Through the Years: WWF WrestleMania IV

 

I can’t believe I’m going to watch WrestleMania IV again. I once reviewed this show (a review which I no longer have), and I swore I would never watch it again. While I absolutely did swear that, here I am now. I’m actually looking forward to giving this another look. Having immersed myself in the storylines, I may like what I see more. I also may hate it. Who really knows? The concept of the tournament for the WWF Championship was very appealing to me, and it’s something I think that Vince may want to use again now that he knows how to make it work. I really dislike the location that was chosen for this show. There weren’t many big wrestling fans in the place. I’m sure Trump made a lot of money at his casino that weekend, though!

 

– March 27th, 1988, from Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey

 

The Trump Plaza thing is a slight myth. It was really at Boardwalk Hall, but the event was sponsored by Trump and he brought it there. It’s like saying a fight at Thomas & Mack Center in Vegas was “at” Caesars Palace. Cool introduction leads to Gladys Knight singing “America the Beautiful.” It was pretty good. I used to always fast forward this stuff, I suppose that makes me a bad American. Monsoon and Ventura are our hosts, and that sounds great to me! Bob Uecker finds the booth, and his bits are always funny. They should have kept using him if that was an option.

 

20 Man Battle Royal

Pre-Match Thoughts: Our participants are the Hart Foundation, the Young Stallions, Bad News Brown, Sam Houston, the Killer Bees, the Fabulous Rougeau Brothers, Ken Patera, Ron Bass, Sika, Danny Davis, Junkyard Dog, the Bolsheviks, Hillbilly Jim, King Harley Race, and George “the Animal” Steele. Huge trophy for this battle royal, which consists of guys who suck, and guys who are really good but don’t otherwise fit on the show. It’s obvious which wrestlers fit in those categories.

Match Review: This thing kicks off, and Sam Houston goes for bump of the night early by taking a backdrop over the top rope from Davis. Sika takes a tumble over the top thanks to a bunch of guys, and Brian Blair nearly does as well, only to catch the apron. Steele still hasn’t climbed into the ring, which is so idiotic. Steele pulls Neidhart over the top rope, eliminating him. Blair gets backdropped to the apron, and eventually hits the floor after Bad News hits him with a punch. Raymond tumbles over the top, and so does Brunzell, and now they’re both out. Excellent, no more Killer Bees. JYD dumps Bass over the top, and the Bolsheviks start to work on JYD after that. Zhukov tosses Hillbilly Jim to the outside, and Davis gets dumped by Paul Roma. Bad News tosses out Jim Powers, and fortunately we’re about halfway done. Race and JYD trade headbutts, as Patera heaves both Bolsheviks out. Brown gets Patera from behind and throws him out, as Race backdrops Jacques Rougeau over the top. JYD chops Race and out he goes, then Roma goes out thanks to a Bad News backdrop, after 6:23. Bad News, JYD, and Bret Hart are the only guys left. Bret sets JYD up for a double team, but Bad News accidentally clotheslines Bret. JYD lands his headbutts to a decent sized pop, but Bret and Bad News take over. No surprise there. They corner JYD, and Bret hits him with a shot from the second rope. Bret and Bad News toss JYD up the top, and no what? Two heels in there, unusual for a battle royal. Bad News surprises the crowd by hitting Bret with the GHETTO BLASTER, and tossing Bret into the corner at super speed. Bad News simply deposits Bret to the outside, and wins the battle royal at 9:48.

After the match, the trophy is brought into the ring. Bad News admires it, but Bret climbs into the ring behind him. He dropkicks Bad News to send him out of the ring, and smashed that trophy! He got a decent face pop for that, no wonder they made the switch.

My Thoughts: This was the most generic battle royal. I’m not going to say it was great, in fact it was anything but. You can see a match like this on so many different shows from the time period. I liked the finish and the post-match, but that’s about it. They also chose the right three guys to be the last three. Bad News had to win it to support his strong singles push. *.

 

After Uecker leaves to go find Vanna White, Howard Finkel explains all the rules of this tournament to the crowd, and the one applicable now is that first round matches have a 15 minute time limit. Then, they do a bit with Robin Leach reading a proclamation to open the tournament. This is so bougie.

 

First Round: Ted DiBiase (w/Andre the Giant & Virgil) vs. “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan

Pre-Match Thoughts: This is as Mid-South as it gets. I remember that on the original video tape, there was some sort of skit with DiBiase. I don’t remember the deetails, but that skit is not on the WWE Network version of the show, nor any other. Just that tape. It’s weird seeing both of these guys enter without entrance music.

Match Review: Hacksaw and DiBiase lock up, but go right out wrestling into fighting. Hacksaw gives DiBiase an atomic drop, which sends DiBiase down to the floor. DiBiase gets back in and lands some punches, but Hacksaw takes him out with a clothesline. Hacksaw goes up in the corner for punches, but misses a charge into the opposite corner. DiBiase nails Hacksaw with a clothesline of his own, and heads up to the second turnbuckle for an elbow. After a fist drop, DiBiase covers for 2. Hacksaw tries fighting back, and gives DiBiase a sunset flip for 2. Jesse is as surprised as I am that Hacksaw did that. DiBiase comes back with a knee, and tries a suplex, only for Hacksaw to reverse it into his own. DiBiase gets hit in the gut on his way down from the second rope, as Hacksaw is now bleeding from the mouth. He screams some curse words at DiBiase, and destroys him with another clothesline. Hacksaw gives diBiase a bodyslam, and goes for the THREE POINT STANCE. However, Andre trips him, and that’s bad news for Duggan. He grabs Andre, and DiBiase nails him with a knee from behind. He covers after a fist drop, and gets the win at 5:02. Poor Duggan.

