Is it wrong I have a three way dance of The Stinger, The Nature Boy and The Dragon in my head and to quote The Miz it's AWESOME!!!
The Rise of the Dragon: An Altered History of the World Wrestling Federation
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Is it wrong I have a three way dance of The Stinger, The Nature Boy and The Dragon in my head and to quote The Miz it's AWESOME!!!
Even though the bulk of Hulk Hogan's career in film is butterflied away ITTL, there are still several WWF guys who have had major roles in films so far (Andre and Ventura being the biggest). As such, it strikes me as inevitable that they want to get their biggest babyface in on the action as well...
Flair-Steamboat will happen, but it won't be because of the film deal.
Methinks WCW will regret releasing Sting...
My lips are sealed about Sting at this point.
However, regarding Mike "the Miz" Mizanin: we may not see him ITTL at all!
Alt-Pop Culture: Music - Billboard Top 50 Songs of 1987
1987 in music: The Billboard Year-End Chart
December 4, 1987
Top 50 Billboard Songs of 1987 [1]
Rank, Song, Artist(s), Album, Peak Position
1. “Livin’ on a Prayer”, Bon Jovi, Slippery When Wet, #1 [2]
2. “Alone”, Heart, Bad Animals, #1
3. “Walk Like an Egyptian”, The Bangles, Different Light, #1 [3]
4. “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”, Starship, No Protection, #1
5. “Don’t Dream It’s Over”, Crowded House, Crowded House, #1 [4]
6. “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You”, Michael Jackson & Whitney Houston, Bad, #1 [5]
7. “Here I Go Again”, Whitesnake, Whitesnake, #1
8. “With or Without You”, U2, The Joshua Tree, #1
9. “Everybody Have Fun Tonight”, Wang Chung, Mosaic, #1 [6]
10. “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)”, Whitney Houston, Whitney, #1
11. “The Way It Is”, Bruce Hornsby & the Range, The Way It Is, #1
12. “La Bamba”, Los Lobos, La Bamba Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, #1
13. “(I Just) Died in Your Arms”, Cutting Crew, Broadcast, #1
14. “When I Think of You”, Janet Jackson, Control, #1
15. “Lean on Me”, Club Nouveau, Life, Love & Pain, #1
16. “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”, U2, The Joshua Tree, #1
17. “The Final Countdown”, Europe, The Final Countdown, #1 [7]
18. “Shakedown”, Bob Seger, Beverly Hills Cop II Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, #1
19. “Shake You Down”, Gregory Abbott, Shake You Down, #3
20. “Notorious”, Duran Duran, Notorious, #2
21. “Open Your Heart”, Madonna, True Blue, #1
22. “Head to Toe”, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam feat. Full Force, Spanish Fly, #1
23. “Heart and Soul”, T’Pau, Bridge of Spies, #1 [8]
24. “Mony Mony (Live)”, Billy Idol, Vital Idol, #1 [9]
25. “You Keep Me Hangin’ On”, Kim Wilde, Another Step, #1
26. “Land of Confusion”, Genesis, Invisible Touch, #1 [10]
27. “In Too Deep”, Genesis, Invisible Touch, #3
28. “C’est La Vie”, Robbie Nevil, Robbie Nevil, #3
29. “Somewhere Out There”, Linda Ronstadt & James Ingram, An American Tail Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, #1 [11]
30. “The Lady in Red”, Chris de Burgh, Into the Light, #3
31. “Lost in Emotion”, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam feat. Full Force, Spanish Fly, #1
32. “Didn’t We Almost Have It All”, Whitney Houston, Whitney, #1
33. “The Next Time I Fall”, Peter Cetera & Amy Grant, Solitude/Solitaire, #2
34. “Causing a Commotion”, Madonna, Who’s That Girl Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, #1 [12]
35. “Big Time”, Peter Gabriel, So, #1 [13]
36. “Only in My Dreams”, Debbie Gibson, Out of the Blue, #5
37. “Always”, Atlantic Starr, All in the Name of Love, #2
38. “U Got the Look”, Prince feat. Sheena Easton, Sign ‘O’ the Times, #2
39. “Let’s Wait Awhile”, Janet Jackson, Control, #2
40. “Keep Your Hands to Yourself”, The Georgia Satellites, Georgia Satellites, #2
41. “Touch Me (I Want Your Body)”, Samantha Fox, Touch Me, #3
42. “Who’s That Girl”, Madonna, Who’s That Girl Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, #2
43. “Carrie”, Europe, The Final Countdown, #2
44. “Midnight Blue”, Lou Gramm, Ready or Not, #4
45. “Will You Still Love Me?”, Chicago, Chicago 18, #3
46. “You Got It All”, The Jets, The Jets, #6
47. “Bad”, Michael Jackson, Bad, #1
48. “Luka”, Suzanne Vega, Solitude Standing, #3
49. “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight”, Genesis, Invisible Touch, #3
50. “Word Up!”, Cameo, Word Up!, #5
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[1] There are several changes here, including some missing (or even non-existent!) songs from OTL that I won’t be going over that much. Can you figure out any of the “missing hits”?
[2] “Livin’ on a Prayer” finished at #10 for 1987 IOTL, despite spending four weeks at the top of the charts, longer than any other song from ’87 (except George Michael’s “Faith”, which extended into 1988). Here, it also spends four weeks at the top, but charts slightly longer, pushing it to the top of the Year-End list.
[3] OTL’s #1 song of 1987 (even though it technically spent two of its four weeks at #1 in 1986). Here, it’s essentially the same song, but “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “Alone” push ahead of it due to longer chart runs.
[4] Only reached #2 IOTL, but it did reach #1 in Canada and lead singer Neil Finn’s native New Zealand.
[5] IOTL, Michael Jackson performed this first single from his album Bad as a duet with relative unknown Siedah Garrett, who was a last-minute addition to the song after Jackson’s first two choices for duet partners, Barbra Streisand and Whitney Houston, turned it down. While the song did reach #1, it only finished at #45 on the Year-end Chart, likely due to its short run. ITTL, Whitney accepts Michael’s invitation, and the song is a much greater success on the charts due to this.
[6] Again, only got to #2 IOTL.
[7] Here’s a significant product of the flapping of butterflies’ wings. “The Final Countdown” was a #1 hit in a staggering 25 countries, but it only got to #8 here in the States. ITTL, due to butterflies, the U.S. makes it 26 countries, keeping it at the top for two weeks. Oh, and as for a certain future pro wrestler who used to use “The Final Countdown” as his theme music—well, all I can say is keep reading!
[8] “Heart and Soul” only reached #4 in the U.S. IOTL, but was a #1 hit in Canada.
[9] A certain other cover version of a Tommy James and the Shondells song that reached #1 in 1987 is never made ITTL. We’ll see why in a future update.
[10] Only got to #4 IOTL. And yes, the iconic music video still exists ITTL…but guess who replaces the Hulk Hogan puppet?
[11] Yes, this is the same theme song from the soundtrack to the Don Bluth animated film An American Tail—yet another #2 hit IOTL. ITTL, it becomes the first song from an animated movie to top the Billboard charts, a feat not accomplished IOTL until Aladdin’s “A Whole New World” did it in 1992.
[12] Another #2 hit (see a pattern yet?). Just like IOTL, the film Who’s That Girl is a flop, but the soundtrack is a commercial success—only this time, the title track doesn’t reach #1 due to a traffic jam from Michael Jackson & Whitney Houston’s big hit. However, the catchy dance tune similar to “Into the Groove” does.
[13] Only reached #8 IOTL; ITTL, with Genesis’ greater popularity, their former lead singer Peter Gabriel enjoys a similar fate.
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As we approach the end of 1987, I felt I should give you a taste of the music scene ITTL to go with all the wrestling we've been getting. Hope you all enjoyed it.
Up next: it's back to the Newsletter!
December 4, 1987
Top 50 Billboard Songs of 1987 [1]
Rank, Song, Artist(s), Album, Peak Position
1. “Livin’ on a Prayer”, Bon Jovi, Slippery When Wet, #1 [2]
2. “Alone”, Heart, Bad Animals, #1
3. “Walk Like an Egyptian”, The Bangles, Different Light, #1 [3]
4. “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”, Starship, No Protection, #1
5. “Don’t Dream It’s Over”, Crowded House, Crowded House, #1 [4]
6. “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You”, Michael Jackson & Whitney Houston, Bad, #1 [5]
7. “Here I Go Again”, Whitesnake, Whitesnake, #1
8. “With or Without You”, U2, The Joshua Tree, #1
9. “Everybody Have Fun Tonight”, Wang Chung, Mosaic, #1 [6]
10. “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)”, Whitney Houston, Whitney, #1
11. “The Way It Is”, Bruce Hornsby & the Range, The Way It Is, #1
12. “La Bamba”, Los Lobos, La Bamba Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, #1
13. “(I Just) Died in Your Arms”, Cutting Crew, Broadcast, #1
14. “When I Think of You”, Janet Jackson, Control, #1
15. “Lean on Me”, Club Nouveau, Life, Love & Pain, #1
16. “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”, U2, The Joshua Tree, #1
17. “The Final Countdown”, Europe, The Final Countdown, #1 [7]
18. “Shakedown”, Bob Seger, Beverly Hills Cop II Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, #1
19. “Shake You Down”, Gregory Abbott, Shake You Down, #3
20. “Notorious”, Duran Duran, Notorious, #2
21. “Open Your Heart”, Madonna, True Blue, #1
22. “Head to Toe”, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam feat. Full Force, Spanish Fly, #1
23. “Heart and Soul”, T’Pau, Bridge of Spies, #1 [8]
24. “Mony Mony (Live)”, Billy Idol, Vital Idol, #1 [9]
25. “You Keep Me Hangin’ On”, Kim Wilde, Another Step, #1
26. “Land of Confusion”, Genesis, Invisible Touch, #1 [10]
27. “In Too Deep”, Genesis, Invisible Touch, #3
28. “C’est La Vie”, Robbie Nevil, Robbie Nevil, #3
29. “Somewhere Out There”, Linda Ronstadt & James Ingram, An American Tail Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, #1 [11]
30. “The Lady in Red”, Chris de Burgh, Into the Light, #3
31. “Lost in Emotion”, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam feat. Full Force, Spanish Fly, #1
32. “Didn’t We Almost Have It All”, Whitney Houston, Whitney, #1
33. “The Next Time I Fall”, Peter Cetera & Amy Grant, Solitude/Solitaire, #2
34. “Causing a Commotion”, Madonna, Who’s That Girl Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, #1 [12]
35. “Big Time”, Peter Gabriel, So, #1 [13]
36. “Only in My Dreams”, Debbie Gibson, Out of the Blue, #5
37. “Always”, Atlantic Starr, All in the Name of Love, #2
38. “U Got the Look”, Prince feat. Sheena Easton, Sign ‘O’ the Times, #2
39. “Let’s Wait Awhile”, Janet Jackson, Control, #2
40. “Keep Your Hands to Yourself”, The Georgia Satellites, Georgia Satellites, #2
41. “Touch Me (I Want Your Body)”, Samantha Fox, Touch Me, #3
42. “Who’s That Girl”, Madonna, Who’s That Girl Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, #2
43. “Carrie”, Europe, The Final Countdown, #2
44. “Midnight Blue”, Lou Gramm, Ready or Not, #4
45. “Will You Still Love Me?”, Chicago, Chicago 18, #3
46. “You Got It All”, The Jets, The Jets, #6
47. “Bad”, Michael Jackson, Bad, #1
48. “Luka”, Suzanne Vega, Solitude Standing, #3
49. “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight”, Genesis, Invisible Touch, #3
50. “Word Up!”, Cameo, Word Up!, #5
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[1] There are several changes here, including some missing (or even non-existent!) songs from OTL that I won’t be going over that much. Can you figure out any of the “missing hits”?
