Sports Arena
Los Angeles, CA
December 17, 1988
Announcers: Ron Trongard & Billy Graham
1) Boris Zhukov defeats Lanny Poffo with a flying clothesline at 12:08
Boris blesses us with his tremendous version of the Russian National Anthem to start things off tonight on the Left Coast. Trongard christens Poffo “Mr. Excitement” on his way to the ring. Lanny lays a quick little poem on us, saying that Boris’ singing sucks. Boris jumps Poffo, but Lanny recovers and stomps away on the big Russian. Lanny slugs him down and sends him to the floor as Billy says that Lanny looks 15 pounds heavier than the last time he saw him, 3 or 4 weeks ago. That is a lot of weight to put in under a month, but I guess he does use the Gazelle as part of his workout. Boris is stalling outside the ring as Graham says that Poffo handed out his freebees to some Special Olympians earlier today. Boris is stalling some more before finally locking up. Boris grabs a side headlock as the crowd chants “USA”. Poffo keeps trying to break the hold, but Boris yanks the hair to keep control. Boris grabs a top wristlock, but Lanny back flips out and grabs a side headlock of his own. Lanny returns the favor by using Boris’ goatee to maintain control of the headlock. Boris escapes and hits the floor. Billy says that Lanny better get going and do some damage because you can only play with the Russian for so long before he takes control. Zhukov is back in and wants to do the test of strength. Graham thinks Lanny can take him and then goes over his training regimen for us. We get the test lockup and Boris pushes Poffo to his knees. Lanny rolls out of it and inverts the hold, pushing Boris into the corner. They break and Lanny backs off. We get another lockup and headlock by Boris. Lanny hits the ropes and gets planted with a shoulderblock, but rebounds with a drop toehold and then grabs hold of the ankle and begins to torque it. Boris is grimacing in pain as Lanny keeps yanking the ankle back. Lanny bites Boris’ hand to add to the pain of the hold. Boris finally gets his arm around Lanny’s neck and pulls him off the hold, but Lanny flips through and grabs a chickenwing. Lanny relinquishes and Boris is hurting as he hobbles to the corner. Lanny attacks and kicks at the injured leg, wrapping it around the rope and taking shots at it. Lanny then picks Boris up as he grabs the middle rope and just drops him on his back. Lanny goes to a step over toehold, but Boris just slugs his way out of it. Lanny goes right back to the toehold, but Boris kicks off. Lanny kips up and takes Boris right back down and continues to work the ankle. Boris goes to the eye and Lanny breaks the hold. Boris limps his way after Lanny and bites his nose and then just clubs on his back and chest with some stiff shots. Boris headbutts Lanny down and gets a 2. Boris tosses Lanny to the floor to buy himself some time. Lanny is on the apron, but Boris clubs him on the chest and sends him back to the floor. Lanny tries to get in again, but has his neck snapped on the rope and headbutted down. Lanny pulls Boris down and drags him to the post and wraps his injured leg around it. Lanny slides in and stomps away at Boris in the corner as Billy is impressed with his aggressiveness. Lanny continues on the attack and hits a big back body drop. Lanny hits a nice right and then monkey flips Boris out of the corner. He goes for another monkey flip, but Boris catches him with an atomic drop out of the corner. Boris slams him down and goes to the middle rope and comes off with a flying clothesline to get the win. Well, that was quite the feisty little match. I enjoyed Lanny’s offense and the way he worked the leg and Boris’ selling was great the whole time. I thought Lanny may pull it out in the end too, so they had me going there for a bit. This was just good, albeit basic, stuff to open the show. Grade: **1/2
2) Greg Valentine and Tito Santana wrestle to a time limit draw at 20:00
We get a little rehash of a long standing feud between Tito and the Hammer here tonight. The Hammer is in the ring as Tito makes his way to the ring to a big pop. Trongard lets us know that Valentine’s shin guard is now known as the “Heartbreaker”. Graham tells us that Valentine is the one that put him on the shelf for good as the Hammer almost broke his hip again with the “Heartbreaker”. Billy says he can’t stand Valentine and that it is bad blood. Ron references their wars from the past and we are off and running. Billy says that he talked to Tito earlier about the Hammer’s shin guard and claims that it was never looked at or approved by Jack Tunney. Billy says they need to take a long look at it. We get a lockup to start off