My Thoughts: I liked this match quite a bit. Duggan was able to get in his best stuff, and DiBiase bumped around really well for him. At least this wasn’t one of those tournament matches where both guys decided to give half an effort. I think the referee did a bad job, considering that he saw Andre punch Duggan. There was a way to get around that, but it wasn’t done correctly. I’m giving this a higher rating than I’ve seen elsewhere because I appreciated the hard hitting. **.

 

Between matches, Gene Mean interviews BRUTUS THE BARBER BEEFCAKE. He’s gonna cut some hair, brother. Some Elvis hair, some Jimmy Hart hair, maybe some Peggy Sue hair.

 

First Round: Dino Bravo (w/Frenchy Martin) vs. Don Muraco (w/Superstar Billy Graham)

Pre-Match Thoughts: Oh, fuck this. Come on! I believe it was Honky Tonk Man’s shoot interview in which he said a wrestler being put in baby blue was a sign that the WWF had no plans for that wrestler. Guess who’s in baby blue? Muraco, of course. Rather than escalating levels of good, this match is going to operate on escalating levels of bad. I guess having these two guys in the same match keeps them from stinking up something else. Muraco is really juiced up.

Match Review: These two guys lock up, and get into a shoving match. Muraco hits Bravo with a clothesline in the corner, then bodyslams him. I guess Bravo took the wrong bump or something, because Muraco went up for a pump splash only to not be able to give it. That looked so bad. Muraco backdrops Bravo, but Bravo comes back by blocking an arm drag and giving out a few elbow drops. Bravo follows with a gutwrench suplex, and a whip to the corner. He looks blown up already. He misses a charge, and Muraco goes to work on his leg. I can’t figure out why. He goes for a spinning toe-hold, and puts it on…this is still the 80’s so the move is acceptable for non-Terry Funk wrestlers. Bravo kicks him off, and Muraco does a great spot where he ties his neck up in the ropes and hangs. The Foley spot, basically. I don’t like the way Monsoon said that Muraco hung himself. Bravo lines Muraco up for a piledriver, and SPIKES him into the canvas. Love that move. He covers, but only gets 2. YOU GOTTA HOOK THE LEG. Bravo goes for another, but this time Muraco reverses it into a backdrop. They both nail each other with a clothesline, and when Muraco gets up, he lands a flying forearm. Muraco follows with a bodyslam, and goes for another flying forearm, but Bravo pulls the referee in his way. What a dope. Bravo gives Muraco his SIDE SUPLEX, but the referee doesn’t count the fall. For whatever reason, he celebrates, but it is announced that Bravo has been disqualified at 4:54! The crowd was cool with that.

My Thoughts: This match wasn’t a good look at all. Bravo and Muraco were blown up after about 3 minutes. Maybe too much steroids for both these guys, it’s quite unacceptable to be this blown up in such a short match. I didn’t think this was any good. They blew a few spots, and the commentary wasn’t any good. 1/2*. They tried to go really hard for the duration of the bout, but their efforts didn’t resonate with me.

 

Uecker is in the back for an interview, and it is with…THE HONKY TONK MAN! It was very good, as you can see in the linked video.

 

First Round: Greg Valentine (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. Ricky Steamboat (w/his kid)

Pre-Match Thoughts: I’m going to be the guy who says I don’t really like this period of Steamboat’s career where he parades around with his kid and wife. Great worker, not my favorite character. I can’t figure out why, but Jimmy Hart is not with Valentine at first. That’s quite unusual. Maybe it’s because he was just in an interview and they didn’t want to destroy the illusion. Eventually Hart shows up, and I guess we’ll pretend like nothing happened at all! In theory this should be the best match on the show.

Match Review: They get in a shoving match to start the contest, then do a nice sequence that ends in a Steamboat hip toss and arm drag. They get up, and Steamboat lands more shots, leading to a cover of 2. Steamboat gets 2 after a shoulderblock, does that again, and Valentine tosses him over the top. Steamboat skins the cat back in, and dropkicks Valentine in the back. Wires get crosses, and they blow a cradle or roll-up spot, both guys not really knowing which. That looked so bad. Steamboat works a wristlock now, but the Hammer elbows his way out. He does a great pull of Steamboat to drag him away from the ropes, and follows with a hard forearm for 2. Steamboat reverses an atomic drop, rams Valentine into the buckle, and puts an armbar on him too. Valentine gives Steamboat an inverted atomic drop, and follows that with a hard clothesline. As a wrestling move, the stiff clothesline can do so much to get somebody over, or get heat on someone. Valentine hits Steamboat with a sequence of elbows, and a few chops to the throat too. Steamboat comes back with some of his own for 2, and Valentine blocks a bodyslam for his own 2 count. The Hammer follows with a stomach breaker, and goes down low with a headbutt. Steamboat kicks Valentine off of him to prevent the FIGURE-FOUR, then they start throwing extremely hard chops. Valentine gives Steamboat a shoulder-breaker, and gets 2. Up top he goes, and down with a chop to the head. Steamboat comes back with some repeated ramming of Valentine’s ugly face into the canvas, and a flying back elbow as well. Steamboat heads up top, and down he comes with a flying chop. That gets 2 again. Steamboat rams Valentine’s face into the turnbuckle 10 times, and heads up top once again.Down he comes, this time with a flying body press, and Valentine reverses it. Can’t tell if he used tights or not, but Valentine gets the victory at 9:11!

