Sage Cortez
The Ultimate Warrior is the new champion, and it’s time to see what Saturday Night’s Main Event looks like now that he’s on top. He does have a match on this show, but will it be built around him too? I have absolutely no idea. I think it would make sense for them to push the challengers for SummerSlam really hard. As we now know, one of them wasn’t there, and I mean Kerry Von Erich. The others were Rick Rude and the Hart Foundation. Earthquake was also going to be in a big program. I don’t know if they do, but they should have pushed them on this kind of showcase. Either this or the next SNME would suffice. The attendance for this card is really low, about 50%. You can already see that the boom is dying, and Warrior winning the title didn’t do much for ticket sales.
– Taped to air April 28th, 1990, from the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas
This starts off with Warrior cutting a promo on Haku, and saying nobody will stop him from reaching his ULTIMATE DESTINY! Bobby Heenan talks on behalf of Haku, and next up, it’s Mr. Perfect to talk about his match with Hulk Hogan. One last burial for the soon to be Intercontinental Champion. Hulk Hogan said that he was going to beat down the Genius and Mr. Perfect. He got the headline spot in the promo package. All you need to know about Warrior’s push, just like I said in my WrestleMania VI review. He would never be given the torch as long as Hogan was around, and while Hogan was going on a break, it’s not like he was leaving the company.
This introduction with Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura on horseback is absolutely amazing. They run down the matches, and besides what I already mentioned, we have matches like the Big Boss Man vs. Akeem, and that’s really all they mention. Funny.
Mr. Perfect (w/the Genius) vs. Hulk Hogan
Pre-Match Thoughts: I find it sad that they give Perfect to Hogan after WrestleMania. Not only because it’s somebody who had such a long undefeated run, but because Perfect was about to get a title. It seems really contradictory to me. Sean Mooney finally makes an appearance on SNME, interviewing Perfect and Genius. I call that a promotion! Perfect’s promo was really good, I hate that they gave this guy Heenan to cut promos for him. Nonsensical. Hogan cuts his promo in the back, basically no-selling his loss to the Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania. I noticed that the entire upper deck of the arena was blacked out. Arenas that are full don’t look like that.
Match Review: The match begins, and Hogan shoves Perfect back into the corner, causing him to take a break. He gets back in, and takes Hogan down with a hip toss. Hogan returns the favor, then bodyslams Perfect a few times to clear him out of the ring. When he gets back in again, Perfect nails Hogan with punches, leading up to shooting him into the turnbuckle. Hogan goes for a big boot in return, but Perfect ducks out of the ring. Hogan follows and gives Perfect a chop to knock him down, then he rams him into the apron. Perfect gets posted, then they roll back in for a clothesline by Hogan. Hogan clotheslines him again in the corner, and chops away for some time. After a pair of running elbows by Hogan, Perfect takes a bump over the top. Genius tries to sneak around with a scroll shot, but Hogan spots it, grabs him, and punches him. Perfect has the scroll, and he clocks Hogan with it thanks to the distraction provided by the Genius. I’ve just noticed that Genius is wearing a wig after having his head shaved at WrestleMania. After that, we head to a commercial.
Back from that commercial, Perfect rams Hogan into the rail, and sends Hogan back into the ring. Perfect gives Hogan the NECK SNAP, and drops a few elbows until he misses one. Hogan lands some big rights, but Perfect comes back with a kick and clothesline. Perfect then gives Hogan the PERFECT-PLEX, and of course, Hogan kicks out at 2. He HULKS UP, hits Perfect with a big boot, and DROPS THE LEG for a victory at 8:03. Ha. Genius attacks him from behind with the scroll, but that just means Hogan is going to kick his ass. After throwing Genius over the top, Hogan goes through the usual.
My Thoughts: This match was fine, but it’s the same damn match I’ve been watching for a year and a half now. I’m getting pretty tired of it. As previously stated, I can’t believe he was able to stay over doing the same thing for so long. Different era. **1/4, as Perfect being his opponent did make things better due to the bumps he took. Still, I question having him lose to Hogan right before winning a title.
Haha, Rick Martel has a commercial promoting ARROGANCE! This was great.
Earthquake (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. Hillbilly Jim
Pre-Match Thoughts: Yeah, it’s not even slightly obvious how this match is going to go. Even still, it’s a good way to showcase Earthquake. They needed to do that. Hillbilly Jim had been doing commentary on the MSG shows and not wrestling, but he’s a name. Jesse Ventura is with Jimmy Hart and Earthquake, who does his great Earthquake promo with the shaking and all that. I’m a little surprised they gave Earthquake to Jimmy Hart instead of Bobby Heenan. Maybe they thought Heenan was winding it down and unable to take the bumps needed. Mean Gene was with Hillbilly Jim, who said a lot of shit I couldn’t even understand. What the hell?
