History Beckons The Macho Man: Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat - WWF, 1985-87

History Beckons The Macho Man:Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat
WWF 1985-1987

Incredible chemistry between two of the greatest wrestlers of all time. My one complaint is that we don't have their steel cage matches from after Mania III because seeing how bloody and hate-filled their Toronto matches are I can imagine they would be classics. Don't just settle for Mania III, take the time to watch all the house show matches from this series. Not only did they never have a bad match, they never had a well that was good match, they were all great. I would say more, but I both tired and I wrote a lot below so check out the reviews!

 

Everyone must watch the larynx crushing angle on the November 22, 1986 edition of Superstars. If you are reading this blog, you know of the angle and you have read about it. But you may have been like me and didn't seek it out. Do yourself a favor and watch it. It is a ***** angle and an all-time great selljob by Ricky Steamboat and Vince McMahon on commentary. Terrific pro wrestling theatre.

 

Ranking the Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat Singles Matches:

 

1. WWF Intercontinental Champion Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat - Wrestlemania III

2. WWF Intercontinental Champion Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat - WWF, Toronto 2/15/87

3. WWF Intercontinental Champion Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat - Toronto 7/27/86

4. WWF Intercontinental Champion Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat - Boston 11/1/86

5. Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat - Boston 12/7/85

 

Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat - Boston 12/7/85

 

I gotta say WrestleMania III overshadows a great series of matches (I know hardcores know about Toronto 2/15/87), but I think overall this is an underexplored series even though the main match is so famous. They had amazing chemistry together. I am not going to say this was on par with Savage's selling in the Bret Hart SNME match, but this was damn close. Macho Man takes us to school on how to sell as he does a great job with his arm throughout the match. Just amazing. I loved Macho Man shoving Steamboat at the bell, putting Liz in front of him, Steamboat backs off and he jumps him. It is such a great dick move. Steamboat overwhelms him and throws him shoulder first into the post. It is just textbook arm work here from Steamboat and the selling from Savage is magnificent. They way they work in and out of the armbars is just great. Savage taking those powders to nurse the injury. Steamboat following him out there. All great stuff. I loved Savage using the skin the cat to attack Steamboat and then nail the double axehandle to the floor. The little things Macho Man does like doing the sneak up and then high knee to Steamboat sending him flying over the railing is just great. Savage uses the arm as a way to give Steamboat life, but The Dragon does a great job selling all these sneak attacks. Savage missing the elbow drop really should have been an opening for some that Dragon breathing fire like we would see against the Nature Boy, but don't quite get to those fever pitch levels. They foreshadow the Savage/Tito title switch finish which would be executed two months later in the Boston Garden as Savage pulls something out of his tights and nails Steamboat with it as he brings back into the ring for the win. All in all, just great classic wrestling with the Savage selling arm showing why he is one of the all-time great sellers. ****

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WWF Intercontinental Champion Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat - Toronto 7/27/86

There is something about these two and Toronto that just creates magic. You take two of the best wrestlers of all time and then add all the fixins' you get one helluva match. I could watch Savage and Steamboat run around the ring and have Savage end up in an armdrag everytime and never get tired of it. These two work with such energy in AND out of holds. Everything goes back to that armdrag-armbar, but Savage sells so well and outside that hold they come up with some great criss cross routines. I loved Savage's reverse crossbody with Steamboat rolling through for a nearfall. Savage is so selfless everything is about Steamboat looking better than him. Even when it looks like he might get control, Steamboat sends him packing and he has to hide behind Elizabeth. Savage is milking this for all its worth both to let his arm heal and to get under the skin of the Dragon. It is working. The stall tactics work here most effectively because of how well, Steamboat sells them. At first Savage looks like a fool because when he does get back in, Steamboat spits on him and gets under his skin! Two can play at mind games and Steamboat gets back in the driver's seat. It is only when Savage used Steamboat own momentum to send him crashing into the buckles the complexion of the match changed. He rams Steamboat into the railing and then double axehandle off the top for two. He goes again, but Steamboat catches him and then sends the Macho Man flying over the railing. I am loving how heated this has become. The ref is actively trying to get Steamboat to stay in the ring, holding his leg. It looks like this will give Savage the advantage, but Steamboat sends the Macho Man into the post and he taps a gusher. He is bleeding profusely. Steamboat is chopping that cut. When he comes off the top with the overhand karate chop on the cut, everyone in Toronto thought there would be a new champion. Savage in an excellent move pulls the ref in front of him and Steamboat chops him. Then we get all the Steamboat nearfalls with the dramatic slow counts. I am eating this up with a spoon. You can tell how influential Savage is on wrestling not just from character and work, but layout, this would be the normal for the next twenty years. Savage has a foreign object and jabs it in Steamboat's eye. What makes this work so well is Steamboat commitment to selling for the rest of the match (2-3 minutes), taking swings at the ref, blindly back dropping Savage over the rope and then wandering too close and being pulled to the outside. The ending outside brawl is fantastic and Steamboat beats the count for the win! Incredible match! One of the best in the WWF during this timeframe from opening matwork where Steamboat both injures and frustrates Savage. Savage after trying to wrestle straight tries stalling tactics and finally gets his opening. Of course, Steamboat makes a big comeback but they throw in a bladejob, ref bump and a foreign object to put the icing on a delicious cake. Excellent wrestling and excellent theatre. ****1/2

-------------------------------------------------------------------

WWF Intercontinental Champion Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat - Boston 11/1/86

Tremendous match this pre-dates the larynx crushing angle on TV by a couple weeks so this wrestled more straight. Savage is the consummate heel. I have said this time and time again. In that ring he is utterly despicable. Here it is the stalling, the hair pulling, and foreign object. He is such a product of Memphis, but this is what the WWF needed as variety from your Studds & Bundys. Steamboat is a great white meat babyface here. He does a great job not losing his concentration during Savage's stalling tactics. He is committed to working the left arm. Some really nice, deep armdrags by the Dragon. Savage is making him earn these holds by creating movement through hair pulls. I love that. Savage is achieving three things at once: hair pull - heel, movement - interest, Steamboat overcoming the cheating - struggle. Awesome stuff! Like I said it is not the psychology but the execution from these two is completely on point. Loved Steamboat wrenching the arm against the ropes. Savage realizing his arm is in a bad way and hair pulling is not working; reaches down into his tights and finds an foreign object to jab in the Steamer's eyes. Savage is perpetual motion now with the double axehandles and bodyslams on the outside. He makes sure to sell the arm. The arm prevents him from suplexing and piledriving Steamboat. Great stuff! Steamboat looks ready to mount the comeback backdropping out of the aforementioned piledriver, but Savage goes fishing for the foreign object again. This time he misses the straddle on the ropes. Now the Dragon is breathing fire! Great series of hot nearfalls for Steamboat here reminiscent of Mania III. Savage sends The Dragon flying over the top rope when he sidesteps an overzealous Steamboat. He gets greedy and goes for a double axehandle to the outside misses and loses by countout.

Terrific psychology and execution throughout. Loved Savage's selling of the arm and his commitment to cheating. This is workrate meets great heel psychology. ****

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

WWF Intercontinental Champion Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat - WWF, Toronto 2/15/87

I could have sworn I had seen this match before, but I don't think I have. What a tremendous match! Perhaps even better than the Mania match, which I need to rewatch now. Steamboat made his return at the January Saturday's Night Main Event during Savage and Steele's match. I really enjoyed the Savage vs Steele feud and SNME matches. The turnbuckle stuffing spot is pretty funny. It was the perfect feud to put even more heat on Savage, but it was all to really get that heat on Savage for the Steamer.

After crushing having larynx crushed and needing to re-learn how to talk, many have criticized the Mania for the lack of violence and hatred from Steamboat. Around the horn in the Northeast loop (Boston, Philly, NYC and Toronto) for two shows in each city they saw Steamboat win or lose by DQ and not win the title. This explains the cleaness and neatness of the Mania match as Steamboat had gotten his licks in and now was coming from the title. Besides a single pinfall cover by Ricky which I think was out of force of habit. Steamboat focused on using his energy and technique to set up his chops and this maybe the most violent Steamboat ever looked. Savage was great at selling the discombobulation and tries to head for the hills, but Steamboat chucks him back in. Again, Macho Man powders and this time with some cat and mouse game Savage nails The Dragon and throws him over the top. Savage sells well, but once recuperated he sends Steamboat into the railing. Big bodyslam by Macho man on the floor. I like how this match has more selling and more drama. Savage is matching violence with Steamboat. The big spots on the floor is allowing more time to breathe. Finally, Savage lays Steamboat across the top rope and drills that throat with an elbow. I think if we got some choking and coughing from Steamboat that would have sealed the deal as this being a tippy top great match. Still Savage is coming off the top with the double axe handle and now a kneedrop to throat. Camera is not letting us see if he is choking or coughing. Classic Savage clothesline stymies a Steamboat rally. Savage is here to preserve his title reign so it makes more sense for him to go for all these covers. Steamboat is draped throat first across the middle rope and Savage looks to really hurt him by crushing with all his weight, but Steamboat moves! Love that spot! There was so much drama if he would or would not move. Somehow, Savage has a minor cut on his forehead, but dont know how.Steamboat does the skin the cat spot, but Savage dont play that and he just clobbers him with a clothesine. Savage looks to hit the double axehandle on the railing, but gets a punch in the stomach.  Steamboat uses speed and armdrags and then chokes the hell out of Savage. I love how Steamboat is using his normal offense to create opportunities for violence. Now, it is a larynx for a larynx as he snaps Savage's throat against the top rope. Steamboat mocks Savage's throat selling. he drops Savage on the top rope. How does a taste of your own medicine feel! Savage powders and tries to send him in teh railing, but it is the Macho Man that tastes the steel. Savage with that awesome tippsy selling right into a Steamboat big karate shot from the top. Catapult and now Savage is busted wide open. The way Savage's body conforms to the turnbuckles on that spot was awesome. Savage is straight money in this match. He is selling so well! he always trying to escape, but he is so disoriented that he cant escape the Dragon. Savage has enough wherewithal to grab the tights to send him out. Savage drills from behind on the ramp with a high knee. Great use of the ramp! Steamboat chants and he is pissed! He goes for the sunset flip and only gets two and now they do the Mania match finish with a ton of nearfalls for Steamboat. It is the O'Connor Roll that does him as Savage is able to reverse and pull tights.

