Hall’s WWF Prime Time Wrestling Review 2.13.89

Prime Time Wrestling
Date: February 13, 1989
Commentators: Sean Mooney, Lord Alfred Hayes
Hosts: Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan, Ron Trongard, Vince McMahon, Jesse Ventura

Sure why not. Somehow I haven’t done many of these shows and that needs to change. We’re fresh off of the second Main Event and the Mega Powers have officially split, with WWF Champion Randy Savage returning to his roots and snapping on Hulk Hogan. That happened a lot with Hogan, but I’m sure it wasn’t his fault. Let’s get to it.

Quick note: I believe the date is right, though I have seen some sources that put this as February 16, which would be Thursday rather than the usual Monday. They did have to make such moves on occasion but I can’t imagine it makes any real difference.

Opening sequence.

The hosts welcome us to the show, with Heenan being upset over what recently happened to him in Tucson (as he was put through a variety of shenanigans involving the old west). Monsoon says they’re going back and Heenan says he better know someone else who is going because he’s done. They move on to talking about Elizabeth being injured at the Main Event but slowly getting better. To our first match!

From Tucson, Arizona.

Bret Hart vs. Darryl Peterson

Peterson is a rather big guy and would later be known as Maxx Payne in WCW and Man Mountain Rock in the WWF. Hart actually gets powered to the mat to start but Hart is back up with the right hands. A dropkick sends Peterson outside and it’s time to start on the arm back inside. An O’Connor roll doesn’t quite work so Hart goes back to the arm. Peterson fights out but misses a splash, allowing Hart to hit the running clothesline. The middle rope elbow finishes Peterson at 3:13.

Rating: C-. That rollup was a bit of a weird thing to see from Hart as you don’t often see issues in his matches. Other than that, Peterson got in a bit of offense, which isn’t a surprise as he would eventually get some high profile jobs. It’s not much to see here, but Hart winning in a singles match at this point was pretty rare.

Gorilla and Heenan hype up Honky Tonk Man vs. Bret Hart before moving to a preview of next week’s three hour special.

We look at some clips of the Twin Towers vs. the Mega Powers from the Main Event, with Elizabeth getting crushed by Savage (that was a big deal). Hogan then took her to the back for medical attention, leaving Savage all alone like the great friend that he is. Hogan FINALLY comes back, but Savage beats up the villains on his own and slaps Hogan for a tag. That’s enough for Savage to walk out, but Hogan cleans house and wins on his own anyway. We saw a good chunk of the match here.

After said match, Savage is in the back with Elizabeth and blames Hogan for the whole thing. Hogan comes back in and Savage FINALLY erupts on him, with all of the jealousy and insecurity coming out. Savage rants about how he’s the top star in the Mega Powers and if Hogan wanted to come at him for the belt, he would have beaten him 1-2-3. Hogan begs Elizabeth to talk some sense into him so Savage hits him with the belt and beats the fire out of him. Savage even shoves Elizabeth down to make it even worse. Brutus Beefcake comes in for the save but Savage beats him up like it’s Randy Savage beating up Brutus Beefcake.

Gene Okerlund talks about how serious this all is and throws us to an interview with Hogan, who rants about how Savage ruined everything. He thought they had a beautiful thing going and it didn’t matter who had the belt because they were together. Then Savage turned his back on the whole thing and it was all jealousy who turned them against each other. Hogan wants the title back because he’s never been beaten for it (not true but oh well) and he wants his property back.

Back in the studio, Heenan points out that Savage was the one wearing MEGA POWERS trunks while Hogan was out there in his usual gear. And Elizabeth shouldn’t have been in the arena in the first place.

Next week, Savage and Hogan are on the face to face panel. Heenan isn’t impressed so let’s go to the next match.

From Tucson, Arizona.

Koko B. Ware vs. Bad News Brown

Ware charges at him to start and is quickly knocked down. A hard chop drops Ware and Brown’s big right hand gets two. Brown hits a headbutt…and eventually falls down in a funny bit. Back up and Brown knocks him down again before breaking up a sunset flip attempt.

