I haven't watched in a while, but I don't remember Slaughter/Hogan being that bad of a match. IIRC, it was the first time in a long time that Hogan bladed. Didn't flair supposedly get a massive fine for blading at WM VIII?

It just seemed like a feud that didn't totally resonate. We always hear how Slaughter got death threats and his family had to be under 24/7 supervision, but the fact is that the event got moved from the LA Coliseum to LA Sports arena due to "security concerns." It's widely accepted that it was due to lack of ticket sales.

Funny enough, one of the few matches I remember from this event was the LOD squash of Power & Glory. I would have enjoyed seeing P&G get a little bit more rub. P&G had one of the coolest tag team finishers IMO. It may be a little basic these days, but it was definitely ahead of its time in the early 90s.

Since you knew it was going to have to happen ... through the matches posted, my rankings so far ...

5 — IC Title, Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat, Wrestlemania III (1987)
4 — WWE Title, Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior, Wrestlemania VI (1990)
4 — Brain Busters vs. Hart Foundation, Summerslam 1989
4 — Rockers vs. Orient Express, Royal Rumble 1991
3.75 — IC Title, Rick Rude vs. Ultimate Warrior, Summerslam 1989
3.75 — Tag Team Survivor Match: Demolition, Brain Busters, Bolsheviks, Rougeau Brothers & Los Conquistadores vs. Powers of Pain, Rockers, British Bulldogs, Hart Foundation & Young Stallions, Survivor Series 1988
3.5 — WWE Title, Randy Savage vs. Hulk Hogan, Wrestlemania V (1989)
3.5 — Tag Team Survivor Match: Demolition, The Islanders, The Hart Foundation, The New Dream Team & The Bolsheviks vs. Strike Force, The Rougeau Brothers, The British Bulldogs, The Young Stallions & The Killer Bees, Survivor Series 1987
3.5 — Rockers & Tito Santana vs The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers & Rick Martel, Summerslam 1989
3.5 — Rockers vs. Haku/Barbarian, Wrestlemania VII (1991)
3.25 — WWE Tag Titles, Demolition vs. Hart Foundation, Summerslam 1988
3.25 — The British Bulldogs vs. The Rougeau Brothers, Summerslam 1988
3 — IC Title, Ultimate Warrior vs. Rick Rude, Wrestlemania V (1989)
3 — WWE Tag Titles, Dream Team vs. British Bulldogs, Wrestlemania 2 (1986)
3 — Best 2 of 3 Falls: Dino Bravo & The Rougeau Brothers vs. Jim Duggan & The Hart Foundation, Royal Rumble 1989
3 — Mr. Perfect vs. Blue Blazer (Owen Hart), Wrestlemania V (1989)
3 — King Haku vs. Harley Race, Royal Rumble 1989
3 — The Royal Rumble (1990)
2.75 — Snake Pit Match: Jake Roberts vs. Ricky Steamboat, The Big Event (1986)
2.5 — Big Boss Man vs. Barbarian, Royal Rumble 1991
2.5 — WWE Title Tournament, first round, Greg Valentine vs. Ricky Steamboat, Wrestlemania IV (1988)
2.5 — The Royal Rumble (1989)
2.5 — WWE Tag Titles, best-of-3 falls: Demolition vs. Hart Foundation, Summerslam 1990
2 — WWE Title Tournament, final, Ted DiBiase vs. Randy Savage, Wrestlemania IV (1988)
2 — WWE Title, Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant, Wrestlemania 3 (1987)
2 — WWE Title, Hulk Hogan vs. Paul Orndorff, The Big Event (1986)
2 — WWE Title Tournament, Greg Valentine vs. Randy Savage, Wrestlemania IV (1988)
2 — Elimination Match: Dusty Rhodes, Koko B. Ware & Hart Foundation vs. Ted DiBiase, Honky Tonk Man, Greg Valentine and Mystery Partner (Undertaker), Survivor Series 1990
1.5 — Submission Match: Greg Valentine vs. Ronnie Garvin, Riyal Rumble 1990

Harsh on the Undertaker debut there imo, if for no other reason than the fact that it wasn't as bad as Valentine/Garvin. The allure of the UT alone, knowing what we know now, should be worth enough, but the storytelling and the endgame between Bret and MDM should make that a solid 2 at least.

Probably correct. Changed.

WRESTLEMANIA VII (1991) continued ...



