WWF Wrestling Challenge – April 9th, 1989

April 9, 1989

From the Odessa County Coliseum in Odessa, TX

Your hosts are Bobby “The Brain” Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon

Clips of Hogan vs. Savage from WrestleMania V with the post match interview and attack that followed which was also shown on the 4/8 “Superstars of Wrestling” show.

Red Rooster vs. Barry Horowitz

Gorilla tries to piss off Heenan by reminding him he lost to Rooster at WrestleMania but Heenan ignores it and gloats over the fact Rude won the Intercontinental Title. We hear from the Brooklyn Brawler in an insert promo as he tells Rooster he might have won the battle but will not win the war. Rooster dumps Horowitz outside after some back-and-forth action but Horowitz comes back in to take control. Rooster fights back and hits a turnbuckle smash but Horowitz cuts him off and hits a suplex. Rooster starts hulking up as he starts moving around like a rooster then fires away. He uses an armbreaker then puts Horowitz away with a chicken wing (3:27).

Thoughts: Looks like they are continuing the Rooster/Brawler feud but with Heenan not even showing that he was upset over the loss here it appears this is not going to last for much longer and that the win has done next to nothing to elevate the Rooster.

The “Genius” Lanny Poffo tells us how smart he is and how vile we are. I’m liking his new character, that’s for sure.

Omar Atlas vs. Mr. Perfect

This starts off with a shoving match as we see Bret Hart in an insert promo telling Mr. Perfect that he will put an end to his perfect world. Perfect stomps away after hitting a slam then works the arm. He then hammers away as Gorilla asks Heenan if he made an offer to manage Perfect as Heenan said there has been discussions but no offers as Perfect hits a clothesline then gets the win with a Perfect Plex (2:55).

Thoughts: They are going with a singles feud between Hart and Perfect essentially based on who is the better wrestler, which makes sense with these two guys.

Same Event Center from Superstars hyping up the May 6th Nashville show. In fact, all of the Event Center segments from this show were the same from the 4/8 “Superstars of Wrestling.”

Clips of Rick Rude winning the Intercontinental Title from WrestleMania V.

Steve Sharkey vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan

We get an insert promo from King Haku, who speaks in his Native tongue before telling Duggan he will bow at his feet. Duggan then lands a few shots and a clothesline before putting Sharkey away with the Three Point Stance (1:37).

Thoughts: Quick win for Duggan as it seems we will be getting a Duggan/Haku feud.

Another Event Center segment airs.

Ted DiBiase tells us he will paper the walls of his Bel Air mansion with his cover on “WWF Magazine.”

Jim Evans vs. Dino Bravo w/ Frenchy Martin

Frenchy’s last TV appearance. This was actually taped on 3/8. Bravo celebrates after shoving Evans down then we hear from Hercules in an insert promo as he tells Bravo to prove that he is the strongest man by going through him. Back to the match as Bravo puts Evans in an airplane spin before getting the win with a side slam (2:10).

Thoughts: Bravo gets the win but is without a feud as his match against Ronnie Garvin at WrestleMania was never brought up.

Gene Okerlund welcomes the Bushwhackers to the interview platform. He asks them about the Brainbusters as the Bushwhackers tell him they will show the Brainbusters the “wrecking machine” and that they will perform brain surgery. Corny promo but the Bushwhackers did a great job with their gimmick so it got over a little bit. They’ve even started people doing the Bushwhackers march in the crowd. Between that and Sean Mooney selling his head getting licked by them at WrestleMania, its obvious the WWF is gearing them up for a push.

Clips from the Andre the Giant vs. Jake Roberts match at WrestleMania. They highlighted Andre and special guest referee Big John Studd’s confrontation with Studd telling Andre he will slam him in the ring.

Demolition vs. Lou Fabiano & Black Knight

Demolition beat on the Black Knight as we hear from the Twin Towers & Slick in an insert promo as they talk about winning the Tag Titles. Fabiano tags in and does not fare any better as Demolition eventually puts him away with the Decapitation (3:16).

Thoughts: After their long and underwhelming feud with the Powers of Pain, the Demolition are now moving on to another team in the Twin Towers.

Another Event Center segment to hype the 5/6 Nashville House Show.

Next week in action will be the Blue Blazer, Fabulous Rougeau Brothers, Twin Towers, Tito Santana, and Hercules.

Final Thoughts: We saw a lot of the same stuff that aired on “Superstars” but they also promoted a new feud in Duggan vs. King Haku as the company is still putting together feuds now that WrestleMania V is over. The TV shows should be a lot more interesting as a result.

Here is my schedule for the rest of the week:

Tuesday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 4/15/89

Wednesday: EVOLVE 69

Thursday: Kayfabe Commentaries Timeline Series: 2006 WWE Blue as told by Fit Finlay

Friday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 4/16/89

Saturday: Mid-South Wrestling 5/6/82

Sunday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 4/22/89

Monday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 4/23/89