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Welcome to My (And Not Sly's) House
Hulkamania Volume V (Hulkamania Forever)
Host: Sean Mooney
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Lord Alfred Hayes, Gorilla Monsoon, Sean Mooney
This is the next to last volume in this series so as is my custom Ill be doing the two volumes I have left back to back as it makes things go by quicker. This one is from 1990 and is primarily about his injury at the hands of Earthquake for the sake of making Suburban Commando and his return. Lets get to it.
After a brief video of Hogan praise, were ready to go.
WWF Title: Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage
Were in London here and this would be before he was the Macho King I think. Sherri and Liz are with their respective dudes here. Near Memphis levels of stalling to start us off here which makes sense for Savage. Screw the near aspect of it. Hogan shoves him around with ease so Savage grabs a headlock. Very basic stuff to start but Savage ducks a big boot and hits the floor, hiding behind Sherri.
Savage grabs the mic and says hes better than Hogan in all aspects. The distraction by Sherri lets Savage take over for what must have been a good four seconds and here comes Hogan. Hogan wants to punch Sherri but sends her to the floor onto Savage instead. The referee has either a cast or glove on his left hand. Randy goes after Liz which gets him nowhere. 100% Hogan so far.
More punching and slams and choking follow as Sherri comes up to the apron again. LIZ KNOCKS HER INTO THE RING!!!! I dont remember Liz getting physical EVER before here so that was awesome. Savage uses the hullabaloo to get in a shot to Hogan which does nothing at all. The second one does though and even Sherri adds in a kick. The double axe on the floor has the dude in green in control for once.
Another in the ring gets two as were finally in the Hogan vs. Savage formula which is exactly what they did night after night and it worked night after night. LONG sleeper/chinlock goes on but heres the comeback and here comes Hulk but a double clothesline puts both guys down.
Knee to the back gets two for Savage and make that about ten as he covers time after time again. Off to the chinlock one more time as we have to be getting close to the big Hogan comeback here soon. This one lasts a bit less time but Hogan goes right back down again. He fights out of it but Sherri cheats again and a shot with the purse sets up the elbow for no cover as Hogan pops up and its Mania 5 all over again. Legdrop ends this.
Rating: C. This was one of their weaker matches but for a house show main event in England, this was absolutely fine. Not a great match or anything but Hogan and Savage is always something worth at least a glance. They could have a decent match in their sleep at this point so this being pretty good was no shock in the slightest.
This next one is from SNME 24 so its cut and paste time.
WWF Title: Hulk Hogan vs. The Genius
Genius kind of prances around and this is definitely going to be a comedy match. He even uses a nip up which just wasnt done back then. All Hogan here and Genius stops to write something on his scroll. He was incredibly athletic and skins the cat to get back in. And then Genius slaps Hogan in the face. Hogan gets tired of Genius doing his stuff and takes his head off with a clothesline.
Hogan is killing him now and then prances around the ring. Like him or not, the guy knew how to play to a crowd like no one else in history could. And heres Mr. Perfect to mess everything up. He looks at the belt and says its not perfect and puts gum on it. Hogan gets posted and back in the ring a moonsault gets two. He Hulks Up and Genius goes to the floor. Perfect clocks Hogan with the belt and GENIUS WINS! THE GENIUS BEAT HOGAN! WITH THE TITLE ON THE LINE! Perfect runs away with the title in hand.
Rating: B-. Total comedy match that set up Hogan vs. Perfect for a few months if nothing else. This wasnt supposed to be a serious match and you flat out cant grade it as one. This was a hilarious match at times as someone for once tried to outsmart Hogan and it worked like a charm. This was perfectly played and while the match was nothing, the comedy and thinking was great. I liked this a lot but most people wouldnt.
We get a quick clip of the end of Warrior/Hogan vs. Perfect/Genius, which resulted in Warrior accidently clotheslining Hogan and the huge staredown that got a huge gasp from the audience, as if WWF was saying Oh yeah, were going there.
We get a clip of Hogan beating Dino Bravo, immediately followed by Quake and Bravo double teaming. No Warrior save so Im not sure what the point is here.
From Mania 6, Hogan cuts one of his most famous promos ever, telling Warrior that the power lies in the palm of his hand. He also says that he can save all of the Little Warriors with the training, the prayers and the vitamins. Hogan goes on to say that his Hulkamaniacs want to help them. Rewatching this, its clear that Hogan would lose. He mentions that the winner or the loser doesnt matter, but what kind of winner or loser you are.
Warrior responds by saying that Hogans life can be lived through the Warrior, but it will be in the darkness. Everything is about accepting challenges, but Hogan has never met a challenge like him. Hes going to bring the Warriors and the Hulkamaniacs together as one.
Those of course, lead us here.
Intercontinental Title/WWF Title: Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior
This was dubbed The Ultimate Challenge and both belts were on the line. Warriors music hits and I dont ever recall a crowd going from dead to insane so quickly, at least not until Austin and the glass shattering began. Everything about this match is absolutely epic. Even the entrances just feel big if that makes sense. This is what Wrestlemania was supposed to end with and it works perfectly here.
