House Show/TV tapings random happenings

[air_raid]

On 2/10/2022 at 8:49 AM, air_raid said:

17-18th November 1989 in Hershey, at the Meadowlands and at the Philly Spectrum, Bret wrestles three babyface matches with Tito Santana which all go to double count-outs.

I have stumbled upon a sequel to this oddity! 12th December 1991, Hartford CT. Brets in the middle of a run with The Mountie and El Matador is feuding with the Million Dollar Man. On the doorstep of Titan Towers, despite Mountie being on the card, Hitmans challenger for the night is determined by a show- opening battle royal, won by Santana last eliminating old Warload. This time of course, Bret pins him.

The things you stumble upon. Mountie incidentally worked Virgil instead.

Edited February 25, 2022 by air_raid

[air_raid]

Here's my review of Q2 of 1989.

April post Mania, at first little has changed. Two TVs have dark matches of Hulk Hogan vs Big Boss Man in a cage, Randy Savage vs Ultimate Warrior (which has changed from two champions to neither with a belt) and Andre The Giant vs Big John Studd.

Andre takes a crew to Italy straight after Mania and TVs but only two reports are available. 7th in Turin have Demolition defend against Andre & Haku (first report of the Colossal Connection tagging), Rick Rude vs Bret Hart (fuck) and Warrior vs Boss Man, 8th in Milan it’s a more obvious Demolition v Powers of Pain, Rude vs Warrior and the Andre vs Bret match you may have seen on DVD or YouTube.

It’s the traditional slow start to road dates after Mania. Hulk Hogan vs Randy Savage rematches for the belt are what everyone wants to see. 14,000 to Philadelphia on 22nd, 19,000 in Toronto on 23rd, 16,000 at MSG 24th, 15,000 in Detroit on 29th and 8300 at the more modest Richfield Coliseum on 30th all see Savage win by count-out with interference from Savage’s new cohort Sherri Martel. To sell the rematches.

Near 11,000 come to the Boston Garden on 22nd for Rick Rude vs Ultimate Warrior (count out) and Demolition vs The Twin Towers (DQ) plus the start of the Tito Santana vs Rick Martel grudge matches, most of which will be won by tricky Ricky. Identical cards run some small towns and the Montreal Forum on 30th along with Beefcake v Bad News, Rockin Robin v Judy Martin, Barbarian getting a look in singles against the Anvil, and the first matches for The Genius gimmick, squashing Jim Powers. Your other main events are usually Andre vs Studd plus a random Savage vs Barber 27th in Portland and 28th in Providence. There are no C shows.

In terms who’s working who - coming out of Mania we’ve got Million Dollar Man with Jake the Snake, the much lauded Mr Perfect vs Bret Hart run, and with the tag teams rotated the Rockers start a run with the Rougeaus. Unfortunately this leaves Arn & Tully with the Bushwhackers - and you know what? It’s disturbing how often they lose to them. Ron Garvins lost his “retirement match” to Valentine on TV so he’s doing the ref gimmick, and you’ve variously also got Duggan vs Haku, Warlord with Koko, Rooster with the Brawler and Hercules stuck with Bravo. Martel and Tito are obviously doing their grudge match and first TV after Mania they put Martel with Slick.

Lastly of note: dark on 25th TV in Des Moines, as well as Andre vs Studd and Savage vs Warrior, there’s the first defence for Demolition against Tully & Arn (Horsemen by DQ) and the return of Superfly Snuka, murdering Boris Zhukov in about 90 seconds. Pun intended. The next night in Omaha they tape Hacksaw beating Haku for the crown, though it doesn’t air til 13th May.

May we of course start where we finished April.

Hulk Hogan vs Macho Man makes more dollar - 15,000 takers at LA Sports on the 12th, a near 14,000 sell out of the Cow Palace the night after, 10,000 in Sacramento 14th and 16,000 in Chicago on 19th, still cities getting the first match, still Savage by count out. 20th at the Spectrum and 21st at Maple Leaf Gardens the Hulkster finally pins the bastard, as he does in Regina on 26th then it’s back to count outs for Savage in Calgary, Edmonton and Montreal. First week of May and again after a few Hogan shows, Randy’s pinning Brutus on Arizona shows, in San Diego, St Louis and elsewhere via Sherri and salt - thought that was exclusive to Fuji? St Louis also has Zeus as the guest of Brother Love - no idea they started the Zeus stuff so early. By mid May the finish is changed to Brutus by DQ, presumably to keep him strong for SummerSlam.

Tons of Andre vs Studd and double main shows with Ultimate Warrior chasing Rick Rude and Demolition defending against the Twin Towers. Boston Garden attendance on 13th suggests Studd vs the Giant isn’t the draw it was in 1985 - a papered 5000, estimated 3000 paid. 26th in Peterborough Ontario it’s Hacksaw & Studd vs Andre & Haku and elsewhere on a Canada loop. 1st at Copps Coliseum is a Rude vs Warrior headline but also has a great little story - Rick Martel cheats to pin Bret Hart, later distracts former partner Tito causing him to lose to Perfect, then in the show closing battle royal Tito helps the Hitman overcome the two baddies to win, after they’re left as the final four. No C shows.

It’s a bad month for the Million Dollar Man, it really is. Jake vs DiBiase comes to a screeching halt 8th in Orlando when Roberts is arrested on assault charges. On last on the 12th in LA Teddy instead wrestles a returning RODDY PIPER! I had no idea Piper had wrestled in 89 prior to SummerSlam. Naturally, Rod goes over, as he does for the rest of the loop until 15th. 16th dark at La Crosse TV, he’s losing to Superfly taped for the Fan Favourites tape. Shows fucking loaded, with Andre vs Studd, Demolition vs the Towers, Randy vs Beefcake, the Rude/Warrior match from Warriors first tape, and a less-sought-after Bret vs Tom Magee rematch where Jimmy Hart manages “the Megaman.” Teds losing to Snuka on the road for the rest of the month until it’s Piper 27th/28th in Calgary and Edmonton then 29th in Montreal… fuck me, it’s Dusty Rhodes.

