Feud For Thought: The Mega-Powers Explode!

Last Sunday (February 3) marked, (unbelievably for those of us who lived through it) the 30th anniversary of the legendary broadcast of The Main Event II, which of course featured the long teased breakup of the doomed tag team of WWF Heavyweight Champion "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan, otherwise known as any promoter's dream tandem of The Mega-Powers.  

The two seemed made for one another.  Hogan, the bulky and bronze, perpetually adorned in his rote color scheme of red and yellow,  self-anointed center of the WWF's moral compass. Savage his high flying, rainbow sequined, tempestuous and unquestionably more dangerous antithesis. Their professional friendship and rivalry spilled into the men's real lives in ways that they couldn't have imagined, following one of them all the way to the grave.  

Though the feud that resulted from the events of The Main Event II resulted in the most storied portion of their off-and-on 14 year partnership and rivalry, the wars between the two began almost immediately following Savage's entry into the WWF in the Summer of 1985. Savage was immediately positioned as one of the top heels in the company, as every heel manager began a bidding war to obtain Savage's contract, an angle that they ran several times though it was usually centered around a babyface.  Unexpectedly, Savage revealed his choice not as any of the existing managers but his real life wife Elizabeth, who had been a chubby fan of Savage's in his father's ICW promotion in Kentucky, transforming herself with a rigorous workout schedule and transforming herself into the vision of beauty she's known and loved as.  

The Picture Of Loveliness

Originally set to be cast as devious femme fatale who would control Savage with her feminine wiles, Elizabeth's personality shone through and she ended up as a gentle and demure antithesis to Randy's vicious, ultra masculine persona.  The core dynamic of their relationship in their first phase in the company was Savage browbeating Elizabeth for any and all attention she received from male fans or his opponents, most famously George "The Animal" Steele, a scenario that reflected Randy's real life anxieties regarding his gorgeous bride.     

The Very First Match Between Hulk Hogan & Randy Savage

Though Hogan & Savage weren't feuding on T.V. at the time, they engaged in a very successful house show program in the promotion's larger markets  (Philadelphia, Boston and New York, respectively) in a half dozen matches that usually had Savage winning by count out.  However, once "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff who was Hogan's best friend at the time, turned on The Hulkster in the first of what would come to be almost passe' angles by the early 90s where his current sidekick would inevitably grow jealous of his immense popularity and turn on him, betrayed Hogan, the two engaged in the most successful WWF house show tour of the '80s and Hogan & Savage and aside from a short house show run in the Summer of 1987, they wouldn't find themselves on the opposite sides of the ring for nearly 3 years.  

Both Hogan and Savage found themselves embroiled in arguably the two best feuds of their careers aside from the one discussed here, the Macho Man crushing Ricky Steamboat's larynx with the ring bell which led to their classic and highly influential Wrestlemania III match up that stole the show from the advertised main event, Hogan's showdown with former friend and mentor turned bitter rival, Andre The Giant.   While one might have surmised that in the wake of the biggest event in the history of wrestling that Steamboat, having vanquished the vicious and malevolent Savage for the Intercontinental strap would automatically be positioned as the number 2 babyface in the company.  But it wasn't to be.  

An Eye For An Eye...Or A Throat For A Throat, As It Were...

A few factors were working against Steamboat's long term ability to remain in that position. Firstly was the match at Mania III itself.  Steamboat recalled sitting in the dressing room at the Silverdome, surrounded by his peers congratulating him on the classic match he and Savage had just had and looking across the room to see Hogan sitting alone in the corner right before was had been preordained as the biggest night of his career. Well, Steamboat thought, this won't be good.  Secondly, though he was scheduled to headline all of the B-crew house show main events in the months following WrestleMania III against Savage in steel cage matches, Steamboat famously requested two weeks off so as to be at home for the birth of his son.   

Vince McMahon agreed, but soon thereafter demanded that Steamboat drop the title to the new favorite toy, The Honky Tonk Man, whose ability to draw genuine heat was unequaled by few in the WWF at this time.  Ironically enough, when he was brought into the fold in the Fall of 1986, Honky's intended destiny was  to be the spot that Steamboat currently occupied, deputy to Hogan's Sheriff, but despite all they tried to make it so, including The Hulkster himself laying his credibility on the line by speaking highly of his friendship with the cut-rate Elvis impersonator, the fans rejected him unequivocally like a fresh steaming pile of Roman Reigns' "sufferin' succotash".    

As They Say, Plans Change...

Flustered by McMahon's seeming obstinacy concerning what he felt to be a completely reasonable request, Steamboat countered with demanding 6 months off, effectively removing him from any booking plans in the foreseeable future.  A third factor is Steamboat's unassailable position as perhaps the purest babyface in the history and therefore an unlikely candidate for a match let alone a feud with Hogan for the fact that neither of them were likely to turn, and a match between the two babyfaces had the potential to turn out badly for Hogan, who had nixed a series of matches against Jake Roberts late in 1986 when a sizable portion of the audience began cheering the "cool heel" Snake over The Hulkster.  Roberts was turned a few months later, taking him out of Hogan's line of fire for the time being.  

Speaking of cool heels, with Steamboat out of the picture, Honky now needed a new foe to take his place on the house shows.  Immediately after winning the title, Honky began to brag endlessly about being "the greatest Intercontinental Champion of All Time" (though when you ponder it, when has he ever stopped?), drawing the ire of Savage whom despite being hated also held the respect of the fans for being a tenacious, fighting champion, unlike the cowardly, jellyfish like approach of the incumbent title holder.  So in lieu of an actual on-screen babyface turn, Savage simply began confronting Honky and disputing his delusions of grandeur, and the fans who had been looking for permission to cheer for Savage since his debut responded enthusiastically.   

