Sage Cortez
It’s time for another WWF article featuring assorted matches and angles, and this time we’re headed into 1990! I’m pretty excited to clear 1989 as it wasn’t a year of WWF wrestling that I really enjoyed that much. When I started watching wrestling, the 1990 stuff was the first I saw by renting Coliseum Videos. So, it hits a sweet spot for me, and I dig the nostalgia that will be on display here. There was a funny note for a show I won’t review anything from. Apparently, there was an issue with traffic on the WWF’s tour stop in Oakland, and they had to have Andre the Giant and the Ultimate Warrior wrestle for almost 30 minutes. DAMN. After they killed more time for the wrestlers to get there, they had to cancel the show. What a disaster. There was also an issue with how the WWF distributed their PPV’s. Hopefully at the end I’ll have more details, but they wanted to distribute them themselves instead of using companies like Viewer’s Choice. It was about money, of course. Anyway, here we go!
– Taped to air November 25th, 1989, on Superstars, from the ExpoCentre in Topeka, Kansas
The Brother Love Show with Roddy Piper
As Vince McMahon says, the last time Piper was on that show alone, Rick Rude messed him up. This time, Brother Love isn’t even out there. Piper comes out first, and he appears to have a rope. He kicks down Love’s podium, and it would appear that Piper has tied him up. He’s also wearing an adult diaper. Well, this is really great. I’m glad I decided to watch this.
– November 25th, 1989, from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York
The Hart Foundation vs. The Rockers
Pre-Match Thoughts: I have reviewed one match between these teams before, but this one is supposed to be a lot better. Besides, it’s the fucking Hart Foundation and the fucking Rockers. Why wouldn’t I watch this? I do have a hard time believing that they had stagnated so much, but that was the way of the WWF given that they didn’t have eye popping physiques. This match does have a 20 minute time limit. I’m sure it will be used.
Match Review: Bret and Marty will start the match, and do so by locking up. After some clean breaks, Bret goes to work on the left arm until Marty reverses a bodyslam into a cradle attempt that is also reversed. Bret hip tosses Marty, and gets kicked off him, leading to a pause. Bret tries another hip toss, but Marty flips through and does his own. They both miss elbow drops, and Marty grabs hold of the arm. Michaels tags in, and that leads to a double hip toss and double elbow drop. Neidhart rushes in with a double clothesline, which gets a big pop and clears the ring. He then makes a legal tag in, and he takes Michaels down with a headlock that he gets out of. These two then collide with each other a few times, and Neidhart catches Michaels for a bodyslam that Michaels rolls through with a cradle for 2. Michaels has a bodyslam blocked, then he blocks Neidhart’s, and he rolls Neidhart up for 2. The reversals here are excellent. Marty tags in and hits the Anvil with a double axehandle from the top, then Neidhart comes back with a big shoulderblock. Marty takes him down with a drop toe-hold when he tries another, and puts Neidhart in a front face-lock. Neidhart places Marty on the top rope, then Marty jumps over him and takes him down with an arm drag. Michaels tags in for a double superkick that gets 2, and Neidhart comes back with a bodyslam. Bret tags in and misses an elbow, then there’s some great rope running and Bret gives Michaels an inverted atomic drop. After a kick down low, Neidhart heads back in and Bret knees Michaels in the back as he’s running the ropes. I guess we know who the heels are supposed to be. Bret follows with a backbreaker for 2, and brings his partner back in for a dropkick that also gets 2. Neidhart puts Michaels in a bear hug, as we’re about halfway through the match. Maybe the Rockers will play heels in a little bit. Michaels gets out of the bear hug and dropkicks Neidhart, then Marty clotheslines Neidhart from the apron to knock him down. Neidhart cuts Michaels off and tags out, but Michaels puts Bret in a backslide for 2. Bret tries the backbreaker again, but Michaels reverses and slams him. Neidhart cuts Michaels off once again, putting him in a front face-lock until tagging Bret back in. Long heat segment here, with Bret taking Michaels down and dropping a leg on him. Bret bodyslams Michaels and tags in the Anvil for a slingshot splash, but Neidhart misses it. Bret cuts Michaels off again, and gives him a suplex while doing so for another 2 count. Bret finally goes to a hold with it being a chinlock, but he quickly tags out so Michaels can take more punishment. Neidhart backdrops the poor guy for 2, then brings Bret back in for a turnbuckle shot. Michaels tries a charge after a reversed whip, but he runs into Bret’s boot. Bret heads up to the second rope for an elbow drop that misses, and finally it’s time for the tag.
