KingKennit

Meteoric Rise: Pick an unimportant wrestler from your roster and push them to major star status within a year. (Hard mode: Use a random number generator to pick the unimportant wrestler. Total Domination: Have a stable hold all the belts of either the men's or women's division at the same time. (World, Tag, X division and Digital Media or Knockouts, Knockouts tag and Digital Media) Second Time Lucky: Have a female wrestler recreate what should have been the groundbreaking world title run of Tessa Blanchard. (Unless you really just want the World title to be male only) Foreign Imports: Bring in wrestlers from 3 of the other game areas (British Isles, Europe, Japan, Mexico, India and Australia) who aren't already familiar to American audiences (let's say whatever the unimportant/recognisable threshold is in your company, they must be below that in the USA), and have them all win titles of your choice. Feast or Fired: Run a Feast or Fired match between the 8 most popular wrestlers on your roster, including or excluding current champions, it's up to you. You do not necessarily have to fire the wrestler who picks the fired briefcase, as long as you work it into a storyline. (Hard mode: Use a random number generator to pick who gets which briefcase) All Night Long: Have a PPV be main evented by match that goes at least 60 minutes. You've Still Got It: Give a wrestler who is at least 50 years of age a run with the world title. Feeling Festive: Come up with storylines revolving around Halloween, Christmas and Valentine's day.

I've started a save controlling ECW from January 1992, so right from the very beginning, with the goal of hopefully surpassing WCW and the WWF to become the biggest promotion in the world. I wanted some interesting rules to spice up the save so I asked for some over on the "Give me rules for a game" thread and I got some really good ones, which are as follows. 1. Eddie Gilbert must at all times hold the record for most world title reigns (at least the joint record). 2. Tommy Dreamer and Raven may never have a singles match against each other. 3. I must try to sign Kurt Angle when he debuts and have him win a title before the end of his first year. 4. In April 96, I must debut the Dudley Boyz, and by the end of the year the Family must have expanded to 5 Dudleyz, but I can't use any of the real life Dudleyz. (I think I'm going to interpret this as I can use Bubba Ray and D-Von as the 2 initial Dudleyz, but the rest of the family must be filled out with my own Dudleyz) 5. Of Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn, I must have one win the world title, 2 form a tag team and win the tag titles, and one must never be hired. 6. I must do all I can to hire the Ultimate Warrior, and he must win the world title in his first program in the company. If it's not possible to sign him, I am allowed to complete the goal with the Renegade instead. 7. I may not hire an active wrestler over the age of 40, apart from Terry Funk. 8. Within a month of being small sized, I must establish talent trading agreements with one Japanese promotion and one Mexican promotion, and I must feature at least one borrowed foreign talent on every show (or at every taping once I have started on TV, as I will be taping twice every month and I think having a foreign talent on every single one hour episode of TV is a bit much). I've also come up with 8 random number generator stipulations and put them on a wheel which I will spin at the beginning of every in game year. 1. RNG on whole roster, chosen wrestler must win any title before the end of the year. 2. RNG on recognisable and below, chosen wrestler must be at least star status at the end of the year. 3. RNG on star and above, chosen wrestler must win the world title before the end of the year. 4. RNG twice on whole roster, chosen wrestlers must have a feud that lasts at least 3 months. 5. RNG twice on whole roster, chosen wrestlers must form a tag team. 6. RNG on whole roster, chosen wrestler gets an immediate 6 month injury. 7. RNG on whole roster, chosen wrestler must be released within 3 months and cannot be rehired for at least 2 years. 8. RNG on all unemployed wrestlers based in the USA, chosen wrestler must be signed and featured fairly prominently. What constitutes prominently is up to my discretion but I'm thinking that they should at least have a couple of proper feuds. I decided to make a few hirings before spinning the wheel for the first time because the starting roster was so sparse, and my spin for the first year was pretty favourable all things considered, as I had to have Sabu win any title by the end of the year. I've just finished the first year as I'm writing this, and we haven't got a TV show yet and we're running a schedule of 2 shows per month so major storylines have been a bit thin on the ground, but I'll recap the few that we have had. The King of Philadelphia Our very first show was an 8-man tournament to crown the inaugral ECW World Heavyweight Champion, and as per the first rule there was only one man it could have been, "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert. After he was presented with the belt by Paul Heyman, "The Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff made an uninvited appearance, making it clear that he wanted the belt for himself and the show ended with a staredown between the two men. The next show, Gilbert said that he's not going to just hand Ivan Koloff a title shot because he walked in off the street and demanded one. Over the next few months, Koloff regularly attacked Gilbert after his matches, including after a title defense against the Sandman, which saw Sandman side with Gilbert to run Koloff off, starting an alliance between Gilbert and the Sandman. This lead to Gilbert laying down a challenge for Koloff, saying that if he could beat the Sandman then he will earn a title shot. In May Ivan Koloff and The Sandman met in the ring and Koloff got the victory, setting up a title match a few weeks later. Initially I had planned on having Koloff win the title due to interference from Nikita Koloff in a one off appearance, but news that Koloff was retiring in 3 months caused me to alter my plans, so I had Sandman come out and stop Nikita from interfering in the match, and brought in Nikita on a longer term basis to take Ivan's place in the storyline. The next show, Eddie Gilbert said he wanted to get Nikita out of the company before he plagued it like his "uncle" Ivan did, so he offered him a title shot, with the caveat that if Nikita lost he would be gone from ECW. After another few weeks of feuding, Gilbert & Sandman came up with a similar proposal for Ivan, that he would face Sandman again, if Koloff won he would be added to the title match as a three way dance, but if he lost he would also be gone from ECW. Koloff vs Sandman 2 went the other way this time, with Sandman winning and banishing Ivan from ECW. Unfortunately though, during the Eddie vs Nikita title match the following show, Ivan showed up anyway, and despite Sandman's best efforts he couldn't stop Ivan from interfering and costing Gilbert the title. After the match security came out, orchestrated by Paul Heyman, and in the ruccus Ivan attacked the ECW owner, leading to Heyman taking out a restraining order on him and effectively getting him banned from ECW for good this time, but it was too late for Eddie Gilbert. Gilbert did get a rematch a couple of shows later at the end of September but this time lost fair and square, so he was done with the world title for the time being, and the focus switched to The Sandman, who got an opportunity in mid November but also lost. For the last couple months of the year, Gilbert had a short feud with the Bruise Brothers who started attacking him, which ended at the last show of the year when Gilbert brought in his friend Sandman to beat the Bruise Brothers in a tag match, meanwhile Nikita Koloff has continued defending his title, including a defence against exciting young prospect Eddie Guerrero. It's worth noting that Gilbert and Sandman have great tag team chemistry, so we potentially have a long term unit on our hands. The Tag Title Picture In May, an 8 man tournament to crown the first ECW World Tag Team Champions was held, with Public Enemy taking down The Pitbulls in the final to claim the belts. Their first proper feud came about when The Bruise Brothers, who they had beaten in the first round of the tournament, felt that they had unfinished business with the champs. The Bruise Brothers attacked Public Enemy and a brawl ensued, which continued across multiple segments, concluding when it spilled out to the arena during a match between Sabu and JT Smith and engulfing the two participants. During this brawl, Sabu and Rocco Rock got particularly vicious with each other. This lead to a 6 man tag the following show between Public Enemy & JT Smith and The Bruise Brothers & Sabu, where once again things between Sabu and the Public Enemy got particularly violent. The following show, in mid August, The Bruise Brothers got their title shot which saw Public Enemy retain, and immediately after the match Sabu came sprinting out like a man possessed and threw himself at Public Enemy, and even with the numbers advantage they barely managed to get the better of him. A couple weeks later, the champs cut a backstage promo telling Sabu to bring it on and bring a friend, and at the next show Sabu introduced his old friend, the only man in the world as homicidal, suicidal and genocidal as Sabu himself, New Jack. (Sabu and New Jack both have poor gimmicks and bad tag team chemistry, but by this point I was committed, so that's great). Later that night in the main event, Public Enemy defended their titles against Sabu & New Jack in a bloody war, and after the match New Jack snapped and pummelled Rocco Rock's leg over and over again with a chair, injuring him. The next show, Sabu and New Jack, now going by the name Homicidal Maniacz (because z's were cool in the 90s), defeated the young team of Rob Van Dam and Stevie Richards, and New Jack looked like he was going to injure Richards like he did Rock, but Johnny Grunge came out to make the save. Public Enemy cut a promo saying they would make the Sabu and New Jack pay when Rocco Rock is back fit, and the Maniacz pointed out that Johnny Grunge is still fit, setting up a couple of matches over the next month, as first Sabu and then New Jack beat Johnny Grunge in singles action, which the Maniacz argued qualified them for another title shot. Public Enemy said that they would give the Maniacz a response if they would meet them face to face in the ring at the next show, to which the Maniacz agreed. At ECW Live in mid December the four men did meet, Rocco Rock still on crutches, in the middle of the ring. They exchanged words for a while, until suddenly Rocco Rock threw one of his crutches to Johnny Grunge and the Public Enemy attacked their assailants with the crutches, revealing that Rocco Rock was back fit and they were accepting the Homicidal Maniacz' challenge. The big title match took place two weeks later, at the last show of the year in the last week of December, and after an even more brutal and bloody war than the first, Sabu pinned Johnny Grunge and The Homical Maniacz were crowned ECW World Tag Team Champions, and I achieved my RNG goal of having Sabu with a title before the end of the year. Delicious Intent I brought in Jason Knight, renamed him Jason Sexley and put him with Johnny Hotbody as Delicious Intent, an over the top obnoxious heel team who basically think they're the sexiest creatures on the planet. I brought in Toni Adams to manage them and renamed her Toni Vixen (I know these names are a bit on the nose but that's kind of the point of the gimmick). Shortly after I brought Jason and Toni in they started dating, so I guess I'm something of a matchmaker. I had plans for these guys to be a mainstay of the undercard for the first few years, kind of in the FBI role, but fate dealt me a blow as Johnny and Jason have awful chemistry, so I had to change my plans. Pretty much immediately I had them lose matches due to miscommunication, which came to a head when they lost in the first round of the tag title tournament against young jobber team Rob Van Dam and Stevie Richards. They argued in the following weeks, and eventually Toni Vixen became tired of the infighting and suggested that they might be able to work through their issues if they just faced each other in the ring. This match took place at the end of July, and Toni Vixen picked her side as she delivered a low blow to Johnny Hotbody to help her real life boyfriend get the win. On the next show, a strapping young man named Shawn Morcock (Sean Morley/Val Venis) made his ECW debut, and in a backstage segment Jason and Toni spoke about their plans moving forward without Johnny Hotbody, as well as how sexy Shawn Morcock is. During Morcock's next match against jobber Larry Winters, Toni Vixen came out to ringside and eventually seduced Winters, allowing Morcock to capitalise and get the win. In the following weeks, Morcock began appearing in segments with Jason and Toni, and they revealed that Delicious Intent were back and better than ever, a fact they proved when Shawn Morcock beat that ugly ass Johnny Hotbody and the team of Morcock and Sexley beat the team the old Delicious Intent couldn't beat before, Rob Van Dam and Stevie Richards. Sean Morley has been a bit of a revelation, allowing Delicious Intent to actually get decent ratings in matches and on the mic, which wasn't the case before. A Tenuous Alliance After they both lost in the finals of their respective title tournaments, Al Snow approached the Pitbulls and told them that as they were both so close to winning the belts, maybe if they teamed up they would go to the next level. They spent most of the rest of the year helping each other win matches and occasionally teaming up to win 6 man tags, until eventually in late September they picked on the wrong man, as the Pitbulls interfered to help Al Snow beat DC Drake, a loveable lunatic who claims he is possessed by the spirit of hardcore. The following show, Snow was attacked by two face painted behemoths during his match with The Sandman, costing him the match. On the next show, DC Drake was flanked by those behemoths, who were revealed as Punisher and Tormentor, the Soul Reapers (Tony and Val Puccio in Kiss style face paint), and they said that they were going to make sure Snow and the Pitbulls got their comeuppance for their constant cheating. Al Snow said that the Pitbulls would deal with those two freaks, and the Reapers accepted the challenge and told Al Snow that they would take his soul if he got involved, which seemed to scare Snow a disproportionate amount considering the Reapers are just two fat guys in makeup. Nevertheless it clearly did frighten him, as he didn't get involved in the match and the Soul Reapers picked up the big win against the Pitbulls. The following show, the Pitbulls asked Snow where he was, and accused him of being scared, which he denied. The Reapers appeared out of nowhere and Al Snow ran away, and the Reapers and the Pitbulls brawled. The pitbulls then told Snow at the last show of the year that they had arranged a six man tag match against DC Drake and the Soul Reapers, and they would drag Snow to the ring if they had do. Snow went willingly, but under threat from the Reapers during the match he once again bailed, and DC Drake and the Reapers were able to pick up the win against the outnumbered Pitbulls. That's where I'm up to currently with this storyline, but it will probably be over within another few shows, as I plan on having Drake challenge Snow to a one on one which Snow will win after the Pitbulls take care of the Reapers earlier in the night. The alliance between Snow and the Pitbulls will continue to deteriorate and I can see them breaking up within a few months. The Ballad of Broken Fingers At the June week 4 show, at the halfway point of the year, 2 Cold Scorpio faced Kid Kash in a high flying affair, that was marred by Kid Kash legitimately breaking Scorpio's fingers with a botch. The following show, Scorpio was wrestling with New Japan, and Kid Kash accused Scorpio of being a pussy who didn't show up because he hurt his fingers. Kash then faced Stevie Richards, and he did the same thing AGAIN, breaking Stevie's fingers as well, which made me think he might have been doing this on purpose. I debated inserting Richards into the long term storyline but decided against it, instead running a rematch between Kash and Richards on the next show, and Kash praised Richards for showing up despite having broken fingers, taunting 2 Cold Scorpio. When Scorpio returned, he said he could have let the injury go, accidents happen, but he couldn't let the insults fly, and challenged Kash to a match. Scorpio again missed a show because he was in Japan which led to further taunts from Kash, asking if Scorpio had broken his fingers again? Eventually they did have their match, during which Kid Kash tried to deliberately break Scorpio's fingers again, enraging Scorpio and allowing Kid Kash to capitalise and get the win with a roll up. Scorpio admitted he let Kash get into his head and asked for one more match, but Kash refused saying he has beaten Scorpio already and has already proved he's the better wrestler. Scorpio then attacked Kash after a match, and cut a promo saying that he isn't just a great technical wrestler and an exciting high flyer, he can be as hardcore as anyone in ECW and Kid Kash would find that out if he didn't face him. Kash then told Scorpio to prove it, that if he could beat a hardcore wrestler of Kash's choice he would agree to one more match. The next show, Scorpio faced Kash's chosen wrestler, Axl Rotten, who had debuted a couple months before and had been on a tear ever since. Scorpio beat Rotten, but Rotten and Kash beat him down after the match, and then Axl attacked during the resulting match between Scorpio and Kash, costing Scorpio the match. This led to Scorpio challenging Kash and Rotten to a tag match with a partner of his choice, and if Scorpio won he would get one more match with Kash, with no interference. Kash accepted, but said that if he and Axl won then Scorpio would have to kiss Kash's diamond ring and admit that he is the superior wrestler and the better man. Scorpio accepted, and on the last show of the year he enlisted the help of Eddie Guerrero, and beat Rotten and Kash, who by this point are going by the name Dirty Money. There is probably only one more match in this rivalry, which Scorpio will win clean against Kid Kash, maybe after Eddie Guerrero thwarts Axl Rotten. So that's the first year of ECW done and dusted, thanks if you've read all that, I know it was pretty long. I've already spun the wheel for next year, and as a result I have had to sign a wrestler called Bill Tabb who featured sporadically in some of the territories in the late 80s. He was the wrestler that Col. DeBeers refused to get in the ring with because he was black, so at least I have heard of something he's done, even if I didn't know him by name, so that's something I guess. Other than that, Big Bill Tabb, to put it politely, sucks. I'll attach a picture so you can see just how much he sucks. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with him yet, probably put him in a tag team to try and mask his weaknesses as much as possible. If we continue to grow at the same rate we have so far, we should be small sized by April, and that's hopefully when we'll have a TV deal for the Tri state area set up as well, and then I expect it to be another year until we go national, so hopefully the ball will start rolling in a big way. Cheers.

