March PYBO: WrestleMania IV, March 27, 1988, Atlantic City, NJ Options

[KingPK]

14-Man Tournament to Crown Undisputed WWF Champion

Participants:

Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase
Hacksaw Jim Duggan
Don Muraco
Dino Bravo
Greg Valentine
Ricky Steamboat
Randy Savage
Butch Reed
Bam Bam Bigelow
One Man Gang
Ravishing Rick Rude
Jake The Snake Roberts
Hulk Hogan
Andre The Giant

20-Man Invitational Battle Royale

The Ultimate Warrior vs. Hercules

IC Title Match: Brutus Beefcake vs. The Honky Tonk Man ©

The Islanders and Bobby Heenan vs. The British Bulldogs and Koko B Ware

Tag Title Match: Demolition vs. Strike Force ©

A word of warning: Part 1 clocks in at 1:30 and Part 2 is 2:00. Brew some coffee before watching.

[KingPK]

You know, the big knock on the show is it's length, but it actually is flowing pretty well. I'm sure watching it live must have been a chore, but the booking of the tournament makes sense and the crap has been brief.

Which Liz was your favorite? Personally, I enjoyed Liz in blue from the 1st round.

[ChrisMWaters]

You know, the big knock on the show is it's length, but it actually is flowing pretty well. I'm sure watching it live must have been a chore, but the booking of the tournament makes sense and the crap has been brief.

Which Liz was your favorite? Personally, I enjoyed Liz in blue from the 1st round.

Blue from first round or white from the finals.

The latter if just because of the "lift on the shoulders while she holds title" pose.

The only problem with that WrestleMania is, every time I watch it (like how I did 8 days ago as part of my WrestleMania marathon), I get "Pomp and Circumstance" stuck in my head.

[bob_barron]

They should call it WRESTLEMANIA BORE LOL AM I RITE?

[909]

I love this show, as I've stated repeatedly. However, Rude vs. Snake was freaking horrendous.

I'll catch this one again later this week.

[Darth Pipes]

Did anyone who actually saw this WM vote for it? Even as a kid, I remember being fairly bored with it.

I guess they didn't want to split the crowd against Savage but they missed a golden opportunity to have Savage/Steamboat II in the tournament. I would have had Savage win and Steamboat shake his hand afterwards, putting him over with the crowd further.

[KingPK]

I think a Savage/Steamboat semifinal would have been great, especially if they keep DiBiase getting the bye into the finals. That definitely builds up the angle of "What does Savage have left for the final?"

And boo for dubbing over the Demolition theme. They use it in the Rumble anthology DVD, so why can't it be used here?

[ChrisMWaters]

And boo for dubbing over the Demolition theme. They use it in the Rumble anthology DVD, so why can't it be used here?

The WrestleMania Anthology came out first, and at the time they didn't have the rights to use it.

When it came time for the Rumble Anthology, they managed to get the rights, and thus they were able to use it.

[cabbageboy]

This show holds a special place for me since it was the first WM I ever saw. It has gotten a lot of flack over the years due to the sheer length, but it's still a fun show.

[Jericholic82]

And boo for dubbing over the Demolition theme. They use it in the Rumble anthology DVD, so why can't it be used here?

The WrestleMania Anthology came out first, and at the time they didn't have the rights to use it.

When it came time for the Rumble Anthology, they managed to get the rights, and thus they were able to use it.

Yea but they could have changed it for 24/7, but I guess tehn they'd have to redo the whole show and edit out all the "WWF" references. Actually they could have just inserted the match segment in there with the proper theme.

[PILLS! PILLS...]

This show holds a special place for me since it was the first WM I ever saw. It has gotten a lot of flack over the years due to the sheer length, but it's still a fun show.

Length has nothing to do with it. They've been doing four-hour WrestleManias all decade long and none of them have been as underwhelming as this one was.

[King Kamala]

Yeah, this show isn't quite as bad as its reputation but it certainly isn't very good. Only Strike Force/Demolition, the main event, and Steamboat/Valentine stand out for me as really solid matches. I have a lot of nostalgia for it being one of the first tapes I owned but it's probably near the bottom if I were to list my favorite Manias.

[Boner Kawanger]

The problem is the booking, not the time. It's a lot like Starrcade '97 in that it's dominated by heel wins and cheating. Christ, how many people get screwed by a cane here, let alone a chair? Half of the matches are either a draw or a tainted win that would put a bad taste in the crowd's mouths (I'm not counting the Demos win here since they were over as faces at this point). Not to mention the screwy ending of the Beefcake/Honky match. And, I mean, I love "The Brain" but I didn't wanna see Team Dog Abuse win. If I'd been cognizant when the show was live, I would have been one devastated mark.

