WWF Wrestling Challenge – May 7th, 1989

May 7, 1989

From the Onondaga County War Memorial in Syracuse, NY

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

In action this week will be Mr. Perfect and the Twin Towers plus the featured match of Big John Studd vs. King Haku.

Twin Towers w/ Slick vs. Joe Cruz & Mark Brown

Demolition is shown in an insert promo as they talk about not being afraid of the Twin Towers. The Towers beat on Brown then do the same to Cruz. Bossman hits Cruz with a sidewalk slam then Akeem finishes him off with a splash (1:59). After the match, the Towers destroy their opponents some more.

Thoughts: Bossman looked awesome here as the Towers look strong as they feud with Demolition.

WWF Special Report with Lord Alfred Hayes. This is about Dino Bravo signing with Jimmy Hart as they are shown talking themselves up and Bravo as the world’s strongest man. We then hear from Hercules declaring himself as the world’s strongest man as they are hyping up their feud. Man, did this feud suck.

Gary Royal vs. Blue Blazer

Blazer hits a pair of armdrags and works the arm as the announcers try to figure out his identity. He then sends Royal to the floor with a dropkick and takes him out with a baseball slide as the fans cheer. Blazer then slingshots Royal back into the ring but Royal comes back with a few shots. Blazer reverses an Irish whip then hits a belly-to-belly suplex before getting the win with a flying body press (2:13).

Thoughts: The only thing pushed about Blazer on commentary was the fact no one knows his identity. He pops the crowds with his moves but was never put in a feud.

No Holds Barred trailer airs.

Tony Roy vs. Bad News Brown

Bad News immediately attacks Roy as the announcers talk about “No Holds Barred.” Brown stays on the attack and gets the win with an enziguiri (1:21). After the match, Bad News tosses Roy to the floor.

Thoughts: Bad News had nothing at all going on at this point.

Sean Mooney is in the Event Center. They are the same segments that we saw on “Superstars of Wrestling” to hype the 5/13 Nashville house show.

“The Genius” Lanny Poffo tells us how hard it is to cope with us “dopes” as he is the world’s smartest man.

King Haku w/ Bobby Heenan vs. Big John Studd

Studd gets attacked as soon as he enters the ring. Haku tries to slam Studd but fails as we hear from Heenan in an insert promo as he tells Studd both Andre the Giant and himself are watching him. Studd slams Haku then applies a bearhug but Andre comes out. Studd breaks the hold and stares down Andre but ends up getting kicked. Andre then chokes out Studd on the bottom rope as the ref calls for the bell (2:13). Andre continues to choke out Studd until Jim Duggan runs out with his 2×4 and clears Heenan and is men.

Thoughts: The action was better than you would think here as they managed to push two feuds in this segment. I thought it worked in that regard.

Another Event Center segment airs.

A video to hype the return of Jimmy Snuka airs. Heenan refers to him as an “illiterate savage.”

George Skaaland & Paul Smith vs. Fabulous Rougeau Brothers w/ Jimmy Hart

We hear from the Rockers in an insert promo as they refer to the Rougeaus as “nerds.” Jacques holds his leg after landing on a leapfrog attempt but it was all a set up as he sucker punches Smith. The Rougeaus now outsmart their opponents and the referee as Raymond puts Smith away with a savate kick (1:21).

Thoughts: The Rougeaus took a page out of the Brainbusters playbook here with how they kept distracting the ref by agitating their opponent on the apron. Their feud with the Rockers is still being pushed on TV.

Gene Okerlund welcomes Jim Duggan to the interview platform. Duggan promises to take Haku’s crown and cape and will take care of Heenan if he sticks his nose in his business. Duggan then says he will look good as a king before leading the crowd in a “USA” chant. This interview pretty much cemented the fact that Duggan was beating Haku for the King title next week on “Superstars of Wrestling.”

We get to see the two matches that have taken place between Greg Valentine and Ronnie Garvin the past few weeks on “Superstars of Wrestling” that ended with Valentine holding the tights and beating Garvin, thus ending his wrestling career. We then see that Garvin is now a “special enforcer” referee with the company.

Another “No Holds Barred” clip airs.

Mr. Perfect vs. Bill Spectre

We hear from Bret Hart in an insert promo who tells Mr. Perfect he will be “perfectly executed” when they step into the ring. Perfect beats the crap out of Spectre for a bit until he puts him away with a Perfect Plex (1:51).

Thoughts: Perfect was very aggressive here and had a great showing as his feud with Hart continues.

The final Event Center segment of the show airs.

Next week in action will be Rick Martel, The Bushwhackers, and Bret Hart. Plus, the featured match of Demolition vs. Greg Valentine & Honky Tonk Man. We hear from both teams as they hype that up.

Final Thoughts: Overall, a fine show. They pushed a lot of feuds as the direction post-WrestleMania V remains focused.