IOTL, Classic Concentration didn't debut until 1987.
What a fun update -- and of course, I loved the mini-Ozzfest.
The Rise of the Dragon: An Altered History of the World Wrestling Federation
- Thread starter The Walkman
- Start date
- Status
IOTL, Classic Concentration didn't debut until 1987.
What a fun update -- and of course, I loved the mini-Ozzfest.
This did indeed happen, but fortunately, Steamboat recovered and was back the following month to continue his feud with Roberts. But since the two aren't feuding right now IOTL, this won't occur.
Yes, but remember, the blogger is writing this review in 2013...
Thanks for the kind words. Celebrity involvement has always been heavy in wrestling, and my timeline is no different.
So I jus finished. Excellent timeline; TTL's WWF certainly had its fantastic time in the eighties, and it's great seeing dynamite have his moment in the spotlight at mania. Hope this continues!
April-May 1986: Cartoons, Wrestlerock, and a Dynamite New Champion
1986 spring season of U.S. Network television programming (Saturday morning) [1]
ABC
8AM – The Bugs Bunny Show
9AM – Pink Panther and Sons
9:30AM – Star Wars: Ewoks
10AM – Star Wars: Droids
10:30AM – Laff-a-Lympics
11AM – The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians
11:30AM – The Littles
12PM – ABC Weekend Special
1PM – American Bandstand
CBS
8AM – The Berenstein Bears
8:30AM – The Wuzzles
9AM – Jim Henson’s Muppet Babies
10AM – Ricky Steamboat’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling
11AM – CBS Storybreak
11:30AM – Dungeons and Dragons
12PM – The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show
12:30PM – Land of the Lost
1PM – Get Along Gang
1:30PM – Pole Position
NBC
8AM – The Snorks
8:30AM – Disney’s Adventures of the Gummi Bears
9AM – The Smurfs
10AM – It’s Punky Brewster
10:30AM – Alvin and the Chipmunks
11AM – Kidd Video
11:30AM – Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
12PM – Mr. T
12:30PM – Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends
1PM – NBC Sports
--
April 20, 1986
WrestleRock ‘86
From *Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
WrestleRock ’86 was a wrestling event promoted by the American Wrestling Association. The event was held at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota on April 20, 1986. The card was heavily promoted for months during weekly television programming by the AWA. Although not as ambitious as the WWF’s Wrestlemania 2, the show was a reasonable success, though it still failed to draw more fans than the NWA’s Crockett Cup shows. [2]
The show also featured a brief concert by country singer Waylon Jennings before the final three matches. WrestleRock would prove to be the final stadium show for the AWA, though the promotion did continue to promote their flagship card of Superclash until closing in 1992.
The “WrestleRock Rumble”
A promotion for the show included a music video shot in Las Vegas entitled the “WrestleRock Rumble”, in a vein similar to “The Super Bowl Shuffle” from 1985. It featured different AWA talents “rapping” verses, including the then 60-year-old Verne Gagne reading his verses off a sheet in a very off-key fashion. The idea was parodied by the World Wrestling Federation for Wrestlemania 24, with various WWF wrestlers singing verses, often quite badly. [3]
Matches [4]
No., Results, Time
1) Brad Rheingans defeated Boris Zukhov (5:44)
2) Colonel DeBeers defeated Wahoo McDaniel by disqualification (7:03)
3) Buddy Rose & Doug Somers defeated The Midnight Rockers (Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty) (12:03)
4) Tiger Mask II (Mitsuharu Misawa) defeated Buck Zumhofe (6:55)
5) Harley Race fought Rick Martel to a double count-out (18:00)
6) The Fabulous Moolah won a 10-Woman Battle Royal featuring: Sherri Martel, Luna Vachon, Joyce Grable, Kat LeRoux, Rose Divine, Taylor Thomas, Despina Montega, Debbie Combs, and Candi Devine (8:00)
7) Kamala defeated Sgt. Slaughter (c) to win the AWA America's Championship (9:54)
8) Scott Hall & Curt Hennig (c) defeated The Long Riders (Bill & Barney Irwin) to retain the AWA World Tag Team Championships (25:25)
9) Scott LeDoux defeated Larry Zbyszko by disqualification in a Boxing match (w/ Larry Hennig as the special guest referee) (7:32)
10) Nick Bockwinkel defeated AWA World Heavyweight Champion Stan Hansen (c) by disqualification (12:29)
11) Greg Gagne defeated Bruiser Brody in a Steel Cage match (12:12)
12) Verne Gagne defeated Sheik Adnan El-Kassey in a Steel Cage match (6:54)
13) The Road Warriors (Animal & Hawk) defeated Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin in a Steel Cage match (21:21)
See also
American Wrestling Association
Superclash
The Super Bowl Shuffle
--
April 22, 1986
“Yeah, a friend of mine in Minnesota actually went to that Wrestlerock thing,” Pat Patterson said. He bit into the turkey sandwich he’d gotten for lunch at a nearby deli.
“Did he sit all the way through the show?” Vince McMahon asked as he sipped his drink.
“Oh, he didn’t watch it,” Patterson replied. “He just went because the concession stand outside was giving away free hot dogs and snow cones.”
The two men laughed at Patterson’s joke. With all the competition McMahon was getting lately during his plans of national expansion, it was nice to have a laugh every once in a while. To make matters better for McMahon, the AWA looked like it was floundering heavily, and wouldn’t be lasting very much longer.
“All joking aside, the AWA does have some pretty solid competitors,” McMahon said as he chomped down ferociously on his corned beef sandwich, chewed it up, and swallowed. “Take the Road Warriors, for instance…we need a good, fresh babyface tag team to challenge the Hart Foundation now that Hart & Neidhart are champions. If we could persuade them to sign with this company, we’d have just that.”
Patterson nodded. “They’d be great, alright—if you could get ‘em. If you could get the Midnight Rockers, they could probably work, too…”
McMahon stroked his chin. “Yes, but I’d much prefer the Road Warriors. We already have Steamboat bouncing around the ring with his style—I don’t want people to think I’ve gone soft, allowing all these little guys into the WWF spotlight.”
Just then, there was a loud knock at McMahon’s door.
“Nobody here,” Patterson called jokingly. “We’re dead. Come back tomorrow; maybe our zombies can help you.”
“Oh please, Patterson. You’re not foolin’ anybody,” bellowed a deep voice from behind the door.
McMahon instantly recognized the voice, and swallowed the bite of sandwich in his mouth before speaking. “Sorry, Terry. Come on in.”
The door opened, and in walked Terry Bollea, better known as former WWF Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan. The muscular man smiled and nodded at McMahon and Patterson. “How are you guys this morning?”
McMahon raised an eyebrow at Hogan, wondering to what he owed this visit from one of his biggest drawing cards. “Fine, fine. Have a seat, Terry. What can I do for you?”
Hogan sat down in the chair in front of McMahon’s desk. His jovial demeanor was now replaced with a calm, slightly stoic one. “I’ve been thinkin’, Vince. Steamboat’s been champion for a pretty long time. Now, no offense to Ricky, he’s a great talent. Definitely at least ten times more athletic than me. And he’s done a great job carryin’ the title. But…don’t you think it’s time to give the top dog his time in the spotlight again?”
