Donnie watches WWF 1988

[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 24th, 1988
Springfield, IL

Match#1 Junkyard Dog vs Barry Horowitz
Barry is lumped with the worst wrestler in the company for 3 minutes as Vince wants to see how much crap he can carry. He bumps and stooges as well as he's going to do for such a lazy turd, and JYD is beyond done in every aspect of wrestling. Bass has a cut in saying nothing new as they've already ran out of stuff to say 3 weeks in. THUMP beats poor Barry.
1/4*

WWF Special Report-
-Demolition are as cold and mean as the black cold leather they wear on their bodies.
-They show the ending of the tag title match, and it occurs to me we haven't seen Demo since they won the titles.
-Martel says the belts were stolen from them and they won't get away with it. Tito can't wait to step back in the ring, baby.
-Demo have been ordered to win the titles and now they're champions, so bring it on. Ax says the mark of true champions is standing with gold, and that's them.

Match#2 Bad News Brown vs Keith Watkins
News bashes another jobber for a few minutes as he's super angry and wants to kill, and he does indeed that by throwing the kid as hard as he can against the ropes and smashing his face in. News wins with the Blaster.
**

WWF Events Center-
-Danny Davis says words about Sam Houston.
-Sam also says words in response to the words spoken to him.

They replay Hacksaw holding the ring last week against Andre.

Match#3 Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs Conquistador #2
Bobby says Andre is known world wide as an actor and biggest wrestler in the world, while Hacksaw is known for termites in his board. GOT EM. Gorilla says he's the only man to knock Andre out, and Bobby says he had to cheat to do it. This is super fun as Hacksaw gets 2 minutes and beats the snot out of the masked goober with his hard shots and slams and hoooooos a lot in between it all. He wins with the 3 Point.
**

WWF Events Center-
-Gene has a foam finger and tells us to buy it.
-George Steele says Animal and Anvil and points a lot before saying hurt and bye-bye.
-Jim says he does his homework and studies well, but you can't study a man like that so it's just straight punching in the mouth. He's just as crazy as he is.

Match#4 Dino Bravo w/Frenchy Martin vs Omar Atlas
Oh no. Bile and vile 2 minutes for this bum whose now got an anti USA sign with him as Vince couldn't stop himself any longer with the most boring trope in the world, Bravo does his awful power stuff and bad punches before he wins with his crappy Sidewalk Slam.
1/6*

Patera comes out on the stage and leads a USA chant and talks about how strong he is. Hey, please go away.

Match#5 The Islanders w/Bobby Heenan vs Van Van Horne & Scott Casey
More good times from the Islanders in their last stop before they break up forever. Haku leads the charge clobbering and killing, and Tama does cool high flying to add to the fun. Bobby has a cut in laughing about beating Koko, and says he could do it again if he wants. Tama wins with his splash.
**

WWF Events Center-
-They replay the one about HTM and Brutus.

Match#6 The Ultimate Warrior vs Dick Donovan
Warrior gets time as well and fights the kid on the outside for something new, and he does a few slams on the floor and looks good in the process. He brings him back in and hits some headbutts and other Warrior offence, and i like Warrior squashes. Press Slam and Splash gives him a win.
*3/4

WWF Events Center-
-Hercules says all the doubts will be squashed and stopped as Warrior will be his.
-Bobby saying Hacksaw will be yelling at Andre chokes him and chokes him. Andre says next time no one will get Hacksaw out of this and he won't be able to quit because he won't be able to talk. Goddamn.

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWF MAPLE LEAF GARDENS-24/4

Hey, lets watch a full show because only one match looks bad.

Match#1 Scott Casey vs Iron Mike Sharpe
Mike comes home to show the world why he's the best wrestler to ever sharpen iron and the best guy to ever have OCD. Also, this is not the match that looks bad because Mike is never in a bad match, and Casey is a good as hell hand. Scott uses his power to hurt our hero and send him to the floor a few times, and it's not a nice thing to do to someone, but it looks real good. They have a test of strength and poor Mike loses it, and storms off down the long ramp to take a powder before coming back in like the man he is. Sharpe finally cracks him with some sweet clubs and forearms and kicks his ass in a good control seg. Casey fights back and its a piledriver and nearly wins, but Mike gets his foot on the rope to save. Casey stays on him and punches at him, but Mike won't die and cracks him with his loaded forearm for a near fall. He keeps dropping him, but Casey grabs his head out of nowhere and hits a Running Bulldog to win.
**

Match#2 The Fabulous Rougeau's vs The Killer Bees
They're introduced under their new name and get tons of boos and jeers, and even mockingly offer to shake hands. We're finally here, thank goodness. Ray and Blair go on the mat and have a sweet smooth battle for control, and the Brothers are already great on the mat but adding being cocky assholes to it, makes it even better. Bobby can't get over the name and you can tell he's not sure if he's meant to cheer for them yet, so it's a touch off at points. They target Blair's knee and go to town on it with some great double teams like a running knee into it as one brother holds it, and a wishbone to mess both up. The best part is when Blair hold onto the ropes to try and get free, and the other brother dropkicks him right in the face!! Blair manages to push one of them down and tags in Jim for 20 seconds before the big moron tags a hurt Blair back in without letting him get a break. They target Jaques knees in revenge and do pretty good work on it as they do the same as the brothers, but not to such an awesome degree. Still, Jaques sells his ass off as the Bees beat the breaks off him, and it's a lot of fun. Blair gets kicked to the ramp and Ray goes to help him up, but Blair waves him off, SO RAY KICKS HIM IN THE STOMACH. WOOOO. He tags in and beats the shit out of Blair, and Jaques joins in and drops him as well and hits his back over and over. They drop him and lock in a Boston Crab for a few minutes. Blair finally gets out and they trade rollups but neither can get it done. The Brothers take back control and one of them jumps on Blair's back with a knee as he's locked in the Crab once more for another few minutes, and it's really good but also to a point where it feels like "yeah, time to end it" It goes for another 3 minutes before Jim finally gets the hot tag and does some pretty good firery offence, and the brothers bump all over for him before it breaks down. Jim picks one up for a slam but the other punches him in the face to send his brother on top of him for 3.
**3/4

Match#3 Rick Rude w/Bobby Heenan vs Don Muraco
Rick is amazing stooging and posing off breaks and drop downs, so Don drops him and poses himself much to the happiness of the crowd. Rick turns it into a slug fest to have a better chance and his offence is so much better now as he's clubbing and laying them all in, and Don has some great sells for it as he drops to a knee and is punch drunk very fast as a result. Rick beats him up for a while, but Don catches him with a gross lariat to the jaw to finally stop him and mounts a fun comeback of power and anger as he wreaks the pretty boy. Bobby distracts him so Rude can double leg him and get his feet on the ropes to steal the win.
**

Post match, Rick tries to find another woman but Jake runs down and chases him off.

Match#4 Greg Valentine vs Jake Roberts
Hammer grabs a headlock as Jake goes for the arm and he squeezes the life out of Jake's head, and stops him from getting out by pulling his hands back and quickly getting back on. Jake punches his way out and sends him running to the floor for a break, so Hammer messes with Damien to try and goad him outside and Jake nearly bites. but smartly backs off. Jake fights him when he gets back in and hits the knee and goes for the DDT, but Hammer bails once more to break it up. They go for a tie up and Hammer gets him in a nasty looking knuckle lock to twist and hurt his wrists and keeps Jake down on his knees as he pushes down as hard as he can. Jake again kicks him in the guts and goes for the DDT, which leads to Hammer running to the floor and grabbing Damien and finally bating him out. Jake rolls under the ropes and Hammer kicks him in the head a few times and drops an elbow across the throat. He beats the shit out of him and goes for the knee now, and it's Greg Valentine beating a knee so it's fucking perfect in every way, and Jake's selling is tremendous as he's crippled and dubbed over in pain the entire time. Jake tries to fight back, but he's too badly hurt and Hammer is able to stay on the leg and beat him back down. Hammer picks him up for a slam, AND JAKE SLIPS DOWN AND TURNS HIM INTO THE DTT TO KNOCK HIM OUT COLD AND HE GETS THE WIN.
***1/4

Jake limps over to the bag and gets Damien out, but Hammer wakes up and rolls away to safety.