We cut to Frankie, who tries to eat the camera as Ware is knocked out to the floor. Some shots to the chest have Ware in more trouble but he’s back up with a sunset flip. That doesn’t get him very far but some headbutts and a clothesline get two more. Ware misses a charge though and it’s the Ghetto Blaster to give Brown the pin at 7:36.

Rating: C. The highlights here involved Frankie and that headbutt sell, which was timed incredibly well. Brown beat Ware up here as only he can and it was fun to see. You knew what you were getting with both of these guys and that’s exactly what they did here. Perfectly nice match here, with Brown throwing in a bit of comedy.

And yes, Brown does yell at Frankie as he leaves.

Wrestlemania V is coming.

From Phoenix, Arizona.

Rockers vs. Barry Horowitz/Jose Estrada

Jannetty hiptosses Estrada to start and Michaels sends him outside. Back in and Michaels gives Estrada a slam before Jannetty grabs a headlock. It’s off to Horowitz, who gets his arm cranked on, followed by the same to Estrada. Michaels is actually taken into the wrong corner for the tag off to Horowitz, who manages to take over. Some stomps and back rakes allow Estrada to get in a few cheap shots from the apron. The beating actually goes on for a bit, only for Michaels to fight out. Jannetty comes back in and everything breaks down. Michaels gorilla presses Jannetty onto Horowitz for the pin at 6:56.

Rating: C+. This got a bit more time than I was expecting and it was nice to see Horowitz and Estrada get in some offense. It wasn’t a match that was ever in doubt but it’s nice to see some extra effort being included. The Rockers were getting awesome around this point and it would get even better when they got to work with the Brainbusters in some long matches.

Heenan threatens the Rockers with the Brainbusters while holding a deck of WWF playing cards (I have those, along with 51 other wrestling decks and over 2,400 more).

Off to the Event Center!

Hercules isn’t forgetting about Bobby Heenan in the new year and he’s ready for anyone.

Ron Bass (allegedly bald but not really) agrees things aren’t going his way but things go even worse when you make a big bear upset.

From New York City, New York.

Rick Rude vs. Hillbilly Jim

We’re joined in progress with Jim in trouble and being sent into the corner. Rude chokes on the top rope and grabs a snapmare, allowing more posing. Jim fights up but charges into a boot, allowing Rude to go up top. The top rope shot to the head gives Rude a rather cocky two so he hammers away in the corner.

The posing takes too long again though and it’s an atomic drop out of the corner, giving us that great Rude sell. Jim boots Rude in the face and hits another atomic drop before just dropping him onto the mat. A splash only hits raised knees though and the Rude Awakening finishes for Rude at 5:05 shown (apparently out of about 8:30).

Rating: C. This worked well enough, even if Jim’s comeback was more about Rude’s overselling than anything else. That being said, it was entertaining enough for the most part. Also, this isn’t a pairing that happened very often and this was their only televised match out of only a handful together. You would think they would have worked together than that but it just never really happened.

We go to Ted DiBiase, who is shopping in what appears to be New York City. He goes to a jeweler, who is tasked with designing something that proves he is the greatest wrestler in the world: the Million Dollar Belt. The jeweler isn’t sure as that’s never been done, but DiBiase insists.

Heenan isn’t sure about this and doesn’t care what DiBiase does. What card is he holding?

From Tucson, Arizona.

Bushwhackers vs. Bolsheviks

The Soviets jump them to start fast but get knocked down like the Berlin Wall (eventually). Butch gets sent to the floor though and Volkoff’s spinwheel kick gets two on Luke. A double poke to the eye gets Luke out of trouble though and it’s back to Butch as everything breaks down. Zhukov ax handles Volkoff by mistake though and it’s the double gutbuster to put him away at 3:12.

Rating: C-. These teams fought a bunch of times and it’s easy to see why. No the matches weren’t going to be any good but that wasn’t the point. The kids loved the Bushwhackers and didn’t like the Bolsheviks so they had quick matches with the good guys going over. In other words, it’s basic wrestling.

Heenan still isn’t overly worried about Elizabeth being hurt and turns around to avoid Big John Studd coming up next.