Tag Titles: Hart Foundation © vs. Nasty Boys
(Go to 38:15 on video)

* This was the final match for The Hart Foundation before Bret's singles career was launched. Jimmy Hart in Nasty Boys motorcycle gear just does not work. I never got into the Nasty Boys, sure, they can brawl (see their WCW match against Cactus Jack and Maxx Payne for proof), but otherwise, bleh. The match starts picking up about 10 minutes in when Nastys work over Bret, who eventually dodges a splash in the corner and clotheslines the other Nasty Boy. Bret then dodges a helmet attack and makes the hot tag, and Anvil scoops up one Nasty and throws him into the other before a big double clothesline. A powerslam forces a save. The Harts land the Hart Attack, but as the ref gets Bret out of the ring, Anvil gets blasted with the helmet for the three. This match wasn't terrible but it wasn't memorable, either. Probably 2.5 stars.

Retirement Match: Ultimate Warrior vs. Randy Savage
(Go to 1:19:00 on video)

* This obviously stole the show and averaged 4.5 stars across 5-6 reviews. They set the ending up by showing Miss Elizabeth before the introductions. Warrior didn't run out? I guess he knew he better save his energy. I loved Macho trying a crossbody from the top, Warrior catching him, then instead of slamming him, just putting him on his feet and slapping him. Fantastic. Warrior runs off the ropes 6 times and dives for no real reason ... What in the blue hell was that? Excellent double clothesline, I still love that move. Sherri nails Macho with her heel from the top, then gives a great look at Warrior. Eventually we get to the five-elbow sequence and the kickout. Macho elbows are >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Punk elbows. Probably a couple >>'s short. Macho's kickout must have shocked everyone even more than Warrior's kickout. OK, the Warrior looking this long at his hands is hokey. Macho misses on an axehandle from the top to the outside. Warrior winds up throwing him in the ring and shoulderblocking him out three times before dragging him in and pinning him with his foot. The ending dragged more than I recall, I was a little disappointed. Of course the aftermath with Sherri and Miss Elizabeth was awesome. The match wasn't as good as I expected, maybe 3.5 stars or so, but the storyline during/after it was awesome, an easy 5-star story. Overall I'll be what I feel is a little generous and give it 4 stars.

I just watched Hogan/Slaughter and it's not making the cut. It's standard Hogan, you've already seen it, there's like literally nothing new or worthy of inclusion here.

SUMMERSLAM (1991)
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York

This event holds a special place in my heart as it was the first PPV I watched live (I was 11).

IC Title: Mr. Perfect © vs. Bret Hart



* This is the match that turned me into a massive Bret fan. Aside from Savage/Steamboat at Wrestlemania III, WWE PPVs had been laregly devoid of meaningful singles matches between two smaller, athletic guys, so this match really stood out at the time. It includes some classic Perfect oversells, such as his spinning on his backside following a reversed hip toss. Heenan to Piper: “I heard a rumor that your Mom and Dad ran away from home.” LOL. Bret hits some nice moves that lead to quick pin attempts early, such as a crucifix, a crossbody and a sunset flip. Heenan made this match so much better ... Gorilla: “You start worrying about somebody on the outside, like you used to be, and forget it, you’re a loser.” Brain: “You didn’t have to worry about me!” A Perfect chop draws oohs from the crowd. A grat sequence starts with Bret going hard into the turnbuckle, then getting slammed but kicking Perfect away, then Bret slams Perfect and Perfect kicks him away. Bret finishes the sequence by clotheslining Perfect over the ropes. Awesome stuff. Then Perfect tries to take the countout and Bret shreds his singlet and tosses him back in. Perfect hits a cheap shot to get control. Another chop outside draws more oohs. Perfect slingshots Bret toward the barricade, where a cameraman accidentally (I think) got in the way. Bret leapfrogs Perfect and a rollup gets two. Bret gets whipped into the corner hard, ouch! Perfect slaps Bret in the croner a couple times, then slings him across the ring by his hair. Nasty, great stuff. “Let’s go Bret!” chants start. Perfect locks in a sleeper but Bret revives and tries for a crucifix only to be slammed to the mat for two. Another great sequence. Bret takes his chest-first turnbuckle blow, drawing oohs and leading to another two-count. Perfect hits his Perfect Plex but Bret kicks out to a pop. Bret begins his comeback, hits an inverted atomic drop, then a regular one. Bret returns the favor by whipping Perfect across the ring by his hair, and Perfect crotches himself on the post. A snap suplex gets two (some fans think it was three). A small package gets two as the crowd counts along. Russian leg sweep gets two. Side backbreaker leads to the second-rope elbow for two and Bret can’t believe it. Perfect does a surprise rollup but he only gets two. The suspense is awesome. They wind up outside and Perfect gets shoved into the post. In the ring Bret starts working over Perfect’s leg with kicks, then goes for the sharpshooter but has to punch Coach off the apron. Perfect kicks the middle rope to “crotch” Bret, then drops a leg between Bret’s leg. He tries it again but gets caught and Bret applies the sharpshooter for an immediate submission as the crowd pops huge. Awesome, awesome stuff. Easily the best match on the chronology since Savage/Steamboat. I’ll give it 4.5 stars.

