WWF at madison square garden
Hulkamania is born and skullets become fashionable as Hulk Hogan drops the big leg and shows us how to deal with dirty foreigners...
history in the making...
For a brief recap of the build-up to this night, take a trip to the blog part of the website...
|
The Iron Sheik, that evil, Persian Club-swinging foreigner, was set to defend the WWF Championship in a rematch against Bob Backlund, but due to the injuries suffered by the former champ he had forfeited his shot to Hulk Hogan, who had been proclaimed the number one contender after precisely one appearance on WWF television in December 1983. Despite this, Hogan's feud with Nick Bockwinkel in the AWA and his role in Rocky III had made him a big enough star to re-enter the WWF at the very top. MSG was to be packed for his title shot...
Elsewhere, 'Mr Wonderful' Paul Orndorff had also arrived in the company, and was being positioned as a top heel, with another new arrival, 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper, in his corner. Piper had just completed his massive feud with Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine in the NWA, and began his WWF career as a corner man, due to a combination of injuries and the recent, sudden death of The Grand Wizard. Orndorff was being built up at this point, and was due to face Salvatore Bellomo, in a match in which the victor was clearly in doubt...Other top heels included Sgt Slaughter, who was in his prime at the time, and Intercontinental champion The Magnificent Muraco, who had been champion for one year and a day at this point. He was in the midst of a feud with Tito Santana, who was very over in his quest to win the title from the Magnificent One.
On the face side, Andre The Giant was still one of the biggest attractions in wrestling, but his body was finally starting to give out on him, although he kept the afro that seemed to prolong his physical condition...Jimmy 'Superfly' Snuka had been the most popular wrestler in the company since escaping Capt. Lou Albano's stewardship and blowing the roof off Madison Square Garden a few months earlier by diving off the top of a steel cage on to The Magnificent Muraco. With Hulk Hogan arriving in town, however, Snuka's top of the card days were under threat...
Basically, the WWF would run Madison Square Garden almost every month at this point, and aside from a heavily-promoted main event and perhaps a couple of title matches, most of the card didn't feature feuding wrestlers, so there's not much else to say about the build up to the show - let's get started with Hulkamania...
Elsewhere, 'Mr Wonderful' Paul Orndorff had also arrived in the company, and was being positioned as a top heel, with another new arrival, 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper, in his corner. Piper had just completed his massive feud with Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine in the NWA, and began his WWF career as a corner man, due to a combination of injuries and the recent, sudden death of The Grand Wizard. Orndorff was being built up at this point, and was due to face Salvatore Bellomo, in a match in which the victor was clearly in doubt...Other top heels included Sgt Slaughter, who was in his prime at the time, and Intercontinental champion The Magnificent Muraco, who had been champion for one year and a day at this point. He was in the midst of a feud with Tito Santana, who was very over in his quest to win the title from the Magnificent One.
On the face side, Andre The Giant was still one of the biggest attractions in wrestling, but his body was finally starting to give out on him, although he kept the afro that seemed to prolong his physical condition...Jimmy 'Superfly' Snuka had been the most popular wrestler in the company since escaping Capt. Lou Albano's stewardship and blowing the roof off Madison Square Garden a few months earlier by diving off the top of a steel cage on to The Magnificent Muraco. With Hulk Hogan arriving in town, however, Snuka's top of the card days were under threat...
Basically, the WWF would run Madison Square Garden almost every month at this point, and aside from a heavily-promoted main event and perhaps a couple of title matches, most of the card didn't feature feuding wrestlers, so there's not much else to say about the build up to the show - let's get started with Hulkamania...
IT'S A HAPPENING
Gorilla Monsoon and Pat Patterson are on commentary, and listening to them now, you realise just how much of an impact Jesse Ventura and Bobby Heenan had on wrestling broadcasting. MSG is still rather dark, with only the ring visible and the bright lights and colourful outfits that would become synonymous with Vince’s WWF not around as yet. In fact, it’s still very much the kayfabe era as we get a full run down of judges, timekeepers, and the like as if we were at a big boxing event. Then, to top it all of, we are welcomed to “Tonight’s all-star card of professional wrestling.” Awesome.
TONY GAREA VS. JOSE LUIS RIVERA
Garea has amazing, plastic toy-looking hair, which surely could be used as an offensive weapon. He was also a five-time tag team champion (holding them with Haystacks Calhoun, Dean Ho, Larry Zbyszko and twice with Rick Martel) whose career had peaked with his tag team with Martel. He was on the way down the card here but Rivera was a long-time jobber whose career highlight would be standing idly in the ring as a Conquistador during the confusing Demolition-Powers Of Pain double turn at Survivor Series 1988.
