SPORTS-(RASSLIN)
Archive
What the HECK?/Intro- Rasslin Tape 18 (Winter 1992)
This tape starts with the 1992 Ric Flair Tribute, errr, Royal Rumble
show and continues up to March 1992. I was starting to lose interest
a bit- consider that between the November 1991 "This Tuesday in Texas"
and the 1992 Royal Rumble, I only taped TWO "Random Matches".
Royal Rumble 1992
From the Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, NY! "Hi everyone, I'm Gorilla
Monsoon along with Bobby the Brain Heenan"! Gorilla drops a
bombshell- WWF Intercontinental Champ Bret "Hitman" Hart lost
the belt to The Mountie two nights ago! Bret had a "104 degree fever",
so instead of the originally scheduled Hart title defense against the Mountie,
we have the Mountie defending against... "Rowdy" Roddy Piper!! (As usual,
I skip the blow-by-blow report for PPV's and stick to "cool things you
may have missed")
RR Match 1: New Foundation vs. Orient Express (w/Mr. Fuji)
("The Rocket" Owen Hart & Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart vs. Kato & Tanaka)
Exciting opener and basically a prolonged Foundation squash. Express
works on Owen until the big tag to Anvil. Rocket launcher (Anvil tosses
Rocket onto Tanaka) scores the pin for the Foundation. Never noticed it before,
but Tanaka ditched the shirtless/tights look and switched to a full karate dojo outfit.
In fact, he kinda looks like Evangelina from GLOW!
I think he wore this for the rest of his career. Gorilla has a strange line:
"just like the Midnight Express, the Orient Express can't be derailed!"
Now, before you wet your drawers...he was talking about the actual TRAIN, not
Cornette's tag team. Gorilla mentioned
a few Rumble substitutions during the match: 1. Marty Jannetty was kicked through
a glass window and has a concussion/contusion. His replacement: the returning Nikolai Volkov!
2. Nasty Boy Brian Knobbs has a dislocated shoulder. His replacement: Haku!
RR Match 2: WWF Intercontinetal Championship:
The Mountie (c)(w/Jimmy Hart) vs. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper
Great moment as Piper wins his only WWF championship. Crowd goes nuts
and the look on Piper's face after winning is priceless. Ironicially, the next
time Piper would win a belt would be March 1999, when he beat the man he
replaced in this match- WCW US Champion Bret Hart.
RR Match 3: Bushwhackers (w/Jamison) vs. Beverly Brothers (w/the Genius)
BIG plotline: this is the first time Jamison's been at ringside,
so Heenan spends the entire match taking non-stop jabs at him.
"He doesn't want to work.. he just wants to stay home, get money off
the government and take MY tax money! I almost paid 200 dollars in taxes last year!"
Heh. That's the fun thing about Heenan- he'd make goofy jokes, but the real payoff
was the way he 'accidentally' made fun of himself.
Match isn't half-bad,
considering it's the Bushwhackers. Butch is held for an axe-handle off the top rope
from Beau. THAT is enough to score the pin for the Bevs!
Mean Gene is backstage with the Legion of Doom. Hawk: "Natural Disaters, you say you
wanna throw your weight around!! Well, WE wanna throw your weight around, too!"
RR Match 4: WWF Tag Team Championship:
Legion of Doom (c) vs. Natural Disaters (w/Jimmy Hart)
(Hawk & Animal vs. Earthquake & Typhoon)
Fun spot where Hawk throws a dropkick, then suckers Quake into throwing one.
Sort of an old LOD/NWA-style match as they match power with the big guys.
Match spills out to ringside, where the LOD loses by countout...even though
all four guys were outside when the bell rang. Disaters
try to carry off the belts, but get assaulted by the LOD and their buddy, the chair.
Backstage, Sean Mooney interviews the Disasters. They believe they're the champs,
since they won by count-out, and threaten to call their lawyers.
Arguably making them the stupidest on-screen wrestlers since George Steele.