Million Dollar Title: Ted DiBiase vs. Virgil



* Sorry for the poor match quality here. This got an average of 3.25 stars ... I don’t remember it being that good. We’ll see. DiBiase cuts a really nice promo before the match. Virgil gets a nice pop. He rips MDM from the corner and the match starts quick with a backdrop and three clotheslines, the last sending MDM to the floor. Virgil tries a slingshot dive onto MDM on the floor and splats on the mat as MDM moves. That had to hurt. MDM sends him into the steps, then rams his head into them. Back in the ring MDM hits a nice clothesline. Terrible camera work misses a move before MDM gets a two-count. Virgil ducks a clothesline and applies the Million Dollar Dream. Sherri interferes, drilling Virgil to get the DQ. Finish leaves a lot to be desired but overall that was a fun little match. It was too short for me to give three stars to, though. Let’s call it 2.5 and a good time.

SURVIVOR SERIES (1991)
Location: Joe Louis Arena, Detroit



Elimination Match: Ric Flair, The Mountie, Ted DiBiase & The Warlord vs. Roddy Piper, Bret Hart, Virgil & Davey Boy Smith
(Go to 7:15 on video)

* Here’s Flair’s WWE in-ring debut (I think ... maybe it was just his WWE PPV debut). This was universally considered the best match on the card, which isn’t saying much as the card was putrid and in many ways used purely to set up Tuesday in Texas (which also was putrid). Flair gets a cheap shot on Piper to start things, but Piper rallies to beat up DiBiase. Sherri winds up in the ring and Piper kisses her (blech!) ... Heenan cracks that Sherri needs a Tetanus shot. I miss you, Brain! Virgil gets a big pop for his first tag-in as he continues pounding on DiBiase’s arm. I know why it happened, but it’s odd to hear Virgil get bigger pops than both Davey Boy and Bret. Bret and DiBiase have a nice sequence. Flair tags in and immediately absurdly telegraphs an elbow that Bret dodges. Flair does a Flair Flop after a Bret headbutt, and you can already see Bret’s annoyance at it (he hated those flops for their lack of realism. Bret and Flair pretty much can’t stand each other, then and now). Davey Boy press slams Flair and tags in Piper. Piper and Flair immediately begin tattooing each other as the fans go ape. Flair scrambles to tag in Warlord. Davey Boy and Warlord resume their memorable (ahem) feud for a few seconds. Bret and DiBiase resume their battle, they worked well together, I wish they’d had a nice IC title match in this period. Davey Boy tosses Mountie around for a bit. Pretty entertaining stuff. Davey Boy hits a double clothesline on Flair and DiBiase, then hoists Mountie for his running powerslam, but Flair comes off the top with a chop and covers Davey Boy for the first elimination. Piper holds his own 1-on-3 in the wrong corner for a bit before the heels take over. Flair hits one knee drop but misses a second and Piper puts him in a figure four. DiBiase breaks it up. DiBiase starts working over Piper’s leg. Virgil gets a hot tag and Mountie scrambles over to try to make a tag, but none of the other three are interested. Kinda funny. Flair takes the tag the next time and he and Virgil slap each other around. DiBiase gets a tag and he’s reluctant to come in against Virgil. Virgil gives DiBiase the 10-turnbuckle treatment but gets caught in a powerslam, and Virgil rightly becomes jobber fodder for a bit. The faces get retribution for Davey Boy’s elimination when Bret comes off the top and clubs Warlord while he has Virgil in a full nelson, leading to Warlord’s elimination. Piper rolls up DiBiase but Mountie breaks the pin up with a terrible kick to the calf, what the hell was that? Piper wrestles DiBiase up in a nice suplex. Virgil slaps the Million Dollar Dream on DiBiase, who gets out of it by sending Virgil head-first into the turnbuckle. The heels take turns beating up on Virgil, who eventually hits a neckbreaker on DiBiase. Piper gets the hot tag and he and Flair resume their battle. Eventually all six wrestlers wind up in the ring, paired up in their respective feuds, and everyone except Flair is DQ’d, which is laughable. This wasn’t a classic but it was entertaining enough. I’ll give it 3 stars.