This is the first month I can remember with no trip to MSG and no cage matches. Yes, the Womens title still exists, Robin is still working Judy Martin. Otherwise most guys are working who they worked in April, except that when Beefer isn’t with Savage, he’s been freed of Bad News and gets to work Valentine instead - Bad News is pinning old buddy the Blue Blazer every night. Finally, having been used to give the office a look at the Barbarian in singles, end of May the Anvil starts doing jobs for the Warlord as well. Fun fact - 17th TVs in Duluth is where they tape the Hart Foundation vs Twin Towers from the Fan Favourites tape, and if you ever wondered why the Harts were wearing mismatched tights, it’s probably got something to do with the fact they’ve been on separate house show loops in singles and aside from the supremely micro-managed WrestleMania V, have barely worked together in three months.

June will not shock you.

12,000 at the Boston Garden on 3rd for the first Hogan v Savage match (count out for Randy). They’re up to the same in Portland, Cedar Rapids, Houston, San Antonio and Hartford. Hulkster does pin him in Dallas, and 16,000 sell out LA Sports on 16th for the rematch with Hogan getting the pin, and they draw another sell out in Oakland the night after. He pins Randy in Phoenix, St Paul, Auburn Hills (15,000) and Richfield, many of these featuring Elizabeth negating the interference of Sherri Martel. Randys still with Beefcake on a handful of shows without Hogan, losing by DQ. 30th in Montreal however there’s another call to Rowdy Roddy Piper, and Savage looks at the lights for him in the first of three Canadian shows.

Andre is still with Studd and occasionally Studd & Duggan vs Andre & Haku until 6th tv in Milwaukee where Studd quits, so they get Warrior & King Duggan vs Andre & Rude, taped for Fan Favourites. Ted DiBiase puts the first loss on Dusty Rhodes on the same show. Only 4000 come to Maple Leaf Gardens on 11th, advertised as Andre vs Studd but Hillbilly Jim substitutes as he does elsewhere. In Springfield it’s Hacksaw & Hillbilly vs Andre & Haku on 16th and several shows thereafter. Incredibly generous line ups again, most shows have Hogan, Savage, Andre or Rick Rude vs Ultimate Warrior on top. 15th in San Bernardino (the National Orange Show!!) is the only exception I can find and that still has Demolition vs Twin Towers for the tag belts on top and Tito Santana vs Rick Martel grudge match. Bizarrely Martel’s won most of his TV squashes since turning heel with a top rope knee drop, which I had no memory of.

Rude’s still with Warrior all month, DiBiase still with Dusty (taking credit for Jake being “injured” on TV), Duggan vs Haku, Demolition still with Boss Man & Akeem, but the Harts and the Powers of Pain reunite from singles matches to have a few matches in Providence, Flint, Toronto, and two taped for Prime Time, one in Niagara Falls NY which airs in August and one at Nassau Coliseum which airs in October(!) - both have the same finish, Harts by count-out when Fuji accidentally hits Barbar with his cane. Otherwise Jim’s doing jobs and occasional draw with Barbar and Warlord both, and Brets swapping wins with Warlord on shows where he isn’t with Perfect. Hennig is usually occupied by Koko or the Rooster. Ron Garvin is doing the ref gimmick and awarding reverse decisions to Hercules over Dino Bravo on many shows, as he had smited both Bravo and Hammer on TV. Zeus is doing Brother Love shows on the road, Arn & Tully are still slumming it with the Bushwhackers, The Rockers are still with the Rougeaus, occasionally in best of three falls. The Womens title is still holding on but this month of Rockin Robin vs Judy Martin will be the last ; I have June 26th in Kitchener, Ontario as the final reported defence.

June 27th-28th Barry Windham tapes his first TV squashes and Big Steel Man does tryouts at TVs managed by Slick ; he’ll end up coming in as Tugboat. 23rd-26th the Blue Blazer is finishing up and he does a series with Barry Horowitz and HOROWITZ WINS!!! 24th is a banner day as while Horowitz is beating Owen at a poorly attended Rosemont, who’s this popping up at the Palace to beat Iron Mike Sharpe? Why, it’s Steve Blackman.

Here's Bret vs Perfect from Boston ;

 

Edited January 12 by air_raid

[wandshogun09]

I remember reading about that Bret vs Rude match, think the first time I knew of it was in a tribute piece Bret wrote when Rude died. No doubt he’ll have mentioned it in his book as well but it’s been years since I read that. I hate that we’ll never see it. I’m guessing it wasn’t taped at all otherwise Bret surely would’ve wanted it included on one of his DVDs considering how highly he speaks of Rude. Shame. Sure Bret said it was a complete one off match as well as far as singles go. 

[air_raid]

Here’s Q3 of 1989. I think I might switch to monthly reviews for 1990 as the rate of change and interesting developments hots up.

July picks up where June finished with many cities receiving Hulk Hogan vs Randy Savage - Macho Man by count-out if it’s the first time this year, Hogan by pin if it’s the second. 7000 on the 7th doesn’t sound huge but for Spokane, it’s another sell out. 14,000 in Baltimore on 14th for the Chapter 1 finish, then 10,000 to Houston on 16th for Chapter 2 (added Liz). 18th dark at Worcester TVs Hogan has a day off from Savage and beats the Honky Tonk Man instead. Must have fancied putting his feet up.

