The Name on the Marquee: Hulkamania 2 - The Saga Continues (1987)

Posted by Adam Nedeff on 06.13.2009

Hulkamania runs over Mister Wonderful and a whole host of fat guys.

-It’s the WWF’s annual yearbook of the red & yellow, 1987 edition. Let’s have a look-see, shall we?

-Your host is Mean Gene Okerlund.

HULK HOGAN & HILLBILLY JIM vs. KING KONG BUNDY & BIG JOHN STUDD (with Bobby Heenan)
-We’re at MSG, shortly after Wrestlemania Deuce. Hillbilly starts with Studd, and Hillbilly goes for the slam right away, but gets pounded down. Elbows by Studd, followed by a slam. He wants Hogan, though, so he allows Hillbilly to tag out. Hogan gets pounded and slammed. Studd follows with another slam. Hogan ducks a clothesline and hits a $15,000 slam on Studd, then slams Bundy for good measure. Heenan takes a bump for good measure, and Hulk & Hillbilly dance around while the heels regroup on the floor. Weirdness from Lord Alfred Hayes on commentary, who says Hogan may be the first person ever to slam Studd, because Andre claims to have slammed him but nobody saw it. Wrestlemania I, Alfred. You were there.

-Studd mounts a comeback and Hogan goes down. Bundy tags in and stomps away. Backbreaker gets two. Splash gets two. Studd comes off the second rope with an axehandle and it’s time for the bearhug. Hogan tries to punch out, but Studd simply knocks him down and tags out. Bundy misses an elbow and Hillbilly comes in with fists-a’flyin’ and an Irish whip. Bundy comes right back with a clothesline and a knee for two. Snapmare and an elbow get two. Bundy locks in the headlock. Hillbilly fights out but Bundy walks him over to the heel corner and Studd comes in and keeps dishing out the punishment.

-Bearhug #2 by Studd on Hillbilly as the crowd is gradually losing interest. Hillbilly punches free and makes the hot tag, and Hogan cleans house with clotheslines and chops as Hillbilly & Bundy brawl in the corner. Atomic drop and the legdrop look to finish, but Heenan runs in to stop it. Hogan Irish whips him into the corner and Bundy accidentally avalanches his own manager. That’s a neat spot, but the match was boring as hell. 0 for 1.

WORLD TITLE: HULK HOGAN vs. KING KONG BUNDY (with Bobby Heenan)
-Hulk comes to the ring to the “Rock ‘N Wrestling” theme music. With 10,000 fans screaming over it, it’s not as effective a theme as you’d think. Bundy goes right on the offensive with axehandles, but Hulk fights back with punches until Bundy slams him down. Kneedrop by Bundy gets one. Bundy keeps hammering him and tosses Hulk to the floor, then won’t let him back in. Hogan gets fed up and yanks Bundy by the foot out to the floor. Series of punches by Hogan and both men head back in. Headbutt and more punches by Hogan. He fakes a backdrop, but when Bundy tries to counter with a kick, Hogan just sweeps his leg and the big man crashes to the mat. Big boot and a chop by Hogan. Irish whip and a clothesline by Hogan and he goes for the slam, but he hurts his back and Bundy gets free. Bundy drops an elbow for two. Headlock by Bundy goes and goes until Hogan fights out and shoulderblocks Bundy. Another shoulderblock by Hogan, but Bundy catches him with an elbow and chokes him down. Avalanche and a splash by Bundy gets two, and it’s time for the Hulk-up. Bundy actually hits another avalanche, but Hogan no-sells it and powerslams Bundy for three. It had one or two moments, but, eh. 0 for 2.

WORLD TITLE: HULK HOGAN vs. RANDY “Macho Man” SAVAGE (Intercontinental Champion, with Elizabeth)
-Savage comes to the ring without his belt because it’s not on the line. Hogan has now switched to “Real American.” Your referee is the surprisingly gray Danny Davis.

