Saturday Night's Main Event (29/11/86)

Saturday Night's Main Event
29/11/86 (Taped 15/11/86)
Los Angeles, California


Intercontinental Champion Randy Savage fought Jake Roberts to a double disqualification in a decent bout. Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura played it off like two hated heels were in battle but the crowd were clearly behind Roberts... We were shown footage of Slick selling Hercules to Bobby Heenan... Hulk Hogan defeated Hercules to retain the WWF Heavyweight Title in a straight forward Hogan-formula match. The crowd was of course hot... Bob Orton Jr claimed he was used by Roddy Piper in an interview with Ventura... Piper pinned Orton in a match that could've been good but was quite short. Once again the crowd was hot... The Killer Bees beat The Hart Foundation in a really good match. The Harts dominated until The Bees donned masks to perform an illegal switch and win the bout. I thought it was the heels who were meant to be the cheats? ... Koko B Ware pinned Nikolai Volkoff in a short, rubbish match... Don Muraco beat Dick Slater in an awful contest.

Results
Randy Savage (c) fought Jake Roberts to a double disqualification. Savage retained the Intercontinental Title (9:24) **1/2
Hulk Hogan (c) pinned Hercules to retain the WWF Heavyweight Title (6:23) **
Roddy Piper pinned Bob Orton Jr (3:47) *
The Killer Bees def The Hart Foundation by pinfall (8:39) ***1/4
Koko B Ware pinned Nikolai Volkoff (2:25) 1/4
Don Muraco pinned Dick Slater (2:18) DUD

Saturday Night's Main Event (04/10/86)

Saturday Night's Main Event
04/10/86 (Taped 13/09/86)
Richfield, Ohio


Jesse Ventura returned on commentary... Roddy Piper was told by a doctor he couldn't wrestle due to an injury suffered recently at the hands of Adrian Adonis and Don Muraco. Piper went nuts... Hulk Hogan beat Paul Orndorff by disqualification to retain the WWF Heavyweight Title. Orndorff had famously turned on Hogan back in July. This was a decent enough brawl with great heat. Adonis ran in to prevent Hogan hitting a piledriver on Orndorff for the DQ finish. Piper hobbled down and nailed Adonis with a crutch. Orndorff bailed before Hogan and Piper had a brief stare down... Ricky Steamboat defeated Jake Roberts in a "Snake Pit" match (no disqualification basically). Roberts had Damien the python in his corner while Steamboat had his Komodo dragon in his corner. They had a good little match with intensity and a nice pace. Steamboat won with a crucifix pin which even Vince McMahon pointed out was a fast count. The pets had an embarrassing 'showdown' after the match which the dragon 'won'... Pedro Morales was about to take on the Iron Sheik in place of Piper but Piper hobbled down and insisted on wrestling. The injured Piper then beat Sheik with a small package in less than a minute. Bad night for the Sheik... The British Bulldogs defeated The Dream Team in a best two out of three falls match (2:1) to retain the World Tag Team Title. Greg Valentine beat Davey Boy Smith clean with the figure four. Dynamite Kid then pinned Valentine with a diving headbutt off of Smith's shoulders. Smith then scored the winning fall with a fisherman's suplex on Brutus Beefcake. It was a good match but not quite to the level of their Wrestlemania scrap... Finally Kamala beat Lanny Poffo in a naff two minute squash.

Results
Hulk Hogan (c) def Paul Orndorff by disqualification to retain the WWF Heavyweight Title (10:21) **1/2
Ricky Steamboat pinned Jake Roberts (6:22) **3/4
Roddy Piper pinned Iron Sheik (0:45) SQ
British Bulldogs (c) def The Dream Team in a Best 2/3 Falls Match [2:1] to retain the World Tag Team Title (14:33) ***1/4
Kamala pinned Lanny Poffo (1:44) 1/4

Saturday Night's Main Event (03/05/86)

Saturday Night's Main Event
03/05/86 (Taped 01/05/86)
Providence, Rhode Island

Bobby Heenan substituted for Jesse Ventura in the announce booth for this show... Hulk Hogan and Junkyard Dog beat Terry and Hoss Funk in a wild tag team brawl that was lots of fun. Hogan pinned Terry after the leg drop. The crowd were hot for this... King Kong Bundy scored an easy win over Uncle Elmer in a predictably awful match... Adrian Adonis, who was wearing a dress, defeated Paul Orndorff by disqualification when Orndorff shoved the referee down in anger. The match wasn't much of anything... Gene Okerlund interviewed Hulk Hogan in the empty arena (taped before the show) reflecting on his Wrestlemania match with Bundy... Jake Roberts versus Ricky Steamboat did not take place as Roberts attacked Steamboat before the bell giving him a DDT on the concrete floor which looked devastating... World Tag Team Champions the British Bulldogs defeated Nikolai Volkoff and Iron Sheik in a best two out of three falls match. Davey Boy Smith submitted to the Camel Clutch in about 90 seconds but came back to pretty much win the match on his own as Dynamite Kid was injured according to Vince McMahon. A good match though which the crowd were really in to.

Results
Hulk Hogan & The Junkyard Dog def Terry Funk & Hoss Funk by pinfall (10:19) ***
King Kong Bundy pinned Uncle Elmer (2:33) DUD
Adrian Adonis def Paul Orndorff by disqualification (9:32) *1/4
British Bulldogs (c) def Nikolai Volkoff & Iron Sheik in a Best 2/3 Falls Match [2:1] to retain the World Tag Team Title (9:08) **3/4

Saturday Night's Main Event (01/03/86)

Saturday Night's Main Event
01/03/86 (Taped 15/02/86)
Phoenix, Arizona

Somebody obviously decided that the Saturday night light entertainment segments weren't working and from here on the show reverted to the tried and tested formula of promos and matches... After various hype videos and promos Mr T defeated Bob Orton Jr by count out in a rubbish worked boxing match which was mildly entertaining in terms of comedy. It did work well as an angle to set up Mr T versus Roddy Piper at Wrestlemania II... King Kong Bundy squashed Steve Gatorwolf and challenged Hulk Hogan... Hulk Hogan beat Don Muraco by disqualification to retain the WWF Heavyweight Title when Bobby Heenan interfered. Heenan was managing Muraco for the night in place of Mr Fuji who was "unwell". Fuji was shown backstage with an ice pack on top of his hat. Bundy attacked Hogan after the match with multiple Avalanches and splashes until other babyfaces ran to his aid. Hogan was taken away on a stretcher. This was a good angle to build towards the Hogan/Bundy cage match at Wrestlemania... The Dream Team defeated The British Bulldogs in a good match to retain the World Tag Team Title.  Greg Valentine fell on top of Dynamite Kid after a collision for a lucky victory. The two teams would meet again at Wrestlemania... Hulk Hogan's hilariously bad Real American music video aired for the first time... Junkyard Dog pinned Adrian Adonis after Jimmy Hart accidentally hit his own man with the megaphone. The match was pretty poor but the crowd was hot. Having gained so much weight Adonis looked really embarrassing at this stage of his career... A doctor confirmed Hogan had suffered cracked ribs and other internal injuries as a result of Bundy's attack.

