1985 was when the World Wrestling Federation became the one people know and love and are very annoyed by.
It had been evolving and would continue to do so, but 1985 was the first full year of the operation making a concerted push towards its’ product not just being eaten up by Northeast pro wrestling fans but by adults and children all across the country and world.
Toys were made, songs were sung, celebrities made cameos.
WrestleMania, Saturday Night’s Main Event, King of the Ring, and Prime Time Wrestling made their debuts.
The outfits got more outrageous, ring work more high energy, and Hulk Hogan continued to become an even bigger phenomenon. He had won the WWF World Heavyweight Title in early 1984 and was entering the public consciousness more and more – hanging out with Mr. T on SNL, appearing on The Tonight Show with Joan Rivers, and laying waste to any bad guy the WWF put in front of him. Meanwhile – Rowdy Roddy Piper raised hell, King Kong Bundy scared people, Randy Savage burst into people’s homes, and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan was a smart mouth dipshit.
How We Got Here
Hulk Hogan and Rowdy Roddy Piper had come in at the very end of 1983 and were positioned as major stars in 1984 – Hogan the champ who stands for all that is right with America, Piper the loud-mouthed Scottish jackass in a kilt with a bodyguard. Andre the Giant had been slowing down all of 1984 but was still a major deal and main event presence, while more top talent kept being introduced – many of them top stars in geographical territories the WWF was aiming to make irrelevant.
Hogan, Piper, Andre the Giant, and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan were main stars and card anchors in 1984, but so were Bob Backlund, Sgt. Slaughter, Ken Patera, Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka, and “Dr. D” David Schultz who all nearly disappear by the start of 1985 (all except Dr. D would eventually return in some capacity). As Iron Sheik rants on TNT 3/1/85: “No more Mr. Marine Man, no more Mr. Howdy Doody.”
The WWF had made a major shift in business priorities the year before 1985, moving from a Northeast-focused wrestling company to one going after a national expansion. In addition to big time pro wrestling and TV cameos and Hulk Hulk Hulk, things like TV weddings with the wrestlers were aired and they got good ratings doing it. The WWF was also reaping the rewards of involvement from Cyndi Lauper, getting more eyeballs from a deal with MTV and the sheer insanity of Cyndi Lauper (and eventually Mr. T) getting involved with pro wrestling. By 1985 cable TV was available in nearly half of all U.S. homes, and The USA Network was broadcasting hours of WWF programming on it.
The WWF began touring wherever they felt like, and territories like Mid-South, AWA, and Stampede Wrestling began to feel the heat. Over the next few years companies like this did one of three things: scaled back, ceased to exist, or tried to compete. Those who tried the latter didn’t do so well. Jim Crockett Promotions might have had an edge with the hardcore wrestling fan and did well in its’ area, but the World Wrestling Federation was after… the world.
As 1984 winded down, Rowdy Roddy Piper was mixing it up with Cyndi Lauper, Greg “The Hammer” Valentine was going strong as IC Champ, and Big John Studd and Bobby Heenan were messing with Andre the Giant.
To Begin: A Wrap-Up
There were four total WWF TV shows (Tuesday Night Titans, Prime Time Wrestling, Championship Wrestling, and All-American Wrestling), more TV markets, merchandising deals, and territory buyouts – this was an aggressive campaign. It was still a feeling process too, as the WWF continued to rely heavily on regional promoters when traveling. 1985 also has MTV. And NBC. And WrestleMania.
Beyond Hogan and Piper, the real great thing happening to the WWF in 1985 is the emergence of So Many Stars, all with something special to them. Up and down the card, from the main event (Paul Orndorff, King Kong Bundy) to the midcard (Junkyard Dog, Ricky Steamboat, Terry Funk, Randy Savage) to the tag division (British Bulldogs, Hart Foundation) to other places on the card (The Missing Link, The Hillbillies, Leaping Lanny Poffo), new faces were making an impact.
Some old faces were being re-packaged to be their best selves too: Paul Orndorff turns face, Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff become a tag team, Big John Studd takes a backseat to King Kong Bundy, George “The Animal” Steele goes from upper midcard heel to lovable undercard babyface. It’s also so much fun to see the WWF introductions of guys like Randy Savage and Terry Funk.
The Business
Elsewhere, Mid-South Wrestling had debuted on TBS in March, another wrestling offering alongside the WWF’s. Vince sold his own TBS timeslot to Jim Crockett Promotions in April. Vince sold Stampede Wrestling back to the Hart family in October. GLOW debuted in December. The Four Horsemen were running wild and Magnum T.A. was on his way up in JCP. New Japan Pro Wrestling had a working relationship with the WWF, while Antonio Inoki and Tatsumi Fujinami main evented and Masahiro Chono, Keiji Muto, and Shinya Hashimoto worked as young lions.
It can be interesting to see the choices made right before an explosion of business or during the midst of one, and the WWF in 1985 has a little of both.
The characters are all becoming more colorful and established, and every single show has a highlight somewhere: a wild interview, campy sketch, sweet angle. The aesthetic for the WWF’s late-80s glory years was also being defined and becoming clearer too, as they started to move away from the dark, drab look the 70s and early 80s were known for.