and Tito pushes Greg back to the corner and we get a fairly clean break. Ron and Billy continue to discuss the Heartbreaker as the two lock up again. We get a shoving match off the break this time and the crowd is pretty into it. Valentine jaws with Graham a bit, drawing Billy to his feet. Tito grabs the leg and takes Valentine down and tries to rip off the shin guard, but he can’t get it off. Greg hits the floor to take a breather and then rolls back in. We have another lockup, but Greg gets a cheap shot and then chops him down. Greg goes to a reverse chinlock, but Tito powers out and we get a wristlock battle. Hammer yanks Tito down by the hair and backs off. They square off and try and box each other with Tito landing the first few punches. Tito grabs the arm and wrenches it into an armbar as Billy is stilling bitching about Valentine. The two men trade forearms like Heavyweights boxers and Tito eventually grabs hold of Valentine and smashes him into the buckle a few times. Tito knees the Hammer in the face and then slams him face first into the mat. Tito pulls him up and then spikes him to the mat again for a 2. Tito goes to another armbar but Valentine fights to his feet and breaks it. He whips Tito the corner and charges, but Tito moves and Greg hits the post. Greg rolls out and Tito follows. The two are back in and Valentine is begging off. Tito kicks him and loads him into a piledriver position, but just jumps up and back down to rattle Valentine’s head. Tito yanks him down and crotches him on the ring post and then stomps away at his head. Valentine is in pain and rolls out to the floor and regains his composure. Greg slides back in, but is limping gingerly. Tito attacks and kicks away at the leg, but Valentine sticks a thumb in his eye to finally slow him up. Greg knees the gut and then drops some elbows on Tito’s back. He shoots the half and gets a 2. He keeps trying for the pin, but Tito keeps rolling his shoulder up as the crowd is rallying him. Tito battles out of the pin attempts and catches Greg with an attempt at a sunset flip. Tito grabs the tights on the way over and we get a prolonged look at Valentine’s backside as the crowd goes wild. Tito finally pulls him down and just slugs him in the face repeatedly. Tito just keeps laying in huge punches, finally sending the Hammer down. Tito grabs the leg and jumps on the leg, but he is injured by the shin guard and Billy is all over it. Tito rolls around in pain and Valentine attacks, dropping a big elbow on his back and then a few on his chest, sending Tito crumpling to the floor. Valentine taunts Tit as he climbs to the apron. Greg chops his chest and then drops some elbows and fists on Tito, which gets him a 2 count. Greg goes for multiple pins again and Tito keeps bridging out. Valentine pushes up to crash down on Tito, but Tito gets the knees up in time. Tito headbutts Greg’s gut and then punches away at him. He whips Valentine to the corner and charges, but eats a huge knee to the face and goes crashing to the mat. Ron says these guys are punishing each other, and I agree. Valentine goes up top and comes crashing down with an axehandle. He wrenches Tito’s nose and then elbows his head for a 2. Valentine picks Tito up and chops away at him and then crushes him with a Shoulderbreaker, which gets him another 2. Tito knees Greg in the face and the two slug away at each other again as they battle to their feet. Tito gets the advantage and peppers the Hammer with rights, which finally send him to the mat face first. Tito grabs the leg and snaps it back and then stomps on his gut. Tito goes for the Figure 4, but Valentine goes to the eyes again to break it. Greg chops Tito in the throat and then drags him to the middle of the ring. Valentine steps over and snaps Tito’s leg back as he starts prepping for the Figure 4. Greg headbutts him in the gut and then turns the Heartbreaker around. Greg slaps Tito and then goes for the Four again, but Tito grabs the hair and pulls him over for a roll up and a 2. Greg slugs him back down and goes for the Four again, but Tito kicks him off into the corner. Tito fights back up, but Valentine drills him with a nasty stomach breaker for 2. Greg drags Tito up by the hair, but Tito starts punching him in the head. Greg goes for a suplex, but Tito blocks and hits one of his own. The crowd is all fired up for Tito’s comeback. Tito gets a 2, but Greg gets his foot on the rope. Tito goes to the middle rope but eats a punch to the gut on the way down. Greg turns the Heartbreaker around again and goes for the Four again, but Tito punches his way out once more. Valentine chokes Tito, but Tito turns it around and just punches