Marty comes in and hits Bret with a flying back elbow, then follows with a knee lift for 2. Marty tries a backslide which also gets 2, and tries a cross body which also gets 2. I should mention Monsoon has been burying these guys the whole time for their choice in moves and holds. Marty sunset flips Bret for 2, and it would appear Bret needs to make a tag. He blocks a cradle attempt, then Marty goes for a cross body and flies over the top and out to the floor. That bump looked ROUGH. Neidhart tagged in there, and when Marty got back in, Marty snuck around him to make a tag! Michaels gets destroyed with a shoulderblock that gets 2 for Neidhart, then he comes back with a dropkick for his own 2 count. Michaels gives Neidhart a cross body from the second rope for 2, then Bret tags in. Michaels rams him into the buckle and flies off the top with a cross body that gets reversed for 2. Bret cradles Michaels up and it gets reversed for another 2 count, then Michaels gives Bret a suplex for yet another 2 count. Bret puts him in an abdominal stretch that gets reversed, so Neidhart runs in to break the hold. The bell rings for the 20 minute time limit, and the teams start trading punches with each other. Tito Santana, Paul Roma, and Hercules come out to break it up, but that seems to not quite work for a while. Didn’t see a handshake afterward, sadly.
My Thoughts: This was a hell of a match, certainly one of the best tag team matches of this WWF era. I can see why it was placed on two WWE DVD’s. First of all, the reversal sequences were extraordinary. Not only were there a lot of them, but they were very prevalent in the match, and added a lot to the whole thing. The initial heat segment was a little bit long, but I didn’t really mind that. The only thing the match was missing was a finish, but I don’t think it’s a big deal that we didn’t get one. The action was fast, which was rare for the WWF. It was also good, which was rare for the WWF. ***3/4 for this match and recommended as it’s one of the best Hart Foundation matches out there. Neidhart and Jannetty were clearly the lesser workers of the four, but neither looked out of place.
Jim Duggan vs. THE MACHO KING (w/Queen Sherri) for the KING’S CROWN
Pre-Match Thoughts: This is the return match from the previous month, when Duggan got cheated. Earlier in this show, they had a Brother Love thing where Elizabeth showed up and Duggan saved her from the creepy Brother Love. Hopefully the match is as good as the first one I watched, but that’s awfully unlikely seeing as Savage got an unbelievable performance out of Hacksaw to begin with.
Match Review: Hacksaw chased Savage out of the ring, so the match didn’t start so quickly. He then followed him around the ring, caught up to him, and clocked him. Hacksaw throws Savage into the post, then finally they get back in the ring. Hacksaw hip tosses the Macho King, and he bodyslams him as well. Hacksaw drops the knee, and Sherri gets on the apron to stop a cover. Oh yeah, I just remembered. There are two referees! Hacksaw takes Savage to the corner for 5 punches, and then a clothesline for 2. An atomic drop by Hacksaw follows that, then Sherri grabs onto his leg. Savage attacks Hacksaw from behind to knock him out of the ring, and follows him out with BOMBS AWAY from the top. He sends Hacksaw back into the ring and hits him with another double axehandle for 2, and Hacksaw conveniently throws Savage onto the referee when kicking out. So, with both referees distracted, Sherri tries to hit Hacksaw with a kick that misses. She tumbles into the ring, and Savage has to attack Hacksaw from behind for 2. That was totally blown. Hacksaw comes back with a clothesline and lands another, up to a fourth. He goes for his 3 POINT STANCE, and Savage dodges the clothesline. He heads up top, and hits Duggan with another double axehandle. That spot was blown too, I think. Sherri gets on the apron again, and she kicks the second referee. Haha. MISS ELIZABETH runs out there now, completely unspotted by the cameras, and hands Duggan Sherri’s loaded purse. So, Hacksaw hits Savage with it, and the referee counts Savage out at 7:33!