My Thoughts: That’s quite a big upset. I didn’t like this match very much, although it wasn’t bad. I thought they were going through the motions to some degree. Really odd, yet unsurprising that Steamboat would leave the promotion after this match. He didn’t seem to have any fire for the business at that particular time. Maybe he did, but the impression from this fan’s perspective was otherwise. I suppose it was decent, but given the same rating, I enjoyed Duggan vs. DiBiase more. Take it for what it’s worth. **.

 

Gene Mean is with the British Bulldogs and Koko B. Ware, and Dynamite gets the chance to say something. Very wooden, cracked me up. Davey was a lot better, and of course Koko is better than that as well. He probably should have done all the talking.

 

First Round: Butch Reed (w/Slick) vs. Randy Savage (w/Elizabeth)

Pre-Match Thoughts: I don’t have much to say about this one, to be honest. I’m a big Savage fan, but this match sounds unspectacular. Just like Steamboat, Reed is leaving the promotion right after this. Slick was good when dancing around the ring. First robe and dress for Savage and Liz are blue ones. Macho gets the first star pop of the night.

Match Review: These two are ready for combat, and Reed misses a ridiculous looking punch. After that, they reset, and Reed drives Savage back into the corner. Savage gets out, and goes for a suplex, which Reed blocks and dishes out in response. Reed lands an elbow drop, and it gets 2. Reed drops Savage’s neck on the top rope, sending Savage down to the floor. He gets back in, and hits Savage with a hard back elbow. Up to the second rope is where Reed goes, and down he comes with a fist. Savage blocks a backdrop, and dodges a charge from Reed into the corner. Reed comes back with a clothesline, and heads up top. Who knows why. He talks to Elizabeth on the way, and that got him slammed down. Savage heads up top, and lands the ELBOW! 1-2-3, that’s it for Reed at 4:09.

My Thoughts: The crowd popped huge for Savage’s elbow and the win, which tells me they may have had the right idea here. I know what happened to their business after this show, but there are a lot of reasons for that I’ll be getting into over the next little while. Reed did okay bumping around and taking a clean job, but he didn’t work hard or anything like that. *.

 

After another thing with Uecker in which he talks about Vanna White, here are the Islanders! Uecker rips into Heenan for what he’s done to Matilda, and Heenan has his response. The Islanders don’t get to say a single word. Tama isn’t bad at talking in the ring, so I don’t get that.

 

First Round: One Man Gang (w/Slick) vs. Bam Bam Bigelow (w/Oliver Humperdink)

Pre-Match Thoughts: These are two big boys. Humperdink is slightly useless in this role, perhaps even more than slightly useless. He hasn’t done a single thing that I’ve seen since he showed up. Bigelow looks hilarious as a babyface, his facial expressions are good. I think this is one of the smartest first round pairings.

Match Review: Gang attacks Bigelow, and we’re off. Gang pummels him, then flings him into the corner, where he squashes him. He misses another charge, and Bigelow takes him down with a shoulderblock. For some reason, he does a cartwheel, and splashes Gang for a 2 count. Bigelow does a cross body for 2, then gives Gang a clothesline. After some headbutts, Bigelow gives Gang a diving headbutt. That was something. Bigelow runs the ropes again, and this time Slick pulls down the top rope, causing Bigelow to tumble to the floor. It was such a good tumble that I watched it a few times. Bigelow gets up to the apron, and Gang gets punched, but Bigelow is not able to get in the ring. So, the referee counts him out at 2:55.

My Thoughts: That ending was completely botched. I don’t know what the hell that was supposed to be. I don’t recall any instance of a guy being kept out of the ring like that while the referee was paying attention and that guy subsequently being counted out. It doesn’t make any sense to me. In the WON, it was reported that Bigelow had a knee injury. Like nearly all the other boys, he took nearly the whole month off. DUD for the match. Despite the good pairing, I can’t think of any redeeming factor for this match. Maybe the bump over the top, but the finish took away from that.

 

Okerlund is with Hogan, who has been insane lately. This is one of his best promos even before he goes into ridiculous mode. His voice is absolutely horrifying. I don’t know how Okerlund held it together, I would have cracked up. Awesome backstroke at the end, very good form.

 

First Round: Rick Rude (w/Bobby Heenan) vs. Jake Roberts

Pre-Match Thoughts: This match is THE reason I don’t like watching this show. It’s one of the worst straight, singles wrestling matches that I’ve ever seen in a major promotion. I don’t know what my outlook will be now, but when I saw it, that was my impression. This was supposed to be a serious, important match. That takes it beyond many of the rest you can think of. Rude’s bit before the match is timeless. Roberts has theme music now!