[2] “Livin’ on a Prayer” finished at #10 for 1987 IOTL, despite spending four weeks at the top of the charts, longer than any other song from ’87 (except George Michael’s “Faith”, which extended into 1988). Here, it also spends four weeks at the top, but charts slightly longer, pushing it to the top of the Year-End list.
[3] OTL’s #1 song of 1987 (even though it technically spent two of its four weeks at #1 in 1986). Here, it’s essentially the same song, but “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “Alone” push ahead of it due to longer chart runs.
[4] Only reached #2 IOTL, but it did reach #1 in Canada and lead singer Neil Finn’s native New Zealand.
[5] IOTL, Michael Jackson performed this first single from his album Bad as a duet with relative unknown Siedah Garrett, who was a last-minute addition to the song after Jackson’s first two choices for duet partners, Barbra Streisand and Whitney Houston, turned it down. While the song did reach #1, it only finished at #45 on the Year-end Chart, likely due to its short run. ITTL, Whitney accepts Michael’s invitation, and the song is a much greater success on the charts due to this.
[6] Again, only got to #2 IOTL.
[7] Here’s a significant product of the flapping of butterflies’ wings. “The Final Countdown” was a #1 hit in a staggering 25 countries, but it only got to #8 here in the States. ITTL, due to butterflies, the U.S. makes it 26 countries, keeping it at the top for two weeks. Oh, and as for a certain future pro wrestler who used to use “The Final Countdown” as his theme music—well, all I can say is keep reading!
[8] “Heart and Soul” only reached #4 in the U.S. IOTL, but was a #1 hit in Canada.
[9] A certain other cover version of a Tommy James and the Shondells song that reached #1 in 1987 is never made ITTL. We’ll see why in a future update.
[10] Only got to #4 IOTL. And yes, the iconic music video still exists ITTL…but guess who replaces the Hulk Hogan puppet?
[11] Yes, this is the same theme song from the soundtrack to the Don Bluth animated film An American Tail—yet another #2 hit IOTL. ITTL, it becomes the first song from an animated movie to top the Billboard charts, a feat not accomplished IOTL until Aladdin’s “A Whole New World” did it in 1992.
[12] Another #2 hit (see a pattern yet?). Just like IOTL, the film Who’s That Girl is a flop, but the soundtrack is a commercial success—only this time, the title track doesn’t reach #1 due to a traffic jam from Michael Jackson & Whitney Houston’s big hit. However, the catchy dance tune similar to “Into the Groove” does.
[13] Only reached #8 IOTL; ITTL, with Genesis’ greater popularity, their former lead singer Peter Gabriel enjoys a similar fate.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As we approach the end of 1987, I felt I should give you a taste of the music scene ITTL to go with all the wrestling we've been getting. Hope you all enjoyed it.
Up next: it's back to the Newsletter!
Last edited:
New Updates On the Way!
Just popping in to let my faithful readers know that I haven't forgotten about this! I've had some laptop troubles over the past several weeks, and the other day, I finally broke down and bought a new one. I have quite a few updates in the works, and I can assure you that the Dragon will continue to Rise...
Still to come on Rise of the Dragon:
All this and more forthcoming. Don't blink, because you may miss something!
Just popping in to let my faithful readers know that I haven't forgotten about this! I've had some laptop troubles over the past several weeks, and the other day, I finally broke down and bought a new one. I have quite a few updates in the works, and I can assure you that the Dragon will continue to Rise...
Still to come on Rise of the Dragon:
- continued coverage of Saturday Night's Main Event, and the all-new Friday Night's Main Event
- the matches that transcend all timelines, Hogan vs. Andre and Steamboat vs. Savage
- more stories from the Newsletter, including year-end awards for 1987
- the first ever Royal Rumble
- WrestleMania 4, featuring the final confrontation between Steamboat and Hogan
- trips to the NWA, AWA, and Japan
- a look at film, TV and music of 1988--and how wrestling affects them all
All this and more forthcoming. Don't blink, because you may miss something!
December 1987: Recap - Awards, Accolades and a New AWA Champion
1987 Year-end Recap: Awards, Accolades and a new AWA Champion
November 30, 1987
WWF
Perhaps the biggest news out of Titan this week is the announcement of the retirement of “Superstar” Billy Graham due to injuries suffered over his 17-year career. See pages 7-8 for a tribute to the former WWF Heavyweight Champion.
Ted DiBiase made his official on-camera debut on the 11/28 edition of Superstars, along with Mike “Virgil” Jones, cutting an interview with Craig DeGeorge. DiBiase spoke of everyone having their price, saying he has plans to buy the WWF Heavyweight Championship. [1]
NWA
The Funks-Sheepherders match was cut from the final card of Starrcade at the last minute, when the Funks reportedly refused to wrestle due to a pay dispute. Both men are apparently on their way to Japan to wrestle. The Sheepherders appear to be sticking around, however, and are on the card for the upcoming 12/10 TV tapings to take on the Rock n’ Roll Express.
AJPW
Tom Billington has reportedly made his debut in the company under the Dynamite Kid name … Doctors cleared him to wrestle again back in May, and he appears to be on a limited work schedule due to his deteriorating condition.
December 5, 1987
The thirteenth episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event, previously taped on November 28th, airs on NBC, drawing an 8.9 rating (down from the massive 12.8 from September). For the first time ever, Ricky Steamboat does not wrestle in a match on the show, though he does appear toward the end of the broadcast. Two title matches are advertised for the show: Randy Savage defending the Intercontinental Championship against Rick Rude, and the Hart Foundation attempting to regain the Tag Team Titles from the Fabulous Rougeaus.
Before the opening contest, Savage and Rude cut interviews with Gene Okerlund concerning Miss Elizabeth. Rude states that after winning tonight, instead of kissing a woman from the crowd, he’ll be delivering a kiss to Elizabeth instead. Savage says if Rude has a brain in his skull, he’ll keep far away from Elizabeth. Towards the end of the match, Rude begins trying to “put the moves” on Elizabeth, but Savage throws him back in the ring, pounding on him in the corner. Savage refuses to heed the referee’s warnings to break his attack on Rude, and as such, is disqualified. Jake Roberts soon runs to the ring, and begins beating on Savage. Elizabeth looks on helplessly as Roberts and Rude beat Savage to the mat—until Rude shoves Roberts out of the way to get a better shot at Savage. Roberts grabs Rude, and as the two stare down for several tense seconds, the crowd faintly cheers for Roberts as the Macho Man rolls out of the ring and escapes with Elizabeth and his championship belt.
The Hart Foundation attempt to take the Tag Team Titles back from the Fabulous Rougeaus in the second match of the night. The champions bring along an insurance policy in the form of former Hart Foundation member Davey Boy Smith. Due to Davey’s interference on the outside, Jacques Rougeau manages to pin Jim Neidhart to retain the titles. After the match, Neidhart runs off both Davey and Jimmy Hart while Bret disposes of the Rougeaus in the ring, then both Hart Foundation members pose for a loudly cheering crowd. In the two matches before the main event, Women’s Champion Scary Sherri defeats Itsuki Yamazaki, one-half of the Jumping Bomb Angels, to get a measure of revenge from being humiliated at Survivor Series, and Repo Joe defeats Greg Valentine.
The final match of the show pits Bamm Bamm Bigelow (with his new tag team partner Andre the Giant and last-minute cheerleader Ricky Steamboat in his corner) against Hercules Hernandez (who is accompanied by Bobby Heenan and WWF Champion Hulk Hogan, who doesn’t defend his title on the show). Despite Heenan and Hogan’s best efforts, Bigelow comes away with a pinfall victory over Hercules, prompting the heels to try to beat some respect into Bigelow after the match. Andre and Steamboat soon save Bigelow, running the heels off, and in an interview at the end of the show, Andre says that he wants a shot at Hogan, one-on-one. Steamboat gives his blessing for Andre to take on Hogan, proclaiming “Hogan can’t run from the Giant”.
The show also features a music video from the new WWF music album, WWF The Music Volume 2: Piledriver, featuring Ricky Steamboat’s new entrance theme song, “Dragon”, performed by Japanese heavy metal band Loudness. The song would become a surprise Top 20 hit in early 1988, peaking at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming Loudness’ highest-charting single of their career. [2]
December 14, 1987
WWF
Kamala was released on 12/2. The former Continental veteran had been absent from television since October … It’s unclear where he will be headed at this point, but a return to Memphis is expected.
NWA
This writer just wants to praise how the Sheepherders-R&R Express feud has begun. Williams and Miller’s attack on Ricky Morton after their match on 12/10 was brutal, and Morton bled like crazy. Seeing where this feud will go will be interesting—along with how much blood will be spilled.
Barry Windham was injured at the 12/10 TV taping. Sources say he suffered a torn rotator cuff in the tag match he and Rotundo had with the Road Warriors … Mighty Wilbur is out with a broken leg as well, and as most readers are aware, Sting is out with a shoulder injury for what looks to be at least six months.
AWA
Well folks, it finally happened on 12/12: hell froze over … Greg Gagne defeated Curt Hennig to win the AWA World Championship. After the match, Verne came out to celebrate with his son, holding the title belt aloft along with him. The crowd noticeably booed Gagne, and Verne was reportedly seen looking at the crowd with a very confused look on his face. [3]
January 4, 1988
END OF YEAR SPECIAL
The Newsletter’s year-end coverage of 1987 is covered in depth on pages 2-5. Among other things, we cover the WWF’s successes (and failures) in Wrestlemania, Survivor Series, and the successful run of Hulk Hogan as a top heel; the merging of Jim Crockett and Bill Watts’ territories into a “unified” NWA, the undeserved rise of Verne Gagne’s son Greg to World Title status; the continuing growth of New Japan and All Japan; the deaths of Salvador Lutteroth, Scott Irwin, and others; and much more. [4]
NJPW
According to my sources, former AWA wrestler Leon “Bull Power” White made his in-ring debut on 12/27 as “Big Ben Bader”. [5] He destroyed Seiji Sakaguchi in a squash match, then yelled “Inoki”. Setting up Inoki vs. White this early seems like a horrible idea to me, seeing how Inoki is the biggest star in the country. However, it worked when Steamboat was brought into WWF, so it could pay off if done correctly. [6]
Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards for 1987 [7]
Wrestler of the Year: Riki Choshu (201) 1,411 [8]
Ricky Steamboat (188) 1,090
Ric Flair (169) 971
Magnum T.A. (69) 355
Chigusa Nagayo (50) 229
While some may have expected Steamboat to take this award this year, the inventor of the Scorpion Lock came out of nowhere to snap up the yearly top prize for the first time.
Most Outstanding Wrestler: Ric Flair (231) 1,229
Ricky Steamboat (210) 1,215
Tatsumi Fujinami (116) 448
Randy Savage (84) 330
Bret Hart (63) 104
For the second straight year, it was basically neck-and-neck between Flair and Steamboat, but this year, the Nature Boy tops the Dragon.
Best Babyface: Ricky Steamboat (423) 1,365
Magnum T.A. (177) 650
Antonio Inoki (25) 403
Dusty Rhodes (32) 212
Randy Savage (11) 207
By a very wide margin, Steamboat wins this category for the third straight year. It’s not that surprising, considering how popular he is with fans, and has managed to get over his gimmick with almost everyone.