McMahon nodded slowly. He knew this conversation would be coming soon, and he had been deliberately avoiding talking to Hogan about until now. “Of course; I agree with you 100 percent. I’ve just…been having problems figuring out how I want to do it.”
Hogan nodded. “Understood. Have you considered turnin’ him or me heel?”
McMahon shook his head as he creased his brow. “No, I don’t think that’ll work. You’re both over too much with the crowd…turning one of you heel would be depriving me of my two top faces in the company. I don’t really want that…” In reality, by going by the audience’s cheers as a measure of how popular a wrestler was, McMahon felt that Steamboat had actually been eclipsing Hogan in popularity, and he thought that if he turned one of them, it would have to be Hogan. He wanted the Hulkster to remain a babyface as long as possible.
“Yeah, I get what you’re sayin’,” Hogan replied. “I guess you could have him drop the title to a heel wrestler, and then have me win it later on.”
McMahon shrugged. “That was my original plan, really. But there aren’t really that many big heel challengers for Rick right now. As of this moment, I’d probably lean towards someone from the Harts, to be honest… “
Patterson nodded in approval as he finished off his sandwich. “Yeah, the Hart Foundation is pretty hot right now. The people hate ‘em…especially Dynamite.”
“They’re not the only ones,” Hogan grumbled. Tom Billington was one of his least favorite people in the WWF locker room.
McMahon glanced at Hogan, and rolled his eyes at the remark. “Let’s keep this strictly business, alright? I think Tom would be a decent choice to win the title from Steamboat, carry it for a month or so, and then drop it to Hogan, were it not for his…injuries.” [5]
The room was silent for a few seconds as Hogan and Patterson watched McMahon in anticipation. McMahon pondered his options carefully—he wanted the title to be on a decent heel when Hogan challenged for it. However, he didn’t want to endanger his employee’s well-being, either. Plus, there was the fact that he and Hogan were basically going behind Steamboat’s back, and Steamboat might not be happy about this when he found out.
Hogan finally spoke up. “Well, you’d just have to have him wrestle two matches, correct?” he asked McMahon. “One to win the title, and one to lose it. That’s not a very big workload, to be honest. Tom can even take some time off after he loses the title to heal up if he wants to.”
McMahon thought about Hogan’s words for a few seconds, and slowly nodded. “Well, if you insist, Terry. I took a gamble on Steamboat as champion; I took a gamble on the Hart Foundation—who’s to say this gamble won’t pay off, too?”
Patterson frowned. “I don’t know, Vince. Steamboat was one thing, but Tom’s not that big of a guy. How will he make a believable champion?”
“Easy,” McMahon replied. “He’ll win dirty. Always dirty with the Harts. We’ll have all the Harts accompany him to ringside, and Rick will be so busy fighting them off that it’ll let somebody come in, maybe hit Steamboat with Jimmy’s megaphone, then Tom pins Rick. Then, we can have Hulk feud with the Harts. Besides, Tom will only be champion for a month or two, tops.”
Hogan nodded and smiled. “I like it. Hulk Hogan takin’ on all five Harts in the Foundation—it makes it look like the odds are stacked against me.”
“Of course, I’ll have to run this by Rick,” McMahon said. “He may or may not like the idea, though…”
Patterson patted McMahon’s shoulder. “I’m sure you can convince him. I got faith in you, Vince.”
Hogan nodded. “Me too. You’re probably the most persuasive guy I know!”
McMahon smirked and rolled his eyes. “Stop it, you two; you’re making me blush…”
--
May 3, 1986
The seventh episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event airs on NBC; it was previously taped on May 1st. The show would garner a lower-than-before, but still respectable, 9.7 rating. [6]
The lead-off match sees Hulk Hogan teaming up with the Junkyard Dog to take on Paul Orndorff and Big John Studd, with manager Bobby “the Brain” Heenan in their corner. Hogan and JYD manage to overcome the odds and score a hard-fought victory over the heels in a match that also sees Bobby Heenan take a big bump to the outside. After King Kong Bundy squashes Uncle Elmer in what would ultimately be Elmer’s second-to-last match in the WWF, the viewers hear an interview between Gene Okerlund and WWF newcomer Billy Jack Haynes. Haynes, who plays a “Wild West sheriff” gimmick, says he’s here to declare “martial law” in the WWF, and he’ll “clean up crime” wherever he sees it.
The next match sees Randy “Macho Man” Savage defending his Intercontinental Title against the man he took it from at Wrestlemania 2, Roddy Piper. After several minutes of high-impact offense by Piper, Savage rolls out of the ring and walks away, taking an intentional count-out victory against his adversary, losing the match but keeping his championship in the process. Greg Valentine scores a pinfall victory over the man who branded him at ‘Mania, Terry Funk, and Jake Roberts disposes of former WWF Tag Team Champion Tito Santana with the DDT. Oddly, Santana’s partner Brutus Beefcake is nowhere to be seen.
The main event is the long-anticipated rematch between WWF Champion Ricky Steamboat and his longtime rival, the Hart Foundation’s Dynamite Kid. While the match is shorter and significantly less of a technical classic than their previous two bouts, it’s still fairly action-packed. Jimmy Hart and the rest of the Hart Foundation are at ringside for the match, and provide ample distractions to allow Dynamite to perform numerous heelish tactics during the match. Still, Steamboat fights through, and looks poised to end the match after hitting a crossbody on Dynamite. The referee, however, is preoccupied with Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart on the other side of the ring, and doesn’t see the pinfall attempt. Steamboat gets up and knocks Hart and Neidhart off the apron. The Tag Team Champions try to climb back in the ring, but the referee admonishes them. Meanwhile, Davey Boy Smith manages to climb into the ring behind the referee’s back and bash Steamboat in the head with Jimmy Hart’s megaphone. Then, in front of a shocked crowd, Dynamite pins an unconscious Steamboat to win the WWF Championship. The Harts start to attack Steamboat post-match, but Hulk Hogan charges down to the ring with several babyface wrestlers (Santana, Andre, JYD, Valentine and Piper) and drive them away. They all help Steamboat to his feet as Dynamite, flanked by the rest of the Harts, holds the title belt aloft, having finally slain “the Dragon”. Hogan balls his fists up as he stares at the Hart Foundation, vowing revenge...
Saturday Night’s Main Event #7 Results
Hulk Hogan & Junkyard Dog def. Big John Studd & “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff (w/ Bobby “the Brain” Heenan) (8:04)
King Kong Bundy def. Uncle Elmer (w/ Hillbilly Jim) (2:31)
WWF Intercontinental Champinship: “Rowdy” Roddy Piper def. Randy “Macho Man” Savage (w/ Miss Elizabeth) by Count-out (4:56)
Greg “the Hammer” Valentine (w/ Junkyard Dog) def. Terry Funk (w/ Dory Funk) (5:04)
Jake “the Snake” Roberts def. Tito Santana (4:15)
WWF Championship: Dynamite Kid (w/ Jimmy Hart, Davey Boy Smith, Bret Hart & Jim “the Anvil” Neidhart) def. Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat (C) (7:01)
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[1] A little something-something to show you what Rock ‘n’ Wrestling is up against on Saturdays! A couple of changes are prevalent here.
