-This is a special show. This is our first Annual.
-Inspiration from Comic Books.
-From Wikipedia: In the case of comic books, an annual is an extra issue that corresponds with an ongoing series, providing story material in addition to the customary 12 issues per year of a monthly series and "fill holes in a publishing schedule that are usually created when a fifth release day falls in a month. Instead of publishing nothing that particular week or shuffling schedules around to accommodate, a popular series or character will get an annual special". A comic book annual customarily has a larger page count than its monthly counterpart, leaving room for longer single stories, multiple stories in a single annual and/or "extra" material that the monthly series lacks the space to publish. These "extras" may include biographical information on featured characters, full-page pin-ups of characters, reprints of previously published material, or all-new short stories (often called "back-up" stories). Chase Magnett, for ComicBook.com, highlighted that "annuals are ultimately best defined by being what the monthly issues are not" and that "the only consistency surrounding the concept of these special sorts of issues is that they have been around in some form or another just about as long as superhero comics have been published". An annual is considered a separate series for purposes of numbering and collectability; a particular periodical's Annual will thus have its own numbering series, or alternately be referred to by the year of its publication. "For example, between 1963 and 2012, Fantastic Four has had 33 annuals. The first one was Fantastic Four Annual #1" and "when IDW published a TMNT annual" in 2020, it was titled the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Annual 2020.
Comic book annuals originally were little more than reprint albums, representing stories that had first seen publication in their monthly counterparts, but eventually this changed to annuals featuring primarily all-new material. Later annuals often featured stories with greater import to the characters featured than in the monthly publications, reflecting the "special" status of their once-yearly publication. Annuals also, on occasion, featured the finale of a multi-issue storyline running in the monthly series; conversely, many annuals would showcase stand-alone stories that did not fit in with the then-current thrust of the monthly series' storyline.
In the late 1980s and much of the 1990s, annuals published by Marvel Comics and DC Comics were usually released in the summer of the year and often had a unifying theme, either a similar theme that individual stories were written around, or a crossover storyline bringing many of the characters in the individual publishers' continuities together for a single overall event. In the case of the "crossover" annuals, the number of characters and annuals involved in a crossover story varied. Some were company-wide, incorporating virtually every character in the publisher's shared universe whose series received an annual edition. Others used smaller groups of characters whose series had some sort of in-story connection, such as series featuring members of teams or "extended families" of characters.
-We look at some OLD SCHOOL WWF AT MSG.
-WWF on MSG Network (also advertised as WWF from Madison Square Garden) is a professional wrestling television program produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It was a monthly television special that aired live from Madison Square Garden on the MSG Network from August 7, 1976 to March 16, 1997. The program featured live wrestling matches and interviews with WWF wrestlers. Updates of current feuds and several major title changes also took place on the show.
-World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) began airing their monthly television special WWWF on MSG Network on August 7, 1976 after several years of airing their monthly Madison Square Garden shows on HBO. Several notable title changes took place on the show including Bob Backlund winning his first WWWF World Heavyweight Championship by defeating Superstar Billy Graham on February 20, 1978. The show was renamed WWF on MSG Network after the promotion changed its name to "World Wrestling Federation'' in March 1979. The show was an important event and equivalent to today's pay-per-view events. Many important matches and storyline developments took place on the show, for example, Hulk Hogan's rise to stardom began on the show when he defeated The Iron Sheik to capture his first WWF Championship on January 23, 1984. With the rise of Hogan's popularity and WWF's national expansion, the show lost its significance following the first pay-per-view event WrestleMania in 1985. With the addition of more pay-per-view events and the introduction of Saturday Night's Main Event as a nationally televised monthly special, the WWF on MSG Network discontinued after 1992. WWF aired one final event on the MSG Network on March 16, 1997.
-Leading into these events was the fallout from WrestleMania VII. Backstage as Hogan was being interviewed on his victory over Sgt. Slaughter, Slaughter attacked Hogan by throwing a fireball in his face. Hogan quickly recovered from the attack and defended the belt primarily against Slaughter, largely in "Desert Storm" (i.e., no-disqualification) matches. He also had to deal with the returning Iron Sheik, who was now competing as Colonel Mustafa.
-MSG April 22, 1991.
-12,200 in attendance with a $190,000 live gate.
-The wrestlers must all be exhausted. They went to Japan and flew back only to go over to the United Kingdom the next day.
-Old School Intro
-Gorilla Monsoon, Jim Neidhart, and Bobby Heenan are our announcers for the evening. They welcome us to MSG and talk about the rematch between Hulk Hogan and Sgt. Slaughter that is scheduled for later in the evening.