Match Review: Earthquake tries to attack to start things off, but his charge misses and Jim starts hitting him with big right hands. After some turnbuckle shots, Jim chops away. Quake goes to the eyes, and tries to squash him in the corner, but it’s blocked. Jimmy Hart gets on the apron, and Jim goes over to him when Hart grabs Jim’s horseshoe. Earthquake then squashes Jim with a splash in the corner, and drops a huge elbow on him. Time for the BUTT SPLASH, and it’s over at 1:58. He squashed Jim with two more of them, some elbow drops, and Jim got taken out on a stretcher. Poor guy.
My Thoughts: Good showcase, didn’t exhibit any of Quake’s weaknesses and made him look really good. I’m not really an Earthquake fan, but I’ve always been intrigued by him, and to me it’s easy to see why they brought him in and immediately pushed him. He certainly wasn’t a bad talent, and for his size, actually quite good. *.
Once again we have an Arrogance commercial! Martel got a great spot on this show, and they had models in this one to put him over. Great moment.
The Hart Foundation vs. The Rockers
Pre-Match Thoughts: I love that they put this match on SNME. We need to see it. I am surprised that it’s ahead of Warrior’s appearance, though. The way he’s being presented is so weird. Jesse Ventura was with the Hart Foundation, which is strange seeing as he only interviews heels on these episodes. Was it being considered for them to go heel? Their promo sure as hell sounds like a heel promo. The Rockers had their own promo in the back, and they said they’d break some hearts. Haha.
Match Review: Bret and Marty are in there to start, and quickly they go to Marty flipping out of a bodyslam, Bret blocking a cradle, and giving Marty a hip toss. Michaels tags in for a cross body from the top, and Bret reverses it for 2. Marty tags back in there, and they give Bret a double Russian leg sweep. The Anvil rushes in to hit the Rockers with a double clothesline, and the double teaming is over. He then makes a legal tag in, and runs Marty over with a shoulderblock. Marty slides underneath Neidhart, gives him a drop toe-hold, and tags back out. Michaels goes for a bodyslam, but Neidhart blocks it and tries his own, which gets reversed into a Michaels dropkick. Michaels tries a cross body, and this time Neidhart slams him. Bret tags back in, and gives Michaels an inverted atomic drop and a clothesline. Neidhart switches back in there, and Bret knees Michaels from behind as he runs the ropes. Neidhart backdrops Michaels as well, then tags his partner. Bret elbows Michaels, then sends Michaels hard into the buckle. Bret makes a tag, whips Neidhart shoulder-first into the corner, and Neidhart covers for 2. Bret gets back in there, and Michaels uses a sunset flip for 2. Now Demolition is at ringside. What could they be up to? Bret gives Michaels a backbreaker as that’s going on, then he notices Demolition is out there. Michaels then dropkicks Bret over the top, and Demolition goes to help him up, only for Bret to shove him.
After a commercial, Bret rams Michaels into the buckle, and the match keeps going just like before. One of Bret’s European uppercuts had the crowd wincing. Michaels misses a charge to the corner, then Bret misses an elbow drop from the second rope. Michaels finally tags out, and Marty comes in with a flying back elbow to Bret. He then powerslams Bret, and points at Demolition for some reason. He hits Bret with a superkick for 2, and points at Demolition again. Marty then sunset flips Bret for 2, and Bret uses a swinging neckbreaker to cut off his momentum. Bret makes his own tag out, and Neidhart flies in with a slingshot splash that misses. So, Michaels tags in as well, and Neidhart destroys him with a shoulderblock, getting a 2 count. Neidhart has a backdrop blocked, and Michaels drills him with a spinning elbow for 2. Michaels gets caught on a cross body attempt, but falls on top for 2 anyway. When Neidhart kicks out, Demolition helps Michaels up off the floor, and Marty has a big problem with that. He hits Ax from behind, and Demolition climbs in the ring for a 3 way brawl. Haha. Obviously, the result is a double DQ after 9:30.
My Thoughts: I don’t really know what to think of the finish, but I enjoyed the match a lot. With it ending in a 3 way brawl, did they intend to do a 3 way tag match? Or not? I don’t know. This wasn’t to the standard of their other matches, but it was good fun and all four guys worked really hard. ***1/2. It’s obvious one of these teams had to turn heel because they had absolutely nothing on the heel side of the equation. Judging by what happened in this segment, it came down to the Hart Foundation or Demolition. They made the right choice, but I do wonder what would have happened if the Hart Foundation went heel. Got the belts and put them on LOD without the Nasty Boys getting a chance? Probably.
Earthquake is now in the back, celebrating his victory. He then targeted Hulk Hogan. WHERE COULD THIS BE GOING???
Hogan had a response for that, and he said nothing’s going to get in his way.
Haku (w/Bobby Heenan) vs. The Ultimate Warrior for the WWF Championship
Pre-Match Thoughts: Warrior vacated his Intercontinental Championship, as we know. I think this is a terrible way to use a new champion who’s supposed to be a big star. If he was supposed to be a big star. Not to be repetitive, but I don’t think that was entirely the intention, or they would have managed him differently. Before this starts, some of the events of WrestleMania VI are shown, specifically Hogan giving Warrior the title belt. Haku getting the first title shot is just bad. Nothing against Haku, but that’s the way it is. Heenan’s comments about Texas were messed up. Warrior had comments of his own, which were even crazier than his usual.