- Let's start with ABC: for one thing, Pink Panther and Bugs Bunny were in opposite timeslots IOTL; here they swap places from the previous season in an attempt to bring viewers to the newer show, whose ratings were slipping at around this time. Also, the two Star Wars cartoons bookended Laff-a-Lympics IOTL; here, the ABC executives realize that airing them back-to-back is a much better idea because they play off each other and boost each other’s ratings. Lastly, American Bandstand had moved to the USA Network at this point IOTL; ITTL, it does just well enough to hang on for another season on ABC.
- CBS’ programming is almost completely the same as OTL—the only difference is that Land of the Lost and Charlie Brown swap timeslots due to butterflies.
- And finally, IOTL, NBC aired The Smurfs from 9AM-10:30AM; here, the NBC higher-ups deem one hour of the cartoon to be enough, and cut it short. Some of the other cartoons are moved up thirty minutes, and reruns of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids are added to the line-up at 11:30AM to fill the slot.
[2] IOTL, Wrestlerock actually did draw more fans than the Crockett Cup shows. This was because the Crockett Cups were badly promoted in ’86, and the shows were pretty lackluster. Here, they’re a little better-quality, inching them ever-so-slightly above Wrestlerock.
[3] WWE never did this IOTL, but they did parody the song in an episode of their YouTube comedy show Are You Serious?, with Brodus Clay, Yoshi Tatsu and Santino Marella doing rap verses to promote Wrestlemania 28. They were all better than Verne Gagne, mind you.
[4] The card is largely unchanged from OTL, except for a few little differences. For example, Misty Blue Simms and Jimmy Snuka appeared at OTL’s Wrestlerock ’86, but they obviously can’t here due to being employed by the WWF. Same goes for Barry Windham and Mike Rotundo, as they’re employed by the NWA.
[5] At this point IOTL, Dynamite was plagued by countless injuries due to his years of “bumping”, or actually making contact with the mat or his opponent during a match (often violently, to boot); his back was in especially bad shape, and this coupled with drug abuse and problems in his legs is what eventually forced his retirement and has today confined him to a wheelchair. ITTL, his workload has become a bit lighter due to being in a faction with his peers, so he’s in slightly better shape.
[6] IOTL, this SNME did a 9.3 rating.
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And with that, Steamboat's first WWF Championship reign comes to a close. The Hart Foundation will not reign forever, though--not with Hulk Hogan on their tail, and Steamboat looking for revenge! I hope you guys enjoyed the TV Guide-esque look at Saturday Morning programming as well. I've been looking to branch out in this timeline, and this is my first step in doing so.
Also, this has no bearing to the timeline, but this is my 100th post on this forum!
Coming up, more pop culture madness! And later, a look at the career of one of the biggest stars of the NWA in the late '80s that almost came to a crashing halt...
Indeed- though it is disconserting to see the orange goblin so easily thwart the dragon, at least it's giving Tom a chance with the belt once before he goes. Question- do the superclash multicards happen? I can't really see Crocket working with fritz or Verne in this world.
Hey, just wondering, is Ric Flair gonna show up in the WWF earlier? I would love to see an alternate Wrestlemania 3 main event of Steamboat-Flair!
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June-July 1986: Blanchard, Bockwinkel and Beef Between the Faces
June 1, 1986
At a JCP show, Tully Blanchard challenges Magnum T.A. for Magnum’s NWA United States Championship. With help from the distractions of the other Four Horsemen, Blanchard manages to pin Magnum to win the United States Championship for the second time.
---
June 14, 1986
WWF
I’m still iffy about the decision Titan made to put the WWF Heavyweight Title on Dynamite Kid. Sure, he’s a heck of a technical wrestler, but there are several problems with entrusting him with the belt. For one thing, his body is in horrible shape. Putting the World Title on him is like asking a 90-year-old man in a walker to do an elaborate ballet every night—sooner or later, the man’s health is literally going to give out on him. Another thing is his tendency to bump. That will come back to haunt him if he isn’t careful. Dynamite is most likely a way to get the belt off Steamboat and onto Hogan without having to have the two babyfaces wrestle one another or turn one of them heel (which this fan feels would have been quite interesting to see). And lastly, Dynamite is a very small man. Granted, Steamboat wasn't that big either, but Dynamite is barely over 200 pounds right now. Presenting him as a legitimate championship threat, with or without the Harts at his side, is going to be very, VERY difficult for McMahon.
It’s not all bad for the WWF, though. Dynamite is, of course, the first Englishman to win the WWF World Title. His doing so has reportedly made headlines in Great Britain, and for the first time, an American wrestling company is getting major attention overseas. Oddly enough, his being a heel seems to have little effect on abating his popularity in his home country. McMahon’s dream of worldwide expansion probably won’t be realized with Dynamite as champion, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction.
The next edition of SNME is scheduled to air sometime in early August on NBC. Early word is one of the matches will be a Battle Royal to determine the next challenger to Dynamite’s WWF World Title. [1]
S.D. Jones was released on 6/13 due to budget cuts. His loss won’t affect the WWF very much, since he was mainly being used as enhancement talent: jobbing to mid-carders, etc. Where Jones may end up next is unclear at this point.
AWA
Nick Bockwinkel won the AWA World Championship from Stan Hansen at a TV taping on 6/11. Hansen had reportedly received a higher-paying offer from an undisclosed NWA promotion that also promised him a lighter workload. Hansen is likely to officially sever ties with Gagne in the next few days. [2]
David Sammartino looks to possibly be turning heel soon. I hope Verne doesn’t decide to run a Bockwinkel vs. Sammartino feud for the World Title, or we’re all in a lot of trouble.
—Excerpts from The Wrestling Observer Newsletter; June 14, 1986
---
July 12, 1986
WWF
WWF re-signed former WWF Heavyweight Champion “Superstar” Billy Graham over the weekend. Graham had been wrestling a full schedule in JCP, and when Titan reportedly offered him a part-time contract for almost the same amount of money, he jumped at it. It’s unknown whether McMahon has any plans for the Superstar, or if he’s just snatching him up to try to draw viewers away from Crockett.
Two men were released from WWF this past week. Keith “Adrian Adonis” Franke was let go on 7/7. He’d been packing on pounds lately, and McMahon had reportedly been hounding him to lose weight. McMahon apparently thought Adonis was “too fat” to do very much in the ring (this coming from a man who has King Kong Bundy wrestling practically every night). Franke reportedly heard about this, and quit. I speculate he may head to the AWA when his no-compete clause expires. [3]
Also, Stan “Uncle Elmer” Frazier asked for and was granted his release on 7/8. He had been complaining about his knees and feet lately. (All joking aside, if anyone needed to lose weight in the WWF, it was Frazier. As large as he is, he may not last much longer.) Frazier is likely not going to be wrestling anywhere anytime soon, at least on a regular basis. [4]
NWA
Crockett’s “Great American Bash” tour continues to draw significant gate receipts. The 7/5 JCP “Great American Bash” drew 20,000 fans … And in the main event, Ric Flair defeated Ricky Morton in a Steel Cage Match to retain the NWA Heavyweight Title at around the 20-minute mark. Flair got a much bigger pop than Morton, as did many of the Horsemen in their respective matches … As stated in previous issues, the tour will run through 8/1, where the scheduled main event is Ric Flair vs. Dusty Rhodes in a Steel Cage Match. [5]
Crockett offered The Road Warriors a contract this past weekend, and they seem to be close to jumping from AWA to Crockett’s promotion. Details are sketchy right now, but unless Titan offers them more money, Hawk and Animal will probably work for the NWA soon.
