(As the show opens, Gene Okerlund is seen standing in the ring with a microphone. Standing beside him is a pedestal with the WWF Championship belt on it, and on the other side of the pedestal, WWF President Jack Tunney is standing)GENE OKERLUND: Ladies and gentlemen, viewers of MTV, welcome to “”! Now, now for those of you unfamiliar with the programming of the World Wrestling Federation, I’d invite and advise you to be prepared for some of the most entertaining antics that the World Wrestling Federation has to offer. I am ‘Mean’ Gene Okerlund, one of your voices for this occasion, and you’ll be hearing from me later, but right now, with some official WWF business to attend to, allow me to gracefully turn things over to World Wrestling Federation President Jack Tunney.JACK TUNNEY: Thank you, Gene. As you all know, Hulk Hogan was scheduled to defend the World Wrestling Federation Championship against Roddy Piper in the main event tonight. However, I regret to inform you all that Hogan will not be able to compete tonight due to injury.(Heavy boos, along with a few faint cheers, are heard from the audience)TUNNEY: However, the showgo on. Mr. Piperhere tonight, and—(Piper’s music suddenly hits, and the Scotsman makes his way to the ring, smirking. He steps into the ring and produces a microphone)RODDY PIPER: Well, well, well…it looks like Mr. Hulkamania is all talk and no walk! Once it comes time for the big dance, he backs down! I ain’t buyin’ all this injury stuff…if Hogan had any guts at all, if he was aman, he’d be down here right now to face me, no matter if every muscle in his body was torn! (As the crowd boos heavily, Piper turns to Tunney as he takes the title belt off the pedestal) And on behalf of all the “Rowdy” Roddy Piper fans in the building tonight, I humbly accept this championship! Thank you so much, Mr. Tunney—I promise you this; I will be the greatest World Wrestling Federation Champion you’ve ever seen! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I got things I gotta do…(Tunney puts his hand on Piper’s shoulder to stop him. Piper slowly turns around to face Tunney)TUNNEY: You didn’t let me finish, Mr. Piper. I’m not just going to hand you that title simply because Hulk Hogan is injured. Yoube competing for it tonight.PIPER: (Looks confused, then starts to laugh) W-what are you talkin’ about, Tunney? I got no opponent tonight!(Suddenly, “” by the Alan Parsons Project hits, and a hush falls over the crowd as Ricky Steamboat makes his way down to the ring, raising his arms over his head as he does so. Some people cheer for the man, but most others are unsure what to think of the newcomer as he enters the ring and stares at Piper)PIPER: Well, now,is a surprise. Hey, yeah, I know exactly who you are—you’re Ricky Steamboat, ain’t you? Yeah, I’ve seen you wrestle before in that other promotion—you and your fancy, no-frills style! Yeah, you’re good, kid—not as good as, but pretty good. But what I wanna know is: who the hell do you think you are, comin’ out here with your fancy pants, and your fancy frills, and gettin’ in my face? Who do you think you are, steppin’ into the ring with the Hot Rod?(Jack Tunney hands his microphone to Steamboat, and the Dragon begins to speak)RICKY STEAMBOAT: Who am I? Who am? I’ll tell you who I am, jack. I’m Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat. I’m the same man that tore a man’s suit to shreds because he scarred up my face. I’m the same man who painted a yellow streak down two men’s backs to get them to put their titles on the line against me. And now, you want to come out here and talk smack about Hulk Hogan? If Hogan was here tonight, everyone in this arena knows that he’d beat you within an inch of your life! (The crowd cheers loudly) Now, I don’t know Hulk Hogan personally, but I respect him. I respect everything he’s done for this company, and the wrestling business. I respect the fact that he’s carried that championship belt for the past year with pride, with honor, with integrity—and you just wanna waltz out here and have it handed to you? Well, here’s the facts, jack—it doesn’t work that way. I had a talk with Mr. Jack Tunney earlier today, and I said “I may not be Hulk Hogan, but gosh darn it, I can fight for his honor. Let me show Roddy Piper how it’s done!” And Jack Tunney said, “Mr. Steamboat, you want it? You got it!” (The crowd erupts into applause) What do you have to say aboutPIPER: You wanna know what I’ve got to say about it? Why don’t you go back down south where you belong, fortune cookie, and leave thewrestling to the? Because you, Steamboat, you can’t even hold a candle to someone like me. Hell, you can’t even hold a candle toin the WWF! (Piper gets in Steamboat’s face) Because the fact is, Steamboat, you’re just not good enough.STEAMBOAT: Is that so? Well, why don’t we just find out?