Really good write up. I'm a few months into my own ECW 92 save so it's interesting to see the differences between your save and where I plan to go with mine. Also I was given some fun rules and restrictions over on the "give me some rules" thread and one of them was to make up a bunch of my own Dudleys, so I might be looking to you for some inspiration!

These are all great, thank you!

I'm starting a save with ECW from their conception at the start of 1992. I'm going to be controlling Paul Heyman and I'm going to try and stick to the ECW ethos as close as possible but hopefully in the long run become the number 1 company in the world. The starting roster is pretty bare bones, Ivan Koloff and Eddie Gilbert are our only big names but there are a few young guys that go on to become synonymous with ECW, namely Sandman, Stevie Richards and the Pitbulls. We are still currently a part of the NWA, and WCW and NJPW are also members so we can loan talent from them potentially. Any suggestions for rules and restrictions would be greatly appreciated, the more the better.

Confirmed card for WWF In Your House: Pomp and Circumstance. I'm aiming to have it out on Thursday evening UK time, feel free to make predictions if you'd like. Billy Jack Haynes vs The Magnificent Muraco Haku vs Koko B. Ware The Million Dollar Man vs Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake King Wonderful vs Harley Race The Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff vs "The Natural" Butch Reed & "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan in a flag match The British Bulldogs (c) vs The Rockers for the WWF Tag Team titles "Rockin" Robin Roberts vs Sensational Sherri for the vacant WWF Women's title Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat (c) vs Hercules for the WWF Intercontinental title Hulk Hogan (c) vs "Macho Man" Randy Savage for the WWF World Heavyweight title

WWF Superstars – June Week 4, 1987 Jim Ross and Jesse Ventura welcome us to tonight's show and run down the card. We will see the final two first round matches in the King of the Ring tournament as “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan faces The Million Dollar Man and Jake “The Snake” Roberts takes on “Cowboy” Bob Orton. King Wonderful takes on the blue chipper Flyin' Brian, Ricky Steamboat and Koko B. Ware team up to take on Haku and Hercules of the Heenan Family, and our main event sees the uneasy alliance of Hulk Hogan and the “Macho Man” Randy Savage, as they join forces to take on the men that brutally attacked them last week, The Hart Foundation. We go now to Howard Finkel to make the introductions for the first match. King of the Ring – First Round “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan vs The Million Dollar Man w/ Sid The Million Dollar Man starts this match by trying to outwrestle Jim Duggan, which he succeeds in doing as he keeps him grounded and locks on all kinds of painful looking submission holds. Duggan eventually turns it in his favour with his considerable brawling skills, but The Million Dollar Man shows that he can brawl with the best of them, and the rest of the match is even. Sid looks like he is going to get involved at one point, but surprisingly The Million Dollar Man calls him off, and the distraction allows Duggan to gain full control going into the closing stretch. After a series of strong strikes, Duggan attempts to hit a big clothesline but The Million Dollar Man deftly steps aside and grabs Duggan's arm, and expertly transitions into The Million Dollar Dream. Jim Duggan taps and The Million Dollar Man advances to the next round. Winner by submission in 8:36, The Million Dollar Man Rating: 73 After the match, The Million Dollar Man tells Sid to get him a microphone and he obliges, and hands him the mic through the ropes. The Million Dollar Man says he accepts Brutus Beefcake's challenge for a match at Pomp and Circumstance this Sunday, and he says that Beefcake's stipulation that The Million Dollar Man will forfeit the match if Sid gets involved is fine by him. He says he can outwrestle that two bit Barber any day of the week and he doesn't need Sid's help to beat Beefcake or anybody else in the World Wrestling Federation, and he will prove that this weekend just like he proved it tonight. Rating: 69 We go to the backstage interview area, where Mean Gene is joined by The Hart Foundation and their manager Jimmy Hart, and he asks them why they perpetrated such a heinous attack on Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage last week. Bret says that it's like Jim Neidhart said last week, they did it because they want to be the team to face Hogan and Savage when they team up tonight. They saw their opportunity to make their names by taking on two of the best wrestlers in the world, and they took their shot. Jimmy Hart then takes chimes in and says that their plan clearly worked, as Gorilla Monsoon told them earlier today that it will be Hulk Hogan and “Macho Man” Randy Savage vs The Hart Foundation, in the main event tonight! Rating: 76 King Wonderful w/ Bobby “The Brain” Heenan vs Flyin' Brian The exciting young heartthrob Flyin' Bryan makes his Superstars debut here after wrestling on the B show for the past couple of months, and he puts on an impressive display. He flies out of the gate with some exciting high flying offence and an upset looks like it could be on the cards, but Bobby Heenan grabs his foot and trips him as he's running the ropes and it's all King Wonderful for the rest of the match, aside from a few short comebacks. One such comeback ends in a flying crossbody attempt from the top rope, but the King catches him mid air and turns it into a piledriver to get the one two three. Winner by pinfall in 7:18, King Wonderful Rating: 67 We go back to Mean Gene, who is joined this time by Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty of The Rockers, ahead of their WWF Tag Team title shot this weekend. Michaels acknowledges that it is still very early in their WWF careers and they're still young, and he's heard some people say that this opportunity has come too soon for them, but he says that it isn't too soon at all and they are not nervous. Jannetty says that they have been champions in other places before, and they believe with every fibre of their beings that they are going to pin The British Bulldogs one two three to win the titles this Sunday. Rating: 55 There are a lot of interviews to be conducted tonight, so resident WWF Challenge interviewer Lord Alfred Hayes is sharing the load with Mean Gene. He is joined by Bobby Heenan, and three of his clients, King Wonderful, Hercules and Haku. Hayes asks his guests about each of their upcoming matches at Pomp and Circumstance in turn, and he stars with King Wonderful. Heenan says that Harley Race can harp on about being the toughest S.O.B in professional wrestling all he wants, but come Sunday King Wonderful is going to prove to Race that being a professional wrestler isn't about being a boring tough guy between the ropes, it's also about showmanship and pizazz, both of which King Wonderful has in spades. Hayes then asks about Haku's match with Koko B. Ware, and Heenan says that he gave Koko fair warning a few weeks ago, he told him that their fight wasn't with him and he could just walk away. But the so called Birdman ignored his warning and kept sticking his beak in where it didn't belong, and after what happens this Sunday Koko is going to sorely regret not just taking his beating from Haku and limping away. Finally Hayes addresses Hercules, and his WWF Intercontinental title shot against Ricky Steamboat. Heenan repeats what he said a few weeks ago, that if you look in the record books then you will see that Hercules beat Ricky Steamboat in their title match. He says that this Sunday Hercules will repeat that feat, but this time it won't be by disqualification, Hercules will either put Steamboat down for the count or make him tap his Intercontinental title over to the Heenan Family, and around Hercules' waist. Heenan then ends by saying that Haku and Hercules will give Steamboat and Koko a taste of what's to come when they meet in their tag match in a few moments time. Rating: 78 Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat & Koko B. Ware vs Haku and Hercules w/ Bobby “The Brain” Heenan The team of Haku and Hercules works very effectively here, as they spend much of this match isolating Koko B. Ware in their corner of the ring and methodically beating him down. Koko manages to make a break for his partner and makes a hot tag that brings the roof of the place, but after a couple minute period of good sustained offence, Heenan distracts the referee and Haku and Hercules double team Steamboat, regaining the advantage. Eventually Steamboat then manages to make the hot tag to Koko, but Koko's spell of offence is much shorter lived as he runs into a huge clothesline from Hercules. The finish comes when Haku tags Hercules in Hercules and gets Koko in the full nelson, and Haku hits a devastating Savate kick to Koko's face while Hercules holds him still. Heenan holds Steamboat's foot to prevent him from breaking up Hercules' pin and the referee counts the one two three. Winners by pinfall in 9:43, Haku and Hercules Rating: 78 We come back from the break to find the man from the vignette last week making his way to the ring with a beautiful woman on his arm. He gets into the ring and gyrates his hips, which elicits a few squeals from some of the female members of the crowd. The woman hands him a microphone and he announces that “Ravishing” Rick Rude, and his glamorous companion Ivory, have finally arrived in the World Wrestling Federation. He says that all the men want to be him and all the women want to be with him, but they can't because, well, they don't look like Ivory. Ivory gives a conceited smile and poses as the crowd make their disapproval heard. Rude then says that he isn't just a pretty face, or a manly moustache, or a pack of chiselled abs, or a couple rock hard pecks, or a set of perfectly sculptured glutes, but he is also one of the greatest professional wrestlers who has ever graced this sport, and all of the WWF viewers will find that out very soon. He announces that the man with the best body in the World Wrestling Federation will have his debut match this Sunday at In Your House 2: Pomp and Circumstance on the pre-show edition of WWF Challenge. He tells us not to get used to seeing him there though, because “Ravishing” Rick Rude is not pre-show, he is sure fire bona fide main event. His music then hits and he gyrates his hips again as Ivory strokes his chest suggestively, and then they leave back up the ramp. Rating: 69 Jim Ross turns to Jesse Ventura and says “Let me guess, your new favourite wrestler?” Ventura says that Rick Rude is undoubtedly impressive, but the best body in the World Wrestling Federation? There is only one man with the best body in the WWF and that is Jesse “The Body” Ventura. JR looks very sceptical but clearly doesn't want to open that can of worms, so he sends us back to Gene Okerlund. Mean Gene is joined in the interview area by “The Natural” Butch Reed and “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan. Reed says he knows Slick isn't here tonight but he knows he will be watching, so he has requested this interview time to make one last appeal to his manager ahead of Reed and Duggan's match against Slick's other clients The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff. Reed says that he saw Slick's face after what Sheik and Volkoff did to the American flag two weeks ago, and he knows that Slick must be as appalled as he and Jim Duggan are. He wants Slick to realise where his loyalties lie, and he wants him join his and Duggan's side and leave The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff for good. Rating: 72 King of the Ring – First Round Jake “The Snake” Roberts vs “Cowboy” Bob Orton w/ Mr Fuji Jake Roberts starts this match seemingly in a very cheerful mood as he comfortably controls the match while playing to the crowd and teasing setting his snake Damian on Bob Orton. Orton soon gains the upper hand however and he looks to make Jake pay with some vicious brawling, but after a back and forth contest Jake pumps up the crowd and hits the DDT to get the pin and advance to the quarter finals. Winner by pinfall in 8:10, Jake “The Snake” Roberts Rating: 80 We go back to Lord Alfred Hayes, who is joined by one of the women who will fight for the vacant WWF Women's title this Sunday, Sensational Sherri. Sherri says she has been watching her opponent “Rockin” Robin Roberts these past few weeks on WWF Challenge, and she admits that she has been impressed with Robin's wins. She goes on to say however that she thinks Robin has been wrestling all these matches because she knows she needs all the practice she can get if she is going to stand a chance against Sherri. Sherri needs no practice, she's already the best thing to ever happen to women's wrestling in the WWF and she's going to prove that by beating the little girl Robin to win the title, and to be brutally honest, she won't even have to get out of second gear. Alfred Hayes then sends us to his colleague Gene Okerlund again. Rating: 57 Mean Gene is joined this time by Jake “The Snake” Roberts, and Gene congratulates him on his victory in the King of the Ring first round a few moments ago. Roberts thanks Gene, and then says he has an exciting announcement to make. Jake says that as he doesn't have a match scheduled for Pomp and Circumstance this Sunday, he has been given permission from President Gorilla Monsoon to host an episode of his talk show The Snake Pit at the pay-per-view. He has been pondering who his guest should be, but Greg Valentine's interview last week has him intrigued. He invites Valentine to be his guest on The Snake Pit, and to bring his new mystery Dream Team partner along with him. Rating: 87 JR and Jesse speculate who Valentine's new tag team partner could be. Ventura says he spoke to Valentine earlier in the week but all Valentine would tell him is that the mystery man is a young up and coming superstar with as Valentine put it “limitless potential.” JR then turns his attention to the main event that will take place in a few minutes time, which will see the unlikely pairing of Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage. JR questions if the two adversaries can coexist, but he says they're going to have to if they want to beat The Hart Foundation, who made their intent very clear last week when they attacked Hogan and Savage with chairs. Ventura agrees, and says that the slightest sign of disagreement or even hesitation will be punished by The Hart Foundation, so Hogan and Savage will have to put their animosity behind them. He says that he doesn't think that's going to happen though, and he wouldn't blame Savage if he couldn't put up with working with someone like Hogan. JR says that funnily enough he was going to say the exact opposite, and Ventura looks like he's about to argue when The Hart Foundation's music hits. The Hart Foundation w/ Jimmy Hart vs Hulk Hogan & “Macho Man” Randy Savage w/ Miss Elizabeth Hulk Hogan looks set to start the match in the ring, but Randy Savage argues that he wants to start, and it looks like he just wants a reason to argue with Hogan. Hogan concedes and lets Savage start against Bret Hart, and the team of Hogan and Savage works surprisingly well for the majority of the match as all four men fight an even match. There are some moments where Savage turns to exchange unpleasantries with Hogan, but for the most part these distractions don't affect their performance as a team, until finally they do. Hogan calls for the tag, and Savage obliges by slapping Hogan hard in the chest with an open palm chop. Hogan is understandably unhappy about this and the two men start to seriously argue, and Bret Hart seizes the moment and barges Savage in the back, sending Hogan flying off the apron into the guardrail. Jimmy Hart distracts the referee while Jim Neidhart throws Hogan into the ring steps a few times, before rolling him back into the ring and The Hart Foundation now enjoy a period of dominance, putting on a tag team clinic as they cut the ring in half and isolate Hulk Hogan in their corner. After a few minutes of Hogan being methodically beaten down, including many interferences from Jimmy Hart, Hogan finally rallies when Bret Hart tries to Irish whip him into the Hart Foundation's corner but Hogan puts on the breaks. He is too beaten up to hit any offence of his own, but he just about manages to reverse the Irish whip and send Bret into the corner where Savage is waiting on the apron, and Savage lays some strikes into Bret, giving Hogan some time to recover. Hogan gets up, and runs full force at Bret in the corner, hitting a big splash on Bret but also inadvertently knocking Savage off the apron. Hogan then hits a scoop slam on Bret, starts hyping up the crowd and then runs the ropes ready for the leg drop, but when he hits the rope Jim Neidhart clatters him in the back of the head with Jimmy Hart's megaphone. The referee sees this and has no choice but to call for the bell. Winners by disqualification in 13:02, Hulk Hogan & “Macho Man” Randy Savage Rating: 80 The Hart Foundation relentlessly stomp on Hulk Hogan while he's face down on the mat, while Randy Savage just stands on the outside and looks on. He appears to have no interest in saving Hogan, but Miss Elizabeth desperately pleads with him to get involved and finally he gets into the ring throws Bret Hart out through the ropes, climbs to the top rope and hits a big double axe handle to Bret on the outside. Neidhart continues to stomp Hogan and Savage brawls around the outside of the ring with Bret, until Savage eventually sends Bret face first into the steel guardrail, and then storms over to Howard Finkel and yanks him off his chair. Savage folds up the chair and climbs into the ring, and hits Neidhart over the back with all his strength. Savage and Neidhart are brawling now, and Bret Hart manages to recover his wits and roll back into the ring, just as Hulk Hogan makes his way to his feet, and the two of them start brawling too. In the end, Savage and Hogan both get the better of their opponents and send them both flying out through the ropes looking worse for wear, and Jimmy Hart manages to convince his clients to leave well enough alone, and they slink back up the ramp. Hogan and Savage lock eyes in the ring, and Hogan extends his hand to Savage, but Savage just keeps on glaring at Hogan. After around ten seconds of this stalemate, Savage moves his hand towards Hogan's, but he just slaps it away and takes a couple steps forward and squares up to him, and the show goes off the air with a staredown between the two men who will face off for the World Heavyweight title, and JR excitedly tells us to tune into In Your House 2: Pomp and Circumstance this Sunday to watch these two juggernauts collide. Rating: 86 Show rating: 82

