WWF Superstars of Wrestling – May 19th, 1990
By Brian Bayless on 1st September 2017
May 19, 1990
From the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, TX
Your hosts are Jesse “The Body” Ventura and Vince McMahon. Jesse believes that Mr. Perfect will defeat “Chico” Santana for the Intercontinental Title.
This week is the Intercontinental Title Tournament Finals between Mr. Perfect and Tito Santana. We will also see The Rockers vs. The Bolsheviks. Also in action are Bad News Brown, Ted DiBiase, and Demolition.
Demolition vs. Black Bart & Mark Ming
Bart lands some shots on Smash to start. Smash fights back and attacks Bart as Demolition take control. Demolition is then shown in an insert promo saying they are not afraid of the Hart Foundation as Ming gets beat down until he’s put away with the Decapitation (1:58).
Thoughts: More hype for the eventual Hart Foundation vs. Demolition Tag Team title match.
WWF Special Report with Gene Okerlund. This focuses on last week when Earthquake hit his opponent with multiple splashes after the win until Jim Duggan ran out with his 2×4 and made the save. We then hear from Earthquake as he promises to end Duggan’s career. Duggan then says there is not a man on earth he is afraid of and will fight until he wins.
Jim Powers vs. “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase w/ Virgil
Both men trade arm wringers to start. DiBiase takes Powers over with a hip toss as we see an insert on the “WWF Magazine” article on DiBiase’s money. DiBiase chops Powers in the corner but gets caught with a hip toss then a pair of dropkicks but he catches Powers with a back elbow smash. DiBiase then hits a powerslam before putting Powers away with the Million Dollar Dream (1:55).
Thoughts: The DiBiase/Bossman feud was pushed here again as that is one of the main TV feuds at the moment.
Clips of last week’s Brutus Beefcake vs. Dino Bravo IC Title Tournament match are shown.
WWF Intercontinental Title Tournament Finals: Mr. Perfect vs. Tito Santana
These two go back-and-forth to start. Perfect then pokes Tito in the chest and hits some chops but gets caught with a hip toss. Tito dropkicks Perfect over the top rope then heads out and lands some chops. Back inside, Tito slingshots in with an attack for two then works the arm. Perfect is able to trip but Tito during an Irish whip sequence as Tito spills outside. Perfect follows and hammers away then brings it back in the ring. Tito fights back and gets a nearfall with a sunset flip but Perfect clotheslines Tito into the ropes then Tito rolls outside. Tito pulls Perfect down and crotches him against the post. The ref stops Tito as Jesse accuses Tito of turning this into a “Tijuana Brawl.” Back inside, Tito fires away then targets the leg. We now see Bobby Heenan out at ringside as Perfect gets a nearfall with a small package. Tito slams Perfect then signals for the flying forearm but Heenan distracts him from the apron. Tito blocks a kick but Perfect puts him in a small package and gets the win (7:30) **1/2. After the match, Perfect introduces Bobby Heenan as his new manager.
Thoughts: Both guys worked hard and had a solid match but I though the finish was weak, which was the theme of this tournament. Tito was not exactly positioned high up on the card at this point so a clean loss would not have hurt him. I do get they wanted to establish Heenan as Perfect’s new manager by having him help out his new client but the finish could have been done better than this. This was the only good match of the tournament and it almost seemed as a given that Perfect would win the entire thing when the brackets were announced.
Bad News Brown vs. Ricki Ataki
Bad News ambushes Ataki from behind and stays in control until hitting the Ghetto Blaster for the win (1:11). After the match, Bad News tosses Ataki through the ropes.
Thoughts: Bad News’ feud against Jake Roberts was being pushed on commentary.
Brother Love Show with guest Tugboat. We get more boating puns from Tugboat and they are awful as Brother Love gets in his face. Hulk Hogan then comes out and says he has know Tugboat since he was a little boat and that Tugboat lives by Hulkamania and he even brought Tugboat to the WWF. Hogan then runs off Brother Love then poses and hugs Tugboat to close out the segment. After debuting then fading away for a while, it appears the company is trying to push Tugboat as they give him the rub of being Hogan’s friend. I have no idea why the thought the Tugboat character was worth pushing though. It was way too corny.
Vince tells us that next week both Hogan and Earthquake will be guests on the “Brother Love Show.”
The Bolsheviks vs. The Rockers
Volkoff sings the Russian National Anthem here but was distancing himself from Zhukov beforehand. The Rockers take control early until Volkoff beats on Marty. Volkoff holds up Marty for Zhukov but Marty escaped. Volkoff holds his neck on the apron as Shawn runs wild on Zhukov. Volkoff makes the save then the match breaks down as The Rockers dump Volkoff before putting Zhukov away with a double flying fist drop (2:44). After the match, Zhukov gets in Volkoff’s face then they start fighting until Volkoff clears the ring.
Thoughts: Well, it appears that The Bolsheviks are done as a team. They were truly one of the worst teams in WWF history too. Both guys were terrible and had little chemistry to begin with but lasted almost three years together.
We are shown Rick Rude running the beach again as he promises to defeat the Ultimate Warrior and take the WWF World Heavyweight Title.
Pez Whatley vs. Hercules
Whatley attacks Hercules from behind as Vince tells us that Volkoff and Zhukov are still fighting with each other in the locker room. Hercules clotheslines Whatley over the top rope then runs wild until putting him away with a backbreaker submission (1:31).
Thoughts: Hercules had nothing going on at this point as the announcers spent more time talking about The Bolsheviks.
Next week, Hulk Hogan and Earthquake will be the guests of the “Brother Love Show.” In action are Big Bossman, Mr. Perfect, Jake Roberts, and Rick Martel. The show ends with comments from Earthquake and Hogan.
Final Thoughts: The big news is that Mr. Perfect is the new Intercontinental Champion. We also saw the end of the Bolsheviks as a team and they hyped next week’s “Brother Love Show” with both Hogan and Earthquake as a guest. One of the more action-packed editions of “Superstars of Wrestling” from this year.
Here is my schedule for the next several days:
Saturday: Mid-South Wrestling 1/6/83
Sunday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 5/20/90
Monday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling: 5/26/90
Tuesday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 5/27/90
Wednesday: PWG Head Like a Cole 5/19/17
Thursday: Hitting the Highspots with Dave Meltzer, Volume 2
Friday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 6/2/90