They open, as wrestling always used to, with a lock-up, before reversing in and out of chicken wings. They then swap from headlock to headscissors. Rivera tries a flying body press, but Garea turns it into an armbar, which will be the rest hold of choice for this bout. Rivera escapes and tries a quick slam, but Garea rolls through again back into the armbar. Garea cartwheels out of Rivera’s attempted monkey flip, but ducks his head, allowing Rivera to “hit” a very poor-looking dropkick, which Gorilla Monsoon covers by saying he “brought the buttocks down on his neck” in order to explain Garea’s selling. Nice. Rivera tries another body press, which Garea again rolls through, this time into a pin for the three count. They wait for the announcement of Garea’s victory and then both men shake hands. How sporting.
They open, as wrestling always used to, with a lock-up, before reversing in and out of chicken wings. They then swap from headlock to headscissors. Rivera tries a flying body press, but Garea turns it into an armbar, which will be the rest hold of choice for this bout. Rivera escapes and tries a quick slam, but Garea rolls through again back into the armbar. Garea cartwheels out of Rivera’s attempted monkey flip, but ducks his head, allowing Rivera to “hit” a very poor-looking dropkick, which Gorilla Monsoon covers by saying he “brought the buttocks down on his neck” in order to explain Garea’s selling. Nice. Rivera tries another body press, which Garea again rolls through, this time into a pin for the three count. They wait for the announcement of Garea’s victory and then both men shake hands. How sporting.
THE INVADERS VS. MR. FUJI & TIGER CHUNG LEE
The Invaders are Jose Gonzalez and Roberto Soto under masks, as 1 and 2, respectively. Gonzalez is infamous of course for his stabbing of Bruiser Brody in 1988. Fuji was in the twilight of his wrestling career at this point, having held five WWWF/WWF Tag Team Titles, although none of them were with Tiger, on whom Fuji would soon turn, beat very quickly, and leave him to a few years of low-level jobbing.
Fuji still carries the old Imperial Japanese flag, the fall of the Imperial government having apparently not reached Hawaii, where Fuji was born and raised. Invader 1 quickly executes a sunset flip on Chung Lee for an early two. The Invaders make quick tags to work over TCL, as Pat Patterson exclaims that Fuji is “going crazy” on the apron; a quick cut to Fuji shows him standing stoically on the outside. Number 1 jumps in and out of the ring to distract the referee for no obvious reason as Patterson calls the heels The Orient Express, and Fuji jots the name down for later use. ‘The Devious One’ is finally tagged in and he takes control of The Invaders, hitting a falling head-butt to the groin and a suplex. Fuji and Number 1 then do the Ric Flair top rope spot, as 1 interrupts Fuji’s ascent and press slams him off the top rope.
Fuji still carries the old Imperial Japanese flag, the fall of the Imperial government having apparently not reached Hawaii, where Fuji was born and raised. Invader 1 quickly executes a sunset flip on Chung Lee for an early two. The Invaders make quick tags to work over TCL, as Pat Patterson exclaims that Fuji is “going crazy” on the apron; a quick cut to Fuji shows him standing stoically on the outside. Number 1 jumps in and out of the ring to distract the referee for no obvious reason as Patterson calls the heels The Orient Express, and Fuji jots the name down for later use. ‘The Devious One’ is finally tagged in and he takes control of The Invaders, hitting a falling head-butt to the groin and a suplex. Fuji and Number 1 then do the Ric Flair top rope spot, as 1 interrupts Fuji’s ascent and press slams him off the top rope.
Chung Lee is back in, and locks in a long, long, long bear hug on Number 2 until 1 finally jumps in to break it up. Fuji, that devious Oriental, then decides that we definitely won’t see anything interesting, as he tags in and simply rests his fingers on 2’s lower back. It’s such a devastating submission hold that Camera Number 5 zooms in on his touching. Unfortunately, “Chunger” (as Gorilla is referring to him as) is let back in the match, and the Invaders start to take control by working on his leg taking turns using mini-body presses as the other one holds Chunger’s leg up. TCL makes his escape and tags Fuji in, but the same fate befalls The Devious One. An abdominal stretch is applied by The Invaders that makes the crowd pop, showing that high spots were a lot less dangerous back then. Pat Patterson informs us that Fuji is big news in Japan because he owns a lot of rice fields. Not to be outdone on the politically incorrect front, Gorilla drops his famous “Pearl Harbor job!” as Fuji breaks up an abdominal stretch from behind. Gorilla then wins the You Couldn’t Say That Now Award with this line: “The referee is asking him (TCL) a question: probably where he gets his soy sauce.”
|
Pat brings it back to wrestling and promoting the card by mentioning that Tito Santana, who has a big match for the Intercontinental title later in the night, would do a better job of the abdominal stretch than The Invaders because he has longer legs and would be able to get better leverage.
