Wrestlemania 4

Hi, everybody.

I'm just going to muse randomly about certain wrestling "supercards" for a while. 25 years ago, WWE broadcast Wrestlemania 4 on March 27, 1988 at the Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. This was the beginning of a long-term relationship between WWE and real estate mogul Donald Trump, a man who, for many, represented both the success and the excess of the Reagan era.

Wrestlemania 4 is one of those Wrestlemanias which tends to split the opinions of the fanbase. On the one hand, the tournament structure allowed for some great underdog storytelling, a mix of different styles and an ending which was not predictable. On the other hand, the tournament and the lead-up to it was, to quote Hulk Hogan himself, confusing, and WWE didn't have a set main event that they could market. Another knock was that Donald Trump seemed to be more concerned with filling the seats with his fellow high-rollers than with actual wrestling fans. Save it for the country club, Donny. Also, Wrestlemania 3 would have been a tough act to follow no matter what. Indeed, some have called Wrestlemania 4 "Wrestlemania 3, Part 2"

The tournament I keep mentioning refers to a single-elimination tournament to determine a new WWE World Champion. On February 5 of that year, Hulk Hogan, who was the champion at that time, defended his title against Andre the Giant on NBC's "Saturday Night's Main Event" in what was described as a rematch from Wrestlemania 3. In some ways, the rematch was better than the Wrestlemania 3 match. From a storytelling point, the two men made it a point to seem like they were learning from each other. Hogan was much more aggressive, for one thing. When Hogan went to deliver his Atomic Legdrop, Virgil, bodyguard for "Million-Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, distracted referee Dave Hebner. Andre gained a second wind and pinned Hogan. Hebner counted three, even though Hogan clearly had his shoulder up, and Andre was the new champion. He immediately handed the title over to DiBiase, and that was when it became clear: Andre was working for DiBiase to steal the title, and Dave Hebner was not Dave Hebner at all. It was Dave's identical twin brother, Earl, the first time the WWE fans ever became aware that there were two Hebner brothers. Jack Tunney, the on-screen president of WWE, stripped DiBiase of the title and announced that a tournament would be held at Wrestlemania 4 to crown a new champion. But for almost two months, WWE was without a World Champion for the first time in 25 years.

Which brings us to WM 4. The tournament was set up in four rounds between 14 men. And that was how it started.

Actually, it started with Gladys Knight singing "America the Beautiful." In keeping with WM tradition of the era, many pop-culture celebrities were on hand, and Gladys Knight was merely the first. Once she finished, we were introduced to our announcing team for the night, Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse "the Body" Ventura. The first match was a 20-man Battle Royal. The winner would gain $50,000 and a large golden trophy. The participants were: 1) The Hart Foundation (Bret "Hitman" Hart and Jim "Anvil" Neidhart); 2) Bad News Allen; 3) Ken Patera; 4) The Bolsheviks (Nikolai Volkoff and Boris Zhukov); 5) Hillbilly Jim; 6) Sam Houston; 7) "Outlaw" Ron Bass; 8) The Rougeau Brothers (Jacques and Raymond); 9) Samoan Sika; 10) "Handsome" Harley Race; 11) "Dangerous" Danny Davis; 12) The Junkyard Dog; 13) The Killer Bees (B. Brian Blair and "Jumpin;" Jim Brunzell); 14) The Young Stallions (Jim Powers and Paul Roma); and 15) George "Animal" Steele.

I suppose it's obligatory to state that Battle Royals are sort of a cheat for the bookers, a way to utilize all of the wrestlers who otherwise had no bearing on the event, but it's fun, and they get it out of the way first. This one in particular had a method to its madness: to establish Bad News Allen as a heel that was so dangerous and treacherous that even other heels couldn't work with him, and to begin the Hart Foundation's turn from heels to faces. (And, to hear some tell it, test how ready Bret Hart was for a singles career.) They did this by having Bad News (who knew the Harts) double-cross the Hitman and eliminate him after seeming to team up with him. Well, Bad News didn't get to enjoy his trophy, because Hart made garbage out of it, kicking off a short-lived singles feud between the two.