Savage's first shot at Honky came on the October 1987 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event.  Savage is on the verge of capturing the Intercontinental Title for the second time when The Hart Foundation, taking Jimmy Hart's place in Honky's corner after he'd been knocked out by a stiff right from Savage, interfered for the DQ, saving the title for their compatriot.  Honky then ordered The Harts to hold a wasted Savage up for his trademark guitar shot when Elizabeth valiantly jumped between Honky and her man, resulting in Honky brazenly shoving her aside and causing her to flee down the aisle.  Moments after Honky smashed the guitar over Savage's head, the crowd surged as they saw Elizabeth returning with the most effective of reinforcements: a wide eyed Hulk Hogan, huffing and puffing, his eyes bulging with righteous anger.  Hogan cleared the ring and Savage rose to help him, the two backing into each other once the heels had fled.  The two men raised fists at one another as Elizabeth begged them not to come to blows.  Finally, Savage extended his hand and Hogan accepted, finalizing his turn and "sprinkling him with Hulk dust" as Bruce Prichard calls it.  

The Very First "Mega-Powers Handshake"

Interestingly, not much was made of The Megapowers over the next few months.  Savage continued to battle Honky in various matches on house show tours across the country, many of them rivaling and even eclipsing the Hogan tours in box office receipts, while Hogan took on a mishmash of opponents as his primary rival, Andre The Giant was generally unable to fulfill a full time schedule at this point.  

The next important development, and probably the most crucial one from a backstage perspective came in late January 1988 before the initial "The Main Event" program a primetime version of "Saturday Night's Main Event" broadcast shown on the first Friday night in February.  Vince informed a shocked and confused Honky Tonk Man that he was to lose to Savage at the event, flee the ring, and "never be seen again".  When Honky pressed Vince as to exactly what this meant, he was given vague assurances that he would be "repackaged" down the line.  Seeing thousands of dollars in main event payoffs abruptly going out the window, Honky called legendary negotiator Jim Barnett at Jim Crockett Promotions and cut a deal to jump sides before he was forced to do the job.  An irate Vince, after hearing out Honky's fears and reasoning for such a clandestine deal, insisted that "are a million finishes", and changed the match ending to a count out.   Following the bout, Elizabeth again placed herself in harms way but this time Savage dived in between them, chasing Honky off, and then insisting that he hold the ropes open for Elizabeth in contrast to his demands that she do the same for him during his prime as a heel and providing a visual representation of the change in the core dynamic of his character. Now, instead of Elizabeth's chastiser he was her protector.   

Two Dave Hebners...Perhaps The Single Greatest Angle Of All Time?

Prompted perhaps to reconsider his long term plans or maybe just wanting to avoid drawing Savage's ire, Vince changed the planned WWF Title reign of Ted DiBiase following the twin referee debacle orchestrated by Ted DiBiase at the ending of the Hogan-Andre match on The Main Event and the resulting tournament was instead flipped to Savage outlasting and taking the title in the final match of WrestleMania IV.  To punctuate the friendship between the two, Hogan not only came out and saved Savage from a beating at the hands of DiBiase and Andre on the March Saturday Night's Main Event preceding WrestleMania, but also got revenge on the two by costing the Million Dollar Man the title in the final match of tournament, smashing him over the back with a steel chair as Referee Dave Hebner was distracted with Andre after he'd attempted to interfere several times during the match. 

In What Will Grow To Become A Trend, Hulk Hogan "Celebrates" A Randy Savage Title Win. 

With a suitable replacement now in place, Hogan took off for several months to film "No Holds Barred" and prepare for the birth of his daughter, Brooke, while Savage slipped into the feud with DiBiase and Andre was diverted to a house show program with "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan until Hogan returned in the Summer.  Andre The Giant and Bobby Heenan baited Savage during a podium interview, allowing DiBiase & Virgil to get the jump on him, and Virgil held Elizabeth and made her watch as the two heels beat her man down.  In the weeks following, the WWF ran several "Update" segments that are almost laughable in the predictability of their outcome, pondering who would take up the challenge and join Savage to face the two at the inaugural SummerSlam. But sometimes you need to deliver the fans what they want and expect, and savvy fans should be able to see much of whats coming if its executed logically.  

The Mega-Powers Are Officially A Team! 

The SummerSlam match effectively ended both the DiBiase and Andre feuds and solidified the MegaPowers as a unit (down to the matching gear), while also subtly establishing Hogan as the dominant member of the team by allowing him to score the winning pinfall, not to mention his embrace of Elizabeth as she wore her "little teeny itsy bitsy yellow polka dot bikini" which ended up as a skirt with a swimsuit bottom as Savage's real life insecurities wouldn't allow him to permit his wife to be exposed too fully before the slobbering masses, a window into his psyche that would be exploited later on in the ultimate turning point of this saga.  

With DiBiase and Andre now sufficiently vanquished, a pair of seemingly unlikely candidates were chosen for the next opponents to threaten the duo.  The former Big Bubba Rogers, poached from mid-card purgatory in Jim Crockett Promotions, and given the gimmick of the "Big Boss Man", a vicious prison guard based on his occupation before his entry in the professional wrestling business, was programmed with Hogan, famously handcuffing him to a guardrail and beating him down with his nightstick on the Brother Love Show.  

The Hulkster Serves Hard Time

The choice for Savage's new dance partner was both somewhat underwhelming and a bit of a head scratcher.  For some reason, the WWF braintrust saw fit to convert One Man Gang, who had been a very effective heel in the UWF in 1987 and also the WWF to a certain extent, into Akeem, a very inside joke on Dusty Rhodes' perceived status as a white man trying to convey a "black" affectation.  Why they chose to sacrifice a credible heel for a comedy gimmick while still programming him as a main event sort of baffles me, especially since there was no angle to setup the program between him and the world champion, the only reason presented as to why they would be rivals was the fact that they were both associated with Hogan and Bossman respectively.  

One Man Gang Discusses Vince Turning Him Into "Akeem".  

But really, the feud between The Mega-Powers and The Twin Towers was merely a vehicle to establish and exploit the tension between Savage and Hogan.  Each team co-captained their respective squads at the Survivor Series, and Hogan was notably given his own solo entrance after Savage was introduced with the rest of the team, and for the first time their gear was mismatched, Savage wearing yellow kneepads and the "Megapowers" trunks while Hogan wore his traditional gear, and we saw the first indication that anything was amiss between the two when Savage seemed to be irate at Hogan's embrace of Elizabeth during the post-match celebration, a reaction that Jesse Ventura harped on in the interview at the end of the broadcast.  