1st in Calgary then Vancouver, Randy drops losses to specially booked local favourite Rowdy Roddy Piper. There’s life in the old dog yet. He’s still doing DQs with Brutus Beefcake too including supporting Andre’s tag match main at Maple Leaf Gardens on the 9th which at 2500 attendance is an utter disaster, likewise 5800 is not the best for Nassau on 10th and they had Demolition too. 22nd in St Louis starts a multiple show run where Liz seconds Brutus which actually sees Randy do pinfall jobs to the Barber.

Andre is still working with Hillbilly Jim as the sub for the departed John Studd or Andre & Haku vs Jim & King Duggan. 27th in Tucson there’s a big switch - it’s Andre vs Ultimate Warrior for the rest of the month!

Rick Rude vs Warrior is still your other drawing card. 6500 in San Diego on 7th must have been a disappointment but 12,500 to LA Sports on 8th is healthy - Roddy Piper actually referees Rockers/Rougeaus in the finale. After Warrior switches to Andre, Rude’s moved to King Duggan where the belt isn’t up but the crown is - non finishes in Nashville, Greensboro and Fort Myers. Without Savage in Greensboro it’s joint billing with Demolition vs Powers of Pain - for the tag belts as the switch to the Brain Busters hasn’t aired yet. Ax and Smash work a handful of dates only with Warload and Barbar, most of the month it’s the Twin Towers.

2nd in Shawinigan, Quebec Andre has the day off so Hillbilly wrestles Dino Bravo, I’d say Duggan vs Haku or Rockers vs Brain Busters is your top match. 10th in Poughkeepsie is anaemic - Superfly vs Honky, Bushwhackers vs Powers of Pain, Barbar does double duty and wrestles Anvil.  27th/28th in Wildwood/Asbury Park NJ Hillbilly trades down Andre for Akeem, then it’s Bret Hart vs Mr Perfect. 31st at Warwick Musical Theatre in Rhode Island your top matches are Tito Santana vs Rick Martel and Rockers vs Rougeaus, and it’s a good night for the bad guys.

Most of the booking is as it was for June and in some cases April/May too. The Million Dollar Man does endless jobs for Dusty Rhodes. Haku chases Duggan for the crown all month then the last few days starts working Anvil. Tito and Martel are running every night, usually Martel winning, sometimes broadway. It’s still Rockers vs Rougeaus and Bushwhackers vs Brain Busters although a brief injury to Luke means there’s a couple of Butch/Tully singles matches. Bret has two weeks off around his birthday leaving Perfect with Hercules, otherwise your undercards are made up from Bret vs Perfect, Herc vs Bravo, Superfly vs Honky, Beefcake vs Valentine, Barbar vs Neidhart and Warload vs Koko. Bad News Brown is actually working babyface in a few matches with Valentine when the Hammer isn’t with Beefcake although Bad News drops a count-out to the Red Rooster 14th in Lakeland which is utterly bizarre.

6th in Johnstown it’s Barry Horowitz vs Bill Woods. HOROWITZ WINS!! On the 8th in Allentown his luck runs out as he runs into Steve Blackman but 27th that C show in Wildwood matches Barry with Jim Powers - HOROWITZ WINS!! 29th in Greensboro - here’s a sentence I never dreamed I’d use - Barry Horowitz pins Ken Shamrock, yes, THAT Ken Shamrock, then 25. Next night in Charlotte Kenny boy is with Megaman (Tom Magee). Christ.

August is here - Feel The Heat! - and why WOULDN’T you keep going with Hulk Hogan vs Randy Savage? 

As per before, first visit towns get what I call the Chapter 1 finish, Macho Man by count-out with Sherri helping him, second visit gets Chapter 2, Hulk by pin, sometimes with Elizabeth showing up to negate Sherri. Memphis and Salt Lake City get Chapter 1 as does a sell out 14,000 at Oakland TVs on the 8th - this time Zeus is present too - and the next night in Fresno it’s 9000 for Chapter 2 as seen on the Best Of Hulkamania tape. Then it’s on to Wheeling, Richmond and Providence (10,000 on 27th) for Chapter 1 and the Philadelphia Spectrum (12,000+ on the 19th), Binghamton, and post SummerSlam TV dark matches in Springfield and Portland. Randy will also headline several more cards with Brutus Beefcake, and when he doesn’t make it to Jacksonville on 14th Randy drops a DQ to King Duggan then finally 30th in Portland, as well as losing to Hogan, Randy will unseat Duggan for the crown, although Hacksaw will continue to wear (and even defend) it on house shows until the change is reported on TV deep into October. The Kingdom of the Madness is here, Ohhhh Yeahhhh!

Ultimate Warrior vs Andre The Giant is the other big draw including big cities - Montreal, San Diego, Chicago - even though the matches are usually short, star making squashes for Warrior that barely last a minute. Their tour is usually supported by Rockers vs Fabulous Rougeaus and possibly as a makeweight, they’ve started doing the 60 minute “marathon match” which in 1996 will be rechristened the Iron Man match. Often these go to overtime and the Rockers usually win. There are also a few massive cards like Auburn Hills on 26th that get Warrior/Andre AND the two midcard title matches. Usually days a C show happens.

Rick Rude vs Beefcake for the Intercontinental title (by now if you want to see Warrior challenging, you have to buy the PPV) and Arn & Tully vs Demolition are frequently a double main event when neither supports Hogan, Savage or Warrior. There is however a loop through small towns where the Barber is somewhere else and Ravishing has to work Anvil but they’re usually supported by a couple of hot feuds - Dusty Rhodes vs Big Boss Man and Tito Santana vs Rick Martel, Lake Placid on 14th even gets a battle royal too. Only 1500 come to Richfield for one of the Rude/Anvil shows - though modest, Richfield Coliseum usually gets 8000 for the WWF. Lansing on 25th has the same two feuds supporting Rick but there he wrestles Hercules. Ridiculously at Oakland TV the Busters defend against the Bushwhackers in a dark match and lose by DQ.