Results
Mr T def Bob Orton Jr by count out in a Boxing Match (4:30) 1/2
King Kong Bundy pinned Steve Gatorwolf (0:40) SQ
Hulk Hogan (c) def Don Muraco by disqualification to retain the WWF Heavyweight Title (6:55) *3/4
The Dream Team (c) def The British Bulldogs by pinfall to retain the World Tag Team Title (9:27) ***
The Junkyard Dog pinned Adrian Adonis (6:35) *

Saturday Night's Main Event (04/01/86)

Saturday Night's Main Event
04/01/86 (Taped 19/12/85)
Tampa, Florida

Bobby Heenan replaced Jesse Ventura in the commentary booth for the opening contest. Roddy Piper, Bob Orton Jr and Jesse Ventura beat Uncle Elmer, Hillbilly Jim and Cousin Luke by referee stoppage. It wasn't bad for a bit of a fun match... Jimmy Hart challenged Junkyard Dog to a water slide race at a Tampa water park, which Hart lost. Ventura interviewed Terry Funk in the pool ahead of his title match with Hulk Hogan. This was all a bit daft... Hulk Hogan pinned Terry Funk to retain the WWF Heavyweight Title in a really entertaining brawl. Hogan won with the Axe Bomber clothesline... Back at the water park Randy Savage was teaching Elizabeth how to swim, by shoving her in the pool... Randy Savage defeated George "The Animal" Steele in an awful match refereed by a young Dean Malenko... Nikolai Volkoff pinned Corporal Kirschner in a "Peace Match" which was meant to be a clean wrestling contest. Volkoff won after using some slightly heelish tactics. It wasn't very good... Junkyard Dog and Ricky Steamboat beat Don Muraco and Mr Fuji in another nothing match when JYD headbutted Fuji.

Results
Roddy Piper, Bob Orton Jr & Jesse Ventura def Hillbilly Jim, Uncle Elmer & Cousin Luke by referee stoppage (7:25) **1/4
Hulk Hogan (c) pinned Terry Funk to retain the WWF Heavyweight Title (8:30) ***1/4
Randy Savage pinned George Steele (3:46) DUD
Nikolai Volkoff pinned Corporal Kirschner in a "Peace Match" (4:23) 3/4
Ricky Steamboat & The Junkyard Dog def Don Muraco & Mr Fuji by pinfall (5:19) *

Saturday Night's Main Event (02/11/85)

Saturday Night's Main Event
02/11/85 (Taped 31/10/85)
Hershey, Pennsylvania

Halloween edition! Terry Funk pinned The Junkyard Dog in a wacky brawl which was fun but just passable as a match. JYD 'branded' Jimmy Hart on his backside after the bout... Backstage the wrestlers were in fancy dress for the Halloween competition. Hulk Hogan was Hercules, Randy Savage and Elizabeth were Tarzan and Jane, King Kong Bundy was Abraham Lincoln, Bobby Heenan was Davy Crockett, but best of all were Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff as Batman and Robin. Lou Albano (Caesar) beat Bundy in a pie eating contest... On Piper's Pit were Uncle Elmer, Hillbilly Jim and Cousin Junior. Piper blamed Ventura for mocking the wedding but Ventura had no regrets. It got physical and the heels ran... In round two of the Halloween competition, Bobby Heenan beat Cousin Junior at Pumpkin Bobbin'... Hulk Hogan & Andre the Giant defeated Big John Studd & King Kong Bundy by disqualification. It may have only been basic stuff but the heat was immense... Intercontinental Champion Tito Santana fought Randy Savage to a lame double count out... A nutty segment at Roddy Piper's house (supposedly) followed showing him dealing with trick or treaters... Ricky Steamboat defeated Mr Fuji in a "Kung Fu Challenge" which was actually just a pro wrestling match. Don Muraco and Fuji attacked Steamboat afterwards... In the deciding round of the Hallowen competition the faces defeated the heels in a Pumpkin Pass contest when Elizabeth dropped the pumpkin. Savage was not pleased with her... To finish Jesse Ventura challenged the hillbillies to a match on the next SNME.

Results
Terry Funk pinned The Junkyard Dog (5:14) *1/2
Hulk Hogan & Andre the Giant def Big John Studd & King Kong Bundy by disqualification (5:35) *
Tito Santana (c) fought Randy Savage to a double count out. Santana retained the Intercontinental Title (4:10) *1/2
Ricky Steamboat def Mr Fuji in a "Kung Fu Challenge" match (2:50) 1/2

Saturday Night's Main Event (05/10/85)

Saturday Night's Main Event
05/10/85 (Taped 03/10/85)
East Rutherford, New Jersey


Ahead of the WWF Heavyweight Title bout, challenger Nikolai Volkoff said he'd have "no problem taking the title back to Russia and pressing the missile button". Imagine a foreign heel saying that today. In response champion Hulk Hogan told Mean Gene he was not happy about Volkoff singing the national anthem, but waving the Soviet Union flag in the ring was the last straw... Hogan pinned Volkoff in a decent brawl with good heat. After the match Hogan spat on the Soviet flag and used it to shine his boot... Uncle Elmer, on his wedding night, defeated Jerry Valiant in a record six seconds. This beat the pretend eight second record set by King Kong Bundy at Wrestlemania... An in-ring edition of "The Body Shop" followed as Jesse Ventura interviewed Bobby Heenan. Heenan said there was now a $50,000 bounty on Paul Orndorff's head... Orndorff had an intense brawl with Rowdy Roddy Piper that went to a double count out. The battle went backstage where Piper locked himself in his dressing room to get away from Orndorff...

Uncle Elmer legitimately married his bride Joyce Stazko in the ring with Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, Hillbilly Jim, Lou Albano and others present. Gene Okerlund supposedly played the organ. An object thrown from the crowd hilariously hit the bride during the vows. Jesse Ventura's mocking commentary made this bearable. Roddy Piper came out to protest but the ceremony continued... Andre the Giant & Tony Atlas defeated Big John Studd & King Kong Bundy by disqualification. After the bell Hogan came out to the aid of Andre to a huge pop... A pre-taped segment saw Okerlund (in safari outfit) at Detroit Zoo looking for George "The Animal" Steele, because that's where he lived I guess... The Dream Team beat Tony Garea & Lanny Poffo in a decent enhancement match... Uncle Elmer's wedding reception was backstage, complete with farm animals running around. Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura joined Hulk Hogan and Paul Orndorff at a table. Okerlund tapped a glass and smashed it which I found quite funny. Poffo recited a poem (didn't he just wrestle?) and Hillbilly Jim made a toast. Musician Tiny Tim made an appearance before Ventura read a mocking poem but got tripped up into the wedding cake by Hillbilly Jim. Two cake finishes in a row!

Results
Hulk Hogan (c) pinned Nikolai Volkoff to retain the WWF Heavyweight Title (5:17) **1/2
Uncle Elmer pinned Jerry Valiant (0:06) SQ
Roddy Piper fought Paul Orndorff to a double count out (4:04) **1/2
Andre the Giant & Tony Atlas def Big John Studd & King Kong Bundy by disqualification (4:26) 1/2
The Dream Team (c) def Tony Garea & Lanny Poffo by submission to retain the World Tag Team Title (3:35) *3/4

WWF Saturday Night's Main Event (11/05/85)

Saturday Night's Main Event was a WWF (later WWE) TV special that aired several times a year on major free-to-air network NBC, a rarity for professional wrestling. The show ran from 1985-1991 on NBC to huge success peaking in 1987, although ratings fell in 1991 as the WWF's popularity waned. Fox picked up the show in 1992 but dropped it after just two episodes.

The idea of the show was to capitalise on the huge popularity of the WWF in the 1980's boom period and provide a replacement for Saturday Night Live on week's it did not air. It was a rare chance to see major star Hulk Hogan who did not tend to wrestle on TV and unlike syndicated shows such as Superstars of Wrestling, featured mostly competitive bouts between stars as opposed to enhancement (or squash) matches.