From then on, the tension between the two was touched on with increasing frequency we entered 1989. Hogan inadvertently eliminated Savage from the Royal Rumble as he was tangled in the ropes with Bad News Brown and the two came to blows before being calmed down by Elizabeth. 

Hogan came out and saved Savage from a Towers beat-down on an episode of WWF Superstars, and Savage reacted by being upset at Hogan's interference and grandstanding following the bout, directing Elizabeth out of the ring before Hogan could engage her in the celebration.   

Soon thereafter, Hogan faced Akeem on an episode of Saturday Night's Main Event, and when he faced a similar beat down, Savage refused to get involved as Elizabeth begged for his assistance as they watched on a monitor, interjecting himself only when Elizabeth herself was threatened, ominously lingering over Hogan with the steel chair in his hands even after the heels had been chased away.   

  

This all led to a Mega-Powers Twin Towers match up being booked for The Main Event II broadcast.  Before, the team made an appearance on The Brother Love Show, where Hogan admitted that he loved Elizabeth..."like a sister", leading to Savage doing a double-take and openly seething in reaction to the comment.  Nonetheless, he seemed to brush off his anger and both were focused going into the big showdown on February 3. 

The match seemed to be going fine until fate intervened and Akeem tossed Savage out of the ring and onto Elizabeth, crushing her in a bump that seems incredible today though that reaction is no doubt informed by her perceived "fragility" as opposed to her actual physical durability.  With Savage and Elizabeth both down, Hogan ran over to tend to both of them, with Savage rising as Hogan cradled his woman in his arms.  As Savage stared and pointed accusingly, Akeem pulled him into the ring just as he seemed poised to strike and Hogan ran to the back with Elizabeth in his arms like a Universal Monster from the '50s.  In a bit of incredibly bad acting, Hogan begged and begged Elizabeth to come to even though at worst she probably just suffered a concussion.  As Savage battled both Towers in the ring, Elizabeth awoke, and confused that Hogan was at her side and not in the ring, implored him to go back and "help Randy".  Hogan took his corner just as Savage was mounting a comeback, only to earn a slap to the face as Randy took his belt and left Hogan on his own.  After quickly dispatching of Bossman and Akeem, Hogan himself stormed back to the first aid center where he'd taken, Elizabeth, demanding an explanation as Randy ranted incessantly Elizabeth about being "number 3 in the Mega-Powers".  

 All of Savage's fears regarding his partner had were seemingly becoming reality, and his insecurities had reached their peak. Not only had Hogan eclipsed him as the more prominent member of the team, coveted both his title and his woman, and he had eclipsed Savage in his role as her savior and protector as well.  Seemingly on the verge of a psychotic break, Savage had no choice to save his own sanity and sense of self but to lash out and attack Hogan, smashing him with the title belt and violently tossing Elizabeth to the floor when she lay over Hogan to protect him from further attack.  Savage had completed his reversion back to his original heel character, though this was a more violent, paranoid version. Later in the broadcast, Hogan,  deep in a state of rage and denial,  finally snapped, going on a rampage through the locker room and attacking several babyfaces as he screamed Randy's name.  

Savage's breakdown seemed to reach it's climax following the Saturday Night's Main Event the following month, when Elizabeth announced that she would indeed be in a "neutral corner" at WrestleMania V when they battled for the WWF Title, supporting both men but favoring neither.  In the wake of this, "Macho Madness" became a self fulfilling prophecy and Savage disintegrated into a sweat soaked, wild eyed, enraged beast keen on revenge as everything that his ego had been based around the past four years seemed to crumble around him.  He had been rendered ripe for the picking. 

One day short of two months after Savage's turn, the day had arrived, WrestleMania V, in the thematically appropriate setting of Trump Plaza, site of WrestleMania IV and Macho Man's title win one year earlier. 

The match, while fun and certainly not bad, seems a bit constrained by the story line elements in the match and lacks the energy and urgency of their 85 & 86 matches, though Savage goes all out, enduring a Hogan running body slam from the center of the ring to the floor while suffering from a life threatening staph infection in his elbow that necessitated the white bandage he wears during the match.  Much of the match's focus centers around Elizabeth until she is ejected by the referee before the final third of the bout.  It's sense of drama is also hurt by its inevitable conclusion.  The program would've had more legs to it had Savage been able to somehow hold onto the title, either via a disqualification loss or god forbid by defeating Hogan somehow, but in the end the Hogan formula of big boot and leg drop was not to be varied from at this point in time.  Savage was effectively dispatched and back in the role of top heel that he'd necessarily abandoned when Steamboat took his hiatus and Hogan had reascended his throne as only the second 2-time WWF Champion at that point of time. 

The feud lasted on the house show circuit through the Summer returning to the formula of their first run with Savage mostly winning by count-out to build to return matches, but their rivalry was almost instantly diluted by the additions of Brutus Beefcake and Zeus into the picture, one to promote Hogan's best friend into the main event picture and the second to bolster his first starring role.  After SummerSlam 1989, Savage was saddled with the "King" gimmick that while previously being a solidly mid-card appellation he managed to make his own.   The next year at Main Event III, they had their final match against each other with newly crowned Heavyweight Boxing Champion Buster Douglas (replacing Mike Tyson) as the special guest referee.  

Back in 1989,  to the casual viewer, there seemed to be nothing questionable about Hogan's comments and actions that would've prompted Savage to unhinge in the way that he did. In hind sight it can be construed as a very conscious effort on his part to target and exploit Macho Man's one Achilles heel, his jealousy and paranoia surrounding Elizabeth. And given what we know now about Hogan's predilection for sleeping with his friends' wives, there is even more food for thought here. Could Hogan's actions following Survivor Series been all a devious plot to unhinge Randy and push him to brink, thus prompting Hogan back into the title picture all the while making it seem as though Savage was the villain in the scenario? On the WWE "Rivalries" DVD that they released several years ago, C.M. Punk commented on this, telling the story of the feud from Macho Man's perspective and framing Hogan as the villain.  As time has passed, retrospect does not look fondly upon The Hulkster, and besides, what kind of a person has nearly every one of his friends turn on him violently?  Even Brutus Beefcake! 