-The Dragon VS. Haku: They haven’t fully phased out the Ricky Steamboat, but it’s slowly getting there. Steamboat has the Dragon outfit and fire breathing going on. Dragon starts out with an arm drag. Dragon with a shoulder block. Haku goes to throw Dragon out, but he skins the cat. Haku with a chop. Dragon counters with an arm drag. Haku rolls out to regroup. Dragon with a throat thrust and an arm drag into an arm bar. Haku comes back with a knife edge in the corner. Corner whip by Haku and Dragon leap frogs Haku’s charge and hits another arm drag. Haku pulls Dragon out of the corner and hits some head butts. Back and forth with chops. Haku with a block. He blocks a hip lock and hits a clothesline. That gets a two count. Dragon ducks a clothesline and hits a reverse knife edge, but Haku gets a kick and a clothesline in. Hits two more clotheslines and falls out of the ring. Haku hits a head butt and holds Dragon in a vertical suplex. That gets a two count. Haku with a sleeper. Dragon fighting going out. He gets to the ropes. Haku with some big chops. They trade chops. Back and forth. Hitting each other with chops and kicks. Dragon gets a two count. Haku misses a corner charge. Dragon hits a crossbody for the pin.

-The Bushwhackers Luke and Butch VS. Power & Glory Paul Roma and Hercules: The crowd loves the Bushwhackers. It takes a while to get started. Bushwhackers double clothesline Hercules and bite both Hercules and Roma. Another double clothesline by the Bushwhackers to clear the ring. Power & Glory take their time getting back in. Roma in with Luke. Power & Glory try to double team, but Butch comes in and they do an eye poke. They do clotheslines to Power & Glory again. Power & Glory roll out to regroup. Roma with a back elbow and stomping Luke’s head. This brings Butch in which brings the referee over and allows Roma to grab the ropes. Power & Glory then double team Luke. Referee finally breaks it up. Hercules tagged in and drops an elbow for a one count. Roma tagged in and Power & Glory do a double clothesline of their own. Roma hits a running elbow drop. Gets a two count. Roma with a corner whip and a back elbow. Runs Luke into the opposite corner hard. Roma misses another corner charge and Butch tagged in and he runs Power & Glory’s heads together. They do the battering ram to Hercules to knock him outside. Roma reverses an Irish whip and Hercules trips Butch. Roma goes to cover, but Luke hits him and puts Butch on top. Hercules breaks it up and this one is breaking loose. Roma then pins Butch. It’s rather anticlimactic, but it gets the job done.
-The Big Boss Man VS. The Mountie: Lord Alfred Hayes is in the aisle to ask Mountie if he has any authority in the United States. Mountie says his jurisdiction is the World Wrestling Federation unlike the Big Boss Man. Boss Man rushes the ring and he has the night stick vs. the shock stick. Boss Man gives his stick to the referee and Mountie tries to take advantage, but Boss Man catches him with a boot to the gut and Boss Man gets the shock stick. The referee grabs the shock stick to put it outside which makes Boss Man yell at the referee and Mountie jumps him from behind. Mountie leapfrogs a charging Boss Man once but gets caught the second time. Boss Man does a spinebuster. Boss Man slaps Mountie a couple of times and knocks him down and out then hits him on the outside. Boss Man keeps breaking the count to punish Mountie. Finally rolls him in and does his leg on the ropes move. He hits Mountie with an uppercut. Boss Man misses a corner charge and loses his balance and falls to the outside and whacks his face on the ring steps going down in what looked like a painful bump. Mountie working on Boss Man’s knee. He ties the leg up on the ropes to do more damage. Boss Man can hardly stand. Mountie gets on the mic and says he’s going to show you who the real boss is. Boss Man reverses an Irish whip and hits the Boss Man Slam out of nowhere to get the pin. Mountie jumps Boss Man after the match and zaps Boss Man several times with the shock stick.