Match Review: These two lock up, and Rude shoves Roberts back into the corner, giving him time to pose. Rude bodyslams Jake, and follows with another for good measure. On a third, Jake reverses it into one of his own. After another, they do the bit where Rude winds up in the corner with the snake. He sells it big, and sells Jake’s wristlock big too. He’s unable to get out of that wristlock, and now they’re sitting there. Eventually they get up, and Rude perches Jake on the top rope for some punches. Jake comes off that rope with a high knee, and goes for the DDT, which Rude ducks out of. Ravishing Rick gets back in the ring, and Jake puts the armbar back on. They do a criss-cross, and that leads to another bodyslam by Jake. Jake goes for another knee, but Rude ducks and trips him. Rude gives Jake a clothesline, and to the posing he goes. Cover gets 2 anyway. Rude puts a chinlock on Roberts, using the hair to keep it on. Donald Trump looks quite satisfied sitting at ringside. Roberts get out of the hold, but Rude lands a shot from the top rope. More posing, and another clothesline given out by Rude for 2. Back to the chinlock, which is boring the crap out of me. Jake gets up again, and Rude flapjacks him. Up top Rude goes, and down with a fist drop for 2. Chinlock AGAIN, this cannot be serious. Jake fires off a back suplex, but that chinlock is sold and stays on. Jake gets up and tumbles to the apron, rolls back in and to that dreaded move once again, the CHINLOCK. WHAT A MOVE. THIS IS WRESTLING. HE’S TAKING HIM OUT. The funny part is these guys are sweating like crazy and clearly a bit winded. Rude even asks the referee for the time of the match. Finally Jake gets up, and uses a jawbreaker to get Rude to break the hold. Jake fires off quick punches, and a backdrop too. After his short clothesline, he signals for the DDT. Rude drives him back into a corner, and sets him up for a charge, which Jake blocks with his knee. Jake uses a stomach breaker for 2, haven’t seen him do that very much. Rude reverses a bulldog into a nice back suplex, for another 2 count. They each nail each other with a clothesline, and that equals more resting. When they get up, Rude goes for a cheating cover in the corner, and the referee counts to 2, when the bell rings. The time limit has passed, after 15:15. Jake breaks out the snake, but Rude gets the hell out of there. One Man Gang has a bye through the next round!

My Thoughts: This really did suck. I watched this at about 11 at night and was bored out of my mind. I usually watch these shows in portions, noting my thoughts on the entirety of the show at the very end so I can read them when I fire it up again. Well, I wish I had done that before watching this. It was a brutal match, filled with chinlocks and boring holds designed to suck time out of the match and enjoyment out of the arena. It’s very hard for guys to get motivated to wrestle a draw like this, and these two clearly were not. It easily goes into negative star territory, and that’s sad. These two are among my favorite performers and characters, so to see a match this poor is really quite silly. -** and skip it. This match definitely harmed my experience of watching the card, and has done so every time I’ve seen it.

 

Okerlund is with Vanna White, and they’re going to run down the tournament board. Hogan vs. Andre! DiBiase vs. Muraco! Valentine vs. Savage! Gang vs. Bye! Who’s Bye? Sounds like a formidable opponent.

 

Hercules (w/Bobby Heenan) vs. The Ultimate Warrior

Pre-Match Thoughts: I remember a recap of this feud being shown on the original video tape, but that is not the case here. Regardless, I believe I have properly recapped it before. These two guys are very large. It’s actually quite disgusting. Impressed with Warrior retaining his balance while running down the stairs. His music is enthralling, and a large part of the package as well.

Match Review: These two guys collide with each other, then do a staredown to minimal heat at all. When they do it again, I think it’s funny as hell. They lock up, and get tangled in the ropes. Warrior gives out some chops, and Hercules tries to nail him with some clotheslines. The third one finally knocks Warrior down, and Warrior comes back with one of his own. After another Warrior clothesline, Warrior picks Hercules up and they botch a spot where Hercules was supposed to be dropped on the ropes. Hercules then runs the ropes, and Warrior chops him. Hercules backdrops him over the top, and Warrior pulls Hercules to the outside. They “brawl” for a bit, and Hercules gets rammed into the steps a few times. Warrior is so clearly blown up. They trade some elbows, and sorry looking punches too. Warrior climbs up for some punches in the corner, 10 in fact. Hercules gives him an inverted atomic drop on the way out, as these two suck wind big time. Warrior misses a charge to the corner after a whip, and Hercules goes for his FULL NELSON. He doesn’t have it locked, so they do their sloppy, disgusting version of the Survivor Series 1996 Bret vs. Austin finish. Warrior kicks off the turnbuckle, gets his shoulder up before the 3 count, and wins the match after 4:36.

Hercules was still pinned down, and is very pissed. He goes for his steel chain, and wraps it around Warrior’s neck! Warrior uses his ridiculous strength to force Hercules to let go, then swings the chain around the ring like a maniac.

My Thoughts: I was actively entertained by this entirely horrendous match. The absolute worst matches have to hit you like that on some level. They’re so horrendous that you cannot ignore it, cannot sit there and get bored. That is what truly makes a terrible match. I know some graders like to give less if the match isn’t very long, but I do not. There was absolutely nothing good in this match. There was very little that represented what I’d consider wrestling. It was barely wrestling. What it also was, was -***. You have to see it once. I’m so disgusted by this match. Warrior sprinting in the ring left him with no endurance. He was completely blown up, and Hercules was so blown up on steroids that he was really no better. Too bad. One of the predictions for this match in the WON was that neither wrestler would live to see 50. Not far off.