Quick interviews and we seque into the intermission. Included is Shawn Michaels
and clip of the Rockers appearing on Brutus Beefcake's Barber Shop. Michaels
pretends to make-up with his partner Marty Janetty...then superkicks him and
tosses him through a window. Run-of-the-mill tag-team breakup incident
that's gained alot of undeserved popularity over the years.
WWF Championship:
30-Man Royal Rumble
Y'know, maybe someday the WWF will be savvy enough to include this match
on DVD?! Hands-down the BEST Royal Rumble
the WWF ever put on. Also gave the WWF ALOT
of credibility with the dirt-sheets of the time.
For instance, I remember the Bill Apter magazines
praising this event. Before the match, President Jack Tunney is brought into
the ring to announce the stipulations (not sure if THAT was included on
the Flair DVD). Very few throwaway slots or tag-team wrestlers (Haku,
Nikolai Volkoff, Skinner and Jerry Saggs). Despite being a face,
Volkoff hadn't been seen for about a year and gets booed loudly! Usually Royal Rumbles
were 95% punch/kick and "lean into ropes and try to throw guy over the top with a hug", but
this match has a great flow and pacing. It's set-up so that Flair even has a one-on-one
mini-match with Roddy Piper. Later, Piper works like mad and
gets IRS in a boston crab! Another cool spot has Greg Valentine
slapping the figure four on Flair! And for all of us old geezers, Kerry Von Erich enters
and immediately goes to work on Flair.
 |
|
Hair for Flair! |
In what may have been a screw-up, Macho Man eliminates himself, but
the announcers quickly backtrack and say "oh, someone ELSE has to throw you over".
Well, if that's the case, then Andre the Giant was never eliminated from the 89 Rumble!
It's tough to see, but later on it looks like Rick Martel gets dumped and is allowed back in.
Final six is an early 90's wrestling fan's dream: Hogan, Flair, Justice,
Savage, Martel and Piper. Terrific ending that has the crowd
CHEERING when Sid Justice eliminates Hogan. Crowd cheers some MORE
when Flair sneaks up, dumps Justice and wins the WWF Title! Like alot of
us pro-WWF viewers at the time, this was the match where Ric Flair won me over.
He was like a retiring storeowner- he sold everything.
Mean Gene has the NEW Champ backstage, along with Mr. Perfect and Bobby Heenan.
After Flair's address, the show goes off the air: showing still-shots of
the event, set to the tune of Rush's "Where's My Thing"!!! Yes, THAT
Rush! Holy crap...I never caught that before! WWF used a CURRENT song by a music group
that I actually liked?! Damn! I'm even more amazed that
I get to use "WWF" and "Rush" in the same sentence! Dogs and cats living together!
Random Match 1: "El Matador" Tito Santana & Virgil vs. "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase & Repo-Man (w/Sensational Sherri)
A PTW rematch from "This Tuesday in Texas". Repo sneaks around the apron while Sherri and DiBiase
distract Tito & Virg. Repo tries attackingform behind a quick four-way brawl breaks out.
Good guys work on Repo for abit, mostly punchy/kicky, but they do manage a double-team clothesline.
Tito hooks DiBiase with a small package for 2. Tito tires coming off the ropes,
but Sherri trips him. Repo tags in and applies a leg scissors. DiBiase returns to
help with a double-team powerslam. Tito is whipped to the ropes and DiBiase
puts his head down for a backdrop attempt. Tito brakes and hits a swinging neckbreaker.
Hot tags to both Virgil and Repo-Man. Virgil with a dropkick, sunset flip for 2, grapevine
suplex for 2, then a dropkickto send Repo tumbling out. DiBiase blindsides Virgil and throws him
out through the ropes as well. Tito comes in and brawls with DiBiase. Outside the ring, Repo
chokes Virgil with his tow-rope and draws a DQ. Just think- this means NOTHING was settled
and that a final blow-out match is out there somewhere!!