Best Heel: Hulk Hogan (216) 1,230
Ric Flair (186) 1,133
Riki Choshu (163) 610
Austin Idol (42) 318
Jake Roberts (50) 199
Hogan surprisingly snaps up the award this year, becoming the first wrestler to win both Best Babyface and Best Heel. This comes as a bit of a shock to me, as both Flair and Choshu have been very good heels this year.
Feud of the Year: Austin Idol vs. Jerry Lawler (362) 1,301
Ricky Steamboat vs. Hulk Hogan (130) 1,045
Ric Flair vs. Magnum T.A. (105) 543
Randy Savage vs. Jake Roberts (91) 494
Antonio Inoki vs. Masa Saito (45) 466
Fans of Continental were very glad to get such a hot feud between Idol and Lawler, culminating with the shocking shaving of the beloved Lawler’s hair in April.
Tag Team of the Year: Hart Foundation (133) 1,119
Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane) (140) 1,087
Akira Maeda & Nobohiku Takada (99) 866
Road Warriors (118) 802
Rock n’ Roll Express (77) 550
The Harts were an undeniable force this year, showing unquestionable chemistry in their WWF matches, and breaking the record for longest-running WWF Tag Champions. Incidentally, a few of our readers voted for the first version of the Midnights (Eaton and Dennis Condrey); if the Midnights were counted as one team, they would have won this award instead.
Most Improved: Big Bubba Rogers (238) 899
Curt Hennig (168) 832
Hulk Hogan (101) 798
Lex Luger (65) 440
Masaharu Funaki (44) 406
He still has a way to go, but Rogers has definitely improved by leaps and bounds in the workrate department. The current UWF Heavyweight Champion is rumored to be set to feud with the reigning NWA Champion, so he will definitely have to tune his skills even more.
Best on Interviews: Jim Cornette (176) 1,330
Ric Flair (144) 952
Paul E. Dangerously (88) 759
Randy Savage (68) 320
Jerry Lawler (47) 127
Cornette’s gift of gab nets him this award for the third consecutive year. NWA contemporary Flair surprisingly got quite few votes compared to the current manager of the Midnight Express.
Most Charismatic: Road Warriors (200) 1,122
Randy Savage (172) 656
Hulk Hogan (107) 504
Ric Flair (110) 311
Ricky Steamboat (38) 127
The Road Warriors’ flamboyant attire, extreme brawling capabilities, and ability to captivate the audience in almost every match they have easily give the current NWA Tag Team Champions the win here.
Best Technical Wrestler: Tatsumi Fujinami (234) 1,330
Nobuhiko Takada (203) 1,304
Owen Hart (119) 1,024
Bret Hart (95) 504
Ricky Steamboat (66) 317
Facing close competition from Takada this year, New Japan star Fujinami wins the award for the third year in a row.
Best Brawler: Bruiser Brody (307) 1,330
Terry Gordy (229) 1,224
Steve Williams (42) 573
Eddie Gilbert (32) 322
Stan Hansen (13) 120
After losing for the first ever time last year, Brody returns to the top of the voting for the seventh time.
Best Flying Wrestler: Owen Hart (234) 1,003
Tiger Mask II (165) 887
Jushin Liger (113) 842
The Great Muta (88) 659
Ricky Steamboat (95) 394
Bret Hart’s younger brother, currently a mainstay in Stampede wrestling, has wowed many of our readers with his incredible high-flying prowess.
Most Overrated: Dusty Rhodes (225) 1,229
Lex Luger (84) 917
Hulk Hogan (135) 767
Venom (34) 198
The Hart Foundation (17) 123
Dusty Bloats takes this rather dubious award for the second straight year, despite strong competition from Hogan and Luger.
Most Underrated: Brad Armstrong (234) 996
Bobby Eaton (102) 633
Pat Tanaka (77) 559
Bret Hart (55) 362
The Rougeau Brothers (40) 80
Beating out previous years’ winners Bret Hart and Bobby Eaton, the talented 25-year-old from the NWA scoops up his first award in this category.
Promotion of the Year: New Japan Pro Wrestling (299) 1,022
World Wrestling Federation (120) 889
National Wrestling Alliance/Jim Crockett Promotions (103) 780
All Japan Women’s Wrestling (45) 778
Continental Wrestling in Memphis (33) 454
The public has spoken: New Japan have put on some of the most entertaining and well-received cards in history, and with talented guys like Hashimoto, Saito, and the veteran Inoki (who can still go), there's no way to go but up.
Match of the Year: Antonio Inoki vs. Masa Saito – NJPW, 4/27 (199) 955
Ric Flair vs. Magnum TA – NWA, 11/26 (168) 862
Hart Foundation vs. Rougeaus – WWF, 11/26 (99) 837
War Games: Flair, Anderson, Blanchard, Windham & Rotundo vs. Rhodes, Garvin, Road Warriors & Ellering – NWA, 7/4 (45) 333
Bruiser Brody vs. Sheik – CWF, 2/18 (29) 201
There was no clear winner in this category this year, but when all the votes were tallied, Inoki & Saito’s battle in April came out on top. [9]
Rookie of the Year: Brian Pillman (210) 1,145
Shane Douglas (109) 894
Doug Furnas (85) 463
Ron Simmons (47) 232
Eddy Guerrero (59) 174
The young 26-year-old Pillman has shown great promise since debuting in Stampede Wrestling last November, and our readers also seem to think he has a good career ahead of him.
Manager of the Year: Jim Cornette (291) 880
Jimmy Hart (238) 832
Bobby Heenan (204) 624
Eddie Gilbert (111) 260
Paul E. Dangerously (24) 181
For the third time, Cornette takes the prize here, barely beating out Jimmy Hart for the second consecutive year.
Best Television Announcer: Lance Russell (222) 1,150
Gordon Solie (205) 990
Jim Ross (159) 975
Gorilla Monsoon (69) 203
Jesse Ventura (44) 99
The veteran Russell’s smooth voice and crisp delivery has resonated well with fans for the second year in a row, despite competition from the more experienced Solie and the younger upstart Ross.
Worst Television Announcer: David Crockett (353) 1,119
Bruno Sammartino (338) 986
Gorilla Monsoon (227) 733
Vince McMahon (105) 424
Ed Whalen (25) 75
Jim Crockett’s son takes the most votes in this category for the second straight year, despite stiff competition from the WWF’s Bruno Sammartino.
*Woman of the Year: Chigusa Nagayo (229) 1,495 [10]
Lioness Asuka (77) 688
Akira Hokuto (45) 343
Miss Elizabeth (42) 142
Sherri Martel (22) 130
Our newest award sees the most popular wrestler in All Japan Women’s Wrestling run away with most of the votes, getting more than twice as many as her Crush Gals tag team partner Lioness Asuka.
Best Wrestling Maneuver: Shooting Star Press – Jushin Liger (550) 1,003
DDT – Jake Roberts (130) 564
Springboard flip armlock – Owen Hart (90) 330
Saito Suplex – Masa Saito (53) 199
Slingshot DDT – Paul Diamond & Pat Tanaka (20) 88
The popular Liger's invention has wowed many crowds in Japan, and the voters never lie. Seeing tapes of this move still leave me in awe how he doesn't break his neck while doing it.
Readers’ Favorite Wrestler: Ricky Steamboat (272) 1,502
Ric Flair (224) 1,455
Riki Choshu (135) 239
Randy Savage (66) 191
Tatsumi Fujinami (90) 99
Another award that was basically a coin flip between Steamboat and Flair this year. In the end, though, Steamboat managed to come out on top.
*Worst Manager: Mr. Fuji (433) 1,447
Paul Jones (44) 572
Percy Pringle (33) 94
Bobby Heenan (20) 89
Miss Elizabeth (27) 87
In a landslide victory, the sharp-dressed Fuji wins the inaugural award in this category. The day the Charlie Chan wannabe retires will doubtless be celebrated by a lot of readers.
Worst Worked Match of the Year: Andre’s Giants vs. Heenan Family – WWF, 11/26 (378) 1,498
Giant Baba vs. Raja Lion – AJPW, 6/9 (107) 552
Roddy Piper vs. Dynamite Kid – WWF, 3/29 (44) 230
Steve Williams vs. Barry Windham – NWA, 6/16 (30) 108
Brutus Beefcake vs. Koko B. Ware – WWF, 7/11 (15) 78
Subpar workers, plodding moves, and outside involvement from a Saturday Morning cartoon voice actor. Nothing more needs to be said here.
Worst Feud: Curt & Larry Hennig vs. Greg & Verne Gagne (212) 1,020
Andre the Giant vs. King Kong Bundy (114) 770
Kevin Von Erich vs. Al Perez (85) 322
Randy Savage vs. Honky Tonk Man (45) 85
Andre the Giant vs. John Studd (42) 83
I wonder how many votes this feud would have gotten had it not culminated in Greg’s winning the AWA Title?
Best Gimmick: Ted DiBiase – Arrogant millionaire (342) 1,150
Road Warriors – Gruff bikers (155) 830
Honky Tonk Man – Elvis impersonator (54) 569
Ricky Steamboat – Kung Fu “Dragon” (40) 157
Big Bubba Rogers – Silent enforcer (33) 133
Since his arrival in the WWF, our readers seem to agree that DiBiase’s casting as the “Million Dollar Man” has been, while campy, incredibly entertaining.
Worst Gimmick: Repo Joe – Car repossessor (320) 994
Outback Jack – Crocodile Dundee rip-off (155) 832
George Steele – “The Animal” (55) 342
Honky Tonk Man – Elvis impersonator (59) 230
Rougeau Brothers – “Fabulous” tag team (19) 188
Readers seem to agree that the former Krusher Krushchev’s new gimmick in the WWF is worse than actually having your car repossessed.
…
1987 was a wild ride in the wrestling world, and with 1988 on the horizon, one can only wonder what the business will bring us next. With Crockett’s Bunkhouse Stampede coming up in a few weeks, and the WWF reportedly running a show on the same day, expect the feud between these two companies to continue. The AWA will definitely need to get its act together if they want to succeed in this war (and believe me, it IS a war) of national wresting expansion. Here's to a new year, a prosperous time for all promotions, and hopefully a short title reign for Greg Gagne.