Due to the success of Saturday Night's Main Event, a spin-off show called The Main Event aired occasionally on Friday nights between 1988-1991. Famously the initial show featuring Hulk Hogan versus Andre the Giant pulled in a massive 15.2 rating (33 million viewers) and remains to this day the most watched professional wrestling show of all time.


Here's a re-cap of the debut show...


Saturday Night's Main Event
11/05/85 (Taped 10/05/85)
Long Island, New York


The U.S. Express and Ricky Steamboat beat Nikolai Volkoff, The Iron Sheik and George Steele in a fun bout although the faces were on the offense for virtually the whole match. Steele got ditched by his partners towards the end and Barry Windham rolled up "The Animal" for the win. After the bout Steele was attacked by Sheik and Volkoff but was able to fight them off. Lou Albano attempted to calm Steele in the aftermath... During an in-ring edition of "Piper's Pit", Roddy Piper blamed Paul Orndorff for their defeat to Hulk Hogan and Mr T at Wrestlemania. Piper and Bob Orton assaulted Orndorff until Mr T came to his aid... Hulk Hogan retained the WWF Title over Bob Orton in a pretty basic affair by disqualification. After Hogan had hit the leg drop Piper punched Hogan for the DQ. Could Hogan not have beaten the sidekick? ... Cyndi Lauper introduced a new music video featuring Lou Albano, Roddy Piper, Fred Blassie, The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff and The Fabulous Moolah. Piper said it was the "greatest music video of all time... and then she started to sing"... Moolah revealed a contract barring Lauper from ringside during her title match with Wendi Richter. Lauper was annoying in her protest... 23 year old Wendi Richter pinned 61 year old Moolah to retain the Women's Title with a small package in a dreadful match. Moolah did little more than hair snap mares and forearm strikes at this point of her career. Lauper ran down to the ring to celebrate Richter's win afterwards... The Junkyard Dog, accompanied by his mother (it was Mother's Day) beat Peter Doherty (not the one from The Libertines) in a terrible squash bout... As a Mother's Day treat Mean Gene Okerlund spoke to JYD and his mum, Fred Blassie and a young lady who was supposedly his mum (Jerry Lawler did that same gag 10 years later at In Your House), Hulk Hogan and his mum, and finally Cyndi Lauper with her mum and Wendi Richter. Moolah came by to cause trouble but she and Okerlund ended up getting a face full of cake which was much more the stuff of Saturday morning rather than prime time Saturday night.

Results
The US Express & Ricky Steamboat def Nikolai Volkoff, Iron Sheik & George Steele by pinfall (6:40 shown) **1/4
Hulk Hogan (c) def Bob Orton Jr by disqualification to retain the WWF Heavyweight Title (6:53) *1/2
Wendi Richter (c) pinned Fabulous Moolah to retain the Women's Title (3:18 shown) DUD
The Junkyard Dog pinned Pete Doherty (3:08) DUD

WWF Wrestlemania X

WWF Wrestlemania X
Venue: New York City, New York
Date: 20/03/94
Attendance: 18,065
Commentators: Vince McMahon & Jerry Lawler

The World Wrestling Federation returned to Madison Square Garden to celebrate the 10th annual Wrestlemania and Vince McMahon pulled in the celebrities for the occasion. Little Richard (badly) mimed "America The Beautiful", Rhonda Shear (TV personality) and Jennie Garth (actress) were guest time keepers, while Donnie Wahlberg (singer, actor) and the biggest coup of all Burt Reynolds (actor) were guest ring announcers. There was also a Bill Clinton lookalike that fooled nobody. It had been decided that Royal Rumble co-winners Lex Luger and Bret Hart would both receive championship matches on the night. Luger would face Yokozuna first (decided by coin toss on Raw) and Hart would take on the winner later in the evening. Hart would also be in the opening match after finally agreeing to battle his brother Owen after the younger Hart went full heel at the Royal Rumble. There was also a certain Intercontinental Title Ladder Match on the card which you may have heard about. Jerry Lawler made his return to TV as colour commentator and did an excellent job.

Review

Owen Hart scored a big upset win over older brother Bret in a fantastic opening bout. Owen had to cut some of his more high flying manoeuvres out of his arsenal to suit his new heel stance but that did not detract from this technically superb contest. Owen was of course the aggressor as the younger hot-headed sibling but he didn't overdo the heel shortcuts. Bret was excellent in his role as babyface older brother and the match told a great story. Both men survived each other's version of the Sharpshooter. Bret attempted to perform a victory roll but Owen countered it for a shockingly clean three count. Lawler sold the significance of Owen's victory fantastically.


Bam Bam Bigelow and Luna Vachon defeated Doink and Dink in an acceptable mixed tag team match that was always going to feel flat after the Hart classic. It was what it was, a bit of fun. Bigelow scored a decisive win for his team when he pinned Doink following his top rope head butt.


After being built for around five months, Randy Savage and Crush finally collided in a "Falls Count Anywhere" grudge match. The rules were amended so that falls had to take place outside of the ring and the beaten wrestler would get one minute to return to the ring or lose the match. It was not a change for the better. Crush beat Savage in less than a minute after dropping him onto the guard rail in the aisle. Savage survived and pinned Crush after the big elbow off the top rope. He then had to roll Crush outside to pin him but Crush just made it back inside in time with the help of Mr Fuji. The finish came when Savage threw Crush into a few doors and attempted to hang him upside down after pinning him. Crush did not make it back and Savage was declared the winner of a fairly good brawl.

Women's Champion Alundra Blayze beat Leilani Kai in a short match which nobody really cared about. Kai's appearance was a nice nod to the original Wrestlemania but this did nothing for Blayze or the women's division.


Men on a Mission scored a weak count out win over tag team champions The Quebecers. The match wasn't very good but at the same time not as bad as expected.


Lex Luger was unsuccessful in his quest to become WWF Champion after he was screwed by guest referee Mr Perfect in his match with Yokozuna. Going nearly 15 minutes and filled with rest holds, the match was offensively boring. Towards the end Luger finally made his comeback by body slamming Yoko and KO-ing him with the formerly illegal elbow. He then nailed Jim Cornette and Mr Fuji before covering the champion but Perfect refused to count. Luger lightly shoved Perfect urging him to count but instead Perfect disqualified Luger. The crowd chanted "bulls**t" in response to the screwy finish. Apparently McMahon changed his mind about Luger very late in the day and effectively killed him as a top babyface. His feud with Perfect went nowhere as Curt Hennig would soon leave the company once again.


Harvey Whippleman made fun of Howard Finkel's new hairpiece and bullied him until "The Fink" shoved him down. Adam Bomb came out and grabbed Finkel but Earthquake made the save and squashed Bomb in about 30 seconds. Pointless. Who did this benefit?

Then came the match to determine the undisputed Intercontinental Champion in the first ever WWF ladder match on pay-per-view. There had been ladder matches before, even in the WWF but this one was a game changer. Featuring an incredible performance by Shawn Michaels who bumped like a man possessed, this match remains the ladder match that all others are judged by. Michaels claimed to be Intercontinental Champion despite being stripped of the title in September and still carried the belt when he returned from suspension. Meanwhile a new champion had been crowned in Razor Ramon who defeated Rick Martel to lift the vacant title so the two men were on a collision course the moment Michaels returned. The difference between this ladder match and the previous one in the WWF between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels in 1992 was the ladder was now being used as a weapon as well as a way of getting the title belt. Ramon and Michaels thought up many innovative ways to do this including baseball sliding the ladder, jumping off the ladder, performing moves off the ladder and just plain old beating your opponent with it. Watching this match when it first took place you knew you were watching something special. Ramon won the match after shoving Michaels off the ladder causing his leg to be tied up in the ropes meaning Ramon could retrieve the title belts to be confirmed as the undisputed champion. There was lots of talk of Michaels being WCW-bound at this time but although he took an extended break from in-ring action he remained with the WWF.