OTHER
Stan Hansen is reportedly in talks with Crockett for debuting in the NWA in the next few weeks. His no-compete clause expires in a few days, so we’ll probably see the former AWA Champion in JCP sooner rather than later.
—Excerpts from The Wrestling Observer Newsletter; July 12, 1986
---
July 27, 1986
“Okay, I understand,” Vince McMahon said on his office phone. “Yes, I completely understand where you’re coming from—I shouldn’t have done what I did. You should have told me before you agreed to do the job to Dynamite in the first place, and we wouldn’t be in this predicament.” McMahon nervously tapped his pen on his desk as he listened to the person on the other end. “Got it. I’ll let Hogan know…we’ll figure something out.”
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[1] IOTL, there wasn’t another episode of SNME until October 1986. Here, slightly better ratings of the program and badly slipping ratings of Saturday Night Live reruns prompt NBC to order another edition of the show much earlier.
[2] IOTL, Hansen held the AWA Title for slightly longer, but still left the AWA around the same time. Also as OTL, Bockwinkel was awarded the title belt when Hansen left. The only differences here are that it happens earlier, and there’s an actual match as opposed to Bockwinkel simply being handed the title.
[3] IOTL, Adonis was employed by the WWF for quite a bit longer, staying on until shortly after Wrestlemania III, at which time he left and did indeed return to the AWA.
[4] Uncle Elmer left the WWF at around this point IOTL as well. He would wrestle occasionally for the next few years, but was plagued by diabetes and poor health, and he ultimately died in 1992 at the age of 54. ITTL, he dies at roughly the same time.
[5] All this is as OTL.
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I apologize about the shortness of this update…I’ve been mainly working on fine-tuning the two updates after this one for some time now, since they will represent key points in TTL’s NWA and WWF. These will be coming up next, and I’ll also get to your questions soon enough!
Nope, the Superclash cards don't occur. The way I see it, we're not really losing much by them occurring or not occurring (even though losing the cool Bockwinkel vs. Hennig match at Superclash 2 is a little disheartening).
As we saw in my last update, you shouldn't count Steamboat out so quickly!
I've already stated in a previous post that we'll see Steamboat vs. Flair slightly later than it occurred OTL. I'm not saying which promotion this will occur in, however...
Losing bockwinkle/henig for the awa belt would certainly go down easier if it brought us the perfect world heavyweight champion.........
Just saying.........
Just saying.........
October 1986: Magnum's Opus
October 1986: Magnum's Opus
Again, I’m backtracking, but I just wanted to give you this update to one of the great wrestling talents of the ‘80s that was cut horribly short IOTL…
---
October 1986
(Partial) Transcript of USA Network’s “Top 100 Wrestlers in American History” Special, Hour #1
Original Air Date: August 12, 2013
(two men are seated in folding chairs in front of a TV screen showing clips of numerous wrestlers, from Steamboat and Savage to Benoit and Danielson) [1]
JIM ROSS: Welcome back to the WWF’s countdown of the Top 100 Wrestlers in American History. I’m Jim Ross.
JOEY STYLES: And I’m Joey Styles. If you’re just joining us, we’re counting down the men who’ve made the biggest splash in the history of American pro wrestling, based on their title wins, popularity, and overall impact in the business. We’ve already seen some big names on this countdown so far.
JIM ROSS: And we’re gonna see lots more before it’s all said and done. Like the man at #83 on our list: a former NWA World Champion who defined the tail end of the ‘80s in the NWA.
#83 – Magnum T.A.
VOICEOVER: He was one of the top superstars of the NWA in the 1980’s, playing the part of the handsome young hero when the company competed with the WWF in its early days of success.
RANDY ORTON: Magnum T.A. was one of my first real favorites growing up.
DUSTY RHODES: I’ve never seen a man that could get an audience behind him as good as Magnum could.
VOICEOVER: A former three-time United States Champion and NWA Heavyweight Champion, Magnum T.A. began in relative obscurity as a young wrestler named Terry Allen.
(plays a clip of a match in JCP from the early ‘80s, showing Terry Allen defeating an unknown jobber)
VOICEOVER: The late, great Andre the Giant was responsible for giving Allen the ring name that he would use for the remainder of his career.
MAGNUM TA: Andre thought I looked like Tom Selleck, so that’s where I got my name, from the TV show Magnum P.I. I never really saw the resemblance, but what are you gonna do?
VOICEOVER: Magnum T.A. joined the NWA’s Jim Crockett Promotions in 1984. He quickly won the United States Championship from Wahoo McDaniel in March 1985, and went on to have a very public feud with Tully Blanchard. Blanchard won the title from Magnum in mid-1985, and at Starrcade that year, the two squared off in one of the most memorable steel cage matches in history.
(plays clips of the final moments of the Magnum vs. Blanchard Steel Cage match at Starrcade ’85, showing Blanchard submitting to Magnum and Magnum holding the title belt aloft)
TULLY BLANCHARD: That match was one of the most brutal I’ve ever been through. I can remember watching my blood roll down my face, screaming in pain. There was one point where Magnum took a broken piece of wood and carved up my face with it. I literally looked like hamburger meat when we were done. No doubt, it was really gruesome TV at the time.
MAGNUM TA: I still have people come up to me and say “Man, I loved that cage match you had with Tully.” It’s probably what kick-started my career, if I really think about it, and it really got the crowd cheering for me against the Horsemen.
VOICEOVER: Magnum lost the U.S. Title back to Blanchard in the summer of 1986. The Four Horsemen were setting their sights on the upstart young wrestler, and they looked destined to clash sooner rather than later. But it almost never happened. In October 1986, Magnum’s upstart career in NWA nearly came to a crashing halt—literally.
MAGNUM TA: It was 1986, about late October, I guess. I was out for a drive in my Porsche. It was pouring down rain—I could literally not see the road for the rain sometimes. All of a sudden, I round a corner and I feel the car skidding. I literally thought I was gonna die, but I turned the car into the skid.
(shows pictures of Magnum in a hospital bed)
VOICEOVER: Magnum’s car turned 180 degrees in the road, and slid several yards before the passenger’s side hit a telephone pole on the side of the road. The car was totaled, but thankfully, Magnum survived the accident.
MAGNUM TA: I think the worst thing I got from that wreck was a broken arm. The doctors said if I’d hit the tree on the driver’s side of the car, I could have been paralyzed or even killed. I thank God that didn’t happen… [2]
VOICEOVER: Magnum made a triumphant return to the ring in 1987, defeating Arn Anderson in his first match back, and setting his sights on Ric Flair’s NWA Championship.
