WWE Classics Report 7-18-02
Submitted by Segaboyno on Thursday, July 18, 2002 at 6:59 PM EST



Original Airdate - 04.04.88

Hello and welcome to another edition of Wrestling Challenge, which will this week focus on the big event that has just taken place, more specifically known as Wrestlemania IV. There will no doubt be much focus on the results of the show, and the aftermath will surely be felt as we begin another action packed hour here on WWE Classics. Let us begin.

This week's show comes to us from the Viking Hall in Bristol, Tennessee, and Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan welcome us to the show. Wrestlemania IV is now history, and as a result we have a brand new WWF Champion, who will be on today's show - and as if you needed to be told, that man is Randy Savage. In addition to this, we will also have another special Wrestlemania IV report, and Don Muraco will be the subject of a live interview. Outlaw Ron Bass and The Junkyard Dog will also be in action, but first up we have a special report on Wrestlemania.

- Wrestlemania IV Report
Mean Gene Okerlund says that the show held at the Trump Plaza on March 27 was a huge success, and there were 20,000 fans on hand to witness the extravaganza, as well as an additional 10 million fans watching worldwide. Randy Savage was crowned the new WWF Champion, and the tag team titles changed hands as well, as Demolition defeated Strike Force. We then catch up with highlights of the match.

- Wrestlemania Match #1 - Strike Force vs. Demolition
As the match is joined in progress, Tito Santana has made what appears to be a long-awaited tag to Rick Martel, who enters the ring and unloads on Smash. He whips Smash to the ropes and delivers a back bodydrop, before nailing Axe on the apron. Martel then knocks Smash down with a dropkick, and does the same with Axe who illegally enters thereafter. Martel then knocks Smash down with a third dropkick, before nailing Axe down to the canvas likewise. Martel then applies the boston crab on Smash, but the highlights jump ahead, as we see the boston crab applied, and the referee is in the process of attempting to remove Santana and Axe from the ring. He inevitably fails though, as Santana delivers a flying forearm, sending Axe out of the ring via the bottom rope. Seconds later, Santana knocks Mr. Fuji off the ring apron with a right hand, but whilst the referee is distracted with that, Axe grabs the cain and nails Martel with it, thus breaking up the boston crab. Smash then lies over Martel, and scores the three count, and crowning Demolition as new tag team champions as a result.

- Wrestlemania Match #2 - Ted DiBiase vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan
Also at Wrestlemania IV, Ted DiBiase took on Hacksaw Jim Duggan in the first round of the single elimination tournament for the WWF title, and we will now get a chance to view highlights of this as well. As we join the match Duggan is seemingly in control, and delivers a bodyslam to DiBiase after having whipped him to the ropes. Duggan then prepares for his three point stance clothesline, but gets tripped over by Andre the Giant, who is at ringside. As Duggan attempts to grab Andre through the ropes, DiBiase runs up from behind and knees him in the back, and Andre simultaneously nails Duggan with a right hand, sending him down to the mat. Dibiase then delivers a falling punch to Duggan, and scores the pinfall victory, but only just, as Duggan kicked out just after the three fall was registered. We now go to post-match comments from Duggan, who doesn't seem to be happy at the outcome of the match. He says that this was the dream of a lifetime, but Andre took it away from him. He seems to believe that things were going his way in the match, and so he seeks revenge on Andre, whether it be in an airport, parking lot, or in an arena.

Match #1
King Harley Race (w/ Bobby Heenan) vs. Jim Evans
Before the match starts, Heenan gets on the microphone, and says that this is a great opportunity for people to show respect for the King, so he tells the fans to get up off their seats and bow - but a crowd shot shows that they were clearly not paying attention. Monsoon recalls the Wrestlemania results, and although Harley Race was not successful in winning the 20-man invitational battle royal (which was won by Bad News Brown), Heenan did have something to celebrate, as it was he who pinned Koko B. Ware to triumph for his team, The Islanders, in the six-man tag team match. Monsoon proceeds to mock Heenan for the ring attire that he was wearing at the event, which was heavily padded so as to avoid any attacks from Matilda, The British Bulldog's pet mascot. According to President Jack Tunney, Heenan will never be allowed to wear that costume in the WWF again. The bell sounds and Race boots Evans in the midsection, and then clotheslines him down to the mat. He then whips Evans to the ropes and delivers another clothesline, followed by an elbow drop. Race then delivers a powerslam, followed by a suplex. Meanwhile, we go to pre-recorded comments from Robyn Leech, who was one of the many special guest celebrities at Wrestlemania - needless to say he seemed very enthusiastic about the whole thing. Back in the ring, Race stomps on the head of Evans, and then delivers a cradle suplex for the easy pinfall victory.
Winner - King Harley Race via pinfall, at 01:14