(Steamboat slaps Piper in the face, knocking him out of the ring. Steamboat takes the WWF Title belt that Piper dropped and holds it aloft with one hand as Piper retreats up the ramp, and the crowd cheers loudly)************And so we continue with our look at the latest DVD release by the WWF. This is the last stop on the way to the original Wrestlemania, and much like the “” show (DVD #1 on this set, which I reviewed two days ago), was broadcast live on MTV. The only difference is that in this case, WWF aired the—given that Hulk Hogan had been injured several weeks prior, they probably thought they needed all the star power they could get. Still, it paid off for them, scoring a massive 9.0 rating for the Ricky Steamboat-Roddy Piper main event. [1] Much like “”, this event was an important step in the WWF gaining national exposure, and being able to organize the first Wrestlemania and have it be a success. But unlike “”, “” is a show more tailored toward the traditional wrestling fan. The opening promo cut by Piper and Steamboat is the stuff of legends today, and their match at the end is nothing short of superb. That’s not to say the rest of the card isn’t interesting, though—there’s plenty of stuff on here for the fans who enjoy the cartoonish personas of the WWF’s golden era. You’ll see Snuka, Orndorff, Hillbilly Jim, JYD, and many others, along with appearances by many celebrities of the day. So without further ado, let’s get to our review!Your hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and “Mean” Gene Okerlund.– We start off the show with the epic confrontation between Steamboat and Piper, which sets up the main event for later. The crowd was almost completely dead when Steamboat first came out, and frankly, I can’t hardly blame them—most casual WWF fans at the time didn’t watch NWA, so they probably had little to no idea who Steamboat was. Piper did a good job putting over Steamboat here as a legitimate threat without giving up his heel tendencies, and I give both guys props for referencing the NWA. In a time where breaking kayfabe was a big no-no, that definitely took some balls on the part of McMahon and these two. Steamboat cuts his now-famous promo where he references his feuds with Flair, Paul Jones and Baron von Raschke, which really got the crowd hyped up. To top it off, the slap by Steamboat at the end was epic. If this promo doesn’t give you goosebumps, you should check your pulse. ****– Spot was the guy who injured Hogan a few weeks prior to this show, so he must have been in the doghouse at this point. McGraw was a guy who could have been a decent midcard player in the WWF in the 80’s, but sadly, he died a few months after this broadcast due to a bad drug problem. [2] This match was a little slow at times, but was saved by McGraw’s quick-fire offense. I think Spot got in a little less than a minute of offense throughout the whole match. The finish comes when Spot goes to the top to superplex McGraw, but McGraw throws him off the top and hits a flying clothesline, and that’s enough to keep the big man down for a 3-count at. Not the best opening contest in WWF history, but I guess it could be worse, and McGraw’s offense was pretty fun to watch. **– Howard Finkel says this match has a 20-minute time limit before it begins, and I pray to God it doesn’t go that long. Basically, this match is a way to put Studd over, and the son of Bruno Sammartino doesn’t fare well in this match, getting practically zero offense in. Studd hits David with a backbreaker, an underhook suplex, and a body slam, taunting the crowd all the while. Studd locks on a bearhug, and it’s finally over at. Studd won’t let go of the bearhug after the match, prompting Andre the Giant to come down to the ring to a big pop from the crowd. Studd bails from the ring, and Andre checks on David before glaring at Studd as he retreats. The match itself was horrible, but it definitely served to set up Andre vs. Studd for ‘Mania. ½*– Jim is still brand-new at this point, having only recently debuted and being instantly