Thank you so much for the positive feedback! Yeah I'd have to say that the Butch/Duggan/Sheik/Volkoff/Slick storyline is definitely one of my favourites from these first few months, and it doesn't hurt that Butch and Duggan have great tag team chemistry. You might get your wish to see Brian Pillman very soon, possibly even the next episode of Superstars 👀 he isn't quite at the popularity that I need him to be to feature regularly, but once he gets there I have some huge plans for him long term. As for Demolition and Slick, we'll have to wait and see what paths they end up taking.

WWF Superstars – June Week 3, 1987 The show opens to Jim Ross and Jesse Ventura sitting at their commentary position, and they run through the exciting night of action in store for us on tonight's episode of WWF Superstars. Billy Jack Haynes takes on Adrian Adonis, we will see two more first round matches in the King of the Ring tournament as King Kong Bundy faces Koko B. Ware and The Honky Tonk Man faces Harley Race, and the main event sees Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat face the Heenan Family's newest member, Haku, after he accepted the challenge Steamboat laid down last week. But up first, a ten man battle royal featuring five tag teams, and the last man standing at the end of the match will earn his team a WWF Tag Team title shot to face The British Bulldogs at In Your House 2: Pomp and Circumstance in two weeks time, and we go to that match right now. The Wild Samoans vs The Young Stallions vs The Killer Bees vs The Rockers vs Demolition The bell rings and the ten men pair off into five pairs, Afa with Marty Jannetty, Brian Blair with Paul Roma, Sika with Shawn Michaels, Ax with Jim Brunzell and Jim Powers with Smash. Before long, both member of Demolition hurl their opponents over the top rope, as Brunzell and Powers are both eliminated. Brian Blair and Paul Roma are brawling near the ropes, and Demolition, who now find themselves with nobody to fight, come up behind them and attempt to bundle them over the top rope. Blair and Roma both manage to hold on and roll back in however, and they try to get Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty's attention to team up, but The Rockers are embroiled in a fight with The Wild Samoans. Blair and Roma settle for teaming up with each other, and they stand and face Demolition in a two on two brawl. Demolition quickly get the better of the encounter and they both attempt to get their man over the top rope. Ax throws Brian Blair to the floor successfully, and Smash tries to do the same to Roma but Roma doesn't let go of Smash and the two go tumbling to the floor together. Meanwhile, Shawn Michaels gets Afa over the top rope and Sika gets Marty Jannetty over, but both men cling on and now Afa and Jannetty start brawling on the apron. Sika and Michaels brawl in the middle of the ring, until Shawn reverses an Irish whip attempt from Sika and sends the Samoan into Afa and Jannetty on the apron, and they both fall to the floor. We're down to the final three, as Ax and Sika are standing on either side of the ring with Shawn Michaels trapped between them. Ax and Sika exchange words and seemingly decide to work together, and they count down from three and both charge Michaels but the Rocker dives out of the way and Ax and Sika collide painfully, head to head. The two brutes turn their ire on each other now, and they brawl towards the ropes where Ax attempts to eliminate Sika. Shawn Michaels sees his opportunity, and he runs the ropes and hits both men with a big double clothesline to eliminate both and win the title shot for his team. Winner in 10:41, Shawn Michaels of The Rockers Rating: 63 We go to “Mean” Gene Okerlund for the first time tonight, and he introduces his guest Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake. Beefcake says he can handle The Million Dollar Man being an arrogant jerk and talking down to him, and he can even handle him cheating to beat him, but he crossed the line when he cut some of Beefcake's beautiful locks last week, and he promises The Million Dollar Man that he is going to get his own back. He is officially laying down a challenge for The Million Dollar Man to face him one on one at Pomp and Circumstance, and he wants a stipulation that if his bodyguard Sid gets involved in any way, The Million Dollar Man will immediately forfeit the match and will have to have his whole head shaved. Rating: 66 King of the Ring – First Round King Kong Bundy w/ Bobby “The Brain” Heenan vs Koko B. Ware This is the ultimate tale of David and Goliath, as the 5 ft 9, 228 pound Koko B. Ware takes on the 458 pound behemoth. Koko is fully aware that he can't match Bundy for strength or power, and so he spends the whole match using he speed to stay out of the bigger man's reach, occasionally darting in to hit the odd strike. Before long the Heenan Family evidently get sick of this, as King Wonderful runs down to the ring to get involved. Unfortunately for Bundy however, Koko's speed allows him to dodge Wonderful's attack, and he inadvertently hits his stablemate instead. Koko seizes the advantage and in the chaos he rolls Bundy up and the referee counts the one.. two.. three! Jim Ross enthusiastically puts over Koko for his heroic upset, and Ventura says the little bird got lucky. Winner in 5:41, Koko B. Ware Rating: 68 We are back again with Mean Gene who is joined this time by Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, who Gene says has asked for this interview, and Gene prompts Valentine to speak his mind. Valentine bemoans his recent failures, in particular losing two Intercontinental title shots and being knocked out of the King of the Ring tournament in the first round. He says that he is accustomed to success and a run like this is foreign territory for him, but he's not going to sit around and mope, he's going to do something about it. He says the he is reforming The Dream Team, but with Brutus Beefcake out of the equation after the events of WrestleMania III where The Dream Team imploded, he's going to need a new partner. To that end he has spent the last two weeks scouring the country for the perfect partner, and he has found just the man for the job. He doesn't let slip who the new partner is, but he promises that the whole WWF will find out very soon, and they aren't ready for the new and improved version of The Dream Team. Rating: 74 We're in President Gorilla Monsoon's office. There's a knock at the door and Monsoon tells the visitor to come in. Miss Elizabeth enters the room and sits down, and Monsoon asks her what he can do for her. Elizabeth says that despite how he might act, she knows that Randy Savage is a good guy at heart, he just needs someone to give him that little push. She says that she understands Savage's drive and determination to hold the World Heavyweight title and she loves him for it, but it's become an obsession and it's completely corrupted him. She says that his obsession makes him paranoid and makes him always see the worst in people, like Hulk Hogan for example. If the World Heavyweight title wasn't hanging over them, Elizabeth really thinks that they would get along, but it seems like Savage is only capable of seeing Hogan as an enemy. Monsoon asks her what he can do, and she reveals that the reason she came here is to ask the president to book a tag team match for next week, where Savage will team with Hogan, because if they have to work together then they'll come to their senses and stop this pointless blood feud. Monsoon says he thinks it's a good idea, and Elizabeth can consider it done. Elizabeth thanks him and leaves his office, and Randy Savage spots her from the end of the corridor and comes running over. He babbles frantically that he's been looking all over the arena for her and he thought she might have been with Hulk Hogan. She exasperatedly asks why he would think that, but Savage has just figured out what room she came out of. He questions what she has done and she tells him, and he almost flies off the handle in his anger but forces himself to be calm when he sees the scared look on Elizabeth's face. He takes a few moments and then says that he'll do it, just for her, and she's the only one that he'd do it for. Rating: 84 JR is excited at the prospect of Hogan and Savage teaming together, but he is very sceptical that the two adversaries can coexist. He says that neither man was lying when they said that Savage is a coiled spring, and he can't see Savage not turning on Hogan in that match. Jesse Ventura says that he would expect nothing less from a superstar of Savage's calibre, he's got his sights set on Hogan's World Heavyweight title, why would Savage waste his time playing happy families? JR then moves on and says that an exciting young wrestler will be making his WWF debut very soon, and he sends to a short video tape hyping the debut. A short vignette shows a statuesque man staring at the camera with an expression that walks the line between sleazy and seductive, while he gyrates his hips to music that sounds straight out of the Chippendales. A message is displayed telling us that the sexiest man in all of sports entertainment, “Ravishing” Rick Rude, is coming to the World Wrestling Federation next week. Rating: 68 Billy Jack Haynes w/ “Superstar” Billy Graham vs Adrian Adonis w/ Jimmy Hart Jimmy Hart tries to get involved here but as we have already seen in his short time managing The British Bulldogs, Billy Graham cancels out the opposing manager's interference, leaving it a fair fight. After a back and forth brawl between two tough competitors, Billy Jack Haynes locks on the full nelson and Adrian Adonis has to tap out. Winner in 9:17 by submission, Billy Jack Haynes Rating: 75 Mean Gene gets into the ring and interviews the victors. Billy Graham says that he has just proven what Billy Jack Haynes was missing last week when he faced The Magnificent Muraco, and he says that if he was at ringside then it would be Haynes preparing for a King of the Ring quarter final match, not Muraco. But there's no point crying over spilt milk, there's only one way to correct what happened last week, and that is to face Muraco one more time with the playing field levelled. Graham lets his client take the mic, and Billy Jack Haynes looks into the camera as he shouts a challenge to The Magnificent Muraco, to face him at In Your House 2: Pomp and Circumstance. Rating: 74 King of the Ring – First Round The Honky Tonk Man w/ Jimmy Hart vs Harley Race It seems like Jimmy Hart is trying to make up for lost time after being denied by Billy Graham a few minutes ago, as he keeps getting involved in this one to keep The Honky Tonk Man on top. As a result, Harley Race can't get any momentum in this match, as whenever it looks like he is going to turn it around Jimmy Hart grabs his foot or does something else nefarious. Harley Race is a much better wrestler than The Honky Tonk Man in every way though, and his quality shines through in the end as he hits a clothesline followed by a diving headbutt, and Hart's attempts to distract the ref are fruitless as Harley Race gets the win and advances to the next round. Winner by pinfall in 9:04, Harley Race Rating: 77 Mean Gene is in the interview area, and he is joined by “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan and “The Natural” Butch Reed, and Gene asks his guests for their thoughts on The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff's actions last week. Duggan says that they are furious about Sheik and Volkoff brutally attacking them, but they are even more furious about how they treated the American flag, some things are sacred and that is a line you just don't cross. Butch Reed then says that if Sheik and Volkoff are so intent on defiling the American flag, then how about they make their tag team match at Pomp and Circumstance a flag match. That's right, the USA vs Iran and the Soviet Union, in front of an arena full of proud Americans. Mean Gene says that he always likes to stay impartial, but he hopes Duggan and Reed stick it to those no good scumbags after what they did last week. He then composes himself enough to send us back to Howard Finkel for the main event. Rating: 74 Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat vs Haku w/ Bobby “The Brain” Heenan To say this match is speed vs power would be doing Haku a disservice, as he is no slouch himself, but that is the way this match goes for the most part. Haku tries to hit his big strikes and power moves, and lock on his devastating Tongan Death Grip finishing hold, but Steamboat always manages to counter or evade him. Eventually, Steamboat gains full control of the match and manages to lock on the Dragon sleeper. Jim Ross' prediction last week that the Heenan Family will look at this match as an opportunity to do some damage to Steamboat ahead of his Intercontinental title defence against Hercules looks like is going to come true as Hercules himself makes his way out and stands on the outside of the ring, and Ricky Steamboat sees this and breaks the hold and stands to face Hercules. Out of nowhere Koko B. Ware comes sprinting out and jumps onto Hercules' back. In the commotion, Haku rolls Ricky Steamboat up from behind and the referee counts one, two.. but Steamboat kicks out, springs to his feet and runs at Haku. He ducks under a chop and rebounds off the rope, hitting Haku with a flying forearm to the head, which staggers him. Steamboat then climbs to the top rope, hits a diving crossbody on Haku, and in one fluid motion turns it into a cover for the one.. two.. three. Winner by pinfall in 10:38, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat Rating: 79 Hercules struggles to shrug Koko off of his back for a few moments, but eventually he manages to haul him over his shoulder and brings him down hard to the floor. Steamboat doesn't miss a beat, and as soon as Hercules is free of Koko, the Dragon slingshots himself over the top rope and onto Hercules. Koko pulls himself up using the apron and leans against the ring, winded, and Haku levels him again with a big baseball slide, and then rolls out of the ring to take the fight to Koko. We go to the break as the four men brawl, Koko with Haku and Steamboat with Hercules. Rating: 68 We come back from the break and Hulk Hogan's music immediately starts playing, and the roof is blown off the arena. He flexes and poses his way to the ring, and then calls for a microphone. He says that as always he has been watching the show, and he saw what Miss Elizabeth did earlier, and he has come out here because he wants to invite “The Macho Man” Randy Savage to talk brother. Randy Savage doesn't need asking twice, as he makes his purposeful way to the ring, followed by the lovely Miss Elizabeth. Hogan starts talking as soon as Savage climbs the steps to the ring, almost as if he doesn't want to give the Macho Man a chance to get in his face like he has in recent weeks. Hogan reiterates that he saw what happened earlier, and he is all for teaming with the Macho Man brother, but he says that Savage is going to have to put his animosity behind him if they're ever going to be able to work as a team. As soon as he says this Savage aggressively rips the mic out of Hogan's hand, and says that he couldn't care less how well they will work together as a team, if it wasn't for Elizabeth's sake he would already have made Hogan into a bloody smear on the floor ohh yeahh. Savage snatching the microphone and his less than amicable words have wiped the easy going smile from Hogan's face, and he looks annoyed now. Hogan takes the mic back, and says that he was willing to play nice but clearly that isn't possible with someone like Savage. He turns to address Elizabeth, and he says that it was a nice try but her man is lost cause brother, and she is just wasting her time. This angers Savage and he steps up to Hogan, Hogan doesn't step back and a brawl threatens to break out. Out of nowhere, The Hart Foundation rush the ring and attack Hogan and Savage from behind with chairs, Bret Hart on Hulk Hogan and Jim Neidhart on Randy Savage. Hogan and Savage both fall to the mat, and The Hart Foundation give them one more vicious chair shot each for good luck, and Bret Hart rolls back out of the ring. Jim Neidhart gives a smug laugh at the distressed look on Elizabeth's face, and then follows his brother in law out of the ring, and The Hart Foundation leave back up the ramp to a chorus of boos. Neidhart shouts at the camera that The Hart Foundation are putting themselves forward to be Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage's opponents next week, and they leave back through the curtain while Elizabeth drops to her knees to check on both Savage and Hogan as the show ends. Rating: 100 Show rating: 84 WWF Challenge notes: - The Rockers defeat The Young Stallions - Wild Samoans sick of Tito Santana and Rick Martel calling them cowards, want a match next week - “Rockin” Robin Roberts defeats Candi Devine - Jake Roberts says he knows that Robin won't let the family down at Pomp and Circumstance - Sting defeats Tom Zenk - Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff accept Butch Reed & Jim Duggan's challenge for a flag match - Nikolai Volkoff defeats Hillbilly Jim - Jake Roberts defeats Tiger Chung Lee

Personally I'm not underwhelmed by the roster at all, I like the idea of you trying to make chicken salad out of chicken shit with all the homegrown guys, it kinda gives me Ring Ka King vibes.

Just caught up, good stuff. "The Connecticut Blue Blood" Hearst-Helmsley Vs. The British Bulldog Jerry "The King" Lawler Vs. "The Blue Chipper" Rocky Maivia "The King Of Harts" Owen Hart Vs. "The Mighty" Yokozuna "The Deranged" Mankind Vs. "The Master And Ruler Of The World" Sycho Sid