Absolutely great job in building this up as face vs. face was very risky and still is hard to do today. Hogans ovation is clearly louder, but not by much. In one of the coolest scenes ever, Hogans music plays and as we pan from the crowd to the entry way, Warrior is seen standing on the middle rope doing his press slam motion. I marked out beyond belief just for the entrances.
Its hard to do, but they awakened the inner young fan in me, the Hulkamaniac that lurks inside my soul. One thing Ive always wondered: when Warrior comes to the ring, he clearly has his symbol painted on his chest, yet 5 minutes into the match its gone without a trace. Thats too fast to have been knocked off and wouldnt there be traces if it was sweated off?
Crowd is white hot for this. Both guys shove each other away. And now for the iconic moment of the match: the test of strength. Warrior puts Hogan down but Hogan comes back and puts Warrior down. Hogan gets a slam and Warrior pops up. Warrior gets a slam and Hogan doesn't pop up.
Hogan goes to the floor and holds his knee. This will NEVER be mentioned again after it gets better. The key thing here though: it lets Hogan be able to say that Warrior didn't beat him at his best. The referee keeps trying to protect Hogan and Warrior is like screw you short man.
Naturally Hogan is fine now so the knee thing is completely forgotten, never to be mentioned again. Hogan gets the worst chinlock ever to take over for awhile. He puts Warrior down and waits awhile before covering after a clothesline. Ok then.
Back to the chinlock now as this is going more or less nowhere at all. A belly to back suplex fills in the wrestling quota for tonight. He gets his fourth chinlock to fill in time. Double clothesline and both go down after Hogan has taken next to no punishment this whole time.
Warrior does an Undertaker sit up before Taker was around. Warrior Warriors Up and the bald man is in trouble. Bear hug goes on Hogan. There are FAR more rest holds in this than I remember. This one goes on for like two and a half minutes.
And down goes the referee. Hogan gets what would be a three count. Warrior gets what would be a three count. Warrior hammers away and manages to get the press slam and the splash for two as the fans are in shock.
He Hulks Up as Warrior pounds away on him. Three punches and a big boot set up the leg drop. The leg drop amazingly misses and Warrior hits a big splash and wins the title in one of the biggest shockers of all time.
Rating: A+. This match lived up to the amazing hype that it got and showed that Hogan could work a long match that wasnt in his normal formula. It also showed that Warrior did indeed have the capabilities to wrestle well if given the right opponent, which he had also done with Rude. While I think Hogan should have kept the title, that doesnt mean that it was a bad match, because it was great.
The finish made sense and didnt make Hogan look weak but made Warrior look strong. Thats hard to do. I dont know what I can say about this match that hasnt already been said. For both men, its likely the match of their lives. They have nearly 68,000 people in the palms of their hands for nearly 23 minutes and it never lets up once. Everything is a small war and the crowd knows it. Every little thing in this match is done well and that makes it a classic.
Both men do their signature no pain things, and you literally didnt know who was going to win. When Hogan hulked up, I truly believed for a split second he was going to win. Thats great work. The finish to this epic struggle came when Hogan missed the leg drop and Warrior splashed him for the pin, and wrestling changed forever. Jesses shout of THE WARRIORS WON THE TITLE is absolutely perfect.
After Hogan hands him the belt and steals a bit of the spotlight, the arena goes a bit darker and pyro goes off all over the place. The big screens show Warrior shaking the ropes with the belt in hand and its just amazing to look at. A great ending to a great match and show.
Hulk Hogan vs. Earthquake
MSG here, maybe a month after Mania. Hogan gets jumped while the music is still playing and the beatdown is on. Hogan avoids an elbow and here comes Hulk. A bunch of right hands finally take him down to a knee and down goes Jimmy also. The distraction is enough for Quake to take over again though and Hogan eats post.
Hulk tries a cross body for absolutely no apparent reason and walks into a cross body just like he did at Summerslam. Also just like Summerslam, he gets caught in a powerslam for two. Elbow gets two. Its bearhug time as the 80s wont be allowed to die I guess. Corner splash misses for Hulk and its time to hammer away in the corner, this time going up to about 15 punches.
Slam of course fails because he hasnt Hulked Up yet. Back to the bearhug which is more impressive than it sounds as he has Hulk up in the air instead of just standing in font of him. Quake leans against Hogan, perhaps taking a nap? Its time for the Earthquake. The move, not the person. Earthquake hits Hogan, in this case the move and the person. Theres the kickout and the beating is on. Leg drop hits but its Jimmy Hart in for the DQ so his man doesnt get pinned.
Rating: D. Just a Hogan vs. monster match but this was rather boring. Also it only going about 9 minutes with about three of those being in the bear hug makes it a bit weak but they were trying I guess. The match at Summerslam totally destroyed this, but granted that might be due to the drama and the angle and all that jazz.
The slam is post match.
