Match#5 Greg Valentine w/Jimmy Hart vs Brady Boone
Hammer ends up with 3 minutes to make us feel better. He beats the heck out of flippy Boone and goes for his legs, and it's Hammer smashing a limb so it's awesome. He uses white noise to crack his chest open, and it's another sick thing he just does because he can. Figure Four gets him a win.
**

Craig on the stage-
-Hogan says Ted ripped him off, dude. He might be able to hold up the world title. Buy houses coast to coast, and maybe even buy off Trump. But you can't buy destiny no matter how much he offers. He slammed Andre last year, and this time he's going to put him in the launch position and send him down to the river after he cracks the ground of Trump Plaza. AS NJ STARTS TO FALL OFF INTO THE OCEAN, HE WILL DOG PADDLE AND GRAB THE FLOOR TO SAVE THE HULKAMANICS AND THEN BEAT HIS NEW TWO CHALLENGERS AND WIN THE WORLD TITLE.

Match#6 Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs Brian Costello
HOOOOO. Good shit from the Hack like always. He hits bloody hard and gets the fans insane for every moment, and then wins with the 3 Point Stance.
*3/4

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWF World Champion: Vacant-13/2/88
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Honky Tonk Man-13/6/87
WWF Tag Team Champions: Strike Force-7/11/87

WRESTLEMANIA IV
MARCH 27TH, 1988
ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY
TRUMP PLAZA HOTEL AND CASINO

Mean Gene welcomes us to the show and introduces Gladys Knight to sing the anthem.

Jesse & Gorilla are on the call, but they're joined by Uecker for the first match.

Match#1 Twenty Man Battle Royal

Sam Houston, Sika, Jim Neidhart, Jim Brunzell, Raymond Rougeau, B. Brian Blair, Ron Bass, Hillbilly Jim, "Dangerous" Danny Davis, Jim Powers, Nikolai Volkoff, Ken Patera, Boris Zhukov, Jacques Rougeau, Harley Race, Paul Roma, Junkyard Dog, Bret Hart. George "The Animal" Steele & Bad News Brown are all in this. In a funny moment, Uecker thanks Vince for asking him to be on the call, and Gorilla quickly ignores him. Steele walks around the ring and never actually gets in as he's old and cooked, so whatever. Davis and Bass backdrop Houston out and he takes a nasty fall to the floor. Bret fights Race in a dream match, and the parts i can see are awesome. The rest of the field punch and push each other, and it's ok. Steele cheats and pulls Anvil out from the floor to get rid of him. The Bees and the Frenchmen fight and Jim, Ray and Blair are all pushed out in the fight. Steele pulls Bass out in another awful moment. Roma backdrops Davis to the floor, and we see Powers being thrown out right after. Patera dumps both Russians, and then Bad News pushes him out. Fuck yeah. JD headbutts Race over and out. News tosses Roma out. We are down to three between Bret, JYD and News. Bret holds JYD for News, but the dog ducks and News takes Bret's face off. They get back together and beat the old fella. Bad and Bret high five and seem to make a deal, and they keep beating the Dog up. They toss him out, and Bret is super happy as he figures they've won together, NAH NEWS KICKS HIM IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD WITH THE BLASTER AND BEATS THE SHIT OUT OF HIM. BRET TAKES THE CORNER BUMP TO THE CHEST AND THEN NEWS THROWS HIM OUT TO WIN. Not a great match at all, but a great Mania moment.
*1/2

Post match, the trophy is bought into News as Gorilla is upset he turned on Bret, and Jesse says it's all fair in love and war. BRET GETS BACK IN AND DROPKICKS NEWS OUT OF THE RING. HE PICKS THE TROPHY UP AND BREAKS IT AND KICKS AND PULLS IT APART, AND THEN THROWS IT TO THE FLOOR. FUCK YEAH BABYFACE BRET HART.

Robin Leach runs down the rules of the tournament.

Match#2 Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs Ted DiBiase w/Virgil & Andre The Giant (1st Round)
HOOOOOOOO. Andre is in a suit and looks like the baddest son of a bitch ever. Hack is a house of fire to start and blasts Ted with some great shots, and we get the wonderful bumping from DiBiase as it's PPV and he's even more game and wild. Hack beats the piss out of him over and over and looks amazing, but Ted kicks him in the face and beats him back in revenge. Some truly nasty shots from him as he's mad as hell and beats him like it's just like old times. Hack mounts a comeback and smacks his brains in, but that pesky Andre trips him up. Ted knees him in the back as he's arguing with Andre, and then hits a Fist Drop to beat him.
**3/4

On the replay, we see that Andre punched Hacksaw in the face before the knee.

Mean Gene-
-Brutus says words about CUTTING hair and having the sharpest EDGE with these BLADES.

Match#3 Dino Bravo w/Frenchy Martin vs Don Muraco w/Superstar Billy Grahama (1st Round)
Dino gets a jobber intro in a very funny moment. Don turns it right into a power fight that Dino actually meets him with ok looking strikes and good bumps as he's finally trying hard on PPV. He takes over quick with some slams and works the ribs, and it's again quite good to his credit. Also helps that Don takes some big bumps for him to make it work. Don fights back and works the knee with a spinning toe hold, and Bravo's selling is good. Holy shit. He manages to kick him into the ropes where he hangmans himself, and Bravo hits a sick piledriver. He stupidly poses and takes too long to pin, and Muraco kicks out. He tries another, but Don fights out and beats the shit out of him until Dino pulls the ref in the way of a forearm like a bitch. He hits the sidewalk slam, but the ref wakes up and DQ's him for earlier.
*3/4


It is now Ted vs. Muraco in the QF, with the winner of that fighting Hogan or Andre in the semi finals.

In the back, Uecker interviews Honky and Jimmy. They banter about haircuts and baseball for a while, and Bob says they can't come to his house.

Ricky makes his entrance with his son dressed in a little karate suit, and Jesse says he's got cheeks fatter than Bundy. A super nice moment for Rick'y last match.