put over by just associating with Hulk Hogan. Goulet is—well, Goulet. This match is pretty much a dud, and I’d be tempted to skip over it if I weren’t reviewing the whole damn DVD. The things I do for this blog. Finish comes when Goulet tries diving off the second rope with an axe handle, and Jim catches him in a bearhug. Goulet gives up immediately at. Just a squash match for Hillbilly here, and a bad one at that. ¼*– Surprise! Hulk comes out wearing a sling and his arm heavily bandaged. He says that due to his injury, he’s not going to be able to compete at Wrestlemania, but he will be in attendance, and wishes Steamboat good luck tonight against Piper. Definitely not the best promo Hogan’s ever cut, but I’m willing to let it slide here, because you can tell he was not feeling well and was possibly even in pain. ***– The Fabulous Moolah is managing Kai here in an attempt to get revenge on Richter, who beat her for the title last summer. Richter is accompanied by Cyndi Lauper here as we’re still hyping up for Wrestlemania, and they get a good reaction from the MSG crowd. Kai attacks Richter before the bell even sounds. The finish comes when Richter hits a splash, but then Moolah starts choking Lauper on the outside. This distracts Richter just long enough for Kai to roll her up and win the title at. Well, it could have been worse, and it sets up the Women’s Title match for Wrestlemania. ¾*– Muraco has just returned from an extended absence, so it’s played up as a big deal by Monsoon & Mean Gene. This match was a squash if I’ve ever seen one, but thankfully it was short. The finish comes when Bellomo bounds off the ropes, but Muraco catches him with a beautiful spinebuster, and then finishes him with the piledriver at. Squash city, but that spinebuster was AWESOME. ½*– FINALLY, we get something good! The Superfly’s wrestling style is always fun to watch, and here is no different. Orton works over Snuka’s arm for a while, and he sells that really well. The highlight here comes late in the match, when Snuka goes to the second rope and misses a diving headbutt when Orton rolls out of the way. Should’ve gone for the splash, Snuka! Finish comes soon afterward when Snuka blocks a punch from Orton while on the apron and leaps over the top rope, rolling up Orton with a sunset flip at. Fun match; this one definitely set the pace for the great action to come. **¾– Volkoff sings the Russian national anthem before the match. Am I the only one who thinks his singing isn’t that bad? I mean, I’m not saying he should try out for, but I’d take Volkoff over Bieber any day. Not a bad match by any stretch of the word, as Windham and Rotunda get in plenty of offense on the heel tag team. A particularly neat maneuver comes when Windham hits a legdrop off the top to Volkoff on the outside while Rotunda and Sheik are the legal men in the ring. Even by today’s standards, that was pretty cool. Finish comes when Rotunda is caught in the Camel Clutch, and Windham is too slow to save him before Rotunda gives up at. Sheik & Volkoff grab the belts and retreat up the ramp, taunting the young faces. Wow, they sure are giving the heels their fair share of wins tonight. Still, the match was fun, and the champs looked strong in their loss. *** [3]– Orndorff is booked for the Wrestlemania main event, so you have to assume this is just a squash for him. Stupid move by Tony comes about halfway through, when he lifts Orndorff up in the air seemingly for a gorilla press slam, but instead he just lets Mr. Wonderful down in a show of mercy. Why? Finish comes after Tony gets a 2-count after a headbutt, and while he argues with the ref about the count, Orndorff comes up from behind and bridges a waistlock for a 3-count at. Short and spirited little match, and Orndorff got some cheap heat for the win. *½– We finally come to the match we all bought this DVD collection for. The match is full of so many great spots it’s difficult to pick just one that’s my favorite, but I’d go with the spot where Piper’s on the ring apron and Steamboat’s inside the ring. Piper and Steamboat trade punches for a few seconds, then Piper pushes Steamboat away, only for Steamboat to come back with a dropkick to Piper’s head. The look on Piper’s face when he staggers for a few seconds, then falls off the ring apron to land flat on his butt, is freaking hilarious. Finish comes when Piper has Steamboat in a sleeper hold, but Steamboat slams Piper into