The main event was always going to feel a bit of an anticlimax after Ramon/Michaels but the introduction of Roddy Piper as guest referee helped as he came out to a great reception. You could argue that as entertaining as Piper was, he overshadowed the match itself. Yokozuna and Bret Hart had an okay title bout but it wasn't was good as the one they had in Las Vegas. However the finish was equally lame. Yokozuna inexplicably just fell backwards off the middle rope as he prepared to hit the Banzai Drop. Hart then pinned him for a complete fluke victory. That being said the crowd did pop huge for the three count. After the match wrestlers and celebrities filled the ring to celebrate with Bret. Owen Hart then appeared in the aisle to stare at his brother which was important because Owen now had a legitimate claim to be the number one contender.


Overall
Wrestlemania X is remembered as a great WWF show on the strength of two phenomenal matches. Without them the card is just average but that's how strong they were. The ladder match was the one that really pushed Shawn Michaels to the next level while at the same time casting the die for all future ladder matches. Owen Hart was also well and truly put on the map after his world class match with Bret. The brothers were set to collide for the title at Summerslam and would remain on opposite sides of the fence for the next three years. Wrestlemania X drew 390,000 buys for a Wrestlemania low buy rate of 1.68. Considering how business had been going this was still a satisfactory number.


Results
1 Owen Hart pinned Bret Hart (20:26) *****
2 Bam Bam Bigelow & Luna Vachon def Doink & Dink by pinfall (6:09) *1/2
3 Randy Savage def Crush in a "Falls Count Anywhere Match" (9:43) **1/2
4 Alundra Blayze (c) pinned Leilani Kai to retain the WWF Women's Title (3:23) *
5 Men On A Mission def The Quebecers (c) by count out. Quebecers retained the WWF Tag Team Title (7:45) *1/4
6 Yokozuna (c) def Lex Luger by disqualification to retain the WWF Heavyweight Title (14:40) 1/2
7 Earthquake pinned Adam Bomb (0:35) SQ
8 Razor Ramon (c) def Shawn Michaels in a "Ladder Match" to retain the WWF Intercontinental Title (18:47) *****
9 Bret Hart pinned Yokozuna (c) to win the WWF Heavyweight Title (10:36) **1/4


Rating
19/45 = 42.22%

WWF Royal Rumble 1994

WWF Royal Rumble 1994
Venue: Providence, Rhode Island
Date: 23/1/94
Attendance: 14,500
Commentators: Vince McMahon & Ted Dibiase


With the tenth annual Wrestlemania just around the corner, the WWF had already laid the foundations for grudge matches between Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels, and Randy Savage and Crush but it remained to be seen who would be squaring off in the main event for the WWF Heavyweight Title. That was to be determined at the Royal Rumble where Yokozuna would defend the championship against The Undertaker with the number one contender being decided in the Rumble match itself. With Bobby Heenan now in WCW and Jerry Lawler suspended, Ted Dibiase was placed in the slot of colour commentator alongside Vince McMahon. Sadly, he wasn't very good.


Review
The opener saw Tatanka defeat Bam Bam Bigelow in a fairly good bout. It was originally scheduled to be Ludvig Borga versus Tatanka after Borga broke the Native American's long unbeaten streak in November, however Borga was pulled due to injury and would soon leave the company.

"All you had to do was tag me!"

Next up The Quebecers retained the World Tag Team Title with a referee stoppage victory over Bret and Owen Hart. This was a really good, heated match and told a great story. Owen and Bret had recently made up after the Survivor Series incident and deciding they were stronger together they channelled their energy towards winning the tag belts. However, Bret would suffer a knee injury during the bout and despite having a golden opportunity to tag his brother he instead attempted to apply the Sharpshooter. This decision led to their defeat and Owen, quite rightly, was livid. He yelled at Bret before sweeping his injured leg and walking away. Owen then famously cocked up his promo on the big screen as Bret was being helped to the back.


Razor Ramon's Intercontinental Title defence over IRS was okay and furthered the growing feud between Ramon and Shawn Michaels. Michaels was claiming to still be IC Champion despite being stripped of the title for falling foul of the 30 day mandatory title defence rule (in reality he failed a drugs test) and still carried the original title belt around with him. After a ref bump in the match, Michaels ran in and clobbered Ramon with his title belt which led to Ramon being pinned. Then (in one of those incidents when they randomly decide the referee's decision is not final) another referee ran down to demand the match continue, which it did unbeknownst to IRS who got Razor Edge'd from behind and pinned. In the end it felt like the heel got screwed here.

"I'm about to die, but don't worry I'll be reborn in time for Summerslam"

Then came the "Casket Match" for the WWF Title between Yokozuna and The Undertaker. It was a really poor match that became and absolute joke by the end. When it looked like Undertaker was about to win the match, no less than nine other wrestlers came down to attack. The heels opened Undertaker's urn which allowed his 'power' to get away (there was green smoke escaping from the urn) and Taker became weaker and weaker until he was placed into the casket. If that wasn't stupid enough, as the heels pushed the casket back down the aisle smoke began to rise from underneath and the lights went out. The fallen Undertaker then appeared on the big screen 'live' from the casket which apparently had a microphone, a light and a camera in it. The coffin-cam somehow managed to zoom out so we could see the top edges of the casket despite the lid being on. Taker refused to rest in peace, died (or something) and then levitated to the heaven (or somewhere), not from the casket but from behind the big screen?! This was one of the stupidest and most embarrassing things I've ever seen in wrestling.


The Royal Rumble match was entertaining without being anything special. Diesel looked like a star for the first time as he tossed out several guys before being double crossed by Shawn Michaels, a subtle detail they saved for a later date. There was a nice continuation of the Randy Savage/Crush feud and a brief clash between Michaels and Marty Jannetty. Nobody came out at number 25 so McMahon and Dibiase concluded it must have been Bret Hart's slot. But no, Hart hobbled out at number 27 like a hero. The 25th slot should've been Bastion Booger, but he was sick. That was the best they could come up with?! Predictably the final two were Bret Hart and Lex Luger but they did nothing more than exchange a couple of punches then topple over the top rope together rather oddly. Couldn't they have done a clothesline spot or something? The referees argued over who had won until Jack Tunney came out and declared they were co-winners as opposed to just say, sending them back in to settle it. The question now was who would face Yokozuna at Wrestlemania; Bret Hart or Lex Luger?

Lex Luger and Bret Hart both claim victory in the Royal Rumble

Overall
Aside from the casket match debacle, Royal Rumble 1994 was a decent enough card. The Quebecers versus The Hart Brothers was the stand out match (and angle) but the other match-ups weren't bad either. The feuds between Ramon/Michaels, Savage/Crush and now Bret/Owen were furthered with the question remaining whether Bret Hart or Lex Luger would face Yokozuna at Wrestlemania. At the time it was expected that Luger would win the Rumble so the non-finish finish came as a bit of a surprise. Royal Rumble 1994 drew a worrying 0.9 buy rate which was around 200,000 buys. This was only slightly up from Survivor Series and a massive 100,000 down from Royal Rumble 1993.