TUESDAY IN TEXAS (1991)
Location: Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio
* Nothing to see here! This PPV had a Randy Savage/Jake Roberts match and the continuation of their feud (the stuff with Jake and Miss Elizabeth after the match was far better than the match itself), but none of the matches by themselves are worthy of inclusion here.

And yes, Survivor Series and Tuesday in Texas were the Hulk Hogan/Undertaker title matches, but they both sucked balls and so I didn't include them.

best warrior moment. that's a spot that would go over great even today.

summerslam 91 is the first ppv i ever saw, and as a kid i could've sworn that hart/perfect went at least 45 minutes.

there's a puro wrestler that does almost the same insulting thing. whips opponent to turn buckle and charges like he's going to do a boot to the face or a clothesline but stops and slaps him. i get giddy every time it happens. warrior/macho was a ****ing fantastic match and deserves way more than 3.5 stars but opinions.

This isn't the full match. I don't know if there's a part 2 somewhere out there, but you saw only half of the match. It is in fact a shockingly great match if you watch the whole thing.

The whole show is in spoilers. The Dibiase/Virgil match starts at 53:30.

I had no clue that was a clipped version I had.

OK, the video I had wasn't clipped THAT badly ... I guess the extra 3 minutes of match time might bump it up to a 3 ... I guess I'll be charitable and give it a 3. Still a fun watch. DiBiase sold great in the beginning and Virgil's splat on the floor still made me cringe.

There aren't enough >s in the world.

ROYAL RUMBLE (1992)
Location: Knickerbocker Arena, Albany, N.Y.



New Foundation vs. Orient Express

* This is the opening match. Everyone remembers the 1992 Rumble match, which was Flair’s greatest WWE moment and arguably the greatest Rumble match ever (actually it’s not really all that arguable IMO). But this tag match was pretty solid. Owen was so, so good, so smooth and had more athletic/aerial ability than Bret. The fans ooh and aah as Owen jumps to the top rope, bounces off them with a moonsault to his feet and hip tosses the masked Orient member, then does a hurricanrana. Awesome stuff. Anvil tosses masked dude across the ring a couple times. Tanaka goes for a slam and gets shoved down like he’s nothing. Anvil drops Tanaka with a spinebuster and Owen comes off the second rope with a nice elbow (Macho style, not Bret style) for two. Owen gets whipped to the corner, jumps straight up to the top, backflips over Tanaka, lands on his feet and backdrops Tanaka to the heavens. Awesome. An enziguiri turns Tanaka inside out. Owen and Anvil team up for the Anvil irish-whip shoulderblock in the corner that Bret and Anvil always did. Anvil drops both Orient members with a double clothesline and Owen comes off the top with a double crossbody, getting two. Owen leapfrogs masked dude and hits a spinning leg lariat for two, then a suplex for two. This is fun! Tanaka gets a cheap shot in on Owen, then Fuki rams his cane into Owen’s throat. Owen takes a beating for a while and things slow down a bit. Owen superbly does the chest-first-into-turnbuckle bump Bret originated, ouch. Owen reverses an irish whip but runs right into a side kick, another ouch. Owen gets a nearfall with a crucifix, then takes more punishment, including a nice flying forearm by Tanaka that gets two. Owen makes a tag but the ref is distracted, then Owen gets double-whipped into the corner through Fuji’s cane. I don’t know how effective that was for the crowd but it sounded great on video. Owen’s arm gets worked over for a bit. Owen hits his fantastic belly-to-belly suplex out of nowhere, and masked dude has to break up the pin. Owen takes a double-team clothesline, then gets splashed while draped over the top rope. Owen finally hits a dropkick on both Orient members and makes the long-awaited tag. Anvil comes in a with a sweet slingshot double shoulderblock and cleans house. Anvil whips Owen into a sweet suicide dive to the floor on Tanaka. The Rocket launcher ends a sweet little tag match. This really underscored Owen’s abilities ... I would easily break out this match to show people just how good he was. 3.5 stars for me, and I’d be fine arguing for 3.75.

Royal Rumble (Winner: Ric Flair)
(Go to 1:29:00 on the video. I skipped you past Jack Tunney’s awful crap, thank me now.)

