Friday, February 23rd, 1990
Joe Louis Arena
Detroit, Michigan
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Off The Grid, Volume 54:
We get a quick promo from both Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, while also seeing Buster Douglas fresh off beating Mike Tyson, who was supposed to be the referee tonight. We then go to Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura in the arena and they talk about Tyson being pulled out from the event. This was about 6 months before I became a fan or else I probably would have begged to go to this show.
We come back to commercial and now we are down to Mean Gene with Macho King and Sherri. He's happy that it's not Tyson tonight because someone in his family was a Hulkamaniac. They say that it won't be Hogan taking on Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania.
We now go to Mean Gene with Hulk and he says that he has a lot in common with Buster. He cuts his same old trash interview that I wish I never had to hear again.
Mean Gene is now with Buster Douglas and he has absolutely zero charisma. He says he won it for his mom and Gene does most of the heavy lifting here. His little hand gesture at the end of it was great though.
WWF Championship Match
Randy Savage vs. Hulk Hogan
They quickly do two spots where it shows that Douglas is not a biased enforcer. Although, him blocking Savage from leaping off the top rope, is the worse of the two. Sherri gets on the apron and Hogan grabs her. Savage tries to knee him from behind, but he moves, and Savage knocks her to the floor. We get some boring offense until Sherri grabs his leg and this time the distraction works. Douglas chases Sherri to the back as we go to a commercial break. Savage goes up top and this time Douglas lets him leap and hit the double ax handle to the floor. He then hits one in the ring and gets a 2 count. Savage ends up trying it again and this time Douglas stops him. Back in the ring, Savage hits the top rope elbow drop and naturally Hogan kicks out. He hulks up and hits the big boot. Hogan hits Savage with a right hand that also knocks down the referee. Hogan hits the leg drop and Douglas comes in and counts to 3. Savage is livid and realizes that it was Douglas who counted. Savage eggs Douglas on and then eventually slaps him in the face. Hogan shoves Savage into Douglas and he knocks him out with a right hand. None of this was very good. Considering they spent over half the run time on this match, this was just a huge disappointment.
Match Rating: 3/4*
We now go to the Ultimate Warrior talking about the solar system. I'm not a huge fan of the face paint this time.
Jesse is now with Dino Bravo, Earthquake and Jimmy Hart. "It doesn't just take brawn to win the Intercontinental title, it takes brain". That pretty much sums up why he never won the title. Jimmy says that Warrior doesn't have earthquake insurance.
We hear from Warrior again, this time with Mean Gene. He says he doesn't need earthquake insurance or life insurance. I'm not sure what vibe he is going for tonight, but it's not working at all.
Intercontinental Championship Match
Dino Bravo vs. Ultimate Warrior
I always loved when Fink would drop the mic and run out of the ring for Warrior. Warrior hits a quick body slam and wants to go up top, but Earthquake grabs his foot. Again, Quake grabs his foot and Bravo clotheslines him over the top. Warrior goes under the ring and crawls across and drags Jimmy Hart under the ring. When he comes out, he has no pants on. Warrior picks him up and throws him at Earthquake. Jimmy scampers to the back and Earthquake hits a body slam on Warrior. Bravo hits the side suplex, but Warrior kicks out. Warrior starts shaking the ropes and no selling the blows to the back. Warrior comes back with a headbutt and a clothesline. He hits the flying shoulder tackle and a splash for the victory. As soon as the bell rings, Earthquake attacks Warrior. Warrior is able to throw Bravo out of the ring, but Earthquake hits a couple of big elbow drops. He gets up on the second rope and out comes Hogan to make the save. He hits him with a right hand and he goes out of the ring. Hogan and Warrior get into it and start shoving officials out of the way. This match was a more compact version of the first match.
Match Rating: 3/4*
We go to the locker room with Vince and they show Hogan and Warrior in the Royal Rumble. We then see them winning at Saturday Night's Main Event as a tag team over Mr. Perfect and Genius. Hogan now joins Vince and I'm forced to suffer through another one of these. Hogan says that he's going to watch Warrior's back because he wants to beat him at his best.
Gene is back with Warrior now and he talks about Hoke Hogan. Warrior rambles on and on and says he is the chosen one.
We go back to Vince and Jesse in the arena, who then throw it back to Gene with Buster Douglas. He says that Hogan is his kind of guy. He says that he and Hogan are going out drinking, to which Gene is shocked. He then makes a lame milk joke.
This show suuuuuucked. Talk about dropping the ball. Obviously losing Tyson just two weeks before was a big blow, but I'm sure they didn't change any plans as far as the show went and that's where this suffered. The interviews were lame, the matches were dull and it felt like a 15 minute show stretched into 48 minutes. I'm bummed because I was looking forward to seeing this one for the first time. This will likely be the last time.
Overall Rating: 31%
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