The Rise of the Dragon: An Altered History of the World Wrestling Federation
- Thread starter The Walkman
- Start date
- Status
Maybe you can butterfly away Magnum T.A.'s accident.
What happens to the Road Warriors TTL (aka the Legion of Doom in the WWF)? If they join the WWF at this stage, they'll boost the tag team division.
BTW, Keep on Dancing peaked at number 4 on October 30th, 1965, behind Get off of My Cloud by the Rolling Stones, Lover's Concerto by the Toys, and...Yesterday by the Beatles (let's face it, at this point in the Beatles' careers, they could have sung anything and it would have gone to #1).
That's pretty good for a one-hit wonder.
Casey Kasem...I listened to a station in San Antonio (I live in Corpus Christi) that still plays his old show on Sundays as me and my mom were driving back to Corpus Christi.
What happens to the Road Warriors TTL (aka the Legion of Doom in the WWF)? If they join the WWF at this stage, they'll boost the tag team division.
BTW, Keep on Dancing peaked at number 4 on October 30th, 1965, behind Get off of My Cloud by the Rolling Stones, Lover's Concerto by the Toys, and...Yesterday by the Beatles (let's face it, at this point in the Beatles' careers, they could have sung anything and it would have gone to #1).
That's pretty good for a one-hit wonder.
Casey Kasem...I listened to a station in San Antonio (I live in Corpus Christi) that still plays his old show on Sundays as me and my mom were driving back to Corpus Christi.
Last edited:
Nope, I haven't forgotten!
Sadly, Ventura won't get any better of a shot as he did OTL. He will still team with Savage for a while, getting him over as a heel with the audience, then go back to being a commentator.
Thanks! And don't worry, there are MANY more tidbits to come!
Time will tell if this occurs...
Again I say, time will tell...
Indeed. Speaking of music, we'll be visiting the Billboard charts later on to see what kind of company the WWF's version of "Land of 1,000 Dances" is keeping!
November 1985: WWF One Night Only & Starrcade '85
This update came out quite a bit shorter than I hoped it would be, but there will be longer ones to come. Enjoy!
November 7, 1985
Drawing off the success of Wrestlemania, the second pay-per-view event produced by the WWF occurs. Dubbed One Night Only [1], the card features a 16-man tournament to crown a new #1 Contender for the WWF Championship. Featuring such big names as Junkyard Dog, Paul Orndorff, Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff and Randy Savage, the card is eventually won by de facto Hart Foundation leader The Dynamite Kid, earning him a championship match on an upcoming Saturday Night’s Main Event. In addition, Hulk Hogan battles Roddy Piper for the Intercontinental Championship in a rekindling of their rivalry that was put on hold due to Hogan’s injury. Hogan defeats Piper via count-out; but in doing the so, Piper retains the title. In addition, a fan from Illinois wins a new Silvercloud Rolls-Royce in a contest drawing (WWF Champion Ricky Steamboat draws the winning name).
Full One Night Only Card
First-Round Tournament Match: Adrian Adonis def. Corporal Kirchner (3:12)
First-Round Tournament Match: Tito Santana def. Nikolai Volkoff (0:09)
First-Round Tournament Match: Dynamite Kid (w/ Davey Boy Smith, Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart & Jimmy Hart) def. Lanny Poffo (0:49)
First-Round Tournament Match: Brutus Beefcake def. Ivan Putski (2:59)
First-Round Tournament Match: Greg “the Hammer” Valentine (w/ “Captain” Lou Albano) def. The Iron Sheik (w/ “Classy” Freddie Blassie) (0:45)
First-Round Tournament Match: Randy “Macho Man” Savage (w/ Miss Elizabeth) def. Terry Funk (1:04)
First-Round Tournament Match: Dino Bravo def. “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff (1:44)
First-Round Tournament Match: The Junkyard Dog def. “Magnificent” Don Muraco (6:14)
Quarter-Final Tournament Match: Tito Santana def. Adrian Adonis (6:02)
Quarter-Final Tournament Match: Dynamite Kid (w/ Davey Boy Smith, Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart & Jimmy Hart) def. Brutus Beefcake (5:40)
Quarter-Final Tournament Match: Randy “Macho Man” Savage (w/ Miss Elizabeth) def. Greg “the Hammer” Valentine (w/ “Captain” Lou Albano) (4:40)
Quarter-Final Tournament Match: The Junkyard Dog def. Dino Bravo (1:03)
Semi-Final Tournament Match: Dynamite Kid (w/ Davey Boy Smith, Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart & Jimmy Hart) def. Tito Santana (9:29)
Semi-Final Tournament Match: The Junkyard Dog def. Randy “Macho Man” Savage (w/ Miss Elizabeth) (6:09)
WWF Intercontinental Championship: Hulk Hogan def. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper (c) via count-out (7:14)
Tournament Final Match: Dynamite Kid (w/ Davey Boy Smith, Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart & Jimmy Hart) def. The Junkyard Dog (8:20)
-----
November 8, 1985
As NWA figurehead Jim Crockett, Jr. looked over the upcoming card for Starrcade, he couldn’t help but be intimidated by what he was up against. Not only were his shows’ buyrates falling, but the rival wrestling promotions were starting to give his NWA territories a run for their money. Cable television network ESPN had begun broadcasting AWA matches back in August, and the Minnesota-based promotion was starting to gain some measure of popularity with young Canadian wrestler Rick Martel as their world champion. And of course, Crockett couldn’t overlook Vince McMahon’s WWF promotion, which seemed to be the talk of the wrestling world these days. Ever since McMahon had placed the WWF Championship on Ricky Steamboat, many fans of “traditional” wrestling had defected to the WWF.
Crockett sighed as he looked over the Starrcade card, which was to be featured in two separate arenas: the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina as well as the Omni in Atlanta, Georgia. His main event was to feature NWA Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair defending his title against “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes. But with the WWF’s apparent stranglehold on the wrestling world, Crockett was trying to come up with something that would get people talking about the NWA again.
Crockett scribbled down a few notes on his papers, adding the words “both need to bleed” beside the note for the steel cage match between Magnum T.A. and United States Champion Tully Blanchard. He also nodded at the Texas Bullrope match between Black Bart and Ron Bass, and the “Mexican Death Match” between Abdullah the Butcher and Manny Fernandez, a match concept conjured up by Fernandez himself. A sombrero would be placed on a pole in one corner of the ring, and the first wrestler to grab the hat would win the match.
This still might not be enough, Crockett thought to himself as he looked over the card. We need more gimmicks. Stuff that will get people talking about Starrcade, instead of Wrestlemania.
Crockett thought for a moment, before his eyes were drawn to the notes for the steel cage match for the U.S. Title again, and a thought occurred to him. Why couldn’t he do that for the main event as well? And for both of the Tag Team Title bouts? All he’d need to do was spring for an extra steel cage to use at the Omni, and he’d be set. Crockett looked at the card and scribbled down the words “STEEL CAGE” next to the NWA Title match, and both the NWA and National Tag Team Title matches.
That’s bound to bring in viewers, Crockett thought, smiling to himself. Every major title, inside a steel cage. Crockett looked at the papers in front of him one last time to make sure everything was in order, then picked up the papers, got up from his desk, and headed out to go over the card with Dusty Rhodes, Ole Anderson, and the other bookers.
-----
November 28, 1985
Starrcade ’85: The Gathering airs on closed-circuit television. The show features four steel cage matches, more than any other wrestling pay-per-view in history. A well-remembered midcard match between Tully Blanchard and Magnum T.A. for the United States Championship sees the beloved babyface Magnum win the title by making Blanchard submit inside the cage. A short, but particularly brutal cage match for the NWA National Tag Team Titles sees the young tag team The Midnight Express defeat veterans Arn & Ole Anderson for the straps. The main event features Ric Flair defending his NWA Championship—in a steel cage, of course—against Dusty Rhodes. When it looks as though Dusty is about to win the match and the title by escaping through the cage door, a man runs in through the crowd and slams the door in Rhodes’ face. The camera shows the man to be Barry Windham, back in the NWA after almost two years. Windham’s attack buys a bloody and battered Flair enough time to get to his feet and escape the cage through the door. The type of ending that the main event features, in which a debuting heel runs in to save another heel champion to retain his title, will eventually be referred to as a “Windham Finish”. [2]
The show garners over 160,000 buyrates, a 150% increase from last year’s Starrcade. Critical response to the pay-per-view is mixed. The innovative finish to the main event is praised, with the Wrestling Observer Newsletter praising it as an “innovative way to bring Windham into the fold”. The Magnum/Blanchard match is also commended.
Aside from these two matches, though, the card is generally poorly received. The gimmick of having four steel cage matches is criticized as being too “over-the-top”. Most of the other “gimmick” matches on the card, especially the Texas Bullrope match, are also considered too long and dragged-out. The finish to the Street Fight between Wahoo McDaniel & Jimmy Valiant is disparaged for having a dressed-in-drag Ron Garvin run in to interfere in the match, debuting the much-maligned gimmick of “Miss Atlanta Lively” (the gimmick would be aborted within a month). In addition, a particularly nasty bump taken by Ole Anderson during his and Arn’s match with the Midnight Express was considered career-ending, and Anderson would eventually be forced to retire from in-ring competition.
Full Starrcade 1985: The Gathering Card
Greensboro Coliseum Results
NWA Mid-Atlantic Championship (Vacant): Sam Houston def. Crusher Khrushchev (9:12)
Texas Bullrope Match: Black Bart (w/ J.J. Dillon) def. Ron Bass (14:22)
NWA National Championship: Terry Taylor (c) def. Buddy Landel (0:19)
United States Championship – Steel Cage “I Quit” Match: Magnum T.A. def. Tully Blanchard (c) (w/ Baby Doll) (14:43)
NWA Tag Team Championships – Steel Cage Match: The Rock ‘n Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) def. Ivan & Nikita Koloff (c) (15:11)
Omni Results
Mexican Death Match: Manny Fernandez def. Abdullah the Butcher (9:07)
“Superstar” Billy Graham def. The Barbarian (8:11)
Street Fight: Jimmy Valiant def. Wahoo McDaniel (6:23)
NWA National Tag Team Championships – Steel Cage Match: The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Dennis Condrey) def. The Minnesota Wrecking Crew (Arn & Ole Anderson) (c) (5:14)
NWA Championship – Steel Cage Match: Ric Flair (c) def. Dusty Rhodes (25:25) [3]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] The pay-per-view would be called The Wrestling Classic IOTL, while One Night Only was later used as the name for a U.K.-exclusive WWF pay-per-view in September 1997. That pay-per-view will not exist ITTL.
[2] IOTL, Dusty originally won the match and the title after pinning Flair with an inside cradle. However, the decision was reversed the next night, because the referee was accidentally knocked unconscious during the match, and didn’t see it when Arn and Ole Anderson interfered. This type of ending, in which a babyface appears to win a match but a referee reverses the decision afterwards due to outside interference from other heels, is called a “Dusty finish” IOTL.
[3] This entire card is significantly different from OTL—for one thing, obviously, there’s all the steel cage matches. Other significant differences that occurred IOTL were that Khrushchev won the Mid-Atlantic Title instead of Houston, Bass beat Black Bart (leading into yet another Bullrope match in which J.J. Dillon defeated Bass), Arn & Ole retained their titles, and Landell won the National Title from Taylor (Landell would be released from NWA several days later, in both OTL and TTL, due to drug problems). But perhaps most different from OTL is the ending of the main event, mentioned in my above footnote.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
So aside from the main event and Magnum vs. Tully, Starrcade ’85 sadly becomes a lackluster card ITTL. I’m not writing a utopia here! Have no fear, though, as the NWA will prevail, and even thrive, in the coming years.
Coming up next, a review of 1985 in the wrestling world, from TTL’s perspective!