Match#5 Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs Andre The Giant w/Bobby Heenan
Andre has to lean on Bobby as he walks down to the ring, and Gorilla remarks he's never been bigger in his career. It sucks to see him breaking down knowing where this is all going, so i'm going to enjoy as much of Andre as i can every time he makes tape. Hacksaw actually plays it smart and doesn't try and fight him, but Andre grabs him by the throat again and crushes him in the corner with his huge ass and unloads those wild and loud as hell chops. He hits the headbutts as well into Hacks's mouth, so Hacksaw bites him and jumps on him and hits him with punches, but Andre cracks him with another motherfucker of one to send him all the back across the ring in an insane bump for a man as big as Hacksaw is. Andre pulls his arms all the way back and clubs at his chest, and Hack's selling rules a ton. Hack fights back and runs at him with lariats and the 3 point, and Andre has to hold the ropes to not fall as Hack keeps doing it, and Duggan finally kicks his hand off to get him to fall. They roll to the outside and fight and Hack smashes his face off the table, but Andre gets the board and hits Duggan in the back to knock him out and he rolls in to win by countout.
**1/2

Post match, Duggan gets his board and hold the ring.

Match#6 The Islanders & Bobby Heenan vs Koko B Ware & The British Bulldogs
Hell yeah, love to see Bobby and Koko back in to bring some much needed life to this awful feud. Koko and Tama trade headbutts to start, and Koko proves the rule is a lie as he staggers Tama and beats him up! The Dogs and Islanders do their things and it's fine, but i'm over writing about it when they haven't changed a thing in months. The only good thing is Bobby being Bobby. Koko goes after him and ends up getting kicked in the head by Haku to isolate him, and we get a new and fun control seg as they beat his brains in, and he sells like death. Bobby finally gets in and chokes Koko with a hidden tape in his hand and the fellas kick and punch at Koko as well to make it worse. Bobby throws tons of awesome punches and kicks and looks fantastic all while making sure to still be a complete coward running away the moment he gets challenged. Heenan runs off and we get more of the tag feud and it's good as DK is controlled and beaten up for a while. Davey gets the hot tag and goes nuts before shit hits the fan, AND BOBBY RUNS BACK DOWN AND HITS KOKO WITH SOMETHING TO KNOCK HIM OUT AND THE ISLANDERS STEAL IT.
**1/4

Match#7 Honky Tonk Man (c) w/Peggy Sue vs Brutus Beefcake (WWF Intercontinental Championship)
This would be the match that didn't look good because how could it be good. They trade really terrible looking strikes and bumping as Brutus brings the worst out in everyone because he's easily the worst pushed act in the company at this point. HTM takes over and beats him up with his actual good strikes, but the issue is then Brutus sucks at selling and conveying emotion so it all falls short thanks to him being the worst. they fight on the outside and Peggy trips him and Brutus loses by countout.
1/2*

Post match, Brutus strips Peggy and we see it's actually Jimmy Hart in a wig and dress. HTM saves and they run off.

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWF MADISON SQAURE GARDEN-28/4

FREAK OUT FREAK OUT IT'S TIME FOR THE MADNESS' FIRST TITLE DEFENCE. YEAH DIG IT IN THE GARDEN

Ken and Bravo have an arm wrestling contest before their actual match and i want to skip it, but i want the most complete reviews possible so here you go. They have a proper battle for a good minute or so as both dudes give it all they've got, and Patera uses his power to get him down to win. Bravo argues that Ken cheated by moving his hand to the side of the table, and he demands a rematch. Ken stupidly agrees to it with an already bad arm post injury, so if this goes wrong he deserves it. Hey, Ken gets him down once again, so Bravo kicks the table into him and beats his ass. He picks the table up and whacks him in the back with it to send him to the floor. He tries to throw it at him but the ref pulls it away. Strongbow and Skaaland come out to check on Patera and get him out of there. The highlight is Gorilla calling Strongfake super fat which leads to Hayes laughing a lot. Fink declares Bravo the winner of the now cancelled match.

Match#1 Bret Hart vs Bad News Brown
Bret's first singles match in months and months is finally here, and man am i happy to see him get the chance in a proper feud this time. News attacks him as he gets in the ring and tries to bully him, but Bret shows heart and fights him face to face and knocks him out of the ring with a back elbow to the mush. He keeps on the attack and throws those great body punches and slams, and you can see all the babyface offence slowly being bought to life as he goes on. Bret controls for a while, and News shows he can bump around pretty well for someone who hasn't needed to do it yet. Bret goes for a backbreaker and News is able to claw at his eyes to get him down, and he goes to work with his mean offence. Good choking and punches, and a few super hard slams on the floor and into the post. He clobbers the back and it's fine, but you can also see he's not a man who should be in really long matches when he's more of a 4-10 minute brawler type of wrestler. It's not bad per say, he just kinda does a lot of the same stuff as he's ran out of ideas and looks tired. Bret rolls out of the way of a splash and comes back and runs through him and hurls him to the floor for some revenge for earlier. They move into a back and forth from here and both do some ok stuff, but it's sadly not a natural paring. It ends up going to a 20 minute draw in a massive miss of a call.
**

Post match, Bret slaps him a few times in a nice screw you.

Match#2 One Man Gang vs Bam Bam Bigelow
Wooooo fat men fighting for once again. They smack into each other and jokey for position as Gorilla says he hopes the ropes hold up under their weight. Bammer uses his speed and his head to attack OMG's arm, and the big falls and is stuck as Bammer stick his feet on his face and yanks his arm in a gross looking way. OMG manages to stand up and drops all his fat down on Bammer's chest when he hits Tremors! He beats the hell out of him with his fatness as he locks in a nerve hold and crushes his body, and we get some awesome Bammer facial sells. Bammer comes back and hits a flying lariat to drop him, AND BAMMER RUNS AT HIM FOR A TACKLE BUY OMG MOVES AND BAM FLIES OUT THE RING AND HITS THE FLOOR. FUCKING HELL. He's knocked loopy and can't get back in time and is counted out.
**1/4

Bam snaps and tackles him and swarms him with punches and then slams him and runs him off.

Randy comes out for the title match and the Garden EXPLODES for him. Like, a pop that would rival Hogan in the last year or so.

Match#3 Randy Savage (c) w/Miss Elizabeth vs Ted DiBiase w/Virgil (WWF World Heavyweight Championship)
Randy chases after Virguil when he messes with Liz, and Ted jumps off the apron onto his back and beats the crap out of him with a ton of punches to the head. Randy shoves him off into the post and kicks his ass for some sweet revenge, and DiBase pinballs himself all over and hurts his arm in the process. Randy kills him more and more as the Garden loses their minds for Ted dying. Savage targets the arm and cripples it using the ropes and the post as Ted bumps like a madman for everything and sells his ass off. He knocks Ted on his ass with running elbows to the face and looks to have it in hand, but Ted rakes his eyes to stop him, and then a minute later grabs him by the tights and pulls him out of the ring through the ropes where Randy splats on the floor. Ted now kicks the shit out of him using the rail and apron along with his awesome offence, and Randy's body is badly hurt as Ted mauls him in one of the best control segs he's given us thus far. Ted lays in every shot as hard as he can as the sound echoes when hitting Randy's body. Randy's attempted comebacks are amazing as he grabs at Ted whenever he can to hit him, and manages to get a super close rollup at one point. Ted keeps cutting him off for long as he can, but Savage suplexes him down to hurt Ted a little more. DiBisase gets up first though and knocks him back down and works a sleeper to wear him down, and Randy's selling is again so good at looking like he could pass out at any moment. Randy stands up as he's still being choked and he runs at the buckle and smacks Ted's face into it. Ted tries the back elbow, but Randy moves and finally fights back and whips his ass in the most frantic pace possible. They fight in the corner and Savage throws a back elbow and knocks the ref out cold. He goes for the elbow, but Virgil shoves him off to the floor, and the ref gets back up and counts Savage out. Boooo.
***1/4

Liz helps Randy back to his feet, and we see Ted has the title around his waist like a real asshole. Randy runs in with a chair to chase them off and he gets his title back, Randy is announced as still being the champion, but he's too insane as he's screaming at Ted to get back out here. Love this feud so much.

In the back, Gorilla is with Ted and Virgil. He says they're smart enough to understand he can't win the title like that, and Ted says he's done everything he promised he would do and he beat Randy in his first defence. His arm was raised in victory, and Gorilla asks whose still got the gold, Ted says they have the rule book and he's not selling Randy short because he wouldn't have the title if he wasn't good, but he's the real champion and he's not stopping until he has the title. He will have it and you can take that to the bank.

In the back, Hercules says he doesn't need to prove his power as everyone saw him break that chain and he's going to show it again against Warrior.

In the back, Demo and Fuji are now with Gorilla. Fuji says anyway you can win is and what you call Strike Force doesn't matter as they're the champions. They will now undertake even harder training now they have the titles. Smash says they're at the Mecca of wrestling and SF used to have the titles and that's life and they do whatever Fuji tells them to do. Ax says they're proved they can fight anyone and everyone and he doesn't think Tito and Martel have the heart.