With that finished, Robin Leach the (annoying, for my money) host of "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous," (appropriate, given that Trump was sponsoring the event) makes a speech wishing the tournament participants good luck. And thus, we have our first match: "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan vs. DiBiase. DiBiase "owned" Andre the Giant's contract, so the big man came to the ring with him. This match involved two guys who had only been in WWE for a relatively short time and were opposites in most ways. DiBiase was a greedy, elitist heel, and Duggan was a man of the people (obviously inspired by "Walking Tall"); DiBiase was a great technical wrestler, and Duggan...wasn't (I'm being polite here). They were a good match-up. There were a lot of matches to get through, so this one only went about five minutes, with DiBiase going over courtesy of Andre's interference (which set up a feud between him and Duggan for later that year).

Next, "Mean" Gene Okerlund interviews Brutus "the Barber" Beefcake. Not much is learned, but it's an interesting look into the character's persona.

Our next match involves two men known for being primarily power wrestlers, though capable of SOME technical skill: Dino Bravo and Don Muraco. For this match, Dino was seconded by Frenchy Martin, and Muraco by his supposed mentor, "Superstar" Billy Graham. Muraco dominated the match until he got his head caught between the ropes. Bravo took over for a while, until Muraco got a second wind, forcing Bravo to pull the referee between them as Muraco was charging. Dino didn't get away with it, though, and Muraco advances via DQ.

Now is a good time to point out that there was a subplot involving guest ring announcer "Mr. Baseball" Bob Uecker on the prowl for Vanna White from "Wheel of Fortune" While nobody can fault his taste, (certainly having improved from WM 3 when he went gaga for The Fabulous Moolah), he just seems like an old creep in heat (which Jesse helpfully points out). While he searches, he is confronted by Jimmy Hart and the Honky Tonk Man, who talk about Honky's upcoming Intercontinental Title defense. HTM gives a rather pointed promo, leaving Uecker more flustered than when he started.

Back in the ring, we get a taste of some technical wizardry, as this match pits Greg "the Hammer" Valentine--with his manager, Jimmy Hart--against Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat, who makes his entrance holding his newly-born son, Ricky Jr. One can certainly understand Steamboat's fatherly pride, but I have to agree with Ric Flair, who said that the Dragon's family man persona watered down his aggressiveness and sex appeal. It did NOTHING to erode his ring brilliance, however, and that's obvious in this match, where he seems to outfox and outwrestle Valentine at every turn. These two were very different in their styles: Steamboat was fast and aggressive, while "the Hammer" was far more methodical. When he laid into a guy, you believed it was real, even though he didn't seem to wake up for the first ten minutes. But not to be outdone for trickery, Valentine rolls through a high crossbody and pins the Dragon.

"Mean" Gene then interviews the British Bulldogs and Koko B. Ware, along with Matilda the dog. WWE's supposed creative team had come up with a ridiculous storyline in which Bobby Heenan and the Islanders had dognapped Matilda and the Bulldogs were supposedly despondent until they got her back. (It did give Heenan license--no pun intended--for some great comedy, though.) That set up the match later on.

Continuing with our tournament, we meet "The Natural" Butch Reed, with his manager, Slick, the "Doctor of Style." And on the opposing side, the "Macho Man" Randy Savage with his beautiful valet, Elizabeth. This WM is notable for Liz wearing a different outfit every time she made the walk to the ring, and this one is blue. Savage and Reed were more alike than might be immediately noticeable: both were men who started their careers in the Southern promotions: Reed in Louisiana under Bill Watts, and Savage in Memphis with Jerry Lawler. They were also muscular men with substantial aerial skill. In this match, it's more of a speed-vs.-power deal. Reed dominated at first, but when he started jawjacking with Liz, Savage hit his Flying Elbow and that was that.

Breaking from the action, Uecker now interviewed Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and the Islanders. He trades a few insults with Heenan, and comes out on the short end of the stick, showcasing Heenan's gift for on-the-spot wordplay.