C shows? Springfield IL on 20th is Andre/Warrior having a night off so their roster draws off Dream vs Boss Man, Superfly vs Honky and Bushwhackers vs Powers of Pain. Erie on 26th is also missing a main eventer or title match but boasts Dusty vs Boss Man, Duggan vs DiBiase for the crown, and Rockers vs Rougeaus. That’s about it! …. Other than post TVs immediately after SummerSlam, the 31st has a truly snakebit show in El Paso where the only matches with ANY name value are Perfect vs Paul Roma, Bushwhackers vs Warload and Mr Fuji (Barbar absent), and Superfly vs Honky which they put a cage on.

Who’s wrestling who? Aside from the above, Duggan starts the month with Haku before moving onto Ted DiBiase. Teddy in turn slums it with Hillbilly Jim before moving onto the King. Divorced from Duggan, Haku is usually with Hercules. Herc’s left Bravo behind - when Bret isn’t with Perfect, there’s a move to Hart Foundation vs Bravo & Valentine which occurs as both a tag and two singles. When Boss Man is off, Dusty wrestles Akeem. After Bret and a few days off, Hennig also works a few nights with Herc. Barry Windham is on the road now, beating Roma every night.

There are of course variations. DiBiase works Beefcake on the 25th, Duggan sometimes works Akeem. Perfect wrestles Hillbilly once, the Red Rooster gets a couple of time limit draws with the Hammer which probably felt like wins.

September there's a few more shows for Hogan vs Savage. Lakeland (Chapter 1 finish), West Palm, Washington, Winston-Salem, Chicago (12,500 on 16th), Maple Leaf Gardens, Lexington, Montreal, (Chapter 2 finish) then the cage matches start 23rd in Auburn Hills (12,500), 29th in Milwaukee (12,000) and 30th in St Louis (near 9000). Randy works Beefcake on top a few times, occasionally Liz is in Brutus' corner. In Worcester on 25th, Hacksaw Duggan is actively involved in Barber getting the pin as we move towards Macho King defending the crown against him on future cards.

Ultimate Warrior vs Andre is still main eventing too, except now its obviously for the Intercontinental title. They headline the Boston Garden and as per previous, to compensate for a short main, they get the 60 minute Rockers vs Rougeaus. They're finally back to MSG on 30th and it sells out off the back of Warrior vs Andre as well as Brain Busters vs Demolition and Rowdy Roddy Piper vs Rick Rude. I'm going to stick my neck out and declare that Piper drew that gate. Demolition chasing the Brain Busters is a main event to itself on multiple occasions too, including some towns I never heard of like Minot, ND.

It's probably safe to say Roddy Piper vs Rick Rude is your main event in Hull, Quebec, Halifax, Green Bay, Lafayette and San Antonio. Jake the Snake is back as of 29th and immediately Jake vs Ted DiBiase becomes a main event on several shows. There's more of the star-sapped card from last month with Superfly v Honky, Hillbilly Jim vs Akeem and Bushwhackers v Warload & Fuji, although one show is saved by moving Savage v Beefcake off the Demolition loop.

Dusty's with Boss Man all month. Ted DiBiase starts the month with Hercules  and Hacksaw vs Haku, before Ted and Jim start working each other for the crown until Duggan loses it on TV. After Jake returns, Duggan's saddled with Akeem. Bret's back with Mr Perfect and some of these go broadway with a 30 minute time limit, then at the end of the month we move to Bret vs Haku and Perfect vs Superfly. Tito Santana vs Rick Martel is on and off and Tito's actually winning some of them, before Martel trades wins with Brutus and Tito occupies himself with Haku, who's all over the place. The Rougeaus get the last week of the month off so the Rockers are stuck with the Bolsheviks. They've obviously aired the Ron Garvin reinstatement on TV as he's working the Hammer. The Powers of Pain are still wrestling the Bushwhackers, Barry Windham has been moved on to going over Red Rooster, when he's finished with DiBiase, Herc's doing jobs for Bad News Brown. There are a few one offs too... Perfect wrestles Brutus here or Anvil there (Neidhart usually jobbing to Dino Bravo), Bret does a few with Bad News, Herc actually pins Boss Man 24th in Portland, Barry does a few with Koko after Koko stops losing to The Genius (who starts managing Perfect on TV here), Honky Tonk Man gets an odd win over Red Rooster after losing to Snuka all month, and 24th in Montreal our favourite Barber has to lose to hometown hero Bravo. Poor Beefpiece.

In final news, Tugboat Tyler or Thomas and Earthquake Evans (managed by Slick) have started on the road, and... that cursed loop I mentioned earlier through Burlington, Watertown, Poughkeepsie - who's this working Zhukov? It's Steve Blackman!

 

Edited January 12 by air_raid

[air_raid]

Here’s the end of 1989 and the last of the long form reviews.

October - We're off to a crazy start 1st in Niagara Falls NY - its Hulk Hogan & Jake Roberts vs Macho Man & Ted DiBiase inside the "15 foot high steel cage!!" Wheeling TV on the 2nd, its the Hogan vs Savage Chapter 3, title match in a cage. Toledo TV on the 3rd, Miami, Tampa, it's Chapter 2 - straight match, Hulk by pin. Not including the televised London show there's European shows too - Hogan & Duggan vs Savage & Dino Bravo 11th in Birmingham, Hogan vs Savage 12th in Brussels, 13th in Paris with Liz along for the ride. 20th at the Nassau Colliseum.... I can't believe I'm writing this... it's an 11,000 house, and Hulk is fighting Bad News Brown. What the actual fuck. They fight again in Houston, Orlando and Pensacola too. Fuck's sake.

Randy moves on to Duggan after the European trip which coincides with his crowning airing. Ridiculously he's not drawing by himself most of the time and is added to Andre's card but they do lead a few, and 28th in Springfield MA it's debatable whether that's the draw or Warrior vs Dino Bravo. Huh.