Random Match 2: Virgil vs. Irwin R. Schyster
More PTW with Sean Mooney and Lord Alfred Hayes. IRS starts with a kneelift, and Virgil
delivers two clotheslines to send him rolling out. IRS returns with an armbar attempt that
Virgil quickly reverses. Still in the armbar, IRS manages a slam, but Virgil still holds
the arm. Virgil gets a shoulderblock and a hiptoss until IRS boinks him in the eyes.
Irsh-whip is reversed twice, with Virgil eating turnbuckle. IRS brings him outside where he smacks
him with the briefcase. IRS throws him back in the ring and lands a legdrop. IRS goes for the case
again, but before he can use it, the Big Bossman is in the ring. Ref awards it as a DQ win for
Virgil...but the ref didn't see the first briefcase shot and IRS never hit
Virgil with it the second time! If anything, Virgil should have been DQ'd for outside interference.
LOGIC IN..oh, frick it.
Random Match 3: "Texas Tornado" Kerry Von Erich & Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs.
Beverly Brothers (w/the Genius)
PTW with Mooney and Hayes once more. Hammer and Beau (Wayne Bloom) start.
Hammer works the intitial lock-up into-- appropriately-- a hammerlock.
Hammer catches a kick attempt from Blake and delivers an atomic drop.
Kerry is tagged in and clears the ring of both Beverlys with
discus punches. Beverlys take over, doubleteam Kerry and choke him with the ropes.
Blake gets a powerslam and a diving headbutt. Beau returns and hits an underhook suplex.
Kerry fights back with a kneelift and tags Hammer. Hammer delivers several elbowsmashes
and a backdrop to Blake. Charging clothesline and Hammer hooks the figure four! Beau
runs in to make the save. Kerry tries to chase off Beau and draws the ref's
attention. In the confusion, Beau leaps off the top turnbuckle with a double axe-handle
for Hammer. Blake scores the 3 count on Hammer as the ref turns around.
 |
|
"Olaf, do metal face. Girl think sexy" |
Random Match 4: "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith vs. Berzerker
"My love for you is like a truck- BERZERKER! Do you want some making fuck- BERZERKER!!!"
A PTW match from MSG. Criss-cross rope bouncing to begin until Berzerker
nails Bulldog with a Big Puffy Boot for a quick 2 count. Berzerker misses a dropkick,
and Bulldog retaliates with the same move to send him over the top rope. Berzerker
immediately returns and walks right into a Bulldog hiptoss. Berzerker takes over
with a headbutt to the tummy. Chargig shoulderblock
off the ropes gets 2. Berzerker stomps away and gets a standing rear chinlock/
semi-camel clutch. Pulls Bulldog up for a vertical powerslam and another 2 count.
He ties Bulldog's arms into the ropes and delivers a charging kick.
'Zerker tries again, but this time Bulldog escapes the ropes and backdrops
him over the top. Again, 'Zerker is immediately back in, this time
walking into a Bulldog suplex. Bulldog tries for his running powerslam,
but 'Zerker grabs the ropes and falls on top for 2. He whips Bulldog to the ropes and hits another
Big Puffy Boot to the grill. 'Zerker uses the ropes for leverage and covers. Ref counts to 2, then sees the foot and stops the count. 'Zerker gets up, thinking he's won the thing. Bulldog quickly
underhooks him with a roll-up from behind to score the pin. Whoa..
Best. Berzerker. Match. Ever.
Random Match 5: Handicap Match:
Sgt. Slaughter vs. Col. Mustafa & Gen. Adnan
PTW from MSG, with Gorilla and the Brain. Before the match, Mustafa belts out a rendition of
the Iraqi National Anthem.
Golly, Adnan has him some droopy cow-tits! Sarge comes down with
a Very Special Youngster leading the way with Old Glory. No idea
if the kid's a retard, cancer patient, or what have you. He's just
"a lucky youngster leading the way". Good 'nuff for me. Heels attack
Sarge right away, gaining the advantage with Mustafa's ammo belt.