Over the next decade, Hogan and Savage found themselves both on the same side and opposite sides of the ring, and their real life friendship has many notable ups and downs, much of it stemming from Randy's real life divorce from Elizabeth in 1992.  Savage was no doubt the best opponent and partner that Hogan ever had, and seemed to be utilized whenever Hulk wanted someone to team or feud with that he felt comfortable he could draw money with.  Incredibly, Savage lost the WCW World Title to Hogan twice, both times on the day after the ppv after he'd won it. In all six of the world title reigns he enjoyed over his career in the WWF and WCW, Randy Savage dropped the titles to only two men, Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair.  Though his reputation for handling business in a professional manner was lauded by his peers, Savage seemed to enjoy taking a bit of a career full of Hogan-related frustrations out on their perpetrator in their last match against each other in July 1999 on Nitro, whipping him viciously with his own weight belt until you can see Hogan clearly ask beg him to lighten up as the beating seems to have no end in sight.  Later in life, he challenged Hogan to a real life fight for charity and called him out in a notorious dis track on his rap album. 

According to Hogan, he and Savage ran into each other in a Florida hospital months before Savage died. Perhaps Randy had finally decided to put down the sword, as many in the wrestling business who knew him and ran into him later in life found him unrecognizable, his beard white and physique that of a normal man in his late '50s.  Some have disputed this claim, and as have said, when Hogan opens his mouth...That said, he was chosen to induct Savage in the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2015.   

Like Flair & Rhodes, Austin & McMahon, Hart & Michaels, and Lawler & Dundee, Hulk Hogan & Randy Savage are eternally married to each other in the annals of wrestling history in a dance of admiration and acrimony that has only grown in legend in the last 30 years.  The arc from Saturday Night's Main Event in October 1987 to WrestleMania V is perhaps the most carefully paced and effectively executed long term story line in the history of pro wrestling, a fairy tale of brotherhood told in Shakespearean beats of bombast, bravado and perceived lust torn asunder by one man's inability to resist the charms of his own ego and another's inexorable decline into the toxic masculinity that created and summarily destroyed him.  

Classic TV Review: WWF Championship Wrestling January 21, 1984

WWF Championship Wrestling: January 14, 1984 

From the Agricultural Hall Allentown, Pennsylvania Taped January 3, 1984

Vince and Gene's intro is abruptly cut off.  We're back with good ole Joe McHugh who is quickly growing on me.

Dr. D. David Schultz d. Jimmy Jackson in 2:00.

Schultz wastes no time flooring Jackson with a back suplex followed by a flurry of elbows, yelling "get up, boy!" as he drives him into the corner then hits a stiff back breaker. Another suplex as Piper claps from the outside.  Schultz hits a reverse neckbreaker (rude awakening).  Jackson tries to fight back but Dr. D isnt in the mood to give him much.  Schultz hits another slam and then his flying elbow from the top.  "Look at Piper with the kilt on!: Vince exclaims as Piper and Schultz high five each other. 

Tito Santana d. "Butcher" Paul Vachon in 2:20.

Man, it must have been depressing to be a star in the territorial era only to have it come to this once the expansion happens.  A fan has a sign that reads, "Sensational Santana".  Howard Finkel voices over a Maple Leaf Garden card hyping Piper wrestling, so I guess he's only a manager exclusively on t.v.  Santana gives Vachon a bit just as Snuka did last year, but perhaps they both realized that the notoriously tough Vachons will just take it if you don't give it.  Santana fights back after a back rake, whipping Vachon into the corner, but the ref distracts Santana allowing Vachon to take over.  He's all back rakes, drags across the top rope and bites.  A pair of dropkicks  and the flying forearm from Santana finishes off the Butcher. 

Gene with arena promos pushing a card in Buffalo.  Fuji in for an interview plugging his match with Tiger Lee challenging Atlas & Johnson for the tag belts.  Fuji says that the belts once belonged to Fuji and will again. He then brings out a samurai sword, pretending to shave himself, so at least if Atlas & Johnson lose the belts they'll get a shave out of the deal. Gene says he "gets as nervous as a long tail cats in a room full of rocking chairs" when Fuji unleashes his sword. Santana is in, he'll challenge Magnificent Muraco for the Intercontinental Title.  Santana says that Muraco is overlooking him and looking at the new champion The Sheik, so we're back to Sheik as champion here.  Sgt. Slaughter blows his whistle, holding a rolled up piece of paper in his hand.  He's facing "Andre The Maggot".  Slaughter says Buffalo is "garbage". Slaughter is calling Andre's bluff and calls himself the greatest wrestler of all time.  He says Andre will be called "the midget maggot" once Slaughter is done. Slaughter was really ahead of his time with getting a character based gimmick complete with catchphrases over.  

A Weird Angle...

The Iron Sheik d. Mike Dorsett in 1:48.

Fuji is in the ring and Vince informs us that The Iron Sheik was originally supposed to be here in Fuji's place, which immediately brings him out with Ayatollah Blassie. Blassie tries to get Fuji out of the ring while the ref mediates.  Finally Fuji bows and leaves.  What a weird kind of pointless angle.  Maybe they're trying to put over the idea of substitutions before the Hogan win that's coming up soon?  Fans chant USA vociferously.  Sheik dominates while Finkel does a voiceover offering charter subscriptions to Victory Magazine.  Sheik slams Dorsett down, stomping him the curl toed boots.  Dorsett fights back briefly but Dorsett takes a boot to the face then hits him with a back suplex and taps him with the camel clutch.  Iron Sheik takes the mike and does his "Iran Number One" schtick.  

One Of These Men Probably Killed Someone...

The Invaders d.Ken Jugan & Israel Matia in 3:31.