November-December 1985: Moolah Quits, and Meltzer Ranks
November 25, 1985
At a live WWF event in Madison Square Garden, Wendi Richter defeats “The Spider Lady” (actually the Fabulous Moolah in disguise) to retain the WWF Women’s Championship. Moolah kicked out of a pin attempt by Richter, but the referee continued to count despite this, and Richter was awarded the victory. Moolah was told earlier in the night she was to win the title from Richter, but McMahon decided that Richter would retain the title at the last minute, without Moolah’s knowledge. Today, the incident is commonly known among wrestling fans as “The Moolah Screwjob”. [1]
December 2, 1985
Veteran women’s wrestler Lillian “Fabulous Moolah” Ellison quit the WWF on 11/25 after a match with WWF Ladies’ Champion Wendi Richter. Moolah was reportedly told by McMahon that she would be regaining the championship from Richter that night, and when Moolah (wrestling under a mask as “The Spider Lady”) kicked out of a pin attempt, the referee continued counting, and awarded the match to Richter. Moolah reportedly went backstage after the match, slapped McMahon in the face, and resigned from the WWF on the spot. Since this leaves less than ten female wrestlers employed under McMahon’s company and no contenders to Richter’s title, this author feels the future of women’s wrestling in the WWF is cloudy at best.
—Excerpt from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter: December 2, 1985
December 31, 1985
In some surprising news, David Sammartino has joined the AWA. We figure he was done in WWF when he injured his leg, and was booked to lose to (of all people) Matt Borne. Verne Gagne is probably stupid enough to push David, just to run a David/Larry Zbyszko feud. This writer wonders if Verne learned nothing from the flop that Sgt. Slaughter was (or if he even realizes that Slaughter flopped).
The Wrestling Album is up to #51 on the album charts, and “Land of 1,000 Dances” is up to #58 on the singles charts, proving that people will listen to anything nowadays. “The Slammys”, which has been getting a lot of talk lately, is going to be a spoof award show on MTV. The last SNME special got a 6.3 rating, considerably lower than the last two specials. [2] The SNME taped this past Thursday is the last one they’re under contract for, and due to the slipping ratings, it’s unknown if they’ll be renewed.
Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards for 1985
Wrestler of the Year: Ric Flair (Jim Crockett)
Narrowly beating out Ricky Steamboat, Flair is our choice for Wrestler of the Year, making this his fourth win in a row. Flair has proven a strong drawing card for Crockett and the NWA as a whole, and will likely do so for years to come if he plays his cards right.
Best Babyface: Ricky Steamboat (WWF)
After the WWF’s surprising decision to let Steamboat run with their World Title earlier this year, Steamboat has shot to the top of the babyface ladder in McMahon’s company, surpassing (in this writer’s opinion) even Hulk Hogan in popularity. Steamboat is likely to be a top face in the WWF for a long time.
Best Heel: Roddy Piper (WWF)
In a classic one-two punch, the WWF managed to nab both the Best Babyface and Best Heel award this year. Piper has proven a great antagonist to both Hogan and Steamboat with his over-the-top antics and uncanny ability to get the audience to boo at him.
Manager of the Year: Jimmy Hart (WWF)
Another win for the WWF, as “The Mouth of the South” takes Manager of the Year, narrowly beating out Jim Cornette for the title. Yes, he may be annoying at times, but after taking four of the biggest up-and-coming heel wrestlers of the WWF under his tutelage, Hart’s “Hart Foundation” may just be the group to watch in 1986. They already have the Tag Titles, and the WWF World Title may not be far behind.
Feud of the Year: Ted DiBiase vs. Jim Duggan (Mid South)
Easily beating out Steamboat vs. Piper and Flair vs. Rhodes for Feud of the Year is this gem of a program from Mid-South. Their feud culminated in a match that some looked at with eyebrows raised when they saw it on paper, but once they saw the masterfully executed “Tuxedo/Steel Cage/Parking-Lot-Brawl-Rules/Loser-Leaves-Town” Match for themselves, they soon changed their tune.
Tag Team of the Year: The British Bulldogs (Dynamite Kid & Davey Boy Smith) (Stampede/WWF)
They were a phenomenal team in Stampede, and thankfully, McMahon saw fit to keep the British Bulldogs together when his WWF bought the promotion out. Now as part of the “Hart Foundation” stable, it appears we’ll be seeing quite a bit more of the Bulldogs, and a WWF Tag Title run in their future isn’t out of the question.
Most Improved: Steve Williams (Mid South)
The man affectionately known as “Dr. Death” has come into his own very nicely this past year. Forming a tag team with DiBiase and feuding with the likes of Eddie Gilbert and The Nightmare appear to have forced Williams to step up to the plate quite a bit, and he’s become one of the best brawlers in the business today (though he still has a long way to go to reach Brody or Hansen status).
Best on Interviews: Jim Cornette (Mid South)
The young Jim Cornette may not have nabbed the Best Manager award this year, but we’ll be damned if we let him lose this award. Cornette’s articulate vocabulary and vigorous delivery, in combination with what we can only call “over-the-top heelishness”, has made him one of the best “talkers” in the business today. It’s no wonder why Bill Watts has made him the mouthpiece for several talented wrestlers who are sadly lacking on the mic. Cornette brings a passion to interviews that few people in the wrestling business have, whether they be a wrestler, a manager, or even a commentator.
Most Charismatic: Hulk Hogan (WWF)
Despite the fact that Steamboat has largely stolen the spotlight as of late, Hogan has proved that he still has charisma enough to carry a decent match. The tag match he had with Andre and Steamboat vs. Studd, Bundy and Muraco on SNME several weeks ago was surprisingly fun to watch, and it seems Hogan hasn’t missed a beat. But please, McMahon, we beg you—don’t put the title on him again!
Best Technical Wrestler: Tatsumi Fujinami (New Japan/WWF)
Fujinami brought his phenomenal mat-based wrestling style to American audiences with the recent WWF-New Japan talent exchange, showing many blasé WWF fans just how it’s done in the Land of the Rising Sun. Fujinami continues to be just as athletic and high-energy in his matches as ever. Fingers crossed that if New Japan decides to make more shows with WWF, we’ll see a Steamboat-Fujinami match. Hey, we can dream, can’t we?
Best Brawler: Bruiser Brody (WWC/All Japan)
With his win in this category, Brody has won a solid five years in a row, and he shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. Brody wrestles like a caged animal in pretty much every match he’s in, destroying and carving up opponents with a rage and a passion seldom seen in wrestling since the days of The Sheik. Stan Hansen gave Brody quite a run for his money in the voting this year, but in the end, you just can’t beat Brody’s maniacal “brawler” style.
Best Flyer: Ricky Steamboat (WWF)
In a surprise move, the reigning WWF Champion beats out top contenders like Tiger Mask II and Tatsumi Fujinami to win the Best Flyer award this year. This writer feels that Tiger Mask II deserves it more due to his innovative maneuvers, but we’ll admit that you can’t go wrong with Steamboat’s nicely executed top-rope flying crossbody.
Most Overrated: Hulk Hogan (WWF)
He may have been the top babyface in the WWF for the majority of last year, but Hogan still remains as bland and unexciting in his matches as ever. We haven’t seen him use a single hold yet, and this writer’s grandmother could probably do a better leg drop. Still, the prospect of seeing Steamboat and Hogan collide in the future is interesting to us. We’ll be backing Steamboat all the way, mind you, but still…
Most Underrated: Bret Hart (WWF)
The recent retooling of the Hart Foundation may have forced us into watching him, but the youngest member of the new stable has impressed many people. His mic skills need work, but his technical wrestling skills are extremely good. Young Bret Hart may be the face to watch in the next ten years, and if he doesn’t become a world champion within that time frame, it’ll be a crying shame.
Promotion of the Year: World Wrestling Federation
Ever since it decided to saddle Steamboat with the Heavyweight Title, the WWF has improved by leaps and bounds, in this writer’s opinion. The matches are much better quality, and even the ones that are bad usually aren’t terrible. Incidentally, All Japan came within a single vote of tying with WWF this year.
Best Television Show: Mid-South Wrestling
McMahon and Crockett may focus more on cartoonish characters and traditional wrestling (sometimes, seemingly, in that order), but when it comes to sheer entertainment value on Saturday night, we had to go with Bill Watts’ Mid-South Wrestling. With men like Steve Williams and Sting putting on a hell of a show every broadcast (as well as the increasingly fun-to-listen-to Jim Ross calling the action), Mid-South is the promotion that we’d most want to watch. The DiBiase-Duggan feud certainly drew us in, as well.
Match of the Year: Ricky Steamboat vs. Roddy Piper (WWF, Wrestlemania, 3/31)
The WWF’s Wrestlemania was the most talked-about card of the year, and the main event definitely delivered on so many levels. The storytelling was fantastic, and putting Mr. T into the mix as a special “outside referee” didn’t detract from the match value at all. This will truly be a match they’ll talk about for years to come.
Worst Match of the Year: Roddy Piper vs. Uncle Elmer (WWF, Saturday Night’s Main Event, 10/31)
We’re still scratching our heads at why anyone in the WWF decided to give Uncle Elmer of all people a shot at any championship belt. This match was poorly delivered, and just seemed to drag on and on. The double count-out almost assures that we’ll see at least one more match between these two, which makes this writer cringe.
Rookie of the Year: Jack Victory (NWA)
Earlier this year, Ken Rinehurst debuted on the independent circuit as “Jack Victory”. He’s since joined the NWA under the WCCW banner, and a few weeks ago won the TV Title from David Peterson. Judging by his crisp look and constantly shifting style, we expect big things out of Victory in the future. [3]
Best Television Announcer: Gordon Solie (Jim Crockett)
For the fourth (non-consecutive) time, NWA’s Gordon Solie is our pick for the Best Television Announcer award. Solie’s crisp delivery, deep voice, and innovative way of talking about certain aspects of the matches grant him a narrow victory over Memphis’ “Banana Nose” Lance Russell this year.
Best Wrestling Maneuver: Tope Con Giro (Tiger Mask II) (All Japan)
Mitsuharu Misawa has taken the Tiger Mask gimmick and ran with it, providing us with incredible matches since the surprise retirement of Tiger Mask I (Satoru Sayama). Misawa’s adaptation of the Tope Con Giro maneuver has brought new life to the gimmick, and with some of the gems of matches he puts on, we hope he’ll do so for a long time. [4]
Author’s Epilogue
1985—what an interesting year it’s been for wrestling. We’ve had plenty of ups and downs, some great matches, fantastic feuds, a surprise change of the guard, the birth of a great stable, and some heartbreaking losses in the business.
The WWF started out riding high this year. Hulk Hogan was the World Champion—over with audiences, popular with the kids, seemingly unbeatable. But a triceps injury put all that to a screeching halt, and Hogan was forced to relinquish the title. While many fans expected Andre or Piper to become champion in Hogan’s absence, McMahon instead decided to entrust newcomer Ricky Steamboat with the big belt, which has proven a lucrative decision for the WWF. Two successful pay-per-view cards followed, the first of which was the wildly successful Wrestlemania, and the arrival of Saturday Night’s Main Event brought professional wrestling to local TV for the first time since the ‘50s. With numerous crossovers with music, movies and television, the WWF is fast becoming the “cool” promotion amongst many youngsters across the country.
The NWA has also seen its fair share of change this year. Jim Crockett looks to be taking a page out of McMahon’s book, absorbing several other NWA members into a “conglomerate” of sorts. It’s unknown whether Crockett will buy out more NWA territories, but if he does, the future of wrestling might be unrecognizable. Ric Flair ran hot with the NWA Title, but got quite a bit of “aid” from fellow heel wrestlers and kayfabe “cousins” Arn & Ole Anderson. In addition, fresh-from-the-WWF newcomer Barry Windham aided Flair in his title defense at Starrcade this year. The NWA may be planning to copy the Hart Foundation stable with this angle, or they may have something different planned entirely.