the post, dazing him, then flips the dazed Piper in front of him. Steamboat then hits the flying crossbody to get the pin and the win at. This match was INTENSE—certainly one of the most influential matches ever, as it marked the transition from “Hulkamania” to “Dragon Fever”. Legend says that Vince McMahon himself, watching this match from the back, made the decision right then and there to take Steamboat to Hogan-esque levels. After the match, Paul Orndorff rushes down to the ring and attacks Steamboat. Piper soon gets up, takes the title belt, and begins whipping Steamboat with it. After a couple minutes, Mr. T jumps over the guardrail (I was wondering when we’d get to see him!) and punches out Orndorff. Piper backs down from Mr. T as the big man helps Steamboat to his feet and raises his hand in victory. The segment came across as a great moment; one that you wanted to tune in to see finished at ‘Mania. ****¼ [4]: Mean Gene interviews Steamboat about his win. Steamboat says this is the greatest moment in his life, and he wants to thank Jack Tunney and the WWF fans for this opportunity. He also warns Piper that he’ll be coming for him. Snuka, JYD, and Santana enter the picture and congratulate Steamboat, and suddenly Andre the Giant shows up and hoists Steamboat up on his shoulders. Such a feel-good moment for the faces, and I can see why it got viewers so fired up for Wrestlemania. Cyndi Lauper comes by with Richter, and they share words with Mean Gene on how Wendi will get revenge at ‘Mania. Mr. T and Hulk Hogan show up, and they put over ‘Mania as a once-in-a-lifetime experience (despite the fact that there would be about 30 freakin’ more in the future). Mr. T says he’ll be in Steamboat’s corner at ‘Mania. Suddenly Joe Piscopo from SNL shows up. He compares the show to a Bruce Springsteen concert, and says he’ll be back for ‘Mania. Captain Lou Albano shows up and says he’ll be at ‘Mania to support Richter and Lauper, and DANNY DEVITO of all people pops up out of nowhere to say some kind words about Captain Lou and Mr. T. This is quite possibly the weirdest shit I’ve ever seen in professional wrestling history—seriously, go watch it. Now. It’sout-there. **** [5]: Aside from the opening promo by Steamboat and Piper, this card started out kind of slow. Thankfully, it picked up towards the end, and the main event was off the charts. Not only that, this is one of the pivotal moments in WWF history, as Steamboat would go on to be the top babyface in the company for the next couple of years, even after Hogan came back on the scene. This DVD gets a definite thumbs-up from me, from both a historical standpoint and a wrestling standpoint.: 8/10--------------------------------------------------------------------------[1] IOTL, MTV only aired the main event of Hogan vs. Piper, garnering a slightly higher 9.1 rating. Here, because Hogan’s missing (not to mention the attention span factor of viewers due to airing the entire show), it does slightly worse, but still good enough to garner plenty of attention.[2] As OTL, unfortunately.[3] IOTL, the U.S. Express retained their titles on the card against the oh-so-impressive duo of The Assassin and The Spoiler. Here, they drop to Sheik & Volkoff to make the card somewhat more interesting to the viewers at home.[4] For some indication on what the Steamboat-Piper match might be like, take a look at this match from Mid-Atlantic from around 1984.[5] Aside from the “Steamboat and friends segment”, this part of the show plays out pretty much as in OTL. The only thing different: IOTL, pop artist Andy Warhol, a lifelong wrestling fan, attended the show. He lost his way backstage and accidentally entered the room where Mean Gene was conducting the interviews. Gene called him over, and Warhol was forced to cut an impromptu promo on how the show tonight was “the most exciting thing ever”, in the most monotone voice you’ve ever heard. You think I’m making this crap up? Take a look yourself. --------------------------------------------------------------------------And there's your look at this timeline's "". I changed around a few of the matches on the card: I feel with Hogan gone, some people might be turned off by the main event, and I had to draw 'em in somehow.Coming up, we drive towards the inaugural. And later: a look at some of the tag teams that defined the WWF in the '80s, including the longest-reigning WWF Tag Champions in TTL's history! See you soon!