Awesome match! Savage is covered in blood with the championship, but Steamer is so pissed he runs down the ramp and blasts him. I think you can see the change in Steamboat within this match. Up until the end, he wants to get his licks in first with chops then targeting the larynx and finally busting Savage wide open. Eventually after all this payback, he does want to add on top of that taking the championship away from Savage thus why he goes for the pinfall barrage. The pinfall barrage plays right into Steamboat's wheelhouse of quickness. The object of wrestling is put your man down for three the more attempts you make that better chance you have of getting that win. I think this match and the other matches in Northeast showed Ricky he could get his revenge or he could get the championship, but not both. After two months of kicking ass, he set out to win the title at Mania. Savage's performance in this is just tremendous. I think above all his selling was just perfect. He was discombobulated from the being and that just sold how much fire Steamboat had. When he was on top, he slowed it down and really targeted the neck. The cheap win with the tights covered in blood and leaving with the title is just a great heel ending. One of the best matches in 80s WWF and one of the all-time classics. ****3/4

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WWF Intercontinental Champion Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat - Wrestlemania III

History beckons the Macho Man! One of the all-time great promos and singular lines in pro wrestling. I had forgotten that during the Steamboat promo that they do mention this is the Dragon's last shot, which is only further proof why the match was worked the way it was and the correct way to go about it. I always loved how they weaved in the George Steel story into this match. I love how Savage moves Liz away from Steele because of what happened at the last SNME where he kidnapped her. Well-played spot. The finish is just awesome with Steel saving Steamboat from the bell. It is too bad that Savage could not get himself to be hit with the bell a little bit more convincingly.

Much like Hogan vs Andre, this match has been talked to death and I don't have a completely revolutionary fresh take, but I did enjoy this match more than I ever have in the past. The first time I watched this was probably about ten years ago and I hate to admit I was pretty underwhelmed. It just seemed like guys moving really fast, but without much substance to it. This match for me at least has gotten better with each subsequent watch and I really enjoyed it this time around. The Toronto match really helps put things into perspective. I highly recommend watching the Toronto match before this one to get the full experience. In fact, I would imagine if you go back and watch 2 or 3 of their 86 matches it would help even more. It is actually surprising how many spots are similar to Toronto but they work them in different fashions, but it is still organic. They even played off the Toronto finish with Savage reversing a O'Connor Roll, but this time Steamboat kicked out.

I think there are times when Steamboat does show aggression that have been brushed over like the choke on Savage at the beginning and the aggression of his chops. Savage is a particularly nasty heel in this and in general that is his style. He takes shortcuts and uses nasty short strikes to keep his opponents at bay. The eye rake when Steamboat was unleashing all that karate popped me. I really loved his use of the high knee in this match. It was a well-delivered attack and it was always to the back. Great dick move. Around this time, he decks Steamboat in the midst of the skin the cat and Jesse delivers my all time favorite line "You have to get up pretty early in the morning to get one up on the Macho Man."

This is a type of feud that I think could benefit wrestling more and that is the one-sided hate feud. Steamboat hates Savage and that's clearly evident. Savage does not actually hate Steamboat. He is lashing out in fear of losing the title. It makes sense for Savage to cheat like a muthafucka and go for a ton of pinfalls. Steamboat does actually work aggressive at times, but this is tempered by the fact that this maybe his last shot for the IC title.

Do they move too fast in this match? Yes and no. I think this match is very influential on the current style used today. Pack in a ton of action and lots of nearfalls at the end = This Is Awesome chants. I think they move way too fast at the beginning. There are way too many momentum shifts and there is very little rhythm. it does not feel like a struggle. I would say around the high knees that match settles into a nice structure with Steamboat fighting underneath due to Savage's cheating. I actually dig the urgency of Steamboat's nearfalls. It is a really heightened sense of drama. I think during the finish the speed at which they were going was warranted and was a boon to the match.

Overall, I thought they moved a bit too quickly early on, last half was wicked hot. It was downright revolutionary for the WWF at the time. Those nearfalls were wicked hot. You always think of the one after the karate chop near the ropes that gets a monster pop because everyone thought Steamboat had won. I also did not think there was one consistent thread through the entire match like a real cool overarching story. I am sticking the Toronto match ahead, but this is a badass match and very, very important in the history of wrestling for how it influenced the fans, wrestlers and the promotion. ****3/4

Best of Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat: WWF Years 1985-1988

Best of Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat:
The WWF Years (1985-1988)

 

Ricky Steamboat came into the WWF around the time of the inaugural WrestleMania. At first, he was positioned as an upper midcard babyface performing well against midcard heels like Greg Valentine and Bob Orton. From the outset, Steamboat was the number three working babyface behind Hogan & Santana (Andre was a special attraction and JYD was more of a fun attraction). This blog covers those beginning months.  There is tag team match with Tito Santana taking on the Dream Team at Maple Leaf Gardens in April of 1985 that I think is the best WWF tag match of all time and I would say is the second best match of 1985 in WWF. So definitely check that one out.

 

Then he moves onto a feud with Don Muraco (coming down the card from working Hogan) to give Steamboat his first major feud when Muraco & Fuji hung Steamboat from the ropes with his karate belt (quite the visual!) and really establish him as someone the fans should take seriously.

 

http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2017/10/how-to-train-beach-bum-ricky-steamboat.html

 

From there, he started a major program with the recently debuted, Jake The Snake Roberts, in the spring of 1986 when Jake The Snake DDT'd Ricky Steamboat on the cement. This led to some amazing matches in 1986 and I think their one from August 9. 1986 in Boston Gardens is the WWF match of the year.

 

http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2017/10/the-dragon-vs-snake-ricky-steamboat-vs.html

 

 After a great performance with the Snake, he furthers moves up the card and takes the Number two babyface position (with Andre turning heel there is no doubt, he is the second most popular wrestler in WWF at its peak) and is paired with the Macho Man Randy Savage producing some of the best matches in WWF history. Everyone talks about WrestleMania III, but watch their house show matches and you will see that not only did they never have a bad match, I rated all their matches at least ****. They had insane chemistry. All hardcore fans would say check out their Toronto February 15, 1987 match which is as good if not better than Mania III (depends on my mood).

http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2017/10/history-beckons-macho-man-randy-savage.html

 

 

After that, Steamboat had a child and I believe that led him to not working such a rigorous road schedule so he dropped the IC Title to Honky Tonk Man. The rest of this blog covers that and the Rick Rude program.  

 

Must See Miscellaneous Ricky Steamboat in WWF:

 

1. The Dream Team w/Jimmy Hart vs Tito Santana & Ricky Steamboat - MLG 4/21/85

2. WWF Intercontinental Champion Honky Tonk Man vs Ricky Steamboat - MSG 8/22/87 Lumberjack Match

3. Ricky Steamboat vs Ace Cowboy Bob Orton - WWF, Cap Center 7/20/85



The Dream Team w/Jimmy Hart vs Tito Santana & Ricky Steamboat - MLG 4/21/85

 

This match sure lived up to the hype and may be the best Beefcake performance I have ever seen. This match was all about tempo. Santana was in his red-hot feud with Valentine who had broken his leg and taken his title. The crowd was molten for that angle. The babyfaces worked their entire end in an up-tempo, fired -up fashion. The Dream Team knowing they could not match this attempted every trick in the book to break their momentum and work a real grinding style. This led to a really good match.

 

Early on Steamboat and Santana have a hot shine sequence with Beefcake and Valentine just bumping all over the place for them. I have been down on WWF Steamboat, but he was pumped for this match just flying around the ring. You know that Tito is going to bring the hate with his fists balled up. Beefcake and Valentine do their best to stall and break this momentum, but at first there seems like no end to this onslaught. Until, Tito goes for the figure-4 on Valentine, who grabs his trunks and hits a knee in the midsection. Once he hits a shoulderbreaker he consolidates the advantage for the Dream Team and grinds the match to a halt. They work on Santana with some double teams and Valentine slaps on an arm bar. Tito is almost able to make the tag, but Valentine knocks Steamboat off the apron and then Beefcake comes around and beats on Steamboat. The crowd was just eating this all up. The Beefer gets cocky and goads Steamboat. Tito is able to crawl past Beefcake and get the hot tag to Steamboat. IT IS BREAKING LOOSE IN TORONTO! Steamboat with his best hot tag I have seen. He unloads on both the Hammer and the Beefer with karate shots. The crowd was losing their shit for this. Steamboat grabs the sleeper hold, but Beefcake with an eye-rake. Valentine and Steamboat have a good exchange until an eye-rake does Steamboat in and Valentine consolidates with a gut buster. I preferred the Steamboat FIP is a better at selling and the Dream Team really unloaded with double teams and offense. Valentine starts to warm him up for the figure-4, but Steamboat knows his way around the figure-4 and grabs an inside cradle. Steamboat fights out of the corner and is able to Tito. ARRIBA! Double noggin knocker. Tito drops Valentine with a right. Flying Burrito to a huge pop! Beefcake saves. Melee ensues. They are double teaming Tito and Steamboat flies off the top onto Beefcake. Tito blocks Valentine's atomic drop and applies the figure-4 for the submission victory. ARRIBA! Wooooooooooooo, I am out of breathe after that one.