 

Second Round: Andre the Giant (w/Ted DiBiase & Virgil) vs. Hulk Hogan

Pre-Match Thoughts: Of course, these two received a bye through the first round because of what occured at The Main Event. They were also the last two recognized champions. Sugar Ray Leonard is at ringside, and Jesse Ventura is right. MARVIN HAGLER WON! YES HE DID! Speaking of the age of Leonard and Hagler, boxing has never been better, and probably never will be again. Back to the show, and a video package is shown of the entirety of the feud between Andre and Hogan. It has always been unreal to me that they could get sympathy on Hogan when he was so big and dominant. That’s in reference to WrestleMania III. It’s easy to see why he had it at the time of this show. There is no logical reason for a Hebner or Joey Marella to officiate this match, but it appears that Marella is the referee again. I thought that was Andre’s problem with the WrestleMania III match. There’s a big buzz in the crowd for this match, no surprise given that it was the only tournament match announced beforehand.

Match Review: Hogan rushes into the ring, and Andre attacks him. Didn’t take long! Andre dishes out big headbutts and punches, but Hogan comes back with some forearms. The third one knocks Andre back into the ropes, then Hogan grabs DiBiase. He rams Andre and DiBiase into each other, and Andre gets tied in the ropes after Hogan gives out some chops. Virgil and DiBiase release Andre from that position, and Andre goes down after some punches. Hogan drops a few elbows, then Andre grabs a hold of his neck. Andre gives Hogan another headbutt, and sits on him too. To the choke he goes again, then turns that into a nerve hold. Hogan breaks that after a little bit, and nails Andre with a clothesline. He signals for a slam, and DiBiase uses a distraction from Virgil to climb into the ring. He hits Hogan with the chair, and Hogan no-sells it. Hogan grabs the chair away, and hits Andre with it. Is this a hardcore match? Andre grabs the chair away from the referee, and hits Hogan on the top of the head with it. The bell rings, and the decision is announced…this is a double disqualification at the 5:23 mark.

Hogan grabs the chair again and knocks Andre down with it, then he’s decided to chase DiBiase to the back. DiBiase throws Virgil in his path, and Hogan’s cool with that. He suplexes Virgil on the floor, and heads back to the ring. Hogan bodyslams Andre, and with both men eliminated, it would seem that we aren’t seeing them much on the rest of the show. The posing after the match was entirely too long. The winner of the DiBiase vs. Muraco match goes to the Final.

My Thoughts: There are some things about this match that I prefer to what happened in the other two big matches between these guys. I liked the length, it was really short. I liked the finish, it was a good way to get both guys out of the tournament. It wasn’t the best of the three matches, that was the match from February 5th. Bad match but I can live with that. There was basically no wrestling involved, but it was better than the last two matches on this show. 1/2*.

 

Finally there’s an interview with the Macho Man and Elizabeth. It has been far too long for the eventual champion to go without speaking. He and Liz have on pink attire. HE’S GONNA TAKE IT ALL, YEAH!

 

Second Round: Ted DiBiase vs. Don Muraco (w/Superstar Billy Graham)

Pre-Match Thoughts: Only two matches left in this round. Two hours into this card, I should note. DiBiase is amusingly alone for this match, with Virgil selling that beating. I hope Muraco has some wind left for this match after how blown up he was during his first round affair.

Match Review: This thing starts by DiBiase pulling Muraco onto the apron, ramming him into the turnbuckles, and slamming him. After a clothesline, Muraco hits DiBiase with an elbow drop. He follows that with a big powerslam, and a hard elbow. Up to the second rope, and down with a fist drop for 2. Muraco uses a neck snap, first time I’ve seen that move in a while. He follows that with a dropkick for a 2 count, causing DiBiase to take a rest. When he gets back in, Muraco throws him into the buckle. DiBiase somehow causes Muraco to tumble into the turnbuckle, and works a chokehold for a little bit. DiBiase gives Muraco a clothesline for 2, and a knee follows that. DiBiase gives Muraco a few fist drops, getting another 2 count. He gives Muraco a bodyslam too, then tries an elbow drop from the second rope, which he misses. Muraco gives DiBiase another clothesline, and he looks blown up again. Go figure. DiBiase gives Muraco a HOTSHOT, and that’s good enough for the pinfall win at 5:35. DiBiase is into the Final!

My Thoughts: That’s one of the better out of nowhere finishes that there is. I didn’t really see it coming even though I’ve seen this many times. The match was certainly nothing special, just like the majority of these matches. Not enough action, and on Muraco’s part, not enough cardio. *1/2. This show is actually getting very tough to watch when the last show I saw had multiple matches that tore the house down.

 

Uecker is in the interview position once again, and this time he’s with Mr. Fuji and Demolition. Fuji doesn’t have a great stable anymore, but this team is one that’s headed to the top. Uecker did a great job selling that he was scared of these guys. After the One Man Gang’s bye is announced, we’re over to the next contest.

 

Second Round: Greg Valentine (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. Randy Savage (w/Elizabeth)

Pre-Match Thoughts: This is a matchup that should lead to a good match. I’m quite happy with that. It has been a very long time. They structured Valentine’s side of the tournament pretty well in that it allowed him to have two decent matches without having to look weak against anyone they didn’t have plans for.

Match Review: Valentine attacks with punches, and runs Savage into the corner where he beats him up. Savage throws Valentine into the corner, takes him down and drops a knee for 2. Valentine goes up to the top after a forearm, for another forearm. He drops an elbow, and does so for a second time, getting a 2 count. Valentine gives Savage his patented shoulder-breaker, it gets 2. Valentine tosses Savage over the top, and follows that with an elbow from the apron. He rams Savage into the railing, and works on him big time on Savage’s way back into the ring. He’s completely beating him down. He pulls Savage away from the ropes, and Savage gets back to them before Valentine can lock on the figure-four. This crowd is deader than dead now. The Hammer gives Savage a suplex, and it gets 2. After a backbreaker, Valentine covers again for 2. Savage starts his come back, and gives Valentine a back elbow. He follows that with a bodyslam, and heads up top…and down with a double axehandle for 2. That got the crowd back into it. Valentine hits Savage with another elbow, but Savage gives him a suplex. Up top yet again, and Valentine clocks him on the way down. Didn’t see that coming. Savage misses a leapfrog body guillotine, which slams his own head into the canvas. Now Valentine goes for the figure-four, and Savage rolls him up for 3 at 6:07! Savage will face the One Man Gang to decide who will wrestle for the title!