If the WWF and NWA have been the success stories this year, the AWA has been the picture of how not to run a wrestling business. The promotion lost many viewers this year due to the WWF’s popularity, and the quality of wrestling has gone downhill considerably. Granted, the company made a wise decision in purchasing TV time on ESPN, and entrusting Rick Martel with the AWA Title is an interesting move that may pay off in the future. But with the amount of viewers being lost weekly and Verne Gagne’s tendency to live in the past, the AWA’s days may be numbered.
Two deaths plagued the wrestling world this year. On January 21st, former FCW booker and promoter Eddie Graham took his own life at the age of 55. Graham had been suffering from alcoholism and health problems for a long time. Along with his kayfabe “brother”, Jerry Graham, he captured the NWA US Tag Titles on four separate occasions. Graham took over booking for FCW in 1971, occasionally teaming with his son Mike (and even winning the FCW Tag Titles with him) up until 1977, when he retired. Graham continued to serve as one of the top promoters in the company up until his passing. Graham will be sorely missed by all who knew him and loved to watch him in the ring.
Another tragic death this year was that of WWF talent “Quick Draw” Rick McGraw on April 19th, at the tender age of 30. McGraw had had drug problems for some time, and suffered a heart attack that led to his passing. McGraw had worked for McMahon since 1979, mostly serving as enhancement talent, but famously wrestled in the first match on the WWF’s War to Settle the Score MTV special, defeating Moondog Spot. McGraw competed in his last match mere days before his death, wrestling Roddy Piper in a squash match against the Intercontinental Champion. McGraw is survived by his wife and his baby girl. Our prayers go out to McGraw’s family—he will be missed. [5]
What might next year have in store for wrestling fans? Only time will tell. Suffice to say, though, it’ll be an unpredictable ride. Until we meet again, Happy New Year, stay safe, and we’ll see you in 1986!
—Excerpts from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter: December 30, 1985
pwi-online.com’s Top 20 Matches of 1985
1. Ricky Steamboat vs. Roddy Piper (WWF, Wrestlemania, 3/31)
2. Ric Flair vs. Kerry Von Erich (Hawaii, 10/12)
3. Tully Blanchard vs. Magnum T.A. – ‘I Quit’ Steel Cage Match (NWA, Starrcade, 9/28)
4. Tiger Mask II vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi (AJPW, Sumo Hall Show, 3/9)
5. Ricky Steamboat vs. Roddy Piper (WWF, War to Settle the Score, 2/18)
6. Ricky Steamboat vs. Iron Sheik (WWF, Saturday Night’s Main Event, 5/11)
7. Ted DiBiase vs. Jim Duggan – Tuxedo Steel Cage Match (Mid-South, 3/22)
8. Ric Flair vs. Ted DiBiase (Mid-South, 11/6)
9. Barry Windham vs. Mike Rotundo (WWF, Wrestlemania, 3/31)
10. Ric Flair vs. Butch Reed (Mid-South, 8/10)
11. Ric Flair vs. Kerry Von Erich (NWA, St. Louis, 1/25)
12. Tito Santana & Brutus Beefcake vs. Bret Hart & Dynamite Kid (WWF, MSG Show, 11/25)
13. Antonio Inoki vs. Tatsumi Fujinami (New Japan, 9/19)
14. Ric Flair vs. Dusty Rhodes – Steel Cage Match (NWA, Starrcade, 9/28)
15. Greg Valentine vs. Tito Santana (WWF, MSG Show, 1/21)
16. Paul Orndorff vs. Jimmy Snuka (WWF, Wrestlemania, 3/31)
17. Barry Windham vs. Mike Rotundo (WWF, Saturday Night’s Main Event, 5/11)
18. Antonio Inoki vs. Bruiser Brody (New Japan, 4/18)
19. Dick Murdoch vs. Butch Reed (Mid-South, 9/22)
20. Ric Flair vs. Terry Taylor (Mid-South, 6/1) [5]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] IOTL, of course, it was Moolah who beat Richter for the title, since Richter hadn’t renewed her contract and McMahon wanted to get the title off her. As a result, Richter quit that very night, hailing a taxi to the airport and catching a plane out of New York back to her home. Richter would not speak to Moolah for the rest of her life, but eventually reconciled with McMahon—over twenty years later.
[2] IOTL, the 11/2 episode of SNME drew a dismal 3.8 rating. Ratings are still bad ITTL, but not as terrible as they actually were.
[3] Jack Victory would lose the WCCW TV Title to Mark Youngblood less than a month later in both OTL and TTL. Even the best writers have the right to be wrong sometimes…
[4] The Newsletter Awards for 1985 were slightly different IOTL: Hulk Hogan won Best Babyface for the fourth consecutive year, and Stan Hansen unseated the 5-time (and at the time, only) recipient of the Best Brawler award, Bruiser Brody. All-Japan’s Tiger Mask II won Best Flying Wrestler, Bobby Eaton got Most Underrated, and All Japan Pro Wrestling received Promotion of the Year. Hogan & Mr. T vs. Piper & Orndorff at Wrestlemania received Best Match of the Year, and a match between Freddie Blassie and “Captain” Lou Albano was dubbed Worst Match of the Year. Finally, in a bit of an upset, Lance Russell from Memphis’ CWA was named Best Announcer (for the second time, no less). Every other award is as OTL.
[5] Both Graham’s and McGraw’s deaths are, sadly, as OTL. Graham’s death is before the POD, and the butterflies come too late to save McGraw, who was already on a downward spiral.
[5] IOTL, matches #1, #5, #6, #9, #12, #16, and #17 don’t exist. The rest are (for the most part, anyway) unchanged. Despite the Hulkamania era, 1985 was a pretty good year for fans of traditional wrestling, if I do say so myself.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
And that wraps up 1985! But don't worry, we still have many years to go if I have anything to say about it.
Still to come, we address the formation of a certain stable that some people ITTL might consider an attempt to capitalize on the Hart Foundation's success...
Last edited:
A question and a comment:
* Are you a long-time reader of the Observer?
It would be interesting not just to replicate Dave Meltzer's voice but replicate the publication itself by posting ITTL portions in Courier New. By my understanding the earlier Observers were written on a typewriter, then copied and sent out to the subscribers.
Better yet...it would be interesting to see events ITTL from the perspective of the Apter Mags
* I am biased on this but my vote for Best Announcer would go to Lance Russell. I heard him call TV matches when I was a kid and he was one of the best period. He won't get his due because he was a regional announcer in the 70s and the 80s (when Cable TV helped turn WWF and JCP/Turner WCW into the Big Two), and WCW under, underutilized Lance after hiring him in the late 80s. It's like Marty Brennaman not getting the national attention he deserves because he stayed with the Cincinnati Reds and never left them for one of the major networks.
* Are you a long-time reader of the Observer?
It would be interesting not just to replicate Dave Meltzer's voice but replicate the publication itself by posting ITTL portions in Courier New. By my understanding the earlier Observers were written on a typewriter, then copied and sent out to the subscribers.
Better yet...it would be interesting to see events ITTL from the perspective of the Apter Mags
* I am biased on this but my vote for Best Announcer would go to Lance Russell. I heard him call TV matches when I was a kid and he was one of the best period. He won't get his due because he was a regional announcer in the 70s and the 80s (when Cable TV helped turn WWF and JCP/Turner WCW into the Big Two), and WCW under, underutilized Lance after hiring him in the late 80s. It's like Marty Brennaman not getting the national attention he deserves because he stayed with the Cincinnati Reds and never left them for one of the major networks.
* Are you a long-time reader of the Observer?
It would be interesting not just to replicate Dave Meltzer's voice but replicate the publication itself by posting ITTL portions in Courier New. By my understanding the earlier Observers were written on a typewriter, then copied and sent out to the subscribers.
Better yet...it would be interesting to see events ITTL from the perspective of the Apter Mags
I do read the Observer, and have since about 2002. I do my best to try to replicate Meltzer's voice, but I've replaced all the 'Dave's' with 'this author's'.
As for your suggestion of writing the Observer posts in a different font, that's actually an excellent idea! I'll be editing them all accordingly. Thanks a lot!
I've watched matches commentated by Russell on DVDs and Youtube, and I'll agree his delivery is great. You can rest assured that the voting was very close in TTL's poll (in fact, he actually won IOTL, but here he's very narrowly beaten by Solie).
I'll admit, that's what inspired me at first. But I'm going in a much different direction with Steamboat/Dynamite...you'll see.
Last edited:
January 1986: The Horsemen Cometh
“The last time this much havoc’s been wreaked by this few people, you gotta go all the way back to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse!”
—Arn Anderson, NWA television taping [1]
January 4, 1986
On an episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event previously taped on December 26th, 1985, a match occurs between Ricky Steamboat and Hart Foundation leader Dynamite Kid for the WWF Championship. The match is about 18 minutes long—the longest match in the show’s history—and features many close near-falls and exciting high-flying maneuvers. In the end, though, Steamboat manages to pin Dynamite with a roll-up to retain the WWF Championship. After the match, however, the Hart Foundation hit the ring and attack Steamboat, prompting Hulk Hogan, Tito Santana and Brutus Beefcake to run in and make the save, setting up two tag team matches for the next SNME. In addition, a montage of highlights in the WWF from throughout 1985 airs, dubbed to “When the Going Gets Tough (The Tough Get Going)” by Billy Ocean, the title song from the soundtrack of the movie The Jewel of the Nile. The song would eventually reach #1 on the Billboard chart. [2]
Full Saturday Night’s Main Event #4 Match Results
Hulk Hogan def. Terry Funk (w/ Dory Funk) (5:29)
Tito Santana & Brutus Beefcake def. “Cowboy” Bob Orton & “Magnificent” Don Muraco (w/ Mr. Fuji) (3:49)
Randy “Macho Man” Savage (w/ Miss Elizabeth) def. Hillbilly Jim (w/ Uncle Elmer) (4:04)
WWF Intercontinental Championship: “Rowdy” Roddy Piper (c) defeated George “the Animal” Steele (w/ “Captain” Lou Albano) (5:04)
WWF Championship: Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat (c) def. Dynamite Kid (w/ Jimmy Hart, Davey Boy Smith, Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart) (18:06)
--
January 15, 1986
Jim Crockett Jr. sighed as he looked over the buyrates for Starrcade ‘85. They were impressive—more than ten times more than the previous year’s Starrcade—but the criticism for the card spoke for itself. Critics of the pay-per-view had disliked having so many gimmicky matches on the card, and Ron Garvin’s persona of “Miss Atlanta Lively” had not gotten over as well as Crockett had hoped with the hometown Atlanta crowd. As such, Crockett had decided to abort the gimmick, and Garvin had returned to wrestling under his old name in the midcard. In addition, during the Midnight Express-Minnesota Wrecking Crew Tag Title match, Ole Anderson had suffered a severe injury. While Ole was trying to climb out of the cage, Dennis Condrey grabbed Ole and pulled him off the cage wall, and when the aging Ole landed on his feet on the mat, his knees gave out on him. Ole had had surgery on both of his knees six days ago, and the doctors had told Crockett that Ole’s future in the ring was uncertain.
Crockett closed his eyes as he rested his head in his hands, pondering his options. Suddenly, the door to Crockett’s office opened, and in walked top Mid-South babyface and booker Dusty Rhodes, with a smile on his face.
“Jimmy-baby!” Rhodes said, patting Crockett on the shoulder. “What’s happenin’?”
Crockett sighed in frustration. “I’m not so good, Dusty…”
Rhodes blinked several times as he sat down, uninvited, next to Crockett. “What’s the matter?”
Crockett took the Starrcade buyrate sheet and handed it to Rhodes. Rhodes took it and looked it over for a few seconds.
“Well, I don’t see what you’re so worried about—the buyrates look pretty good ta’ me,” he said.