In the back, Randy says he doesn't care what Ted has to say because he's the champion. He beat him at WrestleMania and he beat him tonight. Yeah he's got dirty money and got a shallow victory, and he's demanding a rematch. He wanted to unload the madness in the Garden but he stopped himself. Jack Tunney know my name and my voice because i'm going to knock your door down and make sure the match is happening. This will be the last match of Ted's life.

In the back, Strike Force promise to always come back and come back until they win. They have a plan for all three of them. Tito says they keep coming back because they have the guts and determination to get the titles back. Fuji keep your nose out of it so we can see who the real bad boys are.

Match#4 The Ultimate Warrior vs Hercules
Yeah, i'm doing this for you and me. They have another fun battle of strength that leaves me pondering whose actually stronger as they're both monsters in their own right. Both men manage to throw the other down at points so it's hard to tell. It turns into a fist fight and Warrior's offence is still really shoddy looking as he misses stuff by a mile, and that better not be the norm in the next two years, but i got a bad feeling He does at least throw a mean looking closeline, but everything else fucking stinks and has me feeling bad for Herc. Hercules tosses him to the floor and kicks him in the head to take over, and that's pretty bad, but it's a little better as his punches at least connect and he knocks this goof on his ass a few times. Call it the least worse option. Warrior makes a bad comeback as he's all blown up now and has zero clue on how to actually conserve energy so he looks like a dying man sucking wind. Warrior hits his moves of doom and wins with the Splash.
3/4*

Match#5 Demolition (c) w/Mr Fuji vs Strike force (WWF World Tag Team Championships)
SF ATTACK THEM FIRST TO SHOW THEY'VE GOT ALL THE HEART AND BALLS DEMO THINK THEY LACK, AND IT'S A SICK AS HELL BEATING FROM OUR GUYS. They drop them with elbows and knees all while using the arm to keep them at bay, and it's a wonderful, wonderful stuff. They control Ax by double teaming him when he tries to fight back, and Gorilla is in shock that SF is able to do this. Ax gets free and brings in Smash, but he gets the same treatment. Fuji distracts the ref so Ax can lariat Martel in the back of the head and Smash can hit him in the face with another!! Demo beat the hell out of him with a killer contol seg of clubbing and thumping, and holy shit have i missed them SO much. They beat Martel into the mat and throw him to the floor, and Smash picks him up and drops him back first onto the apron. He tries to fight it, but Ax gets the tag and clubs his face in more, and Demo attack body. Martel finally comes back and shows all the heart he can muster as he drops the big fucker with a series of punches and a sick running back elbow. Tito gets the hot tag and lights them all on fire with an Ungodly beating as fast and frantic as possible. He knocks Ax down with the Forearm, but Smash pulls him off. It breaks down and Fuji sneaks in and hits Tito in the face with the cane and Ax rolls on top to steal it.
***1/4

 

[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 30th, 1988
New Haven, CT

Tonight, Hammer vs Animal. Andre speaks. Demolition in action for the first time on TV since winning the titles.

Match#1 The Ultimate Warrior vs Joe Milano
Warrior does his thing for 90 seconds and it works far better in a fast and ugly format than a real match at this point thanks to the power of editing. He hits hard and kills the kid a few times for real and then wins with the Combo.
*

WWF Update-
-Recap of Jake and Rude fighting.
-Hayes says Jake is beside him himself in anger and has sworn Rude will pay a terrible price for what he's done.

Match#2 Iron Mike Sharpe vs Junkyard Dog
Better wrestler gets named first. As i said a few weeks ago, JYD is SO fat and lazy at this point that even Vince's love for him is going away on commentary, and you know that's the end of this, thank God. Sharpe does what he can for him, but it's a losing battle. THUMP gets JYD a win.
THUMP FUCK

Match#3 Danny Davis w/Jimmy Hart vs Mario Mancini
Oh, dear. 2 awful minutes of Davis struggling to fill in time or do anything cool because he's a bum. Vince also tells us he's facing Brutus on SNME, which is possibly a war crime. Davis wins with a bad Senton off the top.
1/2*

WWF Events Center-
-Gene runs down the Boston card for next week.
-Bobby says Hacksaw was lucky to be able to hit Andre with the board, and it will never happen again,
-Andre says to ask Hogan how it feels to have his hands on his neck because he's next. He will squeeze and squeeze.
-Bad News Brown calls Bret Hart a slimy dog and says he's gonna break a bone in his body for every piece of that trophy that got broken. He's going to make him sorry for what he did.

BUY THE WWF ICE CREAM BAR, YOU PUNKS.

Match#4 Dino Bravo w/Frenchy Martin vs Nelson Veilleux
Holy shit, this episode blows. Another hideous power squash from Dino as all of it is just SO horrible looking and makes everyone look bad. He wins with his Sidewalk Slam.
1/4*

WWF Events Center-
-Jimmy and HTM say nothing new about their issues with Brutus.
-Brutus has taken a bath in baby oil as he's super shiny tonight. He tells HTM to think about the clippers and waking up with no hair, man.
-Bret says the world got to see what Brown is really about, and he's nothing but a double cross. When they get in the ring it will be all Hitman and he's getting his revenge.

Match#5 The Young Stallions vs Steve Lombardi & Barry Horowitz
The pretty boys get 2 minutes and save the show thanks to the best two jobbers in the company being on the other side. Tons of fantastic bumps and stooging for all of it, and the Stallions look far better than ever before to their credit. Everything looks very good and they're moving well. Powers wins with his Powerslam.
**

Stage Interview-
-Andre & Bobby are the guests.
-Bobby says if you put a 2x4 in the hands of a lunatic whose lost his mind he becomes very dangerous, but if you wake up a sleeping giant, HE BECOMES VERY DANGEROUS. Andre yells that he will squeeze until he makes him give because he asked for this, and he will get it the giant way. He's mad. Bobby says he's more dangerous than any human walking the earth, so Hacksaw has had it.

Match#6 Greg Valentine w/Jimmy Hart vs George Steele
Well, we've found the worst episode of 1988 thus far, and i hope nothing ever beats it. 3 minutes of classic Steele bullshit. He eventually chases after Hart and gets counted out like an idiot.
Poop

Post match, Steele throws chairs and runs Hammer off, and then chases after the referee.

We go a pre-tape where Slick says OMG is going after all the marbles for Savage, and he knows he hasn't forgotten how he felt at Mania when they met. The title is coming to them.

Randy says he's going to walk over him and get the 1-2-3, YEAH.

Match#7 Demolition w/Mr Fuji vs Jose Luis Rivera & Scott Casey
Demo club and smash these nerds to death for 3 minutes and beat the almighty piss out of them. Just a goddamn display of how incredible and brutal these men really are. Fuji has a cut in saying Demo will be champions for a long time. Demo wins with the Decapitation, and Jesse shouts it's the Demolition Decapitation to give it it's name finally.
**

WWF Events Center-
-Smash says he kinda likes when SF get back up every time he hits them but it gets hard after a while, so stay down. Ax says they're coming after their property and that's fools gold because Fuji has demanded they win.
-Hacksaw is going to whack the Giant and show him he's not afraid of him at all. He warns Bobby he'll whack him too if he tries anything,

Next week. HTM vs Hillbilly Jim. OH FUCK YOU.

 

[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 SATURDAY'S NIGHT MAIN EVENT
APRIL 30TH, 1988
SPRINGFIELD, MA-SPRINGFIELD CIVIC CENTER

-HOOOOOOO. It's spring cleaning time and he has the broom to do it
-Bobby calls Hacksaw a real sicko, and he's not just wrestling Hercules, he's wrestling the entire Heenan Family. They'll be calling him Jigsaw Jim when this is done because he's going to missing a lot of pieces.
-Slick says to call the police because they were robbed at WrestleMania, and OMG is going to introduce them to a bad time.
-Freak out, freak out the first defence on TV. Everyone can feel the madness all around and that madness is going to surround OMG, YEAH.

Vince and Jesse run down the rest of the card.
-Davis vs Brutus.
-Demolition vs Bulldogs
-DiBiase vs Muraco,
-Rude vs Koko.

They show the footage of Hacksaw knocking Andre out cold, and Jesse calls it felonious assault.

We go to the back where Bobby calls Mean Gene a jerk and a cowpie. He says the Family has been crossed and now they have to answer to them. Hercules says they never forget. Andre shouts hooooooo as he motions he's going to squeeze Hacksaw's neck.

In the back, Hacksaw says if the giant is hungry he can have more of the board. That overgrown cheater cost him the title and he's coming for him because fair is fair. He's got one eye on him and one eye on the ring, tough guy.