-Savage attacks before the bell and comes off the top rope with the title belt to the back. He puts the boots to Hogan and rams him into the turnbuckle, then heads up top again for a double axehandle, but Elizabeth suddenly comes to the apron for some reason, and that gives Hulk a chance to recover and he attacks Savage. He steals Savage’s sunglasses and puts them on, while Danny Davis does something surprisingly awesome, catching an airborne piece of trash on its way into the ring and then tossing it to the opposite side.

-Hogan takes it to the floor and sends Savage shoulder-first into the post. Back in the ring, Hogan clotheslines Savage and unleashes a flurry of punches. Chokehold in the air as Elizabeth comes back up to the apron. Danny Davis gets fed up and sends Elizabeth back to the locker room.

-Hogan headbutts Savage, and AGAIN, the commentators make a big deal out of it. Savage gets tied up in the ropes and Hogan bites his trapped opponent. Savage gets free and yanks him by the tights out to the floor, then meets him out there with the top rope axehandle. Savage drops an elbow on Hogan on the concrete and sends him into the barricade.

-Savage tosses him back into the ring and hits the flying elbow for two, and it’s time for the hulk-up and the reaching down deep for the something extra and the shaking and the pointing. Punch, punch, Irish whip, boot, slam, legdrop, and that’s all. I think that might be Hogan’s first clean pin over Savage. Adrian Adonis emerges post-match and Savage & Adonis double-team the champion until Hulk makes his own comeback and clears the ring. Your expected quality Hogan-Savage match. 1 for 3.

THE FLOWER SHOP
-Adrian Adonis’s guests are Hulk Hogan & Paul Orndorff. Adonis takes Hulk to task for not answering the phone, and Hogan tells him to go screw and promises that he & Orndorff are ready for Studd & Bundy. Orndorff suddenly jumps in and says he’s signed a contract for them to wrestle the Moondogs first. 2 for 4.

HULK HOGAN & “Mister Wonderful” PAUL ORNDORFF vs. KING KONG BUNDY & BIG JOHN STUDD (with Bobby Heenan)
-So even having defeated the Moondogs, Hogan & Orndorff still aren’t getting along and Hogan tells Orndorff to get over it. During the entrances, Orndorff takes his sweet time walking to the ring, and Hogan just sort of charges past him to get to the ring and do his ear-cupping thing as soon as he can.

-Orndorff & Studd start. Orndorff gets the upper hand with a couple of punches and tries to roll up Studd, but he can’t do it. Side headlock by Orndorff, but Studd breaks free and sends him into the ropes. Orndorff hiptosses him, which is fairly impressive, and Bundy tags in. Bundy elbows him down, but misses a splash. Orndorff suckers him into trying for an avalanche and Bundy misses that. Studd comes back in and Orndorff goes for the $15,000 slam, but he can’t do it. He settles for dropkicking both opponents and Orndorff has single-handedly cleared the ring.

-Hogan tags in and wastes no time doing the bodyslam himself, and Orndorff is visibly pissed about it. He follows with an atomic drop and an Irish whip into a clothesline. Series of chops, but Studd comes back with his own clothesline and tags in Bundy. Studd & Bundy double-team Hogan while Orndorff appears still genuinely interested in tagging into the match. Hogan rakes Bundy’s eyes and headbutts Studd, but he falls backwards on the recoil from the headbutt and knocks Orndorff off the apron. Studd & Bundy toss the referee to the floor and double-team Hogan as Orndorff whines to the fans about his eye. Finally, he clears the ring and helps Hogan to his feet, raising his arm in a token of victory…

-And then he clotheslines Hogan back down to the mat. He follows with a piledriver and does the ear-cupping routine, and suddenly, Heenan, Bundy, and Studd come in to congratulate Orndorff for his deed. They leave together as the Mid-Card Brigade comes in to check on Hogan. The heels head back to the locker room, where Adrian Adonis hugs him and tells him he truly is Mister Wonderful. There’s an interesting bit of consistency between his 1985 face turn and his 1986 heel turn, as both times, he was slighted by people he thought he could count on (Roddy Piper & Hulk Hogan) and turned only because he wanted respect. Good angle. 3 for 5.