away at the Hammer. Both men are back up and Greg goes for a back suplex, but Tito slips out and is able to take Valentine down. He quickly locks in the Figure 4 to a huge pop, but we get the bell as the time limit expires. Tito thinks he won, but we get the official announcement of the draw. Tito can’t believe it and the crowd is booing loudly at the decision. Valentine celebrates and then heads out of the ring as we go to break. Well, they started off a bit slow with all the Graham/Valentine jaw jacking but once they got revved up that match was just awesome. Just like last match we watched from 1984, this just felt like a big time Heavyweight fight. They just kept slugging away at each other and both men looked like they had been through a war when that bell rang. I loved how Tito would battle out of the Figure 4 every time like it was life or death. This was just a great, great match that could have been rated even higher if it had a clean finish. Although, you could argue that the draw kind of worked in this situation as the two men just keep pounding on each other, but neither would give in or back down. Either way, it was just a great match as it always is with these two. Grade: ***1/2
3) Bad News Brown defeats Jim Powers with the Ghetto Blaster at 10:50
Powers in the ring as Bad News makes his way down to a chorus of boos. Trongard says that Brown has no problems walking through Central Park or Bed-Stuy all by himself. The bell rings as Brown charges Powers, but Powers avoids the contact and hits an atomic drop and dropkick on Bad News, sending him to the floor. Bad News starts heading to the dressing room, but changes his mind and walks back to the ring. Brown gets on the apron and Powers slingshots him in. Powers lands a punch to the gut and gets a small package for 2. Another Powers dropkick sends Brown back to the floor, and again he feigns leaving the arena. The crowd is all over Brown as he heads back to the ring. Brown offers a hand shake and gives a funny smile but Powers is leery. Bad News tries to kick powers, but he catches the foot and sends him back into the corner. He whips Bad News across and charges, but eats a boot and collapses to the mat. Bad News stomps and chops away at Powers and then slams him into the buckle a pair of times. Trongard and Graham agree that they have never seen anyone survive the Ghetto Blaster. Brown remains control and bites Powers forehead when he rallies. Powers is whipped in but comes off with a cross body for 2. Bad News slugs him back down to take back control. Brown flings him outside and follows him out. He slams Powers hard to the floor and rolls back after posing for the crowd. Powers rolls back on to the apron but Brown catches him and elbows his throat. Brown whips Powers in but puts his head down and Jim gets a sunset flip for 2. Brown continues to kick and punch away at Powers. Powers reverses an Irish whip to the corner and hits a monkey flip. Powers can’t capitalize though as his back is hurting him from the slam outside. Brown hits a big clothesline and an elbow drop. Powers tries to fire back but misses a charge in the corner and crumbles back to the mat. Brown starts working the back of Powers’ head and neck to set up the Ghetto Blaster. Brown tells Powers that he now “knows what it’s like to be in here with a real man!” Brown chokes away and then whips Powers to the buckle but now he misses a charge and both men are down. Both men are up, but Brown gains control by slugging away on Powers’ back. I like how Brown keeps telling the ref “not to worry about it” when the ref tries to break an illegal hold. Brown whips Powers in, but Jim hits a kick to the gut and both men are down again. Powers shoots Brown in, but misses a dropkick as Bad News held on to the ropes. Brown slams Powers down and goes for a big splash, but Jim gets the knees up. Powers hits a clothesline and dropkick to get a 2. Jim gets a big suplex for another near fall. Jim shoots Brown in, but Bad News reverses it. Brown ducks a leapfrog and then lands the Ghetto Blaster for the win. That was a solid and basic match that had some good selling from Powers. I enjoyed the story of Powers’ injured back and the announcers helped further that along nicely. Grade: **
- Mr. Fuji heads into the ring and tells everyone that he has a new tag team: the Powers of Pain. He says he got rid of Demolition and points out Powers, saying that is an example of what someone will be like after a match with the POP. Fuji kicks Powers, but Jim gets up and dropkicks Fuji to the mat. The POP hit the ring and put a beat down on Powers, finishing him off with a cool Top Rope Clothesline/Spinebuster combo.