* Before we get to what most people consider the greatest Rumble of all, I will be honest and say that I’ve always felt this Rumble was a little bit (just a little bit) overrated. But then, Rumbles always seem to drag for me ... just too long for my attention span, maybe. It’s the same reason hour-long ironman matches are not my favorites. So it’s probably just me. Davey Boy and DiBiase is a great 1-2 pairing, almost as good as Sherri’s twins. Jesus, I need to go repent. I love Heenan’s advice to go under the ropes and take a walk. Gotta laugh at DiBiase’s cockiness costing him, like Davey’s going to get tossed that easy. Here comes Heenan’s heart attack. Gorilla: “Oh, you can kiss it goodbye, Brain!” ... whoops. Flair gets a great reaction from the crowd. Brain: “I don’t think I can be objective.” Gorilla: “When have you ever been objective!” I miss them both so much. Davey presses Flair repeatedly before slamming him. It’s so fun watching Flair get beat up. Saggs proves his intelligence by talking trash on the apron after staving off elimination, and Davey promptly ends his night with a dropkick. Love Haku getting a stomp in on Davey while stalking after Flair. Haku drills Davey with a sick piledriver, and Flair uses the chance to jump Haku. Davey dumps Haku right before HBK makes his entrance. Aside from Saggs, this has been a star-studded start. HBK sends Flair into the lights with a backdrop, but gets press slammed by Davey, who then clotheslines HBK over the top rope but HBK saves himself and quickly gives Davey (mostly missed) sweet chin music. Awesome sequence. Davey no-sells a Flair chop and chokes Flair down, but Flair low-blows Davey, who sells it great as fans “wooo!” Tito Santana lands his flying forearm on Flair. HBK holds Santana for a Flair chop that’s so nasty, HBK staggers backward. HBK winds up standing on the second turnbuckle for a while, which is kind of silly. Flair and Kerry von Erich take us back to 1984 briefly. HBK sells the discus punch with a discus flop, I approve. Davey slingshots HBK into the corner, then follows it up with a clothesline in a nice sequence. Heenan: “The best way to win this, come to the ring and you carry a wrench, a big crescent wrench!” Hahaha! A couple Flair chops on von Erich draws oohs. Hey, last year Greg Valentine was in the Rumble for 44 minutes and 20 seconds “exactly!” Thanks for that last clarification, Gorilla, really needed when you say the seconds. Flair and Valentine (who always mimicked Flair to a fair degree) keep going at each other and have some nice chop battles. Flair misses a kneedrop and Valentine puts him in the figure four (the official count of finishers Flair has taken is up to two, as I believe Santana’s finisher was the flying forearm). HBK sells a Boss Man uppercut superbly. Love Repo Man’s reaction after getting dumped by Boss Man. Flair finally dumps Davey, a big elimination considering how long those two went at it. Flair dumps von Erich for good measure. HBK and Santana eliminate each other, leaving Flair, Boss Man and Barbarian as the only three left for a moment ... Barbarian clobbers Boss Man with a nasty kick to the face. Absolutely love Flair high-fiving Barbarian, then chopping him and Barbarian no-selling it and press-slamming Flair. A nice sequence leaves Flair and Boss Man as the only two in the ring, Boss Man hits a clothesline, then Flair ducks a wheel kick (how often do you see one of those?) before hitting a right hand, but Flair dodges a Boss Man dive and he eliminates himself. Heenan hilariously acts like Flair just won the Rumble. Great stuff. Of course, here comes Piper! Flair’s reaction is awesome. Flair takes a couple moves and goes under the ropes to the floor, where Piper follows him and clotheslines him down. Piper no-sells a clothesline across the top rope. Piper no-sells a reverse atomic drop and comically puts two fingers in Flair’s eyes. The whole Flair-Piper sequence is fantastic. Jake Roberts jumps Piper from behind and beats on him a bit, then Flair tries to befriend Jake and gets a short-arm clothesline in return. Jake goes for a DDT on Flair but Piper clotheslines Jake. Heenan: “I never thought I’d say this, but thank you, Roddy! It’s a kilt, not a skirt! It’s a kilt!” Flair slaps Jake in the figure four, then Piper stomps Flair. Heenan: “You no-good creep! You skirt-wearing creep!” Hahaha!!! Gorilla starts putting Flair over for lasting as long as he has and taking the fight to people. Anytime Piper and Flair get a hold of each other, it’s magic, and Piper wails on Flair with overhand chops in the corner. Taker gets in and immediately dumps Snuka ... that was really Snuka’s only point in 1991-92, to be Taker’s bitch. Flair goes after Taker and Heenan goes nuts. Savage bolts from the entrance and flies down the ring hunting Jake, but Taker derails it. Nice booking here having Jake and Taker out there for Savage’s arrival so this can play out. Savage eventually gets the upper hand on Jake and goes to the top for an axehandle, then dumps him with a running knee. Good stuff, but it would have been better had Savage actually been eliminated by his own leap over the top to get at Jake some more. Taker half no-sells a Flair low blow, now that’s ridiculous. Flair winds up on the apron (Heenan: “Are you nuts?!”) trying to suplex Savage out to the floor, but Savage reverses and brings Flair in. Great little spot with Taker and Piper both choking Flair and Taker using his other hand to choke Piper. After a lull, Hogan finally gets in and goes straight for Taker and Flair. Hogan eliminates Taker with a clothesline, then backdrops Berserker out to wake up the crowd. Virgil and Duggan eliminate each other. Hogan and Flair finally face off, with Hogan no-selling. Flair whips Hogan to the corner, “wooo!”s and gets clotheslined by Hogan, nice spot. Hogan and Piper square off briefly in another mid-80s flashback. IRS has been thrown around with the remnants of Hogan’s shirt about six times now, you think he’d get it off his neck! Flair puts Sid down by his hair and Sid kips up (what?) and clotheslines him. Nice. Flair winds up outside, drags Hogan out and tries to suplex him but Hogan reverses and Flair goes splat. Slaughter does a great sell job eliminating himself after a Sid whip to the corner. Piper turns the tables on IRS by using his tie to eliminate him. At this point Hogan, Flair, Savage, Piper and Sid are the real title candidates and I remember rooting for Piper back then, I wanted him to have both belts in one night. Sid dumps both Martel and Piper, and I’m a sad boy. It’s Hulk, Flair, Sid and Savage left. A running high knee by Flair gets rid of Savage. Flair goes after Hogan again and Hogan no-sells again. Sid comes from behind and dumps Hogan as the crowd reacts in shock. Hogan then grabs Sid’s arm and assists in his elimination as Flair emerges victorious. Great, great Rumble, definitely not overrated. The first eight or so guys and the opening 20 minutes are awesome. It did have a couple stretches where it drags a bit but other sequences (like Flair/Piper) really help. I’m gonna give it 4.25 stars.