Match#1 Hercules w/Bobby Heenan & Andre The Giant vs Hacksaw Jim Duggan
Jesse says this will not be a classic but a good old fashioned brawl, which is a classic code for "this is going to be ugly". Indeed it as Hack smacks him around with big shots, and Herc bumps as best he can for a guy whose not very good. Hack misses a running knee and Herc takes over, and it's not pretty at all as his offence looks terrible and weak looking, and Hacksaw mostly shouts hoo and half heartedly sells it. Bobby gets a punch in and it brings Hack back to life, but Herc cuts him off and keeps doing his awful beatdown. Duggan comes back and that's not good either as he's blown up and not throwing his normal awesome bombs. He hits the 3 point, but Bobby kicks him in the head for the DQ.
1/2*

Andre gets in and beats the shit out of him, and it's far better than the match. Ultimate Warrior runs down with the 2x4 and chases them off. He hugs Hacksaw as they're now friends who don't speak in normal terms.

Recap of Brutus cutting hair like a bully.

In the back, Jimmy Hart has all different types of barber shavers and promises to cut brutus' hair.

In the back, Brutus says words about cutting hair and has a toupee for Danny Davis to wear.

Match#2 Brutus Beefcake vs Danny Davis w/Jimmy Hart
Jesse calls them two candy canes because of their attires and it's amazing. This is not amazing as neither man is good or talented, or anyone i want to see wrestle at any point. Horrid offence both ways for 3 minutes, and Brutus wins with the sleeper.
POOP

Brutus cuts his hair like a big jerk.

in the back, Gene says OMG deserved to be DQ after attacking Randy with the cane. Slick says OMG was defending him from that crazy person and that skinny lady with the boney legs who had that ref out of position, but yeah referees don't make champions as it's greatness. OMG now has the chance to shine through his millions of fans. Gene asks who is going to last, and Slick says they beat the dude once and they'll do it again, and the belt belongs to OMG.

In the back, Gene is with Randy and Liz. Gene congratulates Liz on being the first woman to manage to a champion, and Randy says she took him to the top of the mountain and she's far too modest, yeah. Gene says he's entering OMG's danger zone, but Randy says he's going past that into the madness and it's going to surround Gang from one side of the building to the other and into the ring. He's not just a man, he's the madness and Randy Savage and his inspiration will inspire him to get past the big bad OMG, so inspire him right now down to the ring.

Slick goes after Liz, so Randy chases him off to the back

Match#3 Randy Savage (c) w/Miss Elizabeth vs One Man Gang (WWF World Heavyweight Championship)
OMG overpowers him as Vince says he's using his huge girth to take over, but Randy sticks and moves and drops him a few times, and the crowd EXPLODES with every moment. He stays on him time and time again, but OMG rakes his eyes to cut him off and beats the crap out of him with his epic fatness and great clubbering. He shoves him like a rag doll and fucks him up, and Slick comes back out and chokes him with his cane just to do it. OMG smothers him and cracks him with some amazing shots, and Randy's selling absolutely rules. He tries to comeback and gets closer and closer as he manages to lariat him over the ropes to the floor for a massive bump, and hits the Axe handle to drop him against the rails and into a cameraman. OMG cuts him off again and goes for a big splash, but Randy moves and the big man crashes and burns. Slick goes after Liz again, and it distracts Randy and lets OMG attack. He holds Randy for Slick, BUT SLICK HITS HIM WITH THE CANE AND RANDY HITS THE ELBOW TO PULL THE WIN OUT.
***

In the back, Gene is with the Dogs and says there's a rumour Demo are going to take the dog and use her a hood ornament. The Dogs are mad and say they'll never let her be hurt again.

In the back, Jesse is with Demo and Fuji. He says they're two of the best dressed wrestlers he's seen and a tremendous example to all the kids out there. Fuji says the face paint is his face of pain, and Ax says they're also the face of pain and their challengers see everyone laugh at them. Smash says the dogs will see the pain of defeat and chants "PAIN". They promise to mount the dog in chrome and take her to the Grand Canyon. Jesse says that's how an interview is meant to be done.

Match#4 Demolition (c) w/Mr Fuji vs The British Bulldogs (WWF World Tag Team Championships)
The Dogs show no fear as they run at Demo with their power and speed and take no crap from Demo, and it's the first time the monsters have been challenged in such a way and it fucking rules. Smash has to tag out quick and get Ax in to turn the tide on DK with the clubs to the back, but he gets his arm taken out. Smash sneaks in and hits DK from behind to knock him down, and Demo take over and beat his face in with the clubs and punches and beat him into the mat. Fuji goes after the dog, so they chase after him, and come back with Fuji's cane and beat Demo up for the DQ. Odd finish.
**

In the back, Don says he's going to get a piece of DiBiase, and Billy is getting a piece of Virgil.

In the back, Ted says he's going to get to Savage any way he can, and if that means beating Muraco than consider it done. He's the real champion and everyone will see that.

Match#5 Ted DiBiase w/Virgil vs Don Muraco w/Superstar Billy Graham
Don lays into him for a series of wonderful DiBiase bumps as he flings himself around headfirst and looks like a pinball getting cracked time and time again. Virgil turns the tide and it lets Ted come back with a lariat, and he beat Don up to the same level he did at Mania. Which says more about Don being nearly done than it does about Ted. DiBiase stays in control and hits a powerslam and Don gets his foot on the ropes and points at it as Virgil stands there like an asshole as i assume he was meant to push it off, and the ref counts 3 for a really bad finish.
*1/2

In the back, Randy says Madness is greater than ever thanks to Liz. Ted can come after him all he wants because all the fans feel the inspiration and he's going to bankrupt him, YEAH.

Match#6 Rick Rude w/Bobby Heenan vs Koko B Ware
Hell yeah. Koko dances and uses his speed to piss Rude off for as long as he can, but Rude catches him and beats the hell out of his back with awesome forearms and knees in another great piece of work from him. Koko makes a short comeback and kills him with a nasty backdrop, but Rude moves out of the way of a dive and Koko hot shots himself and Rude hits the RA to win.
**

 

[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
May 1st, 1988
Springfield, MA

Mike McGuirk makes her debut as the first female wrestling announce for the WWF.

Match#1 Bam Bam Bigelow w/Oliver Humperdink vs Iron Mike Sharpe
Super fun 90 seconds for Bammer as he crunches and smashes our hero, but it's ok as Bammer rules. He wins with the Slingshot Splash.
*3/4

WWF Update-
-Jack Tunney has banned Bobby Heenan from ever wearing the protective gear he wore at Mania.
-Bobby says it's not fair when a rabid dog is trying to bit and kills him, and he's not protection now.

Match#2 Honky Tonk Man w/Jimmy Hart vs Jose Luis Rivera
Nice solid 2 minutes for HTM as he takes a few good bumps for the jobber, and then comes back with some actual great shots and stooging. He knees him in the face and hits the SRR to win.
*3/4

WWF Events Center-
-SF say they will not cry about the loss, but they will come after them the Strike Force way. Tito says they're coming back for one and one reason only, to get the titles back.

Match#3 Bret Hart vs Barry Horowitz
It's time. Bret is given two minutes and knocks it out of the park His forearms and punches all look wonderful along with his ever expanding offence that's awesome as we all know. Barry takes a hell of a beating to help him out, and it's a perfect first showcase for a slow babyface turn. Bret uses some wild looking headbutts as well and leans back on his knee as he does it for something no one else is doing, or would do. He wins with the Piledriver.
**

WWF Events Center-
-Bass says no reward on his head will be collected because JYD isn't bad or tough enough, and he doesn't have what it takes.
-JYD says it's time to pay your dues to the dog bank and you must trust in the dog. You owe him for dragging him around the neck.
-Very funny this feud is mostly getting time on Challenge as no one would care on the A show.

BUY THE WWF ICE CREAM BAR, YOU PUNKS.

Match#4 The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers vs Chris Duffy & Joe Milano
Hell yes. They have a cut in saying they've been getting some boos of late and they know it's because the fans think they're like Bravo, but they LOVE America. This rules so much for 90 seconds as they break out the cool double teams and mat work and have found another level of cool. They win with the Doomsday Lariat
*1/2

Stage Interview-
-Ted says he dealt with the WWF's bureaucracy and underhanded tactics of Tunney since he got here when they changed the rules to protect Hogan's WWF title, and now Savage. Yeah, he's wearing the gold but he's no champion because he's the champion and still is. Behind him is there something that makes him tick and excel, and that makes him a fool because it's not enough. Money makes him excel just like the people at home, and he's got a lot of it but he wants more and he needs the world title to do it. He always gets what he wants and he will get that title sooner or later.

They replay Rude and Jake fighting again in full.