--Wrestling Observer Newsletter excerpts, December 1987-January 1988
Pwi-online.com’s Top 25 matches of 1987 (winners in bold) [11]
1. Antonio Inoki vs. Masa Saito (NJPW, Blazing Cherry Blossoms, 4/27)
2. Ric Flair vs. Magnum T.A. (NWA, Starrcade ’87, 11/26)
3. Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart vs. Rougeau Brothers (WWF, Survivor Series ’87, 11/26)
4. Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart vs. Rougeau Brothers (WWF, Wrestlemania 3, 3/29)
5. Ricky Steamboat vs. Hulk Hogan (WWF, Wrestlemania 3, 3/29)
6. Ron Garvin vs. Tully Blanchard (NWA, house show, 12/20)
7. Nobohiku Takada vs. Shiro Koshinaka (NJPW, Sumo Hall show, 2/5)
8. Hair vs. Hair Match: Jerry Lawler vs. Austin Idol (CWA, Memphis, 4/27)
9. Road Warriors vs. Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo (NWA, Starrcade ’87, 11/26)
10. Antonio Inoki vs. Masa Saito (NJPW, Summer Big Fight Series, 6/12)
11. Sting, Jimmy Garvin & Jim Duggan vs. Venom, Rick Steiner & Dick Slater (NWA, Starrcade ’87, 11/26)
12. Chris Benoit & Shinya Hashimoto vs. Tatsutoshi Gono & Naoki Sano (NJPW, Sumo Hall show, 2/5)
13. WarGames Match: Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo vs. Dusty Rhodes, Ron Garvin, Road Warriors & Paul Ellering (NWA, Great American Bash, 7/4)
14. Tag Team Survivor Series Match: The Killer Bees, The Midnight Rockers, Tito Santana & Rick Martel, Billy Jack Haynes & Brady Boone, Scott Casey & Dan Spivey vs. Demolition, The Young Guns, The Islanders, The Outlaws, Nikolai Volkoff & Boris Zukhov (WWF, Survivor Series ’87, 11/26)
15. Bret Hart vs. Tonga Kid (WWF, house show, 12/19)
16. Tiger Mask II vs. Ted DiBiase (AJPW, Summer Action Series, 7/19)
17. Nobohiku Takada vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi (NJPW, Summer Night Fever in Kokugikan, 8/20)
18. Bruiser Brody vs. The Sheik (CWF, War of the Worlds, 2/18)
19. Chris Adams & Sam Houston vs. Rick Steiner & Sting (UWF, Stockton Show, 3/26)
20. Tito Santana & Rick Martel vs. Sam Houston & Ron Bass (WWF, house show, 12/9)
21. Survivor Series Match: Ricky Steamboat, Greg Valentine, Junkyard Dog, Ken Patera & Jimmy Snuka vs. Hulk Hogan, Hercules Hernandez, Paul Orndorff, Bob Orton Jr. & Don Muraco (WWF, Survivor Series ‘87, 11/26)
22. Nick Bockwinkel vs. Curt Hennig (AWA, Superclash show, 5/16)
23. Road Warriors vs. Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo (NWA, house show, 12/15)
24. Jake Roberts vs. Tito Santana (WWF, house show, 6/3)
25. Arn Anderson & Barry Windham vs. Midnight Express (NWA, house show, 1/19)
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[1] DiBiase debuted in the WWF in a very similar way IOTL, claiming that even Hulk Hogan had his price.
[2] This, of course, will necessitate Loudness’ 1998 album Dragon to be renamed ITTL.
[3] IOTL, Verne Gagne came very close on multiple occasions to putting the AWA World Title on his son Greg. Verne held back due to Greg’s slightly below-average size, considerable lack of charisma, and relatively mediocre wrestling ability. To use a modern-day example: think of it as if Curt Hennig were still alive today, ran a wrestling company, and put that company’s world title on Curtis Axel. ITTL, due to smaller guys like Steamboat in the main event, the increased workrate in rival promotions, and a combination of other factors, Verne actually pulls the trigger on Greg—and most of the fans are not happy about it.
[4] The deaths of Mexican wrestling promoter Salvador Lutteroth (age 90) and AWA wrestler Scott Irwin (age 35, of a brain tumor) are as OTL. However, one OTL death that doesn’t happen ITTL is that of Mike Von Erich, who committed suicide on April 12, 1987 by overdosing on sleeping pills and alcohol. Here, Mike enters rehab after his bout in the hospital with toxic shock syndrome in 1985, retires from active wrestling soon afterward, and remains alive as of TTL’s 1987.
[5] A misprint on Meltzer’s part, which hilariously comes from OTL. As OTL, White debuts as “Big Van Vader”—which, of course, would later be shortened to simply “Vader”.
[6] Vader did indeed have his New Japan Pro Wrestling debut match against Antonio Inoki, scoring a shocking upset against the Japanese veteran (and former WWF Champion!) that nearly caused a riot among the crowd. Here, head booker Inoki thinks things over a bit more, and has Vader squash a slightly lesser NJPW star before voicing his intentions of taking on the Champ.
[7] There are many, many differences here; as such, I’ll direct you to the full list of Newsletter Awards here.
[8] To save space, only the top 5 voted for in each category are shown. Vote tallies are speculative, based on the number of subscribers to the Newsletter around the beginning of 1988. The numbers in parentheses indicate the number of votes for first place on the submitted ballots, and the numbers following these indicate the number of times a wrestler ranked in the top 5 on an individual ballot.
[9] There was a clear winner in the 1987 “Match of the Year” award IOTL: and it involved Ricky Steamboat.
[10] This award has never existed IOTL; here, because of the higher prominence of women wrestlers in the WWF (and of course, Japan), Dave decides to throw a slight bone to the female workers in the business. The award is a catch-all category that includes every woman employed in wrestling, hence why Elizabeth gets a sizable chunk of votes despite not being an active wrestler.
[11] Only matches #1, #7, #8, #10, #12, #16, #17, and #18 exist IOTL.
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I'm back! And better than ever...
With that, we finally close out 1987, and turn the page to a new year in wrestling history. We've still got many years to come in this timeline, however, so don't worry about it ending anytime soon!
Coming up: the drive toward the confrontation between Hogan and Andre starts at the inaugural Royal Rumble...
November 30, 1987
WWF
Perhaps the biggest news out of Titan this week is the announcement of the retirement of “Superstar” Billy Graham due to injuries suffered over his 17-year career. See pages 7-8 for a tribute to the former WWF Heavyweight Champion.
Ted DiBiase made his official on-camera debut on the 11/28 edition of Superstars, along with Mike “Virgil” Jones, cutting an interview with Craig DeGeorge. DiBiase spoke of everyone having their price, saying he has plans to buy the WWF Heavyweight Championship. [1]
NWA
The Funks-Sheepherders match was cut from the final card of Starrcade at the last minute, when the Funks reportedly refused to wrestle due to a pay dispute. Both men are apparently on their way to Japan to wrestle. The Sheepherders appear to be sticking around, however, and are on the card for the upcoming 12/10 TV tapings to take on the Rock n’ Roll Express.
AJPW
Tom Billington has reportedly made his debut in the company under the Dynamite Kid name … Doctors cleared him to wrestle again back in May, and he appears to be on a limited work schedule due to his deteriorating condition.
December 5, 1987
The thirteenth episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event, previously taped on November 28th, airs on NBC, drawing an 8.9 rating (down from the massive 12.8 from September). For the first time ever, Ricky Steamboat does not wrestle in a match on the show, though he does appear toward the end of the broadcast. Two title matches are advertised for the show: Randy Savage defending the Intercontinental Championship against Rick Rude, and the Hart Foundation attempting to regain the Tag Team Titles from the Fabulous Rougeaus.
Before the opening contest, Savage and Rude cut interviews with Gene Okerlund concerning Miss Elizabeth. Rude states that after winning tonight, instead of kissing a woman from the crowd, he’ll be delivering a kiss to Elizabeth instead. Savage says if Rude has a brain in his skull, he’ll keep far away from Elizabeth. Towards the end of the match, Rude begins trying to “put the moves” on Elizabeth, but Savage throws him back in the ring, pounding on him in the corner. Savage refuses to heed the referee’s warnings to break his attack on Rude, and as such, is disqualified. Jake Roberts soon runs to the ring, and begins beating on Savage. Elizabeth looks on helplessly as Roberts and Rude beat Savage to the mat—until Rude shoves Roberts out of the way to get a better shot at Savage. Roberts grabs Rude, and as the two stare down for several tense seconds, the crowd faintly cheers for Roberts as the Macho Man rolls out of the ring and escapes with Elizabeth and his championship belt.
The Hart Foundation attempt to take the Tag Team Titles back from the Fabulous Rougeaus in the second match of the night. The champions bring along an insurance policy in the form of former Hart Foundation member Davey Boy Smith. Due to Davey’s interference on the outside, Jacques Rougeau manages to pin Jim Neidhart to retain the titles. After the match, Neidhart runs off both Davey and Jimmy Hart while Bret disposes of the Rougeaus in the ring, then both Hart Foundation members pose for a loudly cheering crowd. In the two matches before the main event, Women’s Champion Scary Sherri defeats Itsuki Yamazaki, one-half of the Jumping Bomb Angels, to get a measure of revenge from being humiliated at Survivor Series, and Repo Joe defeats Greg Valentine.
The final match of the show pits Bamm Bamm Bigelow (with his new tag team partner Andre the Giant and last-minute cheerleader Ricky Steamboat in his corner) against Hercules Hernandez (who is accompanied by Bobby Heenan and WWF Champion Hulk Hogan, who doesn’t defend his title on the show). Despite Heenan and Hogan’s best efforts, Bigelow comes away with a pinfall victory over Hercules, prompting the heels to try to beat some respect into Bigelow after the match. Andre and Steamboat soon save Bigelow, running the heels off, and in an interview at the end of the show, Andre says that he wants a shot at Hogan, one-on-one. Steamboat gives his blessing for Andre to take on Hogan, proclaiming “Hogan can’t run from the Giant”.
The show also features a music video from the new WWF music album, WWF The Music Volume 2: Piledriver, featuring Ricky Steamboat’s new entrance theme song, “Dragon”, performed by Japanese heavy metal band Loudness. The song would become a surprise Top 20 hit in early 1988, peaking at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming Loudness’ highest-charting single of their career. [2]
December 14, 1987
WWF
Kamala was released on 12/2. The former Continental veteran had been absent from television since October … It’s unclear where he will be headed at this point, but a return to Memphis is expected.
NWA
This writer just wants to praise how the Sheepherders-R&R Express feud has begun. Williams and Miller’s attack on Ricky Morton after their match on 12/10 was brutal, and Morton bled like crazy. Seeing where this feud will go will be interesting—along with how much blood will be spilled.
Barry Windham was injured at the 12/10 TV taping. Sources say he suffered a torn rotator cuff in the tag match he and Rotundo had with the Road Warriors … Mighty Wilbur is out with a broken leg as well, and as most readers are aware, Sting is out with a shoulder injury for what looks to be at least six months.
AWA
Well folks, it finally happened on 12/12: hell froze over … Greg Gagne defeated Curt Hennig to win the AWA World Championship. After the match, Verne came out to celebrate with his son, holding the title belt aloft along with him. The crowd noticeably booed Gagne, and Verne was reportedly seen looking at the crowd with a very confused look on his face. [3]
January 4, 1988
END OF YEAR SPECIAL
The Newsletter’s year-end coverage of 1987 is covered in depth on pages 2-5. Among other things, we cover the WWF’s successes (and failures) in Wrestlemania, Survivor Series, and the successful run of Hulk Hogan as a top heel; the merging of Jim Crockett and Bill Watts’ territories into a “unified” NWA, the undeserved rise of Verne Gagne’s son Greg to World Title status; the continuing growth of New Japan and All Japan; the deaths of Salvador Lutteroth, Scott Irwin, and others; and much more. [4]
NJPW
According to my sources, former AWA wrestler Leon “Bull Power” White made his in-ring debut on 12/27 as “Big Ben Bader”. [5] He destroyed Seiji Sakaguchi in a squash match, then yelled “Inoki”. Setting up Inoki vs. White this early seems like a horrible idea to me, seeing how Inoki is the biggest star in the country. However, it worked when Steamboat was brought into WWF, so it could pay off if done correctly. [6]
Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards for 1987 [7]
Wrestler of the Year: Riki Choshu (201) 1,411 [8]
Ricky Steamboat (188) 1,090
Ric Flair (169) 971
Magnum T.A. (69) 355
Chigusa Nagayo (50) 229
While some may have expected Steamboat to take this award this year, the inventor of the Scorpion Lock came out of nowhere to snap up the yearly top prize for the first time.