WWF Superstars – June Week 2, 1987 Our announce team of Jim Ross and Jesse “The Body” Ventura welcome us to another episode of WWF Superstars, and they run through the exciting night of action in store for us tonight. Bret “The Hitman” Hart will take on George “The Animal” Steele, “The Natural” Butch Reed and “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan will team up for the first time to take on Demolition, and Billy Jack Haynes is set to face The Magnificent Muraco in the first round of the King of the Ring tournament. To cap out the show our main event will feature the WWF World Heavyweight champion Hulk Hogan facing “The Ugandan Giant” Kamala in a non-title bout, but before all of that we will see the Junkyard Dog face The Heenan Family's Hercules in a King of the Ring first round matchup, and we go to Howard Finkel for the introductions for that match right now. King of the Ring – First Round Junkyard Dog vs Hercules w/ Bobby “The Brain” Heenan JYD's bad blood with the Heenan Family continues here, and he isn't going to let the opportunity to be in the ring with a Family member go to waste, as he beats Hercules all around the ring right from the first bell. After a couple minutes of this, Bobby Heenan grabs his foot and trips him, and the momentum of the match swings. The rest of the match is a back and forth brawl, until Hercules hits a big clothesline and Bobby Heenan gets up onto the ring apron which distracts the referee. This allows Hercules to pick up both his and Junkyard Dog's chains, and he wraps one around each of his hands. He waits for JYD to get back to his feet and then he boxes his ears with the chains around his fists, and then throws the chains out of the ring and makes the cover while JYD is out cold. Heenan gets off the apron and the ref turns around to count the one two three for Hercules to advance. Winner in 6:48 by pinfall, Hercules Rating: 70 After the match, two other members of the Heenan Family, Haku and King Kong Bundy, make their way out to the ring. The three men, with the encouragement of Bobby Heenan, savagely lay into the Junkyard Dog while he's on the ground and helpless to resist. Koko B. Ware sprints down the ramp like a bolt of lightning in an effort to save JYD, but Hercules sees him coming and rolls out of the ring, and Koko runs straight into a massive clothesline. Security come running out a few seconds after Koko, and Heenan tells Bundy to get out and face them, and together he and Hercules manage to hold off the security team. Meanwhile in the ring, at the behest of Bobby Heenan, Haku lays JYD's chain across his back, climbs up to the top rope and puts his full weight behind a knee drop onto the chain. JYD screams with pain as the Heenan Family finally leave of their own accord. Rating: 73 JR is absolutely disgusted with The Heenan Family's actions, and not for the first time. Jesse Ventura is usually reluctant to criticise the Family's actions, but this time he can't help but agree with JR that they went way too far. He says that the Junkyard Dog may be seriously injured after this, and JR says that they will try to keep us updated when they get any news on the matter. JR then sends us to some footage that was captured earlier tonight, as “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth entered the arena. Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth get out of the back of their car, and it's clear that they are mid-argument. Elizabeth's voice is full of exasperation as she says she has told him a thousand times that Hulk Hogan was just saving her from Jimmy Hart last week, that Hogan's intentions were good and that there is nothing untoward going on at all. This doesn't seem to satisfy Savage at all, and he responds that he has told Elizabeth a thousand times that he can take care of her himself, that she doesn't need anybody else to save her because she's got him. Elizabeth tenderly says that she knows Savage would have saved her, but he was focused on winning his match and he can't always have his eyes everywhere, so he should be grateful to Hogan for helping, he has no reason to be jealous. Savage mutters something under his breath that might be a grudging agreement, but when Elizabeth suggests that he should try burying the hatchet and being friends with Hogan, Savage tells her to stop right there immediately, and Elizabeth seems to realise that she isn't going to get anywhere with that one and so she stays quiet. Rating: 85 Jesse Ventura looks as though he has just sucked on a lemon, and he doesn't hold back his incredulity and distaste at Elizabeth's suggestion that Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan actually be friends. He says that this is the World Wrestling Federation, there is no time for making friends, especially with someone like Hulk Hogan, and double especially if you are right now as we speak trying to take his World title away from him. JR agrees that there is probably too much baggage for them to ever be friends, but he can't fault Miss Elizabeth's optimism. He then sends us to the ring for the next match. Bret “The Hitman” Hart w/ Jimmy Hart vs George “The Animal” Steele George “The Animal” Steele is up to all his old tricks here, as he lives up to his nickname by proudly displaying his ludicrous green tongue and munching on the turnbuckle pads. Initially Bret Hart tolerates this, but before long he kicks things up a notch and takes Steele to the mat, methodically working his legs until finally he locks on the sharpshooter and The Animal has nowhere to go, and he is forced to tap. Winner by submission in 7:16, Bret “The Hitman” Hart Rating: 70 After the match we go to the backstage interview area, where “Mean” Gene Okerlund is waiting. He introduces his guest Harley Race, and asks Race about King Wonderful and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan's comments last week, when they questioned why Race has entered the King of the Ring tournament if he's so against King Wonderful wearing a robe and crown. Race says that he intends to win the tournament, and show that to be the King of the Ring is to prove that you are the best professional wrestler in the world, it's not an excuse to prance around in a stupid little costume. Mean Gene then sends back to the announcers for the next match Rating: 80 “The Natural” Butch Reed & “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan vs Demolition w/ Luna Vachon Jim Duggan brings his American flag to this one, as he and Butch Reed look to show that they are now a united front as they team together for the first time. It's hard to imagine a tougher set of opponents than Demolition for your first ever match as a tag team, and that proves to be the case as the permanent team dominate much of this match. After a spell of Demolition isolating Butch Reed in their corner, Ax climbs to the top rope and Smash delivers a backbreaker to Butch, leaving him draped across his knee. Ax jumps off the top rope to deliver an elbow drop to Butch's head, but in a great display of strength and determination Butch sits up at the last second. He hits Smash with an elbow to the face and makes a break for his partner, and he tags Duggan in and he cleans house. Duggan hits some shoulder charges and chop blocks, and it looks like he's about to hit Ax with a big clothesline, when Nikolai Volkoff and The Iron Sheik run in, followed by Slick. The referee prevents The Iron Sheik from getting in the ring, but while he is occupied he doesn't see Volkoff roll in on the other side, and he hits Duggan from behind with a big double axe handle and then rolls back out. Demolition are back on top now, and once again they attempt to hit the Demolition Decapitation on Jim Duggan this time, and this time they succeed, and Smash makes the cover. Winners by pinfall in 8:06, Demolition Rating: 71 Nikolai Volkoff grabs Butch Reed from behind and holds his arms behind his back, while The Iron Sheik rolls out of the ring and grabs Jim Duggan's American flag. Slick tries to stand in Sheik's way but Sheik shoves him one handed into the guardrail, and Slick isn't going to put up a fight. Sheik gets back into the ring, and drives the bottom of the flagpole hard into the forehead of Butch Reed a number of times, and when security come running out Volkoff lets him drop to the floor, his face a crimson mask. Security and the medical team pull Duggan and Reed out of the ring and help them to the back, leaving Sheik and Volkoff in the ring with the American flag. The Iron Sheik spits on the flag, and then Nikolai Volkoff blows snot onto it. Sheik then simulates wiping his butt with the flag, drops it on the floor and Volkoff stomps on it and grinds it into the mat. The two men then both spit on the flag one more time before leaving up the ramp to an angry chorus of boos, and Slick looks aghast that his clients would do such a thing. Rating: 63 JR and Jesse are equally as upset as everyone else at The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff's treatment of the flag, and they say that they're sure that Jim Duggan and Butch Reed are not going to stand for that, and judging by Slick's face he might be having second thoughts too. Jesse Ventura then says that they've got something to lighten the mood, as we are going to hear from The Million Dollar Man! JR's mood does not look lightened, but he sends us to the clip all the same. The Million Dollar Man is at a high end barbers getting his hair cut. He talks to the camera as he addresses Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake calling him a coward and demanding he be at the arena this week. He says that Beefcake is in no position to make demands of The Million Dollar Man, and the only barber he will ever value the opinion of is Giovanni here. We hear a ding as a customer opens the door to enter, and the camera pans to reveal that it is the man himself, Brutus Beefcake. He says he warned