WWF Events Center-
-Bobby is confused as to why people would risk their life and limb for nothing. Jake is nothing and that bimbo is a bigger nothing, she's a snake lady.
-Rude says a woman has her place and she needs to know it, and if you're not man enough he'll do it for ya. How did it feel to hear him run down his family and touch his lady and know there was nothing he could do about it.
-Jake finally speaks. He says Rude is something special grabbing a girl from the front row and snap her arm. YOU DON'T PLAY A GAME WITH HIS STUFF, MY MAN. There is no jury in the world that will convict him when he gets done with him. He doesn't like to be touched and he has to have him. He found out he's not man enough for his woman, and he's not near enough man for him.

 

[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
May 7th, 1988
New Haven, CT

Tonight; HTM vs Hillbilly Jim. Randy Savage in a special live interview.

Match#1 Strike Force vs Terry Gibbs & Ron Rovishod
Jobbers names are getting more creative in a nice thing to see. The fellas get 3 minutes to show off and it's once again one of the very best squash matches you can see. High impact offence, dope selling and bumping and just a kick ass time for everyone involved. Tito wins with his Forearm.
**

WWF Update-
-Bad News Brown is not a man to be trusted or trifled with.
-They show him knocking some jobbers out with the Blaster.
-News says he's tough enough to beat anyone and he doesn't strike from behind, so Bret will see how tough he is to fight.

Match#2 Bret Hart vs Van Van Horse
Massive pop for Bret this week as the face turn is working as well as expected. He gets 2 minutes once more and like Challenge, does a fantastic job of doing a ton of cool stuff as he beats the jobber's ass. Bret has a cut in saying he dragged himself out of the basement and that's why he's the greatest technical wrestler of all time. Bret gets the win with the Piledriver.
**

WWF Events Center-
-Gene hypes up tonight's Boston card.
-Jimmy Hart has been banned from ringside for the IC title match against Brutus.
-Bobby asks what type of man would look up at Andre at 7ft5 and 500 pounds and knock him out. He doesn't have an answer, and he's not responsible for what happens.
-Andre says he shouldn't have stepped in the ring with him and he should ask Hogan about that.
-News says every time Bret hears his name he cries and whimpers and can't sleep, and he knows why.
-Bret says a man is only as good as his word, and News means nothing to him. He's coming for him with everything he's got.

Match#3 One Man Gang w/Slick vs Reno Riggins
OMG gets shafted at 55 seconds this week, but it's still cool as hell watching him murder a man with the fat. Gordbuster ends it.
1/4*

Steele enjoys a WWF Ice Cream Bar.

Match#4 Jake Roberts vs Scott Colontonio
Jake also gets a minute this week as we're doing odd things. Still good enough for a point, but i wish it was a longer beating. Jesse rants about Jake's wife being no good and how she lead Rude on, and Vince is super mad at him for it. DDT gives Jake a win.
*

Post match, Damien comes out to play.

WWF Events Center-
-Demolition vs SF. Jake vs Valentine.
-Jimmy is upset he's been banned, and HTM says it's because WWF wants his hair and belt as he's not no one there to help him. He will never lose his hair.
-Brutus says things only Brutus would say.
-Jake says he's struggling to stay focused on Greg as he's a man he's respects, but everyone can understand why. He's going to give him his best and that's normally good enough.
-Koko B Ware will face Rick Rude!

Match#5 Ted DiBiase w/Virgil vs Bill Woods
Ted cracks the kid before the bell and beats the holy heck out of him before he can even take his jacket off. Ted drops him with some gnarly mean shot to the body and face, and it's another killer squash from the man. He bashes him a ton, and then chokes him out with the MDD to win.
**

Post match, he shoves the money in the kids mouth.

Stage Interview-
-Randy & Elizabeth are the guests.
-Ted watches on and loses his shit as Randy looks right him as he talks.
-He says that was the man who wanted to the buy the belt and he's going to have to go through him, and that means his ugly bodyguard as well. Randy says he can see the jealously in his eyes because he can't get this and he needs to pay his dues and work for it.
-Ted walks over as Randy calls him a spoiled brat and says he's not in the same ballpark as him. Ted gets to the bottom of the stage and storms off, and Randy says his inspiration will continue and continue.

STEVE BLACKMAN IS HERE. OH MY GOD YES.

Bobby comes out with The Islanders for a 6 man and he introduces Silvi Afi as the High-Chief.

Match#6 The Islanders & Silvi Afi w/Bobby Heenan vs Steve Blackman, Outback Jack & Brady Boone
Haku vs Blackman actually happened in real life. HOLY SHIT. Blackman takes a great kicking and bumps very well, and it's such a head trip to see this. They get Boone in and beat the life out of him for a few minutes as the Islanders lead the charge for their terrible partner. Blackman gets the hot tag and fights Haku and nails him with some elbows, but gets smoked with a dropkick and brutal body shots!. Jack finally gets in as Tama lights him up for being the worst dude ever, and i love it. They kill everyone and beat Boone with a Flying Splash as Tama gets insane hang time on it.
**

Match#7 Honky Tonk Man w/Jimmy Hart vs Hillbilly Jim
Jesse says Jim is now the mayor of Mudlick as he won the vote 5-4 in a full town turn out. Dead. Vince says Hogan is coming back next week against Zukoff on TV. Holy hell yeah, i've actually missed the big fella. Oh the match, yeah HTM stooges and bumps a lot for Jim, and it's pretty fun for two minutes as he's a human punching bag. Jim misses a charge and hits the corner and HTM rolls him up with the tights to steal it.
*

WWF Events Center-
-Jimmy says Hammer is going to put the Figure Four on Jake to make him focus on him. Greg says he's going to slap him upside the head and his best won't be good enough when he's looking up the lights.
-HOOOOOOOOOO Tough Guy. The 2X4 goes wherever he goes and he's going to give him the thumb and beat him out, tough guy. The board is a giant redwood and it'll be Timber.
-Boris calls Hogan fans scumbags and he's going to show him that Russia is more powerful than Hulkamania.
-Hogan says he's heard Slick speak for weeks and weeks about the Russians and looking his Hulksters down. This is the land of the free, and he's going to prove the worlds largest arms have reigned supreme for 4 years and he and the Hulkamaniacs are the superior people.

 

[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 BOSTON GARDENS-7/5

Match#1 Jake Roberts vs Greg Valentine
Feels really odd that it's not Jake/Rude now that the feud has started, and i can't think of a logical reason as to why not do it in the biggest market they have outside of NY. Slow start like last time as Greg wants and gets the head, and Jake has to eventually grab an arm to fight out and hurt Greg as he decks him with punches to the face. They do the knuckle lock again and Greg stretches his hands in really gross looking ways, and Jake's fight to get out rules as he's kicking and trying to get back to his feet when he's down on the mat. Hammer takes him to the apron and crushes his throat like their last math, and then the next few minutes are pretty much that match beat for beat. Not a bad way to do it, but i've seen and would like to see something new. Jake fights back and gets the DDT to win out of nowhere when Greg tries to backdrop him. Coolest part is Jake's leg lands on Greg's chest and the ref counts the 3 that way.
**1/2

Match#2 The Fabulous Rougeau's vs The Killer Bees
The Brothers are again nice and respectful to start and get less and less so as the match gets going and they get mad at being out done at points. One of them drops Jim in the face with a Lariat super hard, so Blair blind tags in and takes out Jaques' knee and beat the crap out of it with some fantastic stuff, and Jim is also ok at working it as best a dork like him can. Jaques' selling is great and he eventually kicks Blair out with his good leg to the hardwood floor, and Ray slams him on the rail and into the apron like last time. They kick his ass with another super good control seg as it's coming more and more together, and Blair rules as. FIP. They stay fancy but also get dirty with kicks to the head and blatant double teams in front of the ref whenever they can. It goes too long like last time sadly, but it's still very good and a shorter match is going to be perfect. Jim gets the hot tag and does well for himself before it all breaks down after he nails his sick looking dropkick. They do the same finish as the last match and the Brothers steal it. Fuck, do something different.
**1/2

In the back, Koko says he and the bird are all fired up and he's going to stop Rude from kissing and shaking his booty. He sings Piledriver like it's 1987.

Match#3 Frency Martin vs Jerry Allen
Look, i have to see something like this just for the fact it's happening. Frenchy is really old and bad, but he's Martel's friend so we're stuck with him for a while. Allen is also a jobber muscle guy and not good at all, so he's not going to carry the match. They have a bad fight and Frenchy trips him and gets his feet on the ropes to win.
1/4*

In the back, Rude says he has a bigger appetite than Gorilla could ever imagine. Jake's old lady wanted him just like all the ladies want him. You're going to see both form of the RA as Koko is going down, and a lucky lady is in for the treat of a lifetime.

