Curt Hennig Tribute Thread
04-20-2014
, 02:37 PM
Royal Rumble '90 - Rumble Match
Date: January 21, 1990
Link: N/A
Background: The Rumble didn't yet award a WrestleMania title shot, and for the first few years it was basically just an exhibition to put someone over. I believe that 1991 is when they started awarding a title shot for winning. Mr. Perfect came into this match with Hulk Hogan still as his primary feud, but earlier in the night he and The Genius had obliterated Brutus Beefcake, which was probably a bad sign and an indication that Perfect was going to go back down the ladder to feud with Hogan's buddy instead of Hogan himself.
The Match: Mr. Perfect drew #30 here, so obviously he enters things as late as possible. Most of the field is already gone by this point, and we end up with a final three of Perfect, Hogan, and Rick Rude. Perfect and Rude, teammates at Survivor Series and brothers in heeldom, team up to double-team Hogan.
Hogan of course ducks out of the way, which causes Rude to knock Perfect through the middle rope to the apron. Hogan pounds on Rude, then sends him toward those same ropes. Perfect, trying to get up, inadvertently holds down the ropes as Rude gets there and Rude goes flying over them to the outside. We're down to Perfect vs. Hogan.
Hogan has control of Perfect until he drops his head and Perfect stops short and kicks him. Perfect then executes the Perfectplex, but obviously there are no pins so he releases quickly and then gets up to see that he has caused hulk-up mode to activate. Hogan catapults Perfect into the ringpost, and from there it's academic; Hogan gets the running start and pitches Hennig out over the top.
As legend would have it, Mr. Perfect was booked to win here before one of Hogan's infamous political power plays occurred, and instead Perfect had to go under and the reigning WWF Champion wins this match for absolutely no reason. That's annoying. I mean there's no way for us to really know if these things happened, but it's quite difficult for me to imagine that so many people would accuse Hogan of these things over the years if there wasn't some truth to it.
Result: Hulk Hogan via alleged backstage shenanigans (58:46)
Rating: N/A, I don't rate these.
Date: January 21, 1990
Link: N/A
Background: The Rumble didn't yet award a WrestleMania title shot, and for the first few years it was basically just an exhibition to put someone over. I believe that 1991 is when they started awarding a title shot for winning. Mr. Perfect came into this match with Hulk Hogan still as his primary feud, but earlier in the night he and The Genius had obliterated Brutus Beefcake, which was probably a bad sign and an indication that Perfect was going to go back down the ladder to feud with Hogan's buddy instead of Hogan himself.
The Match: Mr. Perfect drew #30 here, so obviously he enters things as late as possible. Most of the field is already gone by this point, and we end up with a final three of Perfect, Hogan, and Rick Rude. Perfect and Rude, teammates at Survivor Series and brothers in heeldom, team up to double-team Hogan.
Hogan of course ducks out of the way, which causes Rude to knock Perfect through the middle rope to the apron. Hogan pounds on Rude, then sends him toward those same ropes. Perfect, trying to get up, inadvertently holds down the ropes as Rude gets there and Rude goes flying over them to the outside. We're down to Perfect vs. Hogan.
Hogan has control of Perfect until he drops his head and Perfect stops short and kicks him. Perfect then executes the Perfectplex, but obviously there are no pins so he releases quickly and then gets up to see that he has caused hulk-up mode to activate. Hogan catapults Perfect into the ringpost, and from there it's academic; Hogan gets the running start and pitches Hennig out over the top.
As legend would have it, Mr. Perfect was booked to win here before one of Hogan's infamous political power plays occurred, and instead Perfect had to go under and the reigning WWF Champion wins this match for absolutely no reason. That's annoying. I mean there's no way for us to really know if these things happened, but it's quite difficult for me to imagine that so many people would accuse Hogan of these things over the years if there wasn't some truth to it.
Result: Hulk Hogan via alleged backstage shenanigans (58:46)
Rating: N/A, I don't rate these.
04-20-2014
, 06:10 PM
MSG House Show: Intercontinental Championship - Mr. Perfect vs. The Ultimate Warrior
Date: March 19, 1990
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdltZEFMXHc
Also available on the WWE Network in the Old School section of the Vault.
Background: Warrior and Hogan beat Perfect and The Genius a couple of months prior, but otherwise no real history here. They're still pushing Perfect's perfect record as being on the line here, so I guess they were ignoring the tag team result from before (again though, Perfect wasn't the one pinned in that match).
The Match: Warrior runs in and attacks Perfect before he ever gets his IC Title belt off. He knocks him out of the ring, shrugs off the belt, and here we go. Perfect can't really get his bearings down early; Warrior runs some hard-hitting power offense and Hennig bumps like crazy for him to make him look like a million bucks. And just as I type that, Warrior delivers a chop that Perfect absolutely explodes out of. Awesome selling job.
Warrior seems to go for the kill shot too early and goes for the running splash, but Perfect gets the knees up. The pace finally slows from there, and Perfect runs his methodical offense. Great standing dropkick gets two. He cinches in a chinlock and then a camel clutch at this point as a wear-down hold.
This goes on until the referee does the "raise his arm three times" thing, and the Warrior keeps his arm up on the third drop. He picks up energy from there, shakes the ropes, and starts delivering clotheslines. He follows with the flying shoulderblock, then the gorilla press and the splash to get the kicks-out-a-split-second-too-late pinfall.
Result: Ultimate Warrior via pinfall (10:05)
Rating: Thought this was a good match, Hennig was really on his game and busting his ass to carry things, he put Warrior over really well to lead into Warrior's main event against Hogan at WrestleMania VI. 3.25 stars out of 5.
Date: March 19, 1990
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdltZEFMXHc
Also available on the WWE Network in the Old School section of the Vault.
Background: Warrior and Hogan beat Perfect and The Genius a couple of months prior, but otherwise no real history here. They're still pushing Perfect's perfect record as being on the line here, so I guess they were ignoring the tag team result from before (again though, Perfect wasn't the one pinned in that match).
The Match: Warrior runs in and attacks Perfect before he ever gets his IC Title belt off. He knocks him out of the ring, shrugs off the belt, and here we go. Perfect can't really get his bearings down early; Warrior runs some hard-hitting power offense and Hennig bumps like crazy for him to make him look like a million bucks. And just as I type that, Warrior delivers a chop that Perfect absolutely explodes out of. Awesome selling job.
Warrior seems to go for the kill shot too early and goes for the running splash, but Perfect gets the knees up. The pace finally slows from there, and Perfect runs his methodical offense. Great standing dropkick gets two. He cinches in a chinlock and then a camel clutch at this point as a wear-down hold.
This goes on until the referee does the "raise his arm three times" thing, and the Warrior keeps his arm up on the third drop. He picks up energy from there, shakes the ropes, and starts delivering clotheslines. He follows with the flying shoulderblock, then the gorilla press and the splash to get the kicks-out-a-split-second-too-late pinfall.
Result: Ultimate Warrior via pinfall (10:05)
Rating: Thought this was a good match, Hennig was really on his game and busting his ass to carry things, he put Warrior over really well to lead into Warrior's main event against Hogan at WrestleMania VI. 3.25 stars out of 5.
04-20-2014
, 06:48 PM
WrestleMania VI: Mr. Perfect vs. Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake
Date: April 1, 1990
Link: N/A
Background: Perfect and The Genius beat down Brutus at the Royal Rumble. That's the only build that I know about for this match.
The Match: Brutus gives a promo beforehand about breaking up Mr. Perfect's perfect record. Okay, I guess the MSG house show wasn't canon then? Obviously there was TV footage of it (as evidenced by the fact that I watched it and it had commentary and everything), but maybe it hadn't aired yet? I don't know.
Jesse: "You know how I can't miss in Hollywood, Gorilla?"
Gorilla: "How?"
Jesse: "I've got Paul Newman's eyes, I've got Kirk Douglas's chin, and Robert Duvall's haircut. How could I lose?"
Gorilla: "And what do you have of your own, Jess?"
<awkward pause>
Jesse: "And here comes Brutus."
Perfect tries to jump Brutus at the bell, Brutus somewhat cuts him off, but the two trade blows until Brutus finally gets the better of it with a punch that knocks Perfect over the top rope. Brutus drags him back in, gets his Irish whip reversed, but then Perfect lowers his head and Brutus kicks him before knocking him back to the outside.