Match#4 Greg Valentine w/Jimmy Hart vs Ricky Steamboat (1st Round)
This is the end for now as Ricky is gone, but he gets 9 minutes against an old foe and kills it one last time. Dragon smokes him with armdrags and all the speed to hurt the arm, and Jesse says Hammer needs to cheat and not match speed. Ricky skins the cat and owns him a few times, but Hammer slips in a forearm and starts blasting him in the face and jaw like the grumpy asshole he is. He starts kneeing the ribs and beats the dog shit out of him, and Ricky takes some wild, wild bumps for all of it. Ricky moves out of the way of a charge and Hammer smacks his face off the buckles and drops, but he won't die and goes back to hitting him in the face. He reigns down elbow after elbow to the forehead, and even hits the throat a few times with some gross knife edge chops just to do it. Steamer fires back with chops, but Hammer is able to stay alive by going after the ribs he hurt before. They trade more shots, and Hammer hits a NASTY forearm to stumble him, but Ricky jumps back and drops him with an even nastier chop to the chest. They keep at it and both mens selling is fantastic as hell as the beat the crap out of each other. Dragon gets to the top and hits the chop to the face, but Hammer is able to kick out. Ricky goes back to the top and hits the crossbody, but Hammer rolls through and grabs the tights to steal the win.
***

Farewell, Dragon.

Mean Gene-
-Matilda is back with the Dogs and Koko. Davey says she's been trained to hunt weasels as she's now a weasel dog. Koko says he can smell Heenan, and he wants her to eat his lunch.

Match#5 Randy Savage w/Miss Elizabeth vs Butch Reed w/Slick (1st Round)
Randy and Liz are in matching blue and purple, and it's amazing. Dream match time. Butch out powers him right away and throws him around, and Randy is powerless to stop him as Butch throws him around like he's nothing. He breaks out a beautiful looking vertical suplex to knock the wind out of him, and stays on top of him as he punches him and beats his ass in amazing form. He uses the ropes to crush his throat and sends him to the floor, and for the first time ever, Liz checks on him and cheers him on. Reed breaks out fistdrops and forearms to the face as he's holding nothing back. Randy catches him with a knee and fires back as only he can, but Butch shuts him down again with a sick flying lariat. He goes to the top for the flying lariat, but he takes too long and Randy catches him and throws him off, AND HE NAILS THE ELBOW AS QUICK AS HE CAN TO BEAT HIM AND MAKE IT TO THE SECOND ROUND. OH YEAH.
**3/4

Randy will now face Hammer in the second round. Also, Reed is gone now, and he kicked out on 3 for the elbow in a petty fuck you, i guess. Oh well, he can meet his Doom soon enough.

In the back, Uecker mocks Jesse for not meeting Vanna as he's got her number now. Heenan and the Islanders walk on, and Uecker says they should be hunted by every animal rights group. Bobby says he doesn't have to take any more insults from anyone. No dog will put the bite on him or bury him where he can't be found. You can take the mutt and the bird and put them anywhere else, he's got business to handle.

Match#6 One Man Gang w/Slick va Bam Bam Bigelow w/Oliver Humperdink ((2nd Round)
Fuck yeah, fat giant monster fight on the grandest stage. They trade fat and fury as soon as the bell rings and it's awesome as hell. OMG has some great looking clubs and punches, and BBB's punch drunk selling kicks a ton of ass. Jesse asks Gorilla how big he was as a wrestler, and Gorilla says he was 440. Jesse says he must have been on the see food diet of eating everything he saw, and Gorilla lets out a massive belly laugh. Best duo ever. The fat fight continues as they clobber the shit out of each other. BAM HITS A RUNNNG CROSSBODY BLOCK. HOLY SHIT. They bash each other and both men fall at points, and Jess says they're going to have nothing left for the next round. Bammer goes for the running headbutt, but Slick pulls the ropes down to send him to the floor in a scary, scary bump. OMG punches the shit out of him and won't let him back in, and the ref counts Bammer out. Booooo.
**1/2

In the back, Hogan cuts THE cocaine promo of his career. Enjoy



Match#7 Rick Rude w/Bobby Heenan vs Jake Roberts (1st Round)
Winner meets OMG in the second round. Rude has some cool pink airbrushed tights with a ladies face on them, and breaking them out against Jake feels perfect given what's about to happen between them. Rude unloads some great rights and lefts and shows our how much he's improved this year, and even more so when Jake fires back and sends running, and Rude has some killer stooging and bumps for it. Jake grabs the wrist and wrings the hell out of it, and he keeps control of it to keep Rude as bay when he tries to muscle his way out of it. Jake starts trying for the DDT, and Rude runs for it and talks to Bobby, and he slowly gets back in the ring as not to give Jake another chance. Roberts keeps on him and makes him a fool, but Rude catches the running knee and drops Jake super hard on the back of his head, and jumps on the attack for the control seg, and then he locks in a chin lock for a few minutes, and Jesse calls him out on using a wear down move when he's only got 15 minutes to spare, and it's a great moment from Jess. Even Heenan starts yelling at Rude to finish it, but he keeps ignoring him and working the sleeper like an idiot. He lets go and hits a fist drop, but he again takes too long and makes a lazy pin, and Jake is able to kick out. Rude again holds the chin lock and doesn't do much to help his cause to win the match, and now the fans chant boring at him. Oh No. Well actually, yeah it is pretty boring and it's a fair chant all things considered. Jake finally gets out and punches and smacks him, and the crowd comes alive again as he whips Rude's ass and brings some damn life to this. They trade pins until the time limit expires to thankfully end this piece of filth.
*3/4

Fink announces it's a draw and both men are eliminated. Also, OMG now has a bye in the second round and only needs to win one more to reach the finals.

Jake chases Bobby and Rude off with Damien like a big baby,

In the back, Gene and Vanna cover the second round.
-Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant
-Ted DiBiase vs. Don Muraco
-Randy Savage vs. Greg Valentine (winner faces OMG)
-Really awesome how well this has worked out to give us 3 new matches on top of continuing the best feud in the company in a logical way to keep it fresh. Peak WWF 80's is a monster well deserving of the praise it gets for the big stuff.

Match#8 The Ultimate Warrior vs Hercules w/Bobby Heenan
Massive pop for Warrior as he's starting to catch on real quick. They tie up in a test of strength and neither gives, so they stop and hit each other really hard with some bad looking shots, but they at least make a nice sound when they hit to make up for both of them being sloppy dudes. It keeps being sloppy and mostly bad as they gas themselves out and throw some REAL ugly stuff. Herc gets his bad full nelson on, and Warrior kicks off the buckles to send both men down to the mat in a pinning position and Warrior gets his shoulder up to win.
1/2*

Hercules snaps and chokes Warrior with the chain, but he gets free and swings it to scare him off.

They air a history video about Hogan/Andre. Maybe our first WM hype video if you look at it like that.

Andre comes out with Ted and Virgil to watch his back, so now Hogan is in a 3 on 1 situation.