Match#4 Rick Rude vs Koko B Ware
Koko punches him in the nose to start and then mocks him for being in pain, and it's funny as hell as he does once more. Koko misses a dropkick and crotches himself on the post, and Rude takes over and beats the daylights out of him in another cool control seg full of hard shots and taunting the crowd. He drives him into the mat a few times and punches at him, and Koko's selling is fantastic as he's so easy to love and care about. Koko tries to comeback but Rude cuts him off and beats the shit out of some more, but Koko drops him on the top rope to crush his dick and unloads a killer beating on him. Rude's punch drunk selling fucking rules, and Koko takes his head off with some wonderful dropkicks. They fight on the outside and get back in where Rude takes his head off with a lariat and wins with the RA.
**3/4

Post match, he tries to kiss a fan, but Jake runs him off.

Match#5 Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs Andre The Giant
Andre chokes him after a minute of stalling and sends him flying with a headbutt and beats his face in. Andre's not changing up his routine but the shots are all amazing and gross looking, so he gets a pass on account of being Andre. Hack's selling is very fun again as he's got a way of looking nearly dead and then firing back to ramp everyone back up when they're on the verge of silence. Andre shoves him in the corner and pulls the buckle behind him, and Hack slips down as Andre goes a headbutt and the big man knocks himself silly. Duggan runs at him with a series of forearms to the chest and the last one sends him into the buckle to hurt his back. He keeps running at him and Andre needs to hold the ropes to stay alive each time. They fight to the outside and do the same finish as Maple Leaf.
**

In the back, Bret says News told him they were going to split the win at Mania, and he could have told him to go one on and one he would have done it. News doesn't scare him because a technical wrestler can beat a brawler any day.

Match#6 Bret Hart vs Bad News Brown
Hot start as Bret is more fired up this go round and sends Brown scrambling after a nice elbow to the face. News gets back in and jumps him, but Bret refuses to be bullied and is right there shot for shot in a fun back and forth. Bret is able to take over for a short while until News claws at his face like last time. HOLY SHIT THIS SHOW SUCKS FIR THAT. The match goes more of the damn same and it ends with a time limit draw at 17 minutes in one of those super dumb endings,
**

Match#7 Demolition (c) w/Mr Fuji vs Strike Force
SF make things right by instigating a massive brawl with Demo to start and it's at a break neck speed of pure goodness as always. Martel gets Ac in the Crab right away, but Smash sledges him in the head to get him off. He tries to keep killing him, but they take the arm out again and hit it with the brutal looking work that they've turned into the masters of in terms of WWF limb work. Smash rams him into the corner and Ax tags in and hits his back as soon as he does, and drops him with a few more, but Martel won't die and grabs the arm and twists and wreaks it as well. He's constantly moving and hurting it, and Ax shakes like a fish out of water trying to get free. Fuji distracts the ref so Demo can trip Martel, and they unload a super angry beating now they're hurt and have been shown up by these punks. They work his neck by pushing down on it and clubbing him when he tries to fight back, and it's the best. Rick is God as always and ends up flying to the floor off an attempted comeback, AND SMASH PICKS TITO UP WHEN HE TRIES TO HELP AND RAMS HIM INTO THE APRON TO FUCK HIM UP AS WELL. THAT'S SO GOOD. Demo kick the shit out Rick until he's finally able to get one down and gets Tito in for an insane hot tag as he burns these fuckers to the ground as only Tito Santana can. HE NAILS THE FOREARM AND GETS THE FIGURE FOUR ON, AND MARTEL ATTACK THE OTHER MEMBER, BUT FUJI GETS IN AND HITS TITO IN THE GUTS WITH THE CANE, BUT MARTEL SAVES AT THE LAST SECOND AND HE GETS THE CANE AND HITS FUJI AND THEN RAMS INTO SMASH'S STOMACH. HE FIGHTS AX IN THE CORNER, BUT FUJI GETS BACK UP AND THROWS POWDER IN TITO'S EYES TO BLIND HIM BEHIND THE REFS BACK, AND SMASH ROLLS HIM UP AND THE REF COUNTS 3. SON OF A BITCH.
***1/2

Match#8 Honky Tonk Man (c) w/Peggy Sue vs Brutus Beefcake (WWF Intercontiental Championship)
Peggy has her face covered so you know exactly where this is going because this show is a re-hash of Maple Leaf but with the MOTY thus far on it to make it worth watching by people who aren't deranged like myself. Brutus' opening flurry is very bad as always, but it's HTM's fun bumps that save it as he's always willing to eat some dirt for this goof. Jimmy err, sorry Peggy distracts Brutus to let HTM take over, and we get his normal boring control seg against this twit. Again, not blaming him when it's Brutus Beefcake, but holy shit does this feud stink. More to the point his IC title run is a complete bust, but i'll cover that when he finally loses it. Brutus fights back and strips Hart once more as the match ends in a terrible DQ
POOP.

 

[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
May 8th, 1988
Springfield, MA

Match#1 The British Bulldogs vs Steve Lombardi & Randy Brian
"I outsmarted a dog, big deal"-Heenan. Standard run of the mill Dogs squash as they don't bother to ever change the set up or meat of the thing, so it's always the same. DK is again slower moving and looks nearly done, but Davey is the man who is the future of this team as he looks fantastic. Rocket Launcher gets them a win.
*1/2

WWF Update-
-Ken Patera thinks Dino is a fake strongman and a liar.
-I think this feud is deeply evil, personally.

They replay Brutus/Davis in full for some horrible reason.

Match#2 The Ultimate Warrior vs Conquistador #1
Warrior might have the single worst punches of any wrestler of the era. They miss by a mile and look terrible as he's clearly got no clue how to throw one because he's a bum. This is a bad squash as he's blown up and doing lazy and bad power moves that look really bad. He wins with the combo.
1/2*

WWF Events Center-
-Bobby says Warrior is going to the ICU after Hercules finishes with him.
-The Rougeau's want to have more scientific matches with the Bees and then face Demolition.
-The Bees like honey and welcome the challenge.

Match#3 Bad News Brown vs Reno Riggins
News gets us back on track as he kicks the shit out of this doofus with his great strikes and mean as fuck offence as he's throwing and laying into the kid at all times. He bashes his face and wins with the Blaster.
**

Stage Interview-
-Jake Roberts says he's sat back and thought about what he wanted to do, and he's decided to kick his butt. Jake snaps and says to NEVER speak about his woman, and he needs to come out here and say what he wants. Craig tries to say that Rude has stated the woman is attracted to him, and Jake can't get the job done. Jake says she slapped him and proved he's not a man, and he's going to give him the DDT.

They air Hercules/Duggan in full. YUCK.

Match#4 Demolition w/Mr Fuji vs Jerry Allen & Nelson Veilleux
Hell yeah. Demo do it again with another balls to the wall clubbering and smashing squash as they pound these nerds into the mat over and over with everything they can think of to hurt a human. Smash catches Allen and kills him with a backbreaker, and Bobby is amazed at how easy it did it because Allen is a jacked dude. Love how he's so impressed by them, sure hope he leads a team against them one day. Ax also does some fantastic looking power spots as he's a freak in his own right. GOD I LOVE THEM. Nelson loses his head to give Demo the win.
**

WWF Events Center-
-Strike Force call Demo thieves and say crime doesn't pay and they'll show them that. They will get their titles back. Tito says they're lying to themselves and the world knows it. STRIKE FORCE.
-Randy says there's a classy picture like his first lady of wrestling. Ted's attitude is real bad and he concentrates on that because he's raised his voice at him and he's going to beat him. 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
May 14th, 1988
New Haven, CT

Jesse says he put New Haven on the map because he's here right now.

TONIGHT; HOGAN VS BORIS.

Match#1 Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs Chris Duffey
WWF now films the board walking out and panning down to Hack in a really cool visual shot. Super fun 90 seconds of Hack hooooooing and hitting the jobber very hard in the face along with some cool throws and slams. Hack wins with a truly gross 3 Point Stance taking the kids head clean off.
*3/4

WWF Update-
-All the top teams are coming for Demolition.
-The Rougeau's say blood is thicker than water.
-Heenan says Fuji does the thinking for his team and that's their weakness, and you have to think for yourself.
-The Stallions are young fast and hungry.
-The Russians say they are not superior like them.
-Demo say they're the champions because they're the best, strongest and meanest, and they've got Fuji with them. Ax says they're truly the best in the world.