Ultimate Warrior vs Andre is another main, near 9000 at the Boston Garden on 7th is decent and over 15,000 at the Spectrum is good business too. 16,000 see Warrior put the only pin on Andre in MSG history on 28th then 9000 at Maple Leaf Gardens on 29th. They saddle him with Bravo earlier in the day in Springfield as a placeholder as Warrior is booked for two shows and Andre can't be. More on that show later.

Tully & Arn vs Demolition for the belts continues to go on last, most of the month the Busters wear the belts they've already filmed losing. For reasons unknown Ax doesn't make it to one loop through Canada where Smash tags with Anvil to beat the Busters in non-title matches except in Winnipeg where the tag title change had already been reported in local newspapers, so that one is a title match.

Maple Leaf Gardens on the 8th is headlined by Piper vs Rude, not that Piper should be considered a C draw in Canada, and a few other towns too including a huge 14,500 at LA Sports supporting by Jake Roberts vs Ted DiBiase. The latter is getting the DQ finish at this stage. Dusty vs Boss Man is the draw on a few shows including Providence on 14th for King of the Ring, a fairly weak field for the tournament features Tito Santana pinning Rick Martel to win it. Jake vs DiBiase headlines St Cloud on 27th and Sioux City on 28th.

Who's with who? Not a lot has changed. Piper vs Rude is still non-finishes for now. Mr Perfect is still beating Superfly every night apart from a couple of early month wins over The Barber, who in turn is otherwise doing another month losing to Rick Martel. The Rockers vs Rougeaus run (including marathon matches), Bushwhackers vs Powers of Pain and Garvin vs Valentine all see no end in sight. Tito parallels his September, losing a few to Martel before winning King of the Ring, then winning a few from Haku. Herc does two weeks of losses to Bad News, then starts getting wins over Akeem. Anvil gets wins, draws and losses against Haku. Bret has three parts to his month - he does a few jobs for Bad News, gets a few wins over Honky, then does a few jobs for Dino Bravo right up until his much documented injury on 29th at Maple Leaf Gardens. Honky finishes a run of losses to Snuka, then works Bret for a bit, then starts picking up a regular win over the Red Rooster. There are a few random results too. Honky gets a win over Anvil in Colorado, Herc gets a DQ win over the Million Dollar Man in LaCrosse, and Ted even drops a couple of losses to Hillbilly Jim when they need an extra body early in the month.

Trivia for this month - Barry Windham has had to have surgery to remove a tumour, but never comes back. Finally... here's the most cursed house show of all time - 28th October afternoon in Springfield MA. Half the crew are coming from New York, the other half flying from Detroit having worked Auburn Hills the night before. The flight from Detroit is delayed so they have to stall for time so they can still have a show, bearing in mind the crew also has to get to MSG for bell time once they've finished. The show is delayed 90 minutes and when it starts the card is shuffled to allow more time for the rest of the talent to arrive. So..... Randy Savage and Hacksaw go out first and have a 20+ minute version of their usual match. Bushwhackers and Powers of Pain go out next and also go 20 minutes plus. Next, Nikolai Volkoff works a 20 minute time limit draw with job guy Jose Luis Rivera, an occasional Conquistador.  The rest of the talent have arrived by now, so Perfect vs Superfly goes on as planned, but Bret vs Tim Horner hits a snag where with the match barely started Horner feigns an injury and the match is stopped, because he's fed up of doing jobs and is expected to job to the Brooklyn Brawler later at MSG, which he really doesn't want to do. Herc vs Akeem and Warrior vs Bravo go off without a hitch, then the band head to MSG to meet up with Andre and do a relatively straightforward show. Except Rivera has to do two jobs, one as himself and one as a Conquistador, because they're short a body - namely, Horner, who's never coming back.

November…. I can’t believe Hogans with Bad News again. I mean, they haven’t got Zeus for the road and I guess Savage is with Hacksaw but… fuck. Wichita TV dark main then Augusta, Norfolk, Roanoke… hang on, these are WCW towns! Thankfully change is afoot and 20th/21st at Indianapolis and Fort Wayne TV he’s got a very different opponent in the (very different) shape of Mr Perfect. 22nd in South Bend they have their first match on the road and it’s Perfect by count-out.

Randy is still defending his crown against Duggan either supporting Andre or being supported by Piper vs Rude or Jake vs DiBiase. They draw less than half a house at MSG on 25th despite support from Jake vs Teddy and Harts vs Rockers plus Sherri and Liz on Brother Love. I wonder if the announcement of Piper vs Rude in a cage for next month will draw better? (Spoiler - yes. Yes it will.) Providence on 28th it’s actually Macho King & Million Dollar Man vs Snake & Hacksaw in a tag but that’s the only variation in Randys month.

Warrior vs Andre is still running. Maple Leaf Gardens on 19th they put a cage on it! It’s not drawing great any more though, only 4000 to St Louis on 24th. Afternoon of the 25th he beats The Genius atop a weak card in San Bernardino (Demolition vs the Powers in separate singles and Perfect vs Beefcake the only decent matches) before beating Andre at LA Sports. Next day a similar double shot has Jim beat Mr Perfect in Fresno before dropping Andre in Oakland which also has a battle royal - won by Perfect.

Demolition are still main evening. Tully Blanchard gets fired after on drug test on 1st so it’s Demolition vs Arn Anderson +1 on the road. Subs for Tully include Haku (logical) and early doors, and Akeem (not so). Immediately following Survivor Series they’re back with the Powers of Pain.

Jake/DiBiase and Piper/Rude double main event in Omaha, Denver, San Diego, Tucson and Phoenix and each has a share of small towns too. By mid month Piper/Rude switches to lumberjack matches in some towns. Pretty good month for main events.

