Colling It In The Ring Reviews: WWF House Show 6/3/1989

World Wrestling Federation House Show
Date: 6/3/1989
From: Boston, MA

This is the final Boston Garden show to be televised on NESN. As you can see, it’s a rather big card for the final event to be televised. Let’s see how it holds up.

1.) Barry Horowitz vs. Tim Horner: Horner gets the crowd riled up by working over Horowitz early on with a hip toss and a dropkick. The crowd appears to be red hot for the action tonight, so hopefully the action is equally as good! The announcers are acting like they have never seen a Japanese arm drag before, so credit Tim Horner for showcasing that to Schiavone and Lord Alfred. Horowitz is flipped back into the ring but Barry is smart enough to toss Tim to the floor and pats himself on the back for doing so. Horowitz gets a near fall following a gut wrench suplex. Horner nearly surprises Horowitz with a roll up but Barry kicks out at two. Horner is rammed head first into the corner as Barry is keeping his offense very basic. Horowitz hits a jumping side Russian leg sweep that saw Horowitz get some decent air on it for a two count. Horner rolls Horowitz up and bridges over to win the bout. (*1/2. The crowd is hot for the show, but the match wasn’t good. Horowitz is playing the heel role very well, but the wrestling just wasn’t there to make it entertaining.)

2.) Jim Neidhart vs. The Warlord: I like how Jim Neidhart gets a good reception, until the fans realize it’s not Bret Hart. Warlord is an absolute beast and is hands down the biggest guy on the roster, muscle wise. Neidhart dropkicks Warlord and drops the big man with a running clothesline. Warlord catches Jim and hits a backbreaker. Mr. Fuji hits Neidhart with his cane while the referee was distracted. Warlord catches Neidhart and locks in a bear hug. Jim gets out eventually to dropkick Warlord. Neidhart gets distracted by Fuji and Warlord wins following a clothesline to Jim’s back. (*. Well, it was obviously just a match to promote Warlord as a heel in a singles role. A lackluster match, but at least Warlord was managing to get a reaction from the crowd.)

Ted DiBiase cut a promo on Jake Roberts saying he doesn’t believe Roberts isn’t here because of injury. Instead, DiBiase believes that Roberts is afraid of him! DiBiase is offering Rhodes some money to not wrestle him to save him from making himself look like a fool. As you can guess, Rhodes rejects the offer.

3.) Dusty Rhodes vs. Ted DiBiase: Dusty drops DiBiase with a right hand and Rhodes gives the money away to a few fans in the front row! DiBiase is pissed to find out that his money was stolen! Rhodes hammers away on Ted some more and is complete control of the contest. Dusty slingshots DiBiase back into the ring from the apron and blocks Ted’s offense to hit an atomic drop sending Ted over the top to the floor. Dusty rams Virgil into DiBiase to continue his dominance early on. DiBiase gets a few right hands in and Virgil trips Rhodes from the floor. That distraction allows Ted to come off the apron and double axe handle Dusty from behind. Rhodes absorbs a few blows and works over DiBiase with a series of elbow strikes and a standing dropkick! DiBiase stops Dusty with a middle rope double axe handle and a falling fist drop for a near fall. Ted nearly wins the match with a sleeper hold. DiBiase stops Rhodes with a knee lift once again. DiBiase comes off the middle rope but is punched by Dusty in midair. Virgil grabs Rhodes again but DiBiase knocks Virgil off on accident with a knee lift and Rhodes gets the win with a roll up! (**1/4. A decent mach that the crowd really enjoyed. It wasn’t anything spectacular but there was some quality action here, just not enough to make it memorable.)

4.) Paul Roma vs. Boris Zhukoff: Roma starts the match with Boris by dropping Boris with a series of clotheslines for a near fall. The fans get restless when Roma puts Boris in a headlock for several minutes. Boris gets control of the bout and sends Roma to the floor. Boris hit a backbreaker but Roma soon battles back with right hands and strikes. Roma plants Boris with a snap suplex. Paul gets the win following a powerslam. (*. It went on for over eleven minutes and that just wasn’t necessary. It was rather slow considering it was Boris Zhukoff. Roma needs to work with younger guys who can work a faster paced match.)