Holy shit, Brody's murderer on 1984 WWF TV.  Guessing this was some sort of talent trade deal between WWF and WWC.  Weird absence of commentary at the beginning of the match.  Jobbers are playing heel here as Matia who is bald claims one of the Invaders pulled the hair.  Matia gets bounced around the ring with a bunch of hiptosses.  Quick tags in and out from the Invaders. Vince seems to be building a rivalry between Invaders and Samoans based on how difficult each team is to tell apart from each other.  C'mon, Afa and Sika don't look THAT much alike.  You even bothered to give them their own names unlike Samoan #3.  Vince announces Paul Orndorff versus Tony Garea for next week.  In a finish I've never seen before, Invader#1 hooks Jugan under the arms like a double arm chicken wing while invader#2 comes off the top onto Jugan with a swanton splash for the pin.  The camera strangely focuses on some guy returning to his seat holding concessions.

Hot Rod Berating A Poor Jobber

Paul Orndorff d. Rudy Diamond in 3:41.

Somehow McHugh butchers "Rowdy" when introducing Piper as Orndorff's manager.  Vince keeps pushing Piper's prowess as a wrestler, so perhaps the plan wasn't always for him to stay as a manager.  Orndorff and Piper warn the coat boy to take care of his robe as the crowd chants "Paula" drawing Ordorff's ire.  Diamond is barefoot which I don't think I've ever seen in a jobber.  Finkel does a voiceover that is so quiet as to be barely audible.  Orndorff viciously stomps Diamond then tosses him from the ring.  He is a really great brutal heel, the total jock jerk who picks on everyone.   He hammers Diamond who falls back into the ring and stomps him more. Piper yells loudly at Diamond from inside the ring.  Diamond tries to fight back with headbutts, the go-to for every black wrestler back in the day.  Orndorff drops Diamond with a suplex but pulls him up at 2 at Piper's behest.  Orndorff hits his excellent piledriver, pinning Diamond with his foot.  Piper yells at McHugh causing McHugh to chuckle as he announces Orndorff as the winner.  

Jose Luis Rivera d. Frankie Williams in 2:35.

Williams of course will become the first victim of Piper in the Pit when it debuts next week, I believe.  He is indeed announced as being from "Columbus, Ohio."  They lock up and Rivera grabs a headlock which Williams reverses into an arm bar.  Another inaudible voiceover from Finkel.  There is more parity in this match then I've seen in an enhancement match this side of Primetime Wrestling. They push the Orndorff-Garea in a loser becomes an agent match.  Vince announces that Hogan will be here, no doubt to push the title win that happens Monday.  Williams swings at Rivera, who ducks and picks Williams up in the fireman's carry for the pin.  This was pretty much just a filler segment to get other stuff over on commentary.  A graphic for next month's feature bout of Orndorff vs. Garea.  

And the episode weirdly cuts off.  No Victory Corner this week, which is just as well I suppose as the Pit is coming soon and is a 100x improvement.  This seemed like a filler episode as it was the last of the taping set.  If I didn't know better I'd say there were only like 10 people on the roster as over the past three weeks they've only put over a select few guys.  Next week should be focused around the debut of Piper's Pit and the announcement of Hogan as the new champ.   

Before I review the Janaury 28 episode, I'll review the MSG Show from January 23 where Hogan wins the title, so be on the lookout for that soon.  

Classic Wrestling TV Review: WWF Championship Wrestling January 14, 1984

WWF Championship Wrestling: January 14, 1984 

From the Agricultural Hall Allentown, Pennsylvania Taped January 3, 1984

The copy I have cut out the opening, so we start out with our trusty geriatric ring announcer Joe McHugh. 

Sgt. Slaughter d. Mike Dorsett in 3:43.

Slaughter comes out to the "The Marine's Hymn," one of the few on the roster to have music played for their entrance which really sets him apart. I think the story goes is that The Freebirds were the first to employ music in the entrance, Slaughter second and Hogan third.  A fan in the crowd holds a sign that reads: "Gomer Is A Maggot".  Gene uses a favorite phrase of his: "Forty Miles Of Bad Road", describing Dorsett's eventual fate in this match. A heel fan has a sign that says "Join The Cobra Corps in 84" while another holds Sarge's photo from the calendar, so he's already starting to catch on with the crowd.  Slaughter pinches the ref's belly and Vince states he prefers everyone to stay "slim and trim" which is funny considering the pot belly he was rocking when he returned in 1990 for his title run.  That said, Slaughter is in pretty good shape here.  He basically just beats the shit out of Dorsett.  Another forty miles of bad road" from Gene.  Slaughter slingshots Dorsett face first into the turnbuckle with Vince calls "the slaughter cannon".  Dorsett tries to fight back but Sarge no sells it until Dorsett rakes the eyes.  However, this just pisses Sarge off and he cuts Dorsett off and drops him gut first on the top rope before finishing him with the cobra clutch.  After the match Sarge lifts Dorsett to his feet only to knock him back onto his ass with a stiff clothesline. 

Gene with some arena promos. In an incredible slip up, Gene announces Hogan as beating Sheik for the title in the Garden in the match that doesn't even happen for another 9 days.  Ivan Putski comes in to plug the Battle Royal at the Olympic Auditorium in L.A.  Putski isn't much without the polish accent.  Halfway through the promo Gene informs Putski that the purse for the battle royal has been raised from 30 grand to 50 grand which compels Putski to exclaim loudly before charging away.  Next is Sheik and Ayatollah Blassie. "Listen, that pencil neck geek can't even count to fifty thousand," Blassie insists referring to Putski. Blassie then refers to Sheik losing the belt to Hogan as well, so someone fucked up here and dropped the wrong week's promo into this slot. I can't imagine the coronary Vince would have these days if someone made such a mistake.  Tito Santana comes in.  Tito panders to the L.A. fans and talks about watching the Rams win the Superbowl recently and compares the Battle Royal to the Superbowl of wrestling.  Now we have Andre, who was on Letterman just a few days before this.  Andre and Gene surmise that there will be 6 thousand pounds in the ring.  Andre seems to think that Battle Royals are called "Royal Royals" but that just might be his accent.  

They keep teasing ads for the WWF Calendar but whoever clipped this episode cuts it out. 

"Superfly" Jimmy Snuka d. "Butcher" Paul Vachon in 2:55.

