WWF Madison Square Garden – March 18th, 1989

March 18, 1989

Your hosts are Tony Schiavone and Lord Alfred Hayes

Today (This was a matinee show as they also wrestled in Boston at night), we have Big Bossman vs. Hulk Hogan in a Steel Cage Match, Bushwhackers & Jim Duggan vs. Fabulous Rougeau Brothers & Dino Bravo, and the Brainbusters vs. The Rockers.

The Conquistadores vs. Young Stallions

Conquistador #1 lands a few shots after complaining of a hairpull but Powers catches him with a dropkick after an Irish whip sequence as the Conquistadores regroup. Conquistador #2 sneaks in but Powers scoops him up with a slam for a two. The Stallions work over the arm of #2 and use a few double-team moves to maintain control. The Conquistadores end up trapping Roma in the corner and choke him out behind the referee’s back. They work over Roma with basic tag team offense then Roma comes back with a sunset flip for two as the pin was broken up. The Conquistadores cut off the ring then stop Roma’s momentum short with an elbow smash to the face as he began to fight back. The crowd gets behind Roma as one of the Conquistadores works a nerve hold. Roma boots one of the Conquistadores after he ducked his head then makes the tag as Powers runs wild. He then tags in Roma who hits a missile dropkick for the win (13:19) **.

Thoughts: The match was decent at times but the Conquistadores really sucked when on offense. The crowd was actually pumped for this and the Stallions being from New York could have been the reason. Speaking of the Stallions, this was just about the end for them as a team. According to Roma, he was sick of dealing with Powers and accused him of being drunk while heading out to the ring and after that the office got pissed at him as he refused to stay with Powers despite Patterson’s pleas. You can read more about that in my recap of Paul Roma’s Shoot Interview.

WWF Women’s Title Match: Judy Martin vs. Rockin’ Robin (c)

The announcers let us know that Rockin’ Robin will be singing “America the Beautiful” at WrestleMania V. Martin kicks Robin after teasing a handshake then dumps her outside.Robin comes in and fights back as she takes control until whiffing on a dropkick as Martin stomps away. They fight over a hammerlock as Robin wins that battle and works the arm on the mat. Martin rolls through a crossbody in a poorly executed spot then they clothesline each other and fall to the mat. They both try to dropkick each other then Robin backs Martin against the ropes and lands a few shots. Robin gets two with a leg drop then hits a bulldog as Martin is able to get her foot on the ropes. Martin kicks Robin down and gets two with a double sledge as we are getting some “boring” chants from the crowd. Robin uses a sunset flip for a nearfall then fights back but that fails as Martin regains control. Martin hits a suplex then a gutbuster but is unable to get the win. Martin stomps away after a corner splash but misses a second splash attempt and Robin rolls her up for the win (9:59) **.

Thoughts: Robin was game but Martin was sucking wind towards the end and they had some really rough spots during the match. As I watch her matches, Robin was a lot better than I remembered in the ring.

Lanny Poffo is in the ring to read us a WrestleMania V special. Lanny has grown a full beard. He talks about Hogan having a huge ego and being jealous of Randy Savage, promising that Atlantic City will be a mess after WrestleMania. Poffo also accuses Hogan of destroying the Mega Powers and will always be in second place with Savage around as the crowd boos. He then teases tossing out his frisbee to the crowd. And this is how Lanny Poffo turned heel. He was pretty good here I must admit.

Mr. Perfect vs. “Rugged” Ronnie Garvin

Perfect shoves Garvin but gets decked in the face then rolls outside for a breather. He heads back inside but gets punched a few more times as he is back out on the apron. Perfect is back in and slaps Garvin after a break. Perfect lands a few chops but Garvin fights back then slaps Perfect over the top rope. Garvin then stomps on the hands of Mr. Perfect, who gets in and applies a side headlock as Garvin tries to break out as everything has been aggressive so far in this match. They now fight over a wristlock but Perfect is able to take him down with a side headlock and they do that again as Perfect is doing everything he can to ground Garvin. Perfect grabs another headlock as Garvin took him down. Perfect lands some shots in the corner but Garvin fights back and takes him down with a headbutt. Garvin knocks Perfect through the ropes with a forearm smash then chops him hard across the chest as he is on the apron. Back inside, Garvin locks on a sleeper but Perfect runs him into the corner. Garvin then smashes Perfect’s head against the turnbuckle before punching him down. Perfect blocks a piledriver but Garvin gets two with a sunset flip then punches Perfect down again. Garvin breaks up a sunset flip attempt and roughs up Perfect some more then they collide at full speed as both men are down. Perfect is up first and lays into Garvin, who fights back and decks Perfect. Garvin puts on a side headlock but Perfect turns that into a small package and locks his legs together for the win (12:21) ***1/2.