Results
1 Tatanka pinned Bam Bam Bigelow (8:12) **1/4
2 The Quebecers (c) def Bret Hart & Owen Hart by stoppage to retain the WWF Tag Team Title (16:48) ***1/2
3 Razor Ramon (c) pinned Irwin R Schyster to retain the WWF Intercontinental Title (11:30) **1/4
4 Yokozuna (c) def The Undertaker in a "Casket Match" to retain the WWF Heavyweight Title (14:20) 1/2
5 Bret Hart & Lex Luger won the Royal Rumble match (55:08) **3/4


Rating
11.25/25 = 45%

WWF PPV RATINGS LIST

Every match on each PPV is given a star rating and the show as a whole is given a score based on these ratings. Every match can score a maximum of 5 and a minimum of 0 so the show gets an overall average score which is shown as a percentage.


The rankings of the shows reviewed so far based on match quality.


1.   Survivor Series 1987      67.50%
2.   Survivor Series 1988      61.25%
3.   Royal Rumble 1991       55.00%
4.   This Tuesday In Texas   54.00%
5.   Royal Rumble 1993       49.00%
6.   Summerslam 1991         48.75%
7.   Survivor Series 1989      47.00%
8.   King of the Ring 1993    46.67%
9.   Summerslam 1993          46.50%
10. Royal Rumble 1992       44.00%
11. Royal Rumble 1989       43.75%
12. Summerslam 1989         41.11%
13. Wrestlemania III            40.83%
14. Wrestlemania VIII         40.56%
15. Survivor Series 1993     40.00%
16. Summerslam 1992         39.38%
17. Survivor Series 1992      39.38%
18. Wrestlemania VII           39.29%
19. Survivor Series 1990      38.33%
20. Royal Rumble 1990        38.00%
21. Summerslam 1990          37.22%
22. Wrestlemania VI             35.00%
23. Wrestlemania V              33.57%
24. The Big Event                 32.73%
25. Wrestlemania IX             31.67%
26. Survivor Series 1991      31.00%
27. Wrestlemania II              30.42%
28. Summerslam 1998          28.50%
29. Wrestlemania                  28.33%
30. Wrestlemania IV             27.50%
31. The Wrestling Classic     26.00%

WWF BEST PPV MATCHES (1990-1992)

1. Bret Hart vs British Bulldog - Summerslam 1992 ****3/4


2. Royal Rumble - Royal Rumble 1992 ****1/2


3. Mr Perfect vs Bret Hart - Summerslam 1991 ****1/2


4. Ultimate Warrior vs Randy Savage - Wrestlemania VII ****1/2


5. Ric Flair vs Randy Savage - Wrestlemania VIII ****1/2


6. Hulk Hogan vs Ultimate Warrior - Wrestlemania VI ****


7. The Rockers vs Orient Express - Royal Rumble 1991 ****


8. Randy Savage vs Ultimate Warrior - Summerslam 1992 ****


9. Roddy Piper vs Bret Hart - Wrestlemania VIII ****


10. Demolition vs Hart Foundation - Summerslam 1990 ***3/4


11. Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels - Survivor Series 1992 ***3/4


12. Hart Foundation vs Nasty Boys - Wrestlemania VII ***1/2


13. The Rockers vs Barbarian & Haku - Wrestlemania VII ***1/2


14. Royal Rumble - Royal Rumble 1990 ***1/2


15. Randy Savage & Mr Perfect vs Ric Flair & Razor Ramon - Survivor Series 1992 ***1/2

WWF BEST PPV MATCHES OF THE 80s

1. Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat - Wrestlemania III ****1/2


2. British Bulldogs, Strike Force, Killer Bees, Rougeau Brothers & Young Stallions vs Demolition, Hart Foundation, The Bolsheviks, The Islanders & The New Dream Team - Survivor Series 1987 ****


3. Hart Foundation, British Bulldogs, The Rockers, Young Stallions & Powers of Pain vs Demolition, Brain Busters, Fabulous Rougeaus, The Bolsheviks & The Conquistadors - Survivor Series 1988 ***3/4


4. Randy Savage vs Hulk Hogan - Wrestlemania V ***3/4


5. Rick Rude vs Ultimate Warrior - Summerslam 1989 ***3/4


6. Brain Busters vs Hart Foundation - Summerslam 1989 ***1/2


7. The Rockers & Tito Santana vs Fabulous Rougeaus & Rick Martel - Summerslam 1989 ***1/2


8. Hulk Hogan, Paul Orndorff, Don Muraco, Bam Bam Bigelow & Ken Patera vs Andre the Giant, King Kong Bundy, One Man Gang, Rick Rude & Butch Reed - Survivor Series 1987 ***1/2


9. Randy Savage, Ricky Steamboat, Jake Roberts, Jim Duggan & Brutus Beefcake vs Honky Tonk Man, Harley Race, Hercules, Ron Bass & Danny Davis - Survivor Series 1987 ***1/2


10. The Dream Team vs British Bulldogs - Wrestlemania II ***1/2

WWF Survivor Series 1993

WWF Survivor Series 1993
Venue: Boston, Massachusetts
Date: 24/11/93
Attendance: 15,500
Commentators: Vince McMahon & Bobby Heenan


After changing the format of the previous year's Survivor Series to a regular card, the 1993 edition reverted back to all tag team elimination matches, with the exception of one. The trouble was the WWF no longer had the roster to pull off four eight-man elimination matches and going in the card looked less than exciting. The show was also massively hindered by the suspension of Jerry Lawler who was facing charges of statutory rape (later dropped) as it meant the culmination of his feud with the Hart family could not happen. Lawler had to be replaced by Shawn Michaels who himself had not long returned from suspension for failing a drugs test for steroids. The match didn't make any sense without Lawler and interest waned. The show was headlined by the "All Americans" versus the "Foreign Fanatics" featuring the hardly riveting feud between Lex Luger and Ludvig Borga, the seeds for which were sown in a backstage confrontation at Summerslam. This would also be Bobby Heenan's final WWF pay-per-view before heading to WCW, but at least he went out with a bang.


Review


Razor Ramon, Marty Jannetty, The 1-2-3 Kid & Randy Savage vs IRS, Adam Bomb, Rick Martel & Diesel


The first elimination tag team match was the best of the four on the night and was centred around Razor Ramon's feud with Irwin R Schyster. It was announced by Ramon that Mr Perfect would not be taking part and Randy Savage would be replacing him. Curt Hennig was unhappy with the direction of his character and would soon leave the company.  Savage scored the first decision of the night pinning Diesel after the flying elbow drop. Savage was then distracted by the arrival of Crush and was rolled up from behind by IRS. Crush had recently turned on Savage and so intent on getting revenge, Savage lost his job as colour commentator on Raw. Ramon then pinned IRS after the Razor's Edge but when Ramon attempted to do the same to Rick Martel, IRS struck him with his briefcase and caused the Intercontinental Champion to be counted out. Martel and Adam Bomb took control before a quick fire double elimination saw 1-2-3 Kid pin Martel with a sunset flip in the corner before Jannetty pinned Bomb with a sunset flip over the top rope. Kid and Jannetty would soon get a very brief run as tag team champions. This was a fun match to kick off the show.

Bret, Owen, Keith & Bruce Hart vs Shawn Michaels & "Three Knights of the Squared Circle"


Next up was the "Family Feud" match as Bret, Owen, Keith and Bruce Hart (along with father Stu) battled Shawn Michaels (replacing Jerry Lawler) and his "Knights of the Squared Circle" who were Greg Valentine, Jeff Gaylord and Barry Horowitz under masks. Ray Combs of the TV show Family Feud was guest ring announcer and colour commentator and personally I thought he did ok. Many members of the Hart family were also seated at ringside for the match. The match was long, boring and lost the heat it would've had with Lawler in there. The Knights were nameless and faceless nobodies to the crowd and there was little reaction when they were in the ring. Owen pinned Gaylord with a top rope dropkick, Bret made Horowitz submit to the Sharpshooter, and Owen then forced Valentine to surrender in his version of the Sharpshooter. Owen then accidentally collided with Bret knocking him into the guard rail and causing Owen to be pinned by Michaels. Michaels then continued to take a pounding before walking out on the match with the odds firmly against him. Owen returned to the ring to confront Bret and begin his heel turn. The highlight of the match was Bobby Heenan's first rate performance on commentary.