The Million Dollar Man that he'd find him if he didn't show up at the arena, and then he launches himself at The Million Dollar Man who is still sitting in his barbers chair tucked under the cloak. Beefcake knocks the chair over and rains punches down onto The Million Dollar Man as he tries desperately to break free, and Beefcake taunts him by saying that he saw Sid sat in the car down the road, nobody is here to save him. The Million Dollar Man extricates himself finally and the two men brawl around the shop for a few minutes, scattering barber's equipment and spraying foams and gels all over the place. The Million Dollar Man slips comically on a puddle of gel and lands flat on his back, and Beefcake pins him down with his knees on his arms and picks up a pair of hair clippers that have been knocked to the floor. He turns the clippers on, and tauntingly moves them closer and closer to The Million Dollar Man's head, and he is close to shaving a strip out of his head when The Million Dollar Man escapes at the last second. The Million Dollar Man somehow manages to wrench the clippers out of Beefcake's grasp, and he aims a wild swing at Beefcake's head and manages to catch a few locks of his hair. Beefcake looks absolutely furious and The Million Dollar Man looks like he knows he's in trouble. The Million Dollar Man turns tail and runs out of the shop and down the street yelling “Sid!”, and Beefcake gives chase as Giovanni looks like he's about to burst into tears at the state of his shop. Rating: 65 We come out of the clip to Mean Gene, who introduces his guest Koko B. Ware. He asks Koko if he has heard anything about the condition of the Junkyard Dog, and he confirms that he has spoken with doctors and they say that JYD will be out of action for at least a few weeks. Koko says that what Haku did to JYD earlier cannot go unanswered, and he knows that he isn't as big or as tough as Haku, but all the same he is issuing a challenge to Haku to face him one on one at Pomp and Circumstance, for himself but also for JYD. Rating: 56 King of the Ring – First Round Billy Jack Haynes vs The Magnificent Muraco w/ Mr Fuji Last week Billy Jack Haynes criticised The Magnificent Muraco for cheating to beat him last time they fought, and that looks to have fired Muraco up as he dominates the early proceedings. Muraco gets Haynes in series of painful looking holds while shouting things like “call me a cheat?”, until eventually Haynes uses his power and the energy of the crowd to break free. The rest of the match is even with Haynes probably getting the better of it, and finally he manages to lock on the full nelson. He violently shakes Muraco back and forth, but unfortunately a stray arm from Muraco catches the referee square in the face and he hits the deck. Muraco taps but the bell doesn't ring, and Haynes drops his opponent to tend to the ref. He gets the ref back up onto his hands and knees and when he turns around Muraco's manager Mr Fuji is on the apron and he throws a handful of salt right into his eyes, and he stumbles blindly right into Muraco's path, and Muraco hoists him up and hits a Hawaiian Hammer piledriver and makes the cover. The referee comes back to his senses and counts the pin for the one two three, and The Magnificent Muraco advances to the next round. Winner by pinfall in 9:39, The Magnificent Muraco Rating: 73 We come back from the break to find Billy Jack Haynes sitting in the locker room, clearly angry at what has just transpired. “Superstar” Billy Graham pokes his head in the door and asks if he can come in to talk, and Haynes nods. Graham points out the obvious, that despite Haynes saying he wouldn't let Muraco cheat his way to victory again, that is exactly what happened. Haynes asks Graham what his point is, and Graham says that the difference in that match was Muraco's manager Mr Fuji, so what Billy Jack Haynes needs is a manager in his own corner. Graham says he has guided The British Bulldogs to the tag titles in only a couple short months of managing them, and now he wants to offer his services to Billy Jack Haynes. Haynes only needs to consider the offer for a few seconds, and then he shakes Billy Graham's hand. Rating: 62 We go back to the interview area where Mean Gene is joined by “The Macho Man” Randy Savage, and Gene asks his guest about his current situation with the World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan. Randy Savage brings up Hogan calling him a coiled spring last week, and he says that Hogan is one hundred and ten percent right with that assessment yeahh. The Macho Man produces a spring from somewhere up his sleeve, and he says that he is filled to the brim with potential energy, yeah, and one wrong move will cause him to spring to action, and he hands the spring to Mean Gene. He brings up all this talk of people using his weakness for Miss Elizabeth to lure him into a trap, but he says that if there is gonna be a trap, it will be the Macho Man that springs a trap on Hulk Hogan brother oh yeahhh, and he reveals another spring and hands it to Gene. He then makes yet another spring appear from nowhere and he tells Gene to take note of its spiral shape, yeah. He says that Hulk Hogan is flying high right now, yeah and make no mistake about that, but the Macho Man is going to take aim and shoot him from the sky yeah, and Hulk Hogan will come spiralling down to the ground in a blaze of fire, and the smoke will spiral up to the sky oh yeah, and that smoke will be seen from every corner of the professional wrestling world. He concludes by saying that the WWF fans can watch this all happen live and in colour at In Your House: Pomp and Circumstance, the Spring spectacular ohhhh yeahhhhhh, and he hands the last spring to Mean Gene and walks away. Mean Gene thanks his guest and says he is on rare form, a spring in his step if you will, and at these words one last spring comes flying into the shot and hits Gene in the chest, and a voice from off screen shouts “DIG IT!” Rating: 91 After Savage has left, Ricky Steamboat comes in and says he's got something to say, and he apologises to Gene and says it won't take long. Steamboat says he is accepting the challenge that Bobby Heenan and Hercules issued last week for an Intercontinental title rematch, but he says that they will have to wait until Pomp and Circumstance. Before they get to that though, he wants to teach that savage Haku a lesson for what he did to the Junkyard Dog earlier, and he is officially challenging Haku to a match next week. He says that after Greg Valentine managed to manipulate and sneak attack his way to a title shot recently, he's not putting the title on the line against Haku because he's not going to let that kind of behaviour be rewarded again, but he says that he knows Haku will still accept because otherwise the whole world will see him as a coward. Rating: 79 Jesse Ventura questions why on Earth the Heenan family would accept that match if the title isn't going to be on the line, but JR suggests that knowing Bobby Heenan, he will likely see it as a free shot at Steamboat ahead of Hercules' title shot at Pomp and Circumstance. JR says that Steamboat had better have some kind of backup next week because if Haku accepts that match then it won't be a fair one on one match. JR then says it's time for our main event, and on cue Kamala makes his way to the ring. Hulk Hogan vs Kamala w/ Kim Chee A bog-standard Hulk hogan match here, as Kamala has the better of most of it, and eventually he grabs Hogan by the neck with both hands and holds him in the air in a chokelift. Hogan struggles for a while and looks like he is fading, but the energy from the crowd spurs him on to bring a knee up into the gut of Kamala and he breaks the hold. Kamala then hits Hogan in the head with an overhead chop, but Hogan just shakes his head, and The Ugandan Giant's fate is sealed as Hogan hits him with some punches, and then a scoop slam followed by the big leg drop for the one two three. Kim Chee berates Kamala all the way back up the ramp. Winner by pinfall in 8:55, Hulk Hogan Rating: 80 After the match, Hulk Hogan calls for a microphone, and before he can even raise it to his lips Randy Savage is making his way down the ramp, Miss Elizabeth in tow, and Hogan laughs and says Savage is right on time brother. Savage gets into the ring and squares up to Hogan, and Hogan gives him a gentle shove and Savage does back off a few steps. Hogan says that he saw Savage's cute little interview earlier, but he also saw his and Elizabeth's argument before that, and he finds that a whole lot more interesting brother. Hogan says that he's just been through a war with Andre The Giant and the rest of the Heenan Family, and if he's honest he likes Elizabeth's idea that they just bury the hatchet and make their World Heavyweight title match a friendly one for a change. Hogan then holds out a hand in apparent friendship, but Savage slaps the hand away and steps right back up to Hogan. Hogan tries softly pushing him away again but Savage responds with a much more aggressive shove, and Hogan then responds in kind. Savage comes back at Hogan with a punch this time, and though Hogan's facial expression looks reluctant, it seems like he can see no way to avoid a fight, so he punches Savage back and a brawl ensues. While the two men fight, Miss Elizabeth storms back up the ramp with a look of grim determination that seems to say she's sick of the situation, and she's going to take matters into her own hands. Rating: 100 Show rating: 85 WWF Challenge notes: - Flyin' Brian defeats Raymond Rougeau - Butch Reed & Jim Duggan defeat Tiger Chung Lee & “Mean” Mark Callous - “Rockin” Robin Roberts defeats Judy Martin - Sting defeats Corporal Kirchner - Tito Santana and Rick Martel issue another open challenge, Demolition answer - Demolition defeat Tito Santana & Rick Martel - The Wild Samoans run out and attack Santana and Martel