“Yeah, if you only take our company into account,” Crockett replied. “The WWF are kicking our asses as of late in buyrates. If they keep airing cards like Wrestlemania, our ratings are going to suffer massively. And God forbid if they air something on the same day we do…that could downright cripple us.”
Rhodes narrowed his eyes and nodded. “Well, let’s just hope that don’t happen. Anyway, I got somethin’ I need ta’ talk to ya’ ‘bout.”
Crockett looked up at Rhodes. “What’s that?”
“Well, I talked ta’ some of the boys, and it looks like that scheduled rematch between the Andersons and the Midnights is out the window, now that Ole’s outta the picture,” Rhodes explained. “Plus, we’re short on time for the TV tapin’ tomorrow—we only got about a hour ta’ work with…”
Crockett nodded slowly as he pulled out his notes for the upcoming taping. “We may just have to cobble together something. Maybe we could combine some interview segments? We have a Schiavone interview scheduled with Flair and Windham after their tag match…some more heels could join them, and we could kill a bunch of birds with one stone, leaving more time for some matches.”
Rhodes nodded as he stared at Crockett’s notes. “That sounds good ta’ me. How ‘bout we add Arn in there; let him talk about how he’s gonna get revenge on the Midnights for how they took Ole down?”
Crockett nodded as he scribbled some notes on the paper in front of him. “That’s good, Dusty, that’s good. And we can probably stick Tully in there as well…his feud with Magnum is really getting over with the people.”
Rhodes smiled. “See? All will be well in time, Jimmy.” He rose from his seat and stretched, his rotund belly exposed as his too-tiny white t-shirt rode up his body. “Well, I’m gonna go inform the ‘students’ of the ‘class change’, if you weel. I’ll see ya’ later, Jimmy!”
Crockett smiled. “See ya’, Dusty.” He turned to his papers again as the ‘Son of a Plumber’ exited the room, and thought about the several wrestling promotions under his leadership. He blinked several times as he pondered his options, wondering if he should follow Vince McMahon’s example by merging his assets…
--
January-March 1986
Excerpt from “The Story of the WWF” (2010)
Chapter 7: The Four Horsemen
Once the WWF had exerted its dominance over the wrestling world in 1985 with Wrestlemania and Saturday Night’s Main Event, many of the other wrestling companies looked to be in trouble. They desperately tried to bring in viewers with many storylines and competing pay-per-views. Verne Gagne’s AWA acquired a television show on ESPN in September, and the first episode aired featured brawler Stan “the Lariat” Hansen wrestling AWA Champion Rick Martel to a time-limit draw. However, ESPN didn’t treat the AWA’s programming with much priority, and the shows were often delayed or preempted for other games or events. This, coupled with bad business decisions by Gagne, caused the AWA’s ratings to slide, and the company would be bankrupt by the early ‘90s. [3]
One company that survived relatively well in direct competition with the WWF was the National Wrestling Alliance (later National Wrestling Action), or NWA. In early 1986, the company was coming off Starrcade ’85, a relatively poor pay-per-view, and NWA president Jim Crockett Jr. was desperate to bring in viewers. At a television taping in January of 1986, the NWA was short on time, so Crockett threw together an impromptu tag team of NWA Champion Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, and Barry Windham. [4] After they won their respective match, they were interviewed in front of the live crowd. Arn Anderson famously claimed during the promo that the four of them in one place would be causing more havoc than the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and as such, the name stuck, and the Four Horsemen stable was born.
The Four Horsemen would soon become an unprecedented force in the NWA, as they interrupted matches, attacked top “good guys” like Magnum T.A., Sting and even Dusty Rhodes, and cut masterful promos on their superiority inside the ring and extravagant lifestyle outside of it. Ric Flair and Arn Anderson have said on several occasions that the Four Horsemen gimmick really wasn’t a “gimmick” at all.
“We really lived the Horsemen gimmick outside the ring,” Anderson once said in a 2006 interview. “We were the guys who always hung out together behind-the-scenes, and partied like kings every night. We had the beer, the high-dollar clothes, the Rolexes, the women, the wine—it was basically our lives, night in and night out. We took limos and jets everywhere we went. We literally were the Four Horsemen. I’m surprised we’re all still here today, to be honest about it.” [5]
The Four Horsemen ran roughshod over the NWA in the first four years that they were together. They were a part of many controversial angles in the so-called “golden days” of the NWA. One frequent target of the Horsemen was top NWA babyface Dusty Rhodes. For every move Rhodes made, the Horsemen seemed to have a counter for it. A match between Flair and Rhodes in early 1986 ended with the Four Horsemen attacking Dusty post-match, and then, to the shock of the crowd in attendance, breaking Dusty’s ankle. Another attack on Dusty occurred later that year, just before the Starrcade '86 pay-per-view. Anderson, Blanchard and Windham followed Rhodes into a parking lot and ambushed him as he exited his car. The Horsemen then tied Dusty to a pickup truck, and used a baseball bat to break Rhodes’ arm. Despite their vicious nature and unquestionable status as heels, though, the Four Horsemen were surprisingly popular with the fans, often receiving more cheers than boos.
But despite their popularity, the Four Horsemen have been criticized by some wrestling historians, who say the group was a blatant attempt at copying the Hart Foundation. Crockett has denied this, however. “Even if there wasn’t a Hart Foundation, there would probably have been a Four Horsemen,” Crockett once said. “We were so short on time that day that we had to come up with some way to get everyone on camera together at the same time. Dusty (Rhodes) and I just thought it would be an excellent way to get as much talent as we could out of a short show, and lo and behold, it worked to our favor.”
Whether they were meant to copy the Harts or not, the Four Horsemen managed to carve out a niche all their own in wrestling history, and served to save the NWA from becoming obsolete during the WWF’s heyday. “I have had the most wonderful career that any athlete of any sport could possibly have,” says Ric Flair. “But the eight or nine years that those guys (the Four Horsemen) and I ran together, it was the best time of my life. The thing that made them special was, we could not wait to get to that arena. We were just the best at what we did.” [6]
But even as the NWA soldered on with top talents such as the Horsemen, Dusty Rhodes, Sting, Lex Luger, Jushin Liger and Magnum T.A., the WWF remained the top wrestling company in America, and indeed, the world. Vince McMahon would further cement his authority over the wrestling world with the critically acclaimed Wrestlemania 2 in March of 1986, featuring one of the greatest matches in WWF history…
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] This quote is from TTL. Arn also said something like this IOTL, but the exact wording of the original quote has been lost. However, the words remain intact here.
[2] IOTL, “When the Going Gets Tough” only reached #2 on the charts, held back by Whitney Houston’s “How Will I Know”. By the way, Jewel of the Nile is still as terrible as it is IOTL…
[3] As OTL. I tried, but there was literally nothing I could do to save the AWA. Gagne’s promotion, it seems, lived too much in the past, and suffered from very bad ratings, so it was pretty much inevitable from the late ‘80s on that the AWA was going to go down. It’s not all bad news, though—ITTL, the AWA survives for a little longer than it actually did, due to a few…interesting circumstances.
[4] IOTL, the four men chosen for the impromptu tag match were Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, and Arn & Ole Anderson, along with J.J. Dillon, who was picked as their manager. Ole is obviously out of the picture here due to his major injury, and there’s no manager, at least at first.
[5] This quote doesn’t exist IOTL, but it’s definitely the truth, and I think that Arn would probably say something to this effect if he was asked about the Horsemen.
[6] This quote is as OTL, coming from the Four Horsemen’s WWE Hall of Fame speech in 2012, which you can find here.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
And there’s our look at the Four Horsemen ITTL. I think it’s safe to say that they’re slightly less popular due to the massive success of the Hart Foundation stable, but they’re still pretty huge.
Coming up, we take a look at Wrestlemania 2. And also, more pop culture madness…or should I say Loudness?
Last edited:
February-March 1986: Jake Roberts, and the Ride to Wrestlemania
January 20, 1986
WWF
I don’t think I can reiterate it enough: Steamboat vs. Dynamite on the 1/4 SNME was absolutely INCREDIBLE. The match had just the right amount of time to really get good, and the fact that both Steamboat and Dynamite showed off a lot of their arsenal was very welcome. It’s a Match of the Year candidate for sure. After watching Hulk Hogan boringly dominate all challengers two years ago, some honest-to-goodness action was sorely needed in the WWF. (Not that it wasn’t there, mind you; it was just overshadowed by Hogan’s title reign.)
Speaking of Hogan, McMahon’s having Steamboat as World Champion is said to be making the Hulkster a bit starved for attention. Hogan reportedly approached McMahon over the weekend and asked when he would be given another shot at the title. McMahon agreed with Hogan that he should get another shot, promising him he’d have it in due time. I just hope that this “due time” is put off as long as possible.
WWF is apparently trying to find a new ladies’ wrestler to take the role of heel following the departure of the Fabulous Moolah two months ago. McMahon spoke to Mid-South’s Lady Maxine earlier this week, but Maxine reportedly turned McMahon down. Judging from how Vince used her last year when she was employed by him, I can’t really blame her. [1] McMahon will speak to both AWA’s Misty Blue Simms and Mid-South’s Debbie Combs in the coming week.
NWA
Mike Rotunda says JCP (note: Jim Crockett Promotions) called him sometime this week about coming to the company. Rotunda still has about a week left on his WWF contract, but given that McMahon isn’t using him for anything serious, he’ll probably ask for his release once his contract’s up.
AWA
Stan Hansen defeated Rick Martel at a TV taping to win the AWA World Title on 1/14. [2] The title change is scheduled to air on ESPN on 1/28. Though given ESPN’s habit of preempting or cancelling AWA Wrestling outright, don’t be surprised if it airs at a later date instead.
Word is that the AWA is putting together a supercard, following the lead of Wrestlemania and Starrcade. Given Gagne’s thin roster and less-than-stellar booking decisions, I think this is a questionable idea, but we’ll see. [3]
—Excerpts from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter: January 20, 1986
---
February 10, 1986
INTRODUCTION
Make no mistake about it; we are living in the “age of expansion”. Now, I don’t claim to be a fortune-teller, but here are my thoughts: in the next few years, we’re probably going to see a lot of U.S. wrestling territories try to expand nationally, much as McMahon and Crockett are in the process of doing. Seeing how sparse and/or badly run some promotions are (I’m looking at you, Verne Gagne), many are bound to fall flat on their faces. Some may get absorbed into larger promotions, who will undoubtedly utilize some talents and, unfortunately, leave others to wallow in obscurity. However, despite the overwhelming odds, it’s entirely possible that a few may succeed. McMahon, many may say, has already succeeded, but I still feel that he has a way to go, especially with the WWF reportedly about to run another Wrestlemania card. Despite the flop of Starrcade ’85, Crockett is on his way to success if he plays his cards right. Most other companies, for better or worse, are up in the air at this point. Either way, the territorial system of American wrestling is fast becoming a thing of the past, whether we like it or not.
WWF
IC Champion Roddy Piper has been getting more cheers than boos from live audiences as of late. Due to his popularity, McMahon is said to be in talks with him about turning him into a babyface. Judging how well Piper worked as a heel against Hogan and Steamboat, this is a hit-or-miss proposition as far as I’m concerned. Either way, I have been loving Piper’s reign as IC Champion. The Rowdy One has brought some credibility and interest back to the belt after the steaming pile of garbage that was Greg Valentine’s reign.
WWF signed Mid-South talent Jake Roberts to a contract on 2/10. Roberts is in a lackluster feud with Dick Slater in Mid-South, so it’s expected that losing Roberts won’t affect Bill Watts’ promotion that much.
Mike Rotunda was released from WWF on 2/6. He is probably headed for the NWA in the next few weeks, once his no-compete clause expires.