(shows a clip of Magnum vs. Anderson from a JCP TV broadcast)
VOICEOVER: The two feuded for the better part of the year, but Flair always got the better of Magnum.
RIC FLAIR: Magnum was probably one of the most over guys I ever worked with. He would come out to stop a Horsemen attack, and the roof literally came off the place.
VOICEOVER: All the confrontations with the Horsemen paid off for Magnum when, at Starrcade 1987 in Chicago, Magnum T.A. finally reached the top of the NWA mountain, defeating the “Nature Boy” Ric Flair to win the NWA Championship.
(shows a clip of Magnum defeating Flair for the title, then holding the belt aloft as the crowd cheers wildly)
MAGNUM TA: I’ll never forget that moment—it was insane. People were cheering, screaming, jumping up and down—I kinda felt like doing the same thing at the time.
VOICEOVER: Magnum would hold the title for about a year before losing it back to Flair. Though he never reached World Title status again, Magnum would have one final reign as U.S. Champion before he retired in 1998 due to a back injury. [3] He continued to manage men in the NWA, and continues to remain active in the wrestling business today. [4]
MAGNUM TA: I’ve had a heck of a career, and I’m so grateful for that. The Lord gave me a second chance after that accident, and I guess I made the most of it.
(shows a picture of Magnum posing with the NWA Championship belt before continuing the countdown with #82)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] This is your first taste of the future state of wrestling ITTL. Granted, it won’t be for a long, LONG time, but I figured I’d throw something out there.
[2] This did indeed happen IOTL. Magnum’s C4 and C5 vertebrae exploded on impact, effectively paralyzing the right side of his body. He was in his car for two or three hours before the paramedics reached him—the doctors said his superior conditioning was what saved his life. Magnum would miraculously learn to walk again, and would make occasional appearances at wrestling shows after his recovery. However, he would never wrestle another match.
[3] Prior to his accident, Magnum was reportedly scheduled to win the U.S. Title for a third time before being groomed to challenge Ric Flair for the World Title. Here, because of his car accident and respective popularity with the fans, the World Title reign occurs first.
[4] Magnum is also still involved in wrestling IOTL in a non-competitive fashion. His most recent wrestling-related appearance was at WWE’s Vengeance pay-per-view in 2007, where he had a confrontation with U.S. Champion Montel Vontavius Porter.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
And there you have the answer to a question I’ve been asked on more than one occasion concerning this timeline. Magnum T.A. still has his accident, but sustains very minimal injuries (relatively speaking). I always intended to save Magnum’s career, but I tried to strike a happy medium with the tone of the accident, as I didn’t want to completely butterfly it away—that would be too easy.
Coming up, the two big stars of the WWF have their differences. See how it all gets fixed with a simple battle royal…
Again, I’m backtracking, but I just wanted to give you this update to one of the great wrestling talents of the ‘80s that was cut horribly short IOTL…
---
October 1986
(Partial) Transcript of USA Network’s “Top 100 Wrestlers in American History” Special, Hour #1
Original Air Date: August 12, 2013
(two men are seated in folding chairs in front of a TV screen showing clips of numerous wrestlers, from Steamboat and Savage to Benoit and Danielson) [1]
JIM ROSS: Welcome back to the WWF’s countdown of the Top 100 Wrestlers in American History. I’m Jim Ross.
JOEY STYLES: And I’m Joey Styles. If you’re just joining us, we’re counting down the men who’ve made the biggest splash in the history of American pro wrestling, based on their title wins, popularity, and overall impact in the business. We’ve already seen some big names on this countdown so far.
JIM ROSS: And we’re gonna see lots more before it’s all said and done. Like the man at #83 on our list: a former NWA World Champion who defined the tail end of the ‘80s in the NWA.
#83 – Magnum T.A.
VOICEOVER: He was one of the top superstars of the NWA in the 1980’s, playing the part of the handsome young hero when the company competed with the WWF in its early days of success.
RANDY ORTON: Magnum T.A. was one of my first real favorites growing up.
DUSTY RHODES: I’ve never seen a man that could get an audience behind him as good as Magnum could.
VOICEOVER: A former three-time United States Champion and NWA Heavyweight Champion, Magnum T.A. began in relative obscurity as a young wrestler named Terry Allen.
(plays a clip of a match in JCP from the early ‘80s, showing Terry Allen defeating an unknown jobber)
VOICEOVER: The late, great Andre the Giant was responsible for giving Allen the ring name that he would use for the remainder of his career.
MAGNUM TA: Andre thought I looked like Tom Selleck, so that’s where I got my name, from the TV show Magnum P.I. I never really saw the resemblance, but what are you gonna do?
VOICEOVER: Magnum T.A. joined the NWA’s Jim Crockett Promotions in 1984. He quickly won the United States Championship from Wahoo McDaniel in March 1985, and went on to have a very public feud with Tully Blanchard. Blanchard won the title from Magnum in mid-1985, and at Starrcade that year, the two squared off in one of the most memorable steel cage matches in history.
(plays clips of the final moments of the Magnum vs. Blanchard Steel Cage match at Starrcade ’85, showing Blanchard submitting to Magnum and Magnum holding the title belt aloft)
TULLY BLANCHARD: That match was one of the most brutal I’ve ever been through. I can remember watching my blood roll down my face, screaming in pain. There was one point where Magnum took a broken piece of wood and carved up my face with it. I literally looked like hamburger meat when we were done. No doubt, it was really gruesome TV at the time.
MAGNUM TA: I still have people come up to me and say “Man, I loved that cage match you had with Tully.” It’s probably what kick-started my career, if I really think about it, and it really got the crowd cheering for me against the Horsemen.
VOICEOVER: Magnum lost the U.S. Title back to Blanchard in the summer of 1986. The Four Horsemen were setting their sights on the upstart young wrestler, and they looked destined to clash sooner rather than later. But it almost never happened. In October 1986, Magnum’s upstart career in NWA nearly came to a crashing halt—literally.
MAGNUM TA: It was 1986, about late October, I guess. I was out for a drive in my Porsche. It was pouring down rain—I could literally not see the road for the rain sometimes. All of a sudden, I round a corner and I feel the car skidding. I literally thought I was gonna die, but I turned the car into the skid.
(shows pictures of Magnum in a hospital bed)
VOICEOVER: Magnum’s car turned 180 degrees in the road, and slid several yards before the passenger’s side hit a telephone pole on the side of the road. The car was totaled, but thankfully, Magnum survived the accident.
MAGNUM TA: I think the worst thing I got from that wreck was a broken arm. The doctors said if I’d hit the tree on the driver’s side of the car, I could have been paralyzed or even killed. I thank God that didn’t happen… [2]
VOICEOVER: Magnum made a triumphant return to the ring in 1987, defeating Arn Anderson in his first match back, and setting his sights on Ric Flair’s NWA Championship.
(shows a clip of Magnum vs. Anderson from a JCP TV broadcast)
VOICEOVER: The two feuded for the better part of the year, but Flair always got the better of Magnum.