Up until last week, Snuka was the most over face in the company. He's still quite popular here, though there are a few audible boos in the crowd so perhaps they were hip to his recent "troubles".  Vachon dominates early, taking Snuka down with punches, Snuka selling quite a bit probably just out of respect for the veteran.  Vachon is classic old school heel down to the eye rakes.  Vachon beats Snuka in the corner then choking and biting Superfly.  Snuka fights back, pulling Vachon to the middle of the ring and knocking him down with a headbutt, then climbing to the top and rather than hitting a splash hits another awkward looking headbutt.  So Snuka's offense consisted of two moves. 

Victory Corner with Dr. D David Schultz

Host Robert DeVord joined by guest Dr. D David Schultz, sans Roddy Piper. Schultz says he's here for competition naming all the top faces, then confesses that he wanders the streets going into honky tonks and bars looking for a fight. He says when he can't do that he sits at home and turns on the tv and dreams about fighting the wrestlers on there.  He then threatens DeVord who brushes Dr. D off and quickly ends the segment.  Wrestling needs more guys like Schultz who just come off like a dude who would try to fuck you up in a bar if you looked at them wrong. 

"Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff (with Roddy Piper) d. Hercules Vasquez in 4:41.

Piper reaches in and grabs the ref by the belt towards the rope, insisting he give Orndorff more time to prepare before starting the match. Fans are immediately on Orndorff with the "Paula" chants.  Vince reads a letter from a fan mentioning Orndorff's tendency to stall at the beginning of his matches.  Piper takes his time helping Orndorff with his robe.  Yet another full minute of stalling and Vasquez is getting restless. They finally lock up and Orndorff pushes him into the ropes, teasing a clean break then beating Vasquez down.  Orndorff slams him down hard and drops a knee across the throat, then jumps off the top with an elbow.  Orndorff drops Vasquez with another fist before rocking Vasquez with the most legit looking piledriver in the business.  How he doesn't fucking kill guys on this I'll never know but that's the magic.  Vince drools a little over Orndorff's physique ("Oh my!").  

Magnificent Muraco d. Special Delivery Jones in 4:30.

Captain Lou Albano is notable by his absence here. The green title belts in this era was an odd choice.  Fans chant "beach bum" at Muraco who is just mr. cool here.  Muraco backs Jones into the corner but backs off, seeming incredulous that the ref would even think he would do something cheap.  S.D. tries for a test of strength but Muraco backs off.  Jones tries to fire up and slaps Muraco who smiles. Jones continues to slap Muraco, finally drawing him in allowing Jones to get the best of him as Muraco finally sells the slaps.  Jones grabs a headlock After some selling Muraco counters with a reverse snapmare then stomps Jones on the mat.  Muraco comes off the ropes with an asian spike to the throat and a kneelift to the face as Jones staggers back to his feet.  Muraco downs Jones with an elbow to the back of the head then taunts him, drawing fists to the gut from Jones who backs Muraco into the corner.  Muraco counters a charge, then climbs to the top and drives his knee into Jone's head as he does a free fall from the top driving his knee into Jones' head.  As they climb to his feet Jones hits a quick suplex, but Muraco counters this into a cradle as they land and cinches Jones in for the pin. 

Jose Luis Rivera d. Tony Colon in 3:10.

Color me shocked that Joe McHugh pronounced "Colon" properly because he had no idea with "Jose Luis Rivera".  Colon tries some funny business but immediately gets sent out of the ring.  Rivera keeps taking Colon down with arm drags, sending him out again.  Rivera grabs a headlock, taking him over to the mat.  Gene puts over the "maturation process" that has occurred with Hulk Hogan in the past few years.  Vince calls Hogan "one of the greatest wrestlers in history" and "300 pounds of hunk".  Rivera works Colon down with a leg hold. Colon tries to whip Rivera into the corner, but Rivera counters by leaping over the top, swinging around the post and knocking Colon's head into the turnbuckle before climbing back in.  Rivera whips Colon in for a high dropkick, then drops him in what looked to be an attempted fireman's carry, immediately trying again and turning it into an airplane spin, dropping him to the mat for the pin.  I think that has to be the first time in my life i've ever seen a match end with an airplane spin.  Rivera is fine but in a world where you also have Tito Santana as a latin babyface he doesn't stand much of a chance. 

We now cut to a clip taken from WWE Classics on Demand from this episode in much higher quality than the rest of the video, as Gene interviews Hogan and Backlund.  Based on the commentary in the previous match, I think this originally aired at the beginning of the episode but whoever put this together saw fit to put it on the end. Hogan and Backlund shake hands.  Hogan says that the reception he got coming back made him feel like a babe in new arms.  He said he's been training hard with Backlund and "the excitement he puts off gives me chills" which is a stretch, to say the least. Backlund said nothing here, which is just mean. If he didn't see the writing on the wall here, he's a fool, whether or not he can rattle of the names of all the U.S. Presidents in order.

Hulk Hogan & Bob Backlund d. Mr. Fuji & Tiger Chung Lee in 4:12.

McHugh confirms that this is the opening match.  Backlund starts off of course, gotta make the fans wait for Hogan.  Lee pushes Backlund into the corner, but Backlund crawls beneath his legs and quickly tags Hogan.  Fuji grabs an armbar but Hogan reverses it, bringing Lee back in.  Hogan and Backlund essentially just work Lee's arm, tagging in and out frequently.  Lee works Hogan down with some blows to the ribs until Hogan just decides to no sell them and gives him the Hulk-up face. Hogan backs Lee into the corner with punches them tosses him into the other corner, downing him an atomic drop, Fuji breaking up the pin. Backlund is back in, but Lee quickly takes control, and he and Fuji work the arm. Gene states that "the past few weeks must have been terribly traumatic" for Backlund in light of his title loss.  Did Backlund fire Skaaland in story line due to the finish of the Sheik match or did he just appear in his corner for arena matches? Hogan is back as a house of fire, quickly sending Fuji out then quickly defeating Lee with the trademark clothesline-bodyslam-legdrop combo.  