STEEL CAGE, WORLD TITLE: HULK HOGAN (Champion) vs. “Mister Wonderful” PAUL ORNDORFF (with Bobby Heenan)
-From Saturday Night’s Main Event. Joey Marella is the assigned referee at the door, but Danny Davis follows Orndorff to the ring and insists on staying at the door. Jesse suggests that having two referees present will ensure that there won’t be any controversy.

-Orndorff pulls an Orndorff as Hogan enters the cage with a sneak attack. He pulls the title belt off Hogan and whips him with it, then heads for the door. Hogan stops him and Orndorff puts the boots to him. He heads for the door again and Hogan stops him again. Clothesline by Orndorff and he decides to climb the walls instead this time, but Hogan follows him and yanks him back inside by the hair.

“Hogan would not be the champion if Mister Wonderful was bald.” – Jesse Ventura.

-Hogan turns Orndorff upside down and rams his face into the cage a few times, then punches him down. Hogan pulls off his headband and chokes Orndorff out again, then punches him. Hogan starts his own climb, but Orndorff grabs the ankles to bring him back in. Series of punches and Hogan is grounded again. Orndorff drops the knee and chokes Hogan, then heads for the door, only to be pulled back again. Orndorff tries to drop elbows, but misses them. Hogan punches and punches, then heads for the door, but Danny Davis won’t open it this time. Joey Marella has to run over to unlock it, but that’s enough time for Orndorff to revive and pull Hogan away.

-Knee by Orndorff followed by a headbutt, then he plants Hogan’s face in the mat. Both men try to throw each other into the cage and both men are KOed as a result. They crawl to opposite walls and climb, and both men hit the floor simultaneously. Big kerfuffle follows as Joey Marella declares Hogan the winner, but Danny Davis declares Orndorff the winner. Danny Davis loses his temper and shoves Marella over and Hogan goes over to voice his disapproval. Orndorff attacks from behind (knocking Davis out in the process) and rams Hogan into the cage. Marella gets fed up and declares the match a tie, and the match will be re-started when we come back after these messages!

-Orndorff continues kicking Hogan’s ass on the floor, then drags him back into the cage. Orndorff drops an elbow from the top rope and grinds a foreign object into Hogan’s eyes as Danny Davis is carried to the locker room. Clothesline by Orndorff and then Hogan kicks out (despite not being pinned) and Hulks up. Punches and chops by Hogan, and Orndorff goes into the cage walls a few times. Backbreaker and a legdrop by Hogan, and Bobby Heenan comes in to stop the escape. Hogan kicks him away and atomic drops Orndorff for good measure. Heenan goes into the cage as Orndorff goes for the door, but Hogan goes over the top and hits the floor first to retain the title. And then Heenan gets his ass kicked AGAIN. Fun match, fun booking, fun feud over all. And that’s the end of the Hogan/Orndorff saga. 4 for 6.

WORLD TITLE: HULK HOGAN (Champion) vs. BRUTUS BEEFCAKE (with Luscious Johnny Valiant)
-Lock-up and Beefcake shoves Hogan into the corner. Hogan tries a lock-up and Beefcake sidesteps it and struts. Hogan loses patience and Irish whips Beefcake everywhere, then atomic drops him out to the floor.