-WWF Championship Match: Hulk Hogan VS. Sgt. Slaughter with General Adnan: Hogan gets a good reaction coming out. He gets attacked by both Slaughter and Adnan when he gets in but he runs them together and throws Adnan out. It goes outside and Hogan is choking Slaughter with a cable as a USA chant goes out. Hogan gives Slaughter a big corner whip and back drops him coming out. He hits Slaughter with a clothesline and a slam. Hogan with some big punches. He throws Slaughter into the broadcast table. He attacks Slaughter with a chain and waves an American flag. Crowd loves it and chants USA Back in, Hogan with an Irish whip and a clothesline. Hogan goes for another backdrop but drops his head and Slaughter hits him with a kick to the gut. He rakes Hogan’s back. Slaughter throws right hands into Hogan’s face and runs him into the turnbuckle. He then mocks the Hogan cupping his ear to the crowd. He is hitting Hogan with punches as a Hogan chant goes out. Hogan knocked outside and Adnan attacks him. Hogan is bleeding. Adnan pushes Hogan into the apron. The crowd is booing heavily. Slaughter runs Hogan into the steps, then hits him in the face with the belt. Adnan distracts the referee while Slaughter hits Hogan with the bell. Hogan is a bleeding mess. Slaughter gets a two count and Hogan is hulking up. Crowd comes to life with this. Slaughter working on Hogan’s back as the crowd chants USA. Slaughter goes for the Camel clutch. Slaughter also ripping at the bandage on Hogan’s head. Hogan breaks the hold. They rake each other’s eyes. Hogan falls down. Hogan with a backbreaker. Slaughter goes up top and drops a knee on Hogan’s back. That gets a two count. Hogan hulking up again. He hits several rights. Gets a big boot. Slaughter still on his feet. Slaughter pushes Hogan into the referee taking him out. Adnan throws a chair into the ring. Slaughter picks the chair up and hits the referee a couple of times. Hogan ducks as Slaughter swings and he hits the turnbuckle. He tries again and Hogan ducks the chair, hits the ropes, bounces back, and hits Slaughter. Hogan grabs the chair. Adnan sneaks in and Hogan hits him with the chair. He runs Slaughter into the chair. The referee comes to and sees Hogan with the chair and disqualifies Hogan thinking Hogan hit him. Hogan grabs the chair as Slaughter throws a fireball and the chair blocks the fireball. Crowd booing that Slaughter won. Hogan chases the heels to the back with the chair. He hits Slaughter several times in the aisle. Hogan comes back to pose. He brings a little kid into the ring to pose with a flag and the championship. Gorilla says the greatest pro athlete in the world today IYDAH.
-Intermission.
-Gorilla Monsoon, Jim Neidhart, and Bobby Heenan recap what has happened.
-IRS VS. Jimmy Snuka: IRS does his tax cheat spiel before the match, but he’s newish so it’s okay. Also wearing a suit including the jacket and carrying a black briefcase. This is the tights and boots phase of Jimmy Snuka’s career. Snuka with a side headlock. IRS tries to push him off but Snuka holds on. Tries again, same result. This is IRS initial weird brown tights outfit phase. Snuka with a shoulder block and a hip toss. Gets a knife edge. IRS goes outside and bends down by the apron and is putting something in his boot. Back in, IRS runs Snuka out of the ring. IRS follows him and gives him a shot. Suplexes Snuka back in and drops an elbow. He gets a two count. He gets an abdominal stretch on and holds the ropes for leverage, but gets caught. Snuka with a hip toss. Snuka misses an elbow and IRS runs him into a turnbuckle. IRS misses a corner charge and Snuka runs him into the corner and does neck thrusts to him. Snuka with a crossbody, but IRS rolls through and pins Snuka with a handful of tights.
-Lord Alfred Hayes is in the audience. He talks about the upcoming Ted DiBiase/Roddy Piper match.
-Texas Tornado VS. The Warlord: Slow to start. Tornado wants a test of strength. Warlord with the advantage. Tornado with some shots to Warlord. Tornado hits the discus punch. Warlord gets the bear hug on. Tornado claps his hands against Warlord’s head to escape. Warlord runs Tornado into the ringside steps. He then runs him into the ringside post. Tornado tries a sunset flip, but can’t get Warlord down. Warlord working on Tornados back. Tornado tries for a slam, but Warlord falls on him for a two count. Warlord with a back breaker. Tornado hitting Warlord with multiple clotheslines. He hits another discus punch for a two count, but Warlord's foot is on the ropes. Tornado with a sleeper on Warlord. They both spill out onto the floor. The bell rings and both are counted out even though Tornado was getting back in as the bell rings.
-The Orient Express Kato and Tanaka and Mr. Fuji VS. The Rockers Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty and Virgil: Michaels and Tanaka start. Pushing contest to begin. Back and forth. Tanaka with a crescent kick. Michaels with a clothesline. Rockers and Orient Express both in and the Rockers do a double atomic drop. Virgil in against Kato and a Virgil chant goes out. Virgil sticking and moving against Kato. Virgil run into the corner post and Fuji tagged in. He and Virgil exchange blows. Virgil with a big punch, but Fuji responds with a chop and Kato tagged back in. He ducks Virgil’s shots and it goes outside. Kato takes off and Virgil follows. Video cuts out for a second. Kato runs into Jannetty who knocks him out. Tanaka comes to help but gets cut off by Michaels. Tanaka and Jannetty in. Jannetty goes to throw Tanaka out. He holds on for a while. Lots of confusion over who’s legal as both Orient Express members go in and out. Jannetty in with Kato and he gets a two count. Rockers do a double elbow on Kato. Michaels gets a two count. Michaels Irish whipped and Tanaka lands a knee to his back and Kato follows it up with a back breaker. Fuji tagged in and head butts Michaels in the groin. Kato back in. Punishing Michaels. Quick tags by the heels. Tanaka nails Michaels with some quick strikes. He then gets a chin lock on Michaels. Michaels fighting back. Tanaka hits a back elbow for a two count. Kato tagged in. Michaels guillotined and Tanaka back in for the count but Jannetty makes the save. Kato back in with a chin lock. Michaels powers out and clotheslines Kato on the top rope. Michaels with a double clothesline. Jannetty tagged in. He hits a back elbow to Tanaka. Hits a power slam for a two count. Rockers hit the double crescent kick to Tanaka. Virgil tagged in and hits a clothesline. Virgil puts the million dollar dream on Tanaka to win.