[PILLS! PILLS...]

TSM needs a Team Dog Abuse group. And I want in.

[cabbageboy]

Now that part I do agree with. I never liked that 6 man with the Islanders/Heenan beating Bulldogs/Koko. What was with them using the Bulldogs as jobber 6 man fodder at WM anyway? They did that at III and IV.

[Kahran Ramsus]

Now that part I do agree with. I never liked that 6 man with the Islanders/Heenan beating Bulldogs/Koko. What was with them using the Bulldogs as jobber 6 man fodder at WM anyway? They did that at III and IV.

It was their own fault for teaming with Koko & Chico, two of the biggest Wrestlemania jobbers ever.

[Darth Pipes]

The problem is the booking, not the time. It's a lot like Starrcade '97 in that it's dominated by heel wins and cheating. Christ, how many people get screwed by a cane here, let alone a chair? Half of the matches are either a draw or a tainted win that would put a bad taste in the crowd's mouths (I'm not counting the Demos win here since they were over as faces at this point). Not to mention the screwy ending of the Beefcake/Honky match. And, I mean, I love "The Brain" but I didn't wanna see Team Dog Abuse win. If I'd been cognizant when the show was live, I would have been one devastated mark.

Team Dog Abuse...that was classic. And just remember, WMIV was "Hall of Famer" Koko B. Ware's only significant match in his WWF career.

Didn't think about it but you're right about the heels doing very well. Imagine if they had stuff to the original plan with Dibiase winning the title.

[Boner Kawanger]

Oh, and they outright teased a rematch of Savage/Steamboat. Watching two ultimate babyfaces go down in the first round is another knock on the booking.

[ChrisMWaters]

Team Dog Abuse...that was classic. And just remember, WMIV was "Hall of Famer" Koko B. Ware's only significant match in his WWF career.

Mania III vs. Reed or Mania VI vs. Martel weren't significant?

I'm not arguing, I'm asking because I hadn't started to watch at the time.

[909]

Mania III vs. Reed

no, although that match had some sort of build, which is more than you can say for many matches of such throw-away status.

Mania VI vs. Martel weren't significant?

no

[Enigma]

Not one match is through and Gorilla Monsoon already makes a blunder. George Steele, who was the only one outside the ring when he was introduced, stays outside the ring for the entire battle royal. All during the thing, Monsoon is ranting about how Steele got thrown out and was refusing to leave ringside. Ventura is trying his damndest to make him understand he was never in the ring, but Monsoon keeps firing back with, "BUT HE WAS IN THE RING DURING INTRODUCTIONS, JESS!" Ventura eventually gives up and goes back to sparring with Bob Uecker.

Did not even Vince have the balls to tell Gorilla on the headset that he was fucking up and correct him?

[Kahran Ramsus]

Team Dog Abuse...that was classic. And just remember, WMIV was "Hall of Famer" Koko B. Ware's only significant match in his WWF career.

Mania III vs. Reed or Mania VI vs. Martel weren't significant?

I'm not arguing, I'm asking because I hadn't started to watch at the time.

Koko's most memorable moment to me was getting pummelled by Martel in a blindfold match (without Martel having his blindfold on) in the leadup to Wrestlemania VII. That pretty much says it all about his career.

[jericho4life]

I loved Andre's interview with Uecker - he was awesome the whole event.

[King Kamala]

Uecker's antics are easily the highlight of this 'Mania. More compelling than any of the in-ring action and that's not entirely a knock on the quality of the in ring matches, Uecker really brought the funny here.

[MillenniumMan831]

Not one match is through and Gorilla Monsoon already makes a blunder. George Steele, who was the only one outside the ring when he was introduced, stays outside the ring for the entire battle royal. All during the thing, Monsoon is ranting about how Steele got thrown out and was refusing to leave ringside. Ventura is trying his damndest to make him understand he was never in the ring, but Monsoon keeps firing back with, "BUT HE WAS IN THE RING DURING INTRODUCTIONS, JESS!" Ventura eventually gives up and goes back to sparring with Bob Uecker.

Did not even Vince have the balls to tell Gorilla on the headset that he was fucking up and correct him?

On a sidenote, apparently George Steele was supposed to be in the battle royal. He said he hurt himself coming to the ring and refused to go inside. He just kind of wandered off when he knew he was supposed to be eliminated. I'm guessing he either didn't want to take an over the top rope bump and/or didn't want to do any kind of job.

My guess is that if anything, it'd be Gorilla yelling into Vince's headset during SuperStars/SNME shows.

[909]

My meaningless ratings and tidbits that nobody will read.