My Thoughts: I guess that’s as close as he’d get to being allowed to go over Savage. Makes sense, and the crowd actually liked the finish even though Savage didn’t lose his crown. The match was very poor with a ton of blown spots. I was actually surprised by how it turned out and I don’t think anyone was particularly happy about it. 1/2* and for a main event at MSG, that’s very low. I also didn’t see the point of having two referees when they couldn’t even control the action. Pretty dumb, when you think about it.
– Taped to air December 27th, 1989, from the Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee
NO HOLDS BARRED: THE MATCH
Zeus & THE MACHO KING (w/Queen Sherri) vs. Hulk Hogan (WWF Champion) & Brutus Beefcake in a STEEL CAGE MATCH
Pre-Match Thoughts: I find it really interesting that they were able to tape a match, sell it on PPV, and make quite a bit of money off of it. All while pairing it with a movie that I refuse to watch! Yeah, sorry guys. I can’t do it. It’s nothing short of impressive that this match drew money, to repeat that again. I am confused though. I would have put the Ultimate Warrior in there instead of Beefcake. Just because. On top of that, I don’t know what the rules of this match will be.
Match Review: Beefcake gets in the ring and Sherri slams the door into Hogan, which winds up with him being locked out. Haha. Gotta overcome the odds! Zeus drops Beefcake throat-first on the top rope, and Hogan starts making a climb over the top. Yeah, locking the cage really made a difference. When Hogan gets in, he hits these heels with clotheslines, and rams Zeus into the cage to knock him down. Beefcake backdrops Savage into the fence, and Zeus gets thrown into a big boot from Hogan. Savage gets sent into the boot as well, then atomic dropped by Beefcake. Zeus comes back by ramming Hogan and Beefcake’s head into the fence, then Savage climbs out. According to Vince, this is an elimination cage match where if one person leaves, they’re out. Okay. Beefcake and Savage climb up the cage, as does Sherri on the other side. Beefcake gives Sherri and Savage a noggin-knocker, then he goes for a sleeper on Zeus! Savage breaks up the sleeper, and Hogan gets hit with a double clothesline. The same happens to Beefcake, then both babyfaces are thrown into the cage. Shouldn’t someone take advantage of the situation and leave? Hogan replies with a back suplex to Zeus, and the other two guys ram each other into the fence at the same time. No what? The referee unlocks the door because all four guys are down, and Sherri slams the door in his face to knock him out. She gives Savage the chain and lock, and Savage is ready to head up top! He jumps off with the chain in hand, but Beefcake hits him on the way down. Shit. Zeus falls on top of Hogan during a bodyslam, and now Vince is calling for an official to count a fall. What? Hogan starts HULKING UP, and Savage gets thrown off the fence by Savage. Beefcake leaves the cage, Hogan hits Zeus with a clothesline, and I think Savage just bladed. Awesome. He’s out of the cage match too, though. Hogan slams Zeus, rams him into the cage multiple times, and bodyslams him for a second time. After 3 LEG DROPS, Hogan covers for the win at 9:27. What the hell?
My Thoughts: Having rules that aren’t adhered to doesn’t make any sense at all. Come on now. Besides that, the match was fine. Savage did a hell of a job, but there were other things they could have done with this match. Like, as terrible as it would have been, a singles match between Hogan and Zeus. I’m sure it would have gotten more PPV buys. Obviously, they didn’t want to do something embarrassing, so that wasn’t what they did. I would never have bought this PPV and feel bad for anyone who did to watch that shitty movie and a 10 minute match. **, I took some off for the nonsensical non-application of the rules that were announced for the match. Really unacceptable to me, sorry. Ordinarily I’d rate it less, but if you’ve seen Savage’s performance in this, you’d understand the rating.