Match#2 Bad News Brown vs Carmine Surace
News only gets 90 seconds this go round, but it's stil a hell of a beating from the big man as he holds nothing back. Jesse says News is in the new WWF Magazine talking about how muggers used to run away from him! News wins with the Blaster.
*1/2

Match#3 Bam Bam Bigelow w/Oliver Humperdink vs Barry Horowitz
Damn, now that's a dream squash match right here. Bary jumps him from behind and claws at his face and hits him with some elbows to the dome, and it's a sick display of what he can do. Bammer hits him with a lariat and beats the shit out of him as he's now really damn angry. Bam hits him with a storm of offence and wins with the Slingshot.
**

Match#4 The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers vs Rick Gantner & Tony Leone
They get 3 minutes finally and holy crap is it great. They break out the double teams like crabs and knees to the back, sweet mat work, hard strikes and just pure motion and speed the entire time. The crowd doesn't fully hate them, but you can feel it coming. They have another cut in saying they love America and being a part of it. They beat the daylights out of the kids and then win with the Seated Senton.
**

Post match, they kill the other jobber with the Senton as well, and Jesse is not pleased about it.

WWF Events Center-
-Demo & Fuji are facing Warrior & SF on June 6th in the Medowlands.
-Ax says the force will be blaming Warrior after this is over and they've lost the fight.
-SF say the double teams and outside attacks will stop with Warrior taking care of Fuji. Warrior shouts a ton of nonsense that i can't transcribe.
-Andre & Rude will face Jake & Hacksaw.
-Bobby says Hacksaw is loud and dangerous and Jake is quiet and lethal, but he's got two men ready to be unleashed on them.
-Rude says Jake is irritated about his old lady, well, Andre is irritated after getting hit with the board and they won't be able stop him.

Match#5 Brutus Beefcake vs Woody Lee
Brutus gets 2 minutes because no episode can every truly be perfect with the mid card being what it is. Awful trash from the barber as is the norm. He wins with the Sleeper.
1/4*

Post match, he cuts the kids hair like a real jerk.

They replay Jake and Rude's brawl for the 10th time since it started.

Stage Interview-
-Rude & Heenan are the guests.
-Rick says he saw Jake's wife and the look in her eyes and the goosebumps on her skin knowing she wanted him. He knows some ladies like to play hard to get, and he went along with her little game. He asks Jake what its like to know she longs for his touch and that he can't do anything about it.
-Bobby picks out another woman for Rude to kiss.

Match#6 Hulk Hogan vs Boris Zuhkoff w/Slick & Nikolai Volkoff
INSANE Pop for Hogan as he makes a one off return while filming No Holds Barred. He runs through this nothing joker and moron partner like he damn well should, and it's a blast and a half. He makes his comeback and wins with the Leg Drop.
*3/4

Post match, he kills Nik with one as well and atomic drops Slick just to do it. Hogan poses with the flag as Vince gushes over him.

Match#7 Ron Bass vs Bert Centeno
Very violent Bass squash as he drops the kid with some fucking nasty strikes to the floor, and just beats him black and blue for 2 minutes and change. He wins with the Pedigree.
**

Post match, he chokes him with Betsy.

WWF Events Center-
-DiBiase says he's waited long enough for this and he patience has ran out. He had him beat last time and he had him beat at Mania, and he took out the ref to save his neck. Virgil took his head off because he deserved it. NOTHING WILL SAVE HIM THIS TIME. THE WWF TITLE WILL BE HIS.

Next week. Savage vs Virgil!
-Ted laughs and says Randy is so lousy and incompetent that he's going to let Virgil take him on and
embarrass him beyond belief.
-Randy says they're going all the way to the danger zone, and he's going to get rid of him for good because he's coming into the lions den. He will make him respect him. 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 Wrestling Challenge
May 15th, 1988
Springfield, MA

Match#1 Strike Force vs Tony Ulysses & Rick Gantner
This was a dark match before the last SNME as the banners are up. Also, this gets 5 minutes which is far too long for a squash no matter how great someone is, and that's the case for these two, sadly. Still, lots of rad SF offence and selling along with a hot crowd helps matters, but yeah too long to be truly good. Tito wins with the Forearm.
*1/2

WWF Update-
-SEAN MOONEY IS HERE AS OUR NEW HOST. FUCK YEAH LOVE SEAN

-He covers the happenings between Brutus & HTM over the last few months.

They replay Rude/Koko in full.

WWF Events Center-
-Jake says his wife saw him because she doesn't do it too often. Rude had a reason to pick her because she was the finest woman there, and Rude had a reason in his mind to grab her. He has the DDT as his new reason and he's going to show it to him.
-Bass has been training very hard to get JYD.
-JYD says his kids were sad when he got attacked by Bass as they read that in the history books. He's told them to leave it up to him because he fights real good.

Match#2 One Man Gang w/Slick vs Mario Mancini
Awesome 90 seconds from the big man with his wonderful fat man offence onto poor little Mario. He wins with the Gordbuster.
*3/4

WWF Events Center-
-Hercules is powerful. Nothing new has been said in these promos in a month.
-Warrior says no one been put on the fire but more logs and trees and they need to go follow the flames and put them out, or make them rise. Either way they're the one who decide.
-Hacksaw is coming after Andre and all his friends, tough guy.

Match#3 The Killer Bees vs Iron Mike Sharpe & Terry Gibb
The Rougeau's having a cut in saying there will be no good or bad guys, just wrestling. Love how fake they've become, and coming at the Bees expense rules because screw em. This isn't very good as the Bees give the jobbers too much and Jim has the bulk of the work, so it suffers on both ends as a result of poor choices. Jim wins with his Dropkick.
3/4*

Stage Interview-
-Dino & Frenchy are the guests.
-Dino is mad about Ken calling him a liar and a cheat when he's an honest strong man. (Future history may change things)
-He says he'll beat him in any contest he wants and then beat him in the ring to prove the USA Stinks.

They replay DiBiase/Muraco in full.

Match#4 The Bolsheviks w/Slick vs Brady Boone & Billy Woods
EWWWWWWWWW FUCK OFF. Very bad 2 minutes as these two have to show up every few weeks or so to remind us they might be the worst wrestlers in the company. It's a tight race between them, Brutus, Bravo and JYD. A true death row of bad men. Boris wins with his crumby lariat.
1/4*

WWF Events Center-
-Islanders and Bobby say the same shit they've been saying about the Dogs for the last decade.
-The Dogs do the same.

Next week; A tug of war between Ken and Bravo

 

[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
May 21st, 1988
Duluth, MN

Tonight; Savage vs Virgil.

Match#1 Randy Savage w/Miss Elizabeth vs Virgil w/Ted DiBiase
Virgil attacks from behind after a DiBiase distraction, and his attack is good basic stuff from him. Of course, Randy sells like a madman and kills himself to help out, but credit where it's due. Ted gets in cheap shots and chokes him like an asshole, and we see shots of a very sad Liz. Virgil misses a flying splash to take himself out, and Randy comes back to life and knees him in the corner and beats the crap out of him like a man possessed. Ted tries to help, but Randy swings at him and gets in his face, so Ted uses Liz as a shield. Virgil hits from behind again and does more fine basics, and Randy does more awesome bumping around. Virgil can't actually end it because Ted keeps yelling at him to do more, so Randy kills him dead with the Ax Handle and finally decks Ted! He drags Virgil back in and kills him and wins with the Elbow.
**1/2

TED TAKES RANDY'S HEAD OFF WITH A LARIAT AND KICKS THE SHIT OUT OF HIM, AND VIRGIL HOLDS RANDY SO TED CAN SHOVE THE MONEY INTO HIS MOUTH. OH GOD. The entire lock room empties with all the big stars like Demo, Bret and Koko to keep them apart. Randy gets free and hits Virgil with another Axe Handle. Everyone drags them off, and the faces help Randy out of there. Fantastic stuff.

Match#2 Greg Valentine w/Jimmy Hart vs Jim Evans
Greg has a shinguard on his right leg, and Jesse and Vince are shocked and confused as to why. Really good showcase for the Hammer as his tremendous 88 continues with another beating and a half of a jobber. Loads of gross elbows and then knee work to mess him up more. He gets the Figure Four on with the guard, and the jobbers taps right away to give Hammer the win.
**

Post match, the kid is badly hurt and needs to be helped up. Jesse laughs it off and says maybe he had knee trouble before this. Love this.

Before Bret Hart's match, Jimmy Hart comes out to manage him, but Bret says something and waves him away to a massive cheer from the crowd. Jimmy is very upset and walks off as Jesse shouts Bret has a contract with him. 3 great angles in a row.

Match#3 Bret Hart vs Steve Lombardi
Lombardi jumps him and gets some great roughhousing in on Bret like a real brawler or something, and Bret's selling is the classic Bret work when he gets punched or kicked as he makes it as real looking as possible. Jim Neidhart has a cut in saying Bret is a gutsy guy and nobody pushes him around, and New is in deep trouble. Bret makes a quick comeback and wins with the Piledriver in about 80 or seconds.
*3/4

WWF Events Center-
-Gene talks about how much he loves Boston and all his famous friends there.
-Rude says he chose her out of the goodness of his heart, but he didn't know she was a tasteless broad. No one slaps his mouth, and he knew Jake was a snake that would attack like a coward. What was worse, manhandling his wife, or knowing he's going to manhandle him?
-Demo say Fuji created them and he's the ace in the hole for this 6 man as he's the smartest man and will take care of this Warrior.