Chaos ensues as all four men start brawling, and The Invaders start applying a rowboat manoeuvre on the now Oriental Express as the bell rings. Howard Finkel announces a twenty-minute time-limit draw to a round of boos who want to see the More-Obviously-Foreign heels lose. The Invaders complain to the ref as Gorilla wonders why, because the time limit expired and there’s nothing to moan about.
Chaos ensues as all four men start brawling, and The Invaders start applying a rowboat manoeuvre on the now Oriental Express as the bell rings. Howard Finkel announces a twenty-minute time-limit draw to a round of boos who want to see the More-Obviously-Foreign heels lose. The Invaders complain to the ref as Gorilla wonders why, because the time limit expired and there’s nothing to moan about.
chief jay strongbow vs. the masked superstar
Strongbow had been a big fan favourite in New York since the late 1970s, and had recently been tag champion with his storyline brother Jules. He was already fifty-five at this point and would soon become a road agent for the WWF. The Masked Superstar was Bill Eadie, later to be known as Ax in Demolition. He had been a big star in many territories and Japan throughout the early 80s and was actually having a fairly decent run in the WWF at the time.
Despite his age, Strongbow moves quickly at the beginning of the match, applying some side headlocks to The Superstar. They both decide to have a rest early, and Strongbow applies the headlock on the mat. To fill time, Gorilla and Pat begin to speculate about who the Masked Superstar is. Gorilla says he was pretty sure at one point, but was way wrong, which sounds like there is a disturbing story behind it. Pat tells us that Superstar wears cheesecloth over his face when taking a shower after the match to keep his identity concealed. The Chief abandons the headlock and tries to remove Superstar’s mask, causing an aggrieved Superstar to stomp around outside for a very long time, which surely should have seen him counted out.
He finally returns to the ring, as Strongbow begins his war dance and hits some knee lifts. Instead of covering his opponent, the Chief again goes for the mask until a nasty elbow from the Superstar puts him off. Strongbow starts the war dance up again and locks in a sleeper hold to a big pop, as it was his finisher at the time. Masked Superstar pushes the Chief into the ropes and then hits a stiff, awkward-looking clothesline which leads to Strongbow staggering around the ring for a few seconds before finally falling to the ground and getting pinned.
Despite his age, Strongbow moves quickly at the beginning of the match, applying some side headlocks to The Superstar. They both decide to have a rest early, and Strongbow applies the headlock on the mat. To fill time, Gorilla and Pat begin to speculate about who the Masked Superstar is. Gorilla says he was pretty sure at one point, but was way wrong, which sounds like there is a disturbing story behind it. Pat tells us that Superstar wears cheesecloth over his face when taking a shower after the match to keep his identity concealed. The Chief abandons the headlock and tries to remove Superstar’s mask, causing an aggrieved Superstar to stomp around outside for a very long time, which surely should have seen him counted out.
He finally returns to the ring, as Strongbow begins his war dance and hits some knee lifts. Instead of covering his opponent, the Chief again goes for the mask until a nasty elbow from the Superstar puts him off. Strongbow starts the war dance up again and locks in a sleeper hold to a big pop, as it was his finisher at the time. Masked Superstar pushes the Chief into the ropes and then hits a stiff, awkward-looking clothesline which leads to Strongbow staggering around the ring for a few seconds before finally falling to the ground and getting pinned.
ivan putski vs. sgt. slaughter
|
A tune from the US Marine Corps welcomes Slaughter to the ring. Slaughter was one of the top guys in the company at this point and was at the height of his powers in the ring. Putski was huge, in terms of his physique, as his muscles are just about bursting out of his skin. He begins by throwing a flurry of jabs at the Sarge although none of them actually connect, which Gorilla correctly points out. Putski flexes and nearly pops some arteries and Slaughter decides that is his queue to stall. And stall. And stall some more. After an age they lock up, but it comes to nothing and we’re back to stalling…
|
Scoop slam! Putski applies a headlock that also gives him a nice chance to flex his muscles again. Slaughter bumps willingly for Putski from shoulder breakers, before we go back to the headlock. Patterson informs us that Slaughter has very supple ears so he doesn’t need to worry about getting any cauliflower ears. Sarge takes the offensive with a back breaker, but Putski sends him flying into the ring post and Slaughter begins to bleed. Putski does very little for the next few minutes, but Slaughter flies around the ring from every move to make Putski look amazing. Putski punches away at Slaughter’s forehead to open the wound more, but the Sarge manages to counter an Irish whip and hit his cannon clothesline. Weakened by Putski’s offense, however, he can’t hold him up when trying a slam, and nearly gets pinned as a result. Putski hits his Polish Power axehandle, but it only succeeds in sending his opponent over the ropes to the floor, where Slaughter gets his neck hooked under the bottom rope; instead of ignoring his mistake, he decides to sell it as if the rope is choking him out, which is pretty awesome.