– December 28th, 1989, from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York
Demolition vs. The Colossal Connection (w/Bobby Heenan) for the WWF Tag Team Championships
Pre-Match Thoughts: This match is a bit notable for many reasons. The most obvious is that it was Andre the Giant’s last match at MSG. Another was that the Colossal Connection had won the tag team titles in a match that was supposed to air a few days after this one. In a rare move, it was announced that the tag titles had changed. When it was announced, there was no reaction. I think people were confused. I’m going to review the title change later. Usually the crowds for the last MSG show of the year were very large, but not this one. That’s not the best sign for business.
Match Review: Haku and Smash start the match off with a lot of stalling on Haku’s part, then they finally lock up. After trading punches, Haku headbutts his opponent and pounds on him up against the ropes. Haku misses an elbow drop, so Demolition resumes their normal activity of double team punches. Ax tags in and the same thing goes on, then Smash does and the same thing goes on. Haku kicks him in the head, kickboxing style, and lands a superkick to the face. Andre tags in, and clearly has much more heat than Haku. He misses a sitdown splash, and Ax gets in there. Demolition double teams Andre, but Andre hits Ax with a big SOUPBONE after a little bit. Still, that doesn’t do much, and Demolition continues the punishment to a nice ovation. Andre kicks Ax away, but he’s caught on the wrong side of the ring so it just keeps going. Andre knees Ax in the side, is it time for something else now? After a headbutt, Andre makes the tag out. Ax gives Haku an atomic drop, but he can’t make an exit. Haku comes back with some choking and a dropkick, it gets the first 2 count of the match. Andre sneaks in for a double team switch, and chokes away at Ax for quite a while. It’s funny seeing Andre in this tag team role. He headbutts away, then tags in Haku for a charge to the corner that misses. Andre was dancing and didn’t know that happened, and when he realized, he punted Ax in the gut. Haku misses another charge and runs into a back elbow, and Smash makes the tag in. He takes Haku out with a backdrop, and hits Andre for good measure. Smash slams Haku, drops an elbow on him, and Andre runs in to get clotheslined. Haku gets pulled to the outside by Ax, Smash fights with Andre, and Smash gets thrown over the top by Andre when Haku gets back in the ring. So, Smash gets counted out at 11:12.
After the match, Demolition gets in there and goes on the attack, knocking Andre out of the ring with a double clothesline. Demolition Decapitation follows on Haku, and they do a fake cover that counts to 3 as their music starts playing. Haha.
My Thoughts: That didn’t exactly make the Connection look like strong champions. Andre was the one of the two who could get heat, not so much with Haku. For a short lived team, that’s just fine. Andre cracked me up with some of the stuff he was doing there, obviously he had deteriorated to a point where he could hardly work, but he still made me laugh. The match was no good, other than that. 1/4*, and I still have another match to watch between the two teams. Ha.
Rick Rude (w/Bobby Heenan) vs. Roddy Piper in a STEEL CAGE MATCH
Pre-Match Thoughts: I don’t know why Heenan is there. Really looking forward to the match though, you’d think that these guys will give a hell of an effort in order to make this thing work. I sure hope it’s better than their regular match. I like that Rude did his shtick even though the cage was obscuring people’s views.