Thoughts: Really good match. The psychology was on point as Perfect did everything he could to try and ground Garvin, whose hard-hitting offense was certainly refreshing to see in the WWF at this time. Perfect’s selling was tremendous here too and the crowd really dug Garvin beating the crap out of him. I loved the finish too and how Perfect smiled as he sat down in the corner. These two had another excellent match later this day at the Boston Garden house show.

Steel Cage Match: Big Bossman w/ Slick vs. Hulk Hogan

Hogan chokes out Bossman with his shirt then takes him down with a clothesline. Hogan then fires away in the corner and hits a suplex but Bossman pulls him off the cage as he tried to escape. Bossman beats on Hogan then climbs up but Hogan follows up and they fight on the top rope. Hogan is hammering away but gets shoved off as Bossman tries to climb out. He stops to taunt the crowd then climbs but Hogan reaches through and grabs his throat. Hogan pulls Bossman to the top of the cage then suplexes him off as the crowd goes mental. Both guys look like they are dead on the mat as the referee raises their hands then counts as Hogan quickly sits up only to fall back down. Both men start to slowly crawl towards the door as Hogan is halfway out with Bossman grabbing on to his legs. Bossman pulls Hogan back inside where Hogan starts biting and raking his eyes. Bossman catches Hogan with a spinebuster then chokes him out with his chain that he pulled out of his pocket as we see his head is busted open. Bossman continues to choke out Hogan then cuts off his comeback attempt with an eye rake. Both men then end up running each other into the cage and are back down on the mat. Hogan is up first and climbs up but Bossman yanks him off. Hogan then slams Bossman and wraps the chain around his fist and punches Bossman in the head to further bust him open. Hogan drops the leg then climbs up the cage as Slick runs in to grab his leg as Hogan stops to kick him down. Hogan then handcuffs Bossman to the ropes after taking them from Slick and climbs out for the win (11:14) ***3/4. After the match, Hogan heads back in and rams Slick into the cage.

Thoughts: Excellent match. I liked this better than their “Saturday Night’s Main Event” match too. Hogan and Bossman had great chemistry together and the layout of the match itself was fantastic. The superplex off the top of the cage was great and unbelievable by 1989 standards. Just a great match.

The Brainbusters vs. The Rockers

Shawn and Arn go back-and-forth to start until Shawn blocks a sunset flip. Arn breaks up mounted punches in the corner then Tully comes in as the match breaks down. The Rockers clear the ring then take control after things settle down. The Rockers work over the arm of Tully and even give the Brainbusters a taste of their own medicine by decking Arn as he was standing on the apron. Arn pulls Marty outside after a tag but chops the post as they both head inside where Marty works over the arm. Shawn makes a blind tag as the Rockers hit stereo hurricaranas then send the Brainbusters to the floor with dropkicks. Back inside, Shawn and Tully slug it out but Arn hotshots Shawn as he tried a flying headscissors on his partner. The Brainbusters now work over Shawn, who is selling like a madman. Tully heads up top but Shawn slams him off as both men are down. Shawn slowly crawls over to his corner but Tully whips him into the corner. Shawn then slides under Tully’s legs and makes the tag as Marty runs wild. Arn comes in to toss out Shawn but gets sent to the floor himself. Shawn then heads up top and jumps off of Marty’s shoulders with a splash but Arn pulls out the referee just before the three count and that ends the match in a disqualification (13:53) ***1/2.