 

This is babyface wrestling 101, folks. Steamboat and Santana gave maximum effort and I bet it is real easy when you have a crowd as hot as this one at the Maple Leaf Gardens. The Dream Team wrestled a smart match to ensure constant heat throughout the match as they built not one, but two really hot tags. In some of those double FIP AWA tags, the first hot tag is not all that hot, but in this match that Steamboat hot tag is just as red-hot as the following Santana one. Beefcake actually wrestled pretty well here and was not as awkward as usual. The Hammer is going to clog the lane every time and make sure that babyface earns every shot. This up there with the Bulldogs match as one of the best WWF Tags of the 80s. ****1/2

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

WWF Intercontinental Champion Greg Valentine vs Ricky Steamboat - WWF, MSG 6/21/85

Gorilla Monsoon is the fucking worst. Nobody could take the sails out of hot comeback faster than him with his nonchalant "Nope, he is not going to get him." I will take Vince's bombastic and naive belief that every nearfall is a potential winning fall than Gorilla's constant undercutting of drama.

This is the Superstar Sleeze dream match on paper and I think this would be a dream match for most wrestling fans. It does not quite live up to OMG RICKYSTEAMBOAT VS GREG VALENTINE~! The beginning is pretty pedestrian surprisingly. For whatever, Valentine did not seem very engaged in the beginning of the match. He was content to bump and sell, but he was not his usual chippy self. Then Steamboat kept locking these holds on Valentine as if to contain him, but Valentine was not supplying energy. I think those clamps are perfect to keep a runaway babyface down or I guess really any explosive wrestler. Valentine was not demonstrating that on this night. I think Steamboat needed to provide more of the energy. He was at times, but he needed to go full throttle. The Valentine heat segment was good. I expect greatness out of The Hammer, so I could not help but be disappointed. It was the standard stiff shots and then setting up for the figure-4. On the flip side, it was standard great Steamboat selling. The entire match up until the finish felt very routine. Basically, it was each guy doing what he did well, but not really responding to each other. Then Steamboat wakes up on the outside and sort of Hulks Up and the crowd's interest is piqued. Then all of sudden it becomes a couple Carolina boys doing Carolina boy things in the ring when they fucking start wailing on each other. This is what I wanted. Steamboat had a tremendous comeback showing great fire and exuding charisma. It was either on a big karate chop or the top rope cross body when the crowd and the match were at a fever pitch that fucking Gorilla said "Nope, he is not going to get him." What a fucking asshole.Valentine had a brief spell of offense before Steamboat Karate'd his ass out of the ring to lose by countout. I will say Steamboat's kicks look aesthetically pleasing in the sense that when his kicking the air it looks smooth and well-executed, but man he just is not connecting at all. Of course, kicks were never part of his repertoire, but hey now he is the Karate Kid so he needs to do KICKS~! This reminds me Jimmy Hart was great in this match first worrying about all the Karate bullshit and then when Steamboat was down and out taunting by calling him the Karate Kid. Great Mouth of the South performance. It is a good match, but not at level I wanted it to be at. ***

------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Ricky Steamboat vs Ace Cowboy Bob Orton - WWF, Cap Center 7/20/85

The Landover crowd is rocking for the recently debuted Ricky The Dragon Steamboat. I have to say Steamboat committed himself to the Karate gimmick better than I would think a lot of proud veterans would. He had working at a high level and he could have been badass Steamboat in the Carolinas, but he went out there and executed Vince’s vision, which is pretty cool. I think those intense spots where he is summoning his chi and what not aka flexing his bulging muscles got him over huge. Yes, this is during the time period where Bob Orton had the cast. Bob Orton was such a great midcard heel and perfect for his role.

I really enjoyed Steamboat’s mannerisms in this. I thought he was intense and charismatic. I really liked him mocking Orton in the arm bar. Steamboat focused his shine working on injured arm, but they both always kept things moving. It began with an armdrag into arm bar and some nice karate strikes to the arm. Orton keeps it moving as he tries to get out in numerous ways including to go through ropes, a punch that was blocked and a bodyslam, but Steamboat always maintains control. Steamboat is really fun in this. Orton backs him into corner and starts laying on the heavy artillery. Headscissor by Orton tries again and goes flying over ropes into railing on the second attempt. He throws soda in Steamboat’s eyes and goes to town. Cool transition. Orton powerful knee lift. Good heat builds to the cast shot, but misses. Big chop by Steamboat but he missed a fistdrop. They slug it out in Carolina boy fashion. Orton midsection shots stops the Dragon rally, but he is backdropped out fo pilederiver. Top rope crossbody by Steamboat!!! 1-2-No! Great nearfall!

Inverted atomic drop by Orton and Steamboat crumples to mat. Really awesome selling there by the Steamer. Steamboat skins the cat and enziguiri (not a good looking one, but he is trying). Orton takes a huge bump through the ropes. Another karate shot by Steamboat while Orton is on apron. Orton eyerake while on apron and Steamboat wins suplex struggle and brings him in hard way. Steamer eats knees on splash attempt. Orton adjusts the cast! Cast shot and DQ.

Damn it was just getting good. Steamboat fends him with chops and kicks. Gene Okerlund “This guy had the guts to do whats right.” In reference to the ref DQ’ing Ace Cowboy, which I think in terms of grandstanding righteous indignation that has to rank up there. Steamboat wants some more of Orton, but Orton retreats. This was well on its way to being a great midcard match to get Steamboat over. I don’t mind the finish, it just rendered the match incomplete. Sometimes you get to that level finish and it feels right. I felt these guys still had more left to give. Plus I think that The Dragon was higher enough on the pecking order he probably should have gotten the clean win. I really fun Steamboat performance.  ***3/4

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bret Hart vs Ricky Steamboat - Boston 3/86

 

I disagreed with my previous review of this match most notably that Bret was the better wrestler in this match. I think it is pretty even. Steamboat's selling and his fire on this is very good. Bret is the one constructing the framework for the match and does an admirable job. The match is missing the glue and those little details. Having recently watched Steamboat vs Orton, you can see how fun a Steamboat arm-based babyface shine can be. I would argue Bret takes the bigger, more spectacular bumps off the armdrags than Orton, but Orton fills the time just so well. Orton adds wrinkles of trying to get out of the hold and when he is thwarted thats where the entertainment comes from.  Bret transitions with a swinging neckbreaker, a little bit too much of a babyface transition. I thought the best sequence of the match was one of his favorite 80s sequences: goes for a backbreaker, opponent reverses into a bodyslam, but the wrinkle here is Bret gets the knees up on the splash. Excellent, excellent sequence as you get the hope spot, Steamboat desperately trying to capitalize, but in his overzealousness he over reaches and the Hitman is able to one-up him. Bret does Bret follows up with his bodyslam on the parquet floor and successfully gets the backbreaker. Bret misses second-rope elbow and here comes the Steamer.Steamboat had plenty of fire and Bret was bumping big off the chop. I am surprised Bret got a visual pinfall off a ref bump. Based on Bret's booking pattern, I think Vince always liked Bret and wanted to push him as a singles guy. This is definitely evident as soon as late 87, but this could have been the first evidence of that. Bret has shown he already has all the tools to be a major singles star in between the ropes. The finish is Steamboat rolling through a Bret cross body for the win. A very good match, solid stuff, but nothing that inspires just perfectly acceptable wrestling. ***1/2

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WWF Intercontinental Champion Ricky Steamboat vs Honky Tonk Man - WWF 6/2/87

It feels like a pretty routine title defense for Steamboat that worked in most of his familiar spots and he was working with great energy. Honky was bumping for him and besides a short heat segment really did not do much. He teased Shake Rattle Roll and then Steamboat came off with a BIG off the top, in a conventional match it would have been over. The finish was strange. Jimmy Hart distracted the ref, but Steamer dispatched of both, but when he went for the pin, Honky kinds but not really got on top and the ref did not break his count. It was a weird finish and not one that really protected Steamer when you could have used the manager. Thus began the reign of the Greatest IC Champion who ever lived.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

WWF Intercontinental Champion Honky Tonk Man vs Ricky Steamboat - MSG 8/22/87 Lumberjack Match