-Roddy Piper VS. Ted DiBiase with Sherri: DiBiase comes to the ring with a crutch for Piper. Piper comes out looking all business. Piper attacks DiBiase immediately. He whips DiBiase with his belt then wraps the belt around DiBiase’s neck and runs DiBiase into the corner. He then double claps DiBiase’s head. He crotches DiBiase on the top rope but Piper’s leg is hurt. Piper down on the ground. DiBiase holds onto the side of the ring as Piper tries to pull him in and Sherri starts pulling the other side. Sherri jumps on Piper’s back. He pulls her off and kisses her. She falls out. DiBiase hits Piper from behind. Sherri grabs Piper’s leg. DiBiase hitting Piper. Piper coming back. He takes DiBiase down. DiBiase gets the leg up on a Piper corner charge. DiBiase gets Piper up in the Tree of Woe. He works on Piper’s bad knee. He tears the bandages off. Sherri throws a chair in the ring and distracts the referee. DiBiase nails Piper with it, but only gets a two count. DiBiase slams the injured leg down. Piper is fighting it. DiBiase slams it on the ring post. DiBiase slamming his foot on Piper’s leg. Piper kicks DiBiase off. Sherri grabs a drink to throw in Piper’s face but he grabs it and throws it in DiBiase’s face. Piper slamming DiBiase’s head down. Sherri pushes Bobby Heenan out of his chair and takes it. DiBiase hits Piper’s leg with the chair. DiBiase gets the figure four on Piper. The bell rings. Howard Finkel explains that Piper did not submit, but referee Danny Davis stopped the match to avoid further injury to Piper. Piper runs Sherri and DiBiase together and hits them with a double clothesline. He starts hitting them with one of Sherri’s high heels. He then tears Sherri’s skirt off as she and DiBiase leave. He then throws Danny Davis out. Bagpipes play and cheers from the crowd for Piper as they sign off from MSG.
-From Steve Riddle at placetobenation.com
We now move out of the spring and into the summer of 1991, and things were pretty hot for the company as we continue the trek towards SummerSlam which would take place in this very building. The feud between Hulk Hogan and Sgt. Slaughter has been raging on since what happened at WrestleMania, and after their last encounter in this building you knew they were going to face off at least one more time. Obviously, there was going to be some sort of stipulation in place and we have what is called the “Desert Storm” match which is basically similar to the old Boot Camp matches that Slaughter occasionally had back in the 1980s. Unlike those matches where he was the face fighting the evil heel, he is now the evil heel with Hogan being the conquering hero and you hoped that these two would just beat the crap out of each other in this environment.
Since their last match back in April, the two men continued their feud on the house shows and on the last Saturday Night’s Main Event, Hogan would assist the Ultimate Warrior against Slaughter and his crew along with the Undertaker. Slaughter would typically win the matches against Hogan by DQ until 5/18 when they had the first Desert Storm match which Hogan won and they would run that match over the next few weeks leading to this show while they continued the feud on TV by cutting promos on each other. There was a lot of anticipation going into this match given how well they have worked together since WrestleMania, and you hoped that this would be a fun brawl to potentially finally close out this feud.
-Things would get more difficult for the WWF in June of 1991. From an Los Angeles Times report from March 12, 1992 By JOHN CHERWA AND HOUSTON MITCHELL
Perhaps the most damaging blow for the WWF came during the June, 1991, trial of George Zahorian, a Harrisburg, Pa., urologist who was convicted on 12 counts of selling steroids for non-medical purposes.
Hulk Hogan (whose real name is Terry Bollea) was subpoenaed because he was one of the five wrestlers to whom Zahorian was accused of selling steroids. But the U.S. attorney agreed to waive Bollea’s testimony because his “private and personal” matters outweighed any possible contribution to the trial. Wrestlers Roddy Piper (real name Roderick Toombs), Brian Blair (his real name), Rick Martel (Richard Vignault) and Dan Spivey (his real name) all admitted to buying steroids from Zahorian. In addition, Zahorian testified that he treated Bollea as a serious steroid abuser and successfully got him off steroids.
