Written by: Bob Colling
World Wrestling Federation House Show
Date: 9/10/1988
From: Boston, MA
Matches:
1.) The Blue Blazer (Owen Hart) defeated Barry Horowitz
2.) Paul Roma defeated Danny Davis
3.) The Hart Foundation defeated the Rougeau Brothers by disqualification
4.) Bad News Brown defeated Junkyard Dog
5.) The Honky Tonk Man defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion the Ultimate Warrior by count-out
6.) Mr. Perfect defeated Jim Brunzell
7.) The Big Bossman defeated Ken Patera
8.) Hulk Hogan defeated Ted DiBiase
Angle Developments/Notes:
1. The opener saw the Blue Blazer pin Barry Horowitz following a top rope splash. The match wasn’t anything all that good, but the fans were responding to Blazer’s rather flashy offense for the time period. Horowitz’s offense was really standard and boring but he had a few close near falls that added some interest into the bout. Aside from Blazer’s offense, the match was a lackluster start.
2. The evil former referee Danny Davis controlled Paul Roma during the opening moments of the contest. Roma’s comeback was rather quick and ended up earning the win following a top rope missile dropkick. Another match that saw a young talent win following a top rope move, which doesn’t happen all that often let alone right after another. I’ve never been a big Roma fan, and the match didn’t have anything going for itself.
3. The announcers continue to mention that the Hart Foundation may be splitting up as they have been having issues and Lord Alfred Hayes doesn’t call them the Hart Foundation but by their individual names. The Hart Foundation controlled Raymond for several minutes until Bret simply allowed him to tag out to Jacques. The Rougeau’s are able to get their composure and they control Bret for several moments using double team moves to prevent him from making a tag. Late in the match, Neidhart got the hot tag and cleaned house. The Hart Foundation tried for the Hart Attack but Bret collided with the referee. Another referee runs down to call for the bell as the Hart Foundation had a submission holds on the Rougeau’s. The referee awards the Hart Foundation the match by disqualification because Jacques shoved the referee in front of Bret as he was running. I actually enjoyed the tag bout, as it seemed to be rather fast paced and the action was effective in getting the crowd into the match.
4. Brown attacked JYD before the bell as he choked him with his own chain around his neck. JYD is able to fight back but his offense never lasts long enough as Brown is able to control him with strikes. JYD is able to slam Brown off the top and delivers his trademark head butts. Brown recovers and pins JYD following the Ghetto Blaster. While the match consisted mainly of strikes and head butts with a few slams, I thought it was put together nicely and in a way that didn’t cause it to feel dragged on. I could totally buy into Brown as a contender as he just looks like a badass.
5. The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers have returned to the ring and tell the fans that they love them and they know the fans love them as well. They would like a rematch against the Hart Foundation but would like an impartial referee for the match.
6. Honky is controlled early on until Jimmy Hart distracted Warrior and allowed Honky to get a cheap shot in. Hart also hit Warrior in the face with his megaphone to help Honky. Warrior leaves the ring to stalk towards Hart after signaling for the press slam. Hart jumps on Warrior’s back and that allows Honky to win the match by count-out. After the match, Hart tries to hit Warrior with the guitar but Warrior blocks it and rams Hart into Honky! Warrior decides to smash the guitar! Despite only being roughly three minutes, the crowd was hot for the whole match. It was actually fairly entertaining.
7. Jim Brunzell held his own against the young Mr. Perfect working on his knee and delivering a flurry of offense before hitting his dropkick but wasn’t able to put Perfect away. Perfect nails Brunzell with the Axe, which is a forearm shot, and pins Brunzell. After the match, Perfect decides to attack Brunzell because he can. Surprisingly not all that horrible as the last two minutes or so actually had some fun offense.
8. Patera tried his hardest to match strength with Bossman, and actually had some mild success. However, Bossman proved to be too strong for him as he won the match following a big splash off the ropes. After the match, Bossman hits Patera in the ribs with his nightstick. The match wasn’t any good, really.
9. Well, Hulk Hogan comes to the ring wearing a war helmet which makes him look goofy. He avoided being attacked before the bell and hit both DiBiase and Virgil with the helmet. When the match legally starts Hogan continues to have the upper hand for several minutes. DiBiase is able to get the advantage with an eye rake and takes Hogan down to the mat working on his arm. Hogan fights back with right hands and scoop slam but Virgil got involved allowing DiBiase to cheap shot Hogan from behind. Fans are throwing some trash into the ring during DiBiase’s offense while Hogan is tangled in the ropes. DiBiase rams Hogan into the announcers table before they return to the ring. DiBiase maintains his offense with a double axe handle off the middle rope and a standing fist drop but Hogan kicked out of it. Hogan fights he way out of a sleeper and knocks DiBiase off his feet following a double clothesline. Virgil gets on the apron to distract Hogan with his helmet. Hogan rams DiBiase head first into the helmet and puts it on as he hits the leg drop to win the match! That was a really good main event. A very good way to close the show for sure.
Final Thoughts:
Most house shows are a mixed bag, and this one was no different. I enjoyed the Foundation/Rougeaus, Brown/JYD, Warrior/Honky, and Hogan/DiBiase. Even though Warrior/Honky was really quick and didn’t feature a lot of action, it was quick and Warrior looked good and Honky did a good job of generating heat. The tag match was a solid bout since all four men involved are exceptional workers.
The influx of talent was clear here as well. Brown, Perfect and Bossman were all on undefeated streaks at this point in time. Since Hogan had really killed the heel side of things with his title reign, those three guys are here to bolster the division. Brown and Bossman seemed to have a bigger priority to get over then Perfect did at this point.
The main event was the match of the night. Hogan and DiBiase worked really well with each other and everything just clicked this time around. The fans were into it from the opening bell to the finish. It was just a fun match to watch.
Overall, I’ll give this show a mild thumbs up. Half of the show is solid, and the bad stuff isn’t horrible but rather passable before getting to the good matches.
Thanks for reading.