4) Demolition and the Powers of Pain fight to a double disqualification at 6:00; Demolition retains WWF Tag Team Championship
We return from break and the Powers of Pain are in the ring awaiting the Champions. Ax and Smash arrive to a huge pop from the LA crowd, confirming that the face turn was a wise move. As soon as Demolition slides in the ring, the four men go at it, causing the crowd to go nuts. Warlord and Barbarian are tossed outside and Demolition turns towards Fuji. Fuji backs off and his men get back in the ring and the four go at it again. Warlord is sent to the floor and Ax and Smash double team Barbarian to gain control. Smash finally heads to the apron and Ax and Barbarian officially start things off. Ax clubs away at Barbarian’s head and then grabs a side headlock. Barbarian shoots him in and we have a stand still on a shoulderblock. Ax hits a pair of clotheslines to take Barbarian down and then tags in Smash. Smash hits a back elbow, sending Barbarian to the floor, where he consults with Warlord and Fuji. Graham thinks Demolition will miss Fuji going forward. Smash grabs a neck vice on Barbarian and then slugs away on his chest and head. Barbarian hits a chop to the throat and then traps Smash in his corner. He tags in Warlord, who drills Smash in the back a series of times and then begins working the arm. Smash reversed a whip to the corner and hits a big chop. He tags in Ax and they double team Warlord down to the mat, finishing him off with a double clothesline. Ax slams Warlord back to the mat and drops an elbow before going to a chinlock. Ax chokes Warlord on the middle rope, but Fuji reaches in and whacks Ax with his cane. Warlord takes control as Fuji picks his spots and chokes Ax when he can. Barbarian tags in and hits a big Shoulderbreaker and then goes to a trapezius nerve hold. Barbarian releases and knocks Smash off the apron before tagging in Warlord. Warlord misses a charge and Ax gets the hot tag. Smash comes in and slams both men. He sends Warlord into Ax’s boot and then clothesline Barbarian to the floor and the crowd is just going insane. Ax and Barbarian trade blows on the floor. Warlord grabs hold of Smash and Fuji comes in the ring with the cane. Ax slides in and grabs the cane and goes to town on the Warlord, drawing the bell. The POP roll outside as Trongard and Graham try to figure out who was disqualified. The announcer then clues us in that both teams were DQ’d by Joey Marella. This was a pretty good bout mainly thanks to the crazy crowd heat as well as the fresh storyline. The match itself was just basic brawling and not much else, but they were just starting to get a grasp on the feud as they begin the road to Wrestlemania, so it is understandable. Grade: **
5) Ted DiBiase defeats Hercules after Virgil hits him with the chain at 8:38
DiBiase brings a smile to my face as he arrives in his terrific alternate green suit. He is announced as being from Bel Air, California, which Trongard says won’t impress the Southern California crowd. Hercules’ music fires up, but DiBiase gets on the mike and says that he purchased Herc and says to cut the music. The music keeps playing and DiBiase lets us know that he will take of this job himself and that he will defeat Hercules here tonight. Herc finally comes through the curtain and heads to the ring to take on his alleged employer. DiBiase attacks Herc as soon as he slides in the ring, but Herc counters with a big back body drop. DiBiase is up but is peppered with a series of punches and then rolls out to the floor. Virgil distracts Herc and DiBiase comes in from behind, but he gets caught with more rights. Herc drops a pair of elbows and then pounds away on Ted. Virgil gets on the apron again, allowing Ted to roll outside. Herc follows and chases Ted back into the ring. Virgil is able to hook Herc’s leg and DiBiase gains control. Ted slugs away in the corner, landing punches and chops. He buries a knee to the gut and then taunts Hercules as he crumples to the mat. Ted goes to the middle rope and hits a big double axehandle. The crowd is all over Ted and he taunts them and Herc. Ted shoots Herc in and hits a clothesline for a 2 count. DiBiase stomps on Herc’s face and tries to ram him into the buckle, but Herc blocks it and drills Ted’s head instead. Herc hammers away on Ted, but DiBiase goes to the eyes to slow the Mighty One down. Ted lays in a shot to the gut and then whips Herc into the buckle, but Herc reverses it. However, he charges and eats a boot to the gut. DiBiase drops an elbow and gets 2. DiBiase hits a perfect suplex and then taunts Herc some more, slapping him across the face as he talks smack. The crowd rains some more boos down as Herc fights to his knees. Ted shoots Herc in again and hits a back drop for another near fall. Ted scoops Herc up and hits a beautiful gut wrench suplex for 2. Ted hits a scoop slam and goes to the middle rope again. He tries the falling