Federal Express records obtained by the grand jury in the case show that Zahorian sent packages to Bollea on eight occasions during a nine-month period in 1988. Thirty-four packages were sent during the same period to the WWF’s headquarters--which has an unlisted phone number--in Stamford, Conn. An additional eight packages were sent to McMahon at other addresses. The four wrestlers who testified all admitted receiving steroids from Zahorian by Federal Express.
McMahon, who also heads the World Bodybuilding Federation, acknowledges he experimented with steroids for a short time and received them by Federal Express from Zahorian. However, he says they were legal at the time and he does not condone their use. Possession of steroids for non-medical purposes has since been made illegal; the Food and Drug Administration reclassified the drugs under the Controlled Substance Act in 1991.
A furor erupted in the wrestling community two weeks after Zahorian was convicted. Hogan went on the Arsenio Hall show to repair his image. “I am not a steroid abuser,” he declared, “and I do not use steroids.”
McMahon says of Hogan’s television appearance: “I think Hulk told the truth, but maybe not the whole truth.” Hogan declined to be interviewed, a WWF spokesman said.
-WWF at Madison Square Garden June 3, 1991. Televised on the MSG Network.
-WWE Old School Logo.
-Gorilla Monsoon, Jim Neidhart, and Bobby Heenan on commentary.
-Demolition Smash VS. The Dragon: Dragon again has his full Dragon outfit on and does the fire breathing gimmick. Smash working on the shoulder to start. Dragon reveres it into a wrist lock. Smash throws Steamboat to the ropes to go over, but Dragon does his hanging on move and brings himself back in and dumps Smash to the outside. Dragon with an arm drag into an arm lock. Back and forth as they slug it out. Dragon working the arm. Smash does an inverted atomic drop and drops Dragon on the top rope throat first. Smash choke slams Dragon to the mat. Smash with a back suplex for a two count. Then he gets a chin lock on the Dragon. Dragon coming back, so Smash throws him out and sneaks up behind him and runs him into the ring post. Then Smash slams Dragon down at ringside then slingshots him back into the ring. Smash goes back to the chinlock. Dragon coming back with some chops. Smash comes back with a back elbow and a couple of clotheslines. Smash gets a sleeper on the Dragon. The referee checks the arm and must have messed up because he lets it drop four times instead of three and they even mention it on commentary. Dragon coming back. He hits some shots to the stomach. Dragon with a dropkick that knocks Smash outside. Dragon hits a crossbody to Smash on the outside. Dragon throws Smash in and Smash gives him a shot and suplexes him in. That gets a two count. Smash misses a corner charge. Dragon hits a crossbody to win.
-The Warlord VS. Koko B. Ware with Frankie: Warlord throws Koko across the ring. Koko responds with an eye poke and a headbutt. Koko doing some stick and move. Warlord with a slam. Koko with a headlock. He runs Warlord into the turnbuckle, but it doesn’t bother him so he runs Koko into the turnbuckle. He then does it again. Koko blocks it a third time. He gives Warlord a shot and a clothesline. The Warlord no sells it as the announcer plug the WBF Championship coming on PPV. Koko runs into a big boot. Warlord gets Koko in a bear hug. Koko trying to get out. He seems to be weakening. He finally gets out of it. Koko gets some shots in and Warlord dumps him to the outside. Warlord with a big shot to Koko on the apron. Koko tries for a sunset flip, but Warlord won’t go down. He slams Koko down, but misses an elbow drop. Koko gets a small package for a two count. Warlord misses a corner charge and Koko hits a dropkick from the top rope for a two count. Warlord catches Koko with a stun gun and gets the three count.
-Colonel Mustafa with General Adnan VS. Jim Duggan: Duggan gets a USA chant going. This match takes a while to get started. Duggan hits two clotheslines and Mustafa rolls out to regroup. Mustafa coming back with some stiff shots. Choking Duggan on the ropes. Then gets a headlock on. Duggan trying to come back with some shots, but Mustafa hits a double ax handle. Duggan blocks a suplex attempt and hits a suplex of his own. Duggan ducks a clothesline and hits a scoop slam. Adnan pulls Duggan’s leg and Duggan takes off after him. Adnan takes the 2x4 and runs to the back and Duggan runs after him. In the back, Adnan and Sgt. Slaughter attack Duggan with the 2x4. Mustafa wins the match by count out.
-Howard Finkel announces that since Bobby Heenan is broadcasting, Mr. Fuji will be the manager of The Barbarian for the night.