This wasn’t All-Star Wrestling with a bunch of old men in slacks stomping and chinlocking their way to greatness. This was big, loud, and over-the-top. A lot of it was just straight-up for children too. Hulk Hogan encouraged everyone to be physically fit, simple Hillbilly Jim learned to rassle, King Kong Bundy and Big John Studd were big and mean, Ricky Steamboat fought ninjas, George “The Animal” Steele was a lovable loon, and Junkyard Dog grabbed them cakes.
The WWF was also signing tons of guys to deals and bringing in a lot of top draws from different territories too: Ricky Steamboat and Roddy Piper from Mid-Atlantic, Junkyard Dog and King Kong Bundy from Mid-South, Randy Savage from Memphis, Hulk Hogan and Jesse Ventura and Bobby Heenan and Mean Gene Okerlund from the AWA.
Calendars and spiral notebooks and all kinds of shit were produced – this was cartoon wrestling, baby. So much so that in the middle of the year there was an actual cartoon about it made.
The clearest example I can think of what the WWF was doing in 1985 would be everybody dressed up for Halloween on the November Saturday Night’s Main Event. It is so colorful, so over-the-top, so goofy, and yet everybody is so COMMITTED to selling it. It is as if all these folks had completely bought in on Vince’s idea of sports entertainment and they were going to make it the best god damn stupid-ass campy hilarious fun cool as hell sports entertainment you ever would see.
The Wrestling
The big matches usually range from terrible to fun to outright incredible. Tito Santana, Ricky Steamboat, Macho Man Randy Savage, and Terry Funk cement themselves as all-time greats. Hulk Hogan and Rowdy Roddy Piper could whip a crowd into a damn frenzy too. Guys like Mr. Wonderful, Cowboy Bob Orton, Greg Valentine, and Adrian Adonis age well.
You’re also getting a lot of OK squashes, some of which don’t have a finish. When shown in full they manage themselves alright but some can be real tedious. Despite so many exciting new faces, the WWF roster was still filled with guys like Moondog Spot and Johnny Rodz – two are old pros for sure, but two old pros that could be a total drag to watch.
It was a great time for wrestling, a fascinating bridge between the timing and philosophies of the past and the athleticism and energy of the future.
The Stories
Angles and stories had been run in the WWF before, but not like this – there were now several feuds going on at once, or at least a few big MSG matches being built to. Everybody had a THING or a shtick. The cards were more fleshed out. And angles were being shot and promos being cut every five minutes. There was a lot more TV time to fill, and 10-minute Jay Strongbow squashes weren’t gonna get all these new viewers charged up.
Mid-South, JCP, and even the WWF had been running week-to-week angles for their syndicated TV shows for a good decade, but this thing was that on… well, steroids.
Despite this big change in presentation, despite the benefit of hindsight showing just how big this all got – on-screen, not a lot really happened.
Not to say it’s not really cool. Hulk Hogan is in his prime. “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff does his big babyface turn. Macho Man Randy Savage debuts and introduces Miss Elizabeth and freaks everybody out. Terry Funk is running around being a wild and crazy American original. Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff are doing the same, but Anti-American. A great cast of characters is established, feuds are always being built up, and guys got pushed big, with angles and promos and segments on TNT and Prime Time leading to marquee matches at the big arena shows, a house show loop, and/or Saturday Night’s Main Event. Plus, weird trippy shit continues to happen on TNT.
But the WWF is still the WWF. And 1985 kind of follows the schedule we are used to today – the year starts hot with the build to WrestleMania (Hogan! Piper!), then slows down during the spring and summer, then picks up a bit in the fall (Savage! Funk!) before slowing down once again. And that’s fine (maybe not for guy going through it chronologically). In 1985, the WWF was still ran by the same philosophies that made it a success originally – unstoppable singles babyface champ versus a never-ending onslaught of heel opposition, a cast of lovable midcarders, and managers, all centered around building up to a big MSG show every month.
The WWF Old School shows on the WWE Network give a glimpse into what’s going on there, and it’s where the best stuff usually is – a big Hulk Hogan title match, or a Tito Santana match that gets some time. Saturday Night’s Main Event is awesome too, and big stuff usually happened there – titles, turns, cameos, COSTUMES!
But the WWF just hadn’t quite fully weaponized week-to-week TV angles and storylines and build-ups to big shows. While what’s on the WWE Network gives a good view of all he big beats of 1985, you also miss a lot of cool local angles or interesting pairings. Sometimes the interviews on TNT are just a one-off promo on a big house show match coming up (i.e.: Ventura advertising his tag team with Savage that happened like once, or Bruno Sammartino making a few returns to the ring at the Boston Garden) and then everybody moves on. WWF TV was mostly squashes and promo segments and the occasional angle, while Hulk Hogan was main eventing all over the country – but only on TV once every couple months.
Seeing wrestling advance week-to-week back in 1985 can be a little jarring, but it hits the notes it needs to, even if it takes time: Hulk is champ, Hulk and Andre are pals, Randy Savage is here, The Dream Team are tag champs, Tito vs. Valentine, Orndorff vs. Piper, Steamboat vs. Muraco. It’s actually kind of compelling to watch all play out, even if they don’t seem to fully milk some things as much as one might hope.