Bad guys punch Sarge for most of the match, with Adnan taking intermittent
breathers on the apron. Sarge makes a mini-comeback with
a clothesline and a sleeper on Mustafa. Adnan saves and they go back to
doubleteam punchy/kicky. Adnan grabs Sarge's arms and holds him up
for Mustafa. Sarge ducks and Mustafa nails Adnan. Slaughter Cannon
on Mustafa scors the 3 count pin for Sarge! Afterwards, Sarge grabs the house mic:
"It sure is good to be back in Madison Square Garden, I'll tell ya what! I'm
gonna do something that I haven't done for awhile...and I hope you'll
help me.." Sarge brings in the flag and leads almost the ENTIRE crowd
in the Pledge of Allegiance. I'm guessing this was Sarge's first appearance
in MSG since his face turn. Y'know, it finally dawned on me WHY
Sarge slowed down in the late 80's/early 90's--- we often forget that a portion of his DNA
was stolen to create Serpentor. That'll take some of the spunk out of ya'.
SNME Match 1: WWF Intercontinental Championship:
 |
|
"I feel like snorkeling" |
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper(c) vs. The Mountie (w/Jimmy Hart)
The return of Saturday Night's Main Event... now on FOX. Vince McMahon and
Bobby Heenan are the hosts, welcoming us to ringside. Lots of
dubbed in crowd noise for this show! Mountie and Jimmy attack Piper
before he can remove his kilt, shirt and title belt. Piper gets a quick 2 count
and the brawl spills outside the ring. Bret Hart cuts an
inset promo, challenging the winner of the match at
Wrestlemania 8. Back in, where Mountie slams, delivers
a reverse elbow off the ropes and plants Piper
in the corner, upside down. Piper goes for a bulldog, and is shoved off
by the Mountie, right into the ref. Ref is knocked out and Piper
is stunned. Mountie hits a piledriver and calls for a CUP OF WATER!
He tosses it on Piper and brings in his shock stick (and sound effect).
He "zaps" Piper, but nothing happens. Piper grabs the shock stick and
applies it to the Mountie. Mountie wiggles in "electrical shock" as the ref wakes
up. Piper covers for 3. Afterwards, Piper removes his t-shirt to reveal
a... scuba diver's vest??! Oh, I see..it has the words "SHOCK PROOF" on it.
Silly me.. after all, how do you defeat a fake shock stick? With a fake
"shock proof" vest!
But first, it was not that long ago...when WWF President Jack Tunney announced
who would be the #1 contender to challenge Ric Flair for the WWF Title
at WrestleMania 8. We see Macho Man, Piper, Sid Justice,
Hulk Hogan and the Undertaker all present. Right before Tunney
makes the announcement, Sid gets up, ready to accept the
honor. Hogan is delcared the #1 contender and Sid is pissed!
Sid delivers one of the funniest promos in history.
With veins poking out on the side of his neck "Jack Tunney..
what you did.... was BOGUS!!!" What's
YOUR Favorite Sid Moment?!
 |
|
"BOGUS!" |
SNME Match 2: Sid Justice & Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair & Undertaker (w/Mr. Perfect & Paul Bearer)
But first, pre-recorded comments from
Sid Justice, who "sincerely apologizes" for upsetting anyone - especially Hogan.
Hulk Hogan is up next, promising a special surprise... which turns out
to be his new corner man, "friend to the end" Brutus Beefcake. There's
a homophobe joke there, I'm sure. Everyone 18 and under should take all of
eight seconds to write the punchline.
Justice exchanges a few blows with Flair and Undertaker, then tags out.
Bad guys doubleteam Hogan with a double clothesline and a double slam. Hogan
crawls over trying to tag Justice, who smirks and drops off the apron! Beefcake
pleads with him to return, but Justice walks back to the dressing room. Back in the ring,
Taker and Flair continue to beat on Hogan. Referee "Evil" Earl Hebner is
tossed aside by Flair, and that draws a DQ. Beefcake can't stands no more and gets in the ring.
