Posted in: The Classroom The Classroom - History Of: WrestleMania Part 4
By Sean Taylor
Jan 17, 2009 - 3:30:39 AM
Hello again everyone. The opening bell has rung and you took too much time putting on your indoor shoes. I don’t care if there was a knot . . . or . . . not. Pay attention because The Classroom is back in session. A big thank you to all who responded to Part 3. This is beginning to look like a bigger undertaking than I originally thought it was going to be so any words of encouragement (or ridicule) are most certainly welcome. For those of you who noticed that I goofed again last column – the track on WrestleMania: The Album wasn’t a song about Survivor Series, it was “SummerSlam Jam” – very good. I was testing you. Yes. That’s it. I was testing you.
Today’s lesson focuses on WrestleMania IV. Now so far we’ve been looking at the WrestleMania line-ups in order of happening but for this edition we’re going to take a different approach. Since WrestleMania IV featured a fourteen man tournament for the WWE Heavyweight Championship, I’m going to start with the undercard matches first and then the tournament breaking it down by rounds. That being said, sit back, take notes, and enjoy the History Of: WrestleMania IV.
WrestleMania IV: What The World Is Watching
Date: March 27, 1988
Venue: Trump Plaza (Atlantic City, New Jersey)
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon & Jesse “The Body” Ventura
Attendance: 18,165
After the record setting WrestleMania III, the WWE took their biggest show to the Garden State. Vince McMahon and Donald Trump combined to bring WrestleMania from Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino. By March of 1988, the WWE had firmly established its position as the number one wrestling company in North America. Turner Broadcasting Inc had just recently purchased Georgia Championship Wrestling from Jim Crockett and renamed it World Championship Wrestling (WCW). WCW was still in a phase of rebuilding after losing their top name talent to the WWE and the NWA.
Trophy Battle
WrestleMania IV started off with R&B/soul singer Gladys Knight singing “America The Beautiful” and then it went to commentators Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse “The Body” Ventura welcoming guest commentator Bob Uecker for the 20 Man Battle Royal Invitational.
A seven-foot tall gold trophy was carried to the ring. The trophy would be presented to the winner of the battle royal. Participants included The Bolsheviks (Boris Zhukov/Nikolai Volkoff), The Killer Bees (B. Brian Blair/Jim Brunzell), The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers (Jacques/Raymond), The Hart Foundation (Jim Neidhart/Bret Hart), The Young Stallions (Paul Roma/Jim Powers), “Dangerous” Danny Davis, George “The Animal” Steele, Bad News Brown, King Harley Race, Ken Patera, Hillbilly Jim, The Junkyard Dog, Sam Houston, Wild Samoan Sika, and “Outlaw” Ron Bass.
The final three were Stampede Wrestling alumni Junkyard Dog, Bad News Brown, and Bret “The Hitman” Hart. Brown and Hart collaborated to eliminate JYD but as they celebrated their accomplishment, Brown turned on Hart. Brown eliminated Hart to win the match. The trophy was brought into the ring and Brown posed for pictures but Hart came up behind and dropkicked Brown out of the ring before smashing the trophy into several pieces. This would be one of the factors that influenced the Hart Foundation’s upcoming babyface turn.
Breaking The Chains
The next non-tournament match featured the pay-per-view debut of the Ultimate Warrior as he took on Hercules. The two powerhouses originally met on an episode of “Superstars” when Hercules started swinging his trademark steel chain in Warrior’s direction. Warrior caught the chain and a tug of war ensued. The two men were jockeying for leverage when the chain snapped in half.
In order to settle the score and prove who the stronger man was; a match was made for WrestleMania IV. The match itself was slow paced and filled with power moves – mainly punches and clotheslines - until Hercules locked Warrior into a full nelson. Hercules then turned the full nelson into a full nelson suplex. With both men’s shoulders down on the mat, the referee counted the pinfall. But Warrior lifted his shoulder before the three and got his hand raised.
IC Gold and A Weasel Hunt
The next two non-tournament matches separated the quarterfinal and the semi-final rounds. The first was for the WWE Intercontinental Championship. After shaving Adrian Adonis’ hair at WrestleMania III, Brutus Beefcake became “The Barber”. He would put his opponents in The Sleeper and after being declared the winner, he would cut his fallen foe’s hair and leave the strands in the ring. At the same time, the wrestling Elvis impersonator The Honky Tonk Man defeated Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat to become the new Intercontinental Champion. WrestleMania IV kicked off a feud between Honky and Beefcake that would last most of the summer.