Battle Royale - 7/10. I only rate these matches by how the match was wrapped up. This went well. It's one big jobber fest, but that's okay. It served it's purpose at the end.

Jim Duggan vs. Ted DiBiase - Average, nothing bad about it. But nothing good either. *1/2.

Dino Bravo vs. Don Muraco - This was just horrible. Fortunately it was very short. Botches, bad finish, DUD.

Ricky Steamboat vs. Greg Valentine - YES. ***.

Butch Reed vs. Randy Savage - *1/2. I like Reed.

One Man Gang vs. Bam Bam Bigelow - Really lame match, with a really lame finish. 1/4*.

Rick Rude vs. Jake Roberts - Ugh. Started off well (I mean a very short start, mind), but finished with a lot of chinlock. Gotta dip into the negatives. -*.

Ultimate Warrior vs. Hercules - I'll be nice and call it a DUD. In truth, it is worse than the other match I DUD'd, but at least this one had a finish. I don't know why in the world this was put on PPV.

Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant - It really isn't too bad. Speaking strictly in terms of whether the match was good or not, I like it better than the other two matches they had in that one year time-frame. As a spectacle, it doesn't compare, but that's okay. *.

Don Muraco vs. Ted DiBiase - Good, but short. DiBiase could not possibly have carried Muraco through anything longer without it falling apart. Muraco was done. **.

Greg Valentine vs. Randy Savage - Thank you. ***. If they wrestled at a house show and had a longer match, somebody tell me if and where I can track it down. This was the good stuff.

Brutus Beefcake vs. Honky Tonk Man for the Intercontinental Championship - There have been four worse matches already. I have always hated this match. I'll still give it 1/2*. Laughably bad.

The British Bulldogs and Koko B. Ware vs. The Islanders and Bobby Heenan - As has already been mentioned, the angle was terrible. The match was not so much. We got a great line from Jesse in which he said that Heenan was dressed like a "china man." That was just as funny as when Heenan picked up the pinfall over Koko. I had forgotten all about that. *1/2.

Randy Savage vs. One Man Gang - Another REALLY BAD finish. 1/4*.

Demolition vs. Strike Force for the WWF Tag Team Championship - Huge pop for the Demolition win. Not surprising. See, I never liked Strike Force. One of the biggest no-brainer booking decisions I have ever seen. **1/4.

Randy Savage vs. Ted DiBiase for the WWF Championship - The people wanted Hogan and they got him. He had to come out and be a factor in that match. At least we got a pretty good SummerSlam main event out of it. Of course they were trying to get there in the first place. Oh yeah, the match. One of my favorites. I love everything about it., the pop being the best part. ***1/4.

If the WWF had pushed Savage harder, they would not have had this Hogan problem. Hogan was so over that it was almost a detriment to everything else on this show. That's not his fault. Nobody else even came close to his level. Just...nobody. Vince and company just did not bother with building up other guys. That evened out somewhat (I'm not trying to say it ever evened out, but that it became more balanced than this) as the years went on, thankfully.

I hate a lot of the matches on this show, but still love it as a whole. If you follow.

[Bruiser Chong]

Not one match is through and Gorilla Monsoon already makes a blunder. George Steele, who was the only one outside the ring when he was introduced, stays outside the ring for the entire battle royal. All during the thing, Monsoon is ranting about how Steele got thrown out and was refusing to leave ringside. Ventura is trying his damndest to make him understand he was never in the ring, but Monsoon keeps firing back with, "BUT HE WAS IN THE RING DURING INTRODUCTIONS, JESS!" Ventura eventually gives up and goes back to sparring with Bob Uecker.

Did not even Vince have the balls to tell Gorilla on the headset that he was fucking up and correct him?

On a sidenote, apparently George Steele was supposed to be in the battle royal. He said he hurt himself coming to the ring and refused to go inside. He just kind of wandered off when he knew he was supposed to be eliminated. I'm guessing he either didn't want to take an over the top rope bump and/or didn't want to do any kind of job.

My guess is that if anything, it'd be Gorilla yelling into Vince's headset during SuperStars/SNME shows.

That's interesting; where'd you hear that? This was the second wrestling video I ever rented, so I've seen it legitimately at least a couple dozen times. The argument over Steele in the opener was always a head scratcher, since he was clearly outside the ring, even during the intros.

[Enigma]

How do you get hurt walking to the ring?

[strummer]

Yeah I've heard the story before. He claims he blew out his knee tripping on the steps on the way to the ring. He didn't want to risk getting hurt any further so he never went in the ring

[Enigma]

Ah, I forgot there was a staircase in front of the entry.