Slick still had a card to play: a 450-pound, 6'10" card named the One Man Gang. His opponent for the night was Bam Bam Bigelow, accompanied by his manager, Sir Oliver Humperdink. It's hard to think of anything to say about Bam Bam that hasn't been said already: for a man of 380 pounds, he was amazingly fast and agile. Definitely one of the best big men in the business, then and since. OMG, by contrast, was your typical 80's monster heel: he looked impressive, but didn't do much, and couldn't have much done to him. It's no surprise then, that Bam Bamm seemed to completely outmatch him, prompting Slick to interfere and get Bam Bam counted out. Oh, one side-note here. I don't know his name, but the referee in this match had a nasty habit of trying to separate these two by getting between them. NOT a good idea.

"Mean" Gene and Hulk Hogan gave an interview. I love Hulk, but he did have a tendency to go on a bit.

And our final first-round match: Ravishing Rick Rude vs. Jake "the Snake" Roberts. These two were already feuding due to Rick putting the moves on Jake's wife, Cheryl. The first round matches were limited to 15 minutes, and these guys went the full time, causing a double elimination. I don't mind that so much, but the match itself was mostly rest holds, with none of the technical and psychological brilliance that these two were capable of producing.

Finally, we the audience meet Vanna White as she and "Mean" Gene give us a run-down of how the brackets stand now. I don't mean to put the knock on Vanna--she's a gorgeous woman, and a very good mother as I understand it, and good at what she does on "Wheel," but it's fairly obvious here that she's not cut out for a wrestling event. By contrast, Mary Hart at WM 3 was much better, probably due to her greater experience.

With the first round over, we have a match that stands alone: Hercules vs. the Ultimate Warrior. Just a straight-up grudge match, building since January of that year. No one would ever accuse Warrior of having an overabundance of ring psychology, but this was nothing to get excited about. Neither man really established any kind of rhythm, and the end was a cheat, with Warrior going over by raising his shoulder while both men were in a pinning predicament. Just killing time, but it's interesting to note that the Warrior had been with WWE for less than a year and was already INSANELY over with the fans (including me at the time).

We're catapulted into the first Second Round match: Hogan and Andre. Because of what happened on Saturday Night's Main Event, these two were bumped into the second round automatically. Cheap heat was the order of the day, as Andre was accompanied by DiBiase and Virgil, who interfered at every opportunity. Finally, Hulk was pushed too far and went chair-swinging crazy on everybody. Both Hogan and Andre were disqualified from the tournament, and nothing was settled. As for the match itself, well...Andre wasn't getting any younger or in any better shape, so he just did his thing, and so did Hogan.

Randy Savage and "Mean" Gene talked about how Hogan was cheated, but how Savage would carry on the fight. Good for you, Macho Man.

DiBiase and Muraco tangled in this next encounter, with the winner going onto the final round automatically due to Hulk and Andre both being knocked out of the box. DiBiase intially seemed flummoxed by Muraco's strength, but used all kinds of the dirty tricks he was known to use and went over after a hot shot clothesline.

Bob Uecker got stuck interviewing Demolition. I say "stuck" because Demolition did all the talking, with Ax trying to get philosophical (and being oddly successful).

Back in the ring, Howard Finkel announces that the OMG gets a bye into the Third Round, and Randy Savage matches up with Greg Valentine. I mentioned that the tournament was marked by some good underdog storytelling, and this is a good example. Savage clearly seemed to be the worse for wear after his match with Reed, and Valentine was like a surgeon in that ring, picking Macho Man apart, until he made the classic Ric Flair mistake: going for the Figure-4 Leglock without realizing that his opponent was merely playing possum. Before Hammer knew it, he was pinned by a small package out of nowhere, leaving Macho Man to face the One Man Gang. Joy. (Elizabeth had a pink outfit this time).