We get a clip from the Brother Love Show where Earthquake popped Hogan with a chair and dropped some Earthquakes on him. This is the first angle I truly remember and for some reason I thought he hit Hogan with a skateboard. Pat Patterson comes out so you know this is serious. He goes out on a stretcher and wouldnt be seen until filming wrapped on his movie.
Hogan apparently considered retirement over the injuries. This of course warrants a quick Hogan music video. As we go to the history of Hogan part, we get some VERY old school stuff such as Hogan on Johnny Carson and in Rocky 3. This is set to a very slow instrumental version of Real American which is an excellent touch. The last shot we see is Hogans locker closing.
But hey, heres Tugboat to tell the fans to write letters and cards and tell him to come back. If the shot of the mail is real, thats pretty awesome as there are probably 20 boxes full of it.
Hogan thanks the fans for it and is very stoic to say the least here. Hes coming for Dino and Earthquake and no, he isnt retiring because hes been reborn. The match for Summerslam is announced. Hey here it is. I threw in a quick promo from before the match which doesnt really add anything but it was there. Boss Mans intro is cut from this but I added it in too.
Hulk Hogan vs. Earthquake
Quake comes to the ring with no real build. Thats rare to see anymore and I really like the way theyre doing it this way. After the heels are in the ring, Hogan and Boss Man are with Okerlund. Hogan says this is for Tugboat, who was the reason Hogan got the support that he did. Boss Man says the heels have the right to be served justice by Judge Hogan. Hogan compares himself to Washington and the Boss Man is Jefferson and its time to go!
Boss Man comes out first and the pop is so loud you can barely hear his music. For the love of goodness how loud is Hogans going to be? Yep, Im deaf now. The roof gets blown off and you literally cant understand what Fink says after Hogan comes through the curtain. All the standard Hogan stuff before we get going and the fans are so hot its insane. The wide shot here is awesome as its that little yellow thing that is causing the explosion.
Hogan should change his theme to Pac Mans song. Its the same idea: a yellow thing that is all over the place and at certain points is completely invincible. Sounds like it to me. Anyway, we get the bell and were up and running. They trade power displays and despite Hogan being announced at 302lbs, Vince thinks hes at about 287, even though he looks exactly the same as he always has, if not a bit fat.
Very soon the two outside guys get involved and both should causes disqualifications but the referee lets it go for no apparent reason. Hogan, like an idiot, goes for a slam. Now he knows better than that. Hes WAY too healthy to do something like that. Why would he think he can do something that doesnt go against any human sense? Come on Hulk youre smarter than that. Wow I just said Hogan was smart. Im working too hard I think.
Quake does a weird sequence where he goes to the top and then puts on a Boston Crab. More interference follows of course, leading to a Hogan comeback. Once again he goes for a slam and it doesnt work, leading to the true signature Hogan match move: the sleepy hug! It must be sleepy since it needs so much rest. For some reason Hogan tries to grab at the referee and he rips his shirt. I dont want to see Earl Hebners stomach, I truly dont.
Hogan goes for a freaking cross body. Think about that for a second. Thats just weird to type let alone actually watch. Of course Hogan takes two Earthquakes before the power kickout. I love the way Earthquake hits the ropes. He just leans into them and its either great or lazy as hell and Im not sure which. Do I even need to explain what happens here?
Bravo gets the referee to prevent the pin after the leg drop though, allowing the true star of the match, the man thats involved with Wrestleicious (ooo Wrestleicious baby!) to interfere before getting beaten up as well. At this point, it occurs to me that he and Hogan are the only two wrestlers involved in this match that are still alive. Thats a very sad thing to think of. Earthquake gets Hart thrown at him, which knocks him down.
So wait, Hogan jumping at him is an easy catch, but Hart knocks him down? Pipers cheering for Hogan cracks me up as only in pro wrestling could you go from the feud they had to this kind of cheering in just a few years. On the floor, Hogan, in Phila-fucking-delphia of all places, slams Earthquake onto a table. This was over three years before Heyman even got to that city. Im not even sure if Eastern Championship Wrestling was around yet.
The table doesnt break and just falls over, but I wonder if this is what inspired ECW. There must be something in the water in that city. Seriously, whats with the damn tables thing there? Anyway, Hogan wins by count out before jumping in the air like the end of a bad 80s movie. Come on now; give me some bad pop song as the shot freezes with him in the air pumping his fist. If that happened, I might have died of pure laughter. Post match come on.
What do you think happens after the match? Actually, its not the most obvious answer. Quake completely no sells everything thats just been done to him as he hits Hogan a few times and chokes him with Hogan lifted off the mat. Boss Man grabs a I guess thats supposed to be a chair but it looks more like a small ladder and blasts Quake a few times with it to no result.
The spinning of the nightstick of DOOM gets rid of the heels though so we can have our traditional music and posing. What made this posing thing so fucking cool? Its just him standing there showing off his muscles, which was odd because there were guys with bigger muscles in the company. I guess its just that Hogan is who he is and gets cheers for whatever he does. He could even put on a tutu and dance and it would get high ratings.