Rock N Roll Express (c) vs Heavenly Bodies - Smoky Mountain Tag Team Title


The Heavenly Bodies defeated the Rock N Roll Express to win the Smoky Mountain Tag Team Title in a good match. The problem was the WWF crowd did not come to see Smoky Mountain Wrestling and couldn't care less. It was a typical NWA-style tag team bout with good action but it played out to mostly silence. Radio commentators Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon took over announce duties for this one. The Bodies victory came when Jimmy Del Rey hit Ricky Morton with Jim Cornette's tennis racket off the top rope.


"The Four Doinks" vs Bam Bam Bigelow, Bastion Booger & The Headshrinkers


This match evoked more of a reaction from the Boston crowd, but not much more. The "Four Doinks" who turned out to be Men on a Mission and The Bushwackers (complete with Doink face paint and masks) scored a clean sweep victory in an abysmal 'comedy' match that made a mockery of pro wrestling. The Headshrinkers and Bastion Booger were made out to be morons with the minds of wild animals as they were easily distracted by turkey and bananas leading to their eliminations. At one point Mo rode a scooter around the ring for a laugh or something. With the rest of his team eliminated Bigelow was then also beaten as all four of his opponents lay on top of him for the pin fall. He was then mocked by Doink on the big screen. This was terrible.

Lex Luger, The Steiner Brothers & The Undertaker vs Yokozuna, Ludvig Borga, Jacques Rougeau & Crush


Things thankfully got more serious for the main event which was decent enough but felt a bit flat for a headline match. Rick Steiner looked ridiculously weak as he was pinned by Borga early on after they botched whatever they were trying to do when Rick came off the top rope. Randy Savage came out for Crush which caused the Hawaiian to be counted out. Luger pinned Rougeau with his strangely no-longer-illegal forearm smash. Yokozuna pinned Scott Steiner. Undertaker then finally tagged in for the hottest part of the match as he battled Yokozuna, although it lasted all of three minutes and both men got counted out. Disaster was also narrowly avoided as Yokozuna almost came down on Undertaker's head as Taker sat up to avoid a second Banzai Drop. Borga then beat up Luger for a few minutes before Luger made a Hogan-like comeback for the win. Santa Claus then joined Luger in the ring to celebrate for a happy ending.

Overall
A very average show that was hurt by the lack of depth on the roster and by the lack of a climax to the Hart Family/Jerry Lawler feud, although there was little they could do about that. Lex Luger was lacking the charisma and appeal that Hulk Hogan possessed and his main event match fell flat in a way that no Hogan top liner ever did. Bobby Heenan (like Gene Okerlund before him) soon said his farewells and left for WCW after refusing to relocate to Connecticut as requested by Vince McMahon as part of the WWF's cost cutting measures. Survivor Series 1993 drew a company low buy rate of 0.82 meaning 185,000 buys, 65,000 less than the 1992 event.


Results
1 Razor Ramon, Randy Savage, Marty Jannetty & The 1-2-3 Kid def Irwin R Schyster, Rick Martel, Adam Bomb & Diesel (26:58) ***
2 Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Bruce Hart & Keith Hart def Shawn Michaels, The Black Knight, The Blue Knight & The Red Knight (30:57) *3/4
3 The Heavenly Bodies def The Rock N Roll Express (c) to win the Smoky Mountain Tag Team Title (13:43) ***
4 Men On A Mission & The Bushwackers def Bam Bam Bigelow, Bastion Booger & The Headshrinkers (10:58) DUD
5 Lex Luger, The Undertaker & The Steiner Brothers def Yokozuna, Ludvig Borga, Jacques Rougeau & Crush (27:59) **1/4


Rating
10/25 = 40%

WWF Summerslam 1993

WWF Summerslam 1993
Venue: Auburn Hills, Michigan
Date: 30/8/93
Attendance: 18,500
Commentators: Vince McMahon & Bobby Heenan

As Hulk Hogan was to leave the WWF following the July/August European Tour, Vince McMahon decided simply to make a new Hulk Hogan in time for a big main event at Summerslam in Auburn Hills, Michigan. A big angle was set up on 4th July 1993 aboard the U.S.S. Intrepid in New York City where Mr Fuji and Yokozuna had challenged all comers to attempt to body slam the massive 550lbs plus WWF Champion. Failure to do so would of course, "embarrass America on it's most famous holiday" as put by Jim Ross. A host of NFL, NHL and NBA stars joined the likes of the Steiner Brothers, Randy Savage and Crush in an attempt to win the "Body Slam Challenge" but all failed. Just as it looked like defeat for the USA, a helicopter landed on the ship prompting big "Hogan" chants. To the surprise of most it would be heel Lex Luger who made his way towards the ring shoving Bobby Heenan aside in phase one of the quick fire face turn. Luger then cut a babyface, pro-America promo on the evil foreigners (Rodney Anoa'i was actually a Samoan from San Francisco)  and then tossed Fuji out of the ring. After a brief stare down Luger clocked Yoko with his steel plated forearm and, with Yoko's assistance, body slammed him to bring the house (or aircraft carrier) down! Babyface turn complete, the WWF set up a huge promotional tour where Luger would travel around the country in his "Lex Express" Greyhound bus in what was called a "Call To Action" campaign. The WWF really pulled out all of the stops to get Luger over as the new American hero and after a gruelling six weeks on the road, the stage was set for the big showdown at Summerslam.


Review
In a run-of-the-mill opening contest, newly turned babyface Razor Ramon defeated Ted Dibiase with the Razor's Edge. This would be Dibiase's final match in the WWF and he would retire from the ring later in the year following a short spell in AJPW.

The Steiner Brothers successfully defended the World Tag Team Title in arguably the best match of their WWF run against The Heavenly Bodies (Jimmy Del Ray & Tom Pritchard). Naturally the Detroit crowd were hot for the Steiners and there was some great tag team wrestling in this one.


The much anticipated clash between Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels and Mr Perfect did not deliver to the level that most expected. By his own admission Michaels was carrying excess weight around this time while Perfect was never quite the same after his back injury. The match was good from a technical standpoint but after the heated build up including a wild brawl in the street in New York City it did not resemble a grudge match at all. The cheap finish did not help as Diesel (Michaels' bodyguard Kevin Nash) cost Perfect the title and caused him to be counted out. During a backstage post match brawl designed to start a feud between Perfect and Diesel, Michaels dropped and shattered the Intercontinental Title belt and had to foot the bill for it to be replaced.

After a shock win over Razor Ramon and later Ted Dibiase, The 1-2-3 Kid was brought crashing back down to earth with a clean loss to IRS. The match itself wasn't bad but according to Sean Waltman the loss was in order to keep his ego in check.


It looked like we would be getting screwed out the battle to determine the real "King" of the WWF as Jerry Lawler appeared on crutches after being involved in a "ten car pile up". Instead Bret Hart would have to face Doink with Lawler watching from ringside. Hart had a decent battle with Doink until Lawler (genuinely) levelled him with a crutch when he had Doink locked in the Sharpshooter. After proving his injury to be phony, Lawler was forced to face Hart by Jack Tunney in a stiff and very heated brawl that unlike the Intercontinental Title bout, did feel like a grudge match. Hart won the match with the Sharpshooter but refused to release it afterwards and the decision was reversed. It was a bit ridiculous as there were at least ten people in the ring and they couldn't pull Hart off of Lawler. Overall though this was a really good angle where Hart got his revenge but Lawler remained a "King".