Most Outstanding Wrestler: Ric Flair (231) 1,229
Ricky Steamboat (210) 1,215
Tatsumi Fujinami (116) 448
Randy Savage (84) 330
Bret Hart (63) 104
For the second straight year, it was basically neck-and-neck between Flair and Steamboat, but this year, the Nature Boy tops the Dragon.
Best Babyface: Ricky Steamboat (423) 1,365
Magnum T.A. (177) 650
Antonio Inoki (25) 403
Dusty Rhodes (32) 212
Randy Savage (11) 207
By a very wide margin, Steamboat wins this category for the third straight year. It’s not that surprising, considering how popular he is with fans, and has managed to get over his gimmick with almost everyone.
Best Heel: Hulk Hogan (216) 1,230
Ric Flair (186) 1,133
Riki Choshu (163) 610
Austin Idol (42) 318
Jake Roberts (50) 199
Hogan surprisingly snaps up the award this year, becoming the first wrestler to win both Best Babyface and Best Heel. This comes as a bit of a shock to me, as both Flair and Choshu have been very good heels this year.
Feud of the Year: Austin Idol vs. Jerry Lawler (362) 1,301
Ricky Steamboat vs. Hulk Hogan (130) 1,045
Ric Flair vs. Magnum T.A. (105) 543
Randy Savage vs. Jake Roberts (91) 494
Antonio Inoki vs. Masa Saito (45) 466
Fans of Continental were very glad to get such a hot feud between Idol and Lawler, culminating with the shocking shaving of the beloved Lawler’s hair in April.
Tag Team of the Year: Hart Foundation (133) 1,119
Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane) (140) 1,087
Akira Maeda & Nobohiku Takada (99) 866
Road Warriors (118) 802
Rock n’ Roll Express (77) 550
The Harts were an undeniable force this year, showing unquestionable chemistry in their WWF matches, and breaking the record for longest-running WWF Tag Champions. Incidentally, a few of our readers voted for the first version of the Midnights (Eaton and Dennis Condrey); if the Midnights were counted as one team, they would have won this award instead.
Most Improved: Big Bubba Rogers (238) 899
Curt Hennig (168) 832
Hulk Hogan (101) 798
Lex Luger (65) 440
Masaharu Funaki (44) 406
He still has a way to go, but Rogers has definitely improved by leaps and bounds in the workrate department. The current UWF Heavyweight Champion is rumored to be set to feud with the reigning NWA Champion, so he will definitely have to tune his skills even more.
Best on Interviews: Jim Cornette (176) 1,330
Ric Flair (144) 952
Paul E. Dangerously (88) 759
Randy Savage (68) 320
Jerry Lawler (47) 127
Cornette’s gift of gab nets him this award for the third consecutive year. NWA contemporary Flair surprisingly got quite few votes compared to the current manager of the Midnight Express.
Most Charismatic: Road Warriors (200) 1,122
Randy Savage (172) 656
Hulk Hogan (107) 504
Ric Flair (110) 311
Ricky Steamboat (38) 127
The Road Warriors’ flamboyant attire, extreme brawling capabilities, and ability to captivate the audience in almost every match they have easily give the current NWA Tag Team Champions the win here.
Best Technical Wrestler: Tatsumi Fujinami (234) 1,330
Nobuhiko Takada (203) 1,304
Owen Hart (119) 1,024
Bret Hart (95) 504
Ricky Steamboat (66) 317
Facing close competition from Takada this year, New Japan star Fujinami wins the award for the third year in a row.
Best Brawler: Bruiser Brody (307) 1,330
Terry Gordy (229) 1,224
Steve Williams (42) 573
Eddie Gilbert (32) 322
Stan Hansen (13) 120
After losing for the first ever time last year, Brody returns to the top of the voting for the seventh time.
Best Flying Wrestler: Owen Hart (234) 1,003
Tiger Mask II (165) 887
Jushin Liger (113) 842
The Great Muta (88) 659
Ricky Steamboat (95) 394
Bret Hart’s younger brother, currently a mainstay in Stampede wrestling, has wowed many of our readers with his incredible high-flying prowess.
Most Overrated: Dusty Rhodes (225) 1,229
Lex Luger (84) 917
Hulk Hogan (135) 767
Venom (34) 198
The Hart Foundation (17) 123
Dusty Bloats takes this rather dubious award for the second straight year, despite strong competition from Hogan and Luger.
Most Underrated: Brad Armstrong (234) 996
Bobby Eaton (102) 633
Pat Tanaka (77) 559
Bret Hart (55) 362
The Rougeau Brothers (40) 80
Beating out previous years’ winners Bret Hart and Bobby Eaton, the talented 25-year-old from the NWA scoops up his first award in this category.
Promotion of the Year: New Japan Pro Wrestling (299) 1,022
World Wrestling Federation (120) 889
National Wrestling Alliance/Jim Crockett Promotions (103) 780
All Japan Women’s Wrestling (45) 778
Continental Wrestling in Memphis (33) 454
The public has spoken: New Japan have put on some of the most entertaining and well-received cards in history, and with talented guys like Hashimoto, Saito, and the veteran Inoki (who can still go), there's no way to go but up.
Match of the Year: Antonio Inoki vs. Masa Saito – NJPW, 4/27 (199) 955
Ric Flair vs. Magnum TA – NWA, 11/26 (168) 862
Hart Foundation vs. Rougeaus – WWF, 11/26 (99) 837
War Games: Flair, Anderson, Blanchard, Windham & Rotundo vs. Rhodes, Garvin, Road Warriors & Ellering – NWA, 7/4 (45) 333
Bruiser Brody vs. Sheik – CWF, 2/18 (29) 201
There was no clear winner in this category this year, but when all the votes were tallied, Inoki & Saito’s battle in April came out on top. [9]
Rookie of the Year: Brian Pillman (210) 1,145
Shane Douglas (109) 894
Doug Furnas (85) 463
Ron Simmons (47) 232
Eddy Guerrero (59) 174
The young 26-year-old Pillman has shown great promise since debuting in Stampede Wrestling last November, and our readers also seem to think he has a good career ahead of him.
Manager of the Year: Jim Cornette (291) 880
Jimmy Hart (238) 832
Bobby Heenan (204) 624
Eddie Gilbert (111) 260
Paul E. Dangerously (24) 181
For the third time, Cornette takes the prize here, barely beating out Jimmy Hart for the second consecutive year.
Best Television Announcer: Lance Russell (222) 1,150
Gordon Solie (205) 990
Jim Ross (159) 975
Gorilla Monsoon (69) 203
Jesse Ventura (44) 99
The veteran Russell’s smooth voice and crisp delivery has resonated well with fans for the second year in a row, despite competition from the more experienced Solie and the younger upstart Ross.
Worst Television Announcer: David Crockett (353) 1,119
Bruno Sammartino (338) 986
Gorilla Monsoon (227) 733
Vince McMahon (105) 424
Ed Whalen (25) 75
Jim Crockett’s son takes the most votes in this category for the second straight year, despite stiff competition from the WWF’s Bruno Sammartino.
*Woman of the Year: Chigusa Nagayo (229) 1,495 [10]
Lioness Asuka (77) 688
Akira Hokuto (45) 343
Miss Elizabeth (42) 142
Sherri Martel (22) 130
Our newest award sees the most popular wrestler in All Japan Women’s Wrestling run away with most of the votes, getting more than twice as many as her Crush Gals tag team partner Lioness Asuka.
Best Wrestling Maneuver: Shooting Star Press – Jushin Liger (550) 1,003
DDT – Jake Roberts (130) 564
Springboard flip armlock – Owen Hart (90) 330
Saito Suplex – Masa Saito (53) 199
Slingshot DDT – Paul Diamond & Pat Tanaka (20) 88
The popular Liger's invention has wowed many crowds in Japan, and the voters never lie. Seeing tapes of this move still leave me in awe how he doesn't break his neck while doing it.
Readers’ Favorite Wrestler: Ricky Steamboat (272) 1,502
Ric Flair (224) 1,455
Riki Choshu (135) 239
Randy Savage (66) 191
Tatsumi Fujinami (90) 99
Another award that was basically a coin flip between Steamboat and Flair this year. In the end, though, Steamboat managed to come out on top.
*Worst Manager: Mr. Fuji (433) 1,447
Paul Jones (44) 572
Percy Pringle (33) 94
Bobby Heenan (20) 89
Miss Elizabeth (27) 87
In a landslide victory, the sharp-dressed Fuji wins the inaugural award in this category. The day the Charlie Chan wannabe retires will doubtless be celebrated by a lot of readers.
Worst Worked Match of the Year: Andre’s Giants vs. Heenan Family – WWF, 11/26 (378) 1,498
Giant Baba vs. Raja Lion – AJPW, 6/9 (107) 552
Roddy Piper vs. Dynamite Kid – WWF, 3/29 (44) 230
Steve Williams vs. Barry Windham – NWA, 6/16 (30) 108
Brutus Beefcake vs. Koko B. Ware – WWF, 7/11 (15) 78
Subpar workers, plodding moves, and outside involvement from a Saturday Morning cartoon voice actor. Nothing more needs to be said here.
Worst Feud: Curt & Larry Hennig vs. Greg & Verne Gagne (212) 1,020
Andre the Giant vs. King Kong Bundy (114) 770
Kevin Von Erich vs. Al Perez (85) 322
Randy Savage vs. Honky Tonk Man (45) 85
Andre the Giant vs. John Studd (42) 83
I wonder how many votes this feud would have gotten had it not culminated in Greg’s winning the AWA Title?
Best Gimmick: Ted DiBiase – Arrogant millionaire (342) 1,150
Road Warriors – Gruff bikers (155) 830
Honky Tonk Man – Elvis impersonator (54) 569
Ricky Steamboat – Kung Fu “Dragon” (40) 157
Big Bubba Rogers – Silent enforcer (33) 133
Since his arrival in the WWF, our readers seem to agree that DiBiase’s casting as the “Million Dollar Man” has been, while campy, incredibly entertaining.
Worst Gimmick: Repo Joe – Car repossessor (320) 994
Outback Jack – Crocodile Dundee rip-off (155) 832
George Steele – “The Animal” (55) 342
Honky Tonk Man – Elvis impersonator (59) 230
Rougeau Brothers – “Fabulous” tag team (19) 188
Readers seem to agree that the former Krusher Krushchev’s new gimmick in the WWF is worse than actually having your car repossessed.
…
1987 was a wild ride in the wrestling world, and with 1988 on the horizon, one can only wonder what the business will bring us next. With Crockett’s Bunkhouse Stampede coming up in a few weeks, and the WWF reportedly running a show on the same day, expect the feud between these two companies to continue. The AWA will definitely need to get its act together if they want to succeed in this war (and believe me, it IS a war) of national wresting expansion. Here's to a new year, a prosperous time for all promotions, and hopefully a short title reign for Greg Gagne.