RIC FLAIR: Magnum was probably one of the most over guys I ever worked with. He would come out to stop a Horsemen attack, and the roof literally came off the place.
VOICEOVER: All the confrontations with the Horsemen paid off for Magnum when, at Starrcade 1987 in Chicago, Magnum T.A. finally reached the top of the NWA mountain, defeating the “Nature Boy” Ric Flair to win the NWA Championship.
(shows a clip of Magnum defeating Flair for the title, then holding the belt aloft as the crowd cheers wildly)
MAGNUM TA: I’ll never forget that moment—it was insane. People were cheering, screaming, jumping up and down—I kinda felt like doing the same thing at the time.
VOICEOVER: Magnum would hold the title for about a year before losing it back to Flair. Though he never reached World Title status again, Magnum would have one final reign as U.S. Champion before he retired in 1998 due to a back injury. [3] He continued to manage men in the NWA, and continues to remain active in the wrestling business today. [4]
MAGNUM TA: I’ve had a heck of a career, and I’m so grateful for that. The Lord gave me a second chance after that accident, and I guess I made the most of it.
(shows a picture of Magnum posing with the NWA Championship belt before continuing the countdown with #82)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] This is your first taste of the future state of wrestling ITTL. Granted, it won’t be for a long, LONG time, but I figured I’d throw something out there.
[2] This did indeed happen IOTL. Magnum’s C4 and C5 vertebrae exploded on impact, effectively paralyzing the right side of his body. He was in his car for two or three hours before the paramedics reached him—the doctors said his superior conditioning was what saved his life. Magnum would miraculously learn to walk again, and would make occasional appearances at wrestling shows after his recovery. However, he would never wrestle another match.
[3] Prior to his accident, Magnum was reportedly scheduled to win the U.S. Title for a third time before being groomed to challenge Ric Flair for the World Title. Here, because of his car accident and respective popularity with the fans, the World Title reign occurs first.
[4] Magnum is also still involved in wrestling IOTL in a non-competitive fashion. His most recent wrestling-related appearance was at WWE’s Vengeance pay-per-view in 2007, where he had a confrontation with U.S. Champion Montel Vontavius Porter.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
And there you have the answer to a question I’ve been asked on more than one occasion concerning this timeline. Magnum T.A. still has his accident, but sustains very minimal injuries (relatively speaking). I always intended to save Magnum’s career, but I tried to strike a happy medium with the tone of the accident, as I didn’t want to completely butterfly it away—that would be too easy.
Coming up, the two big stars of the WWF have their differences. See how it all gets fixed with a simple battle royal…
Last edited:
Hmmmm....so they're comfortable mentioning Benoit's name on the air, Danielson doesn't have to change his name, and they didn't lose their lawsuit to the World Wildlife Fund?
Heavy
Banned
Just thought I'd mention that, while I'm not really into wrestling myself, but I've enjoyed reading this timeline a lot.
It's got me thinking, what if Hogan had never joined the WWF in the first place? What if Gagne had let him beat Bockwinkel, take the AWA title and carry the promotion? It seems like an interesting prospect with far-reaching ramifications.
It's got me thinking, what if Hogan had never joined the WWF in the first place? What if Gagne had let him beat Bockwinkel, take the AWA title and carry the promotion? It seems like an interesting prospect with far-reaching ramifications.
Like I said, I haven't set anything in stone, but these three things are almost a certainty to happen. I plan to address the World Wildlife Fund situation in a future update.
Thank you for the kind words! I've been planning to branch out in this timeline a bit, so hopefully there'll be some aspects of this that pique your interest.
That's a very interesting question; one that would definitely have a lot of impact on not only the WWF, but the wrestling world in general. The WWF would probably have a lot of trouble attracting viewers without a charismatic champion like Hogan. There's actually a thread on here where the impact of no Hulk Hogan is examined, and somebody actually wrote an article on the website "Wrestlecrap" where they examine what might have happened if Hogan stayed in the AWA (and yes, I was partly inspired by it).
Heavy
Banned
I've read a fan write-up about the downfall of the AWA which suggested that losing Hogan was the beginning of the end but it didn't have to be, if Verne Gagne hadn't made some big mistakes (putting the belt on Rick Martel before he was ready, putting the belt on Stan Hansen when he was committed to his more lucrative career in Japan and losing Curt Hennig, who could've been the next big thing). It's interesting stuff from an outsider perspective.
Just a quick bump to say that yes, this timeline is still very much on. I've been quite busy as of late with other things, but I am still working on this. My next update should be done later on in the month.
Gagne made a few bad choices, for sure. Two of those three things you mentioned have already occurred ITTL, but there's still some life left in the AWA, as you will see.
And don't you worry about Curt Hennig, either...I've got plans for him.
Gagne made a few bad choices, for sure. Two of those three things you mentioned have already occurred ITTL, but there's still some life left in the AWA, as you will see.
And don't you worry about Curt Hennig, either...I've got plans for him.
Alt-Pop Culture: Hands Across America
May 25, 1986: Hands Across America
Hands Across America
From *Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hands Across America was a benefit event and publicity campaign staged on Sunday, May 25, 1986 in which approximately 7.5 million people held hands in a human chain for fifteen consecutive minutes along a (mostly) continuous path across the continental United States. [1] Many participants donated ten dollars to reserve their place in line; the proceeds were donated to local charities to fight hunger and homelessness and help those in poverty. The chain began at New York City’s Battery Park and extended 4,522 miles (7,278 km) to the RMS Queen Mary pier in Long Beach, California. [2]
In order to allow the maximum number of people to participate, the path linked major cities and meandered back and forth within the cities. There were several breaks in the chain, but enough people participated to form an unbroken chain across the 48 contiguous states if the participants had been spread evenly along the route standing about four feet (1.2 m) apart.
Hands Across America raised $43 million.
Cities
Cities along the route included the following: [3]
• New York City, New York: with Brooke Shields, Liza Minelli, John Cardinal O’Connor, Susan Anton, and Gregory Hines. Edward James Olmos, Yoko Ono, Harry Belafonte, and numerous wrestlers from the WWF (including Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat, Hulk Hogan, and “Rowdy” Roddy Piper) anchored the George Washington Bridge. [4]
• Trenton, New Jersey: with Dionne Warwick and Tony Danza.
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: with Jerry Lewis and Scott Baio.
• Baltimore, Maryland: with R2-D2 and Emmanuel Lewis. The first break in the chain west of New York was reported to be in Maryland.
• Washington, D.C.: with President Ronald Reagan at the White House and Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill at the United States Capitol Building.
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: with the Pittsburgh Pirates Parrot.
• Youngstown, Ohio: with Michael Jackson.
• Cleveland, Ohio: with David Copperfield.
• Toledo, Ohio: with Jamie Farr.
• Columbus, Ohio: with Michael J. Fox.
• Cincinnati, Ohio: with Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca.
• Indianapolis, Indiana: occurred in the rain. Was scheduled side-by-side with the Indy 500, which was rained-out that day. [citation needed]
• Champaign, Illinois: with Walter Payton and William “Refrigerator” Perry of the Chicago Bears. The longest unbroken section of the chain was allegedly [by whom?] in Illinois.