Putski goes to retrieve him, and the two battle it out on the apron. Putski chops Slaughter back into the ring, just as the bell rings. Both men ignore the bell and keep brawling until it’s announced that Sgt Slaughter has scored the victory via count out, as the referee had been counting the whole time they were scrapping on the apron. Cheap win for the heel that kept Putski looking strong.
Putski goes to retrieve him, and the two battle it out on the apron. Putski chops Slaughter back into the ring, just as the bell rings. Both men ignore the bell and keep brawling until it’s announced that Sgt Slaughter has scored the victory via count out, as the referee had been counting the whole time they were scrapping on the apron. Cheap win for the heel that kept Putski looking strong.
Gorilla then informs us we’re going backstage to Mean Gene Okerlund, who is with, honest to goodness, “Porno” Orndorff as Monsoon puts it. Orndorff cuts a promo about how there is no competition for him in the World Wrestling Federation, and calls his opponent, Salvatore Bellomo, nothing more than a “spaghetti eater”. It seems Mr Wonderful has a problem with those who enjoy Italian pasta.
salvatore bellomo vs. 'mr wonderful' paul orndorff (w/ 'rowdy' roddy piper)
Piper and Orndorff both ooze heel charisma as they swagger down to the ring. Piper in particular looks hugely unpleasant as he sneers at the fans. Orndorff’s opponent, Salvatore Bellomo, was one of the upper echelons of WWF jobbers, although his arms look like they’ve been stapled onto his large torso and just seem to flapping in the ring as if they’re not real.
Orndorff takes even longer on the stalling front than Sgt Slaughter, refusing to remove his robe until Bellomo moves to a neutral corner, and then leaving briefly when Piper takes exception to Salvatore’s kneepads. During all this, Pat Patterson provides some inadvertent giggles by saying “If he (Orndorff) turned his back on me, then I’d be on top of him” and “I’d like to be in that ring with him to see if he likes me or not.” It’s not big or clever to find that funny, but that doesn’t mean you can’t snigger. Gorilla wonders why Orndorff hasn’t been counted out, as the bell seems to have rung already. The ref does start counting, to which Orndorff barks, “Wait a second!” and the official actually does. Piper distracts Bellomo and finally the match begins proper. |
Orndorff hits some stiff knees and slams, and then uses the ropes for extra bounce to hit some big knees Bellomo’s lower back. Mr Wonderful chokes him out in front of Piper, who lays the verbal smackdown on him. Bellomo manages to counter a slam for a two, but Orndorff goes right back on the offensive until he misses a charge and goes shoulder first into the turnbuckle post. Bellomo works the arm with an arm ringer and then an armbar, which he keeps locked in for quite a while. Orndorff finally breaks out with a back suplex, which Piper calls loudly from outside. Orndorff rests his arm by throwing Salvatore outside, where Piper stalks him. The Rowdy One doesn’t lay a finger on him, however, instead going nose to nose and just insulting him with his arms clearly in the air to show the ref he is not physically interjecting and risking a disqualification. Nice heel work from one of the best.
Orndorff rolls outside and hits a very gentle powerslam onto the concrete floor, which Patterson and Monsoon sell as if he’s killed Bellomo. Back in the ring, a big suplex only gets two, and Orndorff makes that common 80s heel mistake of climbing to the top rope and of course missing the move he attempts. This time it’s a flying knee drop, giving Salvatore the chance to unleash a flurry of odd-looking punches with his stapled-on arms and then show off with a cartwheel (which has to be difficult without real arms). Unimpressed, Orndorff immediately hits a scoop slam and a piledriver to end the match.
Bellomo sells the move expertly, as a multitude of refs tend to him and he finally manages to get to his feet with their help to the appreciation of the crowd. All the while, Orndorff and Piper are insulting and aggravating the crowd, and even give the Fink grief, which isn’t cool.