--Wrestling Observer Newsletter excerpts, December 1987-January 1988
Pwi-online.com’s Top 25 matches of 1987 (winners in bold) [11]
1. Antonio Inoki vs. Masa Saito (NJPW, Blazing Cherry Blossoms, 4/27)
2. Ric Flair vs. Magnum T.A. (NWA, Starrcade ’87, 11/26)
3. Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart vs. Rougeau Brothers (WWF, Survivor Series ’87, 11/26)
4. Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart vs. Rougeau Brothers (WWF, Wrestlemania 3, 3/29)
5. Ricky Steamboat vs. Hulk Hogan (WWF, Wrestlemania 3, 3/29)
6. Ron Garvin vs. Tully Blanchard (NWA, house show, 12/20)
7. Nobohiku Takada vs. Shiro Koshinaka (NJPW, Sumo Hall show, 2/5)
8. Hair vs. Hair Match: Jerry Lawler vs. Austin Idol (CWA, Memphis, 4/27)
9. Road Warriors vs. Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo (NWA, Starrcade ’87, 11/26)
10. Antonio Inoki vs. Masa Saito (NJPW, Summer Big Fight Series, 6/12)
11. Sting, Jimmy Garvin & Jim Duggan vs. Venom, Rick Steiner & Dick Slater (NWA, Starrcade ’87, 11/26)
12. Chris Benoit & Shinya Hashimoto vs. Tatsutoshi Gono & Naoki Sano (NJPW, Sumo Hall show, 2/5)
13. WarGames Match: Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo vs. Dusty Rhodes, Ron Garvin, Road Warriors & Paul Ellering (NWA, Great American Bash, 7/4)
14. Tag Team Survivor Series Match: The Killer Bees, The Midnight Rockers, Tito Santana & Rick Martel, Billy Jack Haynes & Brady Boone, Scott Casey & Dan Spivey vs. Demolition, The Young Guns, The Islanders, The Outlaws, Nikolai Volkoff & Boris Zukhov (WWF, Survivor Series ’87, 11/26)
15. Bret Hart vs. Tonga Kid (WWF, house show, 12/19)
16. Tiger Mask II vs. Ted DiBiase (AJPW, Summer Action Series, 7/19)
17. Nobohiku Takada vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi (NJPW, Summer Night Fever in Kokugikan, 8/20)
18. Bruiser Brody vs. The Sheik (CWF, War of the Worlds, 2/18)
19. Chris Adams & Sam Houston vs. Rick Steiner & Sting (UWF, Stockton Show, 3/26)
20. Tito Santana & Rick Martel vs. Sam Houston & Ron Bass (WWF, house show, 12/9)
21. Survivor Series Match: Ricky Steamboat, Greg Valentine, Junkyard Dog, Ken Patera & Jimmy Snuka vs. Hulk Hogan, Hercules Hernandez, Paul Orndorff, Bob Orton Jr. & Don Muraco (WWF, Survivor Series ‘87, 11/26)
22. Nick Bockwinkel vs. Curt Hennig (AWA, Superclash show, 5/16)
23. Road Warriors vs. Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo (NWA, house show, 12/15)
24. Jake Roberts vs. Tito Santana (WWF, house show, 6/3)
25. Arn Anderson & Barry Windham vs. Midnight Express (NWA, house show, 1/19)
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[1] DiBiase debuted in the WWF in a very similar way IOTL, claiming that even Hulk Hogan had his price.
[2] This, of course, will necessitate Loudness’ 1998 album Dragon to be renamed ITTL.
[3] IOTL, Verne Gagne came very close on multiple occasions to putting the AWA World Title on his son Greg. Verne held back due to Greg’s slightly below-average size, considerable lack of charisma, and relatively mediocre wrestling ability. To use a modern-day example: think of it as if Curt Hennig were still alive today, ran a wrestling company, and put that company’s world title on Curtis Axel. ITTL, due to smaller guys like Steamboat in the main event, the increased workrate in rival promotions, and a combination of other factors, Verne actually pulls the trigger on Greg—and most of the fans are not happy about it.
[4] The deaths of Mexican wrestling promoter Salvador Lutteroth (age 90) and AWA wrestler Scott Irwin (age 35, of a brain tumor) are as OTL. However, one OTL death that doesn’t happen ITTL is that of Mike Von Erich, who committed suicide on April 12, 1987 by overdosing on sleeping pills and alcohol. Here, Mike enters rehab after his bout in the hospital with toxic shock syndrome in 1985, retires from active wrestling soon afterward, and remains alive as of TTL’s 1987.
[5] A misprint on Meltzer’s part, which hilariously comes from OTL. As OTL, White debuts as “Big Van Vader”—which, of course, would later be shortened to simply “Vader”.
[6] Vader did indeed have his New Japan Pro Wrestling debut match against Antonio Inoki, scoring a shocking upset against the Japanese veteran (and former WWF Champion!) that nearly caused a riot among the crowd. Here, head booker Inoki thinks things over a bit more, and has Vader squash a slightly lesser NJPW star before voicing his intentions of taking on the Champ.
[7] There are many, many differences here; as such, I’ll direct you to the full list of Newsletter Awards here.
[8] To save space, only the top 5 voted for in each category are shown. Vote tallies are speculative, based on the number of subscribers to the Newsletter around the beginning of 1988. The numbers in parentheses indicate the number of votes for first place on the submitted ballots, and the numbers following these indicate the number of times a wrestler ranked in the top 5 on an individual ballot.
[9] There was a clear winner in the 1987 “Match of the Year” award IOTL: and it involved Ricky Steamboat.
[10] This award has never existed IOTL; here, because of the higher prominence of women wrestlers in the WWF (and of course, Japan), Dave decides to throw a slight bone to the female workers in the business. The award is a catch-all category that includes every woman employed in wrestling, hence why Elizabeth gets a sizable chunk of votes despite not being an active wrestler.
[11] Only matches #1, #7, #8, #10, #12, #16, #17, and #18 exist IOTL.
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I'm back! And better than ever...
With that, we finally close out 1987, and turn the page to a new year in wrestling history. We've still got many years to come in this timeline, however, so don't worry about it ending anytime soon!
Coming up: the drive toward the confrontation between Hogan and Andre starts at the inaugural Royal Rumble...
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Early January 1988: New Year's Wrestling Rosters
1988: New Years' Wrestling Rosters
Wrestling Promotion Rosters: January 1st, 1988
World Wrestling Federation
Owner: Vince McMahon, Jr.
Based in: Stamford, CT
Active Wrestlers
Andre the Giant
Ax
B. Brian Blair
Barry Horowitz
Barry O.
Big John Studd [1]
“Marshall” Billy Jack Haynes
Blackjack Mulligan
“Cowboy” Bob Orton
Boris Zukhov
Brady Boone
Bret "Hitman" Hart
Brutus Beefcake
“The Natural” Butch Reed
“Mr. D” Danny Davis [2]
“The Golden Boy” Danny Spivey
Davey Boy Smith
Dino Bravo
“The Magnificent” Don Muraco
George “the Animal” Steele
Greg Valentine
Hammer
Hercules Hernandez
Hillbilly Jim
The Honky Tonk Man
Hulk Hogan – WWF World Heavyweight Champion
Itsuki Yamazaki – WWF Women’s Tag Team Champion
Jacques Rougeau – WWF Tag Team Champion
Jake “the Snake” Roberts
“Jumping” Jim Brunzell
Jim “the Anvil” Neidhart
Jim Powers
Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka
Judy Martin
The Junkyard Dog
King Kong Bundy
King Tonga
“The Birdman” Koko B. Ware
“Leaping” Lanny Poffo
Leilani Kai
Les Thornton
Marty Jannetty
“The Blue Belle” Misty Blue Simms
Nikolai Volkoff
Noriyo Tateno – WWF Women’s Tag Team Champion
The One Man Gang
“Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff
Paul Roma
Randy “Macho Man” Savage – WWF Intercontinental Champion
Raymond Rougeau – WWF Tag Team Champion
Repo Joe
Rick Martel
“Ravishing” Rick Rude
Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat
Rockin’ Robin
Ron Bass
Sam Houston
“Scary” Sherri Martel – WWF Women’s Champion
Shawn Michaels
“The Wild Samoan” Sika
Sivi Afi
Steve Lombardi
“The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase
Tito Santana
The Tonga Kid
Velvet McIntyre
Virgil
Wendi Richter
Tag Teams/Factions
Billy Jack Haynes & Brady Boone
Demolition (Ax & Hammer)
The Fabulous Rougeaus (Jacques & Raymond)
Greg Valentine & Junkyard Dog
The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart)
The Heenan Family (Bobby Heenan, Hulk Hogan, Paul Orndorff, King Kong Bundy, Hercules Hernandez & Rick Rude)
The Islanders (King Tonga & Tonga Kid)
The Jumping Bomb Angels (Itsuki Yamazaki & Noriyo Tateno)
The Midnight Rockers (Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty)
The Outlaws (Sam Houston & Ron Bass)
The Red Army (Nikolai Volkoff & Boris Zukhov)
Team Victory (Tito Santana & Rick Martel)
The Young Guns (Jim Powers & Paul Roma)
Managers (who they manage)
Bobby “the Brain” Heenan (Heenan Family)
“The Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart (Rougeaus, Davey Boy Smith)
“Luscious” Johnny V. (Demolition, Honky Tonk Man)
Miss Elizabeth (Randy Savage)
Mr. Fuji (Islanders, Sika)
“The Doctor of Style” Slick (Butch Reed, One Man Gang, Red Army)
Announcers/Interviewers
“Lord” Alfred Hayes
Bruno Sammartino
Craig DeGeorge
“Mean” Gene Okerlund
Gorilla Monsoon
Howard "the Fink" Finkel
Jesse “the Body” Ventura
Vince McMahon
Crockett Promotions (NWA)
Owner: Jim Crockett, Jr.