Slick and the Russians enjoy the WWF Ice Cream Bar, though it's not as good as the Russian ice cream.

Match#4 Don Muraco w/Superstar Billy Graham vs Billy Anderson
Bad showcase for Don as his days are on the end, and he's just doing stuff without much heart or care anymore. Tombstone gets a win.
1/2*

WWF Events Center-
-Hacksaw says the board is coming with him wherever he goes and will hang in his corner so Andre can't steal it and hit him with it.
-Bobby says Duggan is NUTS and can't be controlled, and he doesn't like this one bit. Andre says he won't go anywhere near that corner because this isn't right.
-New is going to pound Bret like a jackhammer.
-Bret says this time the time is on his side and News can't run as they've got 30 minutes this time. TIME IS ON MY SIDE.

Match#5 Rick Rude w/Bobby Heenan vs Scott Casey
Sweet 90 second showcase for Rude as he's using those forearms and elbows so much better than even a few weeks ago. The jobber eats nothing but dirt for him to reall die. Rude wins with the RA.
*3/4

Post match, he kisses another lucky lady.

Stage Interview-
-Brutus Beefcake is here to strut and cut
-Brutus says he put the fear of God in Jimmy when he cut his hair, and he's not done with them. Jimmy comes out and yells a him, AND HONKY RUNS FROM BEHIND AND BREAKS THE GUIATR OVER THE BACK OF BRUTUS' HEAD TO SEND HIM TO THE FUCKING CONCRETE FLOOR. YEAH HONKY, KILL HIM. HONKY JUMPS DOWN AND SHOUTS "THAT WAS A MEAN TUNE" HAHAHAHAHA. Brutus is helped up and we can see the back of his head is busted open as it's dripping down his neck and back in a gnarly moment. 4 for 4 for killer angles tonight.

Match#6 Demolition w/Mr Fuji vs Buck Zumhoffe & Warren Bianchi
Demo kill one of the worst humans ever in Buck, and i love them even more for each and every shot they destroy him with. They also kill the other dude with a serial killer name, so this match is maybe the most poorly aged match i've covered thus far. Demo take a head off to win.
**

WWF Update-
-They replay Hogan's return.

In the back, Craig finds a bloody and hurt Brutus. He shouts he won't fall and go down thanks to him or anyone else. He's going to tear him limb from limb. Sadly, even his angry promos are dreadful.

Match#7 Koko B Ware vs Terry Gibbs
Woooo, what an episode. Koko gets 2 minutes to showoff and do his cool as heck stuff, and it's the best as always. Koko murders Gibbs with the Ghostbuster to win.
**

WWF Events Center-
-Warrior says his purpose is his destiny with Fuji to help Strike Force to reclaim what is there's.
-Martel says Warrior will take care of Fuji, and they'll be all over Demolition to prove they don't deserve the titles.
-Jake is mad that Rude is saying he felt sorry for his wife and snatched her wrist. He handles his woman and he never has to grab her to do it because he knows how to treat her. YOU THINK HE'S GOING TO WALK INTO HIS HOME AND SAY BABY I'LL LET HIM SLIDE, THAT'S A SLAP IN HIS FACE, MY MAN. HE'S GOING TO TAKE WHAT HE WANTS FROM HIM.


Goddamn, one of the best episodes of WWF TV ever.

 

[BigVanDonnie]

Rick Rude vs Jake Roberts (21/5-Spectrum)
Jake gets him as he's taking his robe off and throws some of the best looking punches of his life as he takes Rude's face off. He moves to the body so we get fantastic Rude rib selling and big bumps as Jake kicks his ass all over the place. Rude tries to fight back with his forearms, but Jake cuts him off with the big knee to the jaw and goes for the DDT, but Rude bails as quick as he can. Rick gets the bag and drops it on the ground to lure Jake out, and he hits him with a knee to the temple when he gets back in and decks him with a series of punches and locks in a very good looking sleeper to wear him down. Far better than the terrible stuff he was doing at Mania, so i'm glad they waited until he improved to do this, Rude breaks out some taunting and smack talking as he's getting better at this, and Jake's selling and attempted comeback all rock. The sleeper is super tight as you can see the veins in Rude's arms popping as he does it, and i love such a little thing that can help show how much a move actually hurts. Jake gets free, but Rude beats him back down for as long as he can, but Jake starts to hulk up and fights back with more punches to the face and body. Some of them are truly incredible looking as they smack the sweat off Rude's body. Rick claws his eyes and rams him into the post, and gets him back in and stupidy poses over a prone Jake, and Roberts lifts his legs up to roll him up and get the 3 out of nowhere.
**3/4

Jake gets Damien and runs Rude off.

 

[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
May 22nd, 1988
Rochester, MN

Match#1 Jake Roberts vs Steve Lombardi
Shorter one for Jake at 90 seconds or, so he can't do his normal routine. Still fine enough from Jake, but yeah longer is better for him. He wins with the DDT
*

WWF Update-
-Sean covers the hate between OMG and Bammer.
-They show clips from their Mania match.

Match#2 Bad News Brown vs Chris Zarna
News gets 2 minutes to unload another fantastic showcase as he's SO fucking mean and good at this point, and i love his squashes because they never fail to hit the mark of exactly what they should be. He does some dirty stuff like grinding his elbow into the kids face just to be an asshole. He finally wins with the Blaster.
**

Match#3 The Young Stallions vs Tom Stone & Rick Gantner
The pretty boys get 3 minutes in one of those amazing B show moments where someone like Pat or Vince just said "fuck it" and let them go. Very good display of basics and some ok moves that they can do without messing up, and it's enough for me. The Russians have a cut in saying nothing new, so fuck em. Roma wins for his team with his Dropkick.
*3/4

Sam Houston eats a WWF Ice Cream Bar.

Match#4 Hercules w/Bobby Heenan vs Bill Bowman
Oh yuck, he's getting squashes again. Bad muscle head work from the big lug as he's never getting better, so it's great he's here until 1992. He wins with his shitty Torture Rack
1/4*

WWF Events Center
-Bobby says Hacksaw might not be human, and he doesn't even want this match but he's going to pay for opening something that only Andre can stop.
-Andre says he's MAD and now that's he mad he's going to get him again. He motions for the squeeze.
-HOOOOOOO. Hack says he didn't expect to be cheap shotted by Andre, but this time he knows what to expect when he lace his boots up. He's got his 2x4 and he's going to give it his best shot, tough guy.

Match#5 Junkyard Dog vs Terry Gibbs

Decided to find out the definition of putrid if you're at all interested.
a

: being in a state of putrefaction : rotten
b
: of, relating to, or characteristic of putrefaction : foul
a putrid odor.

Stage Interview-
-Andre & Bobby are the guests.
-Bobby says Hacksaw has a GIANT problem of 7ft5 and 500 pounds. He's been telling everyone he levelled Andre with a cheap shot, but he's up and he's staying up. Andre says Duggan is a nothing and the world will see when he gets finished with him. He will suffer and suffer and he's going down, and he's going to squeeze that little neck on him until he goes down.
-Bobby says you could knock down a charging bull with a 2x4, and Andre stands over Craig to make him shut up. Craig says hoo, SO ANDRE GRABS HIS FACE WITH ONE HAND AND COVERS THE ENTIRE THING. GOOD LORD.

We go back to the ring for Patera and Bravo in a tug of war contest. Gorilla says he's been in a few of these and likes to have the rope shorter, and that feels like cheating tbh. Anyway, Ken is stronger as Dino can't get him over the line as hard as he tries, and Ken pulls him further and further to the line, so Dino jumps over it and tackles Ken. He beats him up as Frenchy holds Ken down by his legs. Dino hits an elbow and beats him with the rope and chokes him out until refs get him off.

Match#5 The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers vs Rick Renslow & Dave Wagner
They have another pro American cut in, and it's so fake and terrible that it's perfect. They out on another stellar showcase of as much cool shit as they can, and they even break out a gross mule kick at one point that cripples a jobber. They do more cool double teams and win with a doomsday Lariat.
**

WWF Events Center-
-Ted says Randy wasn't very macho when Hogan hit him with a chair to steal away his title. Elizabeth is a beautiful woman but money is everything, and he's going to learn that.
Randy says he's wrong because he can't buy the title and he's going bankrupt in the end. Liz is by his side always, and Virgil is too ugly on the outside. They can't cash this cheque.