Match#9 Hulk Hogan vs Andre The Giant w/Virgil & Ted DiBiase (Quarterfinals)
ANDRE JUMPS HIM WHEN HE SLIDES IN AND HEADBUTTS AND CHOPS HIM. YEAH KILL HIM. He swings his arm like a club and smacks him in the ear, and then headbutts him in the face. HOGAN COMES OFF THE ROPES WITH A FOREARM AND ANOTHER AND ANOTHER AND THEN KNOCKS TED AND ANDRE'S HEADS TOGETHER. He chops Andre down into the ropes to tie him up, and the heels have to get him free before Hogan can kill him. Hogan runs at Andre and drops him with a forearm to the face and drops a series of elbows to his face, but Andre pulls him down and starts choking hm and drops his ass on top of his rib cage. Fuck yeah. Andre sells the earlier attack as he shakes his head and looks hurt, but he gets into it and drills him with a chop to the neck and chokes him down to a knee, and then both of them as his insane grip gets tighter and tiighter. Jesse says because Andre's hands are so big he can slip a choke hold with ease if he wants. The crowd gets Hogan back into the fight, and gets back up and drops him with punches to the dome, AND HITS A SICK RUNNING LARIAT TO KNOCK HIM INTO THE CORNER. HE GOES FOR A SLAM BIUT TED HITS HIM WITH A CHAIR TO THE BACK. HOGAN SCARES HIM AWAY AND GETS THE CHAIR AND HITS ANDRE IN THE BACK WITH IT. ANDRE STEALS THE CHAIR AND KICKS HOGAN AND BREAKS IT OVER HIS FUCKING HEAD AND YOU CAN HEAR THE SOUND AT IT LANDS. THE BELL RINGS BUT WE AREN'T DONE AS HOGAN COMES BACK AND RUNS AT HIM WITH THE CHAIR TO KNOCK HIM ON HIS ASS.
**3/4

Hogan runs after Ted and Virgil, and Ted shoves Virgil back into Hogan and watches his bodyguard get suplexed on the floor. Hogan runs back in and meets Andre, AND HE SLAMS HIM AGAIN. HOLY SHIT. Ted and Jesse say they've both been eliminated as it's been called a double DQ, and now the winner of Ted/Don will get a bye straight to the finals. Hogan poses like a jackass as Jesse makes fun of him being a loser. Jesse wonders if Ted planed it like this to get Hogan out of the race, and Gorilla doubts it as it would take too much to go right for it to actually work. Again, the best duo perfectly adds to the story and makes it even better, and no one does it better than Jesse and Gorilla.

Mean Gene-
-Randy and Elizabeth are here in pink and white. Savage says Hogan is a cheated man, not a defeated man. He says Hogan has never been defeated by him, or anyone else. Savage says he has the Madness on his side and has the blessing of the Mania too, and nothing's gonna stop him. Liz says he's going all the way. ALL THE WAY, YEAH! ELIZABETH, LET'S GO DO IT!

Match#10 Ted DiBiase vs Don Muraco w/Superstar Billy Graham (Quarterfinals)
Ted is alone for once as his crew is dead, so Don is able to beat him up to start and run him all over the place with some nice hard shots and big moves. Ted again bumps his ass off as Don really lays a beating on him. He breaks out a dropkick to the chest and launches Ted in the air and smacks his back into the mat to take the wind out of him, and keeps making sure he can never breath for a second. He tries it again, but Ted is able to use his legs to send Don face first into the ring post, and he starts choking and clawing at face like a madman, and gets mean and dirty as he's so close to getting the title. Jesse says OMG is the odds on favourite now, and he's picking him. Ted cleans Don's clock with an awesome looping lariat to the face, and keeps attacking his face. Don finally manages to roll out of the way of the back elbow, and Ted hurts himself bad off it. Don punches him and drops him with a lariat, but Ted catches him with a sick Hot Shot to pull the win out of his ass and gets his ticket for the finals.
**3/4

In the back, Uecker meets Demo. Smash says Uecker used to get hit with a bat in the face and go down, and Strike Force are going down. Ax says they're getting into brutal combat with the golden goose and they're taking the titles home with them.

In the ring, Fink announces OMG is the winner of his round because of the bye, and Slick raises his hand in victory.

Match#11 Randy Savage w/Miss Elizabeth vs Greg Valentine w/Jimmy Hart (Quarterfinals)
Hammer starts this shit with a serious punch to the throat and forearm and elbows him, and Randy answers back with his rage and knees him in the skull to show he can play that game. Hammer sneaks in an eye poke to elbows him in the face to take over and we get another killer Hammer control seg as he targets the shoulder with a gross breaker and elbows the shit out of it and then throws him onto it when he launches him out side of the ring. He hits more wild chops and rams his face into the rails, and it's the best and coolest stuff. He throws tons and tons more elbows to the throat, and Randy is dead and struggling to breathe as Hammer chokes down on him and beats him real bad. Randy's selling rocks so much and he's desperate as he makes a manic comeback and nearly takes it with the axe handle to the face, but Jimmy saves. Randy won't die as he tries another one, but Hammer catches him in the guts with a punch to the ribs to double him over in pain . Hammer is laying on the ropes and Randy goes for a running attack, but Jimmy pulls Hammer out of the way and Randy eats shit as he lands on his fead. HAMMER GOES FOR THE FIGURE FOUR BUT RANDY TURNS IT INTO A SMALL PACKAGE TO GET THE 3. FUCK YEAH DIG IT. THAT ROCKED.
***

Randy will now face OMG.

In the back, Gene and Vanna talk about the last two matches of the tournament. Vanna says she still really likes Hogan, and Gene has to move on as she clearly doesn't get, or care about the actual winners.