Scratch that as Mr. Nanny bombed. Hogan dances around the ring like a chicken which is something thats going to haunt my dreams for a long, long time. As he poses Boss Man, who also was Hogans mortal enemy about a year ago, kind of strolls around the ring doing nothing. Piper reaffirms my faith in him as he says it was a hollow victory and that Boss Man deserves a lot of the credit.
Now I feel better as thats the Piper I know and love. Hes right too. What did Hogan really prove? That along with another guy he can win with a count out and not get a pin like he normally would? Yeah thats certainly a great victory.
Rating: B+. This was exactly what it was supposed to be: a chance for the fans to lose their minds over Hogan. It left the door open for the rematch later with Hogan having no rust so he can beat Quake on an even playing field, but that never came at least not on PPV. This definitely should have gone on last though as theres no doubt that this is the real main event. I remember when I was a kid I hardly ever watched the cage match after this as it just didnt mean anything to me.
Granted I wasnt ever much of a Warrior guy after he stole my heros title back in April. Anyway, this was a very fun match but from a technical standpoint, kind of sloppy, which given whos in this, what were you expecting? Fine all around though, so this was a very solid match.
Mean Gene and Alfred Hayes are on the set of Suburban Commando and watch some of Hulks acting. Ok actually this is Christopher Lloyd acting. This scene was at the very end of the movie if for some reason you care. Hulk talks to Gene a bit about the movie and his co-stars: Christopher Lloyd and Shelley Duval, who for some reason is credited as being in Popeye instead of, you know, The Shining. Hogan talks about the fourth demandment, which is to believe in yourself. He mentions the 9 foot surfboard which he talked about at Summerslam too. Hell be champion again soon.
The next match is heavily clipped as we only get the last few minutes but this is the whole review of it. The part on the tape is in the middle of DiBiase hammering away.
WWF Title: Hulk Hogan vs. Ted DiBiase
Hogan fights him off early but Zeus keeps distracting him. Id be distracted by the big bald man with a Z on his head too. Hogan punches DiBiase but the referee pulls Hogans hair to get him off. Well thats a new one. How do wrestlers survive being choked so long? Roberts comes out to even out Zeus somehow. DiBiase takes over and his elbow drops look weird too.
Jake was on Hogans Survivor Series team in case youre wondering about the connection. Virgil grabs his snake though to distract Jake. Im not sure I want Virgil grabbing my snake. Oh come on I had to do that one. DiBiase is fun to watch when he jumps. I dont remember a heavyweight being that smooth every time like that. They try to do a spot where Zeus is supposed to hit Hogan as he hits the ropes. Somehow Zeus cant get this right either which is just kind of pathetic.
They repeat the thing which doesnt look good at all but at least he managed to time it right this time. Hogan starts to Hulk Up but Zeus comes in and hooks the arm on the punch, which somehow doesnt get a DQ. Hogan dodges a clothesline and rolls up DiBiase for the pin. We get the showdown that was supposed to headline Mania 6 at one point until DiBiase puts the Million Dollar Dream on him. Jake makes the save.
Rating: C-. Not bad here but Hogan vs. DiBiase is never a bad thing. This was more about Hogan vs. Zeus though as DiBiase hasnt really meant much in about a year or so. It was a glorified buildup for Survivor Series and thats all that it was supposed to be. One thing does occur to me: why are we clamoring for a Hogan vs. Zeus match when Zeus lost the showdown with Rip in the end of No Holds Barred? Weve already seen it and we know the ending.
Hulk Hogan/Tugboat vs. Dino Bravo/Earthquake
This is just a Superstars dark match so I wouldnt expect much. Hogan vs. Bravo to start as Quake would rather go have a waffle. Before much of any contact its off to the Sailing Superstar. And people wonder why this guy went nowhere other than to more failures as Shockmaster. Ok wait its Hogan. This is making my head hurt. Theres a tag to Tugger and everyone goes TOOT! Maybe theyre booing. I wish they were booing.
Arm work begins as the good guys have tagged in and out about 10 times now. Hogan vs. Quake now and its all yellow dude. He casually slams Quake and its double big boots all around. Double teaming stops Tugboat though and a double slam takes him down. Basic stuff puts him down and its double teaming all around including a double clothesline that Tugboat fell down from before it hit him but whatever. And were done FAST as Tugboat kicks Bravo, tags Hogan, big boot and rollup ends this clean in a hurry.
Rating: C-. Just a dark match here and a main event tag match and theres nothing wrong with that. They did their thing and the fans liked it so what else can you ask for here? Hulk wins as always and thats exactly what the fans wanted at this point. It wouldnt be for almost another year before Flair and Taker came in to take Hogan to another level.
Overall Rating: C-. Not much of a tape but there wasnt much to it so its no harm no foul really. Its got Hogan vs. Warrior and another big Hogan match so its hard to complain really. Definitely not great but for two hours and if youve somehow never seen these big matches before this wouldnt be bad for like $8 or so. Not great or anything but nothing too bad.