MID-SOUTH
Word is that Mid-South will begin airing on syndicated television starting sometime in March. I don’t know many details yet, but this is big news for the Oklahoma-based promotion, because it may put it in contention with both WWF and NWA. Personally, I think Watts will definitely need to have his guys step up their game to compete with Titan and JCP, despite the phenomenal storytelling on the cards. The WON isn’t allowed to say which networks will carry Mid-South Wrestling, so make sure to check your local listings.
—Excerpts from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter: February 10, 1986
---
February 15, 1986
Hello again, and welcome to American Top 40! I’m Casey Kasem, and we’re almost ready to count down the 40 biggest songs in America, according to the official surveys by Billboard magazine. We’ve got four debut songs this week, including the first Top 40 hit by a Japanese group since Pink Lady in 1979! [4] But first, let’s go over the Top 3 from last week: at #3 was “Burning Heart” by Survivor. At #2, we had “When the Going Gets Tough” by Billy Ocean. And the #1 song was “How Will I Know”, by Whitney Houston. Will it go two weeks in a row? We’ll find out at the end of the countdown. Let’s get started! (Number 40!) Coming in at #40 this week is a very unusual song. It’s by not one, but at least twenty men. As best we can tell, there are about thirty people singing on this track. It’s by a group of men employed by the World Wrestling Federation. That’s right—professional wrestlers. And there’s no doubt from going back and looking at our records that it’s the first time that people from that profession ever had a Top 40 hit. Debuting at #40, here are the wrestlers of the WWF, doing a cover of the old Cannibal and the Headhunters tune, “Land of 1,000 Dances”. [5]
—Casey Kasem, Intro from American Top 40, initially broadcast on February 15, 1986
---
March 1, 1986
On the fifth episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event previously taped on February 15th, the tension is thick as the WWF rides toward their second annual Wrestlemania, an extravaganza to be held in three separate arenas. Hulk Hogan & Ricky Steamboat are scheduled to take on the Hart Foundation’s British Bulldogs, and Tito Santana & Brutus Beefcake look to get their Tag Titles back from Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart. In addition, Roddy Piper defends his Intercontinental Title against George “the Animal” Steele again, and pre-taped interviews with both Mr. T and WWF newcomer Jake Roberts are also promised.
The first match of the night sees Santana & Beefcake attempt to wrest the Tag Team belts back from Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart. Conspicuously, the Bulldogs don’t appear at ringside with Jimmy Hart to cheer on their teammates. The Harts put up a good fight, but as Hart pins Santana after a Hart Attack from he and Neidhart, Santana manages to get his foot on the ropes. The referee doesn’t see it at first, but Hulk Hogan comes to ringside and points it out to the ref, who restarts the match, much to Jimmy Hart’s (and commentator Jesse Ventura’s) irritation. In the end, Hogan manages to keep Jimmy from interfering in the match, allowing Santana to pin Neidhart after a flying jalapeno, winning back the Tag Titles for his team.
The second match sees Paul Orndorff take on the Junkyard Dog. In the interviews before the match, Orndorff says JYD is just the first step—he’s looking to make a name for himself in the WWF by eliminating each of the fans’ favorite wrestlers one-by-one. Next on the list after JYD? None other than Hulk Hogan. Orndorff goes on to pin the Dog after an eye gouge and a piledriver, sending a message to the Hulkster afterwards by shouting “I’m coming for you, Hogan!” into the camera post-match.
A short pre-taped interview with Mr. T follows, and the A-Team actor says he’ll be at Wrestlemania 2. Gene Okerlund then interviews Jake Roberts backstage, but is flabbergasted when Jake shows up with a huge Burmese python. He introduces the snake as “Lucifer”, saying the snake is his inspiration. [6] Roberts delivers a promo in which he compares himself to the snake. Roberts says just like a snake, he has no friends. Just like a snake, he will snap at the first opportunity he sees. And just like a snake, he will lie in wait until his time in the WWF is upon them.
A long-awaited rematch on the card sees Roddy Piper defend his Intercontinental Championship against the man he beat on the last SNME, George Steele. The match ends in a DQ finish when Randy Savage (who “The Animal” is feuding with) runs in and begins beating down Steele, but as Piper is heading over to seemingly help Savage, Savage inadvertently strikes Piper in the process. Piper retaliates by unloading on Savage, drawing a gale of cheers from the audience and cementing the Rowdy One’s face turn. Big John Studd defeats King Tonga in a squash match a bit later.
In the final match of the night, Steamboat and Hogan take on Dynamite Kid and Davey Boy Smith. After a back-and-forth contest, the heels manage to finagle a victory against the babyfaces when Jimmy Hart hits Steamboat over the head with his megaphone, letting Dynamite pin the WWF Champion, sending a message that the Harts are not through with Steamboat just yet. Hogan runs the Harts from the ring post-match and helps Steamboat to his feet, and the two top stars of the WWF stare down the villainous Harts to end the show.
This Saturday Night’s Main Event turned out to be the second most-watched in WWF history, garnering a 12.6 rating, the highest up to that point. [7] In addition, it was instrumental in garnering interest in Wrestlemania 2, as commentators Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura announced that in addition to Mr. T, the viewers would also see appearances from Joan Rivers, Dick Butkus, G. Gordon Libby, and various NFL football stars of the day. In addition, Sylvester Stallone, Carl Weathers and Talia Shire from the blockbuster Rocky IV would make appearances in some shape or form. [8]
---
Full Saturday Night’s Main Event #5 Results
WWF Tag Team Championships: Tito Santana & Brutus Beefcake def. The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart & Jim “the Anvil” Neidhart) (c) (w/ Jimmy Hart) (9:22)
“Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff def. Junkyard Dog (4:24)
WWF Intercontinental Championship: George “the Animal” Steele (w/ “Captain” Lou Albano) def. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper (c) via DQ (6:16)
Big John Studd def. King Tonga (2:00)
Dynamite Kid & Davey Boy Smith (w/ Jimmy Hart, Bret Hart & Jim “the Anvil” Neidhart) def. Ricky Steamboat & Hulk Hogan (7:11)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Mad Maxine was employed by the WWF in early 1985, but she only wrestled two matches before being released.
[2] IOTL, Hansen won the AWA Title from Martel slightly earlier, on December 29, 1985. With the WWF riding high, Verne Gagne decides to keep the title on Martel just a little longer ITTL in an attempt to garner ratings.
[3] The writer is indeed referring to Wrestlerock ’86. And for those interested, yes, the “Wrestlerock Rumble” is as OTL—it was so deliberate that there was no way I could butterfly it away.
[4] Kasem is referring to the song “Crazy Nights”, by the Japanese heavy metal band Loudness, which debuts on the Top 40 at #37 this week ITTL. It’ll spend two weeks there before dropping to #40, then will disappear from the Hot 100 altogether two weeks later. IOTL, this song never charted; here, it's buoyed by the recent interest for "Asian" things.
[5] This song obviously never charted IOTL. And technically, Casey’s right—this would be the first time wrestlers ever had a Top 40 hit. In fact, no active wrestler up to the point that The Wrestling Album was released had even had a single out—except for one. More details on that in a future update.
[6] IOTL, of course, the snake was named “Damien”. Roberts would also occasionally use another, larger snake named “Lucifer”, but ITTL, the main snake gets the more…menacing-sounding name.
[7] This SNME would garner a slightly lower (but still impressive) 10.0 rating IOTL. With all the traditional wrestling fans hoping to see something like Steamboat vs. Dynamite again, it’s slightly higher here.
[8] You don’t need me to tell you that this never happened IOTL, do you?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
We have planted the seeds for TTL's Wrestlemania 2, but will they grow tall and majestic like a redwood or die and wither like the undernourished vegetables in my garden? Plus, who knew Ricky Steamboat was such a fan of '80s rock?
All that and more, as we continue to witness the Rise of the Dragon!
Last edited:
Thanks. I've had a lot on my plate lately, but if all goes well, I'll have WM2 up tomorrow.
Also, you'll be pleased to know: Casey isn't dead! He's 81 years old, and largely retired from show business, but he's still alive and kicking.
Last edited:
April 1986: Wrestlemania 2
April 6, 1986
SteamPunk, the WWF Blogger – Post Date 3/18/2013
Classic WWF PPV Review: Wrestlemania 2
In honor of the 29th anniversary of Wrestlemania, I’m continuing with my look at all the ‘Manias from years gone past. I did the very first ‘Mania yesterday, and today, I’ll be looking at the second annual pay-per-view extravaganza held by the WWF. From April 6, 1986, it’s Wrestlemania 2. [1]
The second Wrestlemania was unique in that it emanated from not one, but three cities: New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, with each city getting approximately one hour of live coverage. For fans in the arenas, they got to see an hour of the show live, and then they watched the rest of it on giant screens, to create a “movie-like” atmosphere. It was a unique idea, but sadly, it didn’t work out too well, and wasn’t repeated. Thankfully, we got a lot of awesome action to counteract it, and even today, it’s considered by many fans to be one of the best ‘Manias of all time. That being said, let’s get started with the action.
We start off in Long Island, New York at the Nassau Coliseum. The late, great Ray Charles gives a great rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” to kick us off. It won’t be the last musical performance we hear tonight.
Your commentators in Long Island are Vince McMahon and celebrity commentator Carl Weathers, best known for playing Apollo Creed in the Rocky movies. [2] Celebrities calling matches is usually a horrible idea, but thankfully, Apollo doesn’t mess it up too much—at least he’s better than the other two celebrity commentators. But I’m jumping the gun here.
