April 1990

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Way too short to break this down in detail. Bossman makes quick work of his former partner by landing a stiff boot as Akeem runs into the corner and laying him out with a Bossman Slam. Dibiase attacks Bossman before the bell, but it doesn't do much to slow down the big man. A good way to wrap up the Bossman vs Slick and Akeem feud, whilst giving some Bossman some momentum as his face turn gets underway. ★

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The only good thing I can say about Dino Bravo and Jim Duggan facing off is that only one match is going to suck because of their presence. A poor match with Hacksaw more focused on shouting rather than selling for Dino. All we get here is weak punch-kick action with hardly any bumps whatsoever. Duggan tries to get the Canadian crowd to get a U-S-A chant going. Earthquake is in Bravo's corner and he squashes Duggan once this bout is concluded with multiple splashes. ½★

We start this off with some basic power-based posturing. Hercules works in a brief hope spot as he hits a barrage of clotheslines, which are only able to send Earthquake down to one knee. Herc makes the mistake of going for his backbreaker submission, but is unable to scoop the big guy above his head. A big elbow drop and a Earthquake splash wraps this up in just under five minutes. This wasn't going to win any MOTY awards, but they did everything they set out to do. Earthquake secures a dominant win over an established star, setting him up for much bigger things over the summer. ★★

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Rick Rude looks the best he'd ever look during his career here, he's a total stud. He saves this from total mediocrity by bumping around the place for Snuka. Steve Allen joins the commentary booth for this one and cracks jokes about Snuka wearing his wife's underwear. Sunka goes to the top for the Superfly Splash, but Rude rushes up to his feet and is able to put the brakes on Snuka by landing a Rude Awakening. An average squash setting Rude up for a world title feud and to give the fans a chance to breathe for the main event. ★½

This wasn't too different from Beefcake's match with Dibiase at last year's Wrestlemania. A basic bout with Beefcake following the lead of a much more talented heel. Perfect bumps all over the place for The Barber's primitive offence. Perfect takes control once The Genius throws Perfect his scroll to knock Brutus out with. Beefcake isn't half bad at selling Perfect's onslaught, but this segment goes on way too long and the finish feels anti-climatic as Beefcake wins after landing a catapult leg toss out of nowhere, sending Perfect face first into the ring post in a spectacular bump. After intervening with Perfect's haircut, the Genius is caught red-headed by Beefcake afte…

Even by non-wrestler standards, Sapphire was bad. Sherri had to carefully lay out her spots and any time we see Sapphire, we get some of the worst offence ever. Rhodes and Sapphire bring out Miss Elizabeth out to be their manager for the night, which enrages Savage. Savage and Rhodes are god-tier talents, but it seems that they are having an off-night. While there's not much meat on the bone, the crowd absolutely love ever second of this. Jesse Ventura's commentary is a highlight, as he can't stop him ripping into Sapphire. ★¾

Koko shines in this high energy (hah) opener. The audience quiets down once Martel takes control, but are right back to cheering their asses off once Koko makes his comeback after a failed Boston Crab attempt by The Model. Koko is a solid hand at being an over jobber-to-the-stars and Martel looks comfortable doing his campy gimmick, complete with big facial expressions. Martel locks on his crab and scores the first victory of the evening. This was here to give Martel some more momentum and to warm up the crowd, without burning them out without too much excitement. ★★¼

Oh god, where to begin with this? For those of you fortunate enough to not of seen this before, this was the match that Piper decided it would be a good idea to paint half his body black as he goes to war with a black man. Blackface aside, this wasn't an awful match, just a disappointing one. Piper has had some cracking brawls in his time, but this wasn't one of them. He pulls out a Michael Jackson-style mesh glove from his trunks and begins to use it as weapon and the referee doesn't seem to do anything. They eventually gets counted out as they fight to the back. ★½

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The Hart Foundation attack the big Russians as they are singing their national anthem and land The Hart Attack for the win in 18 seconds. The crowd love it. No one needed to see Nikolai Volkoff in 1990 wrestle in long and competitive matches, so I can't hate on this much. We do get a funny backstage segment with Steve Allen and the Bolsheviks prior to this squash, which is well worth going out of your way to see. ½★

The Rockers and the Orient Express get a chance to showcase their flashy moves. Shawn and Marty are incredibly over and are one of the most consistent acts in the WWF at the time, although this felt like a touch lackluster when compared to the classic these two teams would have at next year's Rumble. Jannetty counters a back body drop by landing on his feet, which is probably the most impressive spot of the night. My main gripe with this match is that it ends just as things start to pick up, and it's weak finish at that. Fuji blinds Jannetty with salt and he's counted out. ★★½

Yay for Tito, boo for more filler. Tito carries Barbarian to a decent match, which sees Barbarian getting some heat with a win over a popular babyface after the Powers Of Pain break-up. Tito gets the briefest of hope spots, until it's time to wrap this one up. Barbarian isn't anything special, but his top rope clothesline nearly decapitates poor Tito. ★★

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