Announcers are still selling Beefcake's legit sailing accident, the fact that his
face has been reconstructed, and that he's risking a serious injury. No contact is made, but
Brutus manages to distract the heels until Hogan makes a Spinach Comeback. Hogan clotheslines
both guys of the ring and cues up "Real American". Hogan and Beefcake make like
the 1992 Mime Convention with exaggerated gestures. Cameras catch a
kid in the audience, tearing up his "Justice will be Served" sign. Well, that's
ONE person who was surprised by Sid' heel turn.
Backstage, Sid accuses Jack Tunney of favoritism toward Hogan. Funny thing is, this was supposed
to make Sid a heel.. but alot of fans sympathized with him! Sid sez' he Rules
the World, in case you were following along at home. Oh yeah, he also
sez "Rassle-Mania"!
SNME Match 3: Sgt. Slaughter & "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan vs. Beverly Brothers (w/the Genius)
This was originally scheduled as a WWF Title match- LOD vs. Beverlys. See below for the explanation.
Quick match as Beverlys get their token rope-drape/leapfrog splash on Hacksaw.
Hacksaw makes the tag to Sarge, who enters with a backdrop for each Brother. Sarge hooks
an abdominal stretch on Blake, followed by a backbreaker. All four guys start brawling
as Sarge grabs Genius' metal scroll and brains Blake with it. Blake is irish-whipped
into a Hacksaw clothesline. Sarge covers for the pin and that's that.
SNME Match 4: "Macho Man" Randy Savage vs. Jake "The Snake" Roberts
But first, here's some snake-bite and Liz-slap footage.
Macho gives a funny promo asking "what would you do if someone attacked your
wife...your woman...or your MAIN SQUEEZE?!?! YEAH!" Both guys brawl all
around ringside, with Macho gaining the advantage and splitting
Jake's nose open. Macho goes up top for a flying elbow attempt.
Jake counters with a shot to the gut and hits the DDT out of nowhere. Terrific
heel work, as Jake taunts the crowd. He parades around and waits for the standing
10 count. Jake hits the short-arm clothesline and goes for another DDT. Macho counters
by backdropping him over the top rope. Macho flies off the
turnbuckle with a double axe-handle. Jake kisses the railing with his throat.
Macho rolls him back in and lands the big elbow to get the pin. Macho wants
to dish out more punishment, but the refs protest. Macho launches another
elbow anyways, and goes outside for the ring bell! Jake rolls away and staggers back to
the locker. Macho calls out Elizabeth and the two celebrate in the ring.
The show starts to go off the air, but we see Jake peeking from behind the curtain,
muttering "it's not over"..
Special Report with Lord Alfred Hayes
The topic is the infamous LOD/Money Inc title switch. The LOD was scheduled to defend their belts against the Natural Disasters in Denver (yes, MY Denver). Supposedly, one member of the LOD was not at 100%, so in the interest of sportsmanship, the Disasters' manager Jimmy Hart contacted Jack Tunney, suggesting another
team take the shot. Tunney and the Disasters agreed, so Ted DiBiase and IRS
were given the shot... and ended up winning the titles! Disasters are reportedly
pissed and have fired Jimmy Hart. Nonetheless, Jack Tunney has declared that IRS/DiBiase must defned their new belts against the Disasters at WrestleMania 8. Quick promo from the NEW champs (and Hart) as DiBiase nicknames
the team "Money, Inc.. mowahahahahaha!"
Okay, I was a little pissed that the WWF offered this goofy explanation
for the LOD's disappearance. After YEARS of showing ALL title changes on
TV, we miss one of the BIGGEST? I could forgive 'em for the
Hart/Mountie switch... but to do the same thing TWICE in one month?!