I figured I should watch at least one full-length Honky Tonk Man match in my life (correction: I have seen the Savage SNME match that leads to the MegaPowers forming so I guess this number two). This seems like his most critically acclaimed match and I have to admit this is a pretty damn good way to spend about 15 minutes. Highly entertaining. Honky Tonk feels like an overpushed jobber. Like if they gave Heath Slater the IC or US title and let him run with it. I think Slater is horribly underutilized and would shine. My point is that Slater's value is in bumping and stooging. That's Honky Tonk's value. Tremendous shine. Big smile the whole time. I loved Steamboat skinning the cat so fast the heels couldn't get him. While Honky was desperately trying to find a way out, but kept being held up at the apron and getting throttled. Steamboat giving chase into the lumberjacks were great. The bumping by Honky Tonk in the ring made each Steamboat cover feel huge. The Islanders trip Steamboat so Animal Steele trips Honky Tonk to a huge pop! Love it! Honky blocks a monkey flip and Steamer does a huge sell. Honky does not do much for me on offense. Steamboat really roared back with his comeback. Had some really good strong nearfalls. Jimmy Hart distracts the ref and Steele comes in counts for Steamboat. Raises his hand. Steamboat decks the Mouth of the South. In the fracas, Honky gets the megaphone and knocks out Steamboat to retain. All in all, really fun match especially the beginning when Honky Tonk was a total ham and Steamboat was on fire. The end was good wrestling theatre. ***3/4

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ricky Steamboat vs Rick Rude - MSG 12/26/87

 

I often forget that Steamboat stuck around after dropping the IC Title to Honky Tonk Man. The result was a feud with Ravishing Rick Rude, which I have never watched before (it is not as critically acclaimed as their '92 WCW feud). Rude is such a great character. He doesn't quite have that swagger when he tells all the New York Sleazebags to piper down while he shows all the ladies what a real, sexy man looks like but it was definitely there. Steamboat did not look pumped here. Very subdued entrance. I am guessing he took a lot of time off for his newborn and doesn't seem invested. Nice opening shine with Steamboat skinning the cat, but hitting Heenan in his bad neck on the way up and then back body dropping Rude out of the ring who takes a big bump onto a chair. Besides that bump, thought Rude did an excellent job selling the arm which Steamboat worked on for like 10 minutes. Steamboat won wrist control out of a test of strength. Really good, straight wrestling here. Is there anyone better at simple criss cross exchanges than the Dragon. Simply electric. I thought Rude did a good job creating movement for Steamboat to work in armdrags. Nice eyepoke and great selling of the arm while throwing bows with his good arm. Steamboat runs him into the buckles, but as he is charging he runs into them too.

Second half of the match is Rude working holds. I thought they worked good hope spots then cutoffs before going back into holds. Rude cant flex his left bicep, but he can his right. Love it! Rude misses the seat drop. Steamboat goes for the slam, but his back gives out. Steamboat gets out of bearhug but Rude hooks the ropes to avoid dropkick. Eventually Steamboat gets the famous Electric Chair spot and then Rude goes up top and Steamboat catches him. Classic Steamboat finish run with a ton of nearfalls for both men. Steamboat gets the big chop off the top and the bell rings calling for the time limit. Heenan gets on the mic to say he could beat the Dragon now but it is a trap and Rude blindsides him and smashes the microphones into his head. Steamboat makes a comeback and throws him out.

It was clear they were working a WWF time limit draw with all holds, but it was such a textbook match. I just enjoyed the selling and the beauty of the exchanges. It was simple, lo-fi, but effective. ***1/2

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Ricky Steamboat vs Rick Rude - WWF Royal Rumble 1988

It is generally unusual that matches that happened in WCW are more fondly remembered than the ones in the WWF, but this is for good reason as Steamboat/Rude's series in 1992 is lightyears better than the matches in late 87 and 88. I thought this was a condensed and more pedestrian version of their MSG draw a couple of months or so before this, the inaugural Royal Rumble. Rude does not have Heenan, which does lessen the fun. They do the spot where Steamboat skins the cat and sends Rude flying. The issue with this match is Rude just isn't as good as in the MSG match. He is not bumping as big. His offense is so weak that Steamboat is not bumping for him. He is trying to help him by selling but there is no heat. He finally musters up a transition but it is just a lame kneelift to the back. They do the usual Rude chinlock spots. Then they do the usual Steamboat nearfall sequence. The wrinkle in the end is Rude throws the ref into a diving Steamboat. He picks up Steamboat into an Argentine backbreaker. Ref calls for the bell you think Rude has won due to submission they even play his music, but Steamboat wins by DQ. The MSG match is actually very good and I recommend that. I think this is totally skippable and probably the worst Steamboat match I have seen in the WWF.          

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Ricky Steamboat vs Rick Rude - WWF Superstars 2/6/88

I was interested to watch this match because I don't recall reading about an angle between these two so I thought by watching this I might find something. The angle here was the Heenan Family (Race & Hercules) started to interfere after Steamboat was rolling with some top rope moves. So ULTIMATE WARRIOR in black trunks came out. I honest to God didn't even recognize him. He was kinda treated liked a JTTS getting beaten down and it was Hacksaw Duggan who made the real save. So it made sense Rude/Steamboat, Duggan/Race and Warrior/Herc going into WM IV. As for the match, sub-5 minutes, I could watch these two do criss cross sequences all day so beautiful.

 

 

The Dragon vs The Snake: Ricky Steamboat vs Jake Roberts - WWF 1986

The Dragon vs. The Snake
The Story of The Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat vs Jake "The Snake" Roberts Feud
WWF, 1986

Ricky Steamboat vs Jake Roberts - WWF Boston 6/27/86
 

I really enjoyed this match! These are two wrestlers that I have been a little down on, but I thought they weaved a great story in this match. I think a lot of my issues with Jake The Snake was twofold. One was not watching enough Jake to get him and understand him. Since he is not a pure power or speed guy, it does not immediately leap off the page. On top of that, a lot of what I was watching was  babyface Jake The Snake and I don't know if that's where Jake excels. From watching this and watching the SNME angle shot before this where he jumps Steamboat, cracks his head on the concrete with the DDT a couple times and lays the snake on The Dragon that Jake the Snake the heel enjoys torturing and humiliating his opponent even more than winning. On the flip side, Ricky Steamboat is pissed that he had been injured by The Snake and was red hot this match. Steamboat has a bit of a different way of showing violence and part of that is because of who Steamboat is (we know he is not the world's flashiest person) and the sanitized WWF environment. He wears his anger on his face and how quickly he is moving rather than the his moves per se.

Steamboat comes out hot looking to avenge being shown up and hurt at SNME, but one thread of this match is that his overzealousness catches him. By attacking Jake on the outside when he tries to get back in the ring, he catches a wicked knee lift. Jake immediately wants to replicate SNME with a quick DDT and presumably place the snake on him. Once could be a fluke and twice would show Jake is the man. Upon trying the DDT, Steamboat starts firing off chops and even a really heated belly to belly. I struggle sometimes with how I feel about wrestlers that really take time to signal to their audience what they are going to do. On one side, the wrestler should be in the moment and just execute. On the other, it is a powerful took to make the audience aware something big is going to happen and therefore more likely to pop because they won't miss it and are now anticipating it. I think Steamboat worked that fine line perfectly. It was especially apropos when Roberts was caught in the ropes. This gave time for Steamboat to measure his man thus getting the crowd involved and deliver a ferocious chop. I loved Steamboat's urgency going through the ref's leg just to get another chop. Soon we see how Steamboat's urgency comes back to haunt him as when he slides through Jake's legs he gets popped. Jake was showing a bit more energy here than he has in past performances, but his menacing, stalking aura is more suited to be a heel. I really his goading the struggling babyface to hit him in the face spot. It is such a dick thing to do and it is just so abusive father-ish to me. C'mon you want to hit me, but you can't, boy. It is just mean. That's the humiliating and torturing of Steamboat. There was one other time when Jake could have gone for the win and instead choose to punch Steamboat in the head more. There were other times when he reverted to a more normal heel especially how he reacted to Steamboat coming out of the sleeper. Steamboat's selling was HUGE in this and I was absolutely digging. I loved him being hurled over the top and just letting himself end up in what ever shape he did on the apron. He was a mess. Jake got a little cocky going for the snake and ended taking a big single leg pick up bump off his knee lift. Steamboat came ALIVE! Again, Jake was lying in wait and Steamboat overzealous ate knees on a splash. Steamboat rolled towards the apron where Jake successfully hit his knee lift. Roberts followed the Dragon, but was shoved into the post. Just as Steamboat was going to come crashing down on Jake the Snake with his flying chop the match was called off with Steamboat being counted out. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

They have a pretty heated post-match brawl with Jake The Snake looking to hit the DDT (he bladed really obviously on camera and it was funny trying to hear the announcers explain why he is bleeding), but Steamboat freeing himself and hitting the flying karate chop. I really loved the juxtaposition of the two energies of this match. Steamboat was firey and avenging. Roberts bided his time, struck at the right moment and then stalk and tortured his prey. This is really the type of match that WWF excels in more than probably about any promotion in history. It was very much more character-driven than it was victory-driven. I think that hurts a lot of WWF matches, but when they really knock it out of their park in their style, it is really fun to watch and really expands the breadth of what pro wrestling is and can accomplish. ****1/4  