Match Review: Rude attacks to get the match going, and for some reason we have a referee in the ring. That’s very unusual for a WWF cage match. Piper blocks being rammed into the cage, then he launches Rude into it at full speed. He starts whipping Rude with his belt, then to finish that off he punches him in the face with it. Rude tries to leave the cage by climbing over the top, but Piper grabs him and pulls his pants down. Haha. Rude gets thrown into the cage, and Piper tries to leave. Rude grabs onto him, and crotches him on the top rope. Ouch. Rude knees him down low as well, and wants the door opened. Piper holds on to keep him in the cage, and Heenan holds on to pull Rude out of it. Piper uses the pants to keep Rude in the cage once again, and the door is now shut. Piper hits Rude with rights, but Rude comes back with the RUDE AWAKENING! Rude’s busted open, too. Didn’t notice that. He did a good job with the blade, there’s a lot there. Rude goes for the door again, and Piper gets there in time, and gets in front of Rude to almost leave the cage. Rude pulls him back in, and after some running they collide with each other. Rude and Piper now simultaneously climb the cage, and start trading punches once atop the cage. I love this spot. Rude and Piper both climb over, and they ram each other’s heads into the cage and hit the floor at the same time. Awesome. THE MATCH MUST CONTINUE! Rude then cracks a chair over Piper’s head, and rams him into the stairs. So, they go back into the ring, and the match goes on. Rude’s pants have been exposing his ass almost this whole match, by the way. Rude heads up to the top of the cage, and leaps off with a fist drop. Now that was great. Piper does a seizure sell, and Rude goes for a cover that gets 2. I guess this is pinfall, submission, or escape now. Really weird. Rude PILEDRIVES Piper, and goes up top once again. He doesn’t want to leave, he wants to take Piper OUT. Piper shakes the ropes and Rude gets crotched, then Rude gets hung upside down from the cage. I cannot even describe how awesome that was. Piper goes to leave and Heenan slams the door on him, and Rude covers for another 2 count. Rude follows that with a back suplex, and Heenan seems to be digging for something. It’s brass knuckles! He gives them to Rude, and Piper hits him before he can use them. Piper gets those brass knuckles, hits Rude with them, and walks straight out the door at 12:55! For some reason Rude’s music went on for a bit, but that didn’t diminish the pop Piper got.
My Thoughts: When this match started, I thought it wasn’t going to be any good based on their initial approach. In the end, it was past the point of only being good. That was very good and bordering on great. The false finish was good in that there wasn’t a lot of time for BS and playing to the crowd, seeing as they were on a house show. Instead Rude immediately went on the attack. I did understand why Heenan was outside the ring the longer the match went on, but I don’t understand why the WWF changed their cage match rules. The consistency is what gets me, even though pinfall rules are better for cage matches. ***3/4, that was too good. The addition of blood was also nice, as in the last cage match. I find it to be necessary in cage matches, usually.
– Taped to air December 30th, 1989, on Superstars, from the Civic Center in Huntsville, Alabama
The Colossal Connection (w/Bobby Heenan) vs. Demolition for the WWF Tag Team Championships
Pre-Match Thoughts: Of course, through the lens of the TV programming, Demolition were still the tag team champions. In reality they were not. So, if anyone went to a house show where the Connection were announced as champions, they knew that this advertised match would probably be the title change. Simple deduction. It’s essential to watch for history purposes, otherwise I wouldn’t really care.
Match Review: Demolition attacks early, but Andre headbutts Ax to knock him down. Haku resumes the normal activity of the match with some choking, then hits Ax with a back elbow. Ax gets thrown into Andre’s head, and Andre chokes away as the referee is distracted. This is kind of hilarious. Haku gives Ax a backbreaker, it gets 2. Andre tags in for some big chops, and chokes away with a supposed nerve hold too. Haku tags in and misses a charge to the corner just like in their last match, with Andre doing some taunting and not realizing what happened. Haku cuts Ax off from tagging, and runs into Ax’s elbow on another missed charge. Andre makes a blind charge and hits Ax with more headbutts, then chokes him for a bit. Smash runs in to make the save, and now all four guys are in. The referee rushes to get Smash out, so, Andre holds Ax in place for a kick to the face by Haku. Andre then drops an elbow and covers, and we have new tag team champions at 4:35! Great seeing Andre celebrate with a title.
My Thoughts: That match wasn’t any good, and it was weird to see a match where a hot tag was never made. Instead, it was completely dominated by one team. DUD rating, but a cool moment with Andre becoming a champion and not giving the belt away immediately after.
– January 15th, 1990, from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York
The Powers of Pain (w/Mr. Fuji) vs. The Rockers
Pre-Match Thoughts: This is one of the only matches on the card that sounds like it’s worth watching in addition to being a match that I won’t repeat watch a bunch. So, it’s perfect to watch and review. The Powers of Pain were nearly done as a team even though they had beaten Demolition at Survivor Series. I cannot understand why other than the scant possibility that the titles were going to be put on them instead of the Colossal Connection. Perhaps they knew it would be Andre’s last WM and they changed their minds. I do not know.