Match #2
The Killer Bees vs. Dave Wagner & Pete Sanchez
The bell sounds and Wagner winds up the arm of Brunzell, before the hold is reversed, and then broken by the ropes. They lock up and Brunzell winds up the arm of Wagner, before tagging Blair into the match. Wagner is sent to the ropes, and Brunzell delivers a drop toe hold, allowing Blair to follow up with a falling elbow to the back of the head. He then bodyslams Wagner, before dropping a knee over his prone body. Blair winds up the arm of Wagner, and then makes the tag to Brunzell, and they double elbow Wagner as a result of a whip to the ropes. Brunzell then winds up the left arm of Wagner, before sending him flying over the other side of the ring. Brunzell goes back to the arm of Wagner, and tags Blair back in. He runs the ropes and nails Wagner with an elbow, before making the tag to Brunzell once again. Brunzell grounds Wagner and wrenches the arm yet again, but Wagner manages to get to his feet, and breaks the hold with a rake to the eyes of Brunzell. He then pounds on the head of Brunzell, backing him into the wrong corner. Whilst Blair tries to come in, Sanchez chokes the life out of Blair behind the referee's back, and then Wagner helps out whilst Blair is being escorted to the ring apron, where he belongs. Sanchez then tags in and unloads on Brunzell, but then accidentally nails Wagner who could not hold Brunzell in place for long enough for any damage to be done. Blair is now able to make the tag, and upon his arrival unloads with lefts and rights on Sanchez, before nailing him with a powerful clothesline. He then nails Wagner off the apron, before delivering an atomic drop to Sanchez. Blair then tags in Brunzell, sends Sanchez to the ropes, and then ducks, allowing Brunzell to deliver a dropkick for the finish.
Winners - The Killer Bees via pinfall, at 02:59

Mean Gene Okerlund is standing by with more news on Wrestlemania IV, and he says that there were many surprises, most notably being the WWF title tournament, in which Randy Savage defeated Ted DiBiase in the final to become the brand new heavyweight champion. In other matches, the One Man Gang defeated Bam Bam Bigelow in the first round, and we go to comments from Slick, who says that Bigelow didn't have what it takes to stand head-to-head with a superstar like the Gang, and everytime they face Bigelow will always end up with number two. We then go to comments from the loser of the match, and his manager Oliver Humperdinck says that both Bigelow and the Gang are top superstars. There were shocks around the world, but Bigelow is 300 pounds of flame smoking fire, and says that if you play with fire you will get burnt.

Next up, courtesy of Coliseum Home Video, we have some highlights of Wrestlemania IV, looking at the matches that took place in the tournament itself. As we see stills of Randy Savage's entrance to the ring, Monsoon says that he proved on that night that he is truly deserving of the title, as he cannot remember any man ever winning four matches in one night. Heenan says that he deserves a big round of applause for Hulk Hogan, but Monsoon quickly dismisses it. In the first round match we see Savage finish off Butch Reed with a flying elbow from the top rope, followed by a flying axehandle to Greg Valentine in the next round. The semi-final was against the One Man Gang, and this time he was victorious after Slick interfered, but Savage did deliver a double axehandle from the top rope to Gang on the outside during the course of the match. And then in the final itself, Savage pinned Ted DiBiase, following a chair shot to DiBiase from Hulk Hogan (who was eliminated in round two along with Andre the Giant after a double disqualification), and a flying elbow from the top rope. Dig it.

Match #3
The Bolsheviks (w/ Slick) vs. Alden Kinsey & Scott Casey
Before the match starts Slick grabs the microphone, and informs us that the Bolsheviks would like to sing their national anthem - and they do. The bell sounds, and Boris Zhukov backs Casey into the corner, but the latter reverses it, and throws several right hands. Casey then attempts to send Zhukov into the turnbuckle but it is reversed, yet Casey has the momentum upon rebounding, as he rolls Zhukov up for a one count. Kinsey then tags in but immediately gets pounded on by Zhukov, who rams his opponents' head into the boot of Nikolai Volkoff. We now go to pre-recorded comments from Vanna White, another special celebrity guest from Wrestlemania. She says that the event was just as exciting as the game show (way to put it over), and says that she hopes to be back someday. Meanwhile, Volkoff tags in and delivers a full nelson suplex to Kinsey, before tagging Zhukov back in. He then bodyslams Kinsey, before stomping on his groin. Volkoff gets the tag and executes a gut wrench suplex, before Zhukov re-enters.. He chops Kinsey down to the mat, before Volkoff tags back in. He nails Kinsey whilst still on the outside, much to his surprise, followed by an elbow to the face by Zhukov. Volkoff climbs through the ropes, covers Kinsey, and scores the victory.
Winners - The Bolsheviks via pinfall, at 01:39

Craig DeGeorge is now standing by on the podium for this week's live interview alongside "The Rock" Don Muraco, and Superstar Billy Graham. The first question is thrown to Graham, and DeGeorge asks whether he believes that Muraco could ever become the heavyweight champion someday. He replies by saying that you only need a camera to take a picture of his body to answer the question, and he thanks Muraco for coming to his aid when he was being beating on by the One Man Gang. Graham says that Muraco is indeed the next star, and The Rock says that his inspiration leads to his motivation, which in turns leads to dedication. Muraco praises Graham's dedication, as he overcame his career threatening injury and threw out the crutches, and making a return to action.