WWF Superstars – June Week 1, 1987 JR and Jesse welcome everybody to tonight's episode of Superstars, and they run through the night of action in store for us. The new arrival in the women's division Sensational Sherri will make her debut when she faces Velvet McIntyre for a spot in the match for the vacant WWF Women's title, The Honky Tonk Man faces Brutus “The Barber" Beefcake and The Wild Samoans challenge The British Bulldogs for their WWF Tag Team titles. We will also see the King of the Ring tournament kick off tonight with the first two first round matches, as our main event will see “Macho Man” Randy Savage taking on Adrian Adonis, but up first we have Greg “The Hammer” Valentine against “The Natural” Butch Reed. King of the Ring – First Round Greg “The Hammer” Valentine w/ “Luscious” Johnny V vs “The Natural” Butch Reed Butch Reed's manager Slick is not at ringside here as the King of the Ring kicks off with a battle of brains against brawn. Greg Valentine starts this match much less tentatively than he has in recent weeks, as the two men get into a collar and elbow tie up. It doesn't take long for Butch Reed's power to overwhelm Valentine however and he gets thrown halfway across the ring, and after that he becomes much more cautious again. Eventually Butch Reed manages to get a hold of Valentine and hits him with some power moves, and he dominates the last few minutes of the match until he hits a gorilla press slam and makes the cover for the one two three to advance in the tournament. Winner in 10:49 by pinfall, “The Natural” Butch Reed Rating: 76 We come out of the match to find “Mean” Gene Okerlund in the backstage interview area, and he welcomes his guests at this time, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan alongside Hercules and the newest member of the Heenan Family, Haku. Heenan says that he is standing here with the number one contender to the WWF Intercontinental title. Hercules' title shot was cut short through no fault of his own, when that meddler Greg Valentine hit him in the back with a chair. Heenan says that if you look at the record books, you will find that Hercules scored a win over the champion Ricky Steamboat, so he deserves another title shot. Mean Gene says it's hard to argue with that assessment, and then he asks about the situations with both the Junkyard Dog and Koko B. Ware. Heenan says that their issue is with Junkyard Dog, and Koko B. Ware doesn't need to get his little self involved, but if Koko insists on going up against the Heenan Family just like the Junkyard Dog has, then it won't end well for either of them. They then walk off and Mean Gene sends us back to the announcers for the next match. Rating: 75 Velvet McIntyre vs Sensational Sherri Sensational Sherri immediately impresses on her debut as she controls the first few minutes, but Velvet McIntyre proves she is no slouch as she fights her way back into the match. The match is even for a while, until the two women start exchanging chops to the chest back and forth, and Sherri ends the exchange with a big slap to Velvet's face. This galvanises Velvet, and she makes Sherri regret her decision as she throws her this way and that, taking firm control of the match for the first time. Velvet Irish whips Sherri into the corner and follows up with a big running forearm, and then climbs to the top rope and gets onto Sherri's shoulders, setting up for the McIntyre Roll. Sherri walks dazedly forward, but then out of nowhere she spins McIntyre around and brings her down with a powerbomb, and then runs off the ropes to deliver a big splash and make the pin. Winner in 6:33 by pinfall, Sensational Sherri Rating: 61 After the match, Sherri's opponent for the WWF Women's title at In Your House 2: Pomp and Circumstance “Rockin” Robin Roberts enters the ring and offers Sherri a handshake, but Sherri pulls her hand away with disdain and leaves the ring to the boos of the crowd. Rating: 43 We now go to The Million Dollar Man, who is sat with his bodyguard Sid in a lavish living room of an extravagant house. He says that Brutus Beefcake was one hundred percent correct last week when he suggested that The Million Dollar Man's money helped him win the match. He says it proves what he said before, that money can buy anything, and some day soon it will buy him the World Heavyweight Championship, and then he won't have to waste his time dealing with gutter dwellers like Brutus Beefcake. Rating: 69 Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake vs The Honky Tonk Man w/ Jimmy Hart Interestingly Jimmy Hart is here at ringside with The Honky Tonk Man, and it seems like they must have patched things up after Honky threw a snake filled sack at his manager a couple of weeks ago. Ventura says he's not surprised, he thinks Jimmy Hart would appreciate the ingenuity rather than hold it against his client. As for the match, it is a low key affair with each man getting about as much offence as the other, and eventually Beefcake manages to lock on the sleeper hold and The Honky Tonk Man has no other option than to tap out, despite Jimmy Hart's efforts to encourage him to break free. Winner in 7:43 by submission, Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake Rating: 67 After The Honky Tonk Man and Jimmy Hart leave, Beefcake calls for a microphone to be handed to him. Beefcake accuses The Million Dollar Man of hiding in his mansion tonight, and challenges him to be in the arena next week and face him again in the middle of the ring. Beefcake promises that if The Million Dollar Man doesn't show up next week, then Beefcake will have to take the fight to him, wherever he is. Rating: 69 We go to the backstage interview area where Mean Gene is joined by the World Heavyweight Champion, Hulk Hogan. Gene asks Hogan about the situation between him and the challenger apparent to the World Heavyweight title, the “Macho Man” Randy Savage. "Well let me tell you something, Mean Gene!" Hogan says that he understands that Savage is protective of Miss Elizabeth brother, but he has got to calm down and stop flying off the handle every time somebody even mentions her name. He says Savage should take Liz's advice and try to keep his emotions in check brother, because in this sport, especially in the World Wrestling Federation which some of the most dangerous superstars in the world call home, somebody at some point will use Savage's wicked temper and his love for Miss Elizabeth against him. He goes on to say that Savage won't have to worry about Hogan doing that, but from the way Savage has been acting lately it seems like Hogan should be worried about Savage. He says Savage is a coiled spring that could go off at any second, and Hogan will need to be on alert twenty four seven brother. He says that in order to keep an eye on Savage, he will have the best seat in the house for Savage's match later tonight, right at the commentary booth brother. Rating: 82 JR and Jesse Ventura discuss Hogan's remarks. JR says that Hogan is absolutely right, Savage is wearing his heart on his sleeve and broadcasting to the whole World Wrestling Federation that Miss Elizabeth is his weakness, and sooner or later somebody will exploit that. Jesse says that Savage is absolutely fine, he is one of the best in the world and he can handle anyone that comes for him, but JR asks if Savage can handle someone coming for Elizabeth? Ventura says that that won't happen, but JR isn't so sure. They are about to send us over to the next match but they get word that there is something happening backstage. Butch Reed and Jim Duggan manage to catch Slick somewhere in the back. Butch appeals to his manager to leave The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff and join his and Jim Duggan's side in the fight. Slick looks unsure and he says as much, saying he feels like he has been backed into a corner and to tell the truth he doesn't have any idea where his loyalties should lie. Butch looks less than satisfied with this answer, and he says that Slick had better think long and hard about it, and then he and Duggan leave Slick standing alone and looking desperate. Rating: 65 WWF World Tag Team Championship The British Bulldogs (c) w/ “Superstar” Billy Graham vs The Wild Samoans w/ King Curtis Iaukea The British Bulldogs' second title defence is a much tougher challenge than their first against The Killer Bees, and that shows here as the Bulldogs aren't able to assert their dominance. The Wild Samoans aren't able to assert their dominance either, with the exception of one fairly short period of isolating Dynamite Kid, but an athletic dart across the ring and a hot tag to Davey Boy puts an end to that in short order. Most of the match is a back and forth affair, and the few times King Curtis Iaukea looks like he might get involved to sway the momentum in his team's direction, a glower or a knuckle crack from “Superstar” Billy Graham makes him think better of it. Just as it looks like the Samoans might finally be gaining full control of the match, Dynamite Kid reverses a headlock and sends Sika head first into Afa, sending the latter flying off the apron, and then Dynamite Kid tags his partner in. Davey Boy hits a big running powerslam to Sika and Dynamite kid comes off the top with a diving headbutt, and Davey Boy makes the cover to retain the titles. Winners by pinfall in 9:07, and still WWF Tag Team Champions, The British Bulldogs Rating: 75 We return again to Mean Gene who is joined this time by Billy Jack Haynes, and Gene asks Haynes for his thoughts on his King of the Ring first round match against The Magnificent Muraco next week. Haynes says that when they last faced off against each other nearly two months ago, The “Magnificent” Muraco proved that he isn't so Magnificent when he shamelessly cheated to win the match, but Haynes promises that he won't let it happen again, and he will be the one going through to the quarter finals, and then all the way to the crown. Rating: 62 Billy Jack Haynes leaves and Mean Gene looks like he's going to send back to JR and Jesse, but King Wonderful enters the interview area with his manager Bobby Heenan in tow. Gene says that they don't have an interview scheduled but King Wonderful arrogantly plucks the microphone out of his hand. The King says that he cannot allow Harley Race's disrespect to stand. First, Race calls the King an embarrassment to the sport of professional wrestling, and then he has the impertinence to decline to call him by his rightful name of King Wonderful. Heenan then takes over and he calls Harley Race a hypocrite, pointing out that King Harley Race came long before King Wonderful, and no matter what he says now, Race enjoyed every minute of playing that role. Heenan questions that if Harley Race is such a purist all of a sudden, then why has he entered the King of the Ring tournament again? Why does he want to win a crown and a robe? They then leave and Mean Gene belatedly sends us back to the announcers for the main event. Rating: 76 King of the Ring – First Round Adrian Adonis w/ Jimmy Hart vs “Macho Man” Randy Savage w/ Miss Elizabeth Just as he promised earlier, Hulk Hogan is out on commentary for this one. The match starts and Jim Ross asks Hogan about his words earlier tonight about Savage and Elizabeth. Savage and Adonis immediately start brawling as soon as the bell goes, with Savage coming out on top and knocking Adonis to the ground. Savage then climbs to the top rope, looking for the elbow drop to end this one in record time, but he spots Hulk Hogan out the corner of his eye gesturing towards Miss Elizabeth while he answers JR's questions, and Savage angrily jumps down and makes his way over to the commentary position. Jesse Ventura all but ducks for cover after how Savage manhandled him last week, but Savage only has eyes for Hulk Hogan. He points a finger at Hogan and then makes a “bring it” gesture, but Hogan tells Savage to calm down and that he is just proving Hogan's point that Savage is too emotional when it comes to Elizabeth. Just as he says this, Adrian Adonis comes up behind Savage and hits him with a big forearm in the back, indeed proving Hogan's point. Adonis rolls Savage back in the ring, and enjoys a period of dominance until Savage fights back with Elizabeth's encouragement and the match is even for a while until Savage turns it in his favour and eventually hits a scoop slam on Adonis and climbs the rope again, this time to end it for real. Jimmy Hart looks desperately about, and a devilish idea pops into his head when he sees Miss Elizabeth. He moves over to her and grabs her from behind, shaking her around a bit, but Randy Savage now only has eyes for his opponent and he drops the elbow to get the one two three and advance to the next round of the King of the Ring tournament. Winner by pinfall in 10:57, “Macho Man” Randy Savage Rating: 82 As the referee is counting the pin, Hulk Hogan gets up from his seat at commentary and runs over to Jimmy Hart and Elizabeth's tussle, and puts a stop to it by punching Hart in the face. Hogan then puts his hands on Liz's upper arms and asks her if she's okay, and she nods. Randy Savage is done celebrating and he notices Hulk Hogan standing outside the ring with his hands on Miss Elizabeth, and his expression contorts into a grimace of rage. He jumps out of the ring and roughly shoves Hogan, and then points an accusatory finger at Hogan's face. Hogan holds his arms wide in a gesture of innocence, but he can't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation. This of course doesn't help with Savage's mood, and he starts to step dangerously towards Hogan, while Hogan backs off without a trace of a smile anymore. Miss Elizabeth follows the two men with a look of panic, desperately trying to explain to Savage what happened, but he doesn't seem to hear anything as the show goes off the air as Hogan stops backing away and the two men start to throw punches. Raing: 80 Show rating: 80 WWF Challenge notes: - Tito Santana and Rick Martel defeat The Young Stallions after the Stallions answer Santana & Martel's open challenge - Santana & Martel say they expected The Wild Samoans to answer the challenge, but it seems like they are cowards who only fight with sneak attacks - King Wonderful says he hasn't entered King of the Ring because he doesn't need to prove that he's the King, and whoever wins the tournament will just be a cheap imitation - Sting defeats Jumpin' Jim Brunzell - “Rockin” Robin Roberts says she may seem sweet and innocent, but Sensational Sherri will see how mean she can get come the PPV - “Rockin” Robin Roberts defeats Debbie Combs - Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake defeats “Cowboy” Bob Orton

