Sage Cortez
Man, there’s a hell of a story to tell about this show. In the first place, it was taped to be a super long SNME episode, with the long Rockers/Hart Foundation title change and all that. Instead, the show was cut, and the title change was cut as well. This was then turned into an hour special, which clocks in at 48 minutes with the commercials cut out. So, there’s not a whole lot of time here, but they put a few matches on the show anyway. For whatever reason, none of them featured Hulk Hogan. In addition to that, this show aired the day after Survivor Series. There’s definitely an argument to be made that doing so was stupid and hurt the Survivor Series buyrate. It may also have hurt the TV rating here. Anyway, with Survivor Series done, the product changing after that, and everything leading up to one of the best WrestleMania’s, I’m pretty hyped up. Let’s get to it.
– Taped to air November 23rd, 1990, from Allen County Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana
It’s excellent to see the show open with Ted DiBiase cutting a promo on the Ultimate Warrior. They hyped him up hard, even showing skits from three years previous. They should have done this for years, but they let him slide down the card. Instead, he’s headed back up the card, and he’s challenging for the title on the Main Event! Gene Okerlund made it sound like DiBiase had a plan for this show. Wonder what it could be.
Warrior responds with a promo of his own, and it was REALLY good. Money can’t buy everything, and you know what, this is the most like a babyface Warrior had ever sounded. Even the people who didn’t like him could get behind him with comments like these.
Ted DiBiase (w/Virgil) vs. The Ultimate Warrior for the WWF Championship
Pre-Match Thoughts: As already stated, they cut promos on each other to open the show. I think this could be a pretty good match, with it being taped and all, there’s no way it would have made air if it wasn’t. Looks like Vince McMahon and Roddy Piper will be the hosts for this one, and they don’t even have time to talk about the other matches. So, neither do I.
Match Review: These guys lock up, and of course, DiBiase gets shoved hard into the corner. Warrior does it again, then DiBiase tries to grab onto a wristlock and gets shoved to the canvas. DiBiase tries to come back with clubbing blows, but Warrior clotheslines him instead. He gives him another to send him over the top rope, so Virgil and DiBiase huddle up. Of course, Warrior walks over and gives them a noggin-knocker. He then rams them into the apron, and sends DiBiase back in. Warrior heads up top, and comes down with a clothesline, I wasn’t expecting that! Warrior then charges to the corner, but DiBiase blocks it with a knee and follows with another clothesline. So many clotheslines. DiBiase heads up to the second rope, comes down with an elbow, and gets 2. DiBiase then PILEDRIVES Warrior, but that also gets 2. He tries another, but this time Warrior reverses to a backdrop. Warrior selling his back after that is possibly the most I’ve ever seen him sell, it was enough to make me laugh. Warrior then takes DiBiase down with some tackles, and Virgil grabs onto him, which allows DiBiase to clothesline Warrior over the top. Time for a commercial!
Back from that commercial, DiBiase hits Warrior with some elbows, then drops fists on him for 2. DiBiase then takes Warrior down with a headlock, and Warrior has to fight out of it after a brief rest. Warrior gets knocked down by another clothesline, then DiBiase puts his head down for a backdrop and Warrior takes him down with a backslide for 2. DiBiase then suplexes Warrior, and that gets 2 as well. DiBiase tries another suplex, but Warrior reverses it into a sunset flip for 2. Now that was weird. DiBiase throws Warrior to the outside, and rams him into the steps as well. Back in they go, and DiBiase starts punching Warrior, which leads to the NO-SELLING. THE POWER OF THE WARRIORS IS KICKING IN. DiBiase tries another suplex, but Warrior takes him down with one instead. Warrior and DiBiase then do a massive collision spot, they wiped each other out hard. DiBiase heads up to the top after getting up first, and Warrior hits him on the way down. Warrior now starts SHAKING THE ROPES, then clobbers DiBiase and starts his rampage of clotheslines. He then signals for the flying shoulderblock, and delivers it, but Virgil runs in during the cover, leading to a DQ at 9:47.
Virgil then tries to beat Warrior up, but gets clotheslined for his troubles. Virgil then gets up, Warrior picks him up for a press slam, and out from the back comes THE MACHO KING. HE HITS WARRIOR WITH THE SCEPTER, AND LEAPS OFF THE TOP WITH ANOTHER SHOT TO HIS THROAT. HE’LL BE THE NEXT CHAMPION BROTHER, REMEMBER THE WORDS FROM SURVIVOR SERIES. Sherri then grabbed the WWF Championship belt, gave it to her man, and it appeared that Savage was going to take it with him. Instead, he hits Warrior with an elbow after jumping over WWF officials. He left after that, though.