-Bret Hart VS. The Barbarian with Mr. Fuji: Hart gets a good reaction coming out. Barbarian with a headlock. Then Hart with a headlock. Barbarian pushes off and Hart can’t move him. Barbarian gets a scoop slam, but misses an elbow drop. Hart with some big shots, so Barbarian slides out of the ring to regroup. Hart working on the arm of Barbarian. Barbarian with some shots to the guts but Hart comes back with some kicks. Irish whip and a kick to the stomach by Barbarian. Barbarian then working on the back of Hart. Hart rolls out to regroup. Barbarian follows and runs Hart’s back into the corner post. Hart finally gets back in and does his trademark run into the corner post. Hart ducks a couple of clotheslines by Barbarian but doesn’t escape a bear hug. Hart chops Barbarian’s shoulders to escape. Barbarian with some shots to Hart then running him into the corner. He puts him in the bear hug again. Hart bites him to get out of it. Big side suplex by The Barbarian. Goes to the second rope but takes too long and misses the elbow drop. Hart lures Barbarian in and unloads with some shots to the midsection. Inverted atomic drop and a clothesline gets a two count. Hart with some corner punches to Barbarian. He hits a backbreaker. Then a second rope elbow smash for a two count. Side Russian leg sweep. Another two count. Barbarian kicks out and knocks Hart out of the ring. Barbarian goes to suplex Hart back in but he slips out and tries for a roll up but Barbarian pushes him off. Hart goes for an attack but Fuji grabs his leg. Gorilla thought that the ref saw the grab but Barbarian grabs Hart so Fuji can hit him with the cane, but Hart ducks and Barbarian is hit and Hart gets the pin. Heenan is irate. He goes into the ring. He and Fuji start shoving each other and yelling until Fuji leaves.
-Jim Quinn from the World Bodybuilding Federation is shown.
-Jimmy Snuka VS. Bob Bradley: This is tights and boots era Snuka still. Bradley gets Snuka against the ropes. Back and forth. Crisscross. Snuka with a leapfrog and he goes for the throat thrust but Bradley holds onto the ropes and rolls outside. Back in, Snuka reverses a hip toss with one of his own. Bradley with a knee to Snuka’s gut. Snuka with two leapfrogs and gets the reverse knife edge on Bradley. Snuka with a backbreaker. He hits the superfly and gets the pin.
-Earthquake VS. Jake Roberts: Jake has Lucifer with him. This is a match set up by Earthquake squashing Damien. Earthquake attacking immediately. Roberts gets a knee lift in and some shots. Roberts using speed and hitting shots to the ribs. Earthquake with a big corner whip and the ring shakes. Roberts coming back with some knees to the ribs. Roberts signals for the DDT, but Earthquake holds onto the top rope. Roberts tossed hard outside and Earthquake goes for Lucifer’s bag. Roberts sneaks up and catches him with a knee lift. Earthquake goes for a charge and Roberts ducks and Earthquake goes into the ring post. Both men hurt. Roberts with another knee lift and a short clothesline. He goes for the DDT. Earthquake gets the rope again. Roberts corner whipped hard into the turnbuckle and out to the floor. Earthquake climbs the top turnbuckle to jump on Jake to the outside but Jake moves so Earthquake doesn’t jump. Roberts corner whipped back into the corner. He catches Earthquake with a stiff right hand. Earthquake with a forearm to Robert’s back. Another corner whip. Roberts collapses to the mat. Crawling to Earthquake and grabs his leg. They trade shots. Roberts ducks a clothesline and hits a double ax handle to the back of the neck. Earthquake goes down. Roberts goes for the DDT again, but Earthquake is at the ropes. He gets Roberts down and hits a shot to his leg, but Earthquakes ribs are hurt. Earthquake with a shoulder smash and goes for the corner whip, but Roberts collapses onto the mat. Earthquake goes for the sit down splash, but Roberts rolls out. Earthquake goes back and grabs Lucifer’s bag. He puts it in the ring. Goes for the splash, but Roberts grabs his leg and trips Earthquake. Roberts brings Lucifer out and Earthquake bails. Earthquake wins by disqualification.
-Intermission.
-Sean Mooney interviews Mr. Fuji. Fuji says he’s the greatest manager of all time, not Bobby Heenan. I disagree, your mileage may vary. He challenges Heenan to bring two of his men to take on two of Fuji’s men any place any time.
-Sean Mooney then interviews The Big Boss Man. He says he’s always respected Law & Order, but doesn’t respect The Mountie. He says The Mountie will be brought to justice.
-Sean Mooney interviews Sgt. Slaughter and General Adnan. Slaughter says he will prove to Hulk Hogan what an ambush is. They will do to Hulk Hogan what they did to Jim Duggan. Slaughter says he will never give up.