Paul Orndorff d. S.D. Jones in 5:45. 

This is a match that ended up on the end of this tape somehow. Monsoon is on commentary with Gene and they inform us this is from the All-American Wrestling episode that aired the next day. Wasn't going to review this match since it wasn't actually from the show, but then I fast forwarded and saw that there is a Piper promo afterwards and there isn't any point in history where I'm not going to watch a Roddy Piper promo from 1984 if I come across one. Short story here is that Orndorff destroys Jones with piledriver. 

Piper & Orndorff join Gene at the interview set. "M-o-o-s-e! M-o-o-s-e!" Piper exclaims discussing the women who are gawking at Mr. Wonderful's body.  He say the men who call Orndorff Paula "all weigh 280 pounds and the girls next to them weigh 20 pounds more!" Piper says all the women need are "antlers and fur".  Gene cuts off the promo as Piper continues to go on and on.  

This was a fine episode, not as legendary as last week. There is definitely a select groups of guys they are trying to get/keep over (Hogan, Orndorff, Dr. D & Piper, Muraco, Santana, Sheik, Slaughter). Hogan's arrival has turned the entire promotion upside down, and in 15 months the two top faces before he arrived, Backlund and Snuka will be gone. It will be interesting to see how that lineup expands in the next few weeks. 

Classic TV Review: WWF Championship Wrestling January 7, 1984

I recently finished Tim Hornbaker's excellent book, Death Of The Territories, which chronicles Vince McMahon's WWF's incredible rise to the wrestling promotion of choice in the national marketplace and the subsequent, seemingly inexorable decline of territorial wrestling system that was beaten into submission by Vince's brilliant, cunning and at times Machiavellian business practices.  There are in-depth reviews of the book to be found around the net so I'll simply say that it carries my recommendation as the wrestling book of 2018, at least until I finish up the new Nitro book. 

I'm always looking for new wrestling to re-watch, especially older stuff that I might've missed the first time around.  While I've seen most of the big stuff from 80's WWF from about 1985-on, but as I didn't start watching regularly until November 1987, I thought it might be fun to go through starting with January 1984 and review the weekly WWF  TV to track the story in real time.

WWF Championship Wrestling January 7, 1984 

This is the legendary episode where Hulk Hogan, Gene Okerlund, David Schultz and Roddy Piper (Hogan, Okerlund & Schultz all infamously poached in the middle of the night from the AWA) all made their first appearance in what can be only viewed now as nothing less than a very strong "statement of purpose" from Vince McMahon as to where the tone and timber of his rapidly expanding promotion was heading.

I have never understood why in the Backlund-era intro to this show the shot of Snuka doing the Superfly splash with no boots in from one side of the ring suddenly cuts to a different shot of him jumping from the other side of the ring with boots on?  Either way, he absolutely KILLS the dude on impact.  Also the clip of pre-buzz cut "recite every President or I won't give you an autograph" high school assistant principal Bob Backlund is a testament to the fact that he was indeed over at one point before Billy Graham destroyed his belt, he cut his hair and became a lot less likable.

From the Agricultural Hall  Allentown, Pennsylvania Taped January 3, 1984

We open with an ever broad-shouldered 38 year old Vince McMahon in a powder blue suit who introduces the debuting "Mean" Gene Okerlund as his "sidekick". They push the debut of "Dr. D" as well as the first appearance of The Iron Sheik since defeating Backlund for the WWF Title in Madison Square Garden on December 26. They announce that Backlund will be taking on "Samoan #3" in a bout that was "originally supposed to be a tag team match, more on that later" (Spoiler: it's never explained why it was changed for a tag match).

Joe McHugh, who throughout this program has a curious affinity for mispronouncing names, is the ring announcer.  He also can't be anywhere south of seventy years old which makes me sad for Howard Finkel.

WWF Tag Team Champions Rocky Johnson & Tony Atlas d. Bill Dixon & Charlie Fulton  in 3:12.
Perhaps already figuring out that the jobbers are wrestling Johnson & Atlas, they are booed by the contingency here in Allentown. Johnson looks like he's eyeing someone in the crowd before the bell rings, perhaps a young Rock was in the crowd?  Throughout the program each match features an overdubbed advertisement from Howard Finkel pushing a different house show card.  Gene describes an armdrag from Johnson to Dixon as "some kind of armbar", which is why he's a better interviewer than commentator. Johnson escapes from a leghold at the hands of Dixon with an impressive reverse roll up onto his feet in one smooth movement. Atlas is decidely less graceful, dominating their opponents with power moves.  The finish off Dixon with a graceful doubleteam as Atlas whips Dixon tagging Johnson, allowing Rocky to catch him with a sunset flip on the rebound for the pin.

"Dr. D." David Schultz (with Roddy Piper) d. Steve Lombardi in 1:48.
McHugh announces Lombardi as "Lombardo" which Gene repeats throughout the match.  Though Piper is a heel, he is cheered by a fair portion of the crowd, probably a sign that they were tape traders or at least read the magazines and knew that Piper was the hottest baby face aside from Ric Flair in Mid-Atlantic before being lured by McMahon just a month after Starrcade 83. Vince calls Piper "a wrestler extraordinaire apparently now trying his hand as a manager".  It seems as though Piper was brought in to take The Grand Wizard's spot after his death a few months earlier.  Schultz puts the hurt on "Lombardo" clearly trying to get over strong in his first appearance, finishing him off with a backwards elbow off the top.  Schultz goes back onto the apron to have his hand raised by the referee.

Schultz and Piper cut a promo with Gene immediately following the match.  Whatever goodwill Piper might've had with the fans when he was first introduced was quickly erased with his classic aggravating, rapid fire, quick witted master heel interview.  That said, as good as Piper was, Schultz didn't really need a manager as he could get over pretty well on his own with his redneck shtick, so this was a good example of the old WWF philosophy of every heel needing a manager proving itself to be a bit out-dated.

Gene does some promos with Sgt. Slaughter, Tito Santana and The Samoans with Capt Lou Albano plugging a Battle Royal in Los Angeles, which I believe was the first WWF card held in Los Angeles.