Orndorff rolls outside and hits a very gentle powerslam onto the concrete floor, which Patterson and Monsoon sell as if he’s killed Bellomo. Back in the ring, a big suplex only gets two, and Orndorff makes that common 80s heel mistake of climbing to the top rope and of course missing the move he attempts. This time it’s a flying knee drop, giving Salvatore the chance to unleash a flurry of odd-looking punches with his stapled-on arms and then show off with a cartwheel (which has to be difficult without real arms). Unimpressed, Orndorff immediately hits a scoop slam and a piledriver to end the match.
Bellomo sells the move expertly, as a multitude of refs tend to him and he finally manages to get to his feet with their help to the appreciation of the crowd. All the while, Orndorff and Piper are insulting and aggravating the crowd, and even give the Fink grief, which isn’t cool.
intercontinental title match: the magnificent muraco (c) (w/ capt. lou albano) vs. tito santana
Muraco is sporting a beard here, and is definitely not the “Rock” of 1987. The Magnificent One gets some last-minute advice from Albano before tying up with Santana, who is quite popular with the MSG crowd. No one gets the advantage of the lock up before Santana locks in a side headlock. Patterson puts in some good commentary work, explaining that Tito still asks for advice and feedback on his matches from other guys, even though he has developed into one of the top guys himself. Nice way to put Tito over as a solid, hardworking babyface. They are still in the side headlock.
|
|
Patterson again excels himself, stating that “you can hurt Muraco, but next month he’ll be back. You can only really hurt him by taking that belt.” Announcing that puts over the championship and makes the match important, rarely seen these days. So what if Patterson drops some syllables here and there and can’t distinguish between countable or uncountable nouns, he made this match matter.
Sadly, Santana and Muraco are not as keen on making this one memorable, as Tito still has The Magnificent One in a side headlock. Yes! A back breaker from Muraco, Tito sweeps the legs…and back to the headlock. Monsoon refers to Lou Albano as “the greatest living advertisement for birth control,” which is pretty harsh. Santana elaborately rings Muraco’s neck and head, but it’s still a headlock. Muraco finally nails a Side Russian leg sweep and an elbow to the back of Tito’s neck to gain control. Muraco nails a big power slam and beats the challenger down as the crowd start a “Tito!” chant. This stokes him up and the two exchange punches with Tito getting the upper hand. Albano jumps into the ring, with no hint of a disqualification from the referee, but only succeeds in getting his head knocked together with Muraco’s. Tito misses his flying forearm, as Gorilla and Pat wonder why Muraco wasn’t disqualified. Muraco starts to climb up to the top rope, and Tito tries the Flair top rope spot, but the two just slug it out some more as the bell rings…They both fall outside and keep brawling for a bit, before they both abruptly stop, Muraco grabs his title, and leaves. The fans are not happy with that finish, which is shortly announced as a double disqualification, but why? Gorilla Monsoon also doesn’t understand it.
Mean Gene is at the curtain to talk with Tito after the match, and the man is sweating profusely, which is odd considering he has spent most of the last fifteen minutes holding a headlock. Tito and Gene also don’t understand why there was a double DQ. Gene suggests Muraco should have been disqualified due to Albano’s interference, but Tito says he didn’t want that, he wanted a pinfall, whether it was in his favour or Muraco’s.
2 out of 3 falls match: haiti kid & tiger jackson vs. dana carpenter & poncho boy
This is a midget match, and is announced as “a very special attraction.” Poncho Boy does not sport a poncho, which is deeply disappointing. His partner Carpenter is nearly as big as the referee, whilst Tiger Jackson is a spitting image of the official, only half his size. Gorilla tells us he would buy a ticket just to see this, as he starts off with Pat on a few minutes of condescension towards the little people.
Patterson is quite taken with Tiger Jackson, declaring “ain’t he cute?” Poncho Boy tries a reverse monkey flip on Tiger, before Jackson flips out into a headscissors, which cracks Pat up. Tiger is now upside down, his feet around Poncho’s neck, WHO then spins him off, and Tiger spins around on his head for a few seconds, which makes Pat’s night. Haiti Kid tags in and nails some dropkicks on the heels. Carpenter leapfrogs Haiti and does the old “I’m so smart” finger point so he of course gets dropkicked out of the ring for his arrogance. Haiti Kid applies a full nelson to Carpenter. Poncho Boy tries to attack from behind, but Haiti spins around in time and Poncho manages to stop short of blasting his partner. Poncho is successful a second time, but threatens the referee for getting in his way. In amongst this, Tiger Jackson nails a sunset flip and gets the three to take fall one.