At least Hart/Mountie was covered in WWF Magazine and eventually
made it to video. But no cameras were present for this switch. Not
even a photographer's still-shot! Imagine watching the NFL playoffs... but not getting to see
the Super Bowl. Nevermind that it was my favorite tag team and that the LOD were quickly forgotten (or to
quote any superhero during the Crisis on Infinite Earths- "gone...as if they
never existed!") And we're suddenly supposed to cheer the
Natural Disasters? Then, it was in Denver... I mean, you never
went to houseshows, because you knew the champs would always retain.
Yeah, this was a big blow to my interest in the WWF. WWF kept doing
crap like this for the rest of the year (especially the big
Ric Flair WWF title loss to Bret Hart). As a fan, it really
turned me off. Probably came from my comic collecting hobby, but I liked having things complete and in order.
I mean, I didn't follow Batman for 50+ issues only to miss Robin's death.
Random Match 6: Virgil vs. The Mountie (w/Jimmy Hart)
Back to PTW. Mountie forces Virgil to the ropes, breaks, and arrogantly
shouts "I'M DA' MOUNTIE!!" They lockup again, and this time, Virgil
forces Mountie to the ropes, breaks, and shouts "I'M VIRGIL!!" Heh.
Virgil hits an atomic drop to send Mountie out. Mountie returns and delivers a shot
to the tummy to take over. Mountie whips Virgil to the ropes and
nails him witha flying reverse elbow. He goes for a backdrop, but Virgil
blocks with a swinging neckbreaker. Virg chomps down on Mountie's ear (!),
clotheslines, backdrops and applies his version of the Million Dollar Dream.
That's Jimmy Hart's cue to get up on the apron! Virgil hooks Jimmy in the Dream,
but not before Jimmy can toss Mountie's shock-stick into the ring.
Mountie "zaps" Virgil with it, and gets disqualified.
Random Match 7: Virgil & Big Bossman vs. Beverly Brothers (w/the Genius)
PTW, but with Gorilla Monsoon and Alfred. Virgil is whipedinto the corner, then
floats over on Beau. Bossman and Blake enter for SlapaMania VIII. Bossman with
a spinebuster and a roll-up for 2. Bossman works Blake's arm as Virgil leaps off the top
with a double axehandle. Beavu is broughtin and receives a Virgil armdrag.
Off the ropes and Virgil leapfrogs and tries a roll-up. Beau blocks
and clotheslines him. Blake tags in for a reverse neckbreaker (Rude Awakening), and
the Beverly's rope-drape doubleteam leap-splash. Underhook suplex
from Beau gets 2. Blake returns with a nice spinning power slam. Beau tries to
headbutt Virgil and accidentally dazes himself. Dual HOT TAGS to Bossman and Blake.
Bossman punches, squat-splashes Blake on the rops and slides outside for an uppercut.
Bossman off the ropes with a splash for 2. He whips Blake to the ropes
for a big boot to the noggin. Match breaks down into a 4-way brawl. Genius tries throwing
Bossman's nightstick to Beau, but Bossman intercepts it and cleans house.
Bell sounds and someone's been DQ'd. It's a win... for Bossman and Virgil? Huh?
Logic in Wrestling.
Random Match 8: Bushwhackers & "Rowdy" Roddy Piper vs. Nasty Boys & the Mountie (w/Jimmy Hart)
Joined-in-Progress from PTW, just in time for a 3-way butt-bite. Yes, it's almost
as disturbing as it sounds. Piper and Whackers hit a 3-man clothesline on each Nasty, then
lean through the ropes for a "yayyyyyyy!". Good guys go to work on Jerry Saggs' arm for awhile.
Knobbs trips Butch for the outside to switch the momentum. Knobbs drops 3 elbows on Butch, then
tags in Mounite for a reverse flying elbow. They choke Butch in the corner, then Saggs
throws Butch into a neutral corner for a series of shoulderblocks. Knobbs witha powerslam
and anotehr elbow for 2. Mountie returns with a piledriver. Saggs delivers a legdrop and gets a
1 count. Knobbs misses a charge into the corner, and Butch finaly tags in Luke.
Luke delivers an elbow and then all 6 men enter the ring. Piper and the Whackers
each grab an opponent and use a battering ram to smash all 3 noggins together.