backwards elbow, but Herc rolls out of the way and backs into the corner. Ted charges and misses and Herc slugs him down to the mat as the crowd heats up. Herc whips him in and lands a right to the gut and a kneelift. Herc follows with a pair of clotheslines and then shoots Ted in and hits a big Powerslam. Now Herc stands over Ted and slaps him around and the crowd is going bonkers. Herc sets up for the Full Nelson and locks it on when Ted stands up. Ted gets his feet over the top rope, but Herc pulls him off the ropes and just drops him on his back. However, when Herc dropped Ted, he elbowed the ref by accident, sending him down to the mat. DiBiase tries to escape but Herc drags him back in by the tights and the puts him up into the Torture Rack to a big pop. DiBiase is yelling in pain, but Virgil comes in the ring and drills Herc in the stomach with the chain. Herc collapses and both men are down as the ref awakens. The ref is counting both men, but Ted slides over and covers to pick up the win. Trongard gives DiBiase props for withstanding the backbreaker as Virgil climbs in the ring and works over Herc some more. Ted tells him to get the chain. Ted holds Herc and Virgil comes in with the chain. Herc is able to kick Virgil and then mule kicks DiBiase. He grabs the chain and Ted and Virgil bolt as he swings it around. Hercules follows them to back as we Graham eggs him on. I always enjoy DiBiase matches because he uses a nice varied offense when he is in control. Instead of the usual heel offense from this time period, which features restholds and power strikes, Ted used suplexes and crisp, calculated strikes. The storyline and heat here were solid again which helped produce another really fun match. Grade: **1/2
- We head back from break and go over to the commentary table as Superstar warns us that the LA Sports Arena will shortly explode as Hulk Hogan is coming up. He talks about that for a moment and then tosses it over to Trongard who is with the Big Boss Man and Slick. Ron impresses right off the bat as he introduces “The Doctor Slick” and lets us know that is showdown time tonight. He continues to call him Doctor Slick. Slick says that he is predicting that tonight will mark the end of the era of Hulk Hogan. Boss Man agrees with Slick and says that last time they were in Los Angeles Boss Man beat Hogan down but lost on a technicality. He says he will chain up Hogan and beat him down after the match and then reminds him that he is always with him. A quick check of Cawthon’s site shows us that on the 11/17/88 LA show, Hogan defeated the Boss Man by count-out after handcuffing Boss Man to the top rope and clotheslining him over the top to the outside. I guess you could consider that a technicality. We go back to the arena as Graham raps about his “hero” Hogan and then recaps the Demolition/POP match from earlier tonight. He then throws it back to Trongard who is with “Hercules Cortez”. Someone asks “Who?” in the background and Herc makes the time out sign, looking like he wants to restart the interview, but Trongard just laughs at him and keeps talking. Then we get an awkward cut to a close-up of Herc as he says that there is no amount of money, pain or humiliation that will make him sell out. He says he won’t cry and complain about what went down but says he will fight fire with fire as we fade out.
6) Akeem defeats Koko B. Ware with a big splash at 11:18
The hilarity continues as the announcer introduces us to the “Internationally known Doctor of Style, Slick”. Slick and Akeem head out to Jive Soul Bro which makes my night even that much better. Graham reviews the transformation of Akeem, saying Slick put some soul into him. Trongard says that Slick is leading Akeem into the “squared ring” and I am certain he is pounding shots throughout this show at this point. Slick jaws with Superstar from the ring and Graham tells him to back off and then asks “where our Koko B. Ware” is. Graham tells Slick that he will be back someday as Koko heads out sans Frankie. Trongard tells us that Akeem is double Koko’s weight plus one pound. Graham says Koko’s only chance is hit and run. Ron doesn’t understand why Koko would sign for this match, and Graham seems to agree, saying he needs to use his head when picking opponents. Slick is without hat tonight and that looks quite odd. Koko and Akeem posture a bit before Akeem charges and misses in the corner. Koko mocks Akeem’s strut to a pop from the crowd as Slick pops in on commentary. Graham tells Slick he will punch his lights out. Akeem wants a test of strength and we get one. Akeem dominates it, but Koko climbs the rope to gain leverage and then breaks it and punches Akeem in the face. They circle each other again and Koko backs into the corner and beckons Akeem in. Akeem charges and Koko craws back and forth between his legs to avoid him and then lands a punch and rams him into the buckle. Akeem confers with Slick as Graham is