At WrestleMania IV, Beefcake promised to not only win the title but also give Honky a well-deserved haircut. Beefcake put Honky in the Sleeper and put the champion to sleep. Seeing his charge’s title in trouble, manager Jimmy Hart jumped onto the apron and clocked the referee in the back of the head with his megaphone. After Beefcake chased down Jimmy Hart and cut his hair, it was announced that Beefcake had won the match via a disqualification.
Prior to WrestleMania IV, The Islanders (Haku & Tama) dog-napped The British Bulldogs’ mascot Matilda. The Bulldogs rescued Matilda and were signed to a six-man match at WrestleMania IV – The British Bulldogs & Koko B. Ware vs The Islanders & Bobby “The Brain” Heenan. Before the match, The Bulldogs said that they had been training Matilda to hunt weasels (the fans’ taunting name for Heenan).
For the match, Heenan protected himself from Matilda by wearing an attack dog suit. Once the match started most of the wrestling was done by the tag teams. Eventually a brawl erupted and the referee got distracted while trying to get the Bulldogs out of the ring. The Islanders took advantage by dropping Heenan on top of Koko. When the ref turned around, he made the three count and awarded the match to The Islanders and Heenan.
Black vs White
Before the WWE Title Tournament final match, the WWE World Tag Team Championships were on the line as Strike Force (Tito Santana/Rick Martel) defended against Demolition (Ax/Smash). Demolition was accompanied by their manager Mr. Fuji. At the end of the match, Martel had Smash in a Boston Crab and with the referee distracted, Ax hit Martel with Fuji’s cane. Smash covered Martel and Demolition won their first WWE Tag Team Championship.
The Tournament
After WrestleMania III, Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant continued their feud for the WWE Heavyweight Title. At the inaugural Survivor Series in November of 1987, Andre’s team defeated Hogan’s team and soon after, newcomer “Million Dollar Man” Ted Dibiase announced plans to buy the championship from Hogan. Hogan said he would never sell his title so DiBiase turned to Andre. At the first Royal Rumble in January 1988, Hogan and Andre signed a contract to have a rematch at The Main Event.
The Main Event was a spin off show from Saturday Night’s Main Event. On its debut show (February 5, 1988) Andre pinned Hogan and referee Dave Hebner made the three count despite Hogan’s shoulder off the mat at two. DiBiase had paid off Hebner to insure that Hogan would lose the belt. Backstage, Andre delivered the belt to DiBiase but WWE President Jack Tunney immediately vacated the championship and announced that a new undisputed champion would be crowned after a 14-man single elimination tournament at WrestleMania IV.
Fourteen of the top WWE superstars were seeded into the brackets. Twelve would fight in the first round while Hogan and Andre received a bye to the second round where they would face each other. The rules were simple. The first round matches had a fifteen-minute time limit, second round matches had a twenty-minute time limit, third round matches had a thirty-minute time limit, and the final match had no time limit. Only the winners would move on to the next round. If a wrestler didn’t get his hand raised he was eliminated.
First Round
The tournament started with Robin Leach, host of TV’s “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous”, reading the Opening Proclamation. The first match featured Ted DiBiase against “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan. DiBiase was cornered with his bodyguard Virgil and Andre. Thanks to Andre’s distraction, DiBiase was able to roll up and advance to the second round.
The next match was a meeting of two muscular powerhouses. “The Canadian Strongman” Dino Bravo (with manager Frenchie Martin) versus “The Rock” Don Muraco (cornered by former WWE Champion “Superstar” Billy Graham). Dino Bravo was disqualified for pulling the referee into Muraco’s flying forearm.
The third match of the first round was Greg “The Hammer” Valentine squaring off against Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat. Steamboat walked to the ring carrying his two month old son. When the match started, the two former Intercontinental champions clashed in a classic old school style match. In the end, Steamboat leapt off the top rope with a flying cross body but Valentine rolled through it and pulled Steamboat’s tights for the pinfall victory.
The next first round match was the recently face-turned “Macho Man” Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth) taking on “The Natural” Butch Reed (with manager “The Doctor of Style” Slick). Reed had the upper hand but started showboating to Elizabeth that allowed Savage to turn the match around and drop his patented top rope elbow for the win.
The fifth match pitted two heavyweights against each other. The One Man Gang (with Slick) took on Bam Bam Bigelow (with manager Oliver Humperdink). After less than three minutes into the match, Slick held down the top rope making Bigelow fall out of the ring. Bigelow was unable to get back into the ring before the ten count resulting in the One Man Gang moving on to the next round.