Haiti Kid uses the Rear View three decades before Naomi, and because he’s black his head is too hard be fazed by having it rammed into the turnbuckles (this is wrestling logic, not mine, I must stress. All people are of equal skull density in my book). All four competitors criss-cross each other, until Haiti kid tells Carpenter to look up, which the fool does, allowing Haiti to hoist him up for an Airplane Spin. Poncho Boy nails Haiti, however, and Carpenter gets a two count out of it, although Haiti then rolls over to change into him pinning Carpenter. The ref sees it, thinks about making a count, but instead stomps over to shout at Poncho Boy. He returns to Haiti Kid, who is still pinning Carpenter, and after more deliberation gets down to start counting. He reaches two, stops for a long old while and finally counts the three, giving Haiti Kid and Tiger Jackson the confusing win in two straight falls.
Patterson is quite taken with Tiger Jackson, declaring “ain’t he cute?” Poncho Boy tries a reverse monkey flip on Tiger, before Jackson flips out into a headscissors, which cracks Pat up. Tiger is now upside down, his feet around Poncho’s neck, WHO then spins him off, and Tiger spins around on his head for a few seconds, which makes Pat’s night. Haiti Kid tags in and nails some dropkicks on the heels. Carpenter leapfrogs Haiti and does the old “I’m so smart” finger point so he of course gets dropkicked out of the ring for his arrogance. Haiti Kid applies a full nelson to Carpenter. Poncho Boy tries to attack from behind, but Haiti spins around in time and Poncho manages to stop short of blasting his partner. Poncho is successful a second time, but threatens the referee for getting in his way. In amongst this, Tiger Jackson nails a sunset flip and gets the three to take fall one.
Haiti Kid uses the Rear View three decades before Naomi, and because he’s black his head is too hard be fazed by having it rammed into the turnbuckles (this is wrestling logic, not mine, I must stress. All people are of equal skull density in my book). All four competitors criss-cross each other, until Haiti kid tells Carpenter to look up, which the fool does, allowing Haiti to hoist him up for an Airplane Spin. Poncho Boy nails Haiti, however, and Carpenter gets a two count out of it, although Haiti then rolls over to change into him pinning Carpenter. The ref sees it, thinks about making a count, but instead stomps over to shout at Poncho Boy. He returns to Haiti Kid, who is still pinning Carpenter, and after more deliberation gets down to start counting. He reaches two, stops for a long old while and finally counts the three, giving Haiti Kid and Tiger Jackson the confusing win in two straight falls.
Mean Gene is backstage with ‘The Ayatollah’ Fred Blassie. Blassie beams as Gene mentions he has achieved his dream of having the world champion in his stable, but quickly changes his expression as soon as Okerlund says “but…” and mentions the change of opponent for tonight. The WWF Champion The Iron Sheik enters and rants in Iranian for a few seconds before Mean Gene barks that he can speak English. Sheik changes languages and complains that they have switched opponents on him, but he’ll still win anyway.
wwf championship: the iron sheik (c) (w/ ayatollah fred blassie) vs. hulk hogan
Hogan gets the full backstage tunnel treatment for this one, and the crowd is very pleased to see him as he makes his way out to the ring. Hulk is still ‘Incredible’ here, before Marvel questioned the appropriateness of that adjective. Sheik is not liked here, to say the least. Hogan actually jumps Sheik from behind before the champ has even disrobed, so Hulk helps out by using the robe to clothesline him. Some big rights from Hogan and another clothesline as the champion is being torn apart here to the delight of MSG. Hogan hoists Sheik up for a standing choke and then spits at him, but it’s ok because Sheik is foreign, and that’s how wrestling logic keeps Hogan a face.
|
Big boot only gets one, because he didn’t hook the leg. Hogan hits the running elbow he used in Japan, but misses a charge into the corner and Sheik takes over. He freaks out at the noise in MSG, which is molten hot at this point, but composes himself enough to nail Hogan with a backbreaker. Sheik kicks away at the Hulkster, as Patterson and Monsoon speculate that he’s probably loaded his boots up. He locks in a Boston Crab to wear down Hogan’s back, but Hulk pushes out of it. Sheik hits a nice gut wrench suplex for two and then stomps away at Hogan’s kidney area, softening him up for the Camel Clutch that had defeated Bob Backlund the previous month. And there it is, as Sheik locks in his finisher and the crowd goes mental. Hogan manages to power out of it and lifts Sheik on to his back and rams him into the corner. Sheik stumbles to the mat in the middle of the ring, leaving Hogan clear to hit the big legdrop and get the three and his first WWF Championship!
