WrestleMania 4: Ultimate Warrior vs Hercules (with Bobby Heenan)
Hercules and Heenan are already in the ring to a loud round of boos. Warrior comes running out, as always, acting like he’s had way too much caffeine.
I always try to find something nice to say about matches, but this match stunk. I actually felt bad for Hercules for missing the tournament to be in this match (he could’ve taken Butch Reed’s spot against Savage). Hercules is a really good athlete for such a big guy, but he couldn’t cover how really bad Warrior was. There were a lot of sloppy spots and it was just bad.
Winner: Ultimate Warrior by pinfall by getting his shoulder up at the last second due to the double pin.
Highlights: The best I can say is that this match wasn’t long.
Thoughts: I was actually mad I watched this match once, let alone twice. I was cheering for Hercules when he attacked Warrior.
Now we’re in the quarterfinals, starting with Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant. We get a video package that rehashes what happened leading up to WrestleMania III and Andre winning the title.
Quarterfinal Match 1: Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant (with Million Dollar Man and Virgil)
Andre comes out first to a loud chorus of boos, DiBiase looks smug, and Virgil looks like he’d rather be somewhere else. Andre looks a little winded from the walk down the steps of the arena. Hogan seems to have missed his cue, but eventually comes out to a loud pop.
If this was meant to be a sequel to WrestleMania III, it fell a little flat. Andre seemed to be in slightly better shape than last year, but the intensity seemed to be lacking, I didn’t get the same chills I did for Hogan/Andre last year.
Winner: Both men were disqualified after hitting each other with a chair. As a result, the winner of the DiBiase/Muraco match gets a bye straight to the finals
Highlights: Hogan losing his temper and nailing Andre with the chair, knowing he’d be DQ’d was interesting, so was Hogan slamming Andre for the hell of it and suplexing poor Virgil.
Thoughts: This match wasn’t the best. It wasn’t a total stinker, Warrior/Hercules takes that prize, but the bloom was definitely off the rose of Hogan/Andre after WrestleMania III and Survivor Series. Andre’s selling left something to be desired in places. That said, even having seen this PPV a few times, the swerve of the double DQ, taking Hogan out of the title match, really surprised me. This match and Hogan’s earlier promo should’ve been the start of a heel turn, and probably would have in later years, but it wasn’t to be in 1988, which is a shame.
We go back to Mean Gene, who is interviewing Macho Man and Elizabeth. They have changed clothes, they wore coordinating blue outfits, now they’re in pink. Savage says that Hogan was cheated and says that he’s never been able to beat Hogan and neither has DiBiase or Andre. Okerlund asks Savage what he thinks of his chances against Greg ‘The Hammer’ Valentine, and Savage says he’s had the blessings of the mania all along and thinks his chances are pretty good. Savage asks Elizabeth if she thinks he’ll take the whole thing and, in a rare instances, Elizabeth actually gets to speak and says she thinks he will take it all.
Quarterfinal Match 2: Don Muraco (with Superstar Billy Graham) vs Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase.
Muraco and Graham are out first to a great pop. DiBiase comes out by himself to loud boos due to his costing Hogan a chance to regain the gold.
This was a good match, both guys looked good, DiBiase got to play the cornered heel to the hilt and there was plenty of back and forth by both men.
Winner: Million Dollar Man by pinfall. He gets an automatic bye to final match due to the double DQ of Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan
Highlights: DiBiase really shined in this one.
Thoughts: This was a good match, but I’m a little surprised DiBiase got a clean pin on Muraco, especially since he didn’t have any help.
We go to Bob Uecker who is STILL looking for Vanna White, when he meets Demolition with the devious Mr. Fuji. Demolition says they’ve been ordered to beat Strike Force by Master Fuji and that’s what they’re going to do and they’re going to win the tag belts.
Thoughts: This promo was short, thankfully. Demolition got their point across and left.
Back in the ring, One Man Gang is in the ring and we’re reminded that he has a bye due to the Roberts/Rude match going to the time limit.
Quarterfinal Match 3: Randy ‘Macho Man’ Savage (with Miss Elizabeth) vs Greg ‘The Hammer’ Valentine (with Jimmy Hart)
Valentine gets a lukewarm boo. Savage gets a better pop. The crowd seems a little tired, but Monsoon and Ventura claim it’s really loud in the arena. Funnily, Savage’s robes are lined with rainbow colored fabric, which is a nice touch.
This was another ‘it sounds great on paper’ matches. It was good, but didn’t live up to expectations, in my book. Valentine looked tired and bored and seemed to want to timber bump everything.
Winner: Randy ‘Macho Man’ Savage by pinfall. He’ll meet One Man Gang in the semifinals.
Highlights: Savage’s robes were lovely.
Thoughts: This is one of those where neither man really shined. The surprise small package pin protected Valentine. In an interesting tidbit, it seems that we were possibly supposed to get Rude/Savage at some point, in the first round, instead of Savage/Reed. Monsoon makes a comment about ‘The Ravishing One’ taking a lot out of Savage when Ventura corrects him that Rude and Roberts had a match, not Savage/Rude. I don’t know why that was changed, if that was what was supposed to happen, but it would’ve been an interesting match.
Since the quarterfinals are over, we go back to Mean Gene and Vanna with the updated bracket. Okerlund mentions Uecker again and asks Vanna if she’s hiding. Vanna replies that she doesn’t know who she’s supposed to be hiding from.