Match Review: Warrior runs out to the ring, and doesn’t get anywhere near the reaction Hogan did. Haku attacks him with chops, and Warrior comes back with kicks. He sends Haku into the corner and backdrops him, then knocks him out of the ring with a clothesline. There are also visible empty seats for Warrior’s match. Warrior shoulderblocks Warrior when they’re back in the ring, and goes to work on the arm. He throws Haku over the top, and Warrior gives chase, only for Haku to attack Warrior when they get back in the ring. Warrior rams Haku into the buckle 10 times, then has a charge to the corner blocked. Haku knocks Warrior down with a clothesline, as the whole arena is now blacked out. Haku knocks Warrior down with a dropkick, the editing magic is so noticeable here and it looks really bad. The camera work has completely changed. Haku gives Warrior a backbreaker, it gets 2. Haku follows that with a back suplex for 2, and a bodyslam afterward. Haku gives Warrior a big splash, and Warrior pops up at the count of 2 for his comeback. This act is so tired after seeing Hogan do it earlier. He hits Haku with three clotheslines, a flying shoulderblock, and the big splash for the win at 4:49.
My Thoughts: This wasn’t a bad match, but the editing tricks to cover up empty seats are really noticeable. The entire arena had the lights shut off, outside of the first few rows at ringside. I thought I was watching one of those Houston house shows that people didn’t show up to. They edited in sound, edited out the camera shots that show empty seats, and all things considered it was just a joke. I don’t think they were too happy that Warrior’s match didn’t keep people in the building. *1/2.
Once again we have a Rick Martel commercial! This is huge promotion for him, he’s been placed before every segment.
Akeem (w/Slick) vs. The Big Boss Man
Pre-Match Thoughts: I am interested to see if the lights were turned on for this match, hopefully they were as the overall feel of the event has gotten really strange. This may serve as a blowoff match, or it may not, I don’t know. I thought WrestleMania was sufficient for this feud. Slick cut a promo on Boss Man, saying he was dumb for not accepting Ted DiBiase’s money. Akeem then talked in jive. Weirdos. Boss Man talked about DiBiase far more than Akeem, so if you didn’t already know, that’s his next feud. Looks like the lights are back to some extent, so they taped this before the Warrior match.
Match Review: Akeem tries to start off with an attack, but Boss Man beats him up and pulls him out of the corner. He uses a hip toss, and follows with a leapfrog body guillotine. Boss Man slaps him around a little, but misses a charge to the corner and Akeem takes over. He splashes Boss Man in the corner, then sits on his face repeatedly. That sounded really dirty and gross. Akeem hits Boss Man with a back elbow, then splashes him for 2. Akeem goes for a piledriver, but Boss Man backdrops him over the top rope. I didn’t expect that! He brings Akeem in the hard way, and headbutts him. Boss Man gives him the BOSS MAN SLAM, and here comes Ted DiBiase and Virgil for a DQ at 3:18. They double team Boss Man, hitting him with a double clothesline. Virgil has handcuffs too, and they cuff Boss Man to the top rope. Boss Man appears to have a key, but Virgil has the nightstick. Boss Man unlocks himself, and attacks DiBiase, then chases him all the way to the back.
My Thoughts: Akeem worked really hard in that, it helped make the match decent enough. Not to say it was good or anything, because it wasn’t. I’ve found that Boss Man was a good worker against guys who could go, maybe even better. Akeem/One Man Gang couldn’t go, as hard as he tried. The events after the match were good, so I’d slap this with a *3/4 rating.
After one last commercial with Rick Martel, it’s time to wrap up the show. Bobby Heenan had things to say about what happened, and he noticed some flaws with the Ultimate Warrior. Sure! Ultimate Warrior responded by talking about Rick Rude, which is just a repetition of things that have been done before. Show’s over!
I’d love to know what the thinking was backstage both during this show and when they decided which programs they were going to do after WrestleMania. A lot of them just didn’t make any sense, that being said, I haven’t watched the April or May TV yet. What did make sense, is actually really good. Hulk Hogan and Earthquake made sense. The Hart Foundation and Demolition did. Boss Man and DiBiase did. Warrior and Rude did not. Perfect and Beefcake did not. Dusty Rhodes and Randy Savage did not. The rest is what it is. As everyone knows, attendance went rapidly downhill. I’ll have updates on that as it goes along. Next up for me, is Capital Combat 1990, then it’s back to the WWF for their assorted stuff.
Wrestling Time: 26:53. Yeah, this isn’t a lot. The longest match was good though.
Best: The Rockers vs. The Hart Foundation. Never in doubt because it usually is. I’ll be sad when I get to a point where both these teams are gone.
Worst: The way Warrior and Haku had their match dimmed was awful.
Card Rating: 7/10. This was actually a good episode in spite of the things surrounding the booking that bothered me.