My Thoughts: This match was a lot of fun, I wasn’t disappointed in it at all. It did follow the usual WWF main event formula, with the finish and all. I did think the finish was weak, but it was necessary in order to get over their point here. They could have had Savage interfere instead of Virgil, but they also wanted DiBiase and Virgil to break up, which the finish worked towards in its own way. One thing I’m a bit confused about, is that they were clearly building to a Warrior/Savage title match at the Rumble, and they didn’t do it. Instead they put Slaughter in there. I know why, but it seems strange when watching these shows. Another thing of note that helped the match was the lack of resting. It was also good to see Warrior work a long match without blowing up. ***1/4, Warrior looking like a normal man helped contribute to the ratings as well. When he struggled to make it to his feet after being beaten up, that was a great moment. Laughed so hard at Vince’s commentary though.
With the beatdown over, it was time for the Macho King to talk about it. He dealt with Warrior the way he needed to, and was talking about the feeling he had when he hit them. As stated, this is great hype for a Savage/Warrior match at the Rumble, but they didn’t go that way. Great promo.
Sgt. Slaughter (w/General Adnan) vs. Nikolai Volkoff
Well, this sounds like an amazing match. Nikolai was in the ring waving the American flag around, as Slaughter was making comments in the back. TO HELL WITH AMERICA, he said. That’s messed up right there. Finally they talked about the other matches, but I’m focused on this one right now. Slaughter walked down to the ring, and as you can perhaps decipher from the lack of format here, he attacks Volkoff before the match can even start. Adnan and Slaughter then beat the guy down, with Slaughter using a riding crop while having Volkoff in the CAMEL CLUTCH. So, Slaughter kept making the guy humble, then JIM DUGGAN COMES OUT TO THE RING. YES, TIME FOR THIS IRAQI LOVING LOSER TO FACE A REAL AMERICAN. Or not, seeing as Slaughter ran away. This was a good way to establish a program after Slaughter won the title, even though the opponent wasn’t the best. It still should have drawn.
The Big Boss Man vs. Mr. Perfect
Pre-Match Thoughts: Perfect didn’t quite have his title back yet, so this wasn’t really foreshadowing their upcoming WrestleMania match at all. Heenan also didn’t want to be at ringside due to Boss Man being mad about Heenan making fun of his mother. Boss Man cut a promo about Heenan’s actions, and it was hard not to laugh at it. Perfect needs to go over in some fashion here, not only because he was going to get a championship, but because he needed it more. The green screen used by the WWF for Piper and McMahon’s bits here looks laughable and far too obvious.
Match Review: Perfect slaps Boss Man, which seems like a good way to start the match. He then evades him for a bit, and Boss Man gives chase around the ring. He catches Perfect and pulls him down to the floor by his hair, then sends him into the ring for a backdrop that Perfect cartwheels away from. So, Boss Man clotheslines him. He then pulls Perfect by the hair to drag him all the way across the ring, and they do that contrived spot where he throws Perfect into the post in a way that crotches him. Boss Man follows that with a backbreaker, then heads up top. He comes down with a big splash that misses, and that’s a good way for Perfect to establish control. Perfect then drops Boss Man with a sick version of the neck snap, that looked like it really hurt. After a count of 1, Perfect goes for a small package, and it gets 2. Baby steps. He continues to kick away at Boss Man’s back for a while, and Perfect decides to take one of the turnbuckles off in the middle of that. He tries to ram Boss Man into it, but Boss Man stops it and sends Perfect into it. Boss Man then knocks him around for a bit, and Perfect sells everything so awesomely. Boss Man then gets thrown back first into the exposed buckle, which seems like it would hurt. In theory. Now Bobby Heenan runs out to ringside, seeing as Boss Man is weak and all. Perfect tries to put the PERFECT-PLEX on Boss Man, but Boss Man cradles him up for 2. Perfect then hits Boss Man with a ridiculously hard chop, and they trade punches until Perfect actually does give Boss Man the PERFECT-PLEX. Surprisingly, Boss Man kicks out at 2. That finisher is totally illegitimate now. Heenan then tries to pull the rope down as Boss Man runs them, but it turns out Perfect was running them. Heenan then slaps Boss Man, and Boss Man chases him to the back, which leads to a count-out victory for Perfect at 8:15.
The camera shot of Heenan sliding on the concrete floor to get away from Boss Man was gold, as was Boss Man chasing Perfect from the ring!