WWF Superstars – May Week 4, 1987 JR and Jesse welcome us to the show, and run through tonight's card. Junkyard Dog faces the new mystery member of the Heenan Family, Nikolai Volkoff takes on “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, Harley Race will face “Cowboy” Bob Orton and tonight's main event will see World Heavyweight champion Hulk Hogan face off with The Iron Sheik. Out of nowhere, the Intercontinental champion Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat comes out and makes his way to the ring unannounced, and calls for a microphone. He invites Greg Valentine out, and Valentine obliges and comes to the entranceway. Steamboat says that after what Valentine did last week when he interfered in his title defence against Hercules and purposely got Steamboat disqualified, Steamboat can already see that Valentine isn't going to let the issue go. Steamboat knows that Valentine is going to continue sticking his oar in where it doesn't belong, and he's only going to stop when he gets what he wants. Well, Steamboat is the only man who can give Valentine what he wants, so he is laying down the challenge. Steamboat tells Valentine to get in the ring right now and face him with the Intercontinental title on the line, and they can end this once and for all. Rating: 75 WWF Intercontinental Championship Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat vs Greg “The Hammer” Valentine w/ “Luscious” Johnny V As Ricky Steamboat was the one to issue this challenge, you would think Greg Valentine would not be quite as well prepared as the champion, but he makes up for that by being very cautious in the early stages. He keeps his default position a few strides away from Steamboat, occasionally darting in for a strike or an attempted takedown, but whenever Steamboat is about to get the better of him he retreats again, and Steamboat doesn't press him. After a few minutes Steamboat has clearly had enough of the caginess and out of nowhere takes a few quick steps towards Valentine and peppers him with lightning fast chops. This forces Valentine's hand, and he finally takes the fight back to Steamboat. The match is very back and forth from this point, with each man having spells of offence but neither able to dominate. Whenever Valentine has the advantage, he always works the legs of Steamboat, and as the match goes on Steamboat's movement gets slower and he stops attempting high flying moves. It turns into a mat based clinic for the final few minutes, as Valentine does everything in his power to lock on the Figure Four leglock, and finally he does manage to apply the hold. Steamboat growls in pain and pounds the mat with both hands, as the crowd wills him on to escape. Eventually, Steamboat manages to turn Valentine over onto his front, reversing the pressure onto Valentine's legs. Valentine starts crawling towards the ropes, but before he can Steamboat releases the hold and scrambles over to Valentine, rolls him onto his side and locks in the cross faced chicken wing. Valentine gives up any hope of reaching the rope, and after a few seconds he also gives up the match by tapping on Steamboat's arm. Winner by submission in 14:29, and still WWF Intercontinental Champion, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat. Rating: 82 Following the title match, President Gorilla Monsoon makes his way to the ring with a microphone in his hand, and he says he has some exciting announcements to make. First of all, he announces that following the success of the King of the Ring tournaments that have been held the last couple of years, there will be a dedicated King of the Ring pay-per-view this year, held in the last week of July. The sixteen-man tournament will start next week and matches will be held each week on Superstars throughout the next two months, and the pay-per-view itself will play host to the semi finals and final of the tournament. A bracket is then put up on the screen showing all participants in the tournament and their possible routes to the finals. Monsoon then says he has one more exciting announcement to make. He says that as the president of the World Wrestling Federation it usually falls to him to decide which WWF superstars will face off against each other, and when and where these matches are going to take place. But when the superstars take it into their own hands to make the matches themselves, he is not going to stand in their way. That's right, Monsoon says he is delighted to confirm that Hulk Hogan's next challenger for his WWF World Heavyweight Championship will be none other than the “Macho Man” Randy Savage, and that huge match will take place four weeks from now, at In Your House 2: Pomp and Circumstance! Rating: 84 The commentators express their excitement that the big clash between Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage has been made official and then they look through the bracket for the King of the Ring tournament, and make predictions on who they think will win it. JR says it's an incredibly strong lineup and it showcases just how full of talent the WWF roster really is, but he says it's hard to look past Jake Roberts, Randy Savage and Harley Race, and he says if he had to put money on it it would be one of them. Speaking of money, Jesse Ventura perhaps unsurprisingly chooses his new favourite wrestler The Million Dollar Man. JR then tells us that it is time for the next match which will see Junkyard Dog take on the new member of the Heenan Family, and JR and Jesse are eager to find out who the mystery man is going to be. Bobby Heenan comes out first, and is followed by a man who has been on a tear recently, including a win in a handicap match over The Young Stallions on the pre-show of In Your House a couple of weeks ago. The new member of the Heenan Family is Haku, and Jesse Ventura says that he is a very shrewd acquisition by Bobby Heenan, and he sees big things in Haku's future under Heenan's guidance. Junkyard Dog vs Haku w/ Bobby “The Brain” Heenan This match is an even brawl. The closing stretch sees both men going back and forth with a series of strong strikes. First Haku hits a forearm, then JYD hits his own. Haku delivers a huge chop to JYD's chest, and JYD winces and clenches his fists in pain, but then responds with a chop of his own that does just as much damage. Next Haku punches JYD in the face and then shouts at JYD while pointing to his own face, and JYD duly responds. Haku then makes the near fatal mistake of hitting JYD with a headbutt, and JYD's responding headbutt nearly knocks Haku out, but he stumbles for a few seconds and manages to stay on his feet. JYD could press his advantage here but instead he decides to play to the crowd, slapping his head and barking like a dog, and Haku makes him regret his actions as he hits him with a huge savate kick to the face which sends him to the mat. Instead of going for the pin, Bobby Heenan hands Haku JYD's own chain, and Haku wraps the chain around his fist and begins pummelling JYD in the head as the referee calls for the bell. Security start to run out as we go to the break. Winner by disqualification in 6:56, Junkyard Dog Rating: 72 We come back from the break to find Mean Gene in the interview area, joined by “The Birdman” Koko B. Ware. Gene asks him about the events of In Your House, where Koko was revealed as the partner of Haku in his tag match with The Young Stallions, but Haku savagely attacked Koko before the match. Koko hays that Haku is clearly a dangerous animal, and now that he has the power of the Heenan Family behind him he needs to be stopped. Koko just starts to suggest that maybe he will be the one to stop him, when the dangerous animal himself comes flying in and almost takes Koko's head off with a brutal looking Savate kick. Haku shouts something in Tongan as Mean Gene backs off, and Bobby Heenan warns the Birdman not to get involved with matters that are far too dangerous for him. Rating: 71 “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan makes his way to the ring for his match against Nikolai Volkoff, and he is carrying a big American flag and a microphone. After he gets in the ring and the USA chants from the crowd have died down, Duggan says he wants to sing a little song that is very close to his heart. The crowd falls silent and Duggan clears his throat and holds the microphone to his mouth. “Oh say can you see, by the dawn's early light, what so proudly we hailed, by the twilight's last gleaming?” He then tells the crowd to join in and sing at the top of their lungs. “Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous flight, o'er the ram” Nikolai Volkoff appears and hits Duggan in the back with a clubbing blow, and the referee rings the bell. Rating: 70 “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan vs Nikolai Volkoff w/ Slick Volkoff immediately capitalises on his advantage and dominates for most of the first half of this match. Duggan manages to turn it around and much of the match is even, until Duggan finally looks to be getting the better of it. The Iron Sheik comes to the ring presumably to interfere, but his manager Slick plucks up the courage to stand in his way. The two men argue for a while, until The Iron Sheik loses his patience and his temper and shoves Slick back first into the ring apron. Nikolai Volkoff sees this and walks to the edge of the ring to remonstrate with The Iron Sheik about his treatment of their manager, and when he turns around he is hit with a big clothesline from Jim Duggan, who makes the pin. Winner in 9:15 by pinfall, “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan Rating: 71 A split second too late, The Iron Sheik gets into the ring and starts stomping on Jim Duggan, until Butch Reed runs out and evens up the numbers. The four men brawl as we have seen them do on multiple occasions over the last two months and we go to the break as they brawl back up the ramp. Rating: 64 We once again come back from the break to Mean Gene standing in the interview area, and this time his guest is Harley Race. Race says that the so called King Wonderful's coronation last week was an embarrassment to the sport of professional wrestling, and he's glad he's not associated with those people anymore. Mean Gene then asks him about Bobby Heenan's words that King Wonderful will make Harley Race live to regret turning on the Heenan Family. Race scoffs and says that if Heenan thinks that Paul Orndorff stands a chance against him then he's got another thing coming. If Heenan sends that oaf Orndorff after him then he'll knock that stupid crown off his fat head. Race then leaves the interview area to walk to the ring. Rating: 75 “Cowboy” Bob Orton w/ Mr Fuji vs Harley Race Harley Race's first match after leaving the Heenan Family is an impressive showing, as he beats Bob Orton Jr handily with a piledriver. Winner by pinfall in 8:13, Harley Race Rating: 85 Mean Gene is back in action again and this time he is joined by Jake Roberts, and the woman who will be taking on Velvet McIntyre for the vacant woman's title, “Rockin” Robin Roberts. Jake says he is very proud that his little sister has made it to the big time, especially at such a young age, and he says that he is confident that Robin will carry on the family tradition of success when she becomes the new Women's champion. Velvet McIntyre comes in and offers Robin a handshake, when an unknown woman enters seemingly from out of nowhere and shoves Velvet out of the way. Mean Gene says that he recognises this woman, and her name is Sherri Martel. The woman plucks the mic from Mean Gene's hand and says “that's Sensational Sherri to you”. She says that she's heard there's a revolution happening in the women's division here in the World Wrestling Federation, and if there's going to be a women's revolution then she is the only woman capable of being the face of it. She says that she expects either Robin or Velvet to give up their place in the title match, and she doesn't care who. Robin Roberts looks lost for words but Velvet McIntyre steals the mic back from Sherri, and says that she's planning on being a fighting champion when she wins the title anyway so why not start a little early. Velvet McIntyre will face Sherri next week, and the winner will have the title shot at Pomp and Circumstance. Rating: 76 Mean Gene's busy evening continues as the women are replaced by Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake, and Gene gets to asking him about his match with The Million Dollar Man last week. Beefcake says The Million Dollar Man is all sizzle and no steak, and the only reason he was able to beat Beefcake last week was because of his money. If he didn't have his paid bodyguard get involved, there is no way, and The Barber means no way, that The Million Dollar Man would have been able to beat him. Mean Gene then sends us back to JR and Jesse for the main event. Rating: 65 WWF World Heavyweight Championship Hulk Hogan vs The Iron Sheik Interestingly, after their tangle earlier tonight, Slick is not accompanying The Iron Sheik for this match. This match is a rematch from January 23rd 1984, when Hogan defeated Sheik to win the title that he still holds to this day. The match starts with a test of strength, which Hulk Hogan wins, and he stays on top for the first few minutes. Sheik utilises dirty tactics to swing the match back in his favour, and he tries to lock on the camel clutch a few times but Hogan thwarts him. Hogan hits a powerslam and looks like he is going to try the leg drop, when “Macho Man” Randy Savage storms out to the ring. It looks like Savage is going to try to interfere in the match, but Miss Elizabeth runs out after him and gets in front of him, pleading with him to let Hogan alone. Savage looks like he doesn't want to heed Elizabeth, but in the end he does and stays at ringside. This distraction has allowed Sheik to crawl close to the ropes, and Hogan now walks over to him and bends down to grab him, but Sheik brings his leg up and kicks Hogan in the head. Hogan slumps to the floor on his front, and Sheik stands over him and hits some stomps to his kidneys, and then locks on the camel clutch. Hogan struggles for a while, and then pushes himself up to his knees and then to his feet, with The Iron Sheik still clinging onto his back like a backpack. Hogan runs backwards into the corner and rams Sheik back first into the turnbuckle, causing Sheik to fall over. Sheik rolls onto his front as Hogan comes off the ropes and hits the leg drop and makes the cover. Winner by pinfall in 7:45, and still WWF World Heavyweight Champion, Hulk Hogan Rating: 81 As Hogan celebrates, Miss Elizabeth looks to finally be getting fed up with Randy Savage's ways. She looks teary eyed, and pushes Savage's hand away when he tries to console her. Hogan now grabs a microphone in the ring and he says that he can understand why Elizabeth is upset, but their little lover's quarrel almost distracted him and cost him the match, and that's just not gonna fly brother. Hogan says that Savage is a loose cannon that can go off at any second, and he will have to have eyes in the back of his head with Savage on the warpath brother. Hogan says that if Savage is so intent on sticking his nose into Hogan's matches, then maybe Hogan will have to pay a little visit to ringside for Savage's next match, at least that way he can keep an eye on him. Jesse Ventura then says that he bets Hogan will also be keeping an eye on Miss Elizabeth too, if you know what he means. Savage is standing close to the announce table and so he hears Ventura's words, and he storms over and grabs Ventura by the collar. He shouts right into Ventura's face that nobody gets away with talking about Miss Elizabeth that way and he pulls Jesse out of his chair. Hogan has rolled out of the ring and he now grabs Savage by the shoulders and pulls him away from the cowering Ventura, and Savage looks completely insane as they square off face to face, while Elizabeth looks hopelessly sad in the background as the show goes off the air. Rating: 91 Show rating: 84 WWF Challenge notes: The Rockers interview, they say that want to be tag champs someday The Rockers defeat The Assassin and Tiger Chung Lee Rick Martel defeats his former Can-Am Connection teammate Tom Zenk Rick Martel & Tito Santana issue an open challenge for next week “Rockin” Robin Roberts defeats Debbie Combs Haku defeats Tama Adrian Adonis interview about his upcoming King of the Ring match with Randy Savage Adrian Adonis defeats Flyin' Bryan