Madison Square Garden explodes as they announce Hogan as the winner and Verne Gagne ruefully sips on some strong liquor somewhere in Minnesota. The Iron Sheik, meanwhile, is rolling around clutching his neck and fighting the officials who are trying to place him on a stretcher. Hogan shakes hands with Howard Finkel, which is certainly not impartial on the part of The Fink. Sheik is up now, and receives another beating from Hogan, who then hurls him through the ropes and the commentators on the outside. He then hurls a chair into the ring and storms off as Hogan continues to celebrate to great admiration in the ring.
We then go backstage where Mean Gene is with the new champion. Already Hogan is using the “Well, you know something, Mean Gene” opening, but all he can really say is that Hulkamania really turns him on before he is doused in champagne by Andre The Giant before he can say too much. Ivan Putski joins in the fun, too, and Rocky Johnson showers Okerlund in champagne as the faces celebrate the conquering of the evil Iranian.
Madison Square Garden explodes as they announce Hogan as the winner and Verne Gagne ruefully sips on some strong liquor somewhere in Minnesota. The Iron Sheik, meanwhile, is rolling around clutching his neck and fighting the officials who are trying to place him on a stretcher. Hogan shakes hands with Howard Finkel, which is certainly not impartial on the part of The Fink. Sheik is up now, and receives another beating from Hogan, who then hurls him through the ropes and the commentators on the outside. He then hurls a chair into the ring and storms off as Hogan continues to celebrate to great admiration in the ring.
We then go backstage where Mean Gene is with the new champion. Already Hogan is using the “Well, you know something, Mean Gene” opening, but all he can really say is that Hulkamania really turns him on before he is doused in champagne by Andre The Giant before he can say too much. Ivan Putski joins in the fun, too, and Rocky Johnson showers Okerlund in champagne as the faces celebrate the conquering of the evil Iranian.
jimmy 'superfly' snuka vs. rene goulet
There are no women wrestlers at Madison Square Garden this evening, meaning Jimmy Snuka, so recently the most over babyface in the territory, takes the role the Divas would make their own in the 21st century: the cool-down match. Even Pat and Gorilla note that the crowd are probably going to be a little drained after the previous match. Pat hopes that there is still some champagne left when they’re done, and we even see him looking backstage at the bottom of our screens. Goulet takes control of Snuka with his claw hold, but misses him when he tries it off the ropes, allowing Snuka to leapfrog over him and hit a big chop. Snuka scrambles up top and hits a flying body press, but not the Superfly Splash as Goulet has stood back up. It gets him three anyway, and Superfly is out of there quickly, not even waiting to be announced as the winner. It seems Mr Snuka was unhappy about something…
Backstage, Mean Gene is with the new WWF Champion and his parents, Ruth and Pete. They’re a little boring and taking the limelight a little, so Hogan commandeers the microphone and cuts a short promo about how his parents are part of Hulkamania.
andre the giant, 'mr usa' tony atlas & rocky johnson vs. the wild samoans
The Samoans had recently added Samula to their act, and were in the midst of a feud with the men they dropped the tag team titles to. Andre was Andre, and gets the backstage tunnel entrance reserved for big stars. He’s looking fairly trim here, and gets a decent pop out of the drained crowd.
Tony Atlas starts with Samula, although Mr USA’s patriotic trunks look a lot like the French flag. Patterson and Gorilla speculate on Andre’s post-match drinking as Atlas hits Samula with a cross body block. Andre gets a chop in before the tag champions work over Samula until Atlas just lets him go. A full nelson by Mr USA gives him a chance to flex his huge muscles. Andre is in but makes the mistake of dropping his head and Samula is able to head-butt him down to one knee. Sika is in, although he is often referred to as ‘Samoan Number 2’. Why were the Samoans ranked? That’s a little too organised for savages, surely? He doesn’t fare well against Andre, who as he is also foreign, can head-butt the Samoans with no side effects. He then sits on Sika as the others brawl to get the three count and send the crowd home happy. The commentators are surprised at the ease of the babyface victory, which is valid as the Samoans had been one of the most-pushed tag teams of the early 80s in the WWF.
Tony Atlas starts with Samula, although Mr USA’s patriotic trunks look a lot like the French flag. Patterson and Gorilla speculate on Andre’s post-match drinking as Atlas hits Samula with a cross body block. Andre gets a chop in before the tag champions work over Samula until Atlas just lets him go. A full nelson by Mr USA gives him a chance to flex his huge muscles. Andre is in but makes the mistake of dropping his head and Samula is able to head-butt him down to one knee. Sika is in, although he is often referred to as ‘Samoan Number 2’. Why were the Samoans ranked? That’s a little too organised for savages, surely? He doesn’t fare well against Andre, who as he is also foreign, can head-butt the Samoans with no side effects. He then sits on Sika as the others brawl to get the three count and send the crowd home happy. The commentators are surprised at the ease of the babyface victory, which is valid as the Samoans had been one of the most-pushed tag teams of the early 80s in the WWF.