With the Second Round now essentially over, we're sent into the IC Title match: Honky Tonk Man vs. Brutus Beefcake. On the surface, these two seemed like a good contrast: a slightly maniacal face vs. an entertaining heel. I seriously believe that if the whole wrestling thing hadn't panned out, HTM could have made millions in Las Vegas. As for the match, since neither man would ever be mistaken for Ric Flair, but they give it their best, given the finish they were expected to perform. As usual, HTM was outmatched, so Jummy Hart (and Peggy Sue) caused an intentional DQ to save the title, with Jimmy getting an impromptu haircut for his trouble. HTM was the heel that everybody hated and wanted to see go down, only to be disappointed for months. The man seemed to have an endless supply of good luck. That would change in time...

In what can truly be called a "Wrestlemania Moment," Bob Uecker interviewed Andre. Or, more accurately, Andre took over the segment, confessing that DiBiase had been using him all along to eliminate Hogan from the tournament, and that he made a lot of money regardless of who became champion. Andre then proceeded to turn Bob into a Bobblehead doll (before they were invented) by placing his big hamhocks around Bob's neck.

For the Six-Man Tag Team Match, Bobby Heenan felt compelled to get in the ring with his guys, the Islanders, but not in a conventional way. Since the British Bulldogs had been hinting for a long time that they would "sic" Matilda on the Brain as revenge for what was done to her, Heenan came out to the ring in a full suit used by attack-dog trainers: a heavily padded bodysuit and pants covered by a heavy overcoat made of what looked like burlap with large metal buckles on it. That almost took away from the work of the actual wrestlers. The Islanders were two massive boys from the South Seas with great power and amazing speed. The Bulldogs were much the same--heck, Dynamite Kid was one of the best guys on the roster, even though he was on the downslide due to injuries and an unlikable personality. And Koko--the Birdman--was just a guy you couldn't help but like and could have been a great talent. The match ends with the Islanders slamming Heenan on top of Koko.

We're getting towards the end now, with Savage taking on the One Man Gang. David vs. Goliath is a standard story in professional wrestling, and this certainly qualifies. Add to that Macho Man had already had two tough matches while the Gang had one that was less than five minutes. Macho Man gave it everything he had, and that seemed to frustrate the Gang, who got caught whacking Savage with Slick's cane. Bye-bye, Big Guy. Macho's onto the finals. One has to respect Macho Man for doing all he could with a man as limited as the Gang (who's a great guy in real life, or so I hear). Lix's black dress didn't hurt.

I mentioned David vs. Goliath, and that describes our next match: the Tag Team Title match between Demolition and Strike Force. Demolition was a team of two big guys who had been in the business for a long time with some success; Strike Force was Rick Martel and Tito Santana, two speedy, technically sound ring generals who never had a bad match. Speed vs. power. And even though Demolition was a heel team at the time, managed by Mr. Fuji, there was some fan support for them. They would become full-fledged faces (Road Warrior style) later that year. Each team did their thing, trying to turn it into their style of match, and the styles mesh very well, due to the experience of each man. Demolition took home the title after Ax broke Fuji's cane over Martel's head. Demolition would hold the title until mid-July of 1989, the longest Tag Title reign before or since.

Our main event is Macho Man Randy Savage vs. Million-Dollar Man Ted Dibiase. These two tore it down. They had workrate. They had psychology. They had Andre and Liz to underscore the disadvantage Savage was at in the match. So what does Savage do? He sends the white-clad Liz to bring out the one guy who can counter Andre: Hulk Hogan, and the Mega Powers were born. Dibiase's plans blew up in his face when Andre distracted the referee so Dibiase could get a cheap shot in. Instead, as payback for all of the trouble he had caused Hulk, Hogan whacked the Million-Dollar Man with a chair and knocked him silly. By the time the ref turned back, Savage had hit the Flying Elbow and become the new WWE Champion. With Hulk there to give the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, Macho Man would hold the title for more than a year, as one of the most active and entertaining champions of that era. His feud with Dibiase would also continue throughout the year, while Hogan and Andre battled until that summer.

So, if you have the time and the inclination, check it out. See what you think about it.

Bye.