impressed that Koko got the early advantage. Koko takes a swipe at Slick, and Graham thinks Slick may be Koko’s downfall tonight. Akeem misses another elbow in the corner and Koko backs away across the ring. Koko kicks at Slick again and then mocks Akeem’s strut once more. Akeem finally catches Koko and just slams into him against the buckles. Akeem chokes him on the top rope and then swats him back to the mat. Akeem drops an axehandle on Koko’s back and then rakes his eyes. Akeem continues to club on Koko and then stands on his back. He follows that up with some awesome jiving and then catches Koko with a bear hug as he comes off the ropes. Koko is fighting the hold, but Akeem has it wrenched in. Akeem yelling for the “referee-man” to “come on, brothah!” cracked me up. Koko’s hand drops twice, but he hangs tough on the third attempt and is able to punch and ear-clap his way out of the hold. Koko crawls around the ring to try and recover, but Akeem stalks him and lays some elbows and a knee to the lower back. Akeem puts his boot to Koko’s face and then distracts the ref so Slick can choke Koko a bit. Graham doesn’t like it as he says Akeem can beat Koko without the help. Akeem whips Koko to the buckle and then follows with a big avalanche. Akeem whips him to the buckle and charges again, but Koko ducks out and Akeem crashes. Koko is up and lands a pair of big running forearms. Trongard says he that Koko is thinking of Frankie. Koko hits a headbutt and Akeem is wobbling. Koko follows with a dropkick, which sends Akeem to the buckle. Koko comes flying in, but Akeem ducks and he crashes back to the mat. Akeem hits the ropes and drops the big splash for the win. This was a decent enough match but was a bit too sluggish and definitely had way too much stalling and posturing. This would have been a dream match to me 17 years ago, though. Grade: *
7) Rockin’ Robin defeats Sensational Sherri with a bulldog to retain the WWF Women’s Championship at 10:12
Robin is announced as the new women’s champion, as she had just won the title on October 7 (aired 11/7 on Prime Time Wrestling). Unfortunately for her, her reign would be the death knell for the title. She enters the ring to a very lukewarm reaction as the crowd does not seem very interested at all. Sherri jaws with the crowd as Robin stands behind her and then taps her on the shoulder and messes her hair up. Robin is pretty damn unattractive, I must say, as she looks like a skinny dude with a mullet. She rams Sherri’s head into all four corners and then clotheslines her down for a 2 count. She shoots Sherri in, but misses a clothesline. Sherri heads outside and Robin follows her around the ring. Robin rams her face into the apron and climbs into the ring. Sherri begs off and offers a handshake but Robin wants nothing to do with it. This goes on for about a minute or so and Robin finally shakes her hand, but then she turns it into an armbar. Robin swings her around by the arm and sends her flying. Robin goes to a hammerlock and works the arm a bit. Sherri is shot into the ropes and takes Robin down with a shoulderblock. Robin outsmarts Sherri on another Irish whip and goes low and then goes back to the armbar. Sherri backs Robin into the corner, but misses a charge. Robin whips Sherri to the other buckle and comes in with a splash, but Sherri ducks it and Robin crashes and burns. Sherri slugs away and then goes to a sitting reverse chinlock. Sherri breaks the hold and goes to the eyes. She chops Robin a couple of times and then hits a single leg takedown. Sherri puts on a step over toe hold and then gets a 2 off a clothesline before going back to the chinlock. The psychology is just all over the place right now. Sherri gets a 2 off a grapevine, but Robin fights back and takes Sherri down by the leg. She starts working it over and then locks in a Boston Crab. Sherri flips out and gets a quick 2 off a pin attempt. Sherri smacks Robin as the crowd is getting restless. Robin ducks a clothesline but misses a cross body and crashes to the mat. Sherri shoots Robin in again, but Robin leapfrogs but misses a couple of rights and Sherri clubs her down. Robin gets back up and hits a big elbow for a 2. Robin chops Sherri in the corner a couple of times and gets a smattering of boos from the crowd. Robin gets a Powerslam for a 2. She slams Sherri down again and goes up top. Sherri charges and Robin leaps over her. Sherri hits a clothesline for 2 and then whips Robin in and she comes off with a bulldog for the win. The match was all over the place but picked up a little bit in the last couple of minutes. Robin wasn’t that great overall, but she did hit her big moves crisply which helped things a bit. Grade: *
8) Hulk Hogan defeats Big Boss Man with the Legdrop at 9:10