Match Review: Barbarian and Shawn Michaels will start this thing, with Barbarian utilizing a big shove to send Michaels across the ring. It happens again, and Michaels uses the strategy of ducking and dodging to avoid a punch. Barbarian takes him down with a shoulderblock, then Michaels tries a cross body in reply. Marty flies off the top to help leading to a 2 count, and Marty grabs hold of the arm. Michaels tags in and does the same, and back to Marty only for Barbarian to run the Rockers into each other. The Rockers then hit both guys with superkicks and a double clothesline, clearing the ring to a huge ovation. The match continues with Warlord and Michaels in there, and Warlord kicks Michaels hard. After some clubbing blows, Michaels gives Warlord a FRANKENSTEINER, assisted by a dropkick given by Marty. Marty stayed in after that, and the Warlord took over on him until Michaels came in with a dropkick. Marty then tries the frankensteiner, so the Warlord powerbombs him. Haha. He follows that with a gigantic backdrop that has the crowd buzzing, it gets a 2 count. Warlord dishes out a gigantic flapjack for another 2 count, I can’t believe he’s been made to look this good. I don’t think he ever had been before. The Barbarian tags in and headbutts Marty’s back, then he kicks him out of the ring with a big boot. Fuji uses a cane shot as well, and Barbarian rams Marty’s back into the post. This match is…good. Really good. Marty gets sent back in there and Barbarian hits him with a huge clothesline, leading to a somersault sell. After the 2 count, the Warlord tags in there and trades bombs with Jannetty. Barbarian attacks from behind, so the punishment will resume. Barbarian tags in and puts Marty in a bear hug, until Marty claps the back of his head. After a punch from the second rope, he goes up again and Barbarian powerslams him on the way down. Barbarian then heads up to the second rope, and misses an elbow drop on the way down. Marty finally makes a tag out, and Michaels flies in with a dropkick. He hits Warlord with a double axehandle from the second rope, and tries a sunset flip which gets 2 after a clothesline from Marty. Michaels tries a cross body, and Marty dropkicks him on top for the cover. Michaels dodges an elbow drop that ends the cover, and Fuji trips him shortly after. Barbarian drops an elbow, covers, and picks the win up for the Powers of Pain at 9:59!
Michaels retaliates by dropkicking Fuji out of the ring, but Barbarian clotheslines him over the top. So, Jannetty is screwed. They drop elbows on him, and Barbarian clotheslines him from the second rope. Fuji follows with the cane and Michaels rushes back in with a chair to clear the ring, but the damage is done. Marty then does a stretcher job for even more sympathy.
My Thoughts: This was so much better than expected, these guys tore the house down. The spots here were great, especially the frankensteiner by Shawn and Warlord reversing Marty’s attempt. They made the Powers of Pain look better than they had ever been made to look. Sometimes wrestling is really simple. You get some big heels in there to throw little guys around, and it usually works. Sure did here. ***1/2, good stuff and I doubt there was anything better with the Powers of Pain while they were in the company. I’ll be sad once I’ve gone through the full catalogue of Rockers matches.
Mr. Perfect (w/the Genius) vs. Hulk Hogan for the WWF Championship
Pre-Match Thoughts: I almost forgot that Bob Orton Jr. was supposed to come back at this show and start working a schedule. He didn’t. Instead, his match was given to Akeem, so it was Akeem vs. Bret Hart. There is no way I’d watch that. I have never watched anything from this feud until a few weeks ago when I watched the SNME where it started, and right now. The attendance was unbelievably low for a Hogan card. 11,500.