My Thoughts: I liked this match more than anything else on the show to this point. That’s a sad indictment of the card, but this was solid stuff. I liked Valentine’s control segment in which he worked Savage over relentlessly. I also liked the varied finish. Every match does not need to end with a wrestler’s finisher. In fact, the Savage match is the only tournament match that has. That’s a good thing! **1/2.

 

Over to the tournament board with Vanna White and Gene Okerlund again, with DiBiase facing Bye, and Savage against the One Man Gang in the next round!

 

Brutus Beefcake vs. The Honky Tonk Man (w/Jimmy Hart & Peggy Sue) for the WWF Intercontinental Championship

Pre-Match Thoughts: Honky got basically no heat for his entrance. Sherri worked the gimmick really well, that’s for sure. Honestly, I wouldn’t be able to tell if I didn’t know. For one of the only times on this whole show, Trump cracked up when this crew got in the ring. I did too. The thing about all these gimmicks is that it gives the show a big time circus feel, like you’re watching something you aren’t going to forget. It seemed like a sure thing that Brutus would win this match, by the way.

Match Review: Ventura’s line about Beefcake surviving Three Mile Island was the best on the show so far. These dudes lock up, and shortly afterward, Beefcake blocks a big boot attempt. He gives HTM an atomic drop, and messes up his hair. The crowd is now into this thing, as made clear when Beefcake struts around the ring. Beefcake rams HTM into the buckle about 10 times, then hits him with a high knee. Beefcake pulls him back into the ring to put a stop to the break he was taking, and Beefcake misses an elbow drop. HTM gives him a fist drop, and Hart chokes the Barber when the referee isn’t paying attention. HTM goes for the SHAKE, RATTLE, AND ROLL…or not, he kneed him instead. Okay. Now he goes for it again, but Beefcake blocks it. He gives HTM a backdrop, sends him into the ropes again, and puts on the SLEEPER! That could have been the end of the match, but it wasn’t. Hart nails the referee in the back with his megaphone, and Beefcake starts celebrating like a moron.

Beefcake eventually gets angry, and decides that he’s going to cut HTM’s hair. Hart grabs the bag with the tools in it, and tries to sneak under the ring, only for Beefcake to grab a hold of him. He has his scissors, and he starts cutting Hart’s hair. Poor guy. He’s just slicing his hair all up. The referees are trying to wake up the match official, and Peggy Sue grabs a thing of water to wake up her guy. After pouring it on him, that crew gets out of dodge. The decision is announced, and Beefcake won by DQ at 6:30.

My Thoughts: That was a great comedy match, and that’s what I’m going to take it as. There wasn’t a lot of wrestling, but the way things happened in the end was pretty funny too. I’m glad they didn’t put the title on a goof like Beefcake. He couldn’t wrestle, end of story. * for the action, but I liked it for the funny bits regardless of that.

 

Once again. Uecker is in the back, and he has not yet found Vanna White. Then, here’s Andre the Giant! He did his job, because now Hogan is out of the tournament. Eventually Andre gets fed up with Uecker and starts choking him. I loved spotting Andre cracking up at the end. That’s one of the best WrestleMania moments of the first 4, period!

 

The Islanders & Bobby Heenan vs. The British Bulldogs & Koko B. Ware

Pre-Match Thoughts: The Islanders music isn’t heard often, and it’s actually pretty good. Heenan is wearing a dog catcher’s outfit so that Matilda doesn’t bite him. Oh dear. The heels are at a major disadvantage, it’s essentially a handicap match. Matilda chases Heenan around the ring, and I believe the reason for that is that Heenan has meat in his suit or something like that. Don’t really know.

Match Review: Dynamite drags Tama into the ring, and here we go. He gives Tama a big shoulderblock, and a hip toss. After a backdrop, Tama wants to shake hands. Dynamite chops him in the throat, and slingshots him over the top, down to the floor. Davey switches in, bodyslams his foe, and misses an elbow drop. Here’s Haku, who is given a cross body for 2. They have a miscommunication of some sorts, that ends in Davey slamming Haku for 1. Davey gives Haku a crucifix for 2, and puts a chinlock on for a little bit. They work out of it very quickly, and Tama tags in again. Davey gives him a big press slam, but Haku switches back in. He gives Davey a hard elbow, and Davey reverses out of a backbreaker to make the tag out. Here’s Koko, who lands a great dropkick. Tama rushes in, and he does a headlock takeover on Haku in combination with a flying head-scissors on Tama. Dynamite tags back in, and takes Haku out with a hard clothesline. Haku blocks a charge with a high boot, and Jesse drops one of the worst commentary lines I’ve heard from him. He said Heenan looks like a “chinaman.” Man, that’s bad. The Brain finally tags in, and puts the boots to Dynamite. Nice boots he has on. He tags right back out, and in comes Tama, who gives Dynamite a backdrop. These bumps look like they’re killing him. After a bodyslam, Tama heads up to the second rope for a pump splash, which gets blocked. No surprise there. Koko tags in, and gives Tama a backdrop. Haku enters, and gets thrown into his partner. Haku blocks a backdrop though, and follows with a clothesline. Tama tags in and climbs up top, for a hard shot of his own. Here comes Heenan again, and he clobbers Koko. He puts a nerve hold on the guy, but Koko comes back and throws him into the buckle. He dropkicks Heenan back into the corner as well, then the Islanders come in to attack Koko. Everyone climbs in the ring, and Koko gets bodyslammed by Tama. The Islanders pick Heenan up, and drop him on Koko for the victory at 7:35. Haha!