Perfect carries over his good work from the Warrior match here, as he's really bumping his ass off to make a limited worker look awesome. Genius finally turns the tide by jumping up on the apron to distract Brutus, and when the referee comes to attend to him, he slips his scroll to Perfect, who knocks Brutus silly with it. It's not an endgame spot, but the match that Brutus was controlling now belongs to Mr. P.
As Brutus is on his knees, seemingly just trying to get to his feet, Perfect slaps away at him and tries to humiliate him. Suddenly as Brutus gets his footing, he executes a double-leg takedown, catapults Mr. Perfect all the way into the post, and this knocks Perfect out cold. Brutus covers and gets the 1-2-3.
Okay, NOW Perfect has officially been pinned in a match that counts. It was good to go ahead and get that "perfect record" stuff out of the way. Undefeated streaks that the announcers acknowledge are usually dumb.
After the match, Beefcake slaps the sleeper on The Genius and cuts his hair.
Result: Brutus Beefcake via pinfall (7:48)
Rating: I enjoyed it, thought it was pretty solid. Perfect really did good work here and Beefcake was solid too by Beefcake standards. 2.5 stars out of 5.
Date: April 1, 1990
Link: N/A
Background: Perfect and The Genius beat down Brutus at the Royal Rumble. That's the only build that I know about for this match.
The Match: Brutus gives a promo beforehand about breaking up Mr. Perfect's perfect record. Okay, I guess the MSG house show wasn't canon then? Obviously there was TV footage of it (as evidenced by the fact that I watched it and it had commentary and everything), but maybe it hadn't aired yet? I don't know.
Jesse: "You know how I can't miss in Hollywood, Gorilla?"
Gorilla: "How?"
Jesse: "I've got Paul Newman's eyes, I've got Kirk Douglas's chin, and Robert Duvall's haircut. How could I lose?"
Gorilla: "And what do you have of your own, Jess?"
<awkward pause>
Jesse: "And here comes Brutus."
Perfect tries to jump Brutus at the bell, Brutus somewhat cuts him off, but the two trade blows until Brutus finally gets the better of it with a punch that knocks Perfect over the top rope. Brutus drags him back in, gets his Irish whip reversed, but then Perfect lowers his head and Brutus kicks him before knocking him back to the outside.
Perfect carries over his good work from the Warrior match here, as he's really bumping his ass off to make a limited worker look awesome. Genius finally turns the tide by jumping up on the apron to distract Brutus, and when the referee comes to attend to him, he slips his scroll to Perfect, who knocks Brutus silly with it. It's not an endgame spot, but the match that Brutus was controlling now belongs to Mr. P.
As Brutus is on his knees, seemingly just trying to get to his feet, Perfect slaps away at him and tries to humiliate him. Suddenly as Brutus gets his footing, he executes a double-leg takedown, catapults Mr. Perfect all the way into the post, and this knocks Perfect out cold. Brutus covers and gets the 1-2-3.
Okay, NOW Perfect has officially been pinned in a match that counts. It was good to go ahead and get that "perfect record" stuff out of the way. Undefeated streaks that the announcers acknowledge are usually dumb.
After the match, Beefcake slaps the sleeper on The Genius and cuts his hair.
Result: Brutus Beefcake via pinfall (7:48)
Rating: I enjoyed it, thought it was pretty solid. Perfect really did good work here and Beefcake was solid too by Beefcake standards. 2.5 stars out of 5.
04-20-2014
, 07:19 PM
WWF Superstars: Intercontinental Title Tournament Quarterfinal - Mr. Perfect vs. "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka
Date: May 5, 1990
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1SucBwLkDs
Background: The Ultimate Warrior was the IC Champ, and had won the WWF Title at WrestleMania, so he was forced to vacate the IC Title. It was put up in this tournament, and the winner would be the new champion:
The Match: Snuka starts quickly and clears Perfect out of the ring. He remains aggressive and pulls him back in, executing multiple bodyslams. Perfect boots him off and kips up, but then Snuka does likewise. Series of pinfall attempts occurs, where Hennig runs Snuka into the ropes and rolls him up in a cradle pinning attempt that only gets two. Snuka gets on top and attempts a pin, only gets two himself. Snuka hops off the second turnbuckle for a bodypress, Hennig rolls through and has a handful of tights but still can only get two.
Perfect slams Snuka into the turnbuckle, we do the "I'm from an island, you can't hurt my head" stupidity, and Perfect bails out of the ring. He gets Snuka to chase him around the outside, heads back in, and stays on his knees and begs for mercy. It seems like a trap, but Snuka attacks and there's no counter.
Snuka chops Perfect hard against the corner, but after getting pushed back by referee Joey Marella he charges back in, Perfect takes him down with a double-leg and then executes a pinning attempt with his feet up on the ropes for the three-count. Marella investigates the rope cheating, but Perfect just denies and the decision is going to stand.
Result: Mr. Perfect via pinfall (3:45)
Rating: Really short match. Not terrible or anything, the near-falls were sort of interesting, but I guess I don't know why you can't give these guys at least 7-8 minutes. 1.25 stars out of 5.
Date: May 5, 1990
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1SucBwLkDs
Background: The Ultimate Warrior was the IC Champ, and had won the WWF Title at WrestleMania, so he was forced to vacate the IC Title. It was put up in this tournament, and the winner would be the new champion:
The Match: Snuka starts quickly and clears Perfect out of the ring. He remains aggressive and pulls him back in, executing multiple bodyslams. Perfect boots him off and kips up, but then Snuka does likewise. Series of pinfall attempts occurs, where Hennig runs Snuka into the ropes and rolls him up in a cradle pinning attempt that only gets two. Snuka gets on top and attempts a pin, only gets two himself. Snuka hops off the second turnbuckle for a bodypress, Hennig rolls through and has a handful of tights but still can only get two.
Perfect slams Snuka into the turnbuckle, we do the "I'm from an island, you can't hurt my head" stupidity, and Perfect bails out of the ring. He gets Snuka to chase him around the outside, heads back in, and stays on his knees and begs for mercy. It seems like a trap, but Snuka attacks and there's no counter.
Snuka chops Perfect hard against the corner, but after getting pushed back by referee Joey Marella he charges back in, Perfect takes him down with a double-leg and then executes a pinning attempt with his feet up on the ropes for the three-count. Marella investigates the rope cheating, but Perfect just denies and the decision is going to stand.
Result: Mr. Perfect via pinfall (3:45)
Rating: Really short match. Not terrible or anything, the near-falls were sort of interesting, but I guess I don't know why you can't give these guys at least 7-8 minutes. 1.25 stars out of 5.
04-20-2014
, 08:24 PM
WWF Superstars: Intercontinental Title Tournament Final - Mr. Perfect vs. Tito Santana
Date: May 19, 1990
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1bsAeyj8QA
Background: Perfect beat Snuka, Santana beat Akeem, both received byes through the semifinals, and here we are. Again, the title was initially vacated because the Ultimate Warrior won the WWF Title.
The Match: Vince and Jesse on the call.
Vince: "…and Santana the favorite here."
Jesse: "Wat"
Vince: "Yes."Jesse: "What bookie you talking to?"Vince: "I think there's no mistake that Santana is the odds-on favorite to win this matchup. It's close, but Santana has the edge."
Jesse: "You and I come from opposite sides of the street."
Perfect goes behind Tito with a waistlock; Tito elbows him off. Perfect hits a drop toehold as Santana comes off the ropes, and then there's a very nice chain wrestling sequence with quick holds and reversals between the two. After that, Tito unleashes some kicks and punches, then dropkicks Perfect to the outside. He follows him out, brawls a bit, sends him back in. Nice pace to the match so far.
Tito off the ropes, is going to run past Perfect (who is laying on his stomach), and Perfect gets up just enough to trip Santana to the outside of the ring. Perfect follows him out, chops him, takes the fight to him before sending him back in. After he clotheslines Santana to the outside once more, Santana pulls his legs, drags him to the corner, and pulls him into the post. Man Perfect's crotch took a beating in ~all of his matches. There must be some way that he protected himself that I can't really see. (I'll withhold any jokes about the side effects of roid use.)
Tito back in, looks to lock in the figure-four, and suddenly Bobby Heenan shows up at ringside. This distracts Tito, and Perfect comes out of nowhere with a small package…only a two-count. Was a somewhat believable false finish. Tito bodyslams Perfect, then signals like he's going to hit the flying forearm, but Heenan jumps up to the apron to distract Santana again. Tito jaws at him, then returns to hammering away at Mr. Perfect before being wrapped up in a small package. This time it's 1-2-3, new Intercontinental Champion. Mr. Perfect wins his first gold in the WWF.
