AJPW New Year Giant Series 1988 - Day 7 - 09/01/1988
Buddy Landel vs. Jumbo Tsuruta
I like to think that some fans in attendance thought that Landel was Ric Flair under a different name. From afar they do look the same. The match is short and limited in terms of how far they go but technically fine. It was a good little extended squash for Tsutta. Landel messes up a leapfrog on one occasion but Tsuruta recovers it finely and the match got back on track. A simple backdrop and they go home. **1/2
PWF World Tag Team Title Match: Ashura Hara & Genichiro Tenryu (c) vs. Abdullah The Butcher & TNT
Adbullah was over here, maybe the most over in a popularity sense. He was the man the fans wanted to see. Chants AND bullhorns. Abdullah seemed to relish the noise initially, and it showed somewhat in his wrestling as he was posing, doing first rope elbow drops and other exciting moves such as a nerve hold! The match settled into a dull affair with a lot of nerve holds and poor bumps (TNT). Abby bleeding livened up the match a little but the extent of the progression was a few kicks. Not ideal but there is still left over from the older All Japan style. **1/2
WWF on NESN - 09/01/1988
WWF World Heavyweight Title Match: Hulk Hogan (c) vs. Rick Rude (w/Bobby Heenan)
Rick Rude would later get screwed out of a feud with Hogan in 1990 or so, so it was cool seeing it here, even if Rude is still a little unpolished. It wouldn’t surprise me if Hogan didn’t like the fact that Rude looked physically better than him. Even those famous biceps are ordinary compared to Rude’s. Heenan cuts a promo about how Rude is the national arm wrestling champion and challenges Hogan to test Rude out. Hogan declines at first but obliges in the ring. Rude is a southpaw which gives him a clean advantage over Rude but Hogan is able to win, slamming the hand down three times! Rude is ratted and this allows Hogan to slam his head into the turnbuckles with little opposition. The match turned into the standard Hogan match with Rude taking control of it. The peak of this part is Rude hoisting Hogan over his head for the argentine backbreaker which is absurd because it;s Hogan of all people.Rude lets go too early though, which allows Hogan time to recover and make the comeback. It was a bit of an easy win for Hogan but Rude isn’t a rival, so the easy win makes sense. Hogan celebration gets cut off by Ted Dibiase and Virgil to attack him. Hogan is knocked out while Dibiase drops money on him. Good angle to conclude a fun bout. ***
WWF World Women's Tag Team Title Match: The Glamour Girls (Judy Martin & Leilani Kai) (w/Jimmy Hart) (c) vs. The Jumping Bomb Angels (Itsuki Yamazaki & Noriyo Tateno)
The Glamour Girls theme song is a banger. I never heard it before but I dig it. Sounds a little like the Harrt Foundations with church singing. The JBA reinforce their abilities early on, out-wrestling Leilani Kai, forcing her to beg to tag out, which Martin reluctantly agrees to. Martin gets the same treatment by Yamazaki and then Tateno. Tateno chains from the short arm scissors into a lovely surfboard hold from the mat. Yamazaki comes in with the top rope arm drag but Martin is able to tag out. The GGs attempt to double team but the JBAs turn the tables once more and gain control again. Great give and go. The Glamour Girls start get into the match more. The Glamour Girls then use their wits and cheat to retain the titles on the road to the Royal Rumble. Good match, but not a patch on their MSG bout last year. ***1/2
WWF World Tag Team Title Match: Strike Force (Rick Martel & Tito Santana) (c) vs. The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart) (w/Jimmy Hart)
I like how different this was to the women’s tag match. This was more technical and allowed the heels to be more dominant compared to the chickenshit nature of the Glamour Girls. Bret particularly looked great picking Martel apart, making good use of his time in the ring. Neidhart would come in and do big damage whereas Bret would do the small stuff. But the chemistry of the Hart Foundation doesn’t need to be praised by me in 2024. Martel’s selling was strong. The fans got behind him and popped big for him moving out of the way of Bret’s corner attack. Hot tag occurs, Tito shakes the fist and the crowd goes wild. And just as Tito was about to get the win for his team, Neidhart attacks him with the megaphone. The ref sees it and calls for the DQ. Good tag team match I’d say. ***1/2
WWF on PRISM Network - 09/01/1988
WWF Intercontinental Title Steel Cage Match: The Honky Tonk Man (w/Jimmy Hart) (c) vs. Randy Savage
I wasn’t aware that these two had a steel cage match but it makes sense given how heated their feud was around this time, with Honky attacking Elizabeth. The match was okay. The match was fun when Savage was on top or when Savage was attempting to escape but not so much when it was Honky in control. Honky’s strengths are bumping and trash talking the crowd rather than a standard heel heat section. And that gets proven when he takes a bump on the ropes and sells it with gusto. The fans love that. The finish was good though: Jimmy Hart slammed the door on Savage ala Gordy/Kerry and Honky was able to escape because of it. House show like, not a shadow on the Backlund/Slaughter or even Bruno cage matches. Savage gets his revenge with a slam and an incredible elbow off the top of the cage which is fucking insane. Shame it’s not nearly as iconic as other cage dive spots. **1/2
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