The Bulldogs are pissed after the match, and Davey decides to chase Heenan to the back. Eventually Heenan trips, and Davey makes the dog attack Heenan. All three babyfaces chase Heenan to the back, and that’s the end of this. I laughed.

My Thoughts: The match started off strong, at least. By the end it slowed way down, but they worked pretty hard given the limitations of the bout and the length. It’s really hard to work a good six man tag in 7+ minutes of time. I haven’t seen it yet, that’s for sure. This card is dragging like crazy. **.

 

For who knows what reason, Ventura gets his own introduction and the opportunity to pose. What a time killer. After Ted DiBiase’s bye is announced, we move on.

 

Semifinals: The One Man Gang (w/Slick) vs. Randy Savage (w/Elizabeth)

Pre-Match Thoughts: This could be another good match, in theory. If it was given time, that is. That was not entirely likely to happen, if we’re being honest. Savage and Liz have a black-ish getup going on, one of the best yet. All of those robes had to cost a load of money.

Match Review: These two lock up quickly, and Savage hits Gang with quick punches. The referee gets in the way of these two, and Savage breaks off a rope-assisted clothesline. Gang drives Savage back to the corner, and hits him with some elbows. He squashes him a few times, and slams him as well for a 2 count. After an elbow drop, he covers again for 2. Another slam occurs, and Gang goes for a big splash, which he misses. Savage dodges a charge to the corner, and hits Gang with a double axehandle to knock him out of the ring. Savage follows him with a double axehandle from the top rope, and Gang has to slide back in the ring. Savage goes for a bodyslam, but he can’t do that and Gang picks him up in a choke. Slick walks over to Liz, and he says he’s going to slap her. Uh…no, you aren’t. Gang misses an elbow drop, and Savage grabs a hold of Slick. Gang has Slick’s cane, tries to nail Savage with it, and gets busted for a DQ at 4:35.

Eventually he knocks Savage out of the ring with it, but Savage is in the tournament final! Gang and Slick are standing near each other, so Savage comes off the top rope and forces Gang to land on top of his manager.

My Thoughts: This set up a match at SNME between these two, but I hated the finish. The eventual champion does not need to look like that. I also didn’t like the match. It stunk. Is that entirely surprising? No. That’s the story of this show, isn’t it? DUD.

 

Uecker almost catches up to Vanna White, but she had just left. Poor Uecker.

 

Demolition (w/Mr. Fuji) vs. Strike Force for the WWF Tag Team Championships

Pre-Match Thoughts: Demolition gets a sizable cheer for their entrance. Look at these guys, that’s hardly surprising. Strike Force got no babyface reaction AT ALL. These guys were never going to be able to get over big as a team, in my opinion. The era was changing and they didn’t fly around enough to maintain a reaction that was required for a team that acted as happy and go-lucky as them.

Match Review: Smash and Martel will start the match, and Smash gets cheered for kicking Martel’s ass. That was great, but Santana dropkicks Martel onto Smash. Everyone gets in the ring, Martel takes out Ax with a cross body, and Strike Force gives Smash a double clothesline for 1. Ventura says the referee shouldn’t count, and I don’t disagree. Santana tags in legally, and gives Smash a double axehandle after leaping off the second rope. In comes Ax, who gets arm dragged. Nicely done. Martel makes the switch, as does Smash, and Smash is given a hip toss. Martel switches back out, and Santana works the arm of the challenger. Smash catches Santana in the air after some running, and Ax nails Santana with a clothesline. Ax makes his move in, and goes back out after some punches and stuff. There’s absolutely no heat for this match at all, it’s bizarre. Ax comes back in with a powerslam, it gets 2. Smash re-enters, and puts his boot on Santana’s throat. This match is WEIRD. This is the deadest crowd I’ve ever heard, or not heard. After a suplex, Smash gets 2. Santana kind of forgot to kick out. Smash gives him a bodyslam, but he misses an elbow drop, and Ax tags in. Santana blocks a backdrop with a kick, but in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t matter. Santana nails Ax with the FLYING FOREARM, and now something may happen. Ax tags out, and finally Santana does as well.

Martel is on fire, and he gives Smash a big backdrop, and a dropkick too. Ax comes in to get dropkicked, and Martel is just going crazy with these. He tries to put a BOSTON CRAB on Smash, and Santana cuts Ax off from doing anything with a flying forearm. Fuji drops the cane in the ring, as Santana beats him up, and Ax has that cane. Ax hits Martel with the cane, Marella counts the fall, and Demolition are the new champions at 8:02!

My Thoughts: The funny thing, or rather not so funny thing, is that a match without heat was arguably the best on the show. I thought it was quite solid. There was a lot of good work there, and the heat was the only thing about it that kept me from getting invested in it. This was solid tag team wrestling, and that’s okay with me. I’m going to give it **1/2. Strike Force needed to lose the titles to these guys, and they did. Demolition got the best reactions of any team on the card at this point. Good booking.