-----------------------------------------------------------

Ricky Steamboat vs Jake Roberts - WWF Boston 8/9/86

They wrestled a totally different match this go around and one that I thought is pretty unique overall. Jake Roberts is definitely a low risk, conservative type wrestler. He does not have much in the way of flashy moves or bumps. He bides his time and measures the moment. He transformed this into a really interesting strategy of blocking Steamboat's chops at every turn. This frustrated the Dragon and stymied his uptempo game. The Snake played into the dickishness by reminding everyone how smart he is for formulating this strategy. There were times where it looked like Steamboat would be able to goad him into his game like a quick slugfest or a criss cross but both times Jake remembered his game plan and refused to be suckered into it. Jake planned on leveraging this counterwrestling strategy by attacking the arm, which would negate the chop. Overall, this was a much better plan than his last outing in the Garden, which was high-risk counterwrestling waiting for the right time to use Steamboat's momentum against him. Eventually, Steamboat was able to break down Jake's defenses, I think the best example was when Jake went block high and Steamboat hit low to set up a chop flurry. Steamboat really started to get on a roll. I thought this paid off the first part of the match perfectly. Then they upped the ante when Steamboat hit his left hand on the post going for a chop. What a perfect transition! What ensued is why I love pro wrestling. Steamboat milking the hand injury for all its worth. Jake giving into his tortuous inclinations. He was smashing that hand into everything and working it over. It was just awesome. Steamboat trying to use other body parts come back, but Jake going right back to the hand. Jake The Snake wanted to choke Steamboat and this was his flaw when he deviated from his game plan. It led to Steamboat snapping Roberts' throat over the top rope. I liked the symmetry there. Steamboat basically fought back with one hand in a really thrilling comeback where he hurled Roberts into the barricade and table. I am really liking violent Ricky The Dragon. I really liked the Snake's selling. Steamboat continued his barrage even hitting his big karate flying chop. I did think the finish was a misstep. Roberts sent The Dragon into the ref and then got two visual pins on the Dragon, short arm clothesline and then gutbuster before Roberts frustrated with no ref was rolled up for the loss. I feel like the finish does no one any favors. If the plan was to advance Jake The Snake up a rung to face, Hogan, which I think he earned with these great performances then just let him win, don't make slip on the banana peel and even a loss would not kill him. How does that help Steamboat who is trying to gain revenge and all he gets is a roll up. On top of that, Jake still gets to plant him with a DDT. This was a very protected finish for Jake The Snake. I usually don't let booking cloud my judgment of a match, but even just on face value, it is a very unsatisfying finish. Really badass and unique stuff in this match and up until the finish an absolute classic. ****1/2

------------------------------------------------------------------

Ricky Steamboat vs Jake Roberts - WWF Big Event 8/28/86 SnakePit Match ("No DQ" Match)

Again, they had a different match from the previous outings with this being their big blowoff brawl in front of a massive Toronto crowd. WWF will never be known for their brawls like a Southern territory would be, but this is still time period where they could have them with blood and all the fixins.

They play off the SNME angle where Jake The Snake heads him off getting to the ring and looks to hit the DDT on him early, but Steamboat is able to fight through this with chops. What's funny about this is that Jake is wearing this purple sequined robe that makes him look like a white trash, washed up magician. In another funny moment, they were talking about how tall Jake was and he is pretty deceptively tall. Like you don't think of Jake the Snake in pantheon of tall wrestlers, but he dwarfed Steamboat. They were saying he had long arms and long legs. Then I swear Johnny V added "He has a long peck too." All this humor was great because the match actually started off pretty slow with Steamboat working the arm. It was solid work, but it was not setting the world on fire. Actually that's what I expected out of these going into these matches, but I was happily proven wrong. Things really got going once Jake took over on the outside. He was kicking some ass until The Dragon got a hold of chair and actually laid a pretty good one in on him. Steamer hit the big flying chop, but did not get the win. I think that was Steamboat's downfall in these blood feuds. He did not have that one move that could really serve as the Grand Finale. Jake whipped him into the buckles and Steamboat tumbled to the outside. Jake was great on the outside and catapulted him into the post. We get blood BABY! Jake kicks some ass hits his big moves (short arm clothesline, gutbuster), but not the DDT so you know he ain't winning. The finish is so lame. It is the heel clearly pinning the babyface in a way to get rolled up. It is a fine spot, but as a match finish super lame. Steamboat needed a better finish. It was a pretty solid brawl, but nowhere as good as the Boston matches. ***1/2

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ricky Steamboat vs Jake "The Snake" Roberts - SNME 10/4/86 Snakepit Match

Man, Jake The Snake should only be allowed to wrestle Steamboat. I usually find the Snakeman to be completely devoid of energy and his matches to be plodding borefests, but I have loved these Steamboat matches. It is not just The Dragon either. Roberts actually looks motivated! He is bumping and running! WHAT!?!? The shine is great loved Steamboat ducking Roberts punches and chopping him. Great bumps by Roberts throughout the shine. Just lots of energy. Steamboat is on fire. He looks to end it early with a big splash from the top, but Roberts gets the knees up. Great heat segment ensues not just because Steamboat is the king of selling because Jake is vicious. He gets a gutbuster and is just nasty working the ribs. I would have liked to see some DDT teases, but the work on the ribs was great. Finish is out of nowhere just a crucifix just as the match was really getting good. It was SNME so you knew it be short, but hot damn this was building nicely until abrupt finish. They tease the DDT on the concrete, which is what started this feud on May edition of SNME, but Steamboat gets out and he pulls out his dragon (looked like a small alligator, maybe it was a Komodo Dragon, I am no reptile expert) to scare off Jake & Damien. Thus this was the TV blowoff to their feud. One of the best Jake Roberts performance I have ever seen both in bumping on offense! ***3/4

How To Train A Beach Bum: Ricky Steamboat vs Don Muraco - WWF 1985-86

How To Train A Beach Bum:

Story of the Ricky Steamboat vs Don Muraco Feud

WWF 1985-86

 

 

 

 

Must See Angle: Don Muraco & Mr. Fuji Hang Ricky Steamboat on TV to jumpstart their feud.

 

Don Muraco & Mr. Fuji Hang Ricky Steamboat

 

 

I'll be honest this is the least of the three main Ricky Steamboat feuds of WWF (Magnificent Muraco, Jake The Snake and the Macho Man). I think based on that list no would be surprised that I would think that. Muraco was fresh off doing the three match series with Hogan at MSG and being a top flight heel. This is probably the height of Muraco since the Snuka feud in 1983. This basically cements Steamboat as the number three babyface behind Hogan and Tito. This was a great way to establish Steamboat as someone to watch before his breakout year in '86 against Jake The Snake and the Macho Man. It is a great use of Magnificent Muraco as a heel gatekeeper. Steamboat used this as a stepping stone to go onto bigger and better things.

 

Don Muraco vs Ricky Steamboat 9/22/85 - Lumberjack Match

2013 Review: Another good contest and I believe even better than the Martial Arts match because there was even less downtime, which is a feat for a Muraco match. Steamboat came out with guns blazing and Muraco did a pretty good job bumping around for him. They do the usual stuff to establish the nature of lumberjack match. Muraco is surprisingly game for doing some offense. He does the Mr. Perfect necksnap, atomic drop and a shoulderbreaker, which sets up his nerve hold on the shoulder. I am not a big fan of the nerve hold, but up until that point he was actually moving around and actually hitting stuff with a bit of panache. Steamboat is really working hard on the defensive to put over Muraco's offense. Even Muraco's Irish Whip at the end of the match looked vicious. Vicious is not a word I would use to describe pretty much anything Muraco has done. I would be remiss not to mention that ref is counting noticeably slow for Muraco's covers. Gorilla and Jess are besides themselves.

Bob Orton is on the outside and plays the role of heel running buddy. Fuji runs distraction and Muraco is going to Irish whip Steamboat into Orton's cast, but nothing doing. Steamboat drives Muraco into Orton and rolls him up. Muraco tries to get his heat back, but the babyfaces run him off.

It was an action-packed match where Muraco actually looked good on offense. Steamboat has been looking good in this feud. There is just something about him besides the fact that he missed huge chunks of time that has me ruling him out as GOATC. He lacks a big bomb. He relies too much on quick roll-ups and flash pins. There is nothing he has in his arsenal that screams put away. I actually he is plenty good at showing fire, but really his big weapon is just the chop. I like people to have a little bit more variety in their attack and outside of his chop to the chest, he works really light.           

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Ricky Steamboat vs Magnificent Muraco - WWF, MLG 9/22/85 Lumberjack Match

2015 Review: Ricky Steamboat was fucking over in Toronto! Holy shit! Huge Steamboat chant during the heat segment. Every offensive move was met with a pop. When he won, you would have thought the Leafs had one the Stanley Cup! I don't  know if this match took place before or after the hanging angle (highly recommend watching that before any Steamer/Muraco match to get some context). The Steamer came out cooking and a really hot start. Muraco was bumping and stooging. They did well establishing Lumberjack match stip. Besides a long nerve hold, I thought we got good Muraco tonight as he seemed very energetic possibly vibing off the hot Toronto crowd. I really liked the Asiatic Spike from the top and his shoulderbreaker. The finish was fun with Steamboat popping Ace Orton on the apron and then running Muraco into him for the win. Looking forward to more matches in this feud. ***

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Don Muraco vs Ricky Steamboat 11/9/85

On the Don Muraco sliding scale, this is a very good match, but I would say it is just average. Even at the beginning, which is supposed to be a hot start, Muraco just isnt throwing himself into the match in a way that feels violent. Coming off watching Valentine/Tito, Muraco barley seems to be grazing Steamboat, but that doesn't stop Steamboat from selling like a pro. I liked the work with the sash (for lack of a better term) it was a good way to incorporate the earlier angle. I dont why Steamboat decided (not his decision perhaps) to ground the match with a chinlock when he should be out for blood. In his defense, he did show some serious fire, which is a usual criticism of his. His chops looked very much on point. The transition to the heat segment with a Fuji cane shot was good. Muraco's heat segment, save for the shoulderbreaker (that moves needs to make a comeback) was a bore.