-Mooney interviews Hulk Hogan. He’s dressed in fatigues and has a face mask on for the Desert Storm Match. He says he’s going to pay Slaughter back for everything he did and that he’s going to win the war. They show the ambush to Jim Duggan again.
-The Mountie VS. The Big Boss Man: Mountie tries to keep Boss Man out of the ring, but the referee takes the shock stick away and Boss Man comes in and hits a big right hand. He runs Mountie into the corner. Boss Man does the leg onto the opponent on the second rope move. He then does it again. Big power slam on Mountie. That gets a two count. Mountie slides out, but Boss Man does too and hits Mountie with another right. Back in, Boss Man hits Mountie with several shots and Mountie covers up. More shots and the Mountie goes down. Boss Man goes up to hit Mountie from the top rope, but Mountie moves and Boss Man clotheslines himself on the top rope. Mountie with a shot that knocks Boss Man down The referee is counting as Boss Man tries to get to his feet. Mountie hits a back elbow once Boss Man gets back in. That gets a two count. Boss Man coming back with a series of rights. Boss Man hits a back elbow plus a big splash. He doesn’t try for the pin though. Hits some shots to Mountie. Mountie knocked to the outside. Boss Man shoves the ref away when he tries to count and Mountie grabs the shock stick and hits a charge to Boss Man’s belly. Boss Man is out and Mountie gets the pin. He comes in and hits Boss Man again and he is shaking. Referees get him off as he says he’s the only law and order and I am the Mountie on the house mic.
-Power & Glory in the ring to do a coin toss to see who takes on Road Warrior Animal. Paul Roma wins.
-Paul Roma VS. Animal: Hercules is still in the ring and both he and Roma push Animal who pushes Hercules back and Roma attacks Animal from behind. Roma tries a couple of leap frogs and gets caught on the second one for an atomic drop. Animal with a clothesline. Animal punching Roma in the corner. Roma pushes Animal off to the outside where he is attacked by Hercules. Roma comes out and runs Animal into the apron. Back in, Roma with a dropkick to Animal. Roma then does three backbreakers. Animal ducks a punch and delivers a belly to back suplex. Roma hits a piledriver for a two count. Animal reverses a Roma corner whip, but Roma accidently hits the referee. Animal hits a dropkick and a shoulder block, but there’s no referee to count the pin. Hercules comes in and holds Animal while Roma goes for a top rope dropkick, but Animal moves and Roma hits Hercules. Animal hits a power slam to get the pin.
-Desert Storm Rules WWF Championship Match. Hulk Hogan VS. Sgt. Slaughter with General Adnan: Hogan comes to ringside. He throws the championship belt into the ring. Slaughter picks up the belt and Hogan throws powder at Slaughter. Crowd loves Hogan. Hogan hits Slaughter with Slaughter’s own helmet. He then whips Slaughter’s back with the riding crop. He head butts Slaughter with the gas mask on. Throws Slaughter outside. Runs Slaughter into the steps. He wraps a cable around Slaughter. Back in, Hogan runs Slaughter into the corner post. A USA chant goes out. Hogan gets a we support desert storm flag and wraps it around Slaughter’s throat and chokes him. Hogan fighting near the commentary table and Bobby Heenan and Jim Neidhart clear out of the way. Slaughter busted open. Slaughter corner whipped and Hogan follows it up with a big right. Slaughter swinging wildly. Hogan hits a running elbow. Hogan stomping, punching, and biting Slaughter. Hogan does a slingshot on Slaughter. Slaughter finds his riding crop and hits Hogan in the gut with it. Hogan responds with punches to Slaughter. Slaughter hits Hogan with his canteen belt. Hogan knocked outside. Slaughter runs Hogan into the barricade. Then he does it a second time. A USA chant goes out. Slaughter whipping Hogan with his belt. Slaughter choking Hogan in the corner. Hogan chant goes out. Adnan throws a chair into the ring for Slaughter. Slaughter tries to hit Hogan with the chair, but the weight of the chair tips him over. Hogan gets the chair. He nails Slaughter with the chair. Slaughter hits an inverted neck breaker. Slaughter gets the chair again and nails Hogan in the back with it. Slaughter gets the camel clutch on. Hogan fighting it. Hogan powers out of it running Slaughter’s shoulder into the post. Slaughter working on Hogan’s back. Slaughter goes to the top rope, but loses his balance and collapses on the mat. He goes for it again, but gets caught by Hogan and thrown off. A double clothesline and both men down. Slaughter unlaces his boot to use as a weapon, but Hogan throws a fireball at Slaughter. He tears his shirt off, ducks a shot by Slaughter, and hits a clothesline. He gets Slaughters boot and hits him with it several times. Hogan gets Slaughter in the camel clutch. Adnan throws in the towel. Adnan tries to throw powder at Hogan, but he blocks it and it hits Adnan. Hogan throws Slaughter and Adnan out of the ring. A kid comes in the ring and he and Hogan act like they’re going to take Slaughter and Adnan on. People throwing American flags into the ring. Slaughter fighting the officials to get back in the ring. Hogan must pose. The kid poses some too. The crowd loves it too. They then wish us goodnight and sign off from MSG.