 

WWF Championship Tournament Final: Ted DiBiase (w/Andre the Giant) vs. Randy Savage (w/Elizabeth)

Pre-Match Thoughts: 3:10 into the show, it’s finally time for the match that matters most! Robin Leach is going to make his way down to the ring with the WWF Championship, and what a belt this is. The winged eagle design is the best belt used for this championship. I associate it with greatness. Our guest ring announcer is going to be Bob Uecker! Our guest timekeeper is Vanna White! I’ve just now realized that only two women have taken part in the show as part of the roster. Those are Sherri Martel and Elizabeth. Kind of sad. Nice white outfit, there. A Hebner should absolutely not be officiating this match, and certainly not Earl!

Match Review: The two lock up, and Savage gets tripped immediately by Andre. DiBiase and Savage lock up again, and Savage gets tripped again while running the ropes. This was so obviously building to Hogan making an appearance that nobody could be surprised. Will post my opinion on that in a bit. The two gladiators lock up one more time, and exchange wristlocks. DiBiase hits Savage with some chops, and a clothesline too, for 2. DiBiase tries a sunset flip, but Savage blocks it with a punch to the face. Bad form from Andre to be standing in front of Trump like that, by the way. DiBiase comes back with more chops, and a hard elbow as well. Really digging how crisp his work is. Savage hits DiBiase with a running elbow of his own, and that rope clothesline of his. He hits DiBiase with a high knee to knock him over the top, and has every intention of leaping on him. Unfortunately, Andre blocks Macho’s jump. Macho goes over to Elizabeth, and sends her to the back. I WONDER WHY. DiBiase pummels Savage in the corner, and bodyslams him as well. After some fist drops, DiBiase covers for 2. He puts a chinlock on Savage for a while, obviously because it’s time for Hogan to show up. That’s actually very professional on Ted’s part. Hogan gets a decent pop for his walk to the ring, and he’s got a chair! He takes that chair, parks it in a corner, and sits down as reinforcement. Good bit there. Savage gets tripped one more time, and Hogan runs over to Andre to whack him! Savage hits DiBiase with some elbows, but DiBiase rakes the eyes. Into the ropes, and DiBiase hits Savage with a clothesline and elbow drop for 2. The Million Dollar Man dishes out a suplex for another 2 count. He follows with a gutwrench suplex for another close count. After a bodyslam, DiBiase heads up top, and Savage slams him down. Up top he goes, and DOWN WITH THE ELBOW…WHICH HE MISSES. DiBiase locks on the MILLION DOLLAR DREAM, and Andre catches the referee’s attention. So while Hebner is over there, Hogan is in there, and he clocks DiBiase from behind with the chair! Savage gets up, goes up top, and DROPS THE ELBOW! 1-2-3, SAVAGE IS THE NEW WWF CHAMPION AT 9:17!!!

Hogan grabs the belt and runs in to give it to his buddy, which cheapens the moment a little bit, but the Hogan/Andre thing was pure money and something people wanted to see. Then, they do the famous thing with Elizabeth on Savage’s shoulders…and that’s it for WrestleMania 4!

My Thoughts: The crowd popped so huge for Savage’s win. The entire end of this show is one of those moments that brings forth a lot of reflection when I watch it. I miss Macho, I miss Liz, and I miss Andre. This match was not as good as their SNME match, but it was a great cap to a sorry show. I think Savage deserved a little more of the spotlight than what he got. I feel like the Hogan stuff cheapened his win a little bit, and made it more difficult to turn Savage being champion into dollars at the box office. It is what it is. The two angles had to come together in that fashion for the show to be capped off. I’m not going to say that I like it, but it’s a little difficult to explain. The match itself was **1/2. Good at times, but the angle had to be tied in.

 

I don’t think the way this show turned out was about Hogan taking a step back, because he didn’t need to do that. Things were still very strong with him on top, so it wasn’t that he needed to get out of anyone’s way. He wanted to go make a movie. All of the numbers show that more Hogan was a good thing for the company and the business, and the numbers for this PPV showed that pushing him down harmed the show. There’s a long debate to be had about what Hogan on cards can do for wrestling quality, or lack thereof. I don’t know how much that applies here. I thought this show was frankly terrible, to the degree that you’d never see a show this bad from the WWE these days. It’s not about the length. WrestleMania V is this long. WrestleMania VII is this long. This show was just bad. Too many roided up guys who couldn’t do anything with the match time they were given. Not enough good workers with a strong character. Bad angles, bad location. They didn’t have anything good going in and the way this card turned out showed that! Hogan is now on his way out for a little while, and they’re going to build to a hot return for him at a show that was not yet conceived at the time of WrestleMania IV. Very glad that better workers head into the promotion not long from now. I am interested to see how things work out going forward, but I’m going back to the NWA’s superior in-ring product for a few days.

Wrestling Time: 1:49:14. For a show of this length, the wrestling wasn’t good enough to support that much wrestling, if that makes any sense.

Best: Andre the Giant with Bob Uecker. Savage getting the belt. There were some great moments in the midst of a bad card, but those two stuck out.

Worst: The tournament concept. It wasn’t good, and they didn’t have guys who could go all out in the limited time for matches that they had.

Card Rating: 3/10. I think this is the worst WrestleMania and I absolutely hated it.