Perfect grabs the mic and introduces Bobby Heenan as his new manager, "the perfect manager." Jesse laughs and says, "Bobby's got the gold again, McMahon!" as Vince expresses his disgust.
Result: "…and NEW Intercontinental Champion," Mr. Perfect via pinfall (7:01)
Rating: This was a well-worked match with good pace, I definitely enjoyed. Sort of an abrupt ending that keeps me from rating it higher. 3 stars out of 5.
And just to get a good media shot for posterity...
Date: May 19, 1990
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1bsAeyj8QA
Background: Perfect beat Snuka, Santana beat Akeem, both received byes through the semifinals, and here we are. Again, the title was initially vacated because the Ultimate Warrior won the WWF Title.
The Match: Vince and Jesse on the call.
Vince: "…and Santana the favorite here."
Jesse: "Wat"
Vince: "Yes."Jesse: "What bookie you talking to?"Vince: "I think there's no mistake that Santana is the odds-on favorite to win this matchup. It's close, but Santana has the edge."
Jesse: "You and I come from opposite sides of the street."
Perfect goes behind Tito with a waistlock; Tito elbows him off. Perfect hits a drop toehold as Santana comes off the ropes, and then there's a very nice chain wrestling sequence with quick holds and reversals between the two. After that, Tito unleashes some kicks and punches, then dropkicks Perfect to the outside. He follows him out, brawls a bit, sends him back in. Nice pace to the match so far.
Tito off the ropes, is going to run past Perfect (who is laying on his stomach), and Perfect gets up just enough to trip Santana to the outside of the ring. Perfect follows him out, chops him, takes the fight to him before sending him back in. After he clotheslines Santana to the outside once more, Santana pulls his legs, drags him to the corner, and pulls him into the post. Man Perfect's crotch took a beating in ~all of his matches. There must be some way that he protected himself that I can't really see. (I'll withhold any jokes about the side effects of roid use.)
Tito back in, looks to lock in the figure-four, and suddenly Bobby Heenan shows up at ringside. This distracts Tito, and Perfect comes out of nowhere with a small package…only a two-count. Was a somewhat believable false finish. Tito bodyslams Perfect, then signals like he's going to hit the flying forearm, but Heenan jumps up to the apron to distract Santana again. Tito jaws at him, then returns to hammering away at Mr. Perfect before being wrapped up in a small package. This time it's 1-2-3, new Intercontinental Champion. Mr. Perfect wins his first gold in the WWF.
Perfect grabs the mic and introduces Bobby Heenan as his new manager, "the perfect manager." Jesse laughs and says, "Bobby's got the gold again, McMahon!" as Vince expresses his disgust.
Result: "…and NEW Intercontinental Champion," Mr. Perfect via pinfall (7:01)
Rating: This was a well-worked match with good pace, I definitely enjoyed. Sort of an abrupt ending that keeps me from rating it higher. 3 stars out of 5.
And just to get a good media shot for posterity...
Last edited by LKJ; 04-20-2014 at 08:29 PM.
04-20-2014
, 09:07 PM
Saturday Night's Main Event XXVII: Intercontinental Title - Mr. Perfect (c) vs. Tito Santana
Date: July 28, 1990
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6qOkrlatoE#t=41m59s
Background: Mr. Perfect beat Tito Santana in the IC Title Tournament finals. Here's the rematch.
The Match: Perfect cuts a fierce backstage promo on Tito before the match, then heads to the ring.
Tito lights Perfect up to start with a series of punches, then dropkicks him to the outside to a huge pop. Crowd seems hot. Perfect regroups a bit, then rejoins the match and does a bit better, getting an advantage and then connecting on that standing dropkick that I can never get enough of.
Perfect with a chinlock, Santana starts to fade but then grabs Perfect's hair and then uses his other fist to cold-cock Perfect in the face and stun him. Mr. P recovers and chops him into the corner. Sends him into the opposite corner, but charges into a boot to the face. Santana comes charging out after that with a strong clothesline that Perfect sells with a flip.
Ref bump as Tito winds up with a punch and knocks him into Earl Hebner, taking Hebner's knee out. Hebner is out as Tito places Hennig in the figure-four leglock. Tapping out wasn't a thing back then, but presumably Perfect was trying to submit if there had been a referee there.
Tito finally gets up to revive the official, then hits Perfect with the flying forearm. The hobbled Hebner slowly makes his way over…1, 2, and no. Good false finish, especially in an era where finisher kickouts didn't happen constantly.
Tito up to the second rope, flying clothesline off the second rope. Hebner still struggling, but he makes his way over to count and can only get to two. This is awesome. A new official runs down to the ring and subs himself in for the injured Hebner. Perfect misses a clothesline as Tito comes off the ropes, Tito bounces off the opposite ropes and comes with a cross-body for another pinning attempt. Still only two.
Perfect finally gets off of defense for a moment and hits the snapmare/neck snap. He comes to the side and Heenan offers him a towel to dry off a bit. Big heat from the crowd. Perfect and Tito exchange right hands, coming out about even, but Perfect breaks the stalemate with a crescent kick to the face, followed by twisting Santana's neck.
Santana reverses and once again takes back over. Sends him into the post and crotches him. Hits a reverse atomic drop. Hits a regular atomic drop. The regular atomic drop sends Perfect flying into the turnbuckle, and he bounces back off into Santana's hard clothesline, which turns him inside out. Pin, 1, 2…no. So many good false finishes.
Perfect into the ropes, catches Tito and positions him for a Perfectplex. Tito reverses and catches him in a small package. Only two, then Perfect reverses the leverage and gets Tito into his own small package, and gets the three count.
Result: Mr. Perfect via pinfall (10:11)
Rating: Truly sick match, Hennig's finest in the WWF to this point without much question. Both wrestlers just absolutely killed it. 4.25 stars out of 5.
Date: July 28, 1990
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6qOkrlatoE#t=41m59s
Background: Mr. Perfect beat Tito Santana in the IC Title Tournament finals. Here's the rematch.
The Match: Perfect cuts a fierce backstage promo on Tito before the match, then heads to the ring.
Tito lights Perfect up to start with a series of punches, then dropkicks him to the outside to a huge pop. Crowd seems hot. Perfect regroups a bit, then rejoins the match and does a bit better, getting an advantage and then connecting on that standing dropkick that I can never get enough of.
Perfect with a chinlock, Santana starts to fade but then grabs Perfect's hair and then uses his other fist to cold-cock Perfect in the face and stun him. Mr. P recovers and chops him into the corner. Sends him into the opposite corner, but charges into a boot to the face. Santana comes charging out after that with a strong clothesline that Perfect sells with a flip.
Ref bump as Tito winds up with a punch and knocks him into Earl Hebner, taking Hebner's knee out. Hebner is out as Tito places Hennig in the figure-four leglock. Tapping out wasn't a thing back then, but presumably Perfect was trying to submit if there had been a referee there.
Tito finally gets up to revive the official, then hits Perfect with the flying forearm. The hobbled Hebner slowly makes his way over…1, 2, and no. Good false finish, especially in an era where finisher kickouts didn't happen constantly.
Tito up to the second rope, flying clothesline off the second rope. Hebner still struggling, but he makes his way over to count and can only get to two. This is awesome. A new official runs down to the ring and subs himself in for the injured Hebner. Perfect misses a clothesline as Tito comes off the ropes, Tito bounces off the opposite ropes and comes with a cross-body for another pinning attempt. Still only two.
Perfect finally gets off of defense for a moment and hits the snapmare/neck snap. He comes to the side and Heenan offers him a towel to dry off a bit. Big heat from the crowd. Perfect and Tito exchange right hands, coming out about even, but Perfect breaks the stalemate with a crescent kick to the face, followed by twisting Santana's neck.
Santana reverses and once again takes back over. Sends him into the post and crotches him. Hits a reverse atomic drop. Hits a regular atomic drop. The regular atomic drop sends Perfect flying into the turnbuckle, and he bounces back off into Santana's hard clothesline, which turns him inside out. Pin, 1, 2…no. So many good false finishes.
Perfect into the ropes, catches Tito and positions him for a Perfectplex. Tito reverses and catches him in a small package. Only two, then Perfect reverses the leverage and gets Tito into his own small package, and gets the three count.
Result: Mr. Perfect via pinfall (10:11)
Rating: Truly sick match, Hennig's finest in the WWF to this point without much question. Both wrestlers just absolutely killed it. 4.25 stars out of 5.