Your other feuds? Dusty vs Boss Man, Model vs Beefcake and Garvin vs Valentine throughout. Mr Perfect is usually with Superfly. Tito Santana starts the month with Haku, has a few off then is thrust into a program with Bad News after Survivors, presumably as punishment. It’s also 17th-18th he works those three matches with Bret, and I wonder if it’s because it’s Brets first matches after his premature return from his famed injury and they need him in the safest of safe hands? Hercules, Anvil and Rooster spend most of the month doing jobs for Bad News, Bravo and Honky in that order. The Bushwhackers start the month with the Powers of Pain then after Survivor Series they’re back with the Fabulous Rougeau Brothers. Jacques and Raymond start the month with the Rockers including a few best-of-three falls which they usually lose 2-0 and the occasional marathon match still. Most excitingly as you will have seen above, after Survivors Shawn & Marty pivot to the Hart Foundation for five or so shows including the Garden. All draws. Enjoy it lads, there’s pain in your near future.

“Canadian” Earthquake and Tugboat “Thomas” are getting squashes every night on the road, conversely it’s fascinating how long you still see the occasional appearance of Sam Houston - much like Hillbilly, always at the end of the phone when they need headcount for a few shows, waiting for one more PPV payday that will never come.

We’re straight out of the gate in December for Hulk Hogan vs Mr Perfect with 13,500 on the 1st for the WWF debut in Austin TX. Hogan pins him there and in San Antonio but loses by count-out at Nassau, in Springfield, Boston Garden, Copps Coliseum, Montreal Forum, Philadelphia Spectrum and a good 9000 gate in San Fran and 8000 in Sacramento on a Boxing Day double. 13,000 is great at LA Sports on 27th. They finish the year in Minneapolis and Milwaukee, a diverted flight prevents Hogan making St Louis on 29th. 12th at Nashville TVs they tape the big No Holds Barred cage match for the special then next night in Huntsville he’s back in the cage one on one with the Macho King but otherwise it’s a Perfect month.

Ultimate Warrior is moved into feuding with Dino Bravo now, for God knows what reason. Earthquake is a ringside presence interfering (sometimes during, sometimes after, sometimes causing a DQ). Andre and Haku immediately start chasing Demolition after Survivor Series and there are fantastic support for the title matches with Macho King vs Hacksaw Duggan (still) Jake vs Ted DiBiase (still) and Roddy Piper vs Rick Rude (still). Mid month they revert briefly to Warrior vs Andre and Demolition vs Powers of Pain but by the month end they're back to their new feuds. Boxing Day Andre wrestles at the Capital Centre but later on in Hershey, Demolition actually get their hands on The Brain as he substitutes, and gets pinned by Ax. Early month Andre & Haku are taped winning the belts to air on the 30th although they are still introduced as champions on 28th at MSG, beating Ax & Smash by count-out. 13,500 attend for a main announced last month, you've probably seen it, its Roddy Piper vs Rick Rude in a cage and it was on multiple Coliseum tapes and DVDs, but I think they'd have sold the motherfucker out if they'd been able to advertise that it would be Andre's last match in the building. Jake pins Ted with the DDT in a no-DQ match which also made it to Coliseum - loaded.

29th in St Louis, as above, is the show Hogan can't make so there's a bonus battle royal where Mr Perfect is the last man out to Dusty Rhodes. 30th in Madison with a Jake vs Ted DiBiase main and 30th in Muskegon with Dusty vs Boss Man are the only shows without a title match scheduled for the month, not everything is big numbers but the card quality is superb at this point.

Dusty vs Boss Man is still going on as you’ve read, and they've started doing Ball And Chain matches. Piper vs Rude is either a straight match, lumberjack or cage match. Jake vs DiBiase is sometimes getting the DDT for a finish instead of DQ. Beefcake is still with The Model. The odd occasion Perfect has no Hogan he's usually beating Tito but there's the odd Snuka, Jim Powers or Hillbilly. With the Demolition challengers alternating, the Rockers bookend their month with two runs with the Powers of Pain and a big slice with the Harts in the middle (all broadways). On Boxing Day at Maple Leaf Gardens Hacksaw Duggan saves the Rockers from a triple team from Barbar, Warload and Fuji to set up a six man for the return. Haku's wrestling Hercules when Andre isn't around, Garvin vs Valentine is still going, Bushwhackers vs Bolsheviks is wasting everyone's will to live every night. Last couple of shows of the year, I'm not sure what's stranger, the midget tag match, or Bad News actually doing pinfall jobs for his old buddy Anvil.

Edited March 2, 2022 by air_raid

[AshC]

5 hours ago, air_raid said:

October - We're off to a crazy start 1st in Niagara Falls NY - its Hulk Hogan & Jake Roberts vs Macho Man & Ted DiBiase inside the "15 foot high steel cage!!" 

Phwoar!!!

Thanks for these again, @air_raid, a good read!

[air_raid]

I’m into 1990 now and I’m switching to monthly as there’s too much to cover to keep you reading at a quarter a time. Wait til we get to September/October and you’ll really understand, it’s chaos.

January 1990 is here and though we start with the same six feuds on top, there’s an air of change with Mania on the horizon and several interesting happenings (TM Gorilla).

Hulk Hogan vs Mr Perfect is still the WWF title feud. Hulkster pins him in South Bend and Rochester, dark at Birmingham TVs and in front of just 5000 at the Omni, but a healthy 16,000 in Chicago on 13th and somewhat diminished 11,500 at MSG on 15th see Perfect pick up the win by DQ, as seen on the WrestleFest 90 tape. 22nd dark at Miami TVs Hogan drops the leg on Perfect again in front of a papered 15,000 but also saves The Rockers from a post match battering from the Powers of Pain then promises he’ll fight them with a partner next month. Hmm. He pins Hennig next night in Fort Myers too, in Auburn Hills and in Dallas. 27th there are two great sell outs, 10,000 in Hershey and 19,000 at the Capital Center in Landover which has been a tough sell up until now. Auburn Hills on 24th has a twist ; as well as the Genius, Macho King tries to interfere. The next day they have a presser announcing Hogan vs Savage for next months Main Event in neighbouring Detroit, with Mike Tyson as the ref. Hmm. In Hershey the Hulk repeats his save of the Rockers.