WWF Heavyweight Champion The Iron Sheik (with "Ayatollah" Fred Blassie d. John Callahan in 2:14.
Well, the fans HATE Sheik, except for the one smart ass teen aged heel fan who is displaying Sheik's pic from the WWF 1984 calendar. As tasteless as it is, I can't help but get a kick out of "Ayatollah" Fred Blassie, complete with Arabian head scarf, grinning like the Cheshire cat.  Fans begin chanting "We Want Backlund" as Sheik makes quick work out of his opponent, finishing him off with the camel clutch. We see a shot of a fan holding a sign that reads: "Backlund Is My Champion".

More arena promos with Gene promoting the MSG card later that month where Hogan will replace Backlund and win the title from The Sheik.  Gene brings in Sheik and "Ayatollah" Blassie who calls Arnold Skaaland Backlund's "Chicken liver manager" who threw in the towel and informs us that "they'd have to kill the Sheik" before he'd willingly sacrifice the title. Sheik gives praise to the real Ayatollah, compelling Blassie to look to the heavens and proclaim "Bali Bali!" Tito Santana comes in for his second promo of this show, building up his challenge to Magnificent Muraco for the Intercontinental Title. Muraco was pretty much the perennial champion in the early days of the title, but Santana was about to begin a solid 2 year off and on run with the strap.  Muraco and Albano follow, with Captain Lou delivering some butchered Spanish to insult Santana's fan.  Muraco delivers a great promo about how when you come to MSG  you don't come to see the Stones, you come to see Jagger.  When you come to see wrestling you come to see Magnificence. He does a great job starting out very mellowly before becoming quite animated as he gets into the promo, compelling Albano to howl with laughter and proclaim proudly, "He's sick, my man is sick"!  I haven't seen much of heel Muraco but he seems pretty great.

Tito Santana d. Bob Bradley in 2:40.
Bradley is a perennial jobber in the Duane Gill and Reno Riggins category up into the early 90s on WWF TV.  Finkel does voice over promo for a bunch of house shows, all which take place in New York state which speaks to the density and incredible financial windfall that the area provided.  Vince reads a question from a fan, "What's the highest that Jimmy Snuka has ever leaped and has anyone ever leaped any higher?" Vince refers to the cage dive that Snuka did in MSG, incorrectly referring to the match as a "victory" (he lost to both Backlund and Muraco in those cage matches).  Vince informs us that Mildred Burke wrote in to correct and errenous comment from Pat Patterson a couple of weeks before where Pat claimed that Moolah beat Burke for her Women's title.  Tito knocks Bradley out with the flying forearm.

Victory Corner with The Iron Sheik and Ayatollah Blassie
Very odd to see the set that would become Piper's Pit later in the month.  Sheik states that Iran is known for two things: "Oil and wrestling."  He uses his shoot name and refers to his Olympic experience.  It's kind of funny that they give Sheik a manager, presumably due to his accent but he, not Blassie ends up carrying most of the promos.  Blassie didn't say a word here.

Masked Superstar d. Victor Mercardo in 1:17.
McHugh calls Puerto Rico "Puerto Rica".  Wrestling needs more masked gimmicks that aren't just luchadores.  Superstar finishes Mercardo off quickly with a swinging neck breaker.  Some fans in the crowd wear grocery bags on their heads with stars written on them.  Vince slips up and announces that we'll find out "why we won't see Backlund in the title match, er, the tag team match rather", showing their hand on the angle where Hogan replaces Backlund against Sheik in the Garden.

Bob Backlund d. Samoan #3 by disqualification in 4:34.
For some reason they didn't bother to give the future Samu a name.  Afa & Sika along with Albano keep trying to grab at Backlund from outside the ring, so he quickly goes back and brings in Hogan to an enormous pop.  All I can say watching this is that I hope Backlund saved his money and if he didn't see the writing on the wall here then he needs to get his eyes checked because this was like walking from one dimension into another.  Okerlund reminds us of Hogan's appearance in "Rocky 3". Quickly enough, it all breaks down and The Samoans and Hogan all run in.  In a very subtle but telling spot, Backlund punches Albano who merely does the windmill sell, but when Hogan punches him he takes a bump which is very rare for Albano. It's those little touches that you don't see in wrestling anymore, these days they hit you over the head with everything. The fans stand and crane their necks to watch Hogan and Backlund as they leave, absolutely electrified.  Vince seems like he's going to blow a gasket. "That's 300 pounds in there!"

Hogan and Backlund join Gene.  The fans loudly chant "Hogan!" Backlund assures us that Hogan's "changed his ways and won't have Blassie around anymore," referring to Hogan's heel run in 3 years earlier.  Imagine them referring to story lines from 3 years ago today. Turns out if you treat that stuff like it matters, it well, and your angles and characters will have more depth and resonance.  Hogan thanks the fans and so overwhelmed with excitement that he just has to tear his shirt off, sending the fans into a frenzy of excitement.

More promos for the January MSG show.  Backlund comes in.  Maybe it's because I mainly know him from his heel run in 1994, but his hushed, charisma vacuum delivery just makes him come off like your boring Uncle who tries to read you bible verses after dinner.  Bob says the worst day of his life was having to tell his daughter that he was no longer the WWF Champion and she said simply, "Dad, we have to get that back."  Backlund promises to be champ again, which he was though it took him almost 11 years to do so.

Mr. Fuji d. Denny Hill in 2:19.
Hill is announced as "Dennis" Hill.  Fuji is winding down here and will take Albano's spot as heel manager when Albano turns face later this year.  He's one of those workers that you watch today and shake your head wondering "how did people think this was real?"  Fuji is about as phony as it gets with weak kicks and chops that the much larger Hill has to sell unbelievably.  Vince announces Fuji & Tiger Chung Lee vs. Hulk Hogan & Bob Backlund for next week.  Fuji pins Hill after a running back splash.

As simple as it was, this one was of the best hour long wrestling shows I've seen.  The debut of Hogan was like switching from black and white to color when comparing him with Backlund.  Frankly, I was excited when the show was over to see what was in store for next week.  WWF is off to a great start in 1984.