Written By: Matt Peddycord
WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event #28: Oktoberfest
October 13, 1990
Toledo, OH
Sports Arena
(Taped on 9/18/1990)
The current WWF Champs were as follows:
World Champion: Ultimate Warrior (4/1/1990)
Intercontinental Champion: Kerry Von Erich (8/27/1990)
World Tag Team Champions: Hart Foundation (8/27/1990)
So now we get ANOTHER bad idea for a theme: the Oktoberfest edition of SNME. The superstars who aren’t on the card get to sit around in Bavarian costumes and drink beer while everybody else has to work.
Your hosts are Vince McMahon and Roddy Piper!
The Legion of Doom & Ultimate Warrior vs. Demolition
It’s a feud the world had wanted to see for several years now. I’m talking about the Road Warriors vs. Demolition, and now we have it. The Road Warriors interfered in Demolition’s title match at SummerSlam and basically cost them the belts to the Hart Foundation and it just seemed like a good idea to put all the “warriors” together. The Warriors clear the ring to start, but then Smash catches Animal with a clothesline. Animal comes back with a powerslam for two. Warrior and Ax tag in for a bit. Warrior delivers a bunch of shoulderblocks and goes for the finish with the GORILLA SPLASH, but nobody’s home. Smash dumps Warrior for some Crush cheating and rolls the Warrior back in. Warrior gets stuck in the Demos corner for a while and they set him up for DEMOLITION DECAPITATION, but Hawk saves him at the last second. HOT TAG TO HAWK! Hawk hits a FLYING CLOTHESLINE on Smash, nails Ax & Crush, and tags in Warrior. LOD go to the floor with Ax & Crush while Warrior puts Smash away with the GORILLA SPLASH (5:38) They BURIED Demolition here. It’s one of those spectacle matches, not necessarily all that amazing. *½
Dusty Rhodes vs. “Macho King” Randy Savage (w/Queen Sherri)
Dustin Rhodes is in the front row, which should be a hint that something bad is going to happen to him. This is the end of the Dusty/Savage feud by the way, as both are headed for other things. Dusty controls to start with elbows and corner whips until Sherri gets involved and starts choking him. Savage hits the sleeper as Ted DiBiase and Virgil come down through the crowd for the front row. They start paying people off for their seats until they get to Dustin Rhodes, who rips up the money. He starts yelling at Virgil and then takes his seat. DiBiase and Virgil don’t do anything about it and just sit down beside the kid. Meanwhile in the ring, Dusty elbows out of the sleeper and goes over to confront DiBiase about being rude to his son. That gives Savage the opening to attack. He hits the running hotshot after Sherri chokes on Dusty again and then delivers a flying double-sledge for 1-2-NO! Savage goes for the Bossman straddle, but he misses. Savage tries to come back with a slam, but Dusty is too freakin’ huge and falls on top for 1-2-NO! Savage fires back and heads up for another double-ax handle, but Dusty catches him on the way down. Dustin rises up to cheer on his dad, but DiBiase sits him down again. Dustin finally has enough and starts wailing on DiBiase! He turns away to look at Virgil, so DiBiase clotheslines him over the railing and beats the crap out of Dustin. Dusty finally sees what is happening and goes over to save his son, but that just allows Savage to jump off the top for a flying double-ax handle on the floor. Savage rolls back in the ring and lets Dusty get counted out. (8:18) The Rhodes/DiBiase fight continues as Dustin BLADES on national television! This was more of an angle-transition driven match than an actual wrestling match. Sometimes, you’ve got to have them. *
Hulk Hogan & Tugboat vs. Rhythm ‘n Blues (w/Jimmy Hart)
Hogan makes Honky Tonk and Valentine look like complete jobbers to start. Tugboat tags in and puts Honky Tonk in a bearhug, but Valentine breaks it up to gain the advantage. The heels go for the double-elbow drop, but Tugster somehow is quick enough to move out of the way and make the HOT TAG TO HULK! Hogan annihilates R&B. He goes for the LEGDROP on Valentine to finish, but Tugboat stops him and points out that Earthquake and Dino Bravo are headed down to ringside. Hogan tells them to bring it, but the referees keep them at bay. Tugboat tags and splashes Valentine in the corner. Jimmy Hart hops up on the apron and gets grabbed while Honky Tonk whips out the gee-tar and KABONGS Tugboat for the DQ. The ref actually saw it! (7:15) Naturally, Earthquake and Dino attack for a five-on-one attack while Tugboat recovers down on the floor. Earthquake splashes Hogan once, but gets nailed in the back of the head with the guitar courtesy of Tugboat. He clears the ring of the heels by swinging the guitar around. Wow, that was the most competent I’d ever seen ol’ Tuggie. ½*
I can’t pass this segment up without mentioning it. The Genius is deemed the “Master Sausage Stuffer” to reside over a sausage stuffing contest between the team of Hart Foundation and Jim Duggan against the Orient Express and Mr. Fuji. Fuji pulls out some pre-packaged sausage and declares his team winners. Big whoop.
WWF Intercontinental Champion Kerry Von Erich vs. Haku (w/Bobby Heenan)
They’re already hyping a Von Erich/Perfect rematch. Sadly, Von Erich could already be on suicide watch. Von Erich punches Haku out to the floor to regroup. Back in, Haku grabs a chinlock. Von Erich punches out and eventually applies THE CLAW. That has Haku dazed enough for the TORNADO PUNCH. It’s over. (4:11) CRAP
Sgt. Slaughter (w/Gen. Adnan) vs. Koko B. Ware
There’s nothing quite like exploiting the problems and eventual war in Kuwait quite like what Sgt. Slaughter agreed to do in 1990-91. Koko does alright to start with a bunch of armdrags, but can’t put Slaughter down with a shoulderblock. He does with a dropkick, however, but then misses a splash in the corner. Slaughter punishes Koko by working the back, but then he ducks low and takes a swinging neckbreaker. Koko hits a couple more dropkicks, but then Slaughter catches him and drops him throat-first across the top rope. It’s ATOMIC NOOGIE time! Koko submits to give Slaughter the win. (5:19) ½*
So now Savage is considered the #1 contender to the WWF title. Sherri says Warrior will be NO MORE! DIG IT!
Meanwhile, those lazy bums who’d rather eat, drink and party instead of wrestle get into a big German food fight!
Final Thoughts: This is the lowest quality-wise that I’ve seen on SNME since March 1987 (Savage/Steele, Roberts/Bundy). There’s nothing to see here unless you care to see Dustin Rhodes get beat down REAL bad (at least by WWF terms) at the hands of DiBiase and Virgil. It’s kind of a boring time for the WWF as a whole, but it’ll pick up as it always seems to as we inch closer to WrestleMania time. Thumbs down for SNME #28.