Was it a rib to have "Rockin'" Robin sing "America The Beautiful" to start the show? It seems like it as she is just not a good singer.
King Haku vs. Hercules is the opening contest of this historic show from Trump Plaza. Hercules wrestling as a babyface is always a little jarring for me as I grew up with him being a heel. Neither of these guys are known for their scientific skill, but they both give spirited performances and really seem to be stepping it up for this show. Sure, there's a bearhug spot that quells the crowd's excitement a bit, but such was the style of the time and, as this was the opening contest, there was no need to go "all out" this early in the show. A solid opener. (2.5/5)
A fun Rockers vs. Twin Towers match follows that shows just how good everyone involved was, even One Man Gang/Akeem, who might have a career showing here (at least based on what I saw out of the guy). At one point he hits Jannetty with a clothesline that is about as stiff and swift as the one JBL made famous. Though the match only goes 8 minutes, they make the most of their time and, though they don't go over, The Rockers come out of this match looking like a team to watch in a very crowded field of good tag teams. What makes a match like this stand the test of time is that they don't steer away from the Big Guys vs. Little Guys story the way modern wrestlers seem to (with big guys now working like small guys and small guys using things like powerbombs and falcon arrows). This doesn't necessarily reach "must watch" territory, but its close. (3.5/5)
Ted Dibiase takes on Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake. I wasn't expecting much out of this match as I've never been a huge Dibiase and think even less of Beefcake, but I'll give credit where credit is due: they are both over, the crowd is into this, and they both play their roles well enough that they had me engaged from bell-to-bell. The double count-ou finish is a disappointment, but then again, both guys needed to be kept strong and couldn't necessarily afford a clean loss (Beefcake would be in a spotlight position at SummerSlam 89' and Dibiase remained one of the company's top utility heels through 90'). An extra half-point for seeing Dibiase schmoozing with Donald Trump before the match, a visual that has aided rather nicely considering that they're both financial crooks. (2.5/5)
The Bushwhackers vs. The Rougeau Brothers followed. This was a clear "cool down" match as they only went five minutes and it involved the Bushwhackers who, in the WWE at least, were just a filler team that got good a reaction for their entrance and very little else. I really like the Rougeaus, but they're much better when working against other athletic teams and given more time to do their heel shtick. These teams just did not click for me. (0.5/5)
Another relatively short match follows as Mr. Perfect takes on The Blue Blazer (Owen Hart). Perfect was a newcomer and had not yet been paired with Bobby Heenan. Considering the talents involved, this should've been a sleeper Match of the Night but as neither guy was particularly over and even the commentators barely cared, the match doesn't pack much of a punch. There are some cool moments that show how and why both guys would be much bigger deals down the line, but this isn't some hidden gem as much as I wish it were. I wonder if they worked each other later on in the 90s or if this was it as I could see it potentially having happened at some point when Owen was "The Rocket" and Perfect was still working or even later on in 93' somehow? (2.5/5)
Before the next match, Run-DMC perform. Their song, "WrestleMania Rap," is actually pretty dope and Run-DMC look like they're having fun in the ring, but the WWE was definitely a year or two late on bringing them in as they were definitely on the downturn of their popularity by this point.
The next match is a 3-on-2 handicap match for the WWE Tag Team Championships as Demolition defend against The Powers of Pain and their manager Mr. Fuji. The build-up for this match was cool and I'm glad they include a pre-match video going through what brought us here. The match itself is less exciting as there's nobody in the ring that's particularly interesting and this is just a slugfest (not necessarily my cup of tea). When you're counting on a hot tag to Smash to revitalize a crowd that had already sat through five other matches and a musical performance, I'm not sure what you're expecting in terms of crowd responses. Demolition get the W in around 10 minutes, which felt like at least 2-3 minutes too long. Demolition had some good matches in their day, but this was not one of them. (1/5)
Dino Bravo vs. "Rugged" Ronnie Garvin is next. While both guys are in the ring, "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka makes his return to the company after some years off (?). Its awkward. Anyway, Bravo and Garvin have the type of match one would expect: not a good one. After a relatively strong start to this show, things went further downhill here as Garvin's overselling is distracting and Bravo has nothing going for him beyond his look, which, in 1989, could get you a long, long way. The crowd pops loudest for the post-match shenanigans as Ronnie Garvin beats up Frenchy Martin. (0.5/5)
Strike Force face The Brainbusters in the next contest. If they had cut out some of the crap matches off this card and just given these four the time, this could've been an all-time great match. Sadly, it doesn't live up to what it could be because it only goes for about 10 minutes. Still, the 10 minutes we do get shows that these two teams probably could've torn the house down if they were allowed to actually build a match the way Tully and Arn did in NWA. The most noteworthy thing about this match, though, is the brilliantly-executed heel turn from Martel who inadvertently gets struck with a Santana forearm and then walks out on his partner, which sends Gorilla into a tizzy on commentary. (2.5/5)
The next segment is an all-time classic Brother Love, Morton Downey Jr., and Roddy Piper create magic in the ring together. As a kid, most of the jokes went over my head, but watching this back now, it is an incredible segment that gets a huge reaction from the live crowd. I can see the argument that giving these guys 10+ minutes just to talk in the middle of a show that was already overloaded was a bad move, but it worked for me (as I admittedly watch these shows in chunks anyway). A classic Piper segment. (+1)
