Written by: Bob Colling
World Wrestling Federation presents Rampage ’91
Date: 4/24/1991
From: London, England
Matches:
1.)Jim Neidhart defeated The Warlord
2.)Ted DiBiase defeated Kerry Von Erich by count-out
3.)Greg Valentine defeated Haku
4.)The Rockers defeated The Orient Express
5.)Jimmy Snuka defeated The Barbarian
6.)Davey Boy Smith defeated the Berzerker
7.)Earthquake defeated Jake Roberts by disqualification
8.)WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan defeated Sgt. Slaughter to retain the title
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.In an amusing mistake, they play Neidhart’s music and the ring announcer announces him but it’s really the Warlord. That’s the opening contest to kick off Rampage ’91. I don’t think I have ever seen a crowd cheer this loud for Jim Neidhart, ever. I mean, usually he gets that pop with Bret Hart, but Bret isn’t at ringside or anything. The start of the match is rather slow with Neidhart controlling Warlord until Warlord hits an atomic drop. They end up on the floor where Warlord rams Neidhart into the ring steps. Warlord kept control with a bear hug for a few moments. This is a boring match, folks. Neidhart makes his comeback with a double axe handle off the middle rope but misses a splash as Warlord gets his knees up. Warlord misses a splash in the corner and Neidhart gets the rollup for the win. That was just a bad way to kick off this show.
2.Mean Gene conducts an interview with Ted DiBiase and Sensational Sherri. DiBiase will be wrestling Kerry Von Erich tonight. DiBiase says he and Sherri are an unstoppable couple. It doesn’t matter what currency it is, he has more money than anyone else. DiBiase turns his attention to Roddy Piper and tells him to watch his match. He is going to show Piper what is in his future.
3.Von Erich hammered away on DiBiase on the floor to get the fans to rise to their feet and kept control in the ring by ramming DiBiase head first into the top turnbuckle several times. DiBiase is sent to the floor twice following an atomic drop and a clothesline. He rams DiBiase into Martel on the floor as well. Von Erich comes off the ropes but is tripped by Martel, which gives DiBiase the advantage. DiBiase taunts Piper after hitting a vertical suplex and the fans erupt at the thought of those two squaring off. DiBiase misses a middle rope backward elbow drop. Von Erich made his comeback but Martel yanked on his leg again as he ran the ropes. DiBiase is able to clothesline Von Erich on the floor and they begin to trade blows on the floor. Martel prevents Von Erich from getting back into the ring and DiBiase wins by count-out. That was a disappointing match.
4.Backstage, Mean Gene interviews Haku. He doesn’t speak in English and the interview is just pointless because we don’t know what was being said. Moments later, Mean Gene interviews Greg Valentine. Valentine knows that he isn’t going to have it easy with Haku tonight. He is concerned about martial arts because he doesn’t know much of it. Valentine has the hammer and the figure four leg lock to combat Haku.
5.You can tell that the crowd isn’t interested in this match, and I don’t blame them. I don’t believe either Valentine or Haku would be in the company a year from now. Late in the match, Valentine hits an elbow but isn’t able to get the figure four on. Valentine is able to sunset flip Haku and earns the victory. After the match, Haku tries an awful beat down but Valentine simply kicks him to the floor. That was yet another bad match.
6.Backstage, Mean Gene conducts an interview with the Rockers. Jannetty says they came to England to take care of business. They are prepared for a 3 vs 2 match tonight. Michaels chimes in to say they will put the Orient Express away for good. Moments later, Gene interviews the Orient Express on the podium. Mr. Fuji says his guys are mentally prepared tonight to make the Rockers suffer tonight. Gene believes the winner of the match will be in line for a tag team title shot in the future. Fuji predicts they will be victorious tonight.
7.Fuji nails Jannetty with his cane in the ribs before the bell sounds. To combat Mr. Fuji, Andre the Giant makes his way down to the ring with the Rockers. I’m hoping these two teams will put forth a better effort than any of the other matches thus far. Well, it’s a fast pace start to the match but Tanaka really messes up a few of the spots. The Rockers did a fine job of keeping the pace fast while also making it a standard tag team wrestling match. Tanaka got the cheap advantage by yanking on Michael’s hair while the referee was distracted. Most of the offense by the Express on Michaels was rest holds, which hurt the match. Tanaka did leap over Kato to jump on Michaels back for a rare impactful move during their advantage. Michaels hits a double clothesline and Jannetty cleans house with slams and a spinning back elbow smash. Fuji hits Jannetty with his cane on the floor again. Andre grabs Fuji on the floor and shakes him around before delivering a right hand. Andre nails Kato with the cane and the Rockers hit a double top rope fist drop for the win. It was a better match than anything before it, but I was hoping for something more fast pace and not so many rest holds.