04-20-2014
, 09:34 PM
SummerSlam '90: Intercontinental Title - Mr. Perfect (c) vs. Texas Tornado
Date: August 27, 1990
Link: N/A
Background: This was going to be Brutus Beefcake getting the title shot, but he suffered that awful parasailing accident, so the newly-debuted and not-yet-over Kerry Von Erich challenged Perfect on Superstars and received a title match right away.
The Match: Perfect and Heenan cut an overconfident promo backstage, declaring the Tornado to not be a legitimate challenger to the belt. Obviously that was a pretty strong foreshadow even if their promo was absolutely spot on.
The champ heads to the ring first, which is a fitting way to kick off this whole fiasco. Von Erich mumbles his way through an unintelligible promo and heads to the ring as well.
Perfect and the Tornado have a staredown, and then we're off. Tornado knocks Hennig out early, but Hennig gets back in quickly and wins the next exchange with an armdrag. Perfect with a chop, Von Erich with a hiptoss and a clothesline. Another quick breather for Perfect on the outside.
Hennig heads back in, several chops, snapmare/neck snap, flings him into the corner and then catches him with a sleeper on his way back out. Rope break, and Hennig stays on the offensive, hammering away in the corner. He insultingly slaps him and yells at him. He dismissively turns his back to leave the corner, but Tornado follows him out, slingshots him into the corner, applies the claw, hits him with his stupid spinning tornado punch, and for whatever reason we have a new Intercontinental Champion.
Vince, you ****ing idiot.
Result: Texas Tornado via pinfall, new Intercontinental Champion (5:15)
Rating: Idiotic result notwithstanding, this was also a weird match. Incredibly short, no real drama, just goes from Perfect controlling the match to suddenly losing it. The action early was fine but then the length and the abrupt ending just kill whatever it had going. Generously, 1 star out of 5.
Date: August 27, 1990
Link: N/A
Background: This was going to be Brutus Beefcake getting the title shot, but he suffered that awful parasailing accident, so the newly-debuted and not-yet-over Kerry Von Erich challenged Perfect on Superstars and received a title match right away.
The Match: Perfect and Heenan cut an overconfident promo backstage, declaring the Tornado to not be a legitimate challenger to the belt. Obviously that was a pretty strong foreshadow even if their promo was absolutely spot on.
The champ heads to the ring first, which is a fitting way to kick off this whole fiasco. Von Erich mumbles his way through an unintelligible promo and heads to the ring as well.
Perfect and the Tornado have a staredown, and then we're off. Tornado knocks Hennig out early, but Hennig gets back in quickly and wins the next exchange with an armdrag. Perfect with a chop, Von Erich with a hiptoss and a clothesline. Another quick breather for Perfect on the outside.
Hennig heads back in, several chops, snapmare/neck snap, flings him into the corner and then catches him with a sleeper on his way back out. Rope break, and Hennig stays on the offensive, hammering away in the corner. He insultingly slaps him and yells at him. He dismissively turns his back to leave the corner, but Tornado follows him out, slingshots him into the corner, applies the claw, hits him with his stupid spinning tornado punch, and for whatever reason we have a new Intercontinental Champion.
Vince, you ****ing idiot.
Result: Texas Tornado via pinfall, new Intercontinental Champion (5:15)
Rating: Idiotic result notwithstanding, this was also a weird match. Incredibly short, no real drama, just goes from Perfect controlling the match to suddenly losing it. The action early was fine but then the length and the abrupt ending just kill whatever it had going. Generously, 1 star out of 5.
04-20-2014
, 10:05 PM
The Main Event IV: Mr. Perfect vs. The Big Boss Man
Date: October 30, 1990
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMXhzLxVeZE
Background: Bobby Heenan was making yo momma jokes at the Boss Man. No, seriously, that's the feud here.
The Match: Perfect runs his "slap and run away" routine to start, but Boss Man chases him outside and catches him. Sends him back in, then sends him to the ropes, Perfect cartwheels out of the way but Boss Man just waits for Perfect to complete the cartwheel and then obliterates him with a clothesline.
Boss Man grabs Perfect by the hair, sends him to the corner on his stomach, and he gets crotched on the post. I've gotta say, that's one common Mr. Perfect spot that I don't care for at all. It's always just so obvious that Perfect is purely propelling himself the last 10% of the way into the post, and it looks bad.
Boss Man to the top rope, attempts a splash, and misses. That kills his early momentum. As he makes his way back up, Perfect comes through and hits his rolling neck snap. After some punching and kicking, he undoes the turnbuckle pad in one corner. He attempts to slam Boss Man into it, but Boss Man puts on the brakes and swats him off.
He then succeeds in planting Perfect into that same corner and fires away some offense, but Perfect retakes control again. As he does, Bobby Heenan (who was notably absent up to this point due to his fear of the Boss Man) shows up to ringside. Perfect attempts one Perfectplex, Boss Man reverses into a small package but only gets two. Perfect attempts another Perfectplex, and this time succeeds at locking it in but Boss Man kicks out at two. WTF. Boss Man looks up now and sees that Heenan is out there. He chases him down the ramp, but Heenan successfully runs away. Boss Man returns toward the ring, but doesn't make it back and time and gets counted out. Lame ending.
Result: Mr. Perfect via countout (8:15)
Rating: This was a very solid match until the AIDS at the end. Don't let a midcarder like Boss Man bury the Perfectplex for absolutely no reason, especially if he isn't going over. Then don't end the stupid thing on a worthless countout. Very dumb. But again, before then it was good. 2.75 stars out of 5.
Date: October 30, 1990
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMXhzLxVeZE
Background: Bobby Heenan was making yo momma jokes at the Boss Man. No, seriously, that's the feud here.
The Match: Perfect runs his "slap and run away" routine to start, but Boss Man chases him outside and catches him. Sends him back in, then sends him to the ropes, Perfect cartwheels out of the way but Boss Man just waits for Perfect to complete the cartwheel and then obliterates him with a clothesline.
Boss Man grabs Perfect by the hair, sends him to the corner on his stomach, and he gets crotched on the post. I've gotta say, that's one common Mr. Perfect spot that I don't care for at all. It's always just so obvious that Perfect is purely propelling himself the last 10% of the way into the post, and it looks bad.
Boss Man to the top rope, attempts a splash, and misses. That kills his early momentum. As he makes his way back up, Perfect comes through and hits his rolling neck snap. After some punching and kicking, he undoes the turnbuckle pad in one corner. He attempts to slam Boss Man into it, but Boss Man puts on the brakes and swats him off.
He then succeeds in planting Perfect into that same corner and fires away some offense, but Perfect retakes control again. As he does, Bobby Heenan (who was notably absent up to this point due to his fear of the Boss Man) shows up to ringside. Perfect attempts one Perfectplex, Boss Man reverses into a small package but only gets two. Perfect attempts another Perfectplex, and this time succeeds at locking it in but Boss Man kicks out at two. WTF. Boss Man looks up now and sees that Heenan is out there. He chases him down the ramp, but Heenan successfully runs away. Boss Man returns toward the ring, but doesn't make it back and time and gets counted out. Lame ending.
Result: Mr. Perfect via countout (8:15)
Rating: This was a very solid match until the AIDS at the end. Don't let a midcarder like Boss Man bury the Perfectplex for absolutely no reason, especially if he isn't going over. Then don't end the stupid thing on a worthless countout. Very dumb. But again, before then it was good. 2.75 stars out of 5.
04-21-2014
, 03:33 AM
04-21-2014
, 06:11 PM
MSG House Show: Intercontinental Title - Texas Tornado (c) vs. Mr. Perfect
Date: October 19, 1990
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y72f78hRp8I
Background: The Texas Tornado debuted a few months prior, and someone on the booking team got hammered and booked him to win the belt from Mr. Perfect. Okay I made the "got hammered" part up, but it's certainly believable.
The Match: Perfect ambushes Von Erich as he enters the ring and before Von Erich has his robe off yet. He takes it to him, knocks him to the floor, and stops the Tornado from re-entering for a bit until the Tornado successfully grabs his legs and drags him out to brawl with him on the outside. He pounds away with a few rights, then does that spinning tornado punch. It was one of those moves that depended wholly on how well it was sold, but thankfully you had one of the GOAT sellers in there with him here.
Perfect staggers around a bit before finally getting enough footing to re-enter, at which point he's promptly dumped out to the other side of the ring. Finally we re-establish in the middle, Tornado applies an armbar, and we're going to do some wrestling. Perfect counters into a headlock, Von Erich gets out, sends him into the ropes and applies a sleeper, but Hennig is too close and manages to get a rope break pretty quickly.