Host: Sean Mooney
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Lord Alfred Hayes, Gorilla Monsoon, Sean Mooney
This is the next to last volume in this series so as is my custom Ill be doing the two volumes I have left back to back as it makes things go by quicker. This one is from 1990 and is primarily about his injury at the hands of Earthquake for the sake of making Suburban Commando and his return. Lets get to it.
After a brief video of Hogan praise, were ready to go.
WWF Title: Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage
Were in London here and this would be before he was the Macho King I think. Sherri and Liz are with their respective dudes here. Near Memphis levels of stalling to start us off here which makes sense for Savage. Screw the near aspect of it. Hogan shoves him around with ease so Savage grabs a headlock. Very basic stuff to start but Savage ducks a big boot and hits the floor, hiding behind Sherri.
Savage grabs the mic and says hes better than Hogan in all aspects. The distraction by Sherri lets Savage take over for what must have been a good four seconds and here comes Hogan. Hogan wants to punch Sherri but sends her to the floor onto Savage instead. The referee has either a cast or glove on his left hand. Randy goes after Liz which gets him nowhere. 100% Hogan so far.
More punching and slams and choking follow as Sherri comes up to the apron again. LIZ KNOCKS HER INTO THE RING!!!! I dont remember Liz getting physical EVER before here so that was awesome. Savage uses the hullabaloo to get in a shot to Hogan which does nothing at all. The second one does though and even Sherri adds in a kick. The double axe on the floor has the dude in green in control for once.
Another in the ring gets two as were finally in the Hogan vs. Savage formula which is exactly what they did night after night and it worked night after night. LONG sleeper/chinlock goes on but heres the comeback and here comes Hulk but a double clothesline puts both guys down.
Knee to the back gets two for Savage and make that about ten as he covers time after time again. Off to the chinlock one more time as we have to be getting close to the big Hogan comeback here soon. This one lasts a bit less time but Hogan goes right back down again. He fights out of it but Sherri cheats again and a shot with the purse sets up the elbow for no cover as Hogan pops up and its Mania 5 all over again. Legdrop ends this.
Rating: C. This was one of their weaker matches but for a house show main event in England, this was absolutely fine. Not a great match or anything but Hogan and Savage is always something worth at least a glance. They could have a decent match in their sleep at this point so this being pretty good was no shock in the slightest.
This next one is from SNME 24 so its cut and paste time.
WWF Title: Hulk Hogan vs. The Genius
Genius kind of prances around and this is definitely going to be a comedy match. He even uses a nip up which just wasnt done back then. All Hogan here and Genius stops to write something on his scroll. He was incredibly athletic and skins the cat to get back in. And then Genius slaps Hogan in the face. Hogan gets tired of Genius doing his stuff and takes his head off with a clothesline.
Hogan is killing him now and then prances around the ring. Like him or not, the guy knew how to play to a crowd like no one else in history could. And heres Mr. Perfect to mess everything up. He looks at the belt and says its not perfect and puts gum on it. Hogan gets posted and back in the ring a moonsault gets two. He Hulks Up and Genius goes to the floor. Perfect clocks Hogan with the belt and GENIUS WINS! THE GENIUS BEAT HOGAN! WITH THE TITLE ON THE LINE! Perfect runs away with the title in hand.
Rating: B-. Total comedy match that set up Hogan vs. Perfect for a few months if nothing else. This wasnt supposed to be a serious match and you flat out cant grade it as one. This was a hilarious match at times as someone for once tried to outsmart Hogan and it worked like a charm. This was perfectly played and while the match was nothing, the comedy and thinking was great. I liked this a lot but most people wouldnt.
We get a quick clip of the end of Warrior/Hogan vs. Perfect/Genius, which resulted in Warrior accidently clotheslining Hogan and the huge staredown that got a huge gasp from the audience, as if WWF was saying Oh yeah, were going there.
We get a clip of Hogan beating Dino Bravo, immediately followed by Quake and Bravo double teaming. No Warrior save so Im not sure what the point is here.
From Mania 6, Hogan cuts one of his most famous promos ever, telling Warrior that the power lies in the palm of his hand. He also says that he can save all of the Little Warriors with the training, the prayers and the vitamins. Hogan goes on to say that his Hulkamaniacs want to help them. Rewatching this, its clear that Hogan would lose. He mentions that the winner or the loser doesnt matter, but what kind of winner or loser you are.
Warrior responds by saying that Hogans life can be lived through the Warrior, but it will be in the darkness. Everything is about accepting challenges, but Hogan has never met a challenge like him. Hes going to bring the Warriors and the Hulkamaniacs together as one.
Those of course, lead us here.
Intercontinental Title/WWF Title: Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior
This was dubbed The Ultimate Challenge and both belts were on the line. Warriors music hits and I dont ever recall a crowd going from dead to insane so quickly, at least not until Austin and the glass shattering began. Everything about this match is absolutely epic. Even the entrances just feel big if that makes sense. This is what Wrestlemania was supposed to end with and it works perfectly here.