8.Mean Gene interviews WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan. Hogan says it is great to be in the London Arena. Hogan feels sorry for Sgt. Slaughter for when his fans get their hands on him. Hogan says that Slaughter has broken the code of ethics. Hogan talks about shaking a fans hand and says that it helped him get ready for the match tonight.
9.Backstage, The Warlord confronts Jim Neidhart for cheating tonight to beat him. Neidhart punches Warlord and Warlord tries to hit Neidhart with a straw chair or something.
10.After the intermission we get the ever intriguing Jimmy Snuka vs. The Barbarian match-up. During the match the lights went out. Barbarian misses a middle rope head butt, maybe because the lights were out? Late in the match, Barbarian tries to use the ropes for leverage on a pin attempt, but the referee kicks his hands off and Snuka gets the win with a sunset flip.
11.As you may expected, Davey Boy Smith got a thunderous ovation when he made his way to the ring to compete against the Berzerker. Berzerker was able to hold his own for around ten minutes but at the end of the day Smith wasn’t about to lose in England. Smith finishes Berzerker off with a running power slam to pickup the win.
12.Backstage, Mean Gene interviews Jake Roberts, who will be taking on Earthquake in a few moments. Roberts knows he has done some good and bad things in the WWF. Each time he fails he gets up to try it one more time. He tells Earthquake that he has learned some stuff from his snake. He says neither of them like cold showers.
13.Mean Gene is on the podium to interview Earthquake. Quake knows what is in the sack and warns Roberts to not bring the snake to the ring. Quake assures Gene that he is not afraid of anyone or anything!
14.Quake refused to enter the ring until the snake was put under the ring, and once it was Roberts got the early advantage using his speed advantage to avoid Quake and deliver a few punches. It’s a rather slow start, which isn’t all that surprising. Roberts attempts a DDT but Quake holds the top rope and Roberts crashes to the mat. That signals for Quake to take control of the bout. Actually, Quake tries to grab the snake but is met with a knee lift by Roberts on the floor. Quake rams himself shoulder first into the ring post as well. Quake regains control by avoiding a DDT and focuses his offense on Roberts left knee. Roberts bails to the floor as Quake looks to hit the sit down splash. Quake tries to splash the snake but Roberts trips him and pulls the snake out of the bag. That causes the disqualification. That was a boring match.
15.Backstage, Gene interviews the British Bulldog. Bulldog gives a shout-out to his family who watched him win his match tonight. He is coming after the WWF Intercontinental Champion Mr. Perfect and believes he will be winning the championship!
16.Gene is on the podium to interview former WWF World Champion Sgt. Slaughter. Slaughter calls the fans maggots and pukes before saying that they should be standing on their feet for him. He is their new leader and tells Hulk Hogan that he rules the WWF and will regain the championship tonight!
17.Slaughter and Adnan attack Hogan before the bell but the champ is able to send Adnan to the floor and gets some blows in on Slaughter before sending him over the top to the floor. Hogan keeps the offense going by sending Slaughter into the ring post. Hogan dominates early on with Slaughter not being able to get any offense in for several minutes. Slaughter is catapulted face first into the ring post. Slaughter blocks a backdrop attempt with a kick to Hogan’s chest and sends the champ to the floor. Slaughter is trying to open up the scar on Hogan’s forehead from WrestleMania. Slaughter delivers a back breaker before going up top but he is slammed off by Hogan. Slaughter manages to lock in the camel clutch but hogan doesn’t give in and instead is able to send Slaughter shoulder first into a corner. Slaughter recovers with a few stomps and hits a top rope double stomp for a two count. This begins the Hulk Up routine. Slaughter tosses Hogan into the referee to help himself out. Slaughter hits Hogan in the throat with something and gets a chair. Slaughter tries to use the chair but he falls over. Slaughter whacks the knocked out referee with the chair. Slaughter misses Hogan in the corner. Hogan avoids salt by Adnan and hits hit the leg drop on Slaughter to win the match. It was probably the match of the night, but that doesn’t say much since the other matches were quite awful.
Final Thoughts:
I went into this show figuring that it would see some good ring work and the wrestlers would put forth a great effort since it’s a special and the WWF doesn’t visit the UK on a regular basis. That wasn’t the case. The show felt like it took forever to get through as everything before the main event was just slow and uninteresting. Thus, this gets a big thumbs down from me.
Thanks for reading.