Back to a slugfest for a bit as the men exchange right hands; Gorilla comments that each one seems to be looking for a knockout punch. Von Erich sends Perfect into the corner and we get the ref bump, as the official got caught in the corner as Perfect rammed into him and then Von Erich followed in and inadvertently clotheslined him. You don't have to be a genius to know what was coming next: Perfect his the Perfectplex, but has nobody around to count the pin.
He removes the turnbuckle pad in one corner and sends Tornado into it in what I believe was supposed to actually connect. In reality, it was about as far off as Santino Corleone's right cross on Carlo Rizzi, but Tornado sold it like it connected. Perfect slowly covers the Tornado, the referee slowly comes about and crawls over, but once he finally counts he can only get to two.
Tornado finally gets some energy, hits a tornado punch on Perfect that knocks him over the top rope, and the two brawl outside as the referee counts to 10. Tornado quickly slips back in toward the end of the count, but the official decision is a double countout.
So yeah, this type of match is a pretty awful way to put Tornado over. Not that I wanted them to put him over or anything, but if you're going to strap a guy then give him stronger booking than this. Only one wrestler came out looking like he had any claim to the win, and it was the heel challenger.
Result: Double countout (7:53)
Rating: It was sort of entertaining. I'd say it was better than the SummerSlam match, but that's not a high bar to clear. Something like 1.75 stars out of 5 seems about right.
Date: October 19, 1990
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y72f78hRp8I
Background: The Texas Tornado debuted a few months prior, and someone on the booking team got hammered and booked him to win the belt from Mr. Perfect. Okay I made the "got hammered" part up, but it's certainly believable.
The Match: Perfect ambushes Von Erich as he enters the ring and before Von Erich has his robe off yet. He takes it to him, knocks him to the floor, and stops the Tornado from re-entering for a bit until the Tornado successfully grabs his legs and drags him out to brawl with him on the outside. He pounds away with a few rights, then does that spinning tornado punch. It was one of those moves that depended wholly on how well it was sold, but thankfully you had one of the GOAT sellers in there with him here.
Perfect staggers around a bit before finally getting enough footing to re-enter, at which point he's promptly dumped out to the other side of the ring. Finally we re-establish in the middle, Tornado applies an armbar, and we're going to do some wrestling. Perfect counters into a headlock, Von Erich gets out, sends him into the ropes and applies a sleeper, but Hennig is too close and manages to get a rope break pretty quickly.
Back to a slugfest for a bit as the men exchange right hands; Gorilla comments that each one seems to be looking for a knockout punch. Von Erich sends Perfect into the corner and we get the ref bump, as the official got caught in the corner as Perfect rammed into him and then Von Erich followed in and inadvertently clotheslined him. You don't have to be a genius to know what was coming next: Perfect his the Perfectplex, but has nobody around to count the pin.
He removes the turnbuckle pad in one corner and sends Tornado into it in what I believe was supposed to actually connect. In reality, it was about as far off as Santino Corleone's right cross on Carlo Rizzi, but Tornado sold it like it connected. Perfect slowly covers the Tornado, the referee slowly comes about and crawls over, but once he finally counts he can only get to two.
Tornado finally gets some energy, hits a tornado punch on Perfect that knocks him over the top rope, and the two brawl outside as the referee counts to 10. Tornado quickly slips back in toward the end of the count, but the official decision is a double countout.
So yeah, this type of match is a pretty awful way to put Tornado over. Not that I wanted them to put him over or anything, but if you're going to strap a guy then give him stronger booking than this. Only one wrestler came out looking like he had any claim to the win, and it was the heel challenger.
Result: Double countout (7:53)
Rating: It was sort of entertaining. I'd say it was better than the SummerSlam match, but that's not a high bar to clear. Something like 1.75 stars out of 5 seems about right.
04-21-2014
, 07:03 PM
Survivor Series '90: The Perfect Team (Mr. Perfect, Ax, Smash, and Crush) vs. The Warriors (Ultimate Warrior, Texas Tornado, Legion of Doom)
Date: November 22, 1990
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iljFbumfsKQ
Background: Texas Tornado had taken the IC Title from Mr. Perfect at SummerSlam. LOD had helped cost Demolition the tag titles to Hart Foundation at the same SummerSlam. Of all things, the Ultimate Warrior was the only one without a specific feud going on here, despite him being the WWF Champion. This match was curtain-jerking, but that was because the survivors in each match would go on to compete in an ultimate survival match later that night.
The Match: Animal attacks Smash, and Jokerherewego.gif. Smash brieftly tags Perfect in, but his moment as the legal man literally lasts like 20 seconds. Warrior scores the first elimination of the match when he hits Ax with the flying shoulderblock and then the running splash.
The next eliminations occur on the following sequence: Hawk hits Smash with a flying clothesline off the top rope. He goes for the pin, but Crush makes the save. Animal enters, and all four remaining tag wrestlers brawl in the middle of the ring. Referee tries to get them under control, and Hawk spins around and actually kicks the referee. Result: all four men are disqualified. For fighting with each other in the ring for like 30 seconds. WTF? Disqualify Hawk for assaulting an official and then move the match along. That was bull****.
Anyway, that will finally get us some Mr. Perfect action, because he's stuck in a 1-on-2 situation now against the Tornado and the Warrior. Warrior and Perfect stand off, but Perfect demands that Warrior tag the Tornado in. Warrior does so, and before Tornado can get into the ring Perfect charges and attacks him. Good stuff.
Perfect mostly controls Von Erich, then hits him with the Perfectplex for the three-count. We're down to Perfect vs. Warrior. Warrior promptly charges Perfect in the corner but comes up empty, and Perfect quickly hits a Perfectplex on him as well…
…and only gets two. Dude, they were suddenly doing this to his move far too often. What is this, 2014? Perfect hits the big standing dropkick but can only get a two-count of that as well. Perfect largely takes the offense to the Warrior for almost all of this exchange, but Warrior finally blocks a punch that Hennig throws, and suddenly he's in hulk-up mode. Flying shoulder tackle, running splash, 1-2-3.
Result: Warriors win, Ultimate Warrior is sole survivor (14:20)
Rating: N/A. Decent booking for Perfect here, as it certainly made him look main event caliber (and made him look better than Von Erich without question, but there was a pretty obvious explanation for that coming up soon), but ultimately he didn't get the elimination of Warrior that might have launched him into another WWF Championship program. Think the company already had decided on Slaughter for that role.
Date: November 22, 1990
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iljFbumfsKQ
Background: Texas Tornado had taken the IC Title from Mr. Perfect at SummerSlam. LOD had helped cost Demolition the tag titles to Hart Foundation at the same SummerSlam. Of all things, the Ultimate Warrior was the only one without a specific feud going on here, despite him being the WWF Champion. This match was curtain-jerking, but that was because the survivors in each match would go on to compete in an ultimate survival match later that night.
The Match: Animal attacks Smash, and Jokerherewego.gif. Smash brieftly tags Perfect in, but his moment as the legal man literally lasts like 20 seconds. Warrior scores the first elimination of the match when he hits Ax with the flying shoulderblock and then the running splash.
The next eliminations occur on the following sequence: Hawk hits Smash with a flying clothesline off the top rope. He goes for the pin, but Crush makes the save. Animal enters, and all four remaining tag wrestlers brawl in the middle of the ring. Referee tries to get them under control, and Hawk spins around and actually kicks the referee. Result: all four men are disqualified. For fighting with each other in the ring for like 30 seconds. WTF? Disqualify Hawk for assaulting an official and then move the match along. That was bull****.
Anyway, that will finally get us some Mr. Perfect action, because he's stuck in a 1-on-2 situation now against the Tornado and the Warrior. Warrior and Perfect stand off, but Perfect demands that Warrior tag the Tornado in. Warrior does so, and before Tornado can get into the ring Perfect charges and attacks him. Good stuff.
Perfect mostly controls Von Erich, then hits him with the Perfectplex for the three-count. We're down to Perfect vs. Warrior. Warrior promptly charges Perfect in the corner but comes up empty, and Perfect quickly hits a Perfectplex on him as well…
…and only gets two. Dude, they were suddenly doing this to his move far too often. What is this, 2014? Perfect hits the big standing dropkick but can only get a two-count of that as well. Perfect largely takes the offense to the Warrior for almost all of this exchange, but Warrior finally blocks a punch that Hennig throws, and suddenly he's in hulk-up mode. Flying shoulder tackle, running splash, 1-2-3.