From Tucson, Arizona.

Big John Studd vs. Black Knight/Jim Atkinson

Studd shoves them both down to start as Ventura has to go answer Randy Savage’s challenge for a title shot. Some suplexes have the normal sized humans in trouble and a bearhug makes Atkinson give up at 1:54.

Post match the Knight goes after Studd for some reason and gets bearhugged too. That doesn’t sound like a good night.

Randy Savage addresses Hogan’s challenge. After talking about how Hogan looks all jealous he says he’ll….answer this next week.

Heenan doesn’t think Savage should give Hogan a shot. I’m stunned too.

From Tucson, Arizona.

King Haku vs. Louie Spiccoli

Bobby Heenan is here with Haku. As commentary suggests that Louie Spiccoli sounds like an Italian dessert, Haku sends him flying with a suplex and shrugs off some right hands out of the corner. A big clothesline drops Spiccoli again, followed by a release butterfly suplex. Haku hits a nice dropkick before blocking an O’Connor roll. The superkick finishes Spiccoli at 3:59.

Rating: C. Haku is underrated in the ring and it’s kind of sad to see at times. No he isn’t some all time star, but he was a perfectly solid midcard hand who knew exactly what to do out there. He was a steady hand and was presented exactly as he should have been. That’s why he was around for so long and it would be nice to see more people like him throughout wrestling.

It’s time for the Brother Love Show with Bobby Heenan and the Brooklyn Brawler. Heenan complains about Red Rooster causing troubles for the Brawler, who is ready to pluck Rooster’s feathers.

From New York City, New York.

Brutus Beefcake vs. Mr. Perfect

Beefcake has one of those WWF duffel bags and to this day I still want one of them. They take forever to ring the bell before Beefcake elbows him in the face as we officially start. Beefcake grabs a headlock to grind away but Perfect trips him down and grabs his own. A slam gets Beefcake out of trouble and Perfect wants to think about this again. They go to the test of strength and we go to a break (with Monsoon suggesting that Heenan try to sign Perfect).

We come back with Perfect hammering away in the corner and grabbing a reverse chinlock. Beefcake fights up and drops him onto the buckle, allowing him to chop away. Perfect knocks him down again but Beefcake slugs his way to his feet. They brawl in the corner, with the fans getting way into Beefcake’s comeback. A big right hand sends Perfect crashing out to the floor and a catapult sends him crashing into the corner. Beefcake scores with a jumping knee and here is Ron Bass to steal Beefcake’s barber bag. The brawl is on but Perfect gets in a cheap shot, causing Beefcake to get counted out at 9:29.

Rating: C. Beefcake might not have been the most polished star between the ropes, but he had a bunch of charisma and the fans loved him. That’s a good example of what can happen when the fans get behind someone because it doesn’t matter that his abilities were limited. Beefcake was a star and would get even bigger in the next few months. This wasn’t a great match, but the reactions boosted it up a nice bit.

Post match Beefcake goes after the referee, who runs off.

The hosts preview next week’s show to wrap it up.

Roll credits.

 

Results
Bret Hart b. Darryl Peterson – Middle rope elbow
Bad News Brown b. Koko B. Ware – Ghetto Blaster
Rockers b. Jose Estrada/Barry Horowitz – Gorilla press splash to Horowitz
Rick Rude b. Hillbilly Jim – Rude Awakening
Bushwhackers b. Bolsheviks – Double gutbuster to Zhukov
Big John Studd b. Jim Atkinson/Black Knight – Bearhug to Atkinson
Haku b. Louie Spiccoli – Superkick
Mr. Perfect b. Brutus Beefcake via countout

 

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6.5

The final score: review Average

The 411

This remains the easiest show to watch in wrestling and it more than holds up. The action might not be great most of the time (though there would be some gems in there every so often) but I left this show with an idea of a lot of the stories taking place in the company at the time. The hosts are what really hold it together though, as they sound like they’re focusing on whomever they were watching. That’s so helpful and it still works to this day. This show might not be something I want to watch all the time, but every so often it’s exactly what I like to see and that was the case again here.