WWF Superstars of Wrestling – October 29th, 1988

October 29, 1988

From the Allen County War Memorial in Fort Wayne, IN

Your hosts are Jesse “The Body” Ventura and Vince McMahon

This week, we will get a special update on the condition of Hulk Hogan. In action are Brutus Beefcake, Honky Tonk Man, The Rockers, and Bad News Brown.

Demolition w/ Mr. Fuji vs. John Latu & Mike Richards

Demolition beats on Latu in the corner as the announcers talk about reveal who is on Demolition’s team at the Survivor Series (Fabulous Rougeau Brothers, Conquistadores, Bolsheviks, and Brainbusters) against the Powers of Pain team (Hart Foundation, British Bulldogs, Rockers, and the Young Stallions). Demolition stays in control as they now beat on Richards until putting him away with the Decapitation (1:51).

Thoughts: The big news here is that we found of the tag teams participating in the 20-man Survivor Series match.

Brother Love Show with guest Hercules. Brother Love introduces Hercules as a man without gratitude, meaning he has no love. He spoke for a while until Hercules finally came out. Hercules talks about serving Bobby Heenan before getting sold to Ted DiBiase. He then talks about his chain standing for his courage and strength while stating nothing will ever take away his pride and dignity. Hercules then warns DiBiase that he will be the one who pays the price while Brother Love is upset. However, Randy Savage comes out to interrupt and tells Hercules about how when he studied mythology as a young “Macho Boy,” he learned about the pride and courage of Hercules and puts him over a lot. Brother Love becomes upset again but gets run off by Savage, who raises Hercules’ hand along with Elizabeth. The camera then shows a shot of the crowd going nuts then shows us Savage, Hercules, and Elizabeth. This segment was really designed to push Hercules as a face, with Savage giving him his endorsement. I guessed it worked okay here.

Scott Casey vs. Greg “The Hammer” Valentine w/ Jimmy Hart

Before the match, Vince lets us know that Hercules, Koko B. Ware, and Hillbilly Jim have joined the Mega Powers Survivor Series team while we get an insert promo from Jimmy Hart as he claims to have turned down Sugar Ray Leonard’s offer to manage him in his upcoming fight. Valentine chops Casey before applying a chinlock. Casey fights back but runs into a knee in the corner as Valentine softens up Casey before rearranging his shinguard then applies the figure four for the win (2:20).

Thoughts: We found out who will be teaming with the Mega Powers but most of this was the announcers hyping the Leonard vs. Lalonde boxing match, with everyone saying Lalonde would win because power beats speed. Well, they were wrong.

Sean Mooney is in the Event Center. We hear a promo from the Powers of Pain and The Baron, who hypes up their match at the Survivor Series. This was not very good and the Baron’s monotone delivery gave me King Curtis flashbacks.

The Rockers vs. Sandy Beach & Brian Costello

The Rockers work over Costello to start. Beach tags and slams Jannetty, who fights back and ends up clearing the ring. Michaels slams Costello after backflipping off of his back then applies a chinlock. Jesse sarcastically lets Vince know that Cleveland is his first choice where to spend Thanksgiving as Michaels hits a top rope fist drop then tags Jannetty as they hit the Rockerplex for the win (2:51).

Thoughts: Short match to put over the Rockers but Jesse ragging on Vince about Survivor Series being in Cleveland was hilarious.

Gene Okerlund with some middle-aged couple, who talk about how great it is to watch the WWF live and in person. Okerlund keeps eating their popcorn and at the end tells us “we are having fun.”

Red Rooster w/ Bobby Heenan vs. Reno Riggins

These two trade arm wringers to start. Rooster takes control after a knee smash then we hear him in an insert promo telling us how great he feels being managed by Bobby Heenan and that he is not as limited as Heenan thinks. Back to the match as Rooster hits a clothesline then a shinbreaker before applying the Scorpion Death Lock (which Jesse tells us is now known as the “Cock of the Walk”) for the win (1:31).

