WWF Superstars of Wrestling – December 3rd, 1988

December 3, 1988

From the Cow Palace in San Francisco, CA

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

In action this week are Rick Rude, the Hart Foundation, Akeem, and Brutus Beefcake. Plus, highlights from the Survivor Series and more.

Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake vs. Chuck Campbell

The women in attendance are big fans of Beefcake. Campbell is one pathetic jobber by the way. We hear from Ron Bass in an insert promo as he talks about using Miss Betsy and the Maverick Brothers on Beefcake. Back to the match as Beefcake is in control until putting Campbell away with the sleeper (2:08). After the match, Beefcake gives Campbell a haircut.

Thoughts: The action was terrible but the main point of this was hyping the Beefcake/Bass feud.

WWF Update with Gene Okerlund. This week’s focus is on the Jake Roberts/Andre the Giant feud as we see clips from “Saturday Night’s Main Event” where Jake came down to distract Andre in his title match against Randy Savage. We then hear from Andre and Bobby Heenan as they warn Jake what will happen if he brings Damien to the ring with him again.

Dino Bravo w/ Frenchy Martin vs. Ricki Ataki

Before the match, Frenchy yelled at the crowd then mumbled in French. Bravo overpowers Ataki as the announcers talk about his feud against Jim Duggan. Bravo puts Ataki in the airplane spin before putting him away with a side slam (1:34). Jesse notes that Bravo’s finisher is called the “American Slam.”

Thoughts: The crowd did not care much for Bravo at all as he is still feuding with Duggan.

We get an ad voiced over by Sean Mooney to hype the Royal Rumble, which can be seen live on PPV Sunday January 15th.

Harley Race vs. Jim Gorman

Race hits Gorman with a belly-to-belly suplex as Vince tells us that Race wants to be king again. We then hear from King Haku in an insert promo as he tells Race to bow down in front of him like everyone else as he is the king. Race stays in control as Vince wants to know where Heenan stands in the battle for king as Race puts Gorman away with a cradle suplex (1:46).

Thoughts: They actually had a promo from Race (Dave Meltzer was in attendance and said barely anyone reacted to this outside of a few boos as they still thought Race was a heel afterwards), that did not make TV, where he was upset with Heenan for not visiting him while in the hospital and that he wants to reclaim his throne. The fans sat on their hands for this match as Race’s return would only last for several weeks as he left and went to Stampede briefly until touring Japan.

Sean Mooney is in the Event Center. We hear from Danny Davis and Jimmy Hart, who promises big things for his client in 1989. I bet. Davis said they made a mistake by having the Hart Foundation train him to wrestle but now Jimmy Hart taught him everything and he is now ready. Tito Santana thanks the support his fans give him as he has an open contract for anyone to face him, namely Greg Valentine.

Hart Foundation vs. Barry Horowitz & Iron Mike Sharpe

Neidhart wins a slugfest against Sharpe then tosses Horowitz across the ring. Bret tags and sends Horowitz over the top rope with a dropkick. Back inside, Horowitz eats boot on a charge as we hear from Jimmy Hart in an insert promo as he breaks the news that the Fabulous Rougeau Brothers are moving to Memphis, TN. Bret then tags Neidhart as they put Horowitz away with the Hart Attack (2:16).

Thoughts: The fans dug the Hart Foundation as we finally find out where the Rougeaus moved to, which is Memphis. The best part about that whole deal would be coming soon.

Mooney is back in the Event Center. We hear from the Blue Blazer, who Mooney believes might be from Europe, as he tells us how he is “quick as a laser and sharp as a razor” while putting himself over for being undefeated. He used a lot of generic babyface cliches here as this ran too long. We then hear from Bobby Heenan’s Brainbusters as they put themselves over as being the best.

Okerlund is with the Bushwhackers as they are eating sardines and spitting them all over the place as Okerlund is disgusted.

Akeem w/ Slick vs. Louie Spicolli

Akeem beats on Spicolli then hits a front suplex before pulling him up and hitting a splash for the win (1:22).

Thoughts: Quick squash to put over Akeem as a powerhouse. However, the gimmick is so goofy its tough to take him seriously.

Brother Love Show with guests Randy Savage and Elizabeth. Brother Love asks Savage about Bad News Brown’s comments of him hiding behind WWF President Jack Tunney. Brother Love then demands Elizabeth tell him what favors she is doing for Tunney as Savage grabs Brother Love then tells Bad News he will give him the title shot and how he insulted the manager of the Mega Powers and that is something he will never forget. And the Bad News/Savage feud has begun.

“Ravishing” Rick Rude w/ Bobby Heenan vs. Nito Gomez

Rude beats on Gomez as we see him in an insert promo hawking his poster and t-shirt. A”weasel”chant breaks out then Vince tries to tell Jesse that the Ultimate Warrior has a better physique before Rude gets the win with the Rude Awakening (1:25). After the match, a large woman comes into the ring as Jesse quips “I guess we know why they call this the cow palace” as Rude kisses her and gyrates over her body while Vince is laughing hysterically on commentary.

Thoughts: On commentary, they teased the Ultimate Warrior vs. Rick Rude for the “Jesse the Body” award. They also ribbed and humiliated this poor girl on commentary and no one seemed more amused than Vince.

Mooney is once again in the Event Center. Ted DiBiase tells us “peons” he can buy anything he wants then Hacksaw Jim Duggan tells us he will not stop fighting until he runs Frenchy Martin & Dino Bravo out of the country.

Next week we will see Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Ted DiBiase, and the featured bout between the Rockers and the Brainbusters.

Final Thoughts: The first show of a taping usually contains more angle advancement and newsworthy announcements than the others and this was no exception. They started the World Title feud, told us the Rougeaus officially moved to the United States, and saw that the Bushwhackers would soon be making their debut. Plus, they started hyping the Royal Rumble on TV and even started the feud between Race and Haku, although it ended up being a flop. As we almost finish up 1988, the company is shaping up to where they want to head going into 1989.