• Chebanse, Illinois: A cornfield in central Illinois served as the “center-point” of the nation, with 16,000 people in attendance along with the Silver Nickel Band and DJ Gerald Welch.
• Springfield, Illinois: with 50 Abraham Lincoln impersonators.
• St. Louis, Missouri: with Kathleen Turner under the St. Louis Arch.
• Memphis, Tennessee: with 50 Elvis Presley impersonators.
• Clarksdale, Mississippi: with B.B. King at “The Crossroads.”
• Jackson, Mississippi: with Senator Thad Cochran.
• Baton Rouge, Louisiana: with Jimmy Buffett. [5]
• Amarillo, Texas: with Kenny Rogers, Renegade, Lee Greenwood and Tony Dorsett at the TX-NM border.
• Albuquerque, New Mexico: with Don Johnson.
• Phoenix, Arizona: with Ed Begley, Jr. Desert areas in the Southwest were mostly empty, dotted with one-mile (1.6 km)-long chains of people. Truck drivers sounded their horns during the appointed time.
• San Bernardino, California: with Bob Seger and Charlene Tilton.
• Santa Monica, California: with Jack Youngblood, Dudley Moore, Richard Dreyfuss, and Donna Mills.
• Long Beach, California: with Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck, Pluto, Reverend Robert Schuller, Kenny Loggins, and John Stamos, backed by Papa Doo Run Run.
The event was conceived and organized by Ken Kragen, Lionel Richie’s then-manager. Event implementation was through USA for Africa under the direction of Marty Rogol, the founding executive director. A theme song, titled "Hands Across America," was played simultaneously on hundreds of radio stations around the country at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time (noon Pacific Time). The song was written by Marc Blatte and John Carney (the Spanish version was written by the composer Marcia Bell), and featured lead vocals by session singers Joe Cerisano and Sandy Farina, and backed by the band Toto. The song peaked at #35 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1986. [6]
Hands Across America was a project of USA for Africa. USA for Africa produced “We Are the World” and the combined revenues raised by both events raised almost $100 million to fight famine in Africa and hunger and homelessness in the United States.
The date and time chosen for the event inadvertently conflicted with another charity fundraiser, Sport Aid, which was organized by USA for Africa on the same day. Since Hands Across America was much better publicized in the United States, only about 4,000 runners participated in New York City for Sport Aid.
Although the chain across the U.S. was not completed, the event inspired other demonstrations in other countries, in which human chains hundreds of miles long were completed. [citation needed]
In 2011, on the event’s 25th anniversary, a group of people gathered in Long Beach, CA to hold a commemorative event on the RMS Queen Mary. About 5,000 people held hands in an unbroken chain on the ship at the exact minute the chain occurred 25 years prior. [7]
Protests
Sen. Ted Kennedy and Rep. Edward Markey led an official protest over every New England state being excluded from Hands Across America. Then-governor of Arkansas Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary weighed in against the fact that the route omitted the entire state of Arkansas [8], and numerous political leaders in the West additionally weighed in against the route that was chosen, including Colorado governor Dick Lamm. Various protests broke out in the Upper Midwest, notably Minneapolis and Milwaukee, as well as northwestern cities such as Portland and Seattle. In Hawaii, actor Tom Selleck and Senator Daniel Inouye led a counter ‘Hands Across Hawaii’ program that was held to remind mainlanders that “Hawaiians are Americans, Too!” Professional wrestler Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat was invited to participate in Hands Across Hawaii, but he instead opted to be part of the chain in New York City, along with numerous other WWF wrestlers. [9]
In Popular Culture
• A Sunday strip of the newspaper comic Doonesbury had some of its characters in a chain. Said characters are singing the song of the same name, with the exception of Zonker Harris who sings “Just a Gigolo.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] I know I promised a wrestling update, but I’ve had this one in the can for a while now, and since I’ve decided I’m going to branch out into other aspects of pop culture…well, there you go.
[2] IOTL, ‘Hands Across America’ extended for 4,152 miles (6,682 km). You’ll see why the chain is longer as you read on in the article.
[3] All the cities and participating celebrities on this list are as OTL, except where noted.
[4] I have no idea if the WWF was involved in ‘Hands Across America’ IOTL, but it just seems like the thing some of the higher-ups might be interested in. Besides, can’t you just see Vince McMahon holding hands with Jesse Ventura? “Your hands are clammy, Jesse!” “Shut up, McMahon! It’s bad enough having to hold your dirty hands anyway!”
[5] And here’s where the butterflies hit: IOTL, the chain extended from Memphis to Little Rock, Arkansas before heading on to Amarillo, Texas. Here, in an attempt by the event organizers to get some people from the south to join in the party, it extends into Mississippi and Louisiana instead, unfortunately leaving Arkansas high and dry. All the celebrities in MS and LA are purely speculative.
[6] IOTL, the song only reached #65 on the Billboard charts. Since it takes place in more areas in the U.S. and thus garners a bit more publicity, the song barely manages to crack the Top 40 ITTL. It’s still incredibly cheesy, of course.
[7] Of course this event is as OTL. How can you even ask?
[8] I feel that Bill and Hillary would be especially disappointed to be excluded here, since their state is so close to the main chain.
[9] Steamboat was actually born in New York, but due to his greater exposure ITTL and since he’s of Hawaiian heritage, he’s offered a spot in ‘Hands Across Hawaii’. However, he graciously opts to participate in the primary event in his home state.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm back! Seems like it's been forever since I've posted anything here. I have been tweaking and fine-tuning this timeline for the past month or so, and some updates in the future will include numerous other aspects of '80s (and later, '90s) culture that are semi-related to wrestling (an update directly related to wrestling is coming next, I assure you). Still, I hope you enjoyed this little foray into some alt-popular culture.
Also, since I'm no good at making maps, if anyone would like to make a map of the route of this alt-'Hands Across America', feel free to do so. I'll be sure to give credit to you if you do.
Coming up, we take a look at the feud that carried the WWF through two Wrestlemania's...
Hands Across America
From *Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hands Across America was a benefit event and publicity campaign staged on Sunday, May 25, 1986 in which approximately 7.5 million people held hands in a human chain for fifteen consecutive minutes along a (mostly) continuous path across the continental United States. [1] Many participants donated ten dollars to reserve their place in line; the proceeds were donated to local charities to fight hunger and homelessness and help those in poverty. The chain began at New York City’s Battery Park and extended 4,522 miles (7,278 km) to the RMS Queen Mary pier in Long Beach, California. [2]
In order to allow the maximum number of people to participate, the path linked major cities and meandered back and forth within the cities. There were several breaks in the chain, but enough people participated to form an unbroken chain across the 48 contiguous states if the participants had been spread evenly along the route standing about four feet (1.2 m) apart.
Hands Across America raised $43 million.
Cities
Cities along the route included the following: [3]
• New York City, New York: with Brooke Shields, Liza Minelli, John Cardinal O’Connor, Susan Anton, and Gregory Hines. Edward James Olmos, Yoko Ono, Harry Belafonte, and numerous wrestlers from the WWF (including Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat, Hulk Hogan, and “Rowdy” Roddy Piper) anchored the George Washington Bridge. [4]
• Trenton, New Jersey: with Dionne Warwick and Tony Danza.