Result: Warriors win, Ultimate Warrior is sole survivor (14:20)
Rating: N/A. Decent booking for Perfect here, as it certainly made him look main event caliber (and made him look better than Von Erich without question, but there was a pretty obvious explanation for that coming up soon), but ultimately he didn't get the elimination of Warrior that might have launched him into another WWF Championship program. Think the company already had decided on Slaughter for that role.
04-21-2014
, 07:28 PM
WWF Superstars: Intercontinental Title - Texas Tornado (c) vs. Mr. Perfect
Date: December 15, 1990
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMq5yZwpt2Y
Background: The WWF had decided to hotshot the Tornado to the Intercontinental Championship with a win over Mr. Perfect at SummerSlam, and then as soon as they did that they booked him like a pussy. Naturally that meant that he wasn't particularly over. Perfect had been feuding with him and trying to get his belt back since.
The Match: Vince, Piper, and Honky Tonk Man on the call.
Ted DiBiase has bought off the ring announcer for this match and is ring announcing the match himself. This sure does upset Vince at the announce table for some reason. DiBiase takes a seat at ringside, so you figure that he's going to factor in.
Tornado knocks Perfect around early, Perfect heads outside to regroup so the Tornado reaches out and clunks Perfect's head against Heenan's. Von Erich strongly controls early until he catches a boot to the face charging one corner and then gets a shoulder full of post charging another one. After catching post, he also gets clocked in the face by Ted DiBiase, who quickly got up to deliver that blow and then sat back down.
Perfect dropkicks Tornado outside, Heenan distracts on one side of the ring, DiBiase gets involved again and posts Von Erich. He sits back down cackling at his handiwork. Tornado gets thrown toward a corner, but reverses and sends Hennig into the referee for the ref bump. Tornado hits his finishing tornado punch, but obviously there's nobody to count Perfect's shoulders down. DiBiase once again into the ring, clobbers the Tornado with the Million Dollar Belt to knock him out cold, and Mr. Perfect drags Tornado's dead weight to his feet and executes the Perfectplex. Heenan wakes the referee, and we get a count of three. New Intercontinental Champion.
This match was taped before Survivor Series, so even though Tornado was still carrying around the IC Title at that PPV, he was already in a lame duck term as champion. That explains why Perfect was made to clearly look superior on that show.
Result: Mr. Perfect via pinfall, new Intercontinental Champion (6:35)
Rating: Whole thing was an overbooked mess with very little wrestling. 0.5 stars out of 5. Still awesome to see Perfect rightfully reclaim his title though. Gotta say, as much as I was glad to see the four-month nightmare come to an end and to see the IC Title come home, I definitely feel for Von Erich and think that WWF basically took about the worst booking arc toward him possible in trying to get him over as a star. After this he was basically a JTTS because they killed him with the way they attempted to run with him as IC Champ.
Date: December 15, 1990
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMq5yZwpt2Y
Background: The WWF had decided to hotshot the Tornado to the Intercontinental Championship with a win over Mr. Perfect at SummerSlam, and then as soon as they did that they booked him like a pussy. Naturally that meant that he wasn't particularly over. Perfect had been feuding with him and trying to get his belt back since.
The Match: Vince, Piper, and Honky Tonk Man on the call.
Ted DiBiase has bought off the ring announcer for this match and is ring announcing the match himself. This sure does upset Vince at the announce table for some reason. DiBiase takes a seat at ringside, so you figure that he's going to factor in.
Tornado knocks Perfect around early, Perfect heads outside to regroup so the Tornado reaches out and clunks Perfect's head against Heenan's. Von Erich strongly controls early until he catches a boot to the face charging one corner and then gets a shoulder full of post charging another one. After catching post, he also gets clocked in the face by Ted DiBiase, who quickly got up to deliver that blow and then sat back down.
Perfect dropkicks Tornado outside, Heenan distracts on one side of the ring, DiBiase gets involved again and posts Von Erich. He sits back down cackling at his handiwork. Tornado gets thrown toward a corner, but reverses and sends Hennig into the referee for the ref bump. Tornado hits his finishing tornado punch, but obviously there's nobody to count Perfect's shoulders down. DiBiase once again into the ring, clobbers the Tornado with the Million Dollar Belt to knock him out cold, and Mr. Perfect drags Tornado's dead weight to his feet and executes the Perfectplex. Heenan wakes the referee, and we get a count of three. New Intercontinental Champion.
This match was taped before Survivor Series, so even though Tornado was still carrying around the IC Title at that PPV, he was already in a lame duck term as champion. That explains why Perfect was made to clearly look superior on that show.
Result: Mr. Perfect via pinfall, new Intercontinental Champion (6:35)
Rating: Whole thing was an overbooked mess with very little wrestling. 0.5 stars out of 5. Still awesome to see Perfect rightfully reclaim his title though. Gotta say, as much as I was glad to see the four-month nightmare come to an end and to see the IC Title come home, I definitely feel for Von Erich and think that WWF basically took about the worst booking arc toward him possible in trying to get him over as a star. After this he was basically a JTTS because they killed him with the way they attempted to run with him as IC Champ.
04-22-2014
, 09:19 AM
Quote:
Saturday Night's Main Event XXIV: The Genius defeats Hulk Hogan via countout, Mr. Perfect steals and then destroys WWF Title belt
Date: November 25, 1989
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nwc2Xa9FRHQ
In one of the most glorious upsets ever, The Genius beat Hulk Hogan by countout on this Saturday Night's Main Event after Perfect waffled Hogan with Hogan's own title on the outside and left him lying as the referee counted to 10.
There's really nothing more enjoyable than hearing Jesse Ventura call a Hulk Hogan match, and especially here where he got a moment of victory after usually having to deal with Hogan win after Hogan win. Beyond this win by The Genius, Mr. Perfect then stole the WWF Title, took it to the back, and destroyed it with a hammer. He told Hogan that he would keep doing this until Hogan gave him a title shot.
Saturday Night's Main Event XXIV: Mr. Perfect vs. The Red Rooster
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqYW2IGBuXU
Background: Not much. Perfect beat Rooster at SummerSlam and the Rooster was back for seconds.
The Match: Yeah, this was pretty much right after Perfect broke the belt and demanded a world title shot from Hogan, so I get the feeling he wasn't putting Red Rooster over here.
Early match is mostly just signature Perfect offense, but Rooster does hit a surprise sunset flip for a two-count and then gets his own turn to get some offense in, hitting a running bulldog. Still, it was job city for Rooster here, and Perfect hits the Perfectplex just past the 4-minute mark to win.
Result: Mr. Perfect via pinfall (4:13)
Rating: Basically a squash match. Nothing special here. 0.5 stars out of 5.
Date: November 25, 1989
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nwc2Xa9FRHQ
In one of the most glorious upsets ever, The Genius beat Hulk Hogan by countout on this Saturday Night's Main Event after Perfect waffled Hogan with Hogan's own title on the outside and left him lying as the referee counted to 10.
There's really nothing more enjoyable than hearing Jesse Ventura call a Hulk Hogan match, and especially here where he got a moment of victory after usually having to deal with Hogan win after Hogan win. Beyond this win by The Genius, Mr. Perfect then stole the WWF Title, took it to the back, and destroyed it with a hammer. He told Hogan that he would keep doing this until Hogan gave him a title shot.
Saturday Night's Main Event XXIV: Mr. Perfect vs. The Red Rooster
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqYW2IGBuXU
Background: Not much. Perfect beat Rooster at SummerSlam and the Rooster was back for seconds.
The Match: Yeah, this was pretty much right after Perfect broke the belt and demanded a world title shot from Hogan, so I get the feeling he wasn't putting Red Rooster over here.
Early match is mostly just signature Perfect offense, but Rooster does hit a surprise sunset flip for a two-count and then gets his own turn to get some offense in, hitting a running bulldog. Still, it was job city for Rooster here, and Perfect hits the Perfectplex just past the 4-minute mark to win.
Result: Mr. Perfect via pinfall (4:13)
Rating: Basically a squash match. Nothing special here. 0.5 stars out of 5.
Is that title Perfect is holding the title that ended up being the Hardcore Championship? I remember reading somewhere how the HC was made out of a Title that got destroyed and they just ducttaped it together.
Cool thread.
04-24-2014
, 07:52 PM
04-24-2014
, 08:35 PM
MSG House Show: Intercontinental Title - Mr. Perfect (c) vs. Rowdy Roddy Piper
Date: December 28, 1990
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiH4V2AwVo8
Background: None. There hadn't been much interaction between these two. Mr. Perfect's IC Title win had finally shown on TV, so it was time for him to actually start defending it and stuff.