The masked Orient Express guy wore a mask because he was, and probably still is, white. He would go on to become Max Moon later on.

Yeah, Kato was Paul Diamond. He and Tanaka also teamed in the AWA and Memphis as Badd Company.

WRESTLEMANIA VIII (1992)
Location: Hoosier Dome, Indianapolis

IC Title: Roddy Piper © vs. Bret Hart



* There are a lot of things I love about the storytelling in this match, with both guys doing some questionable stuff for babyfaces and Piper strongly teasing a heel turn. The promo before the match is pretty good, too (with Piper carrying it, which isn't shocking given Bret was pretty weak on the mic at this point) ... they didn't do face-to-face promos like that too often. So, yeah, this match has a lot going for it. Bret wrote in his book that he had trouble not laughing during the staredown because Piper and him were such good friends. It quickly gets heated when Bret sends Piper to the floor to get out of a waistlock, and Piper comes back in and spits on Bret. Nice sequence where Piper does everything he can to get out of an arm ringer and eventually winds up on the mat in a hammerlock. Bret hits a dropkick, then plays possum with a hurt shoulder and rolls Piper up for two. Heenan absolutely nails the timing with his "He's gold-bricking!" comments. Piper then slaps the taste right out of Bret's mouth. Great storytelling. They slightly botch a crossbody-over-the-top-rope spot and Piper has to lift Bret to complete the move. Piper holds the ropes for Bret to get back in, then tells him to tie his boot before sucker-punching him. Awesome. Bret does a blade job from the sucker punch. Piper does a bulldog for two (that doesn't sound right). Bret does a sunset flip for two. A series of punches gets Piper a two. Bret lands a forearm to send Piper to the floor. Piper climbs back in and they both go down from a double clothesline. Piper goes to the top and Bret pops up and sends Piper face first to the mat. An inverted atomic drop and a suplex gets two. Bret goes into his standard late-match sequence with a russian leg sweep and a backbreaker, but Piper blocks the sharpshooter. Bret goes for his second-rope elbow and legit eats a boot to the face, ouch. Heenan: "I knew it was going to be good, I didn't think it'd be this good, this is a hell of a match!" High praise. They slug it out from their knees before Piper shoves Bret into the ref. Piper clotheslines Bret to the outside. Bret eats the steps. Piper teases smashing Bret with the ring bell and eventually his conscience causes him to drop it. Piper then ducks a punch and applies the sleeper, but Bret uses the turnbuckle to push off and fall back into a pinning position for the three. Piper straps the IC belt on Bret to "pass the torch" and end a great match. I think the action warrants 3.5 or 3.75 stars but the storytelling bumps it to a 4.