Butch sets himself up in the corner, as Piper and Luke irish-whip each Nasty
into Butch's boot. Mountie bails and Piper follows him out. Whackers hit the battering ram on
both Nasties and Luke covers Knobbs. Ref doesn't see
the shockstick enter, and also misses Mountie zapping Luke. Knobbs is draped on
top on Luke to score the 3.
Random Match 9: WrestleMania III Flashback- WWF Championship
Hulk Hogan(c) vs. Andre the Giant (w/Bobby Heenan)
From a special PTW episode, called "Road to WrestleMania VIII", that served as sort of
a retirement party for Hogan. WWF was promoting WM VIII as Hogan's "last match". That's
right... his "last match"... in 1992. Anyways, this re-broadcast has new commentary with
Gorilla and the Brain. Nothing exciting, but Heenan constantly complains:
"That big dumm, errr.., GIANT wouldn't listen to me! If he did, he'd be
World Champ, today!" Hogan wins with a slam and a legdrop.
Random Match 10: "Rowdy" Roddy Piper vs. Shawn Michaels (w/Sensational Sherri)
Hey, I always liked "Eat 'em and Smile"... but I never thought a David Lee Roth
rip-off would make for a wrestling gimmick. This is a non-title match by the way.
Sherri tries peeking under Piper's kilt and receives a smack to her caboose.
Shoving match between the two guys to open. Then, it's a slap match! Ooo..Piper
spits! To the ropes and Michaels comes off with a high-cross body for 2.
Piper responds with an atomic drop, but Michaels holds up and rolls-up
Piper for another 2. Piper with a quick slingshot and his own 2 count. Piper is over to
smooch Sherri and Michaels attacks from behind. Both guys are outside, where Sherri distracts
Piper until Michaels can land a flying elbow off the apron. They brawl for a bit then
Michaels throws Piper into the steps and back in the ring. 2 count for Michaels and it's
rear chinlock time. Piper fights to his feet, bounces off the ropes
and right into a Michaels superkick. Piper whips him to the turnbuckle. Michaels
lands on top of the turnbuckle, allowing Piper to land some charging kicks. Michaels
bounces off the corner and crotches himself on the top rope. Kneelift from Piper, and
he tries a bulldog. Michaels shoves him off, right into the ref. Ref is knocked out, so
Sherri tosses her boot to Michaels. Piper is knocked down while Bret Hart runs down to ringside.
Hart steals the boot and tosses it to Piper. Ref wakes up, sees Piper with the boot and
immediately disqualifies him! Piper and Hart have a mini-standoff as the tape ends.
Why'd You Tape This?
The Royal Rumble steals the show on this tape. I think it was the only WWF PPV
in my little timeframe that had an unhappy ending (gasp!) It's not covered anywhere
on here, but storylines surfaced and the Hogan-Flair WrestleMania VIII main event
was splintered off into two matches: Hogan-Justice and Flair-Savage. I don't think
I have the footage anywhere, but sometime in February, Ric Flair released
photos of Elizbaeth, claming "She was mine before she was yours, Savage.. wooo!". People
say the WWF missed the boat by not holding Hogan-Flair at WrestleMania, but
folks were just as pumped for the two new matches that resulted. A real division starts
to protude in the talent, though. There's the top guys (Hogan, Undertaker,
Piper, Savage, Flair, etc)... then there's everyone else (Bossman, Sarge,
Virgil, Bulldog, etc). The way stories were set-up, you wouldn't expect to
see a Virgil-Flair match. It's almost as if the top of the card contained the semi-serious
stuff, and the rest was fluff.
Oh well, ONE more tape to go. Enjoy these tape reviews while you can, buckaroo.
As always, you can still e-mail me your own rasslin' reviews
or you if ya' wanna see these matches on YOUR TV you can set up a trade for this tape!
Comment about this article: email me or visit the NEW ES Bulletin Boards!
BACK to Rasslin index