Ultimate Warrior vs Dino Bravo and Demolition chasing the Colossal Connection are still the other feuds selling the tickets although attendance isn’t what they’d want in Boston, San Diego, Oakland or the Spectrum. Bit of a cursed show 6th in Utica has Ax vs Haku as the Giant is one of the guys with transport problems from Ontario.

Roddy Piper vs Rick Rude gets to headline a fair few in standard, lumberjack and cage matches. 7000 at Oakland on 25th and less than 4000 in Fresno on 28th for their cage match AND the two title matches was likely disappointing, 12,000 in LA 26th was better. Randy Savage vs Hacksaw too is still going and main events a couple of time. The crown isn’t always defended and 6th in Utica on a Demolition card there’s an interesting “storyline” finish - Tugboat hands Sherri’s purse to Duggan allowing him to twat the King with it and steal the pin. Doesn’t lead to anything. 29th at Nassau Coliseum we start Macho King vs Dusty Rhodes, post-Rumble - Dream by count out after Randy accidentally hits the Sensational Queen.

Sioux Falls ND on 13th and Sioux City IA on 14th is the only show before the Rumble with no title match, Piper or Savage, and that has a strong double main of Dusty Rhodes vs Big Boss Man (ball and chain match) and Jake the Snake vs Million Dollar Man. Post Rumble a Canada loop is headlined by Dream vs Boss Man upgraded to a cage match, 29th in Poughkeepsie it’s a one-off of Jake vs Perfect (Jake by DQ) supported by Tito/Honky, Bret/Boss Man(!) and Rockers/Bolsheviks.

You already know the big feuds going on for the titles as well as Boss Man vs Dusty, Savage vs Duggan and Jake vs Million Dollar Man with finishes varying between DQ, roll up and the DDT. 24th in Auburn Hills and 27th in Landover there’s a swap - Ted DiBiase gets two Virgil wins over Hacksaw and Macho King beats Jake Roberts by Sherri purse in Michigan and Teddy distraction in Maryland. Mid month Boss Man breaks his ankle so instead of fighting Dusty we get Rhodes beating up Slick up before the bell then Slick doing the honours for Sapphire in the first actual man vs woman matches I’ve seen doing these reviews. 1st in Marion IN Dusty actually wrestles Mr Perfect in a nice callback to their interaction in the battle royal 29/12 in St Louis. On Hogans nights off Perfect usually beats Superfly early month (who’s otherwise pinning Honky) and Tito Santana late month. The Harts are kept separate again - Brets beating jobbers or Bad News by DQ all month, Anvil is doing jobs to The Genius, although he is permitted a few wins over Honky end of the month when Genius moves on to Tito.

Garvin vs Valentine and Beefcake vs Martel are still rolling though once the Garvin run is blown off at the Rumble, Greg starts jobbing to Superfly. The Rockers are still with Barbar & Warload, sadly it’s still Bushwhackers vs Bolsheviks though on 29th they will swap opponents once. At MSG Marty does a stretcher job after a post match triple team ; they will do this in other towns leading to six-mans next month. The Earthquake push rumbles on, his various squashes on the road include Paul Roma, Sam Houston, Koko, Red Rooster and Ron Garvin. That is, when Sam or Rooster aren’t jobbing to Honky Tonk. Of course, Earthquake is also a ringside presence for the Warrior vs Dino Bravo run, you can guess why.

There’s a few guys without regular opponents and a few one shots. Honky works Tito, Rooster does jobs for Perfect and Bad News. Brown also gets an odd win over Houston or Tito. Akeem is clearly burned out, he only makes 3 shows outside of TV tapings, losing to Hercules in Cedar Rapids and Hull, Quebec and to Tito in Baton Rouge. There are a few rare wins for Hillbilly going on against the Brooklyn Brawlers and Iron Mike Sharpes of the world. Brawler himself even snags a few wins over Jim Powers.

Spare a thought for the people of Flint MI on the 4th - a Piper vs Rude crew is so short of bodies there are two separate Bushwhacker vs Bolsheviks singles matches rather than do a six match card. They don’t repeat that mistake for the rest of the loop. Another final note - a few towns had Widowmaker matches advertised before they knew he wasn’t coming back and at least one of them would have been against Bret. Even slightly after Barry’s prime and slightly before Hart’s, I bet that would have been pretty smooth.

Here's the Warrior vs Savage dark match from 23rd taping ;

 

Edited January 12 by air_raid

[Jazzy G]

Windham Vs Bret would have been a cracking match. 

[air_raid]

February 1990 goes like this.
Hulk Hogan works Mr Perfect for the belt in Rhode Island, Richfield and Houston, and on 4th at Maple Leaf Gardens an impressive 15,000 turn up for the handicap match with the Genius actually legal in the match. The cage matches start in Milwaukee and Minneapolis on 10th. On the 13th Hogan pins Dino Bravo on the Superstars taping in Phoenix then gets double teamed by him and Earthquake before Ultimate Warrior makes the save. It’s meant to air on the 10/03 episode but for whatever reason is unused and they tape the version that airs next night at the Challenge taping in Tucson. Hogan does double duty and defends against Perfect for the live crowd both nights, then again at the Spectrum on 17th and Albany 18th before 19th we’ve got 13,800 at MSG, considerably up from last month, for Hogan & Brutus Beefcake vs Perfect & Genius from SuperTape 2. That Barbers a fucking draw man. Speaking of drawing I wouldn’t usually touch on a TV event but The Main Event III (with a famous appearance from Buster Douglas instead of Mike Tyson as announced) puts 21,000 into Joe Louis Arena on 23rd, it’s been crystal clear doing these that the most money they earned for 3 years was running Hulk Hogan vs Randy Savage. 15,800 sell out LA Sports the night after for Hogan & Beefcake vs Perfect & Genius, they’re in San Diego on 25th too, and that’s the Hulk’s February.