WWE Title: Ric Flair © vs. Randy Savage



* Flair cuts his usual great promo before the match. The champ's out first, LKJ! Savage runs down and Flair gets out of dodge. Flair tries to head to the locker room and Savage goes and gets him. Perfect then ambushes Savage. Back in the ring Savage clotheslines Flair and gives him a high knee. Savage no-sells a reverse atomic drop and clotheslines Flair down again. Flair backdrops Savage to the floor, great spot. Flair hits a delayed vertical suplex for two. A back suplex gets two. Savage gets whipped to both corners and Flair pounds on him before dropping a knee. Savage sells a punch on the floor fantastic, holding his mouth. Savage sold his beating well here. Flair brings him in with another delayed suplex for two. Savage responds to a couple chops in the corner with punches to start a rally, and hits a swinging neckbreaker. Flair goes to the top, and you know what's next ... Savage dumps him. Flair takes a backdrop and two clotheslines. Flair does his corner flip, runs over, comes off the opposite corner and eats an uppercut for two. Savage clothesline Flair over the top (there's a classic photo of that spot). Savage drops an axehandle from the top to the floor and Flair blades (he got in big trouble for it). Savage suplexes Flair on the outside. A flying axehandle gets two. Savage sets up for his elbow and nails it, but Perfect drags Savage to the outside. Savage grabs Perfect but Perfect gets brass knucks to Flair and he drills Savage before passing the knucks back to Perfect. But Savage kicks out at two. Perfect drills Savage in the knee with a chair as Flair distracts the ref. Elizabeth makes her way down despite officials trying to keep her away. Flair works over Savage's knee and applies the figure four. Flair slaps Savage around while he's in the hold, that's brutal. Savage reverses the hold after Perfect is kicked away by the ref. Savage hits a small package for two only (I thought that was it, it's been awhile since I've seen this). Flair to Liz: "It's for you, baby!" as he pummels Savage. Savage rolls him up and uses the tights for the three and the win. Great pop from the crowd. Flair kisses Liz, who pummels Flair afterward before Savage jumps in. Fantastic match, on the whole a little better than Piper/Hart ... 4.25 stars seems about right to me.

UK RAMPAGE 1992
Location: Sheffield (England) Arena



Note: I’m throwing this Coliseum Video event in as a bonus, even though it wasn’t technically a PPV. Mainly because of the WWE title match ...

WWE Title: Randy Savage © vs. Shawn Michaels
(Go to 39:00 on video)

* How cool is it that these two had a WWE Title match? I had no idea. It didn’t get great ratings (about 3.25 stars) mainly because HBK was still learning his craft as a singles star. HBK skins the cat but gets clotheslined back out, and Savage nails a double axehandle to the floor. Sherri goes after Elizabeth, bringing Savage to her aid (and he tells her to go to the back), and HBK takes advantage to get the best of Savage. Sherri does a great mock of Macho while HBK beats on him. HBK hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker but Macho gets his feet on the rope. You can see HBK isn't quite there yet, there's some hesitation and uncertainty about what to do at times. This was obviously a huge match for him, maybe his first title match. A spinning neckbreaker gets two. Savage slingshots HBK into the post for two. Savage sends HBK to the floor with a running knee to the back, and hits another flying axehandle. before HBK oversells running into the post. Another flying axehandle gets two. HBK catches him coming off with another one. HBK lands on his feet to counter a hip toss and clotheslines Savage, that was sweet. HBK hits sweet chin music for two (obviously it wasn't his finisher yet). HBK slams Savage and goes up top for a fist drop, after which Savage rolls outside. Savage sells a post bump amazingly well. Sherri gets involved and is less freaky than the woman in the front row. Savage collides with the ref, which prevents the count when Savage hits his elbow. A minute later he gets two. Liz comes down and dumps Sherri. Savage hits a flying crossbody but only gets two. Liz dumps Sherri again. HBK hits a sunset flip from the top for two but runs into an elbow. Savage leapfrogs HBK and runs to the other corner, where a twisting crossbody finally gets the three. That was fun! Really picked up at the end. I think this was a solid 3.5 and it's matches like this one (which I had no clue happened) that were the reason I wanted to do this thread.