Backstage Segment – Joan Rivers, of all people, is backstage, and she hypes Wrestlemania like it’s some kind of red-carpet movie premiere. [3] She’s apparently trying to find Hulk Hogan. Looks like no one sent her the memo that Hogan’s in L.A. Joan looks like she’s about to have a heart attack as she looks backstage at all the “sweaty, oily men”. Maybe we’ll see Joan and Freddie Blassie making out later? God, I shouldn’t have typed that. I’m going to have nightmares tonight. Anyhow, Joan finds perennial jobber S.D. Jones, and he reminds us about how he got squashed in 18 seconds at WM1 by King Kong Bundy. He says tonight, we won’t see that again. The Iron Sheik pops up out of nowhere and says some crap I can’t really understand. Jones challenges Sheik to a match, which he accepts. God, this was a painful segment to watch. When S.D. Jones is the most coherent person in a promo, you know it’s bad. DUD
Iron Sheik vs. S.D. Jones – It’s blaringly apparent that they cut out the intro for this match. We just saw Jones and Sheik backstage, and whammo! They’re in the ring now. Somebody from Star Trek must be working the Gorilla position. Jones throws a couple of punches at the Sheik, then bounces off the ropes, but Sheik takes him down with a really hard clothesline. Sheik poses to the crowd for a few seconds before locking the prone Jones in a Camel Clutch, and Jones gives up at 0:39. Seriously, I know they were trying to remind people of the first ‘Mania, but couldn’t they have picked a better moment from it to try to top? That sight of Jones squirming in the Camel Clutch was also quite painful to watch. Jones wouldn’t last too long in the WWF after this, and I guess it’s only fitting he finished out WM 0-2. DUD
WWF Women’s Title Match: Wendi Richter (C) vs. Misty Blue Simms – As WWF legend goes, after the Fabulous Moolah quit, McMahon looked for ladies’ wrestlers who were being “misused” in rival companies. He found Misty Blue in the soon-to-be-dead AWA, and she agreed to come to the WWF. [4] Unfortunately, Cyndi Lauper isn’t here to be in Richter’s corner, which sucks. Both ladies start out backing each other against the ring ropes, trading chops. “Nothing like two ticked-off women goin’ at it,” Weathers comments. I couldn’t agree more, Apollo. Richter grabs Misty by the hair and throws her to the mat. She rushes at her, but Misty takes her down with an armdrag. Wendi recovers and locks a leg submission on Simms, getting Misty’s shoulders down for a 1-count. When she tries it again, Misty kicks her off. Both ladies lock up, then Richter irish-whips Simms and hits her with a back elbow. Richter hits an elbow drop for a 2-count. Richter picks up Simms and bodyslams her for another 2-count. Richter plays to the crowd a little before going back to the prone Simms, who surprises Wendi with a poke to the eye. Simms gets up and takes Richter down with a double-leg, then locks on a Boston crab. Richter makes it to the ropes after a few minutes, forcing a break. Simms goes to pick up Richter, but Wendi hits an inside cradle. Simms reverses it, however, and gets the surprise pin to win the Title at 3:04. Well, as far as women’s matches go, this was pretty good, and it helped draw heel heat for Misty, who had only just started in the WWF a few weeks prior to this. **
WWF Tag Team Title Match: Tito Santana & Brutus Beefcake (C) vs. Hart Foundation – This is both Hart's and Neidhart's Wrestlemania debut. I was such a mark for the Harts as a kid—all four of them were very solid in-ring workers. Sadly, Jimmy Hart isn’t in the Harts’ corner; Vince says he’s in L.A. with Dynamite and Davey Boy. Bret & Santana, the better of the two wrestlers in this match, start us off in the ring, and they trade offense for a good five minutes. Hart tags in Neidhart, and the Harts start making quick tags and dominating Tito. The crowd was really hot for this match because the Harts were so hated at the time. After battling back for a few seconds and hitting a headbutt to the stomach, Tito tags in Beefcake; Anvil fights him off and hits a hard clothesline. Bret tags in and starts working over Beefcake with a Boston crab for a few minutes. McMahon comments that you “can’t breathe” while in a Boston crab. I’m not sure that’s how it works, Vince. Bret hits a fisherman’s suplex (later called a Perfectplex) for two. Beefcake fights back and gets the tag on Santana, who hits Bret with an elbow to the back of the head. Tito hits a suplex for a two. Tito dominates for a few more minutes, eventually tagging in Beefcake, who locks a bearhug on Bret. First time I’ve ever seen Beefcake use a submission hold. It was probably the last time as well. The Hitman struggles for a few minutes before fighting out and hitting a bulldog on Beefcake for a two. He makes the tag to Neidhart, who powerslams Beefcake for another two-count. Anvil signals for the Hart Attack and grabs Beefcake, but Beefcake counters with an elbow to the head. Hart hits Beefcake in the back as he bounds off the ropes, he and Neidhart hit the Hart Attack, and Anvil covers Brutus for the pinfall and the titles at 12:01. This was a very strong tag match for this time period. Santana worked the majority of the match, leaving only a few moments for Beefcake. I’m not complaining—Brutus was only really over due to his charisma and the fact that he was close to Hogan. All in all, though, this match was great, and the Harts would go on to have the longest Tag Title reign of all time in the WWF. ***¼
Backstage Segments – Joan Rivers is at it again, and now she’s found Mr. T’s dressing room. T is training for his Boxing match tonight against “Cowboy” Bob Orton, and he’s got heavyweight Joe Frazier in his corner to advise him. They replay the Piper’s Pit from a few weeks prior, where Cowboy Bob challenges anyone in the WWF to a boxing match at ‘Mania, and Hogan signed Mr. T’s name on the contract. [5] Mr. T cuts a tough-guy promo about how he’s ready for Orton tonight, saying that he’ll use everything he learned from being on The A-Team to help him in this match. Apparently, being on a TV show about being a fugitive from the Army qualifies you to be a boxer. Who knew? Frazier says he’s taught T all the ins and outs of being a boxer. He’ll make sure Orton plays by the rules in this match, and will also deal with Lou Duva at ringside. The camera cuts to Orton, training with boxing trainer Lou Duva in another room. Orton says there’s no way Mr. T will beat him, because he has the best trainer in the world. Well, these definitely could have been worse promos, and they got over just how popular Mr. T was at this time. *
Boxing Match: “Cowboy” Bob Orton vs. Mr. T – They have boxing gloves on. The Fink states that this will be a standard boxing match with ten rounds. Each round consists of three minutes. This oughta be fun…not. The Fink introduces the guest judge at ringside, G. Gordon Liddy. Nothing like a guy involved in the Watergate break-ins to judge a boxing contest, huh? In the first round, Mr. T gets in a flurry of offense. Carl says he’ll wear himself out before they get to the next round. Well, alright, you’re the expert, Apollo Creed. The first three minutes end with T dominating Cowboy Bob, and the officials have to break them up after the bell rings. “Well, Apollo, who would you give the first round to?” Yes, Vince actually asked that question. Carl didn’t answer. Smart man, that Weathers. Round 2 begins, and Orton begins to fight back, swinging at T, but doesn’t do a lot of damage. Orton backs Mr. T into the corner and hits him continually, knocking B.A. Baracus down with a right hand. The ref counts T down, but he gets back up at eight. Mr. T keeps fighting, ultimately backing Orton into the corner before the bell rings. Orton falls to the mat, looking very tired. “He probably sees about two or three or four Mr. T’s right now,” Weathers comments. Believe it or not, that’s the most intelligent thing he’s said the whole pay-per-view. Round 3 commences, and Mr. T hits a few punches, but a few seconds in, Orton hits T with a kick to the gut and bodyslams him, drawing a DQ at 6:14. Afterwards, the brawl continues until the refs break it up and raise Mr. T’s hand. Orton, meanwhile, rolls out of the ring as the cheers for Mr. T continue, glaring back at the A-Team actor. This was a really slow match—just fine as a boxing exhibition, but not something that they should do too often. Thankfully, they understood that. We don’t need to see crap like this more than one time. ½*
We now cut to Chicago, at Comiskey Park. Your commentators are Gorilla Monsoon (love him), Gene Okerlund (it’s rare to hear him on commentary), and Cathy Lee Crosby, best known for co-hosting a show called That’s Incredible. Given how I’ve never heard of it, I guess it wasn’t that incredible, now was it?
Jake “the Snake” Roberts vs. Hillbilly Jim – This is Jake’s debut ‘Mania. Uncle Elmer is at ringside with Jim. Whoop-dee-freaking-do. Hillbilly starts strong with a bunch of hard punches, but Roberts shoves him away and climbs out of the ring to escape. Wait—he slithered out of the ring, according to Gorilla. Back in, Jim smashes into Jake with a shoulder block that Roberts sells very well. Jim whips him into two turnbuckles, clotheslining him in each one, and then hits a powerslam that gets the Hick from Mudlick a two-count. Hillbilly picks up Roberts and locks in a bearhug. Roberts struggles for a while before hitting the “cymbal hands” counter to break the hold. Roberts hits a knee lift to Jim, then grabs him for the DDT, getting the 3-count at 3:01. Afterwards, Jake grabs his burlap bag from ringside and pulls the snake out of it. He wraps the snake around the downed body of Hillbilly Jim. Jim froths at the mouth as Uncle Elmer climbs in the ring to help him, but Jake’s already gone. This match was basic booking—it got over Jake as a heel very well. Hillbilly got in some offense, but Roberts outsmarted him, then KO’d him with the DDT. *
Flag Match: Corporal Kirchner vs. Nikolai Volkoff – As usual, Volkoff sings the Russian national anthem before the match. Freddie Blassie accompanies him. Corporal Kirchner was such a blatant attempt to copy Sgt. Slaughter it isn’t even funny. Anyway, standard Flag match rules apply here: first person to grab their flag wins. Volkoff and Kirchner first lock up for a “test of strength”, as Mean Gene calls it. Cathy says Volkoff reminds her of the Russian in Rocky IV. If Volkoff had played Ivan Drago, I bet that movie would have broken the box office records, easy. After slamming Kirchner into the corner and hitting a clothesline on him, Volkoff slowly goes for the flag. He starts to climb the pole, but Kirchner drags him off. Kirchner whips Nikolai to the ropes, and bounds off the opposite side. Nikolai counters and grabs Kirchner in a bear hug. Blassie waves Volkoff over and prepares to hit Kirchner with his cane, but Kirchner escapes the hold and Blassie ends up clocking Volkoff instead. Volkoff falls to the mat, but it looks like he didn’t even get hit. Seriously, my grandfather could probably sell a cane shot better. Kirchner then kicks Blassie off the apron, then heads to his corner. He begins to climb the flagpole, but slips about halfway up and falls to the mat. He recovers, climbs up the pole again and grabs the U.S. flag to win the match at 2:52. This was a BAD match, and the fact that both Volkoff and Kirchner botched during it drives its score down. Definitely a very bad blemish on this PPV. DUD
Backstage Segment – Jeopardy and Concentration host Alex Trebek is backstage at Chicago, serving the same purpose Joan Rivers did in the Big Apple. [6] He welcomes people to ‘Mania, commenting on what an “interesting experience” it is. Trebek comes across as the goofy nerd in the locker room with all the jocks—it’s unique, to say the least. Alex finds “Samurai” Mike Singletary and William “Refrigerator” Perry from the Chicago Bears, who are getting ready for the battle royal later on. King Kong Bundy and Big John Studd walk up, with Bobby Heenan in tow, and confront the two NFL players. Heenan claims that since they have no training, stepping into the ring with his clients is suicide. Fridge and Mike don’t back down, and suddenly, Andre the Giant walks up behind the Bears. The promo ends with Andre pointing at Bundy and Studd, saying they will fall tonight. If it weren’t for that final shot, this promo wouldn’t have been all that special. It was still pretty good, though, and Heenan and even Trebek showed great mic work here. **¾
Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr. vs. Junkyard Dog & Greg Valentine – Not many people remember that the Funks were employed in the WWF at this time. They would both leave soon afterward, having much more success in both NWA and ECW. JYD and Valentine were babyfaces here, with JYD getting a lot of support from the fans, as usual. Bobby Heenan, who was managing the Funks at the time, accompanies them. Dory and JYD start it off. JYD overpowers, then Terry runs in so JYD gives bodyslams to both of them multiple times until they retreat. Terry and Valentine tag in. Terry gets whipped in the ropes, takes a bump against the ropes on his stomach and then Valentine knocks him out of the ring. Then he hits a hard clothesline on Dory to send him out of the ring too. JYD tags in; he unloads on Terry by ramming his head into the turnbuckle ten times. Then he does it in another turnbuckle. A headbutt leads to a pin, but Dory saves his brother. JYD throws Terry over the top rope. Lots of bumping to the floor by the Funk brothers. Valentine tags in, but Dory soon gets control on him with some uppercuts to the jaw. Valentine comes back with a headbutt to the stomach for two. Bobby Heenan looks on worried at ringside. The first five minutes of the match is all about the Valentine/JYD team dominating the action. The Funks take control, and Terry hits a cheap knee to the back of Valentine. “It looks like he's really hurt there,” says Cathy. Yes, Cathy, that's kind of the point of wrestling. Back in the ring, Terry hits a suplex on Valentine for two. Valentine counters with a chop block. Then Valentine & Terry bump heads, but Terry is close to his corner so he tags in Dory, who gets a butterfly suplex for two. The Funks get a double clothesline on Valentine as they isolate the Hammer, who is the babyface in peril here. Eventually Greg tags in JYD after he crawls around the mat to avoid Terry from grabbing him. Even as a face, Valentine borrowed so much from Flair’s arsenal. Flair was also influenced by Greg’s dad Johnny Valentine, so it’s no surprise. The crowd goes wild as JYD enters the match. He punches both Funks and then rams their heads together for the dreaded DOUBLE NOGGIN KNOCKER~! He gets a clothesline on Terry Funk. Funk tries to choke JYD with a rope, but he powers out of it and gives Funk a backdrop over the top rope all the way to the floor. GEEZ what a crazy bump! It’s even more insane when you think that Terry was in his early 40’s around this time. JYD attacks both Funks on the floor. He gives Terry a bodyslam on a table, although it's not like a table you'd see in today's WWF. It was more of a white plastic type of table, not a breakable one. Back in the ring, JYD knocks Dory down with a stiff punch. JYD gets a small package on Terry, but Dory saves his brother before the 3-count. JYD tags in Valentine, who puts a figure four leglock on Terry. With Terry out of the hold, JYD goes after Dory while the ref tries to restrain Valentine and that allows Heenan to throw the branding iron to Terry, who crushes Valentine in the head with it. That's enough for Terry to cover Valentine and get the pinfall win at 11:42. After the match, Terry approaches the downed Valentine, but JYD tries to fight off both Funks. Dory takes him out with a kick and a clothesline to the outside. Terry grins sadistically as he “brands” the downed Valentine, who begins to writhe around and scream in pain. Apparently, it’s a perpetually hot branding iron. I need to figure out where to get one of those. Anyway, this was a pretty cool match. The Funks, especially Terry, bumped like madmen, and Valentine gave a very good performance as well. JYD wasn’t that bad, either. The crowd was also behind it, and the branding segment was intense for the time. ***
In-Ring Segment – Mean Gene is in the ring, and he presents Pedro Morales with a special award. At this time in history, Pedro was the only man to have won all three major titles in the WWF: the WWF Title, the Intercontinental Title, and the Tag Titles. Pedro gets on the mic (usually not a good thing, because he can’t cut a promo to save his life) and says what an honor it is to be in a class by himself, as well as competing tonight at Wrestlemania. This wasn’t anything special, but the award would go on to have major significance in many storylines as the Triple Crown Trophy. As such, I graded it slightly higher than I probably should have. ***¼
20-Man Battle Royal: Pedro Morales, Jimbo Covert (Chicago Bears), Tony Atlas, Ken O’Brien (New York Jets), George “the Animal” Steele, Tony Eason (New England Patriots), King Tonga, Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka, Ed “Too Tall” Jones (Dallas Cowboys), B. Brian Blair, Jim Brunzell, “Samurai” Mike Singletary (Chicago Bears), Big John Studd, King Kong Bundy, Bill Fralic (Atlanta Falcons), “Magnificent” Don Muraco, Russ Francis (San Francisco 49ers), Bruno Sammartino, William “Refrigerator” Perry (Chicago Bears) and Andre the Giant [7] – We transition right into the battle royal, with Pedro being the first man introduced since he’s in the ring already. Each guy, including the NFL players, gets his own entrance. Monsoon directs our attention to Dick Butkus at ringside, who is serving as an “outside referee”. The bell rings, and all hell breaks loose. Jimbo Covert and King Tonga are eliminated first. It’s weird seeing Andre in gold shorts. Thankfully, he’d switch to the singlet within a year to hold back his man-boobs. Tony Eason goes next at the hands of Andre. Andre and Studd clash in the middle of the ring. The announcers play these guys as the two favorites to win. Bundy eliminates Brunzell, then is ganged up on by about seven wrestlers and football players who dump him out to a gale of cheers from the crowd. Steele slides to the outside, and begins to walk to the back. I guess he’s eliminated, as he never comes back. What a weird, unfortunate gimmick for George Steele—the guy was really eloquent in some of his pre-Animal work. Fridge dumps out Tony Atlas, and the crowd goes nuts. The crowd continues to cheer as Perry throws several punches at Studd, staggering the big man. This was a few months after the Chicago Bears’ Super Bowl victory, and this portion of the PPV is in Chicago, so Fridge and Singletary got big pops from the crowd. O’Brien gets dumped by Andre. Pedro Morales clotheslines Russ Francis over the top, but ends up taking himself out as well. Muraco dumps out Bill Fralic. B. Brian Blair goes next. Eight men are left. Sammartino gets taken out by Too Tall Jones. Bruno was close to retiring by this point, but I have to give the old man props for lasting as long as he did. Studd sneaks up behind Jones and dumps him out. Fridge rushes toward Studd, but Studd elbows him and throws him out to a chorus of boos. Fridge wants a handshake on the floor, and Studd obliges—only to be pulled out and eliminated. The crowd loved that—Fridge was over like crazy here. We’re down to the final four—Andre, Snuka, Muraco, and Mike Singletary of the Chicago Bears. Samurai Mike backs Muraco to the corner, but Muraco grabs him by the throat and tips him over. Muraco got pushed pretty hard at around this time; he even got a few title shots against Steamboat. Andre knocks down Snuka with a boot, and Muraco capitalizes by throwing the Superfly out. That dive Snuka took over the top was too sweet. Muraco collides with Andre, staggering the Giant. He then goes to the top rope, but Andre recovers and shoves him off to win the match at 9:16. A pretty uninteresting battle royal, but that’s usually how they were in this period. Around this time, Andre, Bundy or Studd usually came out on top because they were so freaking huge. That, and it was darn near impossible to get a big man like Andre to take a bump to the outside. The Studd/Perry moment was pretty cool too, but that’s about it. *¼
We move on to the third and final part of the show, which takes place in Los Angeles. The commentators are Lord Alfred Hayes, Jesse Ventura, and the celebrity guest this time is the “Mistress of Darkness”, Elvira. Jesse says “what a pair we make”. Get it? Because Elvira liked to show off her breasticles. I could have used a lot of words. I went with breasticles. They set up the final hour of matches at ringside with Davey Boy Smith vs. Ted Arcidi up next.
Davey Boy Smith vs. Ted Arcidi – Not many people remember Arcidi, but he was booked as “The Strongest Man in the World”. Artie from The Adventures of Pete & Pete is not amused. Davey Boy has his cousin Dynamite Kid and manager Jimmy Hart at ringside. Arcidi starts off by backing Davey into the corner and hitting a series of shoulder blocks. Ted puts Smith on the turnbuckle and backs up for a clothesline, which he hits—rather sloppily, I might add. Jimmy is going crazy shouting through his megaphone at Davey Boy. That’s why they call the guy “The Mouth of the South”. Arcidi picks up Smith and hits a bodyslam for a 2-count. I don’t think Elvira said anything for the first two minutes of the match. Not that that’s a bad thing, mind you. Arcidi backs up for a splash off the ropes, but Jimmy sneaks up behind him and hits him with the megaphone, producing little effect. The ref berates Jimmy for it, but while the ref’s back is turned, Dynamite runs in and hits a dropkick, staggering Arcidi. Smith hits a hurricanrana and pins Arcidi at 3:32. Arcidi was supposed to be the babyface in this match, but he was booed so bad it was almost funny. To boot, this match was absolutely horrendous. Still, I’m willing to let it slide because it got Davey Boy over as a legit competitor, and helped to establish his credibility by beating a man as big as Arcidi. ½*
Backstage Segment - We go backstage to find baseball announcer Tommy Lasorda, functioning as our “interviewer” for the third and final segment of the PPV. He bumps into a woman backstage and asks her directions. When she turns around, surprise! It’s Talia Shire, AKA Adrian from the Rocky movies! And she’s brought Sly Stallone with her! Stallone plays up WM like a major Hollywood deal, and says he wouldn’t miss it for the world. Yeah, gotta shill your next movie somehow, huh, Stallone? He says he’ll be in the corner of the man who starred alongside him in Rocky II, Hulk Hogan. Kind of ironic, since Hogan played the villain in that movie. Sly brings Hulk on-camera, and he does his basic Hogan schtick, playing up how he’ll run wild all over Paul Orndorff tonight. Hogan was always really good on the mic, and here is no different. Stallone was also pretty fun to watch. Talia didn’t say but two sentences during the whole thing, and Lasorda was just…there. Still, this was probably the best backstage promo of the PPV. ***½
Intercontinental Title Match: Roddy Piper (C) vs. Randy “Macho Man” Savage – Miss Elizabeth accompanies Macho to ringside, wearing a beautiful purple dress. I actually met Liz at a comic book convention about four years ago; she’s still a knockout. Roddy and Randy stare each other down and talk trash for a few minutes. They lock up for a few moments, then Piper irish-whips Savage and takes him down with a clothesline. Piper grabs Savage, but he counters with a rake to the eyes and rams Piper into the turnbuckle. Macho hits a few hard punches before Piper counters with some chops of his own. Piper gives Macho an atomic drop and a clothesline that gets him two. Piper smiles at Elizabeth at ringside, and she coyly flirts back a bit. Savage recovers and knocks Roddy down. He berates Liz for a few seconds, but Piper sneaks behind him and hits a sunset flip for another 2-count. Savage hits a back elbow on Piper. He goes for a kick to the stomach, but Piper counters with an inside cradle that gets another two. Randy rolls out of the ring, but Roddy follows him out and knocks him to the mat before tossing him back in. Piper turns his attention to Liz again, but Savage comes off the turnbuckle with a double axe handle. Savage throws Roddy into the ring and hits another axe handle that gets a 2-count. Savage drapes Roddy’s arm across the top rope, then takes him back outside with a knee lift. Macho takes Piper down with a clothesline to the outside. He climbs back in to break the count, then kicks Piper in the shoulder. Another drape across the top rope to Piper’s arm. Piper rolls back in, but Savage takes Piper down and hits a double knee drop for another 2-count. Macho dominates the Hotrod for a few more minutes, getting two more near-falls. The crowd chants “Roddy” as Savage locks in a headlock. Piper elbows out after a few seconds and knocks Savage down with a forearm. Piper knocks Savage into the corner, and unloads on him with rights and lefts before whipping him to the opposite corner, hanging Randy upside-down. Piper plays to the crowd a while before hitting a baseball slide. Liz sneaks over and helps Randy off the ropes, but he still admonishes her for some reason. “She should’ve been there for her man,” Elvira notes. Piper picks Savage up and gives him an airplane spin for a 2-count. Savage recovers and hits a boot to Piper’s stomach. Savage hits an airplane spin of his own, staggering Piper. Savage kicks Piper a few more times before going to the top rope. He signals for the elbow drop, but Roddy moves at the last second. After battling back for a few moments, Piper cinches in the sleeper hold. Savage struggles for a few minutes before smashing Piper into the corner. Piper crumples to the mat, and Savage ascends the ropes. He hits the elbow drop, and gets the 3-count to win the title at 9:01. Great match, and it showcased both Piper’s and Savage’s athletic abilities very nicely. Savage also played the chickenshit heel here well. Of course, Savage’s monster IC Title reign would follow, which of course would lead him toward main-event status later on. ***½