The Match: Well Sean Mooney is on the call, so right away we know that the title isn't changing hands. Lord Alfred Hayes on color.
As Piper is still removing his kilt, Perfect slaps him, which predictably causes Piper to go nuts, lacing Perfect's back a few times with his belt which somehow isn't a DQ. The two brawl outside and then back inside. Piper's limits in the ring are well-known, but a heated brawl with a quick pace looks promising.
As Piper tries to work Perfect near the ropes, he grabs for Perfect's singlet, and despite Perfect's best efforts to elbow him off, Piper tears Perfect's singlet off. I guess we're getting a more naked version of Hennig than usual the rest of the way. No? He gets Piper down, then retrieves his singlet and puts it back on. Piper did that spot quite deliberately, but I guess I'm not sure that Hennig was on board with it or expected it.
Perfect goes for a delayed suplex, but collapses and Piper falls on him for a near-fall. The two men do the small package reversed into an opposite small package, but neither gets the pinfall. Perfect removes a turnbuckle pad from one corner.
Perfect locks in a sleeper. In Piper's arms this is a finisher; in Perfect's it's a resthold where they're clearly talking some spots over. Okay, it's a bit more than a resthold since it gets to the point of arm-dropping and Piper keeping the arm up on three. He works his way back to his feet, then drops to his knees with a jawbreaker on Perfect that stuns him. Perfect recovers long enough to attempt to send Piper into the exposed corner, but Piper blocks, and after posturing he sends Perfect into it. I always hated this sell where Perfect would jump into that bump; looks very unrealistic.
This time, hitting the steel doesn't cause him to go unconscious or anything as steel corners often do. He's dazed, but they slug it out a bit. Perfect tries to escape to the outside. Piper tries to follow him out with an axhandle off the apron, but Perfect slugs him on the way down. As Hot Rod returns to the ring, Perfect heads to the top rope, but heading to the top rope literally never works out for him, and once again in this case he gets crotched on the top turnbuckle before falling to the outside.
The referee doesn't break the count even while Perfect is up on the top rope, and shortly after falling to the floor we get the bell and Piper wins via countout. What an incredibly stupid ending.
Result: Piper via countout (10:25)
Rating: Started off good. Forgot to continue to be good. On quality it should get cut out of the writeup since it's just a house show, but it is Perfect vs. a Hall of Famer so meh. Besides, I've already bothered to write it all up and everything. 1.25 stars out of 5.
Date: December 28, 1990
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiH4V2AwVo8
Background: None. There hadn't been much interaction between these two. Mr. Perfect's IC Title win had finally shown on TV, so it was time for him to actually start defending it and stuff.
The Match: Well Sean Mooney is on the call, so right away we know that the title isn't changing hands. Lord Alfred Hayes on color.
As Piper is still removing his kilt, Perfect slaps him, which predictably causes Piper to go nuts, lacing Perfect's back a few times with his belt which somehow isn't a DQ. The two brawl outside and then back inside. Piper's limits in the ring are well-known, but a heated brawl with a quick pace looks promising.
As Piper tries to work Perfect near the ropes, he grabs for Perfect's singlet, and despite Perfect's best efforts to elbow him off, Piper tears Perfect's singlet off. I guess we're getting a more naked version of Hennig than usual the rest of the way. No? He gets Piper down, then retrieves his singlet and puts it back on. Piper did that spot quite deliberately, but I guess I'm not sure that Hennig was on board with it or expected it.
Perfect goes for a delayed suplex, but collapses and Piper falls on him for a near-fall. The two men do the small package reversed into an opposite small package, but neither gets the pinfall. Perfect removes a turnbuckle pad from one corner.
Perfect locks in a sleeper. In Piper's arms this is a finisher; in Perfect's it's a resthold where they're clearly talking some spots over. Okay, it's a bit more than a resthold since it gets to the point of arm-dropping and Piper keeping the arm up on three. He works his way back to his feet, then drops to his knees with a jawbreaker on Perfect that stuns him. Perfect recovers long enough to attempt to send Piper into the exposed corner, but Piper blocks, and after posturing he sends Perfect into it. I always hated this sell where Perfect would jump into that bump; looks very unrealistic.
This time, hitting the steel doesn't cause him to go unconscious or anything as steel corners often do. He's dazed, but they slug it out a bit. Perfect tries to escape to the outside. Piper tries to follow him out with an axhandle off the apron, but Perfect slugs him on the way down. As Hot Rod returns to the ring, Perfect heads to the top rope, but heading to the top rope literally never works out for him, and once again in this case he gets crotched on the top turnbuckle before falling to the outside.
The referee doesn't break the count even while Perfect is up on the top rope, and shortly after falling to the floor we get the bell and Piper wins via countout. What an incredibly stupid ending.
Result: Piper via countout (10:25)
Rating: Started off good. Forgot to continue to be good. On quality it should get cut out of the writeup since it's just a house show, but it is Perfect vs. a Hall of Famer so meh. Besides, I've already bothered to write it all up and everything. 1.25 stars out of 5.
04-24-2014
, 09:05 PM
Royal Rumble '91 - Rumble Match
Date: January 19, 1991
Link: N/A
Background: This, I believe, is the first year that the WWF Title shot was on the line in the Rumble. Perfect didn't have any particular feuds going. Sgt. Slaughter had defeated Ultimate Warrior earlier in the night to win the WWF Title, so it was probably a babyface winning this and we probably know which one.
The Match: Perfect enters at #23. Jim Duggan goes straight for him, takes the fight to him, sets him near the ropes and then rares back and charges at him like a moron.
…and Jim Duggan has been eliminated.
Perfect has a few near-misses where he goes over the top and then manages to stay in, but it's a pretty uneventful run for him overall. As the match draws later, Gorilla says, "Well we're getting down to the nitty gritty now, there's no more…numbers left." Seems like he was starting to say that there were no more jobbers left, but that wasn't really true quite yet. One of the Nasty Boys was still in. So were Haku and Tugboat. And Jim Neidhart. So maybe he did just mean to say numbers.
Perfect goes on to last over 16 minutes, but ultimately goes up to the top rope because that always works so well for him, gets crotched, and then Bulldog dropkicks him off the top turnbuckle and he falls to the floor for the elimination. He unceremoniously finishes in 8th place.
Hulk Hogan goes on to a pretty predictable win, though I must say that I actually think him winning this was a pretty cool moment that Monsoon and Piper do a nice job of putting over from the broadcast table.
Result: Hulk Hogan wins via hanging around the main event scene persistently since WrestleMania VI and passively undermining Ultimate Warrior's title reign (1:05:17)
Rating: N/A, really not much here for a Curt Hennig tribute
Date: January 19, 1991
Link: N/A
Background: This, I believe, is the first year that the WWF Title shot was on the line in the Rumble. Perfect didn't have any particular feuds going. Sgt. Slaughter had defeated Ultimate Warrior earlier in the night to win the WWF Title, so it was probably a babyface winning this and we probably know which one.
The Match: Perfect enters at #23. Jim Duggan goes straight for him, takes the fight to him, sets him near the ropes and then rares back and charges at him like a moron.
…and Jim Duggan has been eliminated.
Perfect has a few near-misses where he goes over the top and then manages to stay in, but it's a pretty uneventful run for him overall. As the match draws later, Gorilla says, "Well we're getting down to the nitty gritty now, there's no more…numbers left." Seems like he was starting to say that there were no more jobbers left, but that wasn't really true quite yet. One of the Nasty Boys was still in. So were Haku and Tugboat. And Jim Neidhart. So maybe he did just mean to say numbers.
Perfect goes on to last over 16 minutes, but ultimately goes up to the top rope because that always works so well for him, gets crotched, and then Bulldog dropkicks him off the top turnbuckle and he falls to the floor for the elimination. He unceremoniously finishes in 8th place.
Hulk Hogan goes on to a pretty predictable win, though I must say that I actually think him winning this was a pretty cool moment that Monsoon and Piper do a nice job of putting over from the broadcast table.
Result: Hulk Hogan wins via hanging around the main event scene persistently since WrestleMania VI and passively undermining Ultimate Warrior's title reign (1:05:17)
Rating: N/A, really not much here for a Curt Hennig tribute
04-24-2014
, 10:03 PM
Stars & Stripes Forever: IC Title Match - Mr. Perfect (c) vs. Shawn Michaels
Date: March 17, 1991
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Trwvyxzfmy0
Background: None. Just a warmup match for Mr. Perfect heading into WrestleMania. Shawn Michaels was still a Rocker here, just a tag wrestler in a rare singles match. So rare, in fact, that they didn't know how to spell his name. I'm certain that his name was spelled Shawn even when he was a Rocker.