My Thoughts: This match was pretty good, and it’s not like Perfect had a ton of good singles matches in the WWF, but the finish was awful. I don’t know why they booked Boss Man to kick out of the finisher there, in a match with no stakes. Besides that, I really liked the work. It was nice to see Perfect be aggressive while maintaining his usual selling. It was also nice to see him face somebody who sold his shit. I don’t want to see him face guys who give him nothing and sell nothing. **3/4, it could have been even better if they had built towards a finish. I liked seeing it.
In the back, we have Heenan complaining to Mean Gene about the Boss Man. This is great! He says that he’s apologized, but I’m not sure that’s entirely true. Now he’s begging. It’s kind of sad that this was Heenan’s last feud in which he was so involved, but he did a really good job.
NO WAY, IT’S THE BUDDY ROSE SKIT! This is funny as hell, I don’t know who came up with this. Amazing stuff.
Rick Martel vs. Tito Santana
Pre-Match Thoughts: I suppose this is a somewhat official way to wrap up their feud from a year before this that was never wrapped up. To go from that commercial to this match, and seeing the Model on screen, was a personal joke somebody had, I’m sure. This is a nice way to finish the show, that’s for sure.
Match Review: Martel attacks, so we’re underway. He throws Santana to the outside, and wants a count, but he certainly hasn’t won yet. Martel then lines Santana up for a clothesline, but instead he clotheslines the post. Santana then leaps off the top and hits Martel with a double axehandle, then goes to an armbar. Martel shoots him into the ropes, Santana blocks a monkey flip, and it’s back to the arm. Santana then cradles Martel up for 2, and Martel hits him in the throat so he can take control. He puts a chinlock on Santana, but Santana quickly reverses to a hammerlock. Martel makes the ropes, then rams Santana into the buckle, so NOW he’s in control. He chokes Santana for a bit, then picks him up for a turnbuckle shot. Martel works Santana over for a bit, giving him a backbreaker in the process, then heads up top. That’s rare! He changed his mind though, and gave Santana another backbreaker instead. Now he goes up top for real, and Santana hits him, crotching him and knocking him to the canvas. He then hits Martel with MEXICAN FURY, which gets the crowd awfully excited. Santana follows that with his own backbreaker, then heads up to the second rope for a flying clothesline that gets 2. Martel tries an atomic drop, but Santana blocks it and goes for the figure-four. Martel blocks that and cradles Santana up for 2, then he trips Santana, puts him in the BOSTON CRAB, and gets the submission at 6:46.
My Thoughts: It’s funny how Santana was still able to get the fans behind him despite lacking any semblance of a push. He has done it almost every time I’ve seen one of his matches from 1990. It’s kind of remarkable. This match was nothing special, it was simply a standard match, but the crowd really got into it. I’m glad the match finished clean as that didn’t happen in the other matches. **1/2, nice stuff, and seeing as that’s the last match, this has been a good show.
Now we have Jake Roberts in the back, and they’re recapping the entire angle with Rick Martel. Roberts was wearing sunglasses during his promo, and he talked about how he’d eventually get a chance to face Martel one on one. To cap the promo off, he revealed his messed up eye.
Piper and Vince then talk about the WWF Championship match, which leads to more comments from the Ultimate Warrior. He had no paint on his face, and went dark with this thing. He’s going to get Randy Savage, and this promo was a money one that should have got a lot of people into the building. Nice way to close out the show with Warrior raising the title belt earlier on.
I’d rate this show on par with SNME #28, which was one of the best one hour specials the WWF ever did. Everything on this was really well done. The promos were on point and well written, and the wrestling was good as well. Given the state of the WWF’s roster, it would have been very difficult for them to run a better one hour show. I don’t know where they came up with the stuff here, but it was a good precursor for the things they had in store. For me, this was the last thing I had to watch that kicked on to the era of things that I really wanted to see again when I was doing this. I’m very happy with how this show turned out, plus with what’s ahead. You know what else felt good about this show? No Hulk Hogan match. His lack of presence made it feel different, and despite the poor TV rating, for me that’s enough. Next up, I’m going to watch Starrcade 1990. That’s another show I haven’t seen, and it features a tag team tournament that is hopefully not difficult to get through!
Wrestling Time: 24:48. There was a lot of physical action besides the wrestling as well, so nearly the whole show was wrestling. No filler.
Best: Buddy Rose skit. There was a lot here worth calling the best, but this really was. It was too funny, something the WWF didn’t pull off much.
Worst: I guess Nikolai Volkoff being on the show? Sorry Nikolai.
Card Rating: 9/10. I can’t think of anything on it that was bad, but it wasn’t good enough to be perfect. If that makes sense. Awesome show.