The comeback matched the beginning in terms of energy and brought the match back to life. I feel that Muraco could have probably waited until Steamboat got the cane to blade to really sell the fury, but hey he was trying to add drama, I guess can't fault him.

As John said, you definitely get the feeling of hate and heat in this match, but Muraco is still working at half-speed, but still the best Muraco match I have ever seen.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Don Muraco vs Ricky Steamboat - Boston 2/6/86 - Martial Arts Match


There is no sliding scale needed for this match. This is a very good match built around Steamboat's acumen in the ring and Muraco's charisma. Muraco undoubtedly possesses a lot of charisma, it is just we dont get to see when he is laying on the mat in a headlock. The beginning of the match establishes that this Ricky's domain and Muraco can mock it all he wants, but at the end of the say Steamboat is going to kick his ass. I dont understand why Muraco didnt rely more on gimmicks, schtick and general tomfoolery if he didnt feel like working. It would have been way more entertaining and just as untaxing as lying in a headlock.

Eventually we do get a Steamboat headlock/facelock, but it doesnt last that long until Muraco takes over with a Samona drop and out on the floor he catapults Steamboat into a chair in a great spot. He then busts Steamboat wide open off a ring post shot. Muraco's heat segment is totally centered around him choking out Steamboat with his own sash and this builds to the piledriver, which he dedicated to The Body. He plays a bit too much with his food before Steamboat is able to break out of the piledriver.

The Steamer is cookin and now seems way more comfortable in the martial arts gimmick as a series of chops punctuated by one of the top rope send Muraco to the mat. Muraco dumps him over, but Steamboat hangs on and kicks Fuji before coming back in reversing a suplex into a roll-up for the win.

This is the best I have seen Steamboat look in the WWF since I have been rewatching his stuff (I presume the Savage stuff, which I love will soon top this). I liked the Bob Orton match, but it didnt really seem to go anywhere. This match is the type of match the WWF excels in. It is built around a handful of big spots and relies on the wrestler's ability to connect with the crowd to get the match over. Steamboat is one of the best babyfaces of all-time and Muraco seemed more game than ever to stooge to get the gimmick over. Steamboat seemed more comfortable on offense than previously in the WWF. All in all, this made for a very good match.


My major quibble is the post-match beatdown by Muraco on Steamboat. What the hell was the point of Muraco getting his heat back. He had already had his series with Hogan. So he was on his way down, while ostensibly Steamboat was on his way up ready to feud with Jake The Snake and Macho Man.

 

 

Greg Valentine The Later Years: WWF 1988-1991

Greg "The Hammer " Valentine

Best of 1988-1991 in World Wrestling Federation
The Later Years

 

Best Matches:

1.  Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs "Rugged" Ronnie Garvin - 10/89 MLG

2. Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs Blue Blazer - 4/89 Boston

3.  Greg Valentine vs Ronnie Garvin - WWF MSG 9/30/89

4.  Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs Tito Santana - 11/88 MSG

5. Greg "The Hammer" Valentine w/Jimmy Hart vs  Ronnie Garvin - Royal Rumble 1990

6.  Greg Valentine vs Ronnie Garvin - WWF MSG 12/30/88

Greg Valentine vs Brutus Beefcake - WWF 3/12/88

Beefcake was really on point with his barber puns. "On point" get it, yeah, barber puns suck. Beefer was cuttin' and struttin' into heart of Vince, who was ogling him in his risqué tights. Jimmy Hart was actually a great foil for Beefcake because of his ridiculous mullet so the threat of cutting his hair is fun. Valentine clearly goes to the same hairdresser as Judy Martin also makes for a great foil for the Barber. This is the blowoff to their year long feud as Beefcake is transitioning into a feud with The Hammer's stablemate, the Honky Tonk Man (another ridiculous quaff for Beefcake to cut) over the Intercontinental Championship. In fact, Honky makes his way to ringside while Brutus is selling his leg on the outside to berate and add some heat to their Mania IV match.

 

Pretty damn good SNME match here. Beefcake is over and showed a lot of energy. Nice high knee and a pair of atomic drops. Valentine bumped and stooged like a million bucks for him. The stooging off the atomic drop was Rick Rude levels of awesome. The ref tries to get a clean break in the corner and the Hammer blasts Beefcake. That's the Hammer I know and love. I agree with Jesse that it was awesome that Valentine put the figure-4 on in the ropes and just when all out using the ropes to really ramp up the pressure to do some serious damage. This is when Honky lays the verbal smackdown. Back from break, Valentine tries to get the figure-4 back on, but Beefcake keeps pushing off. Brutus makes his comeback and calls for the sleeper, but Valentine collapses to the outside. Beefcake gets distracted by the Mouth of the South and a fun chase ensues. The finish is a back suplex with both men pinned, but Beefcake gets his shoulder up. Lame finish. With Beefcake going into a title match and it being the blowoff, you would figure he would be put over stronger. Beefcake des get to cut a lock of Valentine's golden hair. Fun little match with Valentine stooging and showing some great offense. Beefcake was energetic. Good stuff. ***

Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs Jake "The Snake" Roberts - 5/88 Primetime Wrestling

This was a pretty disappointing affair as most Jake the Snake matches are for me. This is a perfect example of an air-tight logical match that is boring as piss. Roberts did not seem up to work at all as there was no babyface shine and he worked the entirety from underneath in holds. The entire match was structured as Valentine works a hold -> mini-Snake comeback ->signals DDT -> Valentine bails & stall. Rinse, lather and repeat. I will say the first couple holds were boring, but the leg work was the most entertaining and Roberts is always game to sell, just not put any effort into anything else. It did not feel like Valentine was really laying in his shots. They built the entire match around the "D-D-T!", which the crowd was chanting at the beginning until they were lulled to sleep. Now I was ready to be pissed if Roberts signalled for the DDT and then finally hit it because the whole bout was built around Valentine bailing when he knew it was coming. Roberts may be lazy, but he ain't stupid. He hit the DDT out of nowhere, which paid off that internal story. Jake the Snake brought the internal consistency and his usual selling, but left Valentine to the carry the workload in a really layout. Valentine did not even stiff him. Booooooooooooo!
----------------------------------------------------

Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs "The Rock" Don Muraco - PTW 06/88

I went in expecting the absolute worst and was pleasantly surprised at how well this came off and yes that is mostly due to the amazing carrying powers of The Hammer. If you let Valentine work his match, you are the very least going to get a good match and thats why the Roberts match was so boring as the wrestled a Snake match. Muraco put himself in the very capable hands of the Hammer and I was entertained for the 15 minutes of the match. Muraco for his part actually worked hard and ended up blowing up, but at first I was impressed with how quick he looked with all that muscle mass. The short shine was a showcase of Muraco's surprising quickness and one sweet sequence on the mat. Only for Valentine to start taking over with nasty, high chops that look at home in Japan. Yes, Valentine goes back to the chinlock a lot, but I liked his striking and the grittiness. He hit a sick hotshot on Muraco and then started landing wicked blows on Muraco. Muraco takes exception to this, but Valentine bails and resumes his offense with harsh strikes. This has to be up there for one of the best striking showcases from Valentine. Valentine crotches himself on Muraco's knees. Muraco still has some energy with some decent strikes and punctuates with a shoulderbreaker, but only gets two. Valentine starts to work the knee, but he crashes on his ass to the mat. Muraco ends up on top of the ref, but moves at the last second so Valentine lands an elbow on the ref. Muraco is totally blown up and the ref calls for a DQ while Valentine has him cradled. This is a match to watch to see Valentine just unleash his arsenal on a willing victim, but nothing especially great.
-------------------------------------------------

Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs "The Rock" Don Muraco - MSG 7/88

"[Muraco] told me it is his lifelong dream to put Valentine out of business" - "Superstar" Graham

"They are not just fighting for a paycheck. They are fighting for morality. MORALITY!" - "Superstar" Graham

I decided to push my luck and watch another for these apparent childhood enemies (Hawaii & Seattle are kinda close, I guess) and once again I thought it was good, but not great. Muraco goes after the HeartBreaker early. It took them a year and half to pay off that storyline thats incredible. Valentine's shoulder eats the post. Muraco very gently rams him into the post. Muraco's arm work is pretty decent and I smile when he hit the Asiatic Spike onto the arm. Valentine revs up and just starts unloading with blows. Muraco turns the tide and Superstar starts talking smack on Valentine while Muraco lays into him. Valentine picks the leg and wraps it around the ringpost. Valentine works the leg and alternates with some nasty forearms and clubbering on Muraco. Muraco keeps fighting out of the figure-4. Muraco mounts his comeback with Valentine begging off. Muraco finally gets the HeartBreaker off only for the time limit to expire. Thus the the Ultimate Battle of Good vs. Evil ends in a draw. Shame. It is a match that I will be probably forget soon, but during it I never thought it dragged, but never really hit that next level. Valentine could still go in the post-Dream Team and I would have loved to see him get a run in the tag division against the Rockers or against Savage for the title in a one-off. Alas.
----------------------------------------------------

Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs Tito Santana - 11/88 MSG

This is the Ultimate Greg Valentine match. You got to give it 10 or minutes before it really kicks your ass. smile.gif The first ten minutes are not that bad, just a bit pedestrian. Valentine is rocking the "Heartbreaker" Shinguard and Ronnie Garvin has not produced the technological innovation of the "Hammer Jammmer" so Tito is left defenseless to the extra pressure the Heartbrekaer will apply. Thus Tito immediately goes after the shinguard this tunnel vision leaves him open for a cheapshot. Tito get a better of this strike exchange sending Valentine out to the floor. We are partying like it is 1985 because their strike exchanges still rule the school. Tito is really good at selling, strikes and comebacks, but he is pretty awful at opening babyface shines. He settles on the side headlock while Valentine settles on the chinlock to begin this match. The work is solid, but uninspiring. Valentine forces Tito into the ropes and kicks Tito's injured right leg. Valentine then wraps Tito's injured knee across the apron. Ok, now we are talking! Back from commercial Hammer is dropping some elbows before relentlessly attacking Santana's knee. Just when it seems like Valentine may be in a toehold too long (crowd is getting restless), Tito pulls down Valentine's trunks and just starts hammering him with punches. The crowd pops like mad for this. However, Valentine is able to catch Tito coming off the second rope. Valentine grapevines the leg and drops back a couple time. He then does the Arn knucklelock spot only he scissors the leg and forces Tito to bridge out three times before taking a shot to the balls. Valentine looks more shocked than hurt. Santana inside cradle only gets 2. Valentine winds up and misses a fist drop.