Absolutely great job in building this up as face vs. face was very risky and still is hard to do today. Hogans ovation is clearly louder, but not by much. In one of the coolest scenes ever, Hogans music plays and as we pan from the crowd to the entry way, Warrior is seen standing on the middle rope doing his press slam motion. I marked out beyond belief just for the entrances.
Its hard to do, but they awakened the inner young fan in me, the Hulkamaniac that lurks inside my soul. One thing Ive always wondered: when Warrior comes to the ring, he clearly has his symbol painted on his chest, yet 5 minutes into the match its gone without a trace. Thats too fast to have been knocked off and wouldnt there be traces if it was sweated off?
Crowd is white hot for this. Both guys shove each other away. And now for the iconic moment of the match: the test of strength. Warrior puts Hogan down but Hogan comes back and puts Warrior down. Hogan gets a slam and Warrior pops up. Warrior gets a slam and Hogan doesn't pop up.
Hogan goes to the floor and holds his knee. This will NEVER be mentioned again after it gets better. The key thing here though: it lets Hogan be able to say that Warrior didn't beat him at his best. The referee keeps trying to protect Hogan and Warrior is like screw you short man.
Naturally Hogan is fine now so the knee thing is completely forgotten, never to be mentioned again. Hogan gets the worst chinlock ever to take over for awhile. He puts Warrior down and waits awhile before covering after a clothesline. Ok then.
Back to the chinlock now as this is going more or less nowhere at all. A belly to back suplex fills in the wrestling quota for tonight. He gets his fourth chinlock to fill in time. Double clothesline and both go down after Hogan has taken next to no punishment this whole time.
Warrior does an Undertaker sit up before Taker was around. Warrior Warriors Up and the bald man is in trouble. Bear hug goes on Hogan. There are FAR more rest holds in this than I remember. This one goes on for like two and a half minutes.
And down goes the referee. Hogan gets what would be a three count. Warrior gets what would be a three count. Warrior hammers away and manages to get the press slam and the splash for two as the fans are in shock.
He Hulks Up as Warrior pounds away on him. Three punches and a big boot set up the leg drop. The leg drop amazingly misses and Warrior hits a big splash and wins the title in one of the biggest shockers of all time.
Rating: A+. This match lived up to the amazing hype that it got and showed that Hogan could work a long match that wasnt in his normal formula. It also showed that Warrior did indeed have the capabilities to wrestle well if given the right opponent, which he had also done with Rude. While I think Hogan should have kept the title, that doesnt mean that it was a bad match, because it was great.
The finish made sense and didnt make Hogan look weak but made Warrior look strong. Thats hard to do. I dont know what I can say about this match that hasnt already been said. For both men, its likely the match of their lives. They have nearly 68,000 people in the palms of their hands for nearly 23 minutes and it never lets up once. Everything is a small war and the crowd knows it. Every little thing in this match is done well and that makes it a classic.
Both men do their signature no pain things, and you literally didnt know who was going to win. When Hogan hulked up, I truly believed for a split second he was going to win. Thats great work. The finish to this epic struggle came when Hogan missed the leg drop and Warrior splashed him for the pin, and wrestling changed forever. Jesses shout of THE WARRIORS WON THE TITLE is absolutely perfect.
After Hogan hands him the belt and steals a bit of the spotlight, the arena goes a bit darker and pyro goes off all over the place. The big screens show Warrior shaking the ropes with the belt in hand and its just amazing to look at. A great ending to a great match and show.
Hulk Hogan vs. Earthquake
MSG here, maybe a month after Mania. Hogan gets jumped while the music is still playing and the beatdown is on. Hogan avoids an elbow and here comes Hulk. A bunch of right hands finally take him down to a knee and down goes Jimmy also. The distraction is enough for Quake to take over again though and Hogan eats post.
Hulk tries a cross body for absolutely no apparent reason and walks into a cross body just like he did at Summerslam. Also just like Summerslam, he gets caught in a powerslam for two. Elbow gets two. Its bearhug time as the 80s wont be allowed to die I guess. Corner splash misses for Hulk and its time to hammer away in the corner, this time going up to about 15 punches.
Slam of course fails because he hasnt Hulked Up yet. Back to the bearhug which is more impressive than it sounds as he has Hulk up in the air instead of just standing in font of him. Quake leans against Hogan, perhaps taking a nap? Its time for the Earthquake. The move, not the person. Earthquake hits Hogan, in this case the move and the person. Theres the kickout and the beating is on. Leg drop hits but its Jimmy Hart in for the DQ so his man doesnt get pinned.
Rating: D. Just a Hogan vs. monster match but this was rather boring. Also it only going about 9 minutes with about three of those being in the bear hug makes it a bit weak but they were trying I guess. The match at Summerslam totally destroyed this, but granted that might be due to the drama and the angle and all that jazz.
The slam is post match.