Big John Studd is the guest referee for the next match - Andre the Giant vs. Jake "The Snake" Roberts. Unsurprisingly, there's not much "action" in this match as Andre was nearing the end of his in-ring career and would only compete for another couple of years, mostly in tags and multi-mans if I'm not mistaken. There's a cool opening to this match as one of the turnbuckles is exposed and Jake gets sent into it right from the start. I wonder if the live crowd was even aware. They go through the usual spots that Andre did, barely bumping and getting caught in the ropes and just dominating in slow fashion while his opponent added the drama by spilling to the floor and whatnot. Ted Dibiase comes down and steals Jake's snake, but Jake follows him down the aisle. Meanwhile, in the ring, Andre goes at it with Studd, which leads to the eventual DQ but not before Jake unloads Damian and sends Andre out in fear. For what this was, its not nearly as bad as it could've been. A year later, Dibiase would face Roberts at WrestleMania VI, which is the kind of long-term storytelling that the WWE no longer bothers with. (2.5/5)
The Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine took on The Hart Foundation next. They had a decent match given the time they were given, but by this point, the crowd was restless and even Bret Hart's spirited offense wasn't enough to really pull them out of the lull. Honky Tonk Man hits his finish but doesn't make the cover, which gets him admonished on commentary by Gorilla. The Hart Foundation end up getting a not-so-clean victory when Jimmy Hart's megaphone ends up in the ring. (2/5)
The Ultimate Warrior defends his Intercontinental Championship against Rick Rude next in a match that stands as one of the all-time best "carry jobs" in WWE history. Rick Rude is just phenomenal in this match and though I'm not sure who help lay this one out - Pat Patterson maybe? - these two create magic from beginning to end despite Warrior's shortcomings. I love the way the match starts with Warrior tossing Rude repeatedly into the corner, I love the number of shortcuts that Rude has to take (all little things that more heels should be doing these days), and even though Warrior slows things down with bearhugs and looks to be pretty gassed by the end, the rest of his offense looks good and Rude's selling does make it seem like this sub-10 minute match is an all-out war. The finish is one of my all-time favorites too with Bobby Heenan helping to steal the championship by holding down Warrior's feet after a suplex attempt. This isn't a masterpiece but it is still in that "should watch" territory for me. The easy Match of the Night up till this point. (4/5)
"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan vs. Bad News Brown follows. This match only goes a few minutes, which is a good thing. After some tedious brawling, Brown grabs a chair and Duggan grabs his 2x4 and the ref throws out the match. (1/5)
The Red Rooster vs. Bobby Heenan is next in another match designed to cool down the crowd before the main event. This one is even shorter than the one that came before it, lasting less than a minute. Another waste of time on a show that had way too many filler matches. A half-point because it only lasted half a minute. (0.5/5)
Main event time - Hulk Hogan challenging "The Macho Man" Randy Savage for his WWE Championship. The build-up to this match is often talked about as one of, if not the, best long-term storylines in wrestling history so there was high expectations for this match. Of course, no amount of build can hide the fact that Hogan was a limited in-ring performer that got over due to his build and charisma. Fortunately, Randy Savage was every bit as charismatic and engaging as a performer, was an all-time great bumper and seller, and had a cinematic, detail-oriented view of wrestling that he would bring into his matches. Simply put, Savage knew what to deliver to the audience that night and Hogan plays his role perfectly so there's just not a single dull moment in this much-beloved classic. Savage is brilliant throughout, getting a ton of heat by using Miss Elizabeth as a shield and bloodying up the Hulkster. Hogan doesn't show off too much offense, but I like the subtle borderline heel stuff he does as it really makes this match seem more about the personal animosity than the championship. Anyone familiar with what the WWE was in the 1980s will not be surprised by the finish, which sees Hogan kick out of Savage's patented elbow drop, hulk up, and win the title. It is this predictability that prevents this from being a true classic as there is not a single moment in this match when it seems like the ending is in question. However, credit must be given to Savage for coming out of this match still a red-hot heel, as captivating as ever, a feat that not every Hogan opponent could accomplish after a loss (King Kong Bundy, Paul Orndorff, Earthquake) or even after a win (Ultimate Warrior). Nobody would ever mistake this for what Flair and Steamboat and Funk were doing in the NWA around this time, but this is still a "must see" Mania match and is certainly in the conversation for being in the top 25 Mania matches ever. (4/5)
Kwang Scores aren't always the best gauge of the watchability of a show - which is why I also include a "Final Rating" that doesn't always match the "quantitative value" of my scores. WrestleMania V is a good example of this phenomena. While its Kwang Score of 2.17-out-of-5 would suggest that this show is mostly boring, tedious filler (and there is an undeniable amount of bloat on the card), the World and Intercontinental Championship matches are excellent and "must see," the Rockers/Twin Towers match is a bit of a hidden gem, Piper's return is a classic segment, and if the wrestling isn't great, there's still something enjoyable in seeing Andre the Giant perform or the character clash of Brutus Beefcake and Ted DiBiase. I've read reviews that the show comes off as a glorified house show, but this just shows how stacked the WWE roster was at the time as there are at least a dozen Hall of Famers on this show, many of whom were in their prime.
FINAL RATING - Watch It...With Remote in Hand
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