Match#12 Honky Tonk Man (c) w/Jimmy Hart & Peggy Sue vs Brutus Beefcake (WWF Intercontiental Championship)
Oh goddamn it, i forgot this was a thing. Brutus' open flurry is pretty terrible as he's doing bad basics and trying to mess up Honky's hair with a noogie like a little kid would do. Truly awful work. He keeps being awful until HTM rolls out of the way of an elbow and takes over, and his control is full of those good punches and fun cheating moments as he's a fun shithead, and Brutus deserves it. Jimmy helps choke him as well much to my happiness. Brutus counters the SSR and takes back over and locks in the sleeper to make him fade away, but Jimmy hits the ref with the megaphone to save his man. Brutus goes for the sheers, but Jimmy steals them away. Brutus catches him and drags him back and cuts his hair like a massive jerk. Peggy throws water on Honky to wake him up, and a bunch of refs come out and get Brutus away from it. Fink announces Brutus as the winner via DQ.
3/4*




Match#13 Koko B Ware & The British Bulldogs vs Bobby Heenan & The Islanders
Bobby is wearing an attack dog suit from head to toe to stop from being killed. AMAZING. This gets us back on track after the last match as everyone moves at break neck speed and the heels launch themselves even faster and harder as they get their asses handed to them. Haku and Davey fight in a sick power monster battle, and it's awesome as hell and i hope they get a longer match in the 90's. Tama tries to help but he gets dropped for his troubles. Koko joins in and has the coolest babyface offence of the night not including the tournament as he's just the best little ball of fire. DK is bought back in and eats a superkick to the mush to get isolated, AND HEENAN GETS IN AND KICKS HIM INT HE FACE AND KEEPS KICKING HIM HAHAHAHAHA GET HIM. He tags Tama back in to keep kicking butt, but that was perfect as hell. Koko gets the hot tag and he lights them up for 20 seconds before he gets dropped with a nasty headbutt and then a lariat from Haku, and Bobby gets back in to kick and beat him up as well. He's amazing because he's trained and great as hell, but he does it in a way that you'd never know it. One of the best ever. HE TAKES A CHEST BUMP LIKE BRET AND THEN EATS A DROPKICK TO THE BACK OF THE HEAD. The Islanders get in as it all breaks down, and Islanders body slam Koko and THEY PICK BOBBY UP AND SPLAS HIM ON TOP OF KOKO AND HE GETS THE 3. BOBBY WON A MATCH.
**3/4

Post match, Matilda is let loose to chase Heenan away. She gets him in the aisle way and bites him for a while.

Jesse Ventura is introduced by Fink, and he poses on the stage.

In the ring, Ted is announced the winner of his round and has his hand raised.

Match#14 Randy Savage w/Miss Elizabeth vs One Man Gang w/Slick (Semifinals)
Randy and Liz are now in black and green for our 3rd outfit of the night. Bless. I haven't made a cocaine gag since Hogan's promo, but holy shit i can't imagine the levels Randy did to get ready to wrestle 4 times in one night and somehow be THIS amped up each time. OMG pushes him around his fat and manhandles him, so Randy is now forced to use his speed and cheating like biting and pulling the beard to stay alive, and he hangs him up on the ropes to hurt him. OMG doesn't die sadly, and he kicks Randy's butt with the fat shots to the head and body, and it's rad as hell as he's hitting hard and loud. OMG hits a sick scoop slam and Randy is just able to get his feet on the ropes to save himself. OMG slams him again and goes for the big splash, but Randy rolls out of the way and mounts an epic comeback to drop the big man in the ropes and lunges at him with a double sledge to knock him to the floor, and he hits the Axe Handle to mess him up more. He tries to slam him, but OMG cuts him off and hits a choke bomb. Slick goes after Liz like a piece of shit, and Randy senses it and goes after him. OMG grabs Slicks cane and tries to hit him a few times, but Randy moves and the ref sees it and DQ's him.
**1/2

OMG MANGES TO HIT RANDY IN THE BACK AND BREAKS IT WHEN IT LANDS. RANDY COMES BACK TO LIFE AND HITS OMG WITH AN AXE HANDLE AND HE LANDS ON SLICK TO MURDER HIM. FUCK YEAH DIG IT

It's now Randy vs Ted for the worlds title.

In the back, Gene covers this.

Match#15 Strike Force (c) vs Demolition w/Mr Fuji (WWF World Tag Team Championships)
Smash jackhammer sledges the fuck out of Martel to start as he's not messing about, but Tito joins in to help, but Ax helps out and all 4 dudes beat the crap out of each other in a proper pier 6 brawl. SF work on Smash's arm once it calms down and they mess it up, and then they do the same to Ax when he tries to help again. Gorilla and Jesse both agree that the Boston Crab will not work on men as big as these, so they need to hit a double team to have a chance. They work on Smash again and wrench the arm, but he picks Tito up, and Ax KILLS him with a lariat to the face. Demo have a long amazing control seg clubbing and clobbering the snot out of him in one of the most brutal and meanest things they've ever done to a person. They club him but also stomp on his throat and cheat whenever they can, and poor Tito is mauled time and time again. Tito tries to evade them and gets close, but it takes a motherfucker of a Forearm to finally drop Ax, and he gets Martel in for one of the best hot tags of his life as he sets Demo ablaze with his incredible offence. HE GETS SMASH IN THE CRAB TO SHOW HE CAN DO IT. TITO FIGHTS FUJI ON THE APRON AND THE CANE IS DROPPED ON THE MAT AND AX PICKS IT UP AND SMASHES MARTEL IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD WITH IT AND SMASH MAKES THE PIN AND DEMO WIN THE TAG TITLES. OH MY GOD YES. THE RUN HAS STARTED.
***

Fink introduces Leach with the world title, Vana to be guest time keeper, and Uecker to do the ring introductions.

Ted brings Andre out with him as Virgil is dead.


Randy and Liz are now wearing blue and white in the greatest night of outfit changes in the history of our great sport. Randy shows he's got the orange and yellow under the robe for yet another all timer look.

Match#16 Randy Savage w/Miss Elizabeth vs Ted DiBiase w/Andre The Giant (WWF Worlds Heavyweight Championship-Tournament Finals)
Andre wastes no time in grabbing Randy's foot to send a message, and the crowd calls for Hogan. Randy doesn't freak out (freak out) as he keeps his cool, but Andre trips him again, and he can't help but jaw at him for it. Randy again restrains himself and works Ted's arm, but he's hurt and DiBiase is able to turn the tide and starts chopping and beating the crap out of a dead tired Randy. Savage won't, or can't die as he keeps himself in the fight and doesn't lose his head. Ted is still able to stay in control as he beats him down, but Randy finds his 5th wind and drops his head on the ropes and knees him in the back to send him to the floor. He goes for the Ax Handle, but Andre blocks his path and makes him get down. Randy walks over to Liz and whispers something in her ear and she runs off to the back. Ted attacks Randy from behind and lays a methodical ass kicking, BUT ELIZABETH WALKS DOWN WITH HULK HOGAN BY HER SIDE. OH MY GOD. Ted sees it and tells Andre to stay away as he's not risking a DQ, and Hogan sits on a chair and watches the match. Ted attacks more and more, and Hogan fights off Andre when he tries to help Ted out, and he runs off before the ref can see it. Ted wears him down and smacks the hell out of him, and Randy's selling is once again amazing as hell. Ted stupidly tresi to come off the top but Randy catches him and throws him off, and runs to the other side where Andre isn't and he goes for the Elbow, but Ted moves out of the way. He locks in the sleeper hold and chokes the hell put out of hm. Hebner argues with Andre when he gets too close, AND HOGAN GETS IN AND HITS TED WITH THE STEEL CHAIR TO THE BACK AND RANDY GETS BACK UP AND HITS ONE OF THE BEST ELBOWS HE'S EVER DONE FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RING AND HE PINS HIM TO WIN THE WORLD TITLE. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS OH YEAH DIG IT.
***

Post match, The Mega Powers celebrate as Liz can't help but cry in a truly sweet moment. Randy picks her up as Hogan gives her the title, and we get one of the greatest closing shots in wrestling history

One hell of a show and one hell of a start to the era of madness. For the last time, OH YEAH DIG IT.