We get a clip from the Brother Love Show where Earthquake popped Hogan with a chair and dropped some Earthquakes on him. This is the first angle I truly remember and for some reason I thought he hit Hogan with a skateboard. Pat Patterson comes out so you know this is serious. He goes out on a stretcher and wouldnt be seen until filming wrapped on his movie.
Hogan apparently considered retirement over the injuries. This of course warrants a quick Hogan music video. As we go to the history of Hogan part, we get some VERY old school stuff such as Hogan on Johnny Carson and in Rocky 3. This is set to a very slow instrumental version of Real American which is an excellent touch. The last shot we see is Hogans locker closing.
But hey, heres Tugboat to tell the fans to write letters and cards and tell him to come back. If the shot of the mail is real, thats pretty awesome as there are probably 20 boxes full of it.
Hogan thanks the fans for it and is very stoic to say the least here. Hes coming for Dino and Earthquake and no, he isnt retiring because hes been reborn. The match for Summerslam is announced. Hey here it is. I threw in a quick promo from before the match which doesnt really add anything but it was there. Boss Mans intro is cut from this but I added it in too.
Hulk Hogan vs. Earthquake
Quake comes to the ring with no real build. Thats rare to see anymore and I really like the way theyre doing it this way. After the heels are in the ring, Hogan and Boss Man are with Okerlund. Hogan says this is for Tugboat, who was the reason Hogan got the support that he did. Boss Man says the heels have the right to be served justice by Judge Hogan. Hogan compares himself to Washington and the Boss Man is Jefferson and its time to go!
Boss Man comes out first and the pop is so loud you can barely hear his music. For the love of goodness how loud is Hogans going to be? Yep, Im deaf now. The roof gets blown off and you literally cant understand what Fink says after Hogan comes through the curtain. All the standard Hogan stuff before we get going and the fans are so hot its insane. The wide shot here is awesome as its that little yellow thing that is causing the explosion.
Hogan should change his theme to Pac Mans song. Its the same idea: a yellow thing that is all over the place and at certain points is completely invincible. Sounds like it to me. Anyway, we get the bell and were up and running. They trade power displays and despite Hogan being announced at 302lbs, Vince thinks hes at about 287, even though he looks exactly the same as he always has, if not a bit fat.
Very soon the two outside guys get involved and both should causes disqualifications but the referee lets it go for no apparent reason. Hogan, like an idiot, goes for a slam. Now he knows better than that. Hes WAY too healthy to do something like that. Why would he think he can do something that doesnt go against any human sense? Come on Hulk youre smarter than that. Wow I just said Hogan was smart. Im working too hard I think.
Quake does a weird sequence where he goes to the top and then puts on a Boston Crab. More interference follows of course, leading to a Hogan comeback. Once again he goes for a slam and it doesnt work, leading to the true signature Hogan match move: the sleepy hug! It must be sleepy since it needs so much rest. For some reason Hogan tries to grab at the referee and he rips his shirt. I dont want to see Earl Hebners stomach, I truly dont.
Hogan goes for a freaking cross body. Think about that for a second. Thats just weird to type let alone actually watch. Of course Hogan takes two Earthquakes before the power kickout. I love the way Earthquake hits the ropes. He just leans into them and its either great or lazy as hell and Im not sure which. Do I even need to explain what happens here?
Bravo gets the referee to prevent the pin after the leg drop though, allowing the true star of the match, the man thats involved with Wrestleicious (ooo Wrestleicious baby!) to interfere before getting beaten up as well. At this point, it occurs to me that he and Hogan are the only two wrestlers involved in this match that are still alive. Thats a very sad thing to think of. Earthquake gets Hart thrown at him, which knocks him down.
So wait, Hogan jumping at him is an easy catch, but Hart knocks him down? Pipers cheering for Hogan cracks me up as only in pro wrestling could you go from the feud they had to this kind of cheering in just a few years. On the floor, Hogan, in Phila-fucking-delphia of all places, slams Earthquake onto a table. This was over three years before Heyman even got to that city. Im not even sure if Eastern Championship Wrestling was around yet.
The table doesnt break and just falls over, but I wonder if this is what inspired ECW. There must be something in the water in that city. Seriously, whats with the damn tables thing there? Anyway, Hogan wins by count out before jumping in the air like the end of a bad 80s movie. Come on now; give me some bad pop song as the shot freezes with him in the air pumping his fist. If that happened, I might have died of pure laughter. Post match come on.
What do you think happens after the match? Actually, its not the most obvious answer. Quake completely no sells everything thats just been done to him as he hits Hogan a few times and chokes him with Hogan lifted off the mat. Boss Man grabs a I guess thats supposed to be a chair but it looks more like a small ladder and blasts Quake a few times with it to no result.
The spinning of the nightstick of DOOM gets rid of the heels though so we can have our traditional music and posing. What made this posing thing so fucking cool? Its just him standing there showing off his muscles, which was odd because there were guys with bigger muscles in the company. I guess its just that Hogan is who he is and gets cheers for whatever he does. He could even put on a tutu and dance and it would get high ratings.