Newcomer Ludvig Borga (Tony Halme) crushed Marty Jannetty in a five minute squash. They clearly had big plans for Borga although he was extremely limited and didn't look particularly good here.


The Undertaker defeated Giant Gonzales in an awful "Rest in Peace" match which basically meant no disqualification or count outs. A top rope clothesline was all it took to beat this monstrous giant in the end. Paul Bearer made his return mid-match to reclaim the urn from Harvey Whippleman. Gonzales choke slammed Whippleman after the match to apparently turn face but nobody seemed that bothered.


Tatanka and The Smoking Gunns beat Bam Bam Bigelow and The Headshrinkers in an entertaining six man tag team bout. The match was good fun and was won by Tatanka pinning Samu with a roll up.

After a monster push and promotional campaign to get Lex Luger over as the new American hero babyface he was unable to unseat Yokozuna as WWF Champion winning only by count out. The wind was really taken out of Luger's sails right from the start as this meant he had already failed in the eyes of the fans. Imagine if Hulk Hogan could've only managed a count out win over the Iron Sheik back in 1984. If they were really serious about going all the way with Luger he had to go over here. As it was it was still a shockingly decent match, about the best they could've had really but despite acting like Luger had secured a huge victory at the end it all fell a bit flat. Randy Savage, the Steiner Brothers and Tatanka celebrated with Luger in the ring as balloons fell from the ceiling but Luger was not the champion so there was nothing really to celebrate. The music video at the end of the show featuring clips from the "Lex Express" tour was however, excellent. The plan was to make Yokozuna versus Luger the big money match at Wrestlemania X, except Luger lost so much steam as a babyface in the coming months that Bret Hart was put back into the world title mix come January.


Overall
Summerslam 1993 was a decent show, as long as you look past the non-finishes in the three big matches. The highlight of the show was the whole Bret Hart/Jerry Lawler saga which was heated and very entertaining. The involvement of Owen and Bruce Hart helped also, not least because Bruce was wound up by being dowsed in water by Doink without knowing it was coming. That was hilarious. Shawn Michaels versus Mr Perfect was good but at the same time disappointing, and the main event surpassed all expectations, until the finish. Summerslam 1993 drew a 1.3 buy rate, approximately 250,000 buys, which was a touch disappointing considering the amount of hype for Lex Luger's big night.


Results
1 Razor Ramon pinned Ted Dibiase (7:32) **1/4
2 The Steiner Brothers (c) def The Heavenly Bodies by pinfall to retain the WWF Tag Team Title (9:28) ***1/2
3 Shawn Michaels (c) def Mr Perfect by count out to retain the WWF Intercontinental Title (11:20) ***
4 Irwin R Schyster pinned The 1-2-3 Kid (5:44) **1/2
5 Bret Hart def Doink by disqualification (9:05) **1/2
6 Jerry Lawler def Bret Hart by disqualification (6:32) ***
7 Ludvig Borga def Marty Jannetty by submission (5:15) 3/4
8 The Undertaker pinned Giant Gonzales (8:04) DUD
9 The Smoking Gunns & Tatanka def The Headshrinkers & Bam Bam Bigelow by pinfall (11:15) ***
10 Lex Luger def Yokozuna (c) by count out. Yokozuna retained the WWF Heavyweight Title (17:58) **3/4


Rating
23.25/50 = 46.5%

WWF King of the Ring 1993

WWF King of the Ring 1993
Venue: Dayton, Ohio
Date: 13/6/93
Attendance: 6,500
Commentators: Jim Ross, Bobby Heenan & Randy Savage


King of the Ring was an (almost) annual tournament which ran on untelevised events from 1985 to 1991 but in 1993 the decision was made to make it into a pay-per-view event. Qualifying matches for the tournament aired on Monday Night Raw with the quarter finals, semi finals and final to feature on the pay-per-view itself. In addition to the tournament Yokozuna challenged Hulk Hogan for the WWF Heavyweight Title in a rematch from their impromptu bout at Wrestlemania IX.


Review
In the first tournament quarter final Bret Hart defeated Razor Ramon in a good contest but not quite to the level of their Royal Rumble battle after countering a super-plex... Mr Perfect advanced past Mr Hughes by disqualification in a worthless match. Perfect was not permitted to beat Hughes who was to work with The Undertaker... Bam Bam Bigelow beat Hacksaw Jim Duggan clean in another poor bout with his top rope diving headbutt... Lex Luger and Tatanka's unbeaten streaks remained intact after they fought to a fifteen minute time limit draw which eliminated them both. The match was actually fairly good. Luger wore an elbow pad to cover his steel plated err.. forearm but removed it after the bout to KO Tatanka.

Bret Hart and Mr Perfect had a good face-to-face interview with Gene Okerlund followed by an excellent wrestling match which Hart won to reach the final. Perfect played the slight heel here but shook hands with Hart after the match to confirm there was no turn. The match was similar in quality to their bout at Summerslam 1991 but with less crowd heat... Hulk Hogan's first U.S. televised match since Wrestlemania IX and his first title defence ended in a surprise defeat to Yokozuna. The slimmed down 1993 version of Hogan looked even more slight next to the massive Rodney Anoa'i. Hogan put Yokozuna over very strong in the match with 'Zuna dominating almost entirely and Hogan's comebacks amounting to little. Hogan even allowed Yoko to kick out of the leg drop. The finish however was ridiculous. As Hogan was readying himself to bodyslam Yokozuna a 'cameraman' with a very phony looking disguise (it was Harvey Whippleman) got onto the apron and fired a flame into Hogan's face leaving him prone to defeat. Yoko then crushed Hogan with a Banzai Drop to send him on his way with the crowd's sympathy. In the aftermath (and unlike Survivor Series 1991) there was no outrage and demands for justice after such a blatant screwjob. Jack Tunney bizarrely congratulated Yokozuna as if the fire spot hadn't happened.

The Smoking Gunns & The Steiner Brothers beat Money Inc and The Headshrinkers in a match which at 6:49 was not allocated enough time for an eight man tag. The Steiners barely featured as Billy Gunn pinned Ted Dibiase out of nowhere for the win. This wouldn't have been so bad except it'd be the Steiners who would win the tag team title the next night... After announcing the name of his new bodyguard Diesel, Shawn Michaels retained the Intercontinental Title over Crush in an average match with another screwy finish. Two Doinks walked out to distract Crush allowing Michaels to superkick him from behind in a spot that looked awful for the cheap win.

The final tournament match was a good one as Bret Hart pinned Bam Bam Bigelow with a victory roll to claim his second King of the Ring crown. Bigelow initially won the bout with his diving headbutt but Earl Hebner ran to the ring to rule the match should continue because Luna Vachon had struck Hart with a very weak chair shot. It made no sense as a much more obvious injustice had been allowed to stand in the world title match. It didn't make Hart look great either. Regardless of the inconsistencies the match told a good story with Hart selling injury and exhaustion having wrestled the extra match but like any good top babyface still found a way to overcome the odds. During Hart's coronation celebration he was confronted and attacked by Jerry Lawler who claimed he was the only true king of in the WWF. This was a good angle that began a hot feud between the two although Hart claimed Lawler was a bit over zealous during the attack.