-Back in, Beefcake tries a series of forearms, and that works for him. Hogan is grounded and Beefcake keeps hammering him. Hogan blocks & reverses a turnbuckle shot. Airborne chokehold by Hogan, and he follows with a forearm and a series of headbutts, and HOLY CRAP, JESSE’S NEVER SEEN THE HULK DO A HEADBUTT BEFORE!!! Beefcake reverses an Irish whip and clotheslines Hogan down. He chokes Hogan out with his boot and keeps pounding him down. Shot to the throat and another blatant chokehold by Beefcake, then he takes a time-out to strut. Another forearm shot knocks Hogan out to the floor, and Beefcake follows him out with another forearm. Hogan mounts a comeback and atomic drops Beefcake, then bites him. He tries to ram him into the post, but Beefcake shoves him off and Hogan goes into the post and the barricade in one movement.

-Back in the ring, Beefcake sticks with the forearms and gets a two-count. Powerslam gets two. Beefcake keeps stomping and goes to a bearhug. In an impressive show of strength, he actually lifts Hogan off the ground for it. Hogan writhes for a hell of a long time before inevitably breaking it and clotheslining Beefcake down. Elbow by Hogan, then a clothesline. Big boot, bodyslam, legdrop, and Johnny Valiant attempts to interfere, but it backfires and Beefcake gives the high knee to his own manager. Hogan rolls him up quickly for the three-count. Slow, but I’m in a good mood today. 5 for 7.

HULK HOGAN & GEORGE “The Animal” STEELE vs. RANDY “Macho Man” SAVAGE & ADORABLE ADRIAN ADONIS (with Elizabeth)
-Gene actually refers to Adonis as a former tag team title co-holder with Dick Murdoch, which is interesting because, as was typical in the WWF, they pretty much erased Adrian’s history when they changed his gimmick. Funny start to the match, as Steele wears a Hogan t-shirt and tears it off to show team unity. Hogan tries to return the favor by eating a turnbuckle, but instead we get this sequence of events.

#1. Hogan gestures to the turnbuckle and gets crowd approval to eat it.
#2. Hogan goes to the turnbuckle and can’t even tear it with his fingers.
#3. Hogan approaches Steele and clearly asks him to do it for him.
#4. Steele rips a hole in the turnbuckle, and does so with absolutely no trouble.
#5. Steele tells Hogan to eat the turnbuckle. Hogan acts “surprised” by the request and gets crowd approval to eat it.

-Heels attempt a sneak attack but both take a faceful of turnbuckle foam. Adonis gets Irish whipped and Flair-flips to the floor. Savage has done almost no bumping, but just lays around playing dead while Hogan & Steele celebrate. The match officially starts with Steele & Savage and Savage bails out to the floor. Steele chases him around until Hogan gets fed up and throws him back into the ring. Steele chokes him out and Hogan tags in. Savage immediately tags out.

-Adonis stalls in the corner, but catches Hogan with a boot. He misses an elbow, and Hogan Irish whips and clotheslines him. Steele comes in and knocks Adonis to the floor. Hogan & Adonis brawl on the floor as Steele & Savage battle in the ring. Back in the ring, Adonis catches Hulk in a drop-toehold and hangs onto it so Savage can attack him while he’s down. Hogan comes back quickly and Steele comes in and bites Savage on the pec, of all areas. Savage whiles him into the corner and Adonis comes in and pulls Steele’s back hair. Kneedrop by Adonis gets two. Slam by Adonis and he goes up top and lands with a forearm for two. Savage comes back in and chokes Steele. He attempts a clothesline, but Steele bites his arm and hangs on. Savage uses that against Steele by swinging his arm to cause Steele to tumble out of the ring.

-Both teams make a tag and Adonis suplexes Hogan a few times for a two-count. Goodnight Irene looks to finish, but Adonis drops him down and gives the crowd the double-bird before going to the top rope again. Hogan raises his knees to knock the wind out of Adonis and Savage comes in and gets his ass handed to them. All four men brawl in the ring and Savage backdrops Adonis in the confusion. Hogan drops the leg on Adonis to take advantage and gets the three-count. Really fun brawl. 6 for 8.