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWF World Champion: Randy Savage-27/3/88
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Honky Tonk Man-13/6/87
WWF Tag Team Champions: Demolition-27/3/88

WWF Superstars of Wrestling
April 2nd, 1988
Winston-Salem, NC

Vince and Jesse are calling the show as i now assume Bruno is gone for good. Jesse is wearing an amazing pink suit as he keeps being one of the coolest humans ever.

TONIGHT; ANDRE THE GIANT IN ACTION.

They show highlights of Randy's WWF title win. Nice easy way to kill 10-12 minutes.

Rick Rude makes his way out with his amazing famous theme for the first time. He asks for the all the farmers to keep it down so he can take his robe off.

Match#1 Rick Rude w/Bobby Heenan vs Eric Cooper
Super fun 2 minutes for Rude as hits some big bombs like a back suplex and hits the kid really hard, and looks great. Heenan has a cut in saying next week Rude will debut his Rude Awakening for one lucky lady. He wins with the RA.
*3/4

WWF Update-
-Gene covers the happening of Mania.
-We get footage of Hercules after the match saying he is stronger than Warrior and this time there will no questions from anyone, just defeat for Warrior.
-Warrior says the great forefathers from beyond has spoke and he's never going to care what the normal things are. The challenge of combat will show who deserves to stand on the bodies of those who have fallen. Hercules will fall, i promise.
-Gene covers more of Mania, and says 10 million people watched it worldwide in a classic WWF bullshit lie.
-We see footage of Demo winning the tag titles.
-Hacksaw is spitting mad at Andre for costing him the match against DiBiase, He doesn't care where he sees him and his giant brain next, he's going to walk over and fight him tough guy one on one, TOUGH GUY HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Match#2 Don Muraco w/Superstar Billy Graham vs George Petraski
A fine little 60 second squash for Don as he's still hitting hard and cares, but you can see how he's never going to get another real push again, so he's not killing him in a fair call. He kills the fat jobber with a gross Tombstone to win.
*

WWF Stage interview-
-Slick & The Russians are the guests.
-They cry about the lack of respect they've been getting as of late as they're the best team in the world, and Russia is the best.
-Boris sings the anthem to end a waste of everyone's time.

Match#3 Bad News Brown vs Phil Newkirk
News bum rushes him to start and kicks the snot out of him as Jesse talks about how he's moved in the rankings after the Battle Royal win, and Vince says he's angry at Bret Hart! News clobbers the kid with some sick looking shots as he's a mean bastard. Bret has a cut in saying News has pushed him too far and he's going to see no mercy. Jesse is super excited to see how their styles will mesh once they meet, and hey so am i. Bad News wins with the Blaster.
**

Post match, Bad slaps the kid a few times and throws him to the floor just to do it.

Match#4 Bam Bam Bigelow w/Oliver Humperdink vs Conquistador #1
Bammer also gets 90 seconds to show off, and uses the fat and speed to clean the jobbers clock a few times in fun fashion. Slingshot Splash gives Bammer the win.
*3/4

WWF Studio-
-Gene is in the new studio and covers Demo's win.
-Demo says no one cares when your pretty and have girls screaming when you lose.
-Ax says they don't have the titles and all they can do is cry and bellyache because he knows they don't want to fight them again as they don't have the guts.
-SF are pissed. Tito says Demo gave them all they had and it was Fuji who cost them the titles, and they're coming back baby. Martel shouts they'll pay for what they did and those belts are coming home.

Andre comes out for his squash and headbutts the jobber a few times in the face and chucks him to the floor. He's dead as dead, and Hacksaw comes down with his 2x4 and gets in the ring and grabs the mic. He calls him tough guy as Andre smiles at him, and Hack says he's not afraid of him and he's challenging him to a one on one match. Andre fakes turning his back and grabs him by the throat and chokes him down to his knees, AND HE USES HIS SINGLET TO CHOKE HIM AND HACKSAW IS BLEEDING FROM THE MOUTH, AND ANDRE HEADBUTTS HIM IN THE FACE OVER AND OVER. HOLY SHIT. HACK IS DEAD AND ONLY BEING HELD UP BY ANDRE, BUT HE GETS HIS BOARD AND SMACKS ANDRE ACROSS THE HEAD WITH THE LAST OF HIS STRENGTH AND KNOCKS HIM OUT COLD. HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. HACK MARCHES AROUND THE RING AND THE CROWD GOES INSANE. ANDRE IS DEAD ON THE MAT TO CLOSE IT. AMAZING ANGLE.

WWF Studio-
-Gene says he's never seen Andre be lambasted like that, and they'll get words as soon as they can about his condition.
-DiBiase says Randy must be feeling real macho now with Liz and Hogan in his corner and the title that's rightfully his. He proved he's the best and premier athlete in wrestling, and there will be no Hogan to save him this time. He's getting the title with Virgil in his corner.
-Ohhhhhh Yeah what a feeling to have the title when Ted will never be close to it. He's thinking, thinking that he would rather be dead and rich than alive and poor. Money lies and honour dies. He brings on Liz and gets her to talk, and she says she's excited. Randy says he's excited as well, and Ted needs to pay his dues and try to get this title. Come see him anytime.

They replay Hacksaw knocking Andre out, and Jesse says he was trying to headbutt Hack which has made it worse. In the ring, referees are trying to help Andre up, but he attacks them all and throws them away, HE ATTACKS THE CAMERMAN AND CHOPS HIM IN THE CHEST. HOLY HELL. He holds the ring and kicks at anyone trying to get in, and he madder than ever before. He finally leaves as he yelling and screaming. This fucking rules

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWF World Champion: Randy Savage-27/3/88
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Honky Tonk Man-13/6/87
WWF Tag Team Champions: Demolition-27/3/88

WWF Wrestling Challenge
April 3rd, 1988
Bristol, TN

They replay Hacksaw's post Mania promo about Andre.