We end the show with a still shot of Madison Square Garden emptying as Gorilla and Patterson recount the big title switch. The awesome MSG Network theme plays along with a replay of the closing minutes of the title match as the credits roll and Hulkamania is officially born…
well, you know something, mean gene...
January 23rd, 1984 was one of the most important dates in wrestling history, as it indeed marked the beginning of Hulkamania as the national force it became. Hulk Hogan had of course been over like crazy in the AWA, but whereas Verne Gagne just couldn’t pull the trigger on him as champion, Vince McMahon banked his whole expansion concept on Hogan as champion. The reaction Hogan received as he beat The Iron Sheik was certainly a good indicator that he would be a success as champion. Keeping the match short was a great idea, too, as it meant the crowd kept up their electric reaction the whole way through, which really added to the sense that this was an important night. With Hogan now installed as champion and company figurehead, the road to ‘sports-entertainment’ could begin in earnest.
There was still a long way to go, however…
Looking at the rest of the card, there was definitely a sense that things were changing, in terms of talent if not presentation just yet. Perennial title holders and challengers for the previous decade (Tony Garea, Mr Fuji, Chief Jay Strongbow) were moving down the card and newer, more charismatic talent (Sgt Slaughter, Paul Orndorff, Roddy Piper) were being built as strong heels who could challenge the new champion. The stagnant feel of the territory felt when McMahon bought it from his father was starting to freshen up a little.
Pat Patterson's surprisingly entertaining commentary gave us insight into his border-line alcoholism, Mr Fuji's rice holdings, The Masked Superstar's use of cheese cloth, and the suppleness of Sgt Slaughter's ears. The less said about his liking of Tiger Jackson the better...
Another surprise was the monotony of the Muraco-Santana match, a 12-minute headlock of a match coming after Gorilla and Patterson had spent a lot of the show hyping the match up as something huge. Tito would win the title from Muraco a few weeks later on February 11th, in Boston in what had to have been a better match.
The two biggest babyfaces in the company before Hogan, Jimmy Snuka and Andre The Giant, were sent out after the big title match, and their differing attitudes to those slots perhaps explains why one of them was not long for the company. Snuka seemed completely uninterested and left before even getting his hand raised, whereas Andre judged the crowd perfectly and took it easy, giving the crowd another feel-good moment to end the show.
This was actually a solid show, although it will only be remembered for the Hogan title win. Nothing else was amazing, and Muraco-Santana was a real struggle to get through, but everything else was certainly not terrible, and it was obvious who the next stars were going to be. Most importantly, the MSG crowd were seemingly happy to accept these new players after the Backlund years, and the future was looking up for Vince, Jr.
There was still a long way to go, however…
Looking at the rest of the card, there was definitely a sense that things were changing, in terms of talent if not presentation just yet. Perennial title holders and challengers for the previous decade (Tony Garea, Mr Fuji, Chief Jay Strongbow) were moving down the card and newer, more charismatic talent (Sgt Slaughter, Paul Orndorff, Roddy Piper) were being built as strong heels who could challenge the new champion. The stagnant feel of the territory felt when McMahon bought it from his father was starting to freshen up a little.
Pat Patterson's surprisingly entertaining commentary gave us insight into his border-line alcoholism, Mr Fuji's rice holdings, The Masked Superstar's use of cheese cloth, and the suppleness of Sgt Slaughter's ears. The less said about his liking of Tiger Jackson the better...
Another surprise was the monotony of the Muraco-Santana match, a 12-minute headlock of a match coming after Gorilla and Patterson had spent a lot of the show hyping the match up as something huge. Tito would win the title from Muraco a few weeks later on February 11th, in Boston in what had to have been a better match.
The two biggest babyfaces in the company before Hogan, Jimmy Snuka and Andre The Giant, were sent out after the big title match, and their differing attitudes to those slots perhaps explains why one of them was not long for the company. Snuka seemed completely uninterested and left before even getting his hand raised, whereas Andre judged the crowd perfectly and took it easy, giving the crowd another feel-good moment to end the show.
This was actually a solid show, although it will only be remembered for the Hogan title win. Nothing else was amazing, and Muraco-Santana was a real struggle to get through, but everything else was certainly not terrible, and it was obvious who the next stars were going to be. Most importantly, the MSG crowd were seemingly happy to accept these new players after the Backlund years, and the future was looking up for Vince, Jr.