The final match of the first round pitted newcomer “Ravishing” Rick Rude (with Bobby Heenan) against Jake “The Snake” Roberts. The two men would wrestle to the fifteen-minute time limit eliminating both men from the tournament. This match kicked off a feud between Rude and Roberts that would last into the summer of 1988.
Quarterfinal Round
The first match of the second round was the highly anticipated rematch of Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant. Andre was joined by DiBiase and Virgil at ringside. As the match progressed, tempers got the best of both men and they each hit the other with a chair. The referee saw enough and called for a double disqualification. Fans around the world were shocked. For the last four years, Hogan had been the champion and now he was eliminated from the tournament. The WWE was guaranteed to crown a new champion.
In the next match, Don Muraco got out to a quick advantage hitting DiBiase with a number of power slams and heavy elbow drops but it was DiBiase who got the pinfall after a top rope slingshot. Because Hogan and Andre were both eliminated in the previous match, DiBiase’s win put him into the final match with a bye.
It was then announced that since Rude and Roberts went to a time limit draw, the One Man Gang didn’t have to wrestle in this round and would face the winner of the Savage/Valentine match. Savage and Elizabeth walked to the ring wearing a different colour outfit than the first round. In the end, Valentine attempted to put Savage into a figure four leglock but Savage reversed it into a small package and gained entry into the semi-final round.
Semi-Final Round
The only match in the third round featured Randy Savage taking on the One Man Gang (with Slick). Gang was well rested after his bye in the second round while Savage had already wrestled twice. Gang dominated most of the match but he got caught trying to use Slick’s walking cane and was disqualified. It would now be Dibiase and Savage in the finals for the WWE Championship.
Celebrity Involvement
Throughout the night former baseball player turned actor Bob Uecker interviewed several of the superstars before their matches. One of the most memorable interviews Uecker did that night was with Andre after he was eliminated. The interview ended with Andre choking Uecker.
Vanna White, hostess and letter-turner from TV’s “Wheel of Fortune”, remained backstage with Gene Okerlund in front of a giant tournament bracket board. Between each round, White and Okerlund would recap what happened in the previous round and make picks for the upcoming matches.
Tournament Final
The finals of the tournament were also the main event of WrestleMania IV. Bob Uecker was the special guest ring announcer while Vanna White pulled guest timekeeper duties. Robin Leach returned to ringside carrying the brand new “winged” title belt that would be awarded to the winner. The “winged” title would be the prize coveted by WWE superstars until 1998.
After DiBiase (joined by Andre) and Savage (cornered by Elizabeth) were introduced the match started and DiBiase got out to an early advantage. Savage was visibly tired after competing in three matches prior to the finals and once again was facing a rested wrestler thanks to DiBiase’s bye in the semi-final round. Andre continually interfered which prompted Savage to send Elizabeth to the back and bring out Hogan. Hogan came to ringside and sat down on a chair in Savage’s corner to cheer on his Mega Powers partner.
DiBiase put Savage into his Million Dollar Dream sleeper hold and Savage reached for the ropes. Andre pushed Savage’s hand off the rope causing the referee to step in and admonish the Giant. While the referee’s back was turned, Hogan slid into the ring with his chair and hit DiBiase in the back. Savage and DiBiase fell to the mat as Hogan slid back out undetected. Savage then stood and climbed to the top rope and hit his Flying Elbow Drop before making the cover and winning the match.
After four matches, over twenty minutes in match time, four tough opponents, and four costume changes, “Macho Man” Randy Savage was now the new WWE Heavyweight Champion. Savage, Hogan, and Elizabeth celebrated in the ring as WrestleMania IV went off the air.
Well folks that about wraps up Part 4 of the series. WrestleMania IV had a total of sixteen matches – the most of any WrestleMania to date – so thank you for taking the time to read through this entire column. Any and all feedback is welcome and appreciated, even the negative, so you can send it to me here or post it in the feedback forum. I’m running on track for my deadline but I’m going to have to pick up the pace to stay within a comfortable boundary so keep your eyes peeled for Part 5 very soon.
POP QUIZ
Yes, I mentioned in Part 3 that you never know when I would bring out a pop quiz so I hope you’ve been paying attention and perhaps doing some independent studying of your own. Here’s your question:
I mentioned earlier that Bad News Brown’s betrayal to Bret “The Hitman” Hart in the Invitational Battle Royal was one factor that led to The Hart Foundation’s babyface turn in the summer of 1988. What was the other factor? Email me the answer here and you could be my star pupil.