Thoughts: Rooster was acting aggressively here as Heenan had to tell him to break his hold after the match was won. This whole push for the Rooster was bizarre to say the least. At this point, he was not cackling and did not have the red streak in his hair. He was still just basic Terry Taylor.

Mooney is back in the Event Center. We hear the same promo from the Ultimate Warrior & Brutus Beefcake that we did last week when they hyped up their Survivor Series match. After that, we hear from the Honky Tonk Man & Ron Bass as they promise to be the survivors in their match.

Red Tyler vs. Bad News Brown

Vince lets us know that we will hear from Hulk Hogan after this match. Bad News attacks Tyler before the bell. He stays on the attack as we hear him in an insert promo stating there is a conspiracy against him because he should be the #1 contender to the WWF World Heavyweight Title because he has beat up everyone he has faced. The announcers talk about WWF President Jack Tunney for a bit as Bad News hit the Ghetto Blaster for the win (2:03). Vince says he does not believe that Bad News will do well in the Survivor Series because he is a loner and not a team player.

Thoughts: They built up Bad News as the #1 contender here and put him over as a loner for the first time, something that would stick with him for the rest of this run.

WWF Update with Gene Okerlund. We see a clip from last week’s “Brother Love Show” when the Big Bossman attacked Hulk Hogan. After that we hear from Hogan, who still has the handcuffs hanging from his arm, as he yells at Bossman stating he will rip the bleachers apart to get to him. This is to set up a Hogan vs. Bossman feud around the house show circuit.

Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake vs. Gene Ligons

Beefcake hits Ligon with an atomic drop then follows with a high knee. Ligon fights back and lands some shots in the corner as we hear an insert promo from Ron Bass, who tells Beefcake sooner or later they are going to face off outside of the Survivor Series. Back to the match as Beefcake is in control while Vince states Beefcake and Bass will likely meet before Survivor Series as Beefcake puts Ligon away with the sleeper (1:48). After the match, Beefcake gives Ligons a haircut.

Thoughts: They put over the Bass/Beefcake feud here as that continues.

We now see another Mr. Perfect vignette. This time he is on the basketball court as he makes all of his shots, including one from half-court, then finishes by saying we all wish we were perfect like himself as he hits a no-look shot over his head. One of my favorite Mr. Perfect vignettes.

Tom Walsh vs. Honky Tonk Man w/ Jimmy Hart

Vince talks about Hulk Hogan and how he does not think he will have the mentality to work as a team in the Survivor Series due to the Bossman’s attack. Honky beats on Walsh as Vince tells Jesse he can not believe the Ultimate Warrior came in second place in the “Jesse the Body” award as Honky hits the Shake, Rattle, and Roll for the win (1:02).

Thoughts: The announcers talked about everything else in the promotion here, including hinting towards a Rude/Warrior feud.

Mooney is back in the Event Center. We hear from Frenchy Martin and Dino Bravo as they put over their Survivor Series team that includes co-captain Andre the Giant, Rick Rude, Mr. Perfect, and Harley Race stating that their opponents are out of their league while Bravo also promises to teach Duggan and all of us Americans a lesson while displaying the colors of Quebec.

Next week, we will see the match from “this weekend (Saturday Night’s Main Event)” between Jake Roberts and Rick Rude as we hear comments from both guys. Also in action will be the Big Bossman, Dino Bravo, and the Ultimate Warrior.

Final Thoughts: We had an awful lot of Survivor Series hype here. They also tried to get Hercules over as a face and at the end mentioned the “Saturday Night’s Main Event” show, although not by name. The build for this year’s Survivor Series, so far, is not even close to being as good as it was last year though. WWF TV ratings were also down at this time and they made a cutback to two house shows a night as attendance was down as well. Right now, they do not have much momentum heading into Survivor Series.

Here is my schedule for the next several days:

Wednesday: EVOLVE 64 7/16/16

Thursday: Shoot Interview with Eddie Gilbert

Friday: WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event 10/29/88

Saturday: Mid-South Wrestling 2/4/82

Sunday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 10/30/88

Monday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 11/5/88

Tuesday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 11/6/88