5 — IC Title, Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat, Wrestlemania III (1987)
4.5 — IC Title, Mr. Perfect vs. Bret Hart, Summerslam 1991
4.25 — The Royal Rumble (1992)
4.25 — WWE Title: Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage, Wrestlemania VIII (1992)
4 — WWE Title, Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior, Wrestlemania VI (1990)
4 — Retirement Match: Ultimate Warrior vs. Randy Savage, Wrestlemania VII (1991)
4 — IC Title: Roddy Piper vs. Bret Hart, Wrestlemania VIII (1992)
4 — Brain Busters vs. Hart Foundation, Summerslam 1989
4 — Rockers vs. Orient Express, Royal Rumble 1991
3.75 — IC Title, Rick Rude vs. Ultimate Warrior, Summerslam 1989
3.75 — Tag Team Survivor Match: Demolition, Brain Busters, Bolsheviks, Rougeau Brothers & Los Conquistadores vs. Powers of Pain, Rockers, British Bulldogs, Hart Foundation & Young Stallions, Survivor Series 1988
3.5 — WWE Title, Randy Savage vs. Hulk Hogan, Wrestlemania V (1989)
3.5 — WWE Title: Randy Savage vs. Shawn Michaels, UK Rampage 1992
3.5 — The New Foundation vs. The Orient Express, Royal Rumble 1992
3.5 — Tag Team Survivor Match: Demolition, The Islanders, The Hart Foundation, The New Dream Team & The Bolsheviks vs. Strike Force, The Rougeau Brothers, The British Bulldogs, The Young Stallions & The Killer Bees, Survivor Series 1987
3.5 — Rockers & Tito Santana vs The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers & Rick Martel, Summerslam 1989
3.5 — Rockers vs. Haku/Barbarian, Wrestlemania VII (1991)
3.25 — WWE Tag Titles, Demolition vs. Hart Foundation, Summerslam 1988
3.25 — The British Bulldogs vs. The Rougeau Brothers, Summerslam 1988
3 — IC Title, Ultimate Warrior vs. Rick Rude, Wrestlemania V (1989)
3 — WWE Tag Titles, Dream Team vs. British Bulldogs, Wrestlemania 2 (1986)
3 — Elimination Match: Ric Flair, Ted DiBiase, The Mountie & The Warlord vs. Roddy Piper, Bret Hart, British Bulldog & Virgil, Survivor Series 1991
3 — Million Dollar Title: Ted DiBiase vs. Virgil, Summerslam 1991
3 — Best 2 of 3 Falls: Dino Bravo & The Rougeau Brothers vs. Jim Duggan & The Hart Foundation, Royal Rumble 1989
3 — Mr. Perfect vs. Blue Blazer (Owen Hart), Wrestlemania V (1989)
3 — King Haku vs. Harley Race, Royal Rumble 1989
3 — The Royal Rumble (1990)
2.75 — Snake Pit Match: Jake Roberts vs. Ricky Steamboat, The Big Event (1986)
2.5 — WWE Tag Titles: Hart Foundation vs. Nasty Boys, Wrestlemania VII (1991)
2.5 — Big Boss Man vs. Barbarian, Royal Rumble 1991
2.5 — WWE Title Tournament, first round, Greg Valentine vs. Ricky Steamboat, Wrestlemania IV (1988)
2.5 — The Royal Rumble (1989)
2.5 — WWE Tag Titles, best-of-3 falls: Demolition vs. Hart Foundation, Summerslam 1990
2 — WWE Title Tournament, final, Ted DiBiase vs. Randy Savage, Wrestlemania IV (1988)
2 — WWE Title, Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant, Wrestlemania 3 (1987)
2 — WWE Title, Hulk Hogan vs. Paul Orndorff, The Big Event (1986)
2 — WWE Title Tournament, Greg Valentine vs. Randy Savage, Wrestlemania IV (1988)
2 — Elimination Match: Dusty Rhodes, Koko B. Ware & Hart Foundation vs. Ted DiBiase, Honky Tonk Man, Greg Valentine and Mystery Partner (Undertaker), Survivor Series 1990
1.5 — Submission Match: Greg Valentine vs. Ronnie Garvin, Royal Rumble 1990

I enjoy the fact that Bret bladed subtly enough to pass it off as hardway while Flair got bitched out by Vince for blading so obviously. He wrote about that in his book.

Yep. Nice undertitle, BTW.

I kinda disagree. I was never enamored with his ring work in UWF/Mid-South and that was a company that had some serious workers in it. Obviously he owned at in-ring psychology and was a wordsmith on the mic, but I don't think he's *that* underrated as a worker.

It's just a theory of mine, but I've generally noticed that Vince treats wrestlers from wrestling families pretty well. That may not have been the sole reason for him doing Tully and Arn solid, but I don't think it's too absurd to think that he at least showed them a good amount of respect because Tully is/was Joe Blanchard's son.


This is the kind of match that needs to be done in Japan or at least with guys who can do some sort of worked shoot. I've always been a Valentine fan, but this match definitely wasn't representative of his his working ability.


Great stuff so far Dan. If possible, when you're done with this, could you do a best of the 80s thread?

When I'm done with this, it'll be 2042 and Antichrist will be desecrating the temple.