WWF Superstars – May Week 3, 1987 Jim Ross and Jesse Ventura welcome us to tonight's episode of WWF Superstars and they talk about what a fantastic show we witnessed last night at In Your House. They then run through tonight's card. “The Macho Man” Randy Savage will look to put his disappointment at losing his Intercontinental shot behind him when he faces Billy Jack Haynes, The British Bulldogs will defend their newly won tag titles against The Killer Bees, the legend himself Pedro Morales will be in action as he takes on The Magnificent Muraco, and Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat gets no rest after his gruelling Intercontinental title defence last weekend, as he defends his title against the man who won the number one contender's battle royal, Hercules. JR is just about to send us to Howard Finkel for the first match, when Bobby Heenan comes out to the ring, flanked by the three surviving members of the Heenan Family, “Mr Wonderful” Paul Orndorff, King Kong Bundy and the aforementioned Hercules. Jesse Ventura corrects JR, his name is not “Mr Wonderful” Paul Orndorff, his name is King Wonderful. JR says “oh gimme a break.” The uninvited guests get into the ring, and Bobby Heenan says that he wants to present an official coronation for the new king of the World Wrestling Federation. Heenan is carrying the crown, King Kong Bundy is holding the robe and Hercules is carrying the sceptre. Heenan tells Bundy to drape the robe over King Wonderful's shoulders, Heenan himself puts the crown on his head and he gestures for Hercules to hand the king the sceptre. Heenan sounds very grand when he proclaims that Mr Wonderful is no more, it is King Wonderful now and forever more. JR says that they did all this on Sunday already for God's sake. King Kong Bundy and Hercules look embarrassed throughout this whole charade, but Heenan and King Wonderful couldn't look prouder. Heenan then focuses his attention on Harley Race, who left the Heenan Family last Sunday and punched Bobby Heenan in the face on the way out. Heenan says that this could all have been his, he could have had all that he sees here and more, but he chose the wrong path and King Wonderful will be the one that makes him live to regret that decision. Rating: 87 We go back to the commentators, and JR says that what we just witnessed must be the stupidest thing he has ever seen in his entire career in professional wrestling, and he says that surely Jesse Ventura must agree. Ventura however is standing with his hand across his heart in salute as the King makes his way back up the ramp, and JR just stares at his colleague in bewilderment. JR moves quickly on and introduces our next match. “Macho Man” Randy Savage w/ Miss Elizabeth vs Billy Jack Haynes Randy Savage is looking to bounce back with a win here after his disappointment last Sunday, and he puts on a good showing against a respectable opponent. There are moments throughout this match where it looks as if Savage would bend the rules, but the presence of the lovely Miss Elizabeth at ringside stays his hand each time, and he wins the match clean as a whistle with the elbow drop. Winner in 8:36, “Macho Man” Randy Savage Rating: 79 After the match, Miss Elizabeth gets a microphone and climbs into the ring to hand it to Savage. Savage says that despite his loss in the failed experiment that was the triangle match last weekend, and you'd better believe the Macho Man when he says that it was a failed experiment, damn right. Any and every match that doesn't result in a check in the win column for the Macho Man is a bona fide failure ohh yeah. Despite the result of that match, he says he is still the best of the best in the World Wrestling Federation, and Miss Elizabeth nods at these words. He goes on, and says that if a man happens to be the best of the best in the World Wrestling Federation, then he should only concern himself with one thing brotherrr, and that is the World Wrestling Federation World Heavyweight Championship, dig it? The Macho Man is officially calling out Hulk Hogan for a shot at his title, ohhhh yeahhhhh. Rating: 85 JR exclaims at what a huge challenge we have just heard The Macho Man lay down, and he says that with Andre The Giant gone, Hulk Hogan versus “The Macho Man” Randy Savage is the biggest match you could hope to see in the world of professional wrestling. He then hands over to Mean Gene who is in the interview area. Mean Gene is joined by the new WWF Tag Team Champions, The British Bulldogs, along with their manager “Superstar” Billy Graham. Dynamite Kid first of all wants to thank Billy Graham for what he has done for them as a tag team, and he says that without him in their corner cancelling out that no good Jimmy Hart, they may not be standing here right now with these belts around their waists. Davey Boy Smith speaks and dedicates their win to the amazing WWF fans, and he says that they are going to be fighting champions, starting with their first title defence here tonight. Rating: 73 WWF World Tag Team Championship The British Bulldogs w/ “Superstar” Billy Graham vs The Killer Bees This match is a lot more routine than their hard fought victory last weekend, as they beat The Killer Bees in fairly short order. Davey Boy Smith does most of the heavy lifting, literally and figuratively, because Dynamite Kid is still far from one hundred percent after his ordeals in the match on Sunday. Davey Boy hits Jim Brunzell with a running powerslam to win it. Winners in 5:39, and still WWF Tag Team Champions, The British Bulldogs Rating: 67 Next up we return to Mean Gene in the interview area, and he is joined by "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan and “The Natural” Butch Reed. Jim Duggan says that he now trusts Butch Reed that they are on the same side, and Gene asks him what changed. Duggan says that honestly he still wasn't one hundred percent sure, but he decided to take that chance on Sunday. Butch Reed says that it's true that they're probably never going to be best buddies, but how does that saying go? The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Duggan says that that brings him onto the real reason why he's decided to trust Butch Reed. Duggan wants to take down The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff for good, and he's gonna need someone to work with if he wants to kick both their butts back to where they came from. Butch says that they are now allies, and if Sheik and Volkoff want to take one of them, they'll have to take both of them. Jim Duggan ends the interview by challenging Nikolai Volkoff to a match next week. Rating: 73 The Million Dollar Man makes his way to the ring unannounced, and this time he is wearing ring gear rather than a suit. He expresses his disappointment that his first opponent was somebody like Hillbilly Jim, a smelly hog farmer, and he says he expected better from the World Wrestling Federation, much better. He asks if that's really the best that the WWF has got, and Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake comes out to answer the call. Beefcake says that after he vanquished Adrian Adonis last weekend, he's looking for his next opponent, and if The Million Dollar Man is so desperate to take on some of the best the WWF has to offer then he's happy to oblige. He's not challenging him for the next pay-per-view though, or even next week, he wants The Million Dollar Man right now! The Million Dollar Man says well duh, why else would he come out here in his ring gear if he wasn't ready to fight right now, and he calls Beefcake an idiot. He cockily accepts. Rating: 75 The Million Dollar Man w/ Sid vs Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake Beefcake puts up a much better fight than Hillbilly Jim, and this match is very even throughout. The Million Dollar Man goes for a few big power moves but Beefcake kicks out of all of them, so in the end we see the same finish as last weekend, as The Million Dollar Man distracts the ref, Sid punches Beefcake, and The Million Dollar Man locks on the Million Dollar Dream, as the ref calls it when Beefcake doesn't respond. Winner in 8:15 by submission/knockout, The Million Dollar Man Rating: 61 Just like last Sunday, JR bemoans the fact that The Million Dollar Man had to rely on his bodyguard Sid to get the win. Jesse Ventura calls JR a hypocrite, as he was perfectly happy for Billy Graham to hit Bret Hart with a megaphone to help The British Bulldogs win the tag titles. JR says it's different because The Hart Foundation started it, but even he seems to realise how childish that sounds, and he quickly sends to Mean Gene again. Gene is joined by the other unsuccessful challenger from the Intercontinental title match at In Your House, Greg “The Hammer” Valentine. Gene asks Valentine what his plans are going forward, and Valentine says he isn't thinking about going forward at all. He says that he never got pinned in his Intercontinental title match, so in his eyes that still makes him the number one contender. The fact that Hercules is jumping the line and getting a title shot ahead of him is a disgrace, and he's not going to stand for it. Ricky Steamboat hasn't seen the last of Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, that's for sure. Rating: 78 We go to President Gorilla Monsoon who is sitting behind his desk in his office. He says he has an announcement to make, and that is that due to The Fabulous Moolah's actions this past Sunday at In Your House, when she took her title and walked out, he has no choice but to strip her of the WWF Women's title. He announces that there will be a battle royal this Sunday on WWF Challenge, and the winner of that match will take on the The Fabulous Moolah's opponent from In Your House, Velvet McIntyre, for the vacant belt at the next pay-per-view. Rating: 71 The Magnificent Muraco w/ Mr Fuji vs Pedro Morales This is a very impressive showing from The Magnificent Muraco, as he spends much of the match in control of one the biggest stars in the history of the World Wrestling Federation. Morales does have a few hope spots, bit this is largely Muraco's match, with only mild involvement from his manager Mr Fuji. Muraco hits the Hawaiian Hammer, his version of the tombstone piledriver, to get the win. Winner in 7:56, The Magnificent Muraco Rating: 70 We're back with Mean Gene once again, who must be longing for more days like last Sunday when he only had to conduct one interview. This time his guest is the Junkyard Dog. JYD is not his usual cheerful self here, as he his angry at the way that Paul Orndorff, yes Paul Orndorff not King Wonderful, beat him at In Your House. If it takes an eye poke and two low blows to get your crown then you ain't no king as far as the JYD is concerned. He promises Bobby Heenan that he isn't done with the Heenan Family, not by no means. Heenan enters and JYD immediately puts his fists up, but Bobby Heenan tells the dog to relax. He says that he happens to have just secured a new recruit for the Heenan Family, and if Junkyard Dog wants so badly to try to get his revenge, then he's welcome to face the Heenan Family's newest member next week. Mean Gene asks Heenan who the new Family member is but Heenan just smiles and taps his nose a few times before leaving. Rating: 86 JR and Jesse spend some time speculating who the new member of the Heenan Family could be. One of their suggestions is The Million Dollar Man, who Ventura says Heenan would do anything in his power to bring into the Family. JR suggests The Honky Tonk Man, who may well be looking for a new manager after he threw a bag with a snake in it at his manager last weekend. They throw a few more names out there, until JR says that they have to stop because it's time for our main event, the Intercontinental title match between Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat and the menacing Hercules. WWF Intercontinental Championship Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat (c) vs Hercules w/ Bobby Heenan Ricky Steamboat would probably have every reason to feel aggrieved here as he has been booked to defend his title just four days after a gruelling twenty minute match at the pay-per-view, but Steamboat isn't one to whine that he's hard done by. He does struggle for large stretches of this match however, and you would have to imagine that is largely due to the lingering effects of the triangle match. That's not to take anything away from Hercules, who is a top wrestler in his own right, and is in good form here. Perhaps the announcement of this new member of the Heenan Family we heard about earlier and the coronation of King Wonderful have lit a fire under Hercules and made him eager to prove himself to Heenan, but whatever the reason he dominates the champion for the majority of this match. Add to that the persistent interference of Bobby Heenan, and Ricky Steamboat is really up against it here. The champion does manage some comebacks and a few sustained periods of offence, but most of them don't result in anything, until finally one does. Steamboat gets a head of steam and tries to knock Hercules off his feet, but succeeds only in staggering him with a couple of clotheslines. Eventually he hits a running crossbody and he does take Hercules down for a two count, and then he rolls his opponent onto his front and locks on the Dragon sleeper, the move that took so much out of Randy Savage at In Your House. All of a sudden, Greg Valentine comes running out and he's wielding a chair. Bobby Heenan tries to stop him but Valentine makes like he's going to swing the chair and Heenan moves, allowing Valentine into the ring. Steamboat sees Valentine and releases his hold on Hercules, and stands to face Valentine. Valentine just laughs at Steamboat though, and then he swings the chair at the back of Hercules as he lies on the floor. The referee calls for the bell and Greg Valentine drops the chair and walks back up the ramp. Winner by disqualification in 11:22, Hercules. Ricky Steamboat remains the WWF Intercontinental Champion Rating: 77 JR is not impressed by the actions of Greg Valentine. Jesse Ventura agrees that attacking Hercules probably wasn't the best way to go about it, but he can see where Valentine is coming from with his discontent at losing his title shot without losing the match. JR says that Ricky Steamboat is too honourable for his own good and he predicts that Steamboat will probably end up granting Valentine his title shot anyway, and Ventura says “good, as he should!” JR then tells us that it's time to hear from Hulk Hogan following his hard fought title defence last weekend. Hulk Hogan comes out to the ring with his title belt proudly around his waist, posing and flexing when he gets into the ring. He then calls for a microphone and says that he was already impressed with Harley Race for the way he's acted in recent weeks, but now he's earned his respect in the ring as well after how close he took the Hulkster on Sunday brother. He says that Race has made the right decision in leaving that weasel Bobby Heenan, and if he ever needs Hogan to stand by his side in the future then all he has to do is ask, and he hopes he can count on Harley Race for the same brother. He then says that Sunday is in the past, and it's time to stop talking about the past, earlier tonight someone said something that affects Hulk Hogan's future brother, and that someone is “Macho Man” Randy Savage. He invites the Macho Man out to the ring, and Savage clearly doesn't need telling twice, as he storms to the ring, Miss Elizabeth running to keep up. Savage immediately starts getting in Hogan's face, but Elizabeth manages to get between them and back Savage off. Hogan smiles and says that she clearly has brains as well as beauty, and Savage should listen to her. Savage doesn't look too impressed by Hogan talking about his Liz's beauty, but he heeds Elizabeth and doesn't overreact. Hogan says that there's no need for Savage to fly off the handle and get into his face like a playground bully. If he wants a shot at the World Heavyweight title, then he's on, brother. The commentators can't contain their excitement as the show goes off the air. Rating: 99 Show rating: 85 WWF Challenge notes: - Jake Roberts defeats “Mean” Mark Callous - Jake Roberts hypes up his sister “Rockin” Robin Roberts ahead of the Women's title number one contender's battle royal - “Rockin” Robin Roberts wins a 10 women battle royal to earn a spot in the Women's title match - Luna Vachon and Demolition interview - Demolition defeat The Young Stallions - Flyin' Brian defeats Barry O - Tito Santana and Rick Martel interview. They want to make The Wild Samoans pay, but first Martel wants Tom Zenk - The Honky Tonk Man defeats George “The Animal” Steele