The Match: Vince and Heenan on the call, clearly standing in front of a green screen recorded some other time but it looks vaguely like there's a crowd behind them. Heenan says he's not going to the ring with Perfect because Michaels has no shot here. The real reason he couldn't go to the ring is the lack of technological advancement to time travel.
Perfect and Michaels engage in a couple of hold --> strike combos early, the first won by Perfect and the next won by Michaels. Fun underdog dynamic here as Michaels takes the fight to Perfect and Perfect is surprised by the kid's tenacity.
Shawn knocks him to the outside, then takes a running leap over the top rope at Perfect. He mostly misses and gets guardrail, but he seems to play it off like he connected and is right on top of his opponent with a series of punches. He charges at Perfect and Perfect hits something close to a stun gun where he launches Michaels backwards into the guardrail. Jannetty hits ringside and there's a commercial break.
Back from break, Perfect is in control, connecting on the standing dropkick. For some reason I didn't remember that move being such a trademark of his, but it definitely was and it's one of his coolest spots too. Sends Michaels into the turnbuckle, Michaels does the flip-to-the-top bump and then falls to the apron. Hennig continues his domination, running his signature offense including the snapmare/neck snap, and keeps controlling until he drops his head early on a back bodydrop attempt and Michaels kicks him in the face (which Perfect sells the hell out of).
Still that kick was shown as a desperation move that Michaels couldn't follow up on, so Perfect applies the sleeper. Michaels manages to escape that with a jawbreaker. Perfect floors Shawn and then goes and slaps Jannetty at ringside just on principle, causing Jannetty to clobber Perfect in revenge, and at this point Heenan leaves the separately-recorded area and says he's going to the ring. That's really not a convincing green screen, WWF.
Jannetty threatens and stalks Heenan. Perfect goes out to protect his manager and knees Marty into the post from behind. This distraction does allow recovery time for Michaels though, who reverses a whip into the corner and chases Perfect in. Perfect gets a foot up, but Michaels ducks underneath, slides out of the ring, grabs Perfect's legs, drags him back and crotches him against the post. He follows with two kicks that attempt to take Perfect's leg out, an inverted atomic drop, a regular atomic drop that sends Perfect into the corner, and then a hard clothesline as Perfect bumps out of the corner. He goes for the pin but it only gets a very near fall at two. Great sequence there, and the crowd is all kinds of hot at this point.
Michaels sends Hennig into the ropes and superkicks him off the ropes…but sadly for Shawn, that wasn't a finisher yet, so it only gets a two count. Michaels stays on offense with a swinging neckbreaker though, then heads up to the top rope. Heenan interferes with Michaels, causes a distraction, and Perfect sets up and executes a Perfectplex. Big Boss Man, Perfect's upcoming opponent at WrestleMania, runs in and breaks up the Perfectplex before it can get a full three-count. We have a disqualification.
Boss Man chases Perfect to the back, then runs back to the ring and raises Michaels's hand to put him over further. Then as he goes to the back himself, Andre the Giant emerges from the shadows, stopping Boss Man in his tracks, but after a delay he offers his hand to Boss Man to shake and then puts over Boss Man to the crowd here. Everybody was getting some sort of rub here…I mean aside from Perfect, but he came out of this looking fine too, this didn't hurt him.
This was a great match and put Michaels over very strongly; the good match in '89 with Bret Hart at Maple Leaf Gardens did the same while Bret was still a Hart Foundation member, but this match was even better. While I don't generally love disqualifications, this was pretty much perfect booking since it also helped lead into WrestleMania. Really enjoyed this match.
Result: Mr. Perfect via DQ (9:35)
Rating: Very nice work by both men, with Perfect bumping his ass off to try to help put Michaels over and with Michaels very much up to the task of showing that he could put on great singles matches. Very good in a vacuum, definitely great when you account for meta stuff like this being Shawn Michaels's first great singles match, Perfect and Boss Man putting him over, Andre putting Boss Man over, etc. 3.75 stars out of 5.
Date: March 17, 1991
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Trwvyxzfmy0
Background: None. Just a warmup match for Mr. Perfect heading into WrestleMania. Shawn Michaels was still a Rocker here, just a tag wrestler in a rare singles match. So rare, in fact, that they didn't know how to spell his name. I'm certain that his name was spelled Shawn even when he was a Rocker.
The Match: Vince and Heenan on the call, clearly standing in front of a green screen recorded some other time but it looks vaguely like there's a crowd behind them. Heenan says he's not going to the ring with Perfect because Michaels has no shot here. The real reason he couldn't go to the ring is the lack of technological advancement to time travel.
Perfect and Michaels engage in a couple of hold --> strike combos early, the first won by Perfect and the next won by Michaels. Fun underdog dynamic here as Michaels takes the fight to Perfect and Perfect is surprised by the kid's tenacity.
Shawn knocks him to the outside, then takes a running leap over the top rope at Perfect. He mostly misses and gets guardrail, but he seems to play it off like he connected and is right on top of his opponent with a series of punches. He charges at Perfect and Perfect hits something close to a stun gun where he launches Michaels backwards into the guardrail. Jannetty hits ringside and there's a commercial break.
Back from break, Perfect is in control, connecting on the standing dropkick. For some reason I didn't remember that move being such a trademark of his, but it definitely was and it's one of his coolest spots too. Sends Michaels into the turnbuckle, Michaels does the flip-to-the-top bump and then falls to the apron. Hennig continues his domination, running his signature offense including the snapmare/neck snap, and keeps controlling until he drops his head early on a back bodydrop attempt and Michaels kicks him in the face (which Perfect sells the hell out of).
Still that kick was shown as a desperation move that Michaels couldn't follow up on, so Perfect applies the sleeper. Michaels manages to escape that with a jawbreaker. Perfect floors Shawn and then goes and slaps Jannetty at ringside just on principle, causing Jannetty to clobber Perfect in revenge, and at this point Heenan leaves the separately-recorded area and says he's going to the ring. That's really not a convincing green screen, WWF.
Jannetty threatens and stalks Heenan. Perfect goes out to protect his manager and knees Marty into the post from behind. This distraction does allow recovery time for Michaels though, who reverses a whip into the corner and chases Perfect in. Perfect gets a foot up, but Michaels ducks underneath, slides out of the ring, grabs Perfect's legs, drags him back and crotches him against the post. He follows with two kicks that attempt to take Perfect's leg out, an inverted atomic drop, a regular atomic drop that sends Perfect into the corner, and then a hard clothesline as Perfect bumps out of the corner. He goes for the pin but it only gets a very near fall at two. Great sequence there, and the crowd is all kinds of hot at this point.
Michaels sends Hennig into the ropes and superkicks him off the ropes…but sadly for Shawn, that wasn't a finisher yet, so it only gets a two count. Michaels stays on offense with a swinging neckbreaker though, then heads up to the top rope. Heenan interferes with Michaels, causes a distraction, and Perfect sets up and executes a Perfectplex. Big Boss Man, Perfect's upcoming opponent at WrestleMania, runs in and breaks up the Perfectplex before it can get a full three-count. We have a disqualification.
Boss Man chases Perfect to the back, then runs back to the ring and raises Michaels's hand to put him over further. Then as he goes to the back himself, Andre the Giant emerges from the shadows, stopping Boss Man in his tracks, but after a delay he offers his hand to Boss Man to shake and then puts over Boss Man to the crowd here. Everybody was getting some sort of rub here…I mean aside from Perfect, but he came out of this looking fine too, this didn't hurt him.
This was a great match and put Michaels over very strongly; the good match in '89 with Bret Hart at Maple Leaf Gardens did the same while Bret was still a Hart Foundation member, but this match was even better. While I don't generally love disqualifications, this was pretty much perfect booking since it also helped lead into WrestleMania. Really enjoyed this match.
Result: Mr. Perfect via DQ (9:35)
Rating: Very nice work by both men, with Perfect bumping his ass off to try to help put Michaels over and with Michaels very much up to the task of showing that he could put on great singles matches. Very good in a vacuum, definitely great when you account for meta stuff like this being Shawn Michaels's first great singles match, Perfect and Boss Man putting him over, Andre putting Boss Man over, etc. 3.75 stars out of 5.