Thoughts: Really good match but not the best I’ve seen from these two teams. Plus, they had a 22 minute match later this day in Boston. They had some timing issues at the beginning but it was great when the Brainbusters got heat on Shawn. This was also pretty much the end of their feud, sadly, as it gave us so many great matches. It would have been nice to see these two blow off their feud at WrestleMania V. They could have had Strike Force go up against the Rougeaus (so they could still execute the Martel turn) and the Bushwhackers against the Bolsheviks if needed.

Brooklyn Brawler vs. Red Rooster

The stipulations are that Bobby Heenan is banned from ringside. Brawler attacks Rooster as he entered the ring. Rooster fights back with a dropkick then follows Brawler outside. He hits an atomic drop but shortly after that gets rammed into the post. Back inside, Brawler chokes out the Rooster then puts on a chinlock for a long time. Rooster escapes and sends Brawler into the corner but gets his eyes raked as Brawler goes back to the chinlock. Rooster gets out of that then hits a bulldog as he is now firing away. Brawler ducks his head but Rooster turns that into a backslide and gets the win (11:50) *.

Thoughts: Really dull match. Oddly enough, Steve Lombardi could not brawl to save his life and most of his offense revolved around restholds. He would be phased out rather quickly once this Rooster/Heenan feud finished.

Bad News Brown vs. Hercules

Bad News refuses to re-enter the ring until Hercules puts his chain away. Bad News tries a sneak attack but Hercules was ready and knocks him down. Bad News pulls Hercules to the floor and rams him into the post shoulder-first. Bad News then chokes out Hercules on the mat then fires away. Hercules catches Bad News with a bearhug but Bad News breaks out of that by raking the eyes. Bad News roughs up Hercules on the outside then heads inside. Hercules grabs a bearhug from the apron but Bad News breaks that up with a knee smash. Bad News misses a charge in the corner as both men are down. Hercules is up first and tries a full nelson but Bad News runs him into the corner. Bad News chokes out Hercules for a bit then Hercules makes another comeback. He takes Bad News outside where he rams him into the post. They go back inside where neither man can gain an advantage. Hercules hits a clothesline then they both spill outside where they start brawling and both get counted out (14:48) 1/2*.

Thoughts: Good lord was this awful. It lasted forever and filled with crappy brawling and the crowd was dead the entire time. Just a complete mess.

Fabulous Rougeau Brothers & Dino Bravo w/ Frenchy Martin vs. The Bushwhackers & Hacksaw Jim Duggan

Before the match, the face team hype up the crowd by going to all four sides of the ring then the other team leaves. We finally start off the match after more antics from the Bushwhackers & Duggan then it breaks right down with the heel team bailing. They head back in as the heels are all getting hit with the battering ram in the corner. We now get Duggan taking control of Bravo, who retreats to his corner. Luke tags in and gets choked out in the opposite corner as the heels cut off the ring. Frenchy hits Luke from behind with the Quebec flag then Butch breaks up the pin. The Rougeaus hit a double dropkick for two as Luke gets his foot on the ropes. Luke makes a tag behind the ref’s back as it doesnt count but Luke fights back and ends up tagging Duggan, who runs wild on Jacques. Bravo breaks up a pin attempt after the Three Point Stance then the match breaks down. Duggan ends up whacking Jacques with a 2×4 and Butch covers for the win (15:00) *1/2.

Thoughts: Some people might think this is complete crap because of the goofy antics at the beginning but they were smart to have the Rougeaus do the heavy lifting for most of the match and the fans liked both acts so it was a good way to send the crowd home happy, even if it wasn’t much of a match.

Final Thoughts: There were three very good matches here, making this an excellent house show. The show isn’t really worth watching after the Brainbusters vs. Rockers match though but up to that point it was pretty great. One of the better 80’s WWF House Show cards you’ll see.

Here is my schedule for the next several days:

Thursday: Kayfabe Commentaries Breaking Kayfabe with Marty Jannetty

Friday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 3/19/89

Saturday: Mid-South Wrestling 4/29/82

Sunday: WWF Prime Time Wrestling 3/20/89

Monday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 3/25/89

Tuesday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 3/26/89

Wednesday: EVOLVE 68