Vamos Tito! Nasty strike exchange, Tito overwhelms Valentine and TIMBAAAAAAAAAH! Now Tito works over Valentine's knee to set up his own figure-4. I am loving this. Tito gets eye-raked and Valentine fells him with a brutal chop. Valentine back on the legs turning the shinguard around but gets caught in an inside cradle. Valentine with two big shots, but fails to get the figure 4 on twice as he is shoved to the outside. They exchange strikes on the outside, which I wised lasted longer. Valentine rakes Tito's eyes, but as he rolls back in the bell rings signaling a draw. They tease a Valentine victory by Countount, but it is confirmed as a draw. Tito clears the ring of Valentine to keep his heat.

After Martel was "injured", they put Tito in a holding pattern until he got back though he mainly faced Rick Rude, which I am looking forward to watching. Valentine had returned to the singles ranks after his team with Bravo failed to set the world on fire even though I think with the right push they could have been a bigger deal. Valentine was working with Muraco at this point so neither guy was in a major angle, but they pulled busted out a pretty hard hitting match together. Outside, Randy Savage/Ted DiBiase, I cant think of anything else that would get on this level. In a pretty light year for the WWF, I would say this is a serious MOTYC. ****1/4

-----------------------------------

 

Greg Valentine vs Ronnie Garvin - WWF MSG 12/30/88

I love when two Carolina Boys hook it up and lay into each other in a WWF ring. Valentine was so wasted in 1988 being stuck with Brutus Beefcake, Bloated Don Muraco and fucking old as dirt George Steele. He did have a great match with Tito Santana at the previous MSG show to this one.

Valentine has hair that would make the Glamor Girls jealous so Lord Alfred Hayes starts gushing over Judy Martin and that Rockin Robin is too skinny and not enough woman for him. They start as one would expect just blasting each other with chops. Garvin nominally has control of this as he is always moving forward and winning the exchanges. They are just wailing on each other. I loved that Valentine goes for the Flair Flop and Garvin stops him with a choke. Garvin goes for the sleeper, but Valentine ultimately reverses into some nice armwork (great shoulderbreaker) and some brutal chops. Garvin mounts a comeback a little too early in my opinion with his headbutts and fists.. Garvin Stomp! Gets no reaction, which is funny. Valentine wrangles him into a kneecrusher and Garvin sells this beautifully and the finish run is pretty hot. Valentine is working the Heartbreaker gimmick (shinguard) that increases the pain and pressure of the figure-4 so Garvin is doing everything he can to impede Valentine including a monster right hand to Valentine's head. Garvin rips off the Heartbreaker and the crowd pops, but he cant hit him with it and gets rolled up for three as he is arguing with the ref. Garvin beats him with the shinguard.

Honestly, I expected to like this a bit more. I love I good stiff Carolina chopfest, but this did not have much in the way of progression. It just felt like chop exchange, Garvin rallies and wins and Valentine bumps. That just keeps happening and there was no sense of build until the very end, which was very good. Entertaining because it is one of my favorite style of matches, but they have better matches in 1989 with each other. ****

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs Blue Blazer - 4/89 Boston

WOW! I did not expect this match at all. Pretty much all the pre-94 Owen I have seen has been pretty disappointing as many have pointed out he works too much like a gymnast. He starts off with a backflip off the top turnbuckle and I expected much of the same throughout the match. Instead, we got a hard-hitting, focused and well-paced match. This is the type of match that convinces me that Valentine is the best WWF worker of the 80s. He really wrestles a smart match that makes the Blazer look incredible. The Blazer was a pretty cool gimmick and could have really cashed in on the superhero craze that is going on right now.

Blazer targets Valentine's left arm with armdrags and wristlocks. He gets a nearfall with a cross body block. Blazer has dizzied Valentine with his speed and this is some of the best ground game I have seen in 80s WWF. Valentine is able to send the Blazer crashing to the outside. Valentine comes off the apron with a double axe handle. Owen sucks at selling as he kind of staggers around the outside and is not evoking sympathy rather just looks confused. Hammer plays King Of Mountain keeping Owen at bay with elbows and knees. Valentine hits him with a backbreaker and stomps. He wrenches his knee in the corner and he delivers vicious forearms. Blazer mounts a comeback with a second rope dropkick TIMBAAAAAH. Blazer fighting fire with fire using European uppercuts. He crashes and burns on a dropkick when Valentine hooks the ropes. Valentine realizing that the Blazer is for real wastes no time trying to apply the figure-4 but fails on all three occasions eventually crashing to the outside. Blazer seizing this opportunity works through a series of nearfalls attempting to secure the victory with a series of high spots including a missile dropkick and a top rope elbow drop. On his last move from the top, Valentine catches him and slams him for the victory.

I loved this match! It really felt like two wrestlers struggling working hard to secure a victory. Blazer was able to focus on Valentine's arm early, but Valentine was able to throw him to the outside and deliver some heavy blows, but that does not phase Blazer enough. Valentine regains the advantage tries to go in for the kill, but the Blazer is persistent. The Blazer would not let up with a barrage of moves. Eventually the ring veteran Valentine snaps him up to get the win. It was just a really well-constructed match that was executed beautifully. One of the best matches I have seen from the WWF 80s era. ****1/4

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bret Hart vs Greg Valentine 5/89 Meadowlands

Bret Hart was just ostensibly a tag wrestler at this point as he was splitting his time in a program with Mr. Perfect and wrestling random matches with Neidhart against random tag teams. Outside a small program with Powers of Pain isolated to Primetime and the Rockers program at the end of the year, Bret's main focus was against Mr. Perfect and other midcard heels. I think Vince's booking restraint at this point is genius and displays how good used to be. He would never be that patient anymore. After two really awesome matches against DiBiase and Perfect, the bar was set high for the Hammer. I believe Valentine outclasses both DiBiase and Perfect in the WWF so I had really high hopes for this one. However, this came off as one of Bret's more pedestrian matches. I was not expecting a brawl per se, just something a little bit more hard-hitting. Dont get me wrong, Valentine definitely laying in his shots and Bret gave as good as he got, but did not reach the fever pitch I wanted.

The beginning was some by the numbers Bret control work with a chinlock and wristlock. After a headbutt, Valentine feigned doing his TIMBAAAAAH, but instead stood frozen until Bret's dropkick. Valentine chucked Bret out of the ring. Bret really milks out on the floor and they play King of the Mountain for a bit. I think Bret really liked that in 1989. Bret is a really good sympathetic face and Valentine is great when he is on top. So the match picks up here as Valentine is really laying in his stuff. Valentine is the Patron Saint of Clubbering because he is so damn good at it. Valentine whiffs on a second rope elbow drop. Bret mounts his comeback and shows a lot more fire. He headbutts Valentine again and pushes him over TIMBAAAAAAAH! Bret gets his backbreaker and goes for his second rope elbow, but Mr. Perfect distracts him. Valentine catches him with a high knee and stomps on his ankle repeatedly. Bret is really milking this and he attempts to crawl away that is such a great moment of helplessness. Bret is able to muster up enough to kick Valentine off on the figure 4 sending him into the post, but the bell rings before the 3 count registering.

They were doing a nice slow burn with Bret Hart going to draws with a lot of mid-card heels and it was a good booking decision. The match picked up once Valentine took control and the finish was really well-done, but I felt overall it could have been better. I would liked some more meaty exchanges. Bret is really proving his worth as an underdog babyface.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Rockers vs New Dream Team w/Jimmy Hart - 6/89

Rockers have taken over well for the Islanders as the team that just cant have a bad match. This is just good, solid tag team wrestler that is entertaining throughout. I was expecting a little bit more because I think The Hammer may be the best WWF worker of the 80s, but this settles in that good territory. Bravo is incredibly better when compared to Beefcake. He definitely has energy and I won't ever fault someone for that.