Scratch that as Mr. Nanny bombed. Hogan dances around the ring like a chicken which is something thats going to haunt my dreams for a long, long time. As he poses Boss Man, who also was Hogans mortal enemy about a year ago, kind of strolls around the ring doing nothing. Piper reaffirms my faith in him as he says it was a hollow victory and that Boss Man deserves a lot of the credit.
Now I feel better as thats the Piper I know and love. Hes right too. What did Hogan really prove? That along with another guy he can win with a count out and not get a pin like he normally would? Yeah thats certainly a great victory.
Rating: B+. This was exactly what it was supposed to be: a chance for the fans to lose their minds over Hogan. It left the door open for the rematch later with Hogan having no rust so he can beat Quake on an even playing field, but that never came at least not on PPV. This definitely should have gone on last though as theres no doubt that this is the real main event. I remember when I was a kid I hardly ever watched the cage match after this as it just didnt mean anything to me.
Granted I wasnt ever much of a Warrior guy after he stole my heros title back in April. Anyway, this was a very fun match but from a technical standpoint, kind of sloppy, which given whos in this, what were you expecting? Fine all around though, so this was a very solid match.
Mean Gene and Alfred Hayes are on the set of Suburban Commando and watch some of Hulks acting. Ok actually this is Christopher Lloyd acting. This scene was at the very end of the movie if for some reason you care. Hulk talks to Gene a bit about the movie and his co-stars: Christopher Lloyd and Shelley Duval, who for some reason is credited as being in Popeye instead of, you know, The Shining. Hogan talks about the fourth demandment, which is to believe in yourself. He mentions the 9 foot surfboard which he talked about at Summerslam too. Hell be champion again soon.
The next match is heavily clipped as we only get the last few minutes but this is the whole review of it. The part on the tape is in the middle of DiBiase hammering away.
WWF Title: Hulk Hogan vs. Ted DiBiase
Hogan fights him off early but Zeus keeps distracting him. Id be distracted by the big bald man with a Z on his head too. Hogan punches DiBiase but the referee pulls Hogans hair to get him off. Well thats a new one. How do wrestlers survive being choked so long? Roberts comes out to even out Zeus somehow. DiBiase takes over and his elbow drops look weird too.
Jake was on Hogans Survivor Series team in case youre wondering about the connection. Virgil grabs his snake though to distract Jake. Im not sure I want Virgil grabbing my snake. Oh come on I had to do that one. DiBiase is fun to watch when he jumps. I dont remember a heavyweight being that smooth every time like that. They try to do a spot where Zeus is supposed to hit Hogan as he hits the ropes. Somehow Zeus cant get this right either which is just kind of pathetic.
They repeat the thing which doesnt look good at all but at least he managed to time it right this time. Hogan starts to Hulk Up but Zeus comes in and hooks the arm on the punch, which somehow doesnt get a DQ. Hogan dodges a clothesline and rolls up DiBiase for the pin. We get the showdown that was supposed to headline Mania 6 at one point until DiBiase puts the Million Dollar Dream on him. Jake makes the save.
Rating: C-. Not bad here but Hogan vs. DiBiase is never a bad thing. This was more about Hogan vs. Zeus though as DiBiase hasnt really meant much in about a year or so. It was a glorified buildup for Survivor Series and thats all that it was supposed to be. One thing does occur to me: why are we clamoring for a Hogan vs. Zeus match when Zeus lost the showdown with Rip in the end of No Holds Barred? Weve already seen it and we know the ending.
Hulk Hogan/Tugboat vs. Dino Bravo/Earthquake
This is just a Superstars dark match so I wouldnt expect much. Hogan vs. Bravo to start as Quake would rather go have a waffle. Before much of any contact its off to the Sailing Superstar. And people wonder why this guy went nowhere other than to more failures as Shockmaster. Ok wait its Hogan. This is making my head hurt. Theres a tag to Tugger and everyone goes TOOT! Maybe theyre booing. I wish they were booing.
Arm work begins as the good guys have tagged in and out about 10 times now. Hogan vs. Quake now and its all yellow dude. He casually slams Quake and its double big boots all around. Double teaming stops Tugboat though and a double slam takes him down. Basic stuff puts him down and its double teaming all around including a double clothesline that Tugboat fell down from before it hit him but whatever. And were done FAST as Tugboat kicks Bravo, tags Hogan, big boot and rollup ends this clean in a hurry.
Rating: C-. Just a dark match here and a main event tag match and theres nothing wrong with that. They did their thing and the fans liked it so what else can you ask for here? Hulk wins as always and thats exactly what the fans wanted at this point. It wouldnt be for almost another year before Flair and Taker came in to take Hogan to another level.
Overall Rating: C-. Not much of a tape but there wasnt much to it so its no harm no foul really. Its got Hogan vs. Warrior and another big Hogan match so its hard to complain really. Definitely not great but for two hours and if youve somehow never seen these big matches before this wouldnt be bad for like $8 or so. Not great or anything but nothing too bad.