5.) WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage: Savage tosses a wooden chair into the ring but Hogan simply catches it and sits down to taunt the challenger. Randy gets a microphone and tells Hulk that he is going to beat him one, two, three in the ring! Savage uses his cape to distract Hogan and gets the cheap advantage to start the contest. Randy comes off the top to drop the champ with a double axe handle. Savage puts the cape over Hogan and taunts the crowd. Savage leaps off the top to axe handle Hogan down again, but Hulk gets up and Savage doesn’t know. Hogan grabs Randy to hit an atomic drop! Hulk punches Savage to the floor! Hulk nails Randy with a running forearm smash and tosses Randy to the floor. Savage protects himself by putting Sherri in front of himself, but Hogan still rams the challenger into the announce table. Hogan chokes Savage and gets distracted by Sherri on the apron. Sherri slaps Hogan and that allows Savage to knee lift Hogan to the floor. Sherri tries to send Hogan into the ring post but fails. Randy drops Hogan with a double axe handle on the floor to keep the advantage in his favor. Hulk is choked by Sherri while the referee is distracted by Savage. Randy is keeping Hogan on the canvas with a sleeper hold. Hogan elbows his way out of the sleeper hold and shoulder blocks Savage before dropping an elbow to Randy’s back. Sherri trips Hogan and that allows Randy to jump onto Hogan’s back across the middle rope. Randy drops Hulk throat first across the top as well! Randy gets brass knuckles and nails Hogan after jumping off the top rope but can’t put Hogan away. Hogan gets a second wind and is absorbing Savage’s strikes. Hogan delivers a big boot but Savage bails to the floor. They are trading blows on the floor until Hogan sends Savage into the ring post shoulder first. Sherri jumps on Hogan’s back after Savage is sent into the ring. Hogan gets distracted and Savage sends Hulk chest first into the guard railing. Savage rolls back in to win the match by count-out. (***. A solid match here as it’s your typical match between these two. The finish obviously allows them to keep the feud hot for a feature match if needed. I suppose it was wishful thinking for a clean finish here.) After the match, Savage poses with the belt until Hogan gets back into the ring and rams Sherri into Savage head first. Hogan reclaims his championship. Hogan sends Sherri to the floor with an atomic drop!

6.) Mr. Perfect vs. Bret Hart: Bret gets the early advantage by hip tossing Perfect over but doesn’t follow up with the advantage. Hart appears to be one step ahead of Perfect and it’s not sitting well with Mr. Perfect at all. Bret is keeping control of Perfect with a side headlock as the start of the match is rather slow thus far. Hart sunset flips Perfect from the apron for a near fall, but goes right back to a side headlock. Bret continues to have control of the bout until Perfect sends Hart into the corner and hits a scoop slam. Hart just shoves Perfect face first to the mat and sends Perfect over the top to the floor with a clothesline! They follow that up with stalling until Perfect nails Bret with a cheap shot in the corner to get the advantage. Perfect drops Bret with a knee lift and stomps away on the Hitman. Perfect shoves Bret off the apron and Hart lands chest first onto the guard railing! Perfect hits a rolling neck snap and rolls Hart up for a near fall. Perfect sends Bret hard chest first into the corner but can’t get a three count. Perfect tosses Hart across the ring and connects with a dropkick for a near fall. Perfect is working over Bret’s left knee with a spinning toe hold. Bret kicks Perfect away and sends him shoulder first into the corner! Bret stomps away on Perfect in the corner and delivers a headbutt. Hart clubs away on Perfect and regains control of the bout. Hart leg drops Perfect’s injured left shoulder. Bret goes for a crucifix pin but Perfect counters with a Samoan Drop for a near fall! Bret is able to get an abdominal stretch on Perfect but doesn’t last long as Perfect hip tosses Bret over. Hart kicks out of a roll up and that sends Perfect to the floor. Hart takes Perfect out with a slingshot cross body on the floor! Hart rams Perfect face first into the ring steps! Bret gets a near fall after a snap suplex. Perfect kicks out of a inside cradle. Bret drives Perfect down with a backbreaker but the time limit has expired and it’s a draw! (***1/4. A good match, but there was several parts of the match where it was really slow and prevented the match from being really great. I understand it’s a house show but it’s one of the bigger markets and on television. Nonetheless, for a house show, it’s an above average showing.) After the match, Mr. Perfect rejects the offer of five more minutes. Wait, he comes back to the ring and attacks Hart from behind. Hart recovers and crotches Perfect on the top rope. Hart kicks Perfect and delivers an atomic drop. Hart back elbows Perfect to the floor where Perfect runs to the backstage area to get away.