The story of the match is as you expect Rockers' speed and continuity versus the strength of Bravo & ruggedness of Valentine. They establish Bravo is stronger than Marty so Marty blind tags Shawn, who dropkicks Bravo in the back into a Marty slam and then a slam for Valentine; Rockers clear the ring. Valentine gets in with Shawn and Demolition wishes they were this good at clubbering offense. Valentine works over Shawn's shoulder and rams it into the post. Shawn creates space and then rams The Hammer's shoulder into the ringpost. I love payback spots. This is a couple minutes of Rockers' targeting Valentine's arm it is well done, fast pace work that never delves into heel in peril. Valentine with a forearm shot tags in Bravo, who takes a monkey flip form Marty. On the second monkey flip, Bravo catches Marty and gives him a reverse atomic drop. Bravo then lets out what can only be described as the "Howard Dean Scream" as he tags in the Hammer. Marty is the face in peril as New Dream Team works over him in entertaining fashion. This heat segment was better than some of Busters' heat segment. They were constantly tagging out and never just settling for choking. Bravo hits a great gutwrench suplex. Bravo misses the elbow. The crowd pops huge. Shawn comes in a house of fire. Ducks punches and punches of his own and suplexes Bravo. Double dropkick on Bravo, dropkicks for everyone including the Mouth of the South. Double fistdrop from the top, but Valnetine breaks it up. Shawn & Dino bump heads; Valentine puts Bravo on top; Jannetty breaks it up. Jannety in as a reverse sunset flip and Valentine clothesline him as the ref detains Shawn so the New Dream Teams WINS?!?!?!?!?!??!?

Wait Valentine/Bravo won? They have not been a regular team since 1987. I just dont get it. It seems like The Rockers have been pushed hard to this point maybe Vince sees they will hit a ceiling since the Demos and Hart Foundation are also faces. I wish Valentine/Bravo got a serious push as the number 2 heel team.

Fuckin' weird finish aside, it was a fun match which cut a brisk pace and everything was well-executed. The Rockers are definitely the best home stretch team in the WWF as that stuff was wicked entertaining to watch.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs Dusty Rhodes 6/89 - Niagara, NY 

With Tony on commentary, this feels like some down-home Southern cooking, baby. Dusty's antics always make me laugh; definitely one of my favorite wrestlers to watch. They establish the elbow early as his signature weapon felling The Hammer instantly. This is a battle of the Bionic Elbow vs. The Hammer Elbow. Dusty misses an elbow and Hammer takes over with a chinlock. Dusty and Valentine exchange blows in the corner. He goes for the Figure-4, but Hammer rakes the eyes enabling him to work over Dusty's leg. Valentine has the Hartbreaker is looking to make Dusty submit to his Figure-4, but Dusty pulls the hair. Dusty mounts the comeback out of the comeback and Dusty proves his work translates well to the North whipping the crowd into the frenzy. Valentine gets his knee in the corner and Jimmy Hart ascends the top turnbuckle!?!?!??! Garvin grabs him off the top. Rhodes gets the roll-up win.

The match is nothing to write home about and you do not have to go out of your way to watch it, but it is cool this match exists. Dusty in WWF is almost as weird as Flair in WWF, but I think Dusty fits a bit better in WWF, but not by much. It is always interesting to watch him in WWF. His bells and whistles still got over with the crowd. Valentine worked his usual stuff in, but I wished he turned it up a bit.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Greg Valentine vs Ronnie Garvin - WWF MSG 9/30/89

If you love the sound of flesh on flesh then this match is for you! It helps a lot that Tony is here to call the action with the Southern drawl of Hillbilly Jim to add to this Mid-Atlantic fight feel. Absolute war of attrition. We all know that these two are going to hit each other hard and I mean double hard. The selling was off the charts great here too. I loved Valentine TIMMMBBBBAAAAAHHHH bump only when he tried to get up he flopped back down to the ground. I loved Garvin bouncing off the ropes trying to keep himself off as the Hammer rocked him with heavy chops. Just really awesome stand up exchanges. Tony nailed it felt like you were watching a boxing match. Valentine using shortcuts to keep Garvin at bay was great subtle heel psychology as Garvin just kept moving forward. I thought Valentine's chinlock/sleeper dragged a bit. I don't like Garvin using the sleeper because he is short, BUT it is a logical setup for the Garvin stomp so I get that. Loved the poke of the eyes when Garvin went for the Sharpshooter. Valentine hits some fucking massive chops late in the match. Then that kneecrusher followed by the insanely awesome selling by Garvin was so much fun. They tease heel running into the manager on the apron finish. Garvin sells the leg the whole way down the stretch, takes this great bump to the floor, cant get a piledriver. Valentine takes the press slam off the top. Lots of sunset flips here with Valentine dropping down on a Garvin attempt and falling forward to pick up the cheap win. Garvin wails on him after the match and ties him up in the ropes and wants to put the figure-4 on him using the Hartbreaker, but Jimmy Hart frees his man.

I love a heavy hitting, humdinger of a slugfest. Dragged a bit in the middle, but the finish stretch was a barnburner. I think calling this a Top Ten WWF 80s match is selling the WWF short, more than how great this match is, but this is a fantastic mid-card match. ****1/4

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs "Rugged" Ronnie Garvin - 10/89 MLG

Well this match did not sneak up on me as I knew how much I liked the Royal Rumble match. This is one of those "Katie Bar The Door, Pier-Six" Brawls, just a drag-out, burn-down, bare-knuckle slobberknocker. You can count the "wrestling moves" on one hand, but who gives a fuck because they bring the heat with every blow. Gorilla tells me Valentine is the one who asked for Garvin's reinstatement after he retired him. Lord Alfred says if he gets his ass handed to him that he would be "hoist on his own petard", which I had seen elsewhere and now know what it means. Who says wrestling can not be educational? biggrin.gif

They lock up and Garvin wins a shoving contest in the corner. Then it turns into a boxing match with Garvin getting the better of that. Valentine tries coming in full bore with some vicious blows and chops, but Hands of Stone cannot be denied, well until Valentine gets a kick that may have been low. Valentine capitalizes on this immediately with elbows, but Garvin spreads his leg on a piledriver attempt. When Gorilla says look at that spread I get a chuckle out of it. Valentine piledrives him anyways, but only gets two. Here comes Garvin again with punches and chops; he attempts a pin after a headbutt/splash combo. Valentine backdrops Garvin on piledriver attempt, but Garvin tries a sunset flip however his legs are too short. Lord Alfred had a good laugh over that one. Garvin Stomp! The Sharpshooter gets blocked by an eye-rake and Valentine tosses him to the outside, we play a little King of the Mountain as Valentine sledges and elbows him. Garvin grabs a sleeper but he is just too damn short. He pokes him in the eyes and gnaws on his forehead. He goes for the kill with the Sharpshooter, but Valentine punches his way out. Garvin walks into a shinbreaker and Valentine applies his figure-4 leglock. Garvin makes the ropes, but is selling the leg for all it is worth. Valentine going for his second rope elbow gets caught and eats a press slam by a debilitated Ronnie Garvin. Garvin removes the shinguard and threatens to strike the Hammer with it, but in the confusion gets rolled up. Garvin beats him down the aisle way with the HeartBreaker. 

This was an ugly, brutal wrestling contest and I loved it. I will say that stand up wrestling matches like this are not my absolute favorite, but I do liked them every once and a while. This was a great change of pace from 80s WWF tag scene. I can only think that Savage, Backlund and Santana are serious contenders against him for best worker in the WWF 80s. Backlund obviously is missing half of the decade, but he did run on top for the whole first half. I have watched enough Santana to know he can have a few borefests or clunkers even though his stuff with Valentine, Savage and the Islanders is some of the best stuff of the 80s. Savage was not with the company as long as Valentine and Santana, but he obviously had some great stuff and in addition had a main event run. I am sure if started watching Savage again in earnest I would say he is the best, but Valentine is hard to deny with so many great performances. ****1/2

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Greg "The Hammer" Valentine w/Jimmy Hart vs "Rugged" Ronnie Garvin - Royal Rumble 1990

Valentine and Garvin staged an all-out, NWA-style war in this one. They are two ornery muthafuckas looking to beat the piss out of each other in a match. I loved the boxing bits at the beginning. At first, Valentine wants to leave due to the Hammer Jammer. After TIMMMMBBAAHHHH, he is giving just as good as he gets. He was never a heel to succumb to the WWF heel tradition of getting steamrolled. He would cheat and stooge, but he always dished out punishment too. Ronnie Garvin is such a great striker. This audience reminded me of the Survivor Series '93 audience for the RNRs/Bodies match. They could not make heads or tails, but stiffness is an universal language and eventually the audience started to get into it. The pinfall attempts to get tiresome after a while and yes some do act as reversals, but I think there were still too many. I didn't mind the Hammer Jammer stuff with mocking faces as much as they had established that was the role for the Hammer Jammer. I loved the struggle for each transition as they were laying into each other. It was smart and entertaining to keep going back to that. The head cracking spot was perfect to get the Hammer Jammer off. Say what you will about the mocking faces, once Garvin got in the figure-4 he sold it for all its worth going above and beyond most to sell it the rest of the match. The Flair press slam off the top was a nice nod to the past. Once Garvin got the Heartbreaker off, I enjoyed the WWF-style antics with Jimmy Hart, hitting the Hammer with his shin-guard and slapping on the Scorpion Deathlock for the finish,

I have no idea why Vince let them go on PPV, but I am sure glad he did because this is great match. It is so different for the WWF given how strike-oriented and vicious it is, but still has the WWF touch with the opposing leg braces. It is a great swan song for both men  epitomizing their stiff, vicious style in the ring. ****