Overall
This was undoubtedly Bret Hart's night. His three tournament matches with Razor Ramon, Mr Perfect and Bam Bam Bigelow really made the show because the rest wasn't much to write home about. At the time it was presumed a rematch between Yokozuna and Hulk Hogan would headline Summerslam but Hogan would leave the WWF following his match with Yoko in Sheffield, England on 6th August and not return for eight and a half years. Hart was about to engage in a feud with Jerry Lawler so a new top babyface would need to be found and quick... King of the Ring 1993 attracted a buy rate of 1.1 which was around 245,000 buys.


Results
1 Bret Hart pinned Razor Ramon (10:27) ***
2 Mr Perfect def Mr Hughes by disqualification (6:02) *1/4
3 Bam Bam Bigelow pinned Jim Duggan (4:59) *1/4
4 Lex Luger fought Tatanka to a time limit draw (15:00) **1/2
5 Bret Hart pinned Mr Perfect (18:55) ****1/4
6 Yokozuna pinned Hulk Hogan (c) to win the WWF Heavyweight Title (13:11) *1/2
7 The Smoking Gunns & The Steiner Brothers def Money Inc & The Headshrinkers by pinfall (6:49) **
8 Shawn Michaels (c) pinned Crush to retain the WWF Intercontinental Title (11:14) **
9 Bret Hart pinned Bam Bam Bigelow to become "King of the Ring" (18:11) ***1/4


Rating
21/45 = 46.67%

WWF Wrestlemania IX

WWF Wrestlemania IX

Venue: Las Vegas, Nevada
Date: 4/4/93
Attendance: 15,045
Commentators: Jim Ross, Bobby Heenan & Randy Savage

In stark contrast to the previous year's event Wrestlemania IX was held outdoors at Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas with a Roman themed set including toga outfits for the announcers and ringside crew. It was certainly different. Due to the falling pay-per-view numbers Hulk Hogan was brought back into the fold to be a part of a special double main event as he teamed with Brutus Beefcake to challenge Money Inc for the World Tag Team Title while Bret Hart defended the WWF Heavyweight Title against Royal Rumble winner Yokozuna.

Review
In the opening contest, Shawn Michaels retained the Intercontinental Championship despite a count out loss to Tatanka in what turned out to be the best match on the show. The finish was perplexing however as Michaels tripped up the referee from outside the ring to prevent being counted out which was surely a disqualification, except Howard Finkel announced that the champion had in fact lost via count out. It was an easy way out as Tatanka could then remain undefeated without taking the title from the "Heartbreak Kid". After the bout Luna Vachon attacked Sensational Sherri who was in the corner of Tatanka. She assaulted her again in the medical room later in the show.

The Steiner Brothers defeated The Headshrinkers in a decent match-up won by Scott Steiner's Frankensteiner which didn't connect that well. There were a few cool manoeuvres in this one including Rick Steiner's belly-to-belly suplex on Fatu while sat on Samu's shoulders. This was one of two matches on the show that had a clean finish.
Crush was looking for revenge after being put out of action back in December by Doink, only he didn't get it. After a ref bump a second Doink attacked Crush from behind with a prosthetic arm allowing the original Doink to score the pin fall victory. Following the decision two referees looked for the second Doink under the ring but he was nowhere to be found. Apparently it was some kind of illusion. For a grudge match built quite well it got a pretty tepid reaction. There were some cheers for the finish which didn't bode well for Crush.

Razor Ramon beat Bob Backlund with an inside cradle in a rubbish match that did nothing for anybody. Backlund looked awful. Ramon was cheered despite being the heel and it's not hard to understand why.

Hulk Hogan's big return ended in defeat as he and Brutus Beefcake were disqualified in their tag title match with Money Inc. Jimmy Hart had switched allegiances to Hogan & Beefcake after an angle on Raw where Beefcake's nose was broken by Ted Dibiase & IRS. Hogan then made his return to television and vowed revenge for his best friend. The match however did not feel like a big enough deal for the long awaited return of Hogan. It was an okay bout but the finish was pretty stupid. After KO'ing the champions with Beefcake's protective face mask, Hogan and Beefcake apparently thought that Jimmy Hart had the authority to count the pin fall simply by turning his jacket inside out to reveal black and white stripes on the inner lining. The faces were rightly DQ'd but they celebrated regardless after the match. It should also be noted that Hogan worked the match with a nasty looking eye injury caused by a boating accident (or Randy Savage's fist if you believe the rumours). Speaking of boating accidents this was Beefcake's first pay-per-view match for three years after shattering his face in 1990.

Mr Perfect's showdown with Lex Luger was a disappointment. It was a very ordinary bout which Luger won with a backslide despite both of Perfect's feet being on the middle rope. Luger then knocked Perfect out with his steel plated forearm before Perfect tracked him down backstage only to be attacked by Shawn Michaels. This was more exciting than the match itself. Incidentally Luger had also knocked out Bret Hart during the Wrestlemania brunch event but strangely it didn't lead to anything.

The Undertaker defeated Giant Gonzales by disqualification after Gonzales decided to use chloroform to incapacitate the "Dead Man". Taker did the first stretcher job of his WWF career only to charge back to the ring soon after and take down Gonzales with a series of clotheslines. Predictably the match was awful.

In the main event Bret Hart had a decent bout with Yokozuna until yet another lame ending. Hart (sort of) locked Yokozuna in the Sharpshooter only for Mr Fuji to throw salt in his eyes which was enough to keep the champion down for the three count. Couldn't Yoko have also dropped a leg on him or something? Hulk Hogan then stormed down to the ring to protest the injustice but ended up being challenged by Fuji to an immediate title match with 'Zuna. Hogan asked for Hart's permission, which he granted, the salt trick backfired, Hogan clotheslined Yoko, dropped the leg and just like that picked up his fifth WWF Heavyweight Title. Despite the obvious flaws in the way it went down I felt this ending brought about the only memorable moment of the show. A lot of people rightly felt bad for Hart but the reality is he wasn't drawing well enough as champion so McMahon decided to pull the plug. Supposedly the idea was for Hart to challenge Hogan for the title at Summerslam but that didn't happen as Hogan would leave the company in the summer. McMahon clearly did not want to go back to Hart as champion as he instead attempted to make a new Hogan in the form of Lex Luger.

Overall
An awful Wrestlemania. The only memorable things about the show were the setting and the ending with Hogan's surprise title win which like it or not got a big pop and sent the fans home happy. The other positives were new signing Jim Ross' performance on commentary, and Bam Bam Bigelow versus Kamala being cancelled. Besides that, an abundance of dodgy finishes and average matches made this show one to forget. Wrestlemania IX drew a 2.1 buy rate equating to 430,000 buys. While still slightly down from the year before it was a much healthier number than the past three pay-per-view shows.

Results
1 Tatanka def Shawn Michaels (c) by count out. Michaels retained the WWF Intercontinental Title (18:13) ***1/4
2 The Steiner Brothers def The Headshrinkers by pinfall (14:22) **3/4
3 Doink pinned Crush (8:28) *
4 Razor Ramon pinned Bob Backlund (3:45) 3/4
5 Money Inc (c) def The Mega Maniacs to retain the WWF Tag Team Title (18:27) **
6 Lex Luger pinned Mr Perfect (10:56) *3/4
7 The Undertaker def Giant Gonzales by disqualification (7:33) DUD
8 Yokozuna pinned Bret Hart (c) to win the WWF Heavyweight Title (8:55) **3/4
9 Hulk Hogan pinned Yokozuna (c) to win the WWF Heavyweight Title (0:21) SQ

Rating
14.25/45 = 31.67%