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: with Jerry Lewis and Scott Baio.
• Baltimore, Maryland: with R2-D2 and Emmanuel Lewis. The first break in the chain west of New York was reported to be in Maryland.
• Washington, D.C.: with President Ronald Reagan at the White House and Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill at the United States Capitol Building.
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: with the Pittsburgh Pirates Parrot.
• Youngstown, Ohio: with Michael Jackson.
• Cleveland, Ohio: with David Copperfield.
• Toledo, Ohio: with Jamie Farr.
• Columbus, Ohio: with Michael J. Fox.
• Cincinnati, Ohio: with Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca.
• Indianapolis, Indiana: occurred in the rain. Was scheduled side-by-side with the Indy 500, which was rained-out that day. [citation needed]
• Champaign, Illinois: with Walter Payton and William “Refrigerator” Perry of the Chicago Bears. The longest unbroken section of the chain was allegedly [by whom?] in Illinois.
• Chebanse, Illinois: A cornfield in central Illinois served as the “center-point” of the nation, with 16,000 people in attendance along with the Silver Nickel Band and DJ Gerald Welch.
• Springfield, Illinois: with 50 Abraham Lincoln impersonators.
• St. Louis, Missouri: with Kathleen Turner under the St. Louis Arch.
• Memphis, Tennessee: with 50 Elvis Presley impersonators.
• Clarksdale, Mississippi: with B.B. King at “The Crossroads.”
• Jackson, Mississippi: with Senator Thad Cochran.
• Baton Rouge, Louisiana: with Jimmy Buffett. [5]
• Amarillo, Texas: with Kenny Rogers, Renegade, Lee Greenwood and Tony Dorsett at the TX-NM border.
• Albuquerque, New Mexico: with Don Johnson.
• Phoenix, Arizona: with Ed Begley, Jr. Desert areas in the Southwest were mostly empty, dotted with one-mile (1.6 km)-long chains of people. Truck drivers sounded their horns during the appointed time.
• San Bernardino, California: with Bob Seger and Charlene Tilton.
• Santa Monica, California: with Jack Youngblood, Dudley Moore, Richard Dreyfuss, and Donna Mills.
• Long Beach, California: with Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck, Pluto, Reverend Robert Schuller, Kenny Loggins, and John Stamos, backed by Papa Doo Run Run.
The event was conceived and organized by Ken Kragen, Lionel Richie’s then-manager. Event implementation was through USA for Africa under the direction of Marty Rogol, the founding executive director. A theme song, titled "Hands Across America," was played simultaneously on hundreds of radio stations around the country at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time (noon Pacific Time). The song was written by Marc Blatte and John Carney (the Spanish version was written by the composer Marcia Bell), and featured lead vocals by session singers Joe Cerisano and Sandy Farina, and backed by the band Toto. The song peaked at #35 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1986. [6]
Hands Across America was a project of USA for Africa. USA for Africa produced “We Are the World” and the combined revenues raised by both events raised almost $100 million to fight famine in Africa and hunger and homelessness in the United States.
The date and time chosen for the event inadvertently conflicted with another charity fundraiser, Sport Aid, which was organized by USA for Africa on the same day. Since Hands Across America was much better publicized in the United States, only about 4,000 runners participated in New York City for Sport Aid.
Although the chain across the U.S. was not completed, the event inspired other demonstrations in other countries, in which human chains hundreds of miles long were completed. [citation needed]
In 2011, on the event’s 25th anniversary, a group of people gathered in Long Beach, CA to hold a commemorative event on the RMS Queen Mary. About 5,000 people held hands in an unbroken chain on the ship at the exact minute the chain occurred 25 years prior. [7]
Protests
Sen. Ted Kennedy and Rep. Edward Markey led an official protest over every New England state being excluded from Hands Across America. Then-governor of Arkansas Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary weighed in against the fact that the route omitted the entire state of Arkansas [8], and numerous political leaders in the West additionally weighed in against the route that was chosen, including Colorado governor Dick Lamm. Various protests broke out in the Upper Midwest, notably Minneapolis and Milwaukee, as well as northwestern cities such as Portland and Seattle. In Hawaii, actor Tom Selleck and Senator Daniel Inouye led a counter ‘Hands Across Hawaii’ program that was held to remind mainlanders that “Hawaiians are Americans, Too!” Professional wrestler Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat was invited to participate in Hands Across Hawaii, but he instead opted to be part of the chain in New York City, along with numerous other WWF wrestlers. [9]
In Popular Culture
• A Sunday strip of the newspaper comic Doonesbury had some of its characters in a chain. Said characters are singing the song of the same name, with the exception of Zonker Harris who sings “Just a Gigolo.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] I know I promised a wrestling update, but I’ve had this one in the can for a while now, and since I’ve decided I’m going to branch out into other aspects of pop culture…well, there you go.
[2] IOTL, ‘Hands Across America’ extended for 4,152 miles (6,682 km). You’ll see why the chain is longer as you read on in the article.
[3] All the cities and participating celebrities on this list are as OTL, except where noted.
[4] I have no idea if the WWF was involved in ‘Hands Across America’ IOTL, but it just seems like the thing some of the higher-ups might be interested in. Besides, can’t you just see Vince McMahon holding hands with Jesse Ventura? “Your hands are clammy, Jesse!” “Shut up, McMahon! It’s bad enough having to hold your dirty hands anyway!”
[5] And here’s where the butterflies hit: IOTL, the chain extended from Memphis to Little Rock, Arkansas before heading on to Amarillo, Texas. Here, in an attempt by the event organizers to get some people from the south to join in the party, it extends into Mississippi and Louisiana instead, unfortunately leaving Arkansas high and dry. All the celebrities in MS and LA are purely speculative.
[6] IOTL, the song only reached #65 on the Billboard charts. Since it takes place in more areas in the U.S. and thus garners a bit more publicity, the song barely manages to crack the Top 40 ITTL. It’s still incredibly cheesy, of course.
[7] Of course this event is as OTL. How can you even ask?
[8] I feel that Bill and Hillary would be especially disappointed to be excluded here, since their state is so close to the main chain.
[9] Steamboat was actually born in New York, but due to his greater exposure ITTL and since he’s of Hawaiian heritage, he’s offered a spot in ‘Hands Across Hawaii’. However, he graciously opts to participate in the primary event in his home state.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm back! Seems like it's been forever since I've posted anything here. I have been tweaking and fine-tuning this timeline for the past month or so, and some updates in the future will include numerous other aspects of '80s (and later, '90s) culture that are semi-related to wrestling (an update directly related to wrestling is coming next, I assure you). Still, I hope you enjoyed this little foray into some alt-popular culture.
Also, since I'm no good at making maps, if anyone would like to make a map of the route of this alt-'Hands Across America', feel free to do so. I'll be sure to give credit to you if you do.
Coming up, we take a look at the feud that carried the WWF through two Wrestlemania's...
- Status