Based in: Charlotte, NC
Active Wrestlers
Al Perez
Animal – NWA World Tag Team Champion
Arn Anderson
The Barbarian
Baron Von Raschke
Barry Windham
Big Bubba Rogers – UWF Heavyweight Champion
Black Bart
“Beautiful” Bobby Eaton
Bobby Fulton
Butch Miller
Chris Champion
Commando #2
“Captain Redneck” Dick Murdoch
“Dirty” Dick Slater
“The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes – NWA United States Champion
“Hot Stuff” Eddie Gilbert
The Fabulous Moolah [3]
“Handsome” Harley Race
Hawk – NWA World Tag Team Champion
The Italian Stallion
Ivan Koloff
Jack Victory
“Hacksaw” Jim Duggan
“Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin
Kendall Windham
Kevin Sullivan
“The Total Package” Lex Luger
Luke Williams
Magnum T.A. – NWA World Heavyweight Champion
“The Raging Bull” Manny Fernandez
Michael “P.S.” Hayes
Mike Rotundo
Nelson Royal
Nikita Koloff
Ray Candy
“Nature Boy” Ric Flair
“The Dog-Faced Gremlin” Rick Steiner
Ricky Morton
Robert Gibson
“The All-American” Ron Simmons [4]
“The Man with the Hands of Stone” Ron Garvin
Sam Houston
Sean Royal
Shaska Whatley
“Sweet” Stan Lane
“Dr. Death” Steve Williams
Sting
“Terrific” Terry Taylor
Tim Horner
Tommy Rogers
Tully Blanchard
Venom
The Warlord
Tag Teams/Factions
Barbarian & Warlord
The Fantastics (Bobby Fulton & Tommy Rogers)
The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo)
The Garvins (Jimmy & Ron)
The Koloffs (Ivan & Nikita)
The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane)
The Road Warriors (Animal & Hawk)
The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson)
The Sheepherders (Butch Miller & Luke Williams)
Managers (who they manage)
J.J. Dillon (Midnight Express)
Jim Cornette (Koloffs)
Paul Ellering (Road Warriors)
Paul Jones (Warlord & Barbarian)
Precious (Garvins)
Announcers/Interviewers
“Cowboy” Bill Watts
David Crockett
Jim Ross
Tony Schiavone
American Wrestling Association
Owner: Verne Gagne
Based in: Minneapolis, MN
Active Wrestlers
“The Sheik” Adnan El-Kassie
Adrian Adonis
Alex Knight
Alexis Smirnoff
Brad Rheingans
Buck Zumhofe
Candi Devine
Chavo Guerrero
Col. DeBeers
Curt Hennig
David Sammartino
Dennis Condrey – AWA World Tag Team Champion
Don Fargo
Doug Somers
Greg Gagne – AWA World Heavyweight Champion
“Crusher” Jerry Blackwell
John Nord
Larry Zbyszko [5]
“Maniac” Mike Davis
Randy Rose – AWA World Tag Team Champion
Rose Divine
Sgt. Slaughter
Steve Keirn
Teijo Khan
Tommy Lane
Verne Gagne
Tag Teams/Factions
Buddy Rose & Doug Somers
The Original Midnight Express (Dennis Condrey & Randy Rose)
The Rock ‘n’ Roll RPM’s (Tommy Lane & Mike Davis)
Announcers/Interviewers
"Lord" James Blears
Lee Marshall
Rod Trongard
Continental Wrestling Association
Owners: Jerry Jarrett & Jerry Lawler
Based in: Memphis, TN
Active Wrestlers
Akio Sato
Allen Martin
“The Universal Heartthrob” Austin Idol
Big Bubba [6]
Bill Dundee
Billy Joe Travis
Bobby Jaggers
Brian Knobs
Brickhouse Brown
Don Harris
Gary Young
Giant Kokina [7]
Hector Guerrero
Jeff Jarrett
Jerry “the King” Lawler – CWA Heavyweight Champion
Jerry Sags
Ken Raper
Lord Humongous (Sid Eudy)
Manny Fernandez
Mark Starr
Max Pain
Pat Tanaka
Paul Diamond
Phil Hickerson
Rick Nelson
“Soulman” Rocky Johnson
Ron Harris
Scott Hall
Tojo Yamamoto
“Wildfire” Tommy Rich
Tag Teams/Factions
The Bruise Brothers (Don & Ron Harris)
Gary Young & Max Pain
The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobs & Jerry Sags)
Paul Diamond & Pat Tanaka
Mangers (who they manage)
Paul E. Dangerously (Idol, Rich)
Announcers/Interviewers
Dave Brown
Lance Russell
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Although he is still employed by the company at this date in time, Studd is very close to officially retiring by this point. This will be covered in an update in the very near future.
[2] Instead of allying himself with the Hart Foundation like IOTL, Davis instead becomes a low-card heel with a gimmick resembling a bumbling white Mr. T. But hey—at least it’s something different from that “wrestling referee” schtick they gave him IOTL…right?
[3] Moolah leaves the AWA in late 1987 ITTL in search of a bigger paycheck from Crockett, and is stripped of the AWA Women’s Championship as a result (the title remains vacant at this point ITTL). Moolah is currently wrestling women jobbers in the NWA, and is basically “just there” at the moment.
[4] As OTL, Simmons debuts in late 1987, and goes on a winning streak, beating big names like Ivan Koloff and the Barbarian.
[5] Zbyszko jumped to the NWA in November 1987 IOTL; here, he sticks with the AWA for a bit longer.
[6] AKA Fred Ottman, who would go on to become more famous IOTL as Tugboat and Typhoon in WWF, and later as the infamous “Shockmaster” in WCW.
[7] AKA Rodney Anoa’i, nephew of the Wild Samoans who would later be known IOTL as Yokozuna.
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As we run headlong into 1988, this is the state of the biggest four wrestling promotions in America ITTL. Some are obviously in better shape than others, but we’ll be covering them all for the foreseeable future!
Up next: Vince and Dick Ebersol meet up, Pat Patterson pitches a brilliant idea, and the NWA sends some guys up to Canada—but not for reasons you might think!
Wrestling Promotion Rosters: January 1st, 1988
World Wrestling Federation
Owner: Vince McMahon, Jr.
Based in: Stamford, CT
Active Wrestlers
Andre the Giant
Ax
B. Brian Blair
Barry Horowitz
Barry O.
Big John Studd [1]
“Marshall” Billy Jack Haynes
Blackjack Mulligan
“Cowboy” Bob Orton
Boris Zukhov
Brady Boone
Bret "Hitman" Hart
Brutus Beefcake
“The Natural” Butch Reed
“Mr. D” Danny Davis [2]
“The Golden Boy” Danny Spivey
Davey Boy Smith
Dino Bravo
“The Magnificent” Don Muraco
George “the Animal” Steele
Greg Valentine
Hammer
Hercules Hernandez
Hillbilly Jim
The Honky Tonk Man
Hulk Hogan – WWF World Heavyweight Champion
Itsuki Yamazaki – WWF Women’s Tag Team Champion
Jacques Rougeau – WWF Tag Team Champion
Jake “the Snake” Roberts
“Jumping” Jim Brunzell
Jim “the Anvil” Neidhart
Jim Powers
Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka
Judy Martin
The Junkyard Dog
King Kong Bundy
King Tonga
“The Birdman” Koko B. Ware
“Leaping” Lanny Poffo
Leilani Kai
Les Thornton
Marty Jannetty
“The Blue Belle” Misty Blue Simms
Nikolai Volkoff
Noriyo Tateno – WWF Women’s Tag Team Champion
The One Man Gang
“Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff
Paul Roma
Randy “Macho Man” Savage – WWF Intercontinental Champion
Raymond Rougeau – WWF Tag Team Champion
Repo Joe
Rick Martel
“Ravishing” Rick Rude
Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat
Rockin’ Robin
Ron Bass
Sam Houston
“Scary” Sherri Martel – WWF Women’s Champion
Shawn Michaels
“The Wild Samoan” Sika
Sivi Afi
Steve Lombardi
“The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase
Tito Santana
The Tonga Kid
Velvet McIntyre
Virgil
Wendi Richter
Tag Teams/Factions
Billy Jack Haynes & Brady Boone
Demolition (Ax & Hammer)
The Fabulous Rougeaus (Jacques & Raymond)
Greg Valentine & Junkyard Dog
The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart)
The Heenan Family (Bobby Heenan, Hulk Hogan, Paul Orndorff, King Kong Bundy, Hercules Hernandez & Rick Rude)
The Islanders (King Tonga & Tonga Kid)
The Jumping Bomb Angels (Itsuki Yamazaki & Noriyo Tateno)
The Midnight Rockers (Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty)
The Outlaws (Sam Houston & Ron Bass)
The Red Army (Nikolai Volkoff & Boris Zukhov)
Team Victory (Tito Santana & Rick Martel)
The Young Guns (Jim Powers & Paul Roma)
Managers (who they manage)
Bobby “the Brain” Heenan (Heenan Family)
“The Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart (Rougeaus, Davey Boy Smith)
“Luscious” Johnny V. (Demolition, Honky Tonk Man)
Miss Elizabeth (Randy Savage)
Mr. Fuji (Islanders, Sika)
“The Doctor of Style” Slick (Butch Reed, One Man Gang, Red Army)
Announcers/Interviewers
“Lord” Alfred Hayes
Bruno Sammartino
Craig DeGeorge
“Mean” Gene Okerlund
Gorilla Monsoon
Howard "the Fink" Finkel
Jesse “the Body” Ventura
Vince McMahon
Crockett Promotions (NWA)
Owner: Jim Crockett, Jr.
Based in: Charlotte, NC
Active Wrestlers
Al Perez
Animal – NWA World Tag Team Champion
Arn Anderson
The Barbarian
Baron Von Raschke
Barry Windham
Big Bubba Rogers – UWF Heavyweight Champion
Black Bart
“Beautiful” Bobby Eaton
Bobby Fulton
Butch Miller
Chris Champion
Commando #2
“Captain Redneck” Dick Murdoch
“Dirty” Dick Slater
“The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes – NWA United States Champion
“Hot Stuff” Eddie Gilbert
The Fabulous Moolah [3]
“Handsome” Harley Race
Hawk – NWA World Tag Team Champion
The Italian Stallion
Ivan Koloff
Jack Victory
“Hacksaw” Jim Duggan
“Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin
Kendall Windham
Kevin Sullivan
“The Total Package” Lex Luger
Luke Williams
Magnum T.A. – NWA World Heavyweight Champion
“The Raging Bull” Manny Fernandez
Michael “P.S.” Hayes
Mike Rotundo
Nelson Royal
Nikita Koloff
Ray Candy
“Nature Boy” Ric Flair
“The Dog-Faced Gremlin” Rick Steiner
Ricky Morton
Robert Gibson
“The All-American” Ron Simmons [4]
“The Man with the Hands of Stone” Ron Garvin
Sam Houston
Sean Royal
Shaska Whatley
“Sweet” Stan Lane
“Dr. Death” Steve Williams
Sting
“Terrific” Terry Taylor
Tim Horner
Tommy Rogers
Tully Blanchard
Venom
The Warlord
Tag Teams/Factions
Barbarian & Warlord
The Fantastics (Bobby Fulton & Tommy Rogers)
The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo)
The Garvins (Jimmy & Ron)
The Koloffs (Ivan & Nikita)
The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane)
The Road Warriors (Animal & Hawk)
The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson)
The Sheepherders (Butch Miller & Luke Williams)
Managers (who they manage)
J.J. Dillon (Midnight Express)
Jim Cornette (Koloffs)
Paul Ellering (Road Warriors)
Paul Jones (Warlord & Barbarian)
Precious (Garvins)
Announcers/Interviewers
“Cowboy” Bill Watts
David Crockett
Jim Ross
Tony Schiavone
American Wrestling Association
Owner: Verne Gagne
Based in: Minneapolis, MN
Active Wrestlers
“The Sheik” Adnan El-Kassie
Adrian Adonis
Alex Knight
Alexis Smirnoff
Brad Rheingans
Buck Zumhofe
Candi Devine
Chavo Guerrero
Col. DeBeers
Curt Hennig
David Sammartino
Dennis Condrey – AWA World Tag Team Champion
Don Fargo
Doug Somers
Greg Gagne – AWA World Heavyweight Champion
“Crusher” Jerry Blackwell
John Nord
Larry Zbyszko [5]
“Maniac” Mike Davis
Randy Rose – AWA World Tag Team Champion
Rose Divine
Sgt. Slaughter
Steve Keirn
Teijo Khan
Tommy Lane
Verne Gagne
Tag Teams/Factions
Buddy Rose & Doug Somers
The Original Midnight Express (Dennis Condrey & Randy Rose)
The Rock ‘n’ Roll RPM’s (Tommy Lane & Mike Davis)
Announcers/Interviewers
"Lord" James Blears
Lee Marshall
Rod Trongard
Continental Wrestling Association
Owners: Jerry Jarrett & Jerry Lawler
Based in: Memphis, TN
Active Wrestlers
Akio Sato
Allen Martin
“The Universal Heartthrob” Austin Idol
Big Bubba [6]
Bill Dundee
Billy Joe Travis
Bobby Jaggers
Brian Knobs
Brickhouse Brown
Don Harris
Gary Young
Giant Kokina [7]
Hector Guerrero
Jeff Jarrett
Jerry “the King” Lawler – CWA Heavyweight Champion
Jerry Sags
Ken Raper
Lord Humongous (Sid Eudy)
Manny Fernandez
Mark Starr
Max Pain
Pat Tanaka
Paul Diamond
Phil Hickerson
Rick Nelson
“Soulman” Rocky Johnson
Ron Harris
Scott Hall
Tojo Yamamoto
“Wildfire” Tommy Rich
Tag Teams/Factions
The Bruise Brothers (Don & Ron Harris)
Gary Young & Max Pain
The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobs & Jerry Sags)
Paul Diamond & Pat Tanaka
Mangers (who they manage)
Paul E. Dangerously (Idol, Rich)
Announcers/Interviewers
Dave Brown
Lance Russell
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Although he is still employed by the company at this date in time, Studd is very close to officially retiring by this point. This will be covered in an update in the very near future.