Match#1 King Harley Race w/Bobby Heenan vs Jim Evans
Super short one at a little over a minute as Harley is getting shorted, sadly. He does lay in the shots and batters the kid, but yeah too short to be great. Fisherman Supplex gives him a win.
3/4*

Match#2 The Killer Bees vs Dave Wagner & Pete Sanchez
The Bees get 3 minutes because B show has no rules and lets people go crazy. Still, it's nice to see Blair being let loose and doing lots of great stuff on the mat along with some super solid offence. Jim is Jim, but he's better here keeping it nice and simple and sells his ass off when getting isolated for a time, Blair has a sweet hot tag buzzing the crap out of everyone as the crowd adores him. Jim gets back in and wins with his Dropkick.
*3/4

WWF Update-
-Slick says Bammer is poor and hasn't made enough money to go home as he doesn't have the status to stand up to OMG, and he's always going to be #2 when compared to OMG.
-Dink says there will be a shockwave heard around the world when Bam and OMG fight once more, and Bam is the master blaster and flame. Bammer says OMG is going to get burnt playing with him, and he's going down.
-They then replay Savage beating OMG and DiBiase.

Match#3 The Bolsheviks w/Slick vs Alden Kinsey & Scott Casey
EWWWWWWWWWW. Short and stinky as always from these old bad losers. It's amazing how even in the midst of the best tag scene WWF has ever had/will have, they're still sticking trash in it to make sure it's never 100% perfect. Nik is getting fatter as the weeks go. He makes the pin after Boris knocks a jobber out with a lariat. Lazy and bad is not a nice combo.
Poop.

Stage Interview-
Don and SBG are here. They pose and talk about being family now, and Billy calls Don the next Superstar of the WWF.
-Don does his best to make that sound like a good thing as he calls Billy the pathfinder of the WWF and being by his side to carry the torch is an honour.

Match#4 Ron Bass vs Rick Hunter
Fuck yeah, Outlaw gets up back on track as he cracks the old man in the face with some gross looking forearms and kicks the dog shit out of him. Just a mean son of a gun taking heads off and being great at it. Pedigree gives him a win.
**

JYD comes out for his match as Bass is leaving, and they exchange angry words. Bass blocks his path as he gets grumpy at him. He fakes leaving but attacks him from behind with Betsy!! He chokes him as refs try to get him of. He drags him up the aisle until he finally lets go and leaves.

WWF Update-
-Harley says he's the ultimate of WWF and no one will change that. He doesn't care what Jake brings to the table with that snake and mind games. He will never bow to him or any human or snake.
-Jake says he loves to play the games just as he wants to use. The most important thing is the attitude everyone has. Heenen lies to him through his teeth every day, but he can't keep that attitude when he's been slapped upside the head and kneed in the guts. They'll play the game.

Match#5 Ken Patera vs Iron Mike Sharpe
Iron gets 2 minutes to do his best to carry and assist this one armed geek, and it's a fine little squash thanks to him being the best. Full Nelson somehow beats our hero.
*

WWF Update-
-Jimmy says Steamboat dedicated his year to his son, so when is Greg going to dedicate his year to him. Greg says he already did, and the son is going to be Ricky's downfall as he's going to be a like a tiger going for the kill when he breaks his legs and neck.
-Ricky says this is the year of the dragon and you can look that up. He's going to do this for his son and this is a no win situation for Hammer. Learn that.
-Wish this was actually going to happen, but Dragon is gone now.

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWF World Champion: Randy Savage-27/3/88
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Honky Tonk Man-13/6/87
WWF Tag Team Champions: Demolition-27/3/88

WWF Superstars of Wrestling
April 9th, 1988
Cape Girardeau, MO

Match#1 The Ultimate Warrior vs Barry Horowitz
Warrior gets 3 minutes this week to do more crazy antics and ok offence, but it's the Barry show as he dies a thousand times and does all he can to make Warrior look like a killer that Vince clearly wants him to be. Warrior drops him with the Press Slam and wins with the Running Splash to the back.
*3/4

WWF Update-
-Lord Hayes covers the Andre/Hacksaw happenings of Mania and last week.
-They show the incredible angle in full.
-Hayes says as of a result of this, Bobby Heenan is managing Andre once again. FUCK YEAH.

Match#2 Strike Force vs The Conquistador
Jesse is SUPER smug about being right about SF not being man or tough enough to stand up to Demolition. Vince calls it one of the greatest tag matches he's ever seen, and they're capable of going toe to toe again. SF get 3 minutes to show all that angry and fury of losing, and it's soooo damn good as it's the perfect combo of speed and jaw dropping offence thrown as hard as they can. They wreak one of the masked goobers arms for good measure and it's killer work watching them destroy it. Martel goes wild as wild can be, and then Tito hits the Forearm to give them the win.
**

Match#3 One Man Gang w/Slick vs Van Van Horne
OMG gets 90 seconds to kill the kid with two first names, and it's very fun as he's now using some sweet elbows to the back along with fat man knees to the body. OMG wins with the Gorbuster.
*1/2

WWF Studio-
-Gene thanks Trump for being a great host for the WWF.
-Gene talks about Fuji having now proved to be a great manager now that he has the WWF tag champions.
-They replay Steamboat's promo, but he's gone, so nope.

Match#4 Junkyard Dog vs Bob Bryant
Vince talks about Bass' attack on JYD on Challenge, and it's awesome for them to finally mention the second show. JYD thumps and bumps for a while, and it's JYD doing things, so yeah. Bass has a cut in saying he's going to break any mule he wants. Vince randomly starts talking about how hard JYD has been working and how he's in great shape, and he's still fat and awful so it feels like Vince maybe being a dick as he's had enough. THUMP hands JYD a win.
1/4*

WWF Stage Interview-
-Bobby and Rude come out for the first ever Rude Awakening, and Jesse is incredibly excited for it. Rude says people overlook his inward beauty because of hit outer beauty and he wants to show everyone what that looks like. Bobby picks a lady out of the crowd, and he kisses her for a while.
-Vince sees she's wearing a wedding ring and he's very mad about this as he would never do such a thing.

Match#5 Ted DiBiase w/Virgil vs Frank DeFalco
Short one for Ted at 90 seconds or so, and he's selling how pissed off he is about the loss, so it's mostly great character work. He does end up beating the hell out of the kid with some nasty shots and smacks his head into the apron, and attacks the body with knees. He debuts the Million Dollar Dream to win the match.
*

Ted shoves the money down the kids throat.