Hulk Hogan vs. “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff – Stallone and Shire are in Hogan’s corner during his match, while Bobby Heenan accompanies Orndorff. I never really got into Hulk Hogan, even as a kid. I mean, he was cool and everything, but I was a Steamboat kid through-and-through. Hogan and Orndorff start off locking up, but Hogan pushes Mr. Wonderful to the mat, drawing a bunch of cheers. Even without the title, Hulk was crazy over with the crowd. Orndorff gets back up, and he and Hogan start trading punches. Hogan backs Orndorff against the ropes, but Heenan begins shouting, distracting Hogan. Hulk goes after him, and Orndorff capitalizes by clotheslining him over the top. Paul follows him out, but Hulk regains the advantage as they head back in the ring. Hogan takes control, and when Heenan gets up on the apron, Hogan knocks him off, but Orndorff again takes over from his interference. “Why’d he do that?” Elvira asks. Because he wants Orndorff to win, Elvira! Duh! And here I thought she was supposed to be the heel announcer. Stallone goes over and glares at Heenan, and the Brain backs away, heading back up the entrance ramp away from Rambo. Meanwhile, Orndorff has taken Hogan to the outside and is hammering him on the timekeeper’s table. After a long time, Hogan finally gets back in and Orndorff scores a 2-count. Mr. Wonderful hits a back suplex for another two. Hogan reverses an irish whip and nails a running knee lift and a body slam. Heenan’s back, and he grabs Hogan’s leg, trying to trip him. Stallone grabs Heenan and pulls him away, then picks him up and puts him over his shoulder like a little kid, and starts to carry him backstage. Lord Alfred applauds this, while Ventura says that Stallone’s overstepping his boundaries. When asked to comment, Elvira says she’s too busy looking at Stallone’s muscles. Fabulous… Meanwhile, Orndorff hits a few knees to Hogan before going for a piledriver, but Hogan backdrops him off and starts to hulk up. Stallone is back, and he and Talia clap for Hogan as he absorbs several punches from Orndorff. Hogan hits some hard rights before hitting the old big boot/legdrop combo, then gets the pin on Mr. Wonderful at 10:05. Sly and Talia get into the ring and celebrate with Hogan as the crowd cheers. As far as Hogan matches go, this match was pretty fun to watch. Stallone and Heenan were great in this match as well, although we never did find out what Sly did to the Brain. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it? **½
Before the main event, we get a mini-Ozzy Osbourne concert. He performs a medley of his songs “Bark at the Moon”, “Paranoid”, and “Shot in the Dark”. Not really an Ozzy fan, but this was…interesting. [8]
WWF Title Match: Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat (C) vs. Dynamite Kid – Hogan and Stallone are in Steamboat’s corner, with Davey Boy and Jimmy Hart in Dynamite’s corner. This is a rematch to a classic contest Steamboat and Dynamite had on SNME earlier in ’86. Remember how I said I was a mark for the Harts when I was young? I was an even bigger Steamboat mark. He was just so cool, and carried himself like a martial arts kung-fu master when he was champion. The Dragon and Dynamite lock up early, trading chain-wrestling maneuvers and fast-paced pinfall attempts in the first six minutes or so. Steamboat gets the edge early, hitting two patented armdrags on Dynamite to ground him. The Kid counters with a sweet belly-to-belly suplex. Dynamite and Steamboat get to their feet and begin to trade chops in the corner in a cool segment that lasts about half a minute. Dynamite hits an armdrag, drawing boos from the crowd. He shouts something at Steamboat. Steamboat kicks Kid in the face twice, staggering him, then clotheslines him over the top rope, following him out. Hart and Smith try to sneak up on Steamboat, but Stallone and Hogan chase them off. Steamboat throws Kid back in the ring, grabs the arm of Kid, and drapes it over the top rope. Ricky continues to work over the arm, but Dynamite elbows him with his other arm and hits a snap suplex for another two. The Dragon comes back with punches to the head and a chop, tying Dynamite in the ropes. They loved doing that spot in the ‘80s, where a guy looked like he was tied up in the ropes. Dynamite kicks Steamboat in the stomach and fights out. They run the ropes and Steamboat hits a crossbody for a close two-count. The crowd thought that was it. Ricky hits an armdrag followed by two successive shoulder blocks for two each time. Steamboat picks Dynamite up and goes for a suplex, but Kid counters with a fisherman’s suplex for a two. The pace of this match has been ridiculously fast, unlike anything on the card thus far. Dynamite hits a knee drop before getting Steamboat up and sets him in the corner, hitting a dropkick that staggers the Dragon. Dynamite rolls him over for a two. Steamboat counters for a two-count of his own. Back to their feet, Steamboat fights back with chops, but Dynamite hits a rake to the eyes and a gutwrench for a close 2-count. Another suplex by Dynamite gets another two. Steamboat fights back and hits a knee lift that gets two. Dynamite gets a small package for another close two. A suplex by Kid gets two again. Jimmy Hart starts yelling at the ref for counting slow, and Ventura defends him. Elvira says they must be getting tired, because they’ve been wrestling for so long. Thank you for that useless observation. Steamboat is up, and he hits a chop off the top rope for another 2-count. Dragon hits another chop, then punches Dynamite, staggering him into the corner. Steamboat charges Dynamite, but he moves out of the way and hits an inside bridge. Steamboat reverses it for yet another two. Back up, the two continue to trade punches, chops and suplexes for a few more minutes. Steamboat backs against the ropes and Davey Boy tries to clobber him in the back. Hogan drags Davey Boy off and clotheslines him to the mat. Elvira didn’t like that. I did. Back to the match, Steamboat hits a small package for another 2-count. The crowd is extremely loud. Steamboat hits a bodyslam and a knee drop, then locks on an armbar, but Dynamite powers out of it, sending Steamboat flying into the referee, who bumps to the outside. Dynamite climbs to the top and hits the diving headbutt onto Steamboat, but there’s no ref. Ventura’s freaking out, saying this match should be over. Dynamite yells some trash at the ref and Steamboat’s team on the outside. Jimmy Hart picks up the ref and throws him back in. Dynamite covers Steamboat, but he kicks out at two. Dynamite can’t believe it. He goes up top again, but Steamboat recovers and throws him to the mat. Steamboat goes to the top, and Jimmy heads over to hit the Dragon with his megaphone. Hogan pulls Jimmy off the apron, though, and Steamboat hits the crossbody for the pinfall victory at 17:25. The crowd goes nuts. After the match, Hogan climbs in the ring and celebrates with Steamboat for a few minutes, then the PPV closes with the Dragon holding his title aloft. You know the “steal the show” phrase the WWF uses all the time? This match stole the show. It’s the one that holds up over time more than any match from the ‘80s, and is easily one of the best matches, if not THE best match, in WWF history. Both guys gave it their all in this match, and there were literally like 20 or 25 different 2-counts in the whole match. The wrestling was flawless, the storytelling was superb, and the finish was beautifully done. Sadly, Steamboat wasn’t champion for much longer—I won’t bore you with details, because I think we all remember what happened about a month after this. Even sadder, Dynamite would retire due to his injuries about two years after this PPV. He continued to have problems with his back and legs for the rest of his life. Thank goodness he got in a decent run with the belt while he still could. This match is the reason so many traditional wrestling fans yearn for the glory days of the mid-80’s WWF. It truly was a great time to be a wrestling fan. *****
Overall: When you think of Wrestlemania 2, you always think of the two great matches on the card: Piper vs. Savage, and Steamboat vs. Dynamite. I’ve seen both matches so many times over the years that I could probably tell you most of the moves they used by heart. The Harts vs. Santana & Beefcake was also very well done. The celebrity involvement in this PPV was insane, but I’m willing to let it slide because of the good matches on the card. Some matches were mediocre, or even bad, but they didn’t detract from the value of the PPV too much. Historically, this is considered by many to be one of the best ‘Manias of all time (though some might argue that WM21 was better). As such, it gets a very high score from me—though far from a perfect one.
Overall Score: 8.5 out of 10
Full Wrestlemania 2 Card
The Iron Sheik def. S.D. Jones (0:39)
WWF Women's Championship: Misty Blue Simms def. Wendi Richter (C) (3:04)
WWF Tag Team Championships: The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart) def. Tito Santana & Brutus Beefcake (C) (12:01)
Boxing Match: Mr. T (w/ Joe Frazier) def. "Cowboy" Bob Orton (w/ Lou Duva) via DQ (6:14)
Jake "the Snake" Roberts def. Hillbilly Jim (w/ Uncle Elmer) (3:01)
Flag Match: Corporal Kirchner def. Nikolai Volkoff (w/ "Classy" Freddie Blassie) (2:52)
The Funks (Dory & Terry) def. Junkyard Dog & Greg "the Hammer" Valentine (11:42)
20-man Battle Royal: Andre the Giant def. B. Brian Blair, Big John Studd, Bill Fralic (Atlanta Falcons), Bruno Sammartino, "Magnificent" Don Muraco, Ed "Too Tall" Jones (Dallas Cowboys), George "the Animal" Steele, Jim Brunzell, Jimbo Covert (Chicago Bears), Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, Ken O'Brien (New York Jets), King Kong Bundy, King Tonga, "Samurai" Mike Singletary (Chicago Bears), Pedro Morales, Russ Francis (San Francisco 49ers), Tony Atlas, Tony Eason (New England Patriots), and William "Refrigerator" Perry (Chicago Bears) (9:16)
Davey Boy Smith (w/ Dynamite Kid & Jimmy Hart) def. Ted Arcidi (3:32)
WWF Intercontinental Championship: Randy "Macho Man" Savage (w/ Miss Elizabeth) def. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper (C) (9:01)
Hulk Hogan (w/ Sylvester Stallone & Talia Shire) def. "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff (w/ Bobby "the Brain" Heenan) (10:05)
WWF Championship: Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat (w/ Hulk Hogan & Sylvester Stallone) (C) def. Dynamite Kid (w/ Davey Boy Smith & Jimmy Hart) (17:25)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] IOTL, Wrestlemania 2 was held a day later, on Monday, April 7, 1986. To date, it’s the only Wrestlemania to be held on any day of the week other than Sunday.
[2] IOTL, Vince instead called the Long Island portion of the PPV with Susan St. James, best known as an actress on the TV show Kate and Allie. Trust me, it wasn’t a pretty sight.
[3] Rivers didn’t appear at Wrestlemania 2 IOTL, obviously, but I figure Vince would shell out money for her to do it. Because that’s just how Vinny-Mac rolls.
[4] You may not have heard of her, but Misty Blue Simms (real name Diane Syms) was a former female boxer-turned-wrestler who worked in the AWA at the time IOTL. She competed at Wrestlerock ’86 before jumping to the NWA, where she held their Women’s Championship for three years before the title was quietly retired. ITTL, she’s approached by McMahon to serve as a heel replacement for Moolah.
[5] This is the same as OTL, only the contract was for a match on Saturday Night’s Main Event, and would eventually lead up to a match between Mr. T and Roddy Piper for Wrestlemania 2. The original Piper’s Pit can be found here.
[6] Trebek never appeared at WM2 IOTL, but again, I feel that Vince could have sprung for him easily. By the way, notice anything strange about how the writer introduced Trebek? You figure it out.
[7] IOTL, O’Brien, Eason and Singletary weren’t involved at Wrestlemania 2—Harvey Martin of the Dallas Cowboys and Ernie Holmes of the Pittsburgh Steelers competed in the battle royal instead. Ed “Too Tall” Jones was at WM2, but he, along with Dick Butkus, served as one of the “outside enforcers” of the battle royal, not an active participant in it. Also, you might notice that Jimmy Snuka is in a match at this PPV. IOTL, Snuka had quit the WWF by this time due to drug and alcohol problems. ITTL, he gets it under control—for now.
[8] IOTL, Ozzy appeared at WM2, but not as a musical act. Instead, he was at ringside with the British Bulldogs for their tag team match against Greg Valentine & Brutus Beefcake. Since Smith & Dynamite are heels ITTL, Vince instead goes with a mini-concert with Ozzy instead of having him associate with the bad guys.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
And there you have it—TTL’s Wrestlemania 2, a much better pay-per-view than it was IOTL, in which we also get the analogous match to OTL’s Savage-Steamboat. I feel that Steamboat-Dynamite is a fair, if not better, substitute. Unfortunately, the quality of technical wrestling won’t stay this good, but it’s at least great to watch (or at least envision) while it lasts. Hope you enjoyed it! I also sprinkled a few subtle hints about the future of TTL in the text. Rather than me point them out to you, you can fish them out for yourself.
Up next, a certain former champion feels that it’s time for him to reclaim the spotlight…
Last edited:
I remember what happened a month after this:
Jake Roberts DDTed Ricky Steamboat on the floor and Steamboat suffered a concussion as a result (Roberts didn't want to do the DDT on the concrete floor, until Steamboat assured him that he (Roberts) wouldn't hurt him with it. Obviously, Steamboat was wrong.).
Jake Roberts DDTed Ricky Steamboat on the floor and Steamboat suffered a concussion as a result (Roberts didn't want to do the DDT on the concrete floor, until Steamboat assured him that he (Roberts) wouldn't hurt him with it. Obviously, Steamboat was wrong.).
- Status