[2] Instead of allying himself with the Hart Foundation like IOTL, Davis instead becomes a low-card heel with a gimmick resembling a bumbling white Mr. T. But hey—at least it’s something different from that “wrestling referee” schtick they gave him IOTL…right?
[3] Moolah leaves the AWA in late 1987 ITTL in search of a bigger paycheck from Crockett, and is stripped of the AWA Women’s Championship as a result (the title remains vacant at this point ITTL). Moolah is currently wrestling women jobbers in the NWA, and is basically “just there” at the moment.
[4] As OTL, Simmons debuts in late 1987, and goes on a winning streak, beating big names like Ivan Koloff and the Barbarian.
[5] Zbyszko jumped to the NWA in November 1987 IOTL; here, he sticks with the AWA for a bit longer.
[6] AKA Fred Ottman, who would go on to become more famous IOTL as Tugboat and Typhoon in WWF, and later as the infamous “Shockmaster” in WCW.
[7] AKA Rodney Anoa’i, nephew of the Wild Samoans who would later be known IOTL as Yokozuna.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As we run headlong into 1988, this is the state of the biggest four wrestling promotions in America ITTL. Some are obviously in better shape than others, but we’ll be covering them all for the foreseeable future!
Up next: Vince and Dick Ebersol meet up, Pat Patterson pitches a brilliant idea, and the NWA sends some guys up to Canada—but not for reasons you might think!
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January 1988: Patterson's "Royal" Idea
January 2, 1988
It was the second day of 1988, and already, Vincent Kennedy McMahon was breaking one of his New Year’s resolutions: to spend more time with his family. He sat at his desk in his office in Stamford, looking over a list of papers on his desk even as he talked on the phone.
“The children really miss us,” said the voice of McMahon’s wife, Linda, over the phone. Linda normally worked on various odd jobs behind the scenes in Titan Corporations, but she was taking a sabbatical to take care of some business around the house, and to be with the children. “Stephanie almost cried last night…” [1]
McMahon smiled sadly. His children were growing up before his very eyes, and he was missing it. “I still plan on getting there to see Shane on the 15th—come hell or high water.” [2]
“Oh, here’s the birthday boy himself,” Linda said, pulling away from the phone. “Do you want to talk to your dad, honey?”
McMahon heard a few distant words, and after a few seconds, the voice of his son Shane came on the phone. “Hey Dad!”
“Hello, son,” McMahon replied, smiling the moment he heard Shane’s voice. “How are you doing?”
“Pretty good,” Shane said. “Two more weeks!”
“I know,” Vince replied. “You’ve grown into quite the young man…seems like just yesterday your mom and I were changing those dirty diapers of yours. I remember you sure had some juicy ones…”
“DAD!” Shane screamed into the phone. “Please!”
McMahon couldn’t help but laugh. “Sorry, son…I couldn’t resist. I’ll try to keep the nostalgia to a minimum. Have you thought about what you want for your birthday?”
“Yeah, I’ve got some ideas,” Shane replied, perking up. “Maybe a new stereo for my truck, that new Nintendo fantasy game…oh, and a date with Wendi Richter!”
Vince refrained from bursting out laughing. “We’ll talk about…at least some of those things later.” McMahon glanced over at the clock on his wall, and let out a small sigh. “Shoot. I have to go now…”
“Aw,” Shane replied, disappointed. “But I’ll see you before my birthday, right?”
McMahon smiled. “Wild elephants couldn’t keep me away, son. You take care of your mom and Stephanie, OK?”
“Got it,” Shane said. “I’ll see you soon!”
“Soon,” McMahon echoed. “I love you, son.”
“Love you too, Dad,” said Shane, and hung up the phone.
“Bye,” said McMahon, shaking his head as he hung up. “They grow up so damn fast…”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About an hour later, McMahon and Pat Patterson were seated in McMahon’s office. Seated across from them was NBC executive Dick Ebersol, who had worked together with McMahon several years prior to create Saturday Night’s Main Event, which was still broadcasting on NBC and drawing strong ratings. Ebersol was looking for more WWF programming to air on his networks; specifically, the USA Network, and he was visiting McMahon’s office from the nearby NBC Sports headquarters to see what they could all come up with for an upcoming television special on USA.
“Alright, Pat…we need something big,” McMahon said to his right-hand man. “Something to blow Crockett out of the water.”
Patterson nodded. Even though the WWF’s show was on free TV, and the NWA’s was on pay-per-view, McMahon wanted to put on the best show possible. The newsletters had been less than kind in their reviews of Survivor Series, calling it inferior next to Starrcade. As a result, Vince had become obsessed with making his product superior in every way.
Ebersol leaned forward in his chair. “I’m interested in what ideas you guys have in mind.”
McMahon raised an eyebrow. “Well, what about…nah, that won’t work.”
“What?” Ebersol asked.
“No, forget it,” McMahon said. “It’s too much work…”
“What’s too much work?” Patterson asked, now interested in what McMahon was thinking.
McMahon sighed. “Alright, go ahead. Give him your stupid…battle royal idea.”
Patterson perked up. A few months ago, he had run an idea he had by McMahon about a new kind of battle royal. In Patterson’s version of this match, two men would start the match, much as if it were a normal one-on-one match. When two minutes had elapsed, another wrestler would enter the ring, and so on, until all the entrants of the battle royal had entered the match. The rest of the match would proceed like a normal battle royal—elimination would occur when someone was thrown out of the ring, over the top rope. McMahon had dismissed the idea as “too complicated” to produce, and both men had simply dismissed the idea. Now, it seemed Patterson had a second chance to pitch his idea…
…
“And that’s basically how it would work,” Patterson said, having explained the concept to Dick Ebersol. “And the last man standing wins the match.”
Ebersol’s eyes lit up, enthralled with Patterson’s idea. He had never heard or seen of anything like it in the world of wrestling. “Pat, I love it!” he gushed. “It sounds great…the anticipation of waiting for who’s coming up next, plus all the guys in the ring wrestling at the same time! It’s bound to be a hit!”
McMahon just shook his head. Sometimes, Patterson surprised even him. I just hope this turns out as good as my last few gambles, he thought, as the three men began to discuss the fine details.
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January 11, 1988
WWF
As reported previously, NBC will be broadcasting a primetime WWF special sometime in 1988. It’s speculated the show will be used to set up Wrestlemania 4. I have been told the show will air on 2/5, and will be called “Friday Night’s Main Event”. Rumors are the planned main event is either going to be Steamboat vs. Hogan or Andre vs. Hogan. If it’s the former, expect it to be a title match; if it’s the latter, expect it to be for a future title match.
McMahon is reportedly going to counter the NWA Bunkhouse Stampede with a new event called “Royal Rumble”, to be aired on USA Network for free. The main event will apparently be a modified version of a battle royal featuring twenty men, with a new guy coming in at scheduled timed intervals. For the record: the same battle royal idea was tried in St. Louis last year, and pretty much failed. [3]
The Slammy Awards special on MTV drew a 6.6 rating. I haven’t seen the show myself, but I’ve heard that it was both funny and tasteless.
NWA
The head-to-head battle between Crockett and McMahon is continuing, with Crockett putting on the Bunkhouse Stampede on 1/24. I suspect Vince will do everything he can to kill the Stampede at the gate, but I have my doubts about a Bunkhouse battle royal being able to be a major draw. If they load the card with big angles (which they have been doing pretty well, I must admit), then the show could surprise us all. Right now, my sources can confirm Magnum TA vs. Ric Flair and Road Warriors vs. Midnight Express.
Barry Windham suffered a collarbone injury on 1/10, which reportedly will require surgery. Ricky Morton suffered a bad knee injury in a Bunkhouse Stampede in Charlotte on 12/25, and Robert Gibson is still on the shelf with his back injury.
A match between Magnum T.A. and Big Bubba Rogers will apparently be happening soon to unify the NWA and UWF Heavyweight Titles. Expect the two to feud after the Magnum vs. Horsemen feud has run its course. Both the WWF and Japan are very interested in Rogers right now.
Magnum T.A., Steve Williams, and several other talents have been filming stunts in Canada for an as-yet unnamed TV pilot starring NFL defensive end Lyle Alzado. [4] Williams is scheduled to return soon, but he has commitments in Japan as well.
AWA
12/25 in Minneapolis drew 1,000 for Greg Gagne vs. Curt Hennig for the AWA World Title [5] … Thankfully, there will be no Gagnes vs. Hennigs tag team match in the future. Larry has no interest whatsoever in wrestling at this point, even though Verne really wants him to make a comeback. Honestly, Larry may be the smartest man in the AWA right now just for that reason … Sgt. Slaughter was also called in to work a match, but the deal with him fell through at the last minute. Verne is reportedly trying desperately to get him to come in for some reason.
Verne is reportedly perplexed as to why Greg isn’t getting as over as he thought he would as World Champion. Denial—it’s not just a river in Egypt, as the saying goes.
OTHER
Crowds were chanting “Just Say No” at the Iron Sheik at a New York independent show, which is both sad and hilarious at the same time.
-excerpts from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, January 11th, 1988
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[1] Stephanie McMahon would be eleven years old at this point. Hard to think of the Billionaire Princess as a little girl, isn’t it?
[2] January 15th, 1988 is Shane McMahon’s eighteenth birthday. It’s understandably kind of a big deal that Vince be there for his son.
[3] As OTL, the first “experimental” Royal Rumble was held on October 4, 1987, in St. Louis, Missouri. The event was a financial failure, with an attendance of just under 2,000 people, and it is not officially acknowledged by WWE to this day. The One Man Gang won the card’s Royal Rumble match, by last eliminating the Junkyard Dog. ITTL, the event happens roughly the same way, but does just slightly better.
[4] Of course this is as OTL. We’ll see more about it in a future update.
[5] IOTL, this same show drew 1,800 people, due to the return to the AWA of the Midnight Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty), who had been fired from the WWF after only working there for a week. ITTL, since the Rockers stay with the WWF, and Greg Gagne is the AWA Champion (which nobody wanted to see!), the show does considerably worse.
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I'm back! Did you miss me?
As we drive toward the Royal Rumble ITTL, things are looking up for the WWF. The NWA are also looking decent, as they (presumably) have a hot new feud coming up, and the AWA is...surviving. Will the Royal Rumble be a success? Will the NWA survive having a pay-per-view on the same date as the free Rumble? Who will challenge for Hogan's title? And can the AWA recover from the hit to its revenues?
Coming up: more wrestling spillover into pop culture. And, getting its own post soon: a big announcement on a big happening as it pertains to both me and this TL.
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Sounds like the AWA is doing bad right now, if profit goes down I wonder who would take the promotion off of Gagne.
What the context behind this one, did Iron Sheik do some sort of anti-drug commercial?
What the context behind this one, did Iron Sheik do some sort of anti-drug commercial?
The Iron Sheik had a horrific drug addiction problem in the late 80's.
That bad? I thought it was just getting caught doing cocaine with Jim Duggan.
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