WWF Studio-
-Gene now talks about HTM/Brutus, and we see some footage of the all time classic.
-Gene would like everyone to buy the tape when it comes out on the 11th of May.

Match#6 The Islanders w/Bobby Heenan vs Mark Young & Tony Parks
Fuck yeah for one of the last times as Tama is gone soon to go to NWA for more money. They break brains and smoke them with a billion amazing shots to the face and body, and it's just the coolest. Matilda has a cut in barking, and Jesse calls her a mutt like a big jerk. Tama wins with his flying splash.
**

WWF Events Center-
-Vince called it as such at the end of the last match, so i guess that's the proper name for it.
-Dink talks about Bam being big and tough, and how the man of flame and fire will end the reign of terror of OMG.
-SBG talks about his main man having mass and power and the right look in his eyes as he's got the will to win, and he's coming for Rick Rude.
-Don says he might have the ladies, but he has the power and Rude will see that.

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWF World Champion: Randy Savage-27/3/88
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Honky Tonk Man-13/6/87
WWF Tag Team Champions: Demolition-27/3/88

WWF Wrestling Challenge
April 10th, 1988
Springfield, IL

Match#1 The British Bulldogs vs Iron Mike Sharpe & Terry Gibbs
Dogs have 3 minutes this week as Challenge seems to have hit that sweet spot with match times and promos, so this is a fine one. Davey is again doing the bulk of the work smashing and bashing people to hold this dying act together, and DK is playing cleanup as it's the only stuff he can really do at this point. Rocket Launcher gives them the win.
*1/2

Stage Interview-
-Bass says texans have been called braggers but that's only when something isn't true. He saw JYD didn't have the guts to look him in the eyes, and he took a cheap shot at him. Betsy went around his greasy neck and she enjoyed taking some of that life out of him. Betsy wants to finish the job until she squeezes and squeezes and then moves on from that cheater JYD.

Match#2 Rick Rude w/Bobby Heenan vs Brady Boone
Rick is wearing some incredible blue and purple tights this week! Good minute of Rude beating the tar out of Boone for being in his way, and then he wins with the RA.
*

Post match, Bobby picks out six women out of the crowd so Rude can pick one to kiss. He does indeed do that, and Gorilla is not happy with such an act. Jealous loser.

WWF Events Center-
-Gene again covers the title changes at WrestleMania.
-They replay Demo and SF's promos from last week.
-Bobby says Warrior might scare ham and eggers who walk the street, but he could never frighten Hercules.
-Herc says the victory will be quick because Warrior knows who the real tough man is in his mind and soul.

Match#3 Ted DiBiase w/Virgil vs Ted Evans
Good 2 minutes this time as Ted wastes zero time going on the attack and unloading some brutal offence on the outside to mess the kid up, and show what a bastard he truly is. Ted has a cut in saying he always has a master plan and he always gets what he wants, and everyone will see that. MDD gets the win for Ted.
**

WWF Update-
-Replay of the Andre/Hack one from Superstars.

Match#4 Don Muraco vs Rick Ganter
Bobby brags about getting Andre back by his side and now he's truly unstoppable once again. Short nothing one for Don this week. He wins with the Tombstone.
1/2*

WWF Events Center-
-They show the ending of the Battle Royal.
-Bret Hart says the whole world saw how bad News really is. He's nothing but a double cross and when they're paths cross, he's next.
-News says Bret is the real double cross by attacking him from behind, and he's going to beat him within an inch of his miserable life.

Match#5 Honky Tonk Man w/Jimmy Hart vs Outback Jack
Hey, Jack still works here. Good for him. HTM only gets a minute, so we're not getting anything good or worthwhile here, not that anyone could get anything out of Jack anyway, but you get my point. Honky wins with the SRR.
Thank you very much.

WWF Events Center-
-Ted says people might be wondering if he's gone now, BUT HE'S GOT TOO MUCH MONEY TO EVER LEAVE. Randy had a saviour in his corner to hand him the title, and he won't have one this time. He's coming for the title.
-Randy says he's proud to hold the title and it looks good on him. Live by the buck, and die by the buck. Liz is his inspiration and she's willing him on, and he will be fighting an inspired man so bring it on. YEAH.

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWF World Champion: Randy Savage-27/3/88
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Honky Tonk Man-13/6/87
WWF Tag Team Champions: Demolition-27/3/88

WWF Superstars of Wrestling
April 16th, 1988
Cape Girardeau, MO

Match#1 Rick Rude w/Bobby Heenan vs Reno Riggins
Rude finally gets 2 minutes instead of one to squash a bum like Riggins, so it's an actual great squash. He boots him super hard and beats him down as we get shots of a very happy Bobby looking on, and it's just the right stuff we've needed for a long time. We get a cut in of women saying they would all kiss Rude if given the chance. Rick wins with the RA
**

Post match, Bobby picks a woman with class as there's not much to choose from here. He finds a very pretty blonde woman for Rude to kiss.

WWF Update-
-Lord Hayes now talks about Bass & JYD's issues as of late.
-Bass says Betsy makes him the best man, and JYD is looking at him.
-JYD says no man drags him around on TV. Bass might think he can get away with it, but he's looking for him

Match#2 Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs Pete Sanchez
HOOOOOOOOO. Jesse says Hacksaw had to cheat with a board after getting choked with Andre's hands, and he's a coward. Hack shows he's no coward as he runs right at the jobber and beats his ass as the crowd gets louder and louder for anything he does. Lots of great punches and roughhousing before the 3 Point gives Hack the win.
**

Andre & Bobby make their way out to ringside! Hack spots them and swings his board and dares him to get in the ring. Andre gets on the apron and Hack swings the board at his hands and JUST misses as Andre jumps out of the way. Hack keeps shouting for him to fight, but Andre won't do it and eventually leaves with Bobby. I love this feud so much already.

WWF Events Center-
-Gene talks about a new feud between Patera and Bravo.
-FUCK
-Ken says he's in all the records with his power lifting, and Bravo had to cheat wth Jesse's help to break any record. He's going to get pressed and see what the USA looks like.
-Frenchy says to fight against Bravo is only for those who like pain and humiliation, and he can get both from Dino.
-Dino shouts to come and get him.