7.) Hercules vs. Dino Bravo: Hercules tries to shoulder block Bravo early on but neither man goes down. They decide to do a test of strength where Bravo gets the upper hand and laughs about it. Hercules comes back and they trade right hands. Hercules attempts to lock in the full nelson but Bravo quickly scrambles to reach the ropes. Bravo runs into a clothesline and a scoop slam. Hercules tries for the full nelson again but Dino reaches the ropes quickly, again. Dino pokes Hercules in the eyes and delivers an atomic drop. Hercules battles back with right hands in the corner. Hercules continues to drop Bravo with clotheslines. Hercules locks in a Torture Rack but lets go because he won. Hercules covers Dino but Dino gets his foot on the bottom rope. Bravo counters a sunset flip attempt and pins Hercules by using the ropes for leverage. (*1/4. A slow moving match where they did a lot of the same moves and it was power based. It just wasn’t appealing to me.) After the match, Hercules puts Bravo in the full nelson to get some revenge.

8.) WWF World Tag Team Champions Demolition vs. Akeem & Big Bossman: Ron Garvin is the special referee of the main event. All four men start brawling as soon as the bell sounds. Demolition gets the better of the exchange and send Bossman to the floor. Ax and Akeem legally start the match. Ax is working over Akeem’s arm and drops him with a clothesline. Smash tags in and hammers away on Akeem some more. Bossman enters but isn’t able to get any advantage for his team. Garvin prevents Bossman from punching Smash and that allows Demolition to continue to work over Bossman. Akeem gets control of the match and along with Bossman hammer away on Ax. Smash gets tagged in after Ax blocks a backdrop and Smash clotheslines Bossman. Demolition tries to suplex Bossman but Akeem enters to make the save. Akeem rams his butt into Smash several times in the corner. Bossman headbutts Smash down to the canvas to maintain the advantage. Smash almost tags in Ax but Akeem enters to attack Smash from behind and prevented the tag from happening. Bossman hits a spinebuster on Smash but doesn’t go for the cover. Smash tries to pin Bossman with an inside cradle but only gets a two count. Bossman kicks Smash several times to beat the champ down. Bossman misses a splash in the ropes and both men are down. Ax gets the tag but Garvin was distracted by Akeem. Akeem enters and leg drops Smash. Smash is able to clothesline Bossman! Ax gets the tag and he cleans house with right hands. Ax manages to scoop slam Akeem! Akeem accidentally hits Bossman with Bossman’s own stick and Ax pins Bossman to retain the titles. (***. I actually enjoyed the match. They worked well with each other here. I really can’t complain with the main event.)(/strong>

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The 411: The second half of the show really helps this show a great deal. Dusty/DiBiase wasn't bad, but the first half of the show was rather dull and unappealing to me. Luckily, the crowd was hot for most of the show and made the watch easier. I'm going to give the show a slight thumbs up. Three matches at *** or better makes it watchable as the crowd provides for a better atmosphere, too.
Final Score:  6.8   [ Average ]