Ultimate Warrior vs Dino Bravo is still your Intercontinental title main event all over the country but 18th in Sheboygan MI he’s in with Earthquake at last. 25th there’s a loaded Charlotte/Landover double shot with Warrior & Jake vs Ted DiBiase & Akeem supported by Rhodes/Savage and the tag title match - although The Brain has to step in for Andre at the Capital Center. 26th in Worcester it’s a handicap match! Warrior beats Bravo & Quake by himself before he’s back with Dino 27th at a rescheduled Omaha show.

Colossal Connection vs Demolition is the tag title feud although very rarely is it sole main without Warrior or Roddy Piper vs Rick Rude supporting. Piper vs Rude cage match main events often including 10th at Boston Garden. It’s a cage match more often than not but at least once (17th in Dayton) we have Ravishing by pin after hitting Rod with the ring bell. A loaded show in front of 10,000 in Chicago next night sees Bad News Brown try to interfere in the cage match but Piper still wins. Thats another show where it’s Demolition vs Haku and Bobby Heenan.

A mid month run through Nashville, Wheeling, Richmond and Huntington has Dusty Rhodes vs Macho King on top but by Richmond they’re supported by Jake the Snake vs Million Dollar Man. That run is a mix of DiBiase winning via Mania VI count-out or Jake by pin - several of their singles or tags are refereed by Big Boss Man, including in Chicago.

What else is happening? 

The Rockers vs Powers Of Pain story continues. 4th in Toronto and 19th at MSG it’s Rockers & Jim Duggan vs Powers & Mr Fuji set up last month - Marty pins Fuji after a 2x4 shot. Marty does another stretcher job 10th at Boston Garden, 16th in St Louis the sixth man is Hercules and it’s his chain Fuji jobs for. Everywhere else it’s a straight tag. Mr Perfects dance partner on Hogan nights off is usually Hacksaw and disturbingly, he’s losing. When Duggans not with Hennig or helping the Rockers, he’s got a few wins over Honky and then both wins and draws over Bad News. Bad News also gets a few wins over Tito Santana. The Barber and The Model are still trading wins, Bushwhackers are still with Bolsheviks. Earthquake consistently beats Ron Garvin and the occasional Paul Roma. Garvin does a stretcher job for Quake at MSG.

Undercards are the most thrown together I’ve seen yet, many guys aren’t working regular opponents. There’s all sorts going on - Herc v Bad News, Herc v Akeem, Tito v Akeem, Snuka v Akeem, Snuka v Bravo, Anvil v Bravo, Anvil v Honky, Anvil v Genius, Tito v Genius, Herc v Genius, Bret v Genius, Bret v Valentine, Anvil v Valentine, Tito v Valentine, Valentine v Sam Houston, Model v Red Rooster, Honky v Garvin, Bret v Honky. Basically if you aren’t already in a top feud for Mania, screw you. Koko’s about, Tugboats about, Hillbilly is about. A report from Milwaukee on 10th has Koko wrestling Barry Windham but I have a hard time believing it. Chicago on 18th is top loaded but also has Jim Brunzell pinning Frenchy Martin underneath. There’s also wins on the road this month for such luminaries as Jim Powers, Richard Charland, Black Bart, Bob Bradley, Brooklyn Brawler (!!) (over Tom Stone), Roma (over a Conquistador) , Al Perez, Mark Young, Pez Whatley and even the fucking Rooster.

Final notes - 13th/14th TVs have the first taped squashes for The Orient Express. Not surprising Fuji went and got reinforcements after the abuse he’s taking from the Rockers and friends. Special mention needs to be made of the loaded 13th Feb taping in Phoenix - as well as the televised squashes and the Hogan double duty, Dino does a double and wrestles Warrior (included on WrestleFest 90) but they also get Dusty vs Savage (from Battle of the WWF Superstars), Jake vs DiBiase with a finish, and also - Giant Baba gets introduced to the live crowd and shakes hands with Andre before Demolition come out leading to an impromptu Colossal Connection vs Demolition match. No doubt this was filmed for use in Japan for post-Mania cross promoted cards with All Japan which featured Demolition vs Andre & Baba.

 

That’s February. I’ve got untidy drafts done up to October already but obviously it’s only fun to keep posting them if anyone is still reading them.

[Guest]

3 hours ago, air_raid said:

 

 

Edited March 11, 2022 by Uncle Zeb
Think my positive comment was taken the wrong way, so, for avoidance of doubt, retracted.

[SpykeDudlei1]

I always love stuff like this and especially from that period 89–91 in particular. I read every bit so keep ‘em coming is what I say.

[The Dart]

2 hours ago, air_raid said:

That’s February. I’ve got untidy drafts done up to October already but obviously it’s only fun to keep posting them if anyone is still reading them.

People might not always reply, but that doesn't mean they're not reading.   Keep doing them !

[Phil Jones]

Seconded. Love your posts Air_Raid

[Onyx2]

There's often little to comment on but they are very interesting. 1990 was peak WWF fandom for me so seeing all these go-rounds are a proper time capsule. 

[air_raid]

Here’s another one off gem I had in mind when I started the thread - in the build to SummerSlam 93 there’s a run of elimination matches including at MSG where Shawn as Intercontinental champ drops a fall to the PerfectPlex. As a fan of Curt and a mark for his finish, I love that fact.

God damn it, video removed.

Edited January 12 by air_raid