Match#3 Honky Tonk Man w/Jimmy Hart & Greg Valentine vs Omar Atlas
Little longer than Challenge, so it's a fine squash for HTM as he's very angry about Brutus being Brutus. Nice shots and stooging for a while, and then he wins with the SRR.
*

WWF Events Center-
-Gene talks more about Mania breaking records all over the world.
-The Russians are on the road to the very top to become champions. They single out the Stallions for standing in their way
-The Stallions calls them tough and good, but they're a real American team who will give them 110% and show them what USA looks like up close.
-They've lived there for years, so i'm sure they know what it looks like, you morons.

Match#4 The British Bulldogs vs Dusty Wolfe & Barry Horowitz
Another good showing for Davey as he's more jacked and meaner this week, and holds the team up as well as he can. Great muscle head work throwing these kids around with ease. DK does DK things for a short time, and the Dogs win with the Rocket Launcher.
*3/4

Stage interview-
-Frenchy and Bravo are our guests as earlier wasn't bad enough.
-They add nothing new as this act has been dead since January, and a feud with an equally dead Patera isn't going to help matters.

Match#5 Don Muraco w/Superstar Billy Graham vs Jerry Hall
Don kills the kid in 40 seconds and wins with his Tombstone.
1/3*

Match#6 Bad News Brown vs Jim Evans
News thankfully gets my smile back as he kicks the crap out of a kid as hard and cool as he can. Dude just feels like a real tough fucker that got into wrestling so he could cripple as many people as he wanted, and i love it. He wins with the Blaster after 90 wonderful seconds.
*3/4

Buy the new WWF Magazine to see Elizabeth working out from home.

WWF Events Center-
-Recap of the Battle Royal
-Bret says News isn't bad enough, and he's going to bust him up real, real bad.

Match#7 Koko B Ware vs Tom Stone
Koko gets 3 minutes to main event TV, and that's some fantastic stuff. He gives the jobber a little so he can show off the bumping and selling, then he shuts it down and beats his face in with his incredible offence. Koko has a cut in saying he wants to fight Heenan one on one! He breaks the jobbers in half with the Ghostbuster to win.
**

WWF Events Center
-Bobby says Koko wants to break his neck with that Ghostbuster, and he's not stupid enough to get in the ring with him. He's not going to allow a punk to threaten him, so he better go home to his parents with the bird and stay safe.
-Danny Davis wants to fight Sam Houston in a feud that i forgot what a thing.

Hulk Hogan has been nominated for a kids choice award for athlete of the year.

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWF World Champion: Randy Savage-27/3/88
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Honky Tonk Man-13/6/87
WWF Tag Team Champions: Demolition-27/3/88

WWF Wrestling Challenge
April 17th, 1988
Springfield, IL

Match#1 Strike Force vs Dusty Wolfe & Chris Curtis
Another terrific two minutes and change for SF beating heads in, and showing a world of fire as they do it. Demo have a cut in accepting rematches, but they warn them they have idea what's coming their way. Demo are the best. Tito wins with the Forearm after crushing a jobbers face.
**

WWF Special Report-
-Lord Hayes covers Rude kissing women.
-We get more clips of ladies saying they would love to kiss him. A few do say no, but it's maybe only one or two. Everyone else loves the Rude Man.

Match#2 Ted DiBase w/Virgil vs Reno Riggins
Ted beats the kids face in the buckles and chops and punches the crap out of him, and it's a sweet angry squash for the big man, Ted wins with the MDD after a great beating.
**

WWF Events Center-
-There will be more Bad News for Bret Hart. He's going to make him fertiliser in the garbage as that's all he worth, and he'll show the world that.
-Bret calls him a double cross again, and says he's not scared of him. He was in the dungeon and he doesn't know fear, but Bad News will feel that in his heart. He's coming for him and he's going to bust him in half.

Match#3 Brutus Beefcake vs Gene Watson
Bruti is back on TV and puts on a God awful squash as his offence is now really loose and bad looking, and he just plain old sucks shit. He wins with the sleeper.
1/2*

Post match, he cuts the jobbers hair.

Match#4 Ron Bass vs Frank DeFalco
Hell yeah. Bass takes the kids head off right away and beats him black and blue all while talking a ton of shit as he does it. He's laying in tons and tons of shots and then wins with the Pedigree.
*3/4

Post match, he strangles the kid with Betsy.

WWF Events Center-
-Bobby says he doesn't like dogs and bird owners because he doesn't like how they look and smell.
-Haku says they all look like Matilda and laughs very hard about his zinger. Tama says they're the best team and they want a war,
-The Dogs say Matilda's teeth have gotten a lot sharper as of late, and even they won't be able to pull her off Bobby when she bites down.

Match#5 Jake Roberts vs Terry Gibbs
Jake is also back, thank goodness. He goes after the arm and wrings and batters it, and Gibbs selling is quite good for a jobber. Jake turns into a violent fight and breaks out his classics and wins with the DDT.
**

Post match, he dumps Damien onto Gibbs.

WWF Interview Stage-
-Bobby Heenan is here and says he's back with Andre, so eat your hearts out. Hacksaw pulled a no good dirty move on Andre, and he can promise Hacksaw that Andre has never been madder in his life. Duggaan had to cheat with a 2x4 between the eyes, and if he thinks he can walk the streets of the WWF, he's badly mistaken. Andre is going to take him apart piece by piece.
-Hacksaw comes out with his board and chases Heenan away. and shouts he's on a weasel watch and if he wants to bring Andre, you can count on the 2x4 not being far behind. He'll fight him anywhere because they're looking at one dangerous animal, and they haven't seen the last of his 2x4.
-He leaves the stage and goes to the commentary booth and chases Bobby away, and sits down with Gorilla to call the show.

Match#6 One Man Gang w/Slick vs Lanny Poffo
Lanny's poem upsets OMG, so he gets jumped and killed for not being able to shut his big stupid mouth. Awesome fat man attack as is the norm, and Poffo is a great punching bag. Gorbuster gets OMG the win.
*3/4

WWF Events Center-
-Gene shows footage from the Mania press conference.
-Randy brings out Liz first as his one true inspiration in and out of the ring.
-Hogan then comes out and says the maddness and hulkamania are as one, and he couldn't live with himself if Ted had won the title. Both will live forever, and God Bless the first lady of wrestling.

Match#7 Greg Valentine w/Jimmy Hart vs Mark Young
Hammer gets 3 minutes as this episode keeps being awesome as hell. He breaks out the white noise and kicks the piss out of the kid with some of the hardest fucking shots he can muster. He even takes a few good bumps for the kid, and then rips his face off for hurting him. He wins with the Figure Four after kicking the snot out of his legs.
**

Heenan tries to get his spot back, but Hacksaw holds him at bay with the board, so Bobby runs off again.