-From a staff report at Placetobenation.com, Chad Campbell writes:
Hulk Hogan and WWF in 1991 is a weird enigma. The bloom was certainly off the rose of the Rock ‘N’ Wrestling era but the switch back to Hogan as the top man from the failed Warrior title run felt like a begrudging announcement of defeat instead of an evolution of the Hulk Hogan character. Still within the timeframe of 1991, Hogan did start to create new sustainable tinges to his character in ring to keep things working. Was this the pressure from having someone like Ric Flair come in? Was this him knowing that the eight minute main event wasn’t going to be accepted as the standard after the WWF has come to the markets repeatedly? Whatever the case, there is a huge disconnect between the at best in poor taste Gulf War angle and the shockingly good in ring results that it created.
The crown jewel of this debate is in the Desert Storm match. The fireball angle to close out WrestleMania amped the stakes between these two and a really heated blowoff was necessary. Add to that an MSG crowd that is accustomed to Alley Fights and Boot Camp matches from Sarge and the prospect of Hogan rising to the occasion in this environment can seem dubious. The match excels in spades. Hogan was entangled in some hate feuds throughout his WWF tenure such as with Randy Savage, Roddy Piper and Andre the Giant. In all of those occasions, the hate didn’t feel as palpable as it does here for the shear reason that Hogan was the conquering hero at the height of his powers. Heroes always come out on top and Hogan was undoubtedly at the top of the wrestling mountain. Cue up Gorilla Monsoon’s irresistible force meeting the unmovable object and roll it into one entity and out would come 1984-1989 era Hulk Hogan.
Even with the natural evolution of his aging and progression as a character on top, the shear morals of Hogan were called into question by Slaughter. Hogan lived on the ideal of being an All American. This was a slippery path that embodied Reagan politics to the core. Growing up as a five year old kid in 1991, the stuff Hogan was spewing about taking vitamins and saying prayers seemed like solid advice as I was unable to see through the veneer of insincerity to what was being preached by the Hulkster. Now that I am 30 years old and we are in the Gawker lawsuit era of examining Hogan, it is clear to see those promos and countless representations as hollow things spewed to provide a positive result on the bottom line carny business that is pro wrestling.
This Desert Storm match is different. It does have Hulk coming out in camo gear and war paint, but for once even now as I watched this match prepping for this article, I believed in this Hulk Hogan. I believed that he was shocked at the rules Slaughter was creating and the slander that was being brought against Hogan and America as a whole. Hogan starts by flat out cheating at the start of this match throwing powder in Sarge’s eyes. This was a perfect acknowledgement that was handled in a different tone from other Hulk heel characteristics over the years where he is presented as being in the right when the viewer can easily see a different viewpoint. Hogan knows that a binary effect of war is betraying certain principles that an individual has in order to bring about a greater good. Hogan is willing to creep down and play by Sarge’s rules in order to win the battle. The match from there is a wild brawl full of fireballs, violence, blood and heated action. It wouldn’t look out of place if the competitors were Dutch Mantel and Jerry Lawler in 1982 Memphis. Slaughter gives a magnificent performance with a huge blade job and his signature bumping. Slaughter is one of the best big match workers of all time and has the uncanny ability to still look credible and tough and also show an astute level of vulnerability with his bumping and selling. This is possibly the last great match of his storied career and he gives a wonderful victory lap performance in making Hogan’s attack look that much more vicious. When Slaughter is on top, there is also a great selling and vulnerability displayed by Hogan. This is not a cookie cutter main event where the light switch is going to flip on and Hogan will run through his finishing sequence to victory. He will have to earn this victory. The MSG faithful was really reluctant at first and honestly never reaches the temperament I would expect to match the tremendous in ring work occurring. They do produce more of a reaction in the ending stanza and give Hogan a genuine reaction of accomplishment when he is able to prevail this horrific encounter. Hogan won the battle but is worse for wear after the match he has just been entangled with. WWF can be hokey as hell at times but in 1991, they hit some great emotional tones at moments like the Savage and Liz reunion at WrestleMania VII. This match is a representation of another one of those moments and it shines as an in ring highlight and overarching storyline driven match for the era.