HULK HOGAN vs. KAMALA (with Wizard & Kimchee)
-Shoulderblocks are mutually no-sold. Kamala leapfrogs him and takes him down with another shoulderblock, and Hogan is actually taken aback by that and retreats into the corner. “Hogan” chants frighten Kamala and the Hulkster goes for a slam, but Kamala chops him down. Hogan tries coming off the ropes with the chops, but Hogan rolls away and punches Kamala. Clothesline and a high knee, followed by chops. Kimchee takes a punch for good measure, and that gives Kamala an opening to take Hogan down from behind. While the referee deals with Kimchee, the Wizard throws his horn into the ring and Kamala clobbers Hogan with it. Kamala bites & chokes Hogan. Bodyslam and a splash by Kamala get the two-count.

-What follows the kick-out is the most gradual Hulk-up ever, as Kamala slowly gets to his feet, walks around the ring, and gives a few week chops as Hulk starts to rev up. The site of it scares Kamala and Hulk sends him from turnbuckle to turnbuckle, then clotheslines him. Bodyslam looks to finish, but the Wizard grabs Hogan from the outside and holds him down for another splash as Kimchee distracts the referee. Kamala splashes him again and the referee catches the Wizard holding Hogan down and calls for the bell. Kimchee sends the referee to the floor and helps hold Hogan in place for Air Kamala. Hogan comes back and takes care of all three men to a thunderous ovation. Nothing out of the ordinary for either man. 6 for 9.

HULK MACHINE, SUPER MACHINE, & BIG MACHINE vs. KING KONG BUNDY, BIG JOHN STUDD, & BOBBY “The Brain” HEENAN
-Well, now, this is a weird way to end the tape. Hogan’s not even in this match, it’s just Heenan’s guys and three masked guys who clearly aren’t Hulk Hogan. Bundy starts with Hulk Machine and Hulk reverses an Irish whip and bodyslams him immediately. Interesting discussion on commentary as the entire point of the $15,000 cash bonus has changed. Whereas the bonus was there before to show the world that nobody could slam Studd or Bundy, the joke here now is that so many people have done it that Heenan owes about $120,000 in back pay to various wrestlers and Jack Tunney is breathing down his neck about it.

-Studd tags in and gets rammed into the turnbuckle. Big Machine tries a slam but Studd avoids that with the ropes. Bundy tags in and they trade shoulderblocks, with Bundy coming out on the losing end. Big Machine gets caught in the heel corner and triple-teamed. Bodypress by Super gets two. Studd slams Super down and Bundy comes and goes for the mask, but Big Machine stops him. Front facelock by Bundy and Heenan applies added leverage from the apron. Studd tags in but takes a kick to the stomach. Super Machine comes in and avoids a splash, then sweeps the leg and tries to pound Bundy, but Bundy stops him and Studd comes off the top rope with an axehandle. Heenan tags in and puts the boots to Super, but he hurts himself on a headbutt and Hulk Machine tags in. Punches and an Irish whip are beautifully sold by the Brain and he’s able to make the tag to Bundy. Big Machine & Bundy trade blows and Monsoon actually offers a hint about Big’s identity, calling him “The Okie Machine.” It’s…not a terribly accurate hint, but that seems to be Gorilla’s intent.

-Avalanche by Bundy looks to finish, but Hulk rolls him out of the ring and takes his place, “playing dead” as Studd tags in. Hulk immediately slams Studd for another $15,000 and then drops the leg for the three-count. I enjoyed this more than I expected. 7 for 10.

What is the sound of one hand typing the Game Show Utopia plug?

The 411: A good collection, but I would have liked it more if they had put a little more emphasis on Hogan/Orndorff. They could have had their first SNME match, maybe a match from a house show, something like that...It's just that it seems to be a forgotten feud considering how huge it was at the time. Anyway, forget complaining about what it wasn't...what it WAS was fine.

Final Score:  7.0   [ Good ]