Slick is no longer internationally known, which is sad to hear. Boss Man is out and is looking very bulky to put it nicely. The Hulkster is out to a healthy pop as always and actually looks kind of weird without the World Title. Trongard says Hogan is “a state of the art” and the “pride of Venice Beach and all points north and south”. Hogan circles the ring as Boss Man threatens him with the nightstick, preventing him from getting inside Hogan pulls him outside and pounds away on Boss Man. He runs him into the post three of times and the crowd is off the hook. Hogan grabs a chair and drills him in the face with it and then rolls Boss Man into the ring. Hogan has the nightstick tucked in his tights and then pulls it out, but Slick jumps in on his back. Hogan backs Slick into the corner and then dodges a Boss Man charge and he careens into his manager. Hogan hits a big back suplex and tears his shirt off as the roof is coming off the LA Sports Arena. Hogan drags Slick to the floor and cuffs him to the turnbuckle and then slaps him around. I can only imagine what the commentary would like if Jesse Ventura were doing this show. He would be having an aneurysm right now. Hogan gets back in and takes out the Boss Man with a clothesline. Hogan is pounding on Boss Man’s head and then he slides outside and smacks Slick in the face. Hogan gets back in again and hits another stuff clothesline and then hits some chops. He sends Boss Man to the buckle and hits a clothesline and then pushes him to the mat. He goes back outside and struts over to Slick and slaps him in the head again. He gets back in and rams Boss Man’s face into the buckles and then slams him down to the mat. Hogan drops a pair of elbows and goes back outside again. He slaps Slick again and then gets back in and shoots Boss Man into the ropes. Boss Man hangs on and then hits a clothesline to finally stop Hogan. Boss Man scoops him up and then takes him right back down with a Spinebuster. Boss Man pulls out the cuff key and releases Slick. He then charges and drops down on Hogan who was draped on the middle rope. Boss Man stands on his head and then chokes him on the top rope. Trongard claims that neither the inmates nor the other guards liked Boss Man at his last job. Boss Man picks Hogan up and hits a piledriver for 1. Graham says that the piledriver should be banned. Boss Man goes for another piledriver, but Hogan back drops him over the top and onto a cameraman. Slick hooks Hogan’s leg and then runs off. Hogan chases him into the ring, but gets caught with a big sidewalk slam. Boss Man drops a big splash for 2, but Hogan powers out and Hulks up. Hogan lands the right hands and then the big boot, but Boss Man crashes to the floor. Boss Man drags him outside and he shoves Hulk into the post. Boss Man then cuffs Hogan’s hands together and rolls back into the ring. Hogan gets back in the ring and Boss Man chops away at him and then hits a headbutt. Hogan is staggering around the ring as the crowd tries to rally him. Boss Man whips him to the corner but misses a big charge. Hogan looks to the heavens and snaps the handcuffs off. Hogan takes Boss Man down with a clothesline and hits the Legdrop for the win. Slick jumps in the ring, but Hogan catches him and tosses him into the Boss Man, sending both men to the floor. Trongard goes on to put the cherry on top of the sundae that was his commentary by saying Hogan is Eric Dickerson, Larry Bird, Orel Hershiser, Wayne Gretsky, Magic Johnson, Mario Lemuix, Jack Nicklaus and Sugar Ray Leonard all rolled into one. OK, that was insanely fun as these two just had great chemistry with each other during this run. Boss Man bumped like a champ for a big man and Hogan was pretty entertaining in his berating of Slick. Outside of Orndorff and Piper, I would say Hogan took his consistently stiffest beatings from the Boss Man, as he was hit with some solid power offense. Grade: ***
Final Analysis
Well, this was a pretty good house show. Only a couple of weak matches and even those weren’t that bad or boring, just middling. Lanny Poffo shone as he always does on these house shows, and they did a good job getting Bad News Brown and Akeem solid victories to build their resumes up. Valentine and Tito had a war and that match was the best on the night. The DiBiase/Hercules and Demolition/POP angles were furthered nicely as well. The main event was a lot of fun and the Boss Man/Hogan feud was just red hot at his point and both men worked hard and delivered. Outside of the Akeem squash and the women’s match, the crowd stayed up and loud the whole time, which added to the show as well. Trongard and Graham are entertaining in a train wreck sort of way, and I actually somewhat like Trongard’s presentation and style, as he plays it more as a sport and has a voice you would expect from a boxing announcer. All in all, this was a good time killer as most of these house shows tend to be. Final Grade: B
MVP: Greg Valentine & Tito Santana
Runner Up: Hulk Hogan & Big Boss Man
Non MVP: Rockin’ Robin
Runner Up: Jim Powers
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