Match Review: Perfect stalls to begin the match, Hogan wasn’t too happy about that. They lock up afterward, and Hogan throws him into the corner, showcasing his power. He takes Perfect down with a hip toss and two bodyslams, so Perfect bails again. Hogan follows, and has a noggin-knocker for Perfect and the Genius. Haha, the crowd loved that. He also slams the Genius, and throws him into the ring. Both guys attack Hogan, and for whatever reason they don’t disqualify Perfect. Hogan fights his way out by throwing Perfect into the Genius, and nailing Perfect with a back elbow that tied Perfect’s neck up in the ropes. An atomic drop follows to the Genius, and over the top he goes. Hogan throws him into the post after punching Perfect as he’s tied up, and comes back in to send Perfect over the top. This match is hilarious. Hogan follows and has another noggin-knocker for these guys, and sends Perfect back in. Hogan clotheslines Perfect, then rams him into the buckle and Perfect does his leaping sell. A Hogan clothesline follows that, but Perfect kicks him to finally get something in. A clothesline follows, and Perfect continues with some chokes and other weak offense. He knocks Hogan out of the ring, and goes for a post shot only for Hogan to reverse it. Hogan posts him again, then Perfect replies by getting on the apron and ramming Hogan into the buckle. Perfect heads up top and thumbs Hogan in the eye to prevent a slam from the top, then he hits him with a double axehandle. Perfect puts Hogan in a PERFECT SLEEPER, and sits in that for a while as they rest. Once it’s over, Perfect throws Hogan into the buckle when Hogan tried to do the same to Perfect. Perfect gets on the top rope, and Hogan crotches him. Great spot, really. Hogan heads up to the second rope and crotches Perfect again by lifting him up and dropping him, which is another great spot. I’ve never really seen that. Hogan gives Perfect an atomic drop, then kicks him around the ring, sending him on his head. Hogan misses an elbow drop, so Perfect gives him the PERFECT-PLEX! Hogan kicks out at 2, and man, I’m really annoyed by that. Hogan hits him with punches, and launches him over the top with a big boot. Hogan gets dragged out there, and they trade punches until Perfect grabs a chair, swings, and misses. Hogan grabs the chair, but doesn’t use it. Perfect nails Hogan with a pair of brass knuckles that keeps Hogan on the floor, and the camera shows you the brass knuckles. Can Hogan get up? Yes, he can. He gets back in the ring and Perfect tries it again, but Hogan stops it and gets the knuckles. So, he hits Mr. Perfect with them and drops the leg, but the bell rings. Of course, Hogan got disqualified at 13:36! YES!
My Thoughts: This was a lot of fun, Perfect bumped around like a crazy person for the champion. It’s easy to see why he wound up getting hurt and having to take time off. Too many crazy bumps. He gave Hogan so much offense to the point where it was almost too much. Didn’t do any of his setup spots, the neck snap, or any of that. It was still a good, fun match. Left me wanting to see more, and going forward I’m sure I will. Perfect was actually the ideal opponent for Hogan, in my book. *** for this one. This seems like it would have been a good MSG event to go to, so it only drawing 11,500 is a bit bizarre.
– Taped to air January 20th, 1990, from Jefferson Civic Center in Birmingham, Alabama
JAKE ROBERTS STEALS THE MILLION DOLLAR BELT
First, Ted DiBiase finished off his opponent, who was named LEE PEEK. Haha, what a name. Once that was over, there was an insert promo by Jake Roberts where he said he was going to come take the belt! So, here he comes! Virgil tries to fight him off, but Jake fights through and goes toe to toe with DiBiase. He clotheslines him over the top, and takes the MILLION DOLLAR CHAMPIONSHIP! Of course, he puts it in the bag with the snape. Um, I don’t think they’d actually put that in a bag with a snake given how expensive the belt was. Still a cool moment.
So, that’s the end of this one, leading into the Royal Rumble. Not exactly a lot of build for the event! Most of the talk around the event was surrounding how or if people would be able to watch it on TV, and there was a deal made so that people would. In addition to that, a ruling finally came down on the assault charges that Jake Roberts had to deal with. No retrial, 10 years probation. Plus a fine. If some regular guy beat up somebody as bad as he supposedly did, there would have been jail time. Next up will be a review of the Royal Rumble!
Best: The Hart Foundation vs. The Rockers. A lot of good stuff here, actually.
Worst: Low attendances. Some of them were a bit shocking given the quality of the roster.