Match #4
Outlaw Ron Bass vs. Rick Hunter
The bell sounds and they lock up, with Bass getting in the initial offence with some lefts and rights. He backs Hunter into the turnbuckle and forcefully sends him into the opposite corner, before following up with a shoulder charge. Bass then whips him to the opposite corner once more, but misses with the follow up, as Hunter rolls over him and scores a one count at a pinfall attempt. Hunter then rolls Bass up in a small package, but again only manages to keep him down for a one count. Bass then nails Hunter in the back of a head, and then does the same following an irish whip. Bass does exactly the same once more, driving the forearm to the head of Hunter, before delivering a more orthodox clothesline. He follows up by dropping an elbow, and then nails Hunter in the head with yet another forearm. Bass then bodyslams Hunter, before stomping his boot on the back of his neck. Bass then sends his opponent to the ropes and delivers an elbow, before nailing Hunter with a variation of a pedigree.
Winner - Outlaw Ron Bass via pinfall, at 02:31

Match #5
Postponed
The next scheduled match was to involve The Junkyard Dog, but never even got started. This match follows directly on from the previous one, and as a result Ron Bass is still not gone by the time JYD makes his way out to ringside, which leads to a confrontation in the aisle. But before anything can happen, the referees wisely step in, to diffuse the trash talking taking place. Bass then kindly steps aside so that JYD can make his way past, but only to attack him from behind afterwards, using his whip to choke out JYD.

Mean Gene Okerlund is standing by with more news on Wrestlemania IV, and reminds us that Demolition became the new WWF tag team champions, by defeating Strike Force. Okerlund then says that in the very near future two superstars who we can expect to see go up against each other are the King and the Snake. No reason is given as to why this might be. We go to comments from King Harley Race, who says that when all is said and done, he will remain the King, as he is the ultimate of everything when it comes to wrestling, and he doesn't care what kind of mind games the Snake has to offer. Jake "The Snake" Roberts then offers us his comments, and says that the most important thing about an athlete is their attitude, and questions how Race can keep an attitude after having been slapped in the face a few times.

Match #6
Ken Patera vs. Jose Luis Rivera
The bell sounds and Patera shoves Rivera back into the corner, followed by a short pause. They then lock up, and Rivera goes behind Patera, but the former olympian manages to power his way out of it, leading to another pause. Rivera then puts Patera in a headlock, but it is broken as Patera sends him to the ropes, which results in a collision in the centre of the ring, with neither man moving an inch. Pre-recorded comments from Bob Eucker are shown, who was also one of the special celebrity guests present at Wrestlemania. He says that he thought Wrestlemania III was the greatest thing he'd ever seen, but Wrestlemania IV was just even better! Back between the ropes, they lock up, and Rivera kicks Patera in the midsection, and then rams his head on the top turnbuckle pad. He tries to do so again but Patera blocks it, and then sends Rivera into the pad. Patera delivers a suplex and scores a two count, and then goes to work with right hands. Rivera then goes for a bodyslam but seemingly doesn't have the strength to execute the move, and so Patera delivers one to Rivera to show him how it's done. He then whips Rivera to the ropes and clotheslines him, before stamping on his head. Patera delivers another suplex, applies the full nelson, and scores the submission victory moments after.
Winner - Ken Patera via submission, at 02:16

Mean Gene Okerlund is now standing by with more Wrestlemania IV analysis, and says that he was on the edge of his seat as the championship tournament unfolded before his very eyes. In the first round, Greg "The Hammer" Valentine defeated Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, and we now have some comments from the participants. Valentine says that it was a great decision to hire Jimmy Hart as his manager, and says that Steamboat's downfall was his prior proclamation to living only for his family. Steamboat then says that the oriental calendar states that 1988 is the year of the Dragon, and so he is dedicating his year to his family. He says that everytime he was hammered down he got back up, and says that Valentine is in a no-win situation.

That's all for this week, but up next week will be The Honky Tonk Man, Ted DiBiase, Koko B. Ware, Ravishing Rick Rude, and The British Bulldogs. I'll be back as well, so i'll hope to see you all again. If you have any comments please whisk them off to Segaboyno@aol.com, or AIM me. If you're wondering where Classics is shown, it's on Sky Sports in the UK. Take care!








*NEW GALLERY* Photos of BATISTA With His HOT NEW GIRLFRIEND!

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