To their credit, everything at least pushes something forward, even if it’s just a guy getting some shine before being fed to Hogan or Tito or something.
And god damnit are there some classic professional wrestling promos.
The Phenomenon
From what I gather around this time, George Scott was booking the cards, Gorilla Monsoon and Pat Patterson and young Kevin Dunn were in key backstage positions, and Vince was overseeing things, hosting TNT, and wheeling and dealing. There was a deal with NBC to air Saturday Night’s Main Event in the SNL timeslot every few months, a deal with USA Network for even more programming, a deal with CBS for a Rock n’ Wrestling cartoon, deals for merchandise, deals with local promoters to advertise in previously exclusive areas, and deals with a billion new superstars he wanted to throw money at and bring to the territory. I don’t know if Vince McMahon was personally handling every single one of these things, but isn’t it more fun to think that he was?
In 1985, the WWF taped hours of TV at their regular venues, then toured the country and into all different territories, at this point usually with the help of local promoters. Interviews for and promos for these shows would air on the local TV. Three shows ran on one night sometimes, all in different areas – one got Hogan on top, one Andre, one Tito.
The presentation got a lot bigger too – more colorful for one. The matches might not have all been amazing, but you show me a picture of anybody of note and I will tell you exactly who that guy is in a few words or less. Jesse “The Body” Ventura’s booming, confident voice carried even the smaller shows. The LOUD presentation of Saturday Night’s Main Event is something to behold, Vince McMahon in full hype man mode.
The squash matches usually get the point across and the big matches are HOT – Tito vs. Hammer, Steamboat vs. Muraco, Piper vs. Orndorff, Hogan vs. anybody. Most star vs. star matches at this point are total masters at work. Harley, Dusty and Flair were doing the more classic wrestling… but this is such a STAR MACHINE.
The TV tapings are still kind of weird – everybody remembers big loud WWF, but the random Northeast enhancement talent matches are so strange and sour sometimes – Jim Young and Bobby Leon were still making regular appearances alongside Mr. Wonderful.
Entrance themes begin to be more prominent, highlighted by Steve Gatorwolf’s stupid theme.
The WWF in general began to feel more aware of mainstream sensitivities. Tuesday Night Titans feels less late night stoner chat and more, “HEY! LOOK AT ME!” while Saturday Night’s Main Event is such a freaking brilliant introduction to the masses. The World Wrestling Federation was on NETWORK TELEVISION for the first time ever, for god’s sakes.
I am not a doctor, but this whole 80s wrestlers dying thing didn’t become a crisis without some guys experimenting with some weird stuff around this time. Regular enhancement talent “Quickdraw” Rick McGraw sadly dies of a “heart attack” a few weeks after getting married, and they still show a squash or two with him afterwards.
Outside of all that – the MERCH. WWE action figures and championship belts and other stuff are everywhere these days, but 1985 was where this machine really began, and the WWF over leapfrogged over their competition as a merchandising juggernaut. Lunch boxes, coloring books, spiraled notebook, #2 pencils, the WWF Magazine, a PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING MUSIC ALBUM. LJN had produced the first line of rubber action figures too, meaning the children could grasp the magic of professional wrestling with their own hands.
Speaking of the children, Rock ‘n’ Wrestling had a short run on CBS Saturday Mornings. It blew my mind to find out watching this that the show was purely licensed out – nobody voiced themselves, and Brad Garrett played Hulk Hogan. Between this and SNME and MTV, the WWF was force-feeding their crazy presence anywhere that could get them more eyeballs.
Rock ‘n’ Wrestling (the storyline, not the show) paid off with The Wrestling Album in the fall of 1985. Rick Derringer and Lauper manager David Wolff produced it, with Lauper and Vickie Sue Robinson helping with a vocal or two. WWF stars sang their own songs, culminating with a roster-wide rendition of “Land of 1,000 Dances.” The music video for this song really encompasses the magic of the WWF in 1985 – all these colorful characters in their wrestling great, playing up their gimmicks but also singing and dancing in a big-ass song together.
Though a couple legendary Internet videos was born of this and there was some play on MTV and American Bandstand, it wasn’t exactly a smashing hit. But, it does show that the WWF was trying stuff, and making a concerted effort to make their wrestlers more than just wrestlers.
Coliseum Home Video meanwhile began distributing WWF home videos, putting the WWF in “Special Interest” sections of video stores nationwide. There is something to be said about Coliseum Home Video being the most accessible way to watch WWF programming as a child in the late 80s and early 90s. With footage from the last few years, these videos actually focused on kind of introducing certain things about the WWF – explaining gimmick matches, establishing the wrestlers could be funny, etc.
Merchandise meant more money for the wrestlers too, as well as more contracts and more exclusivity.
As late 1985 it hits, the characters are more colorful and established, and everything feels just a bit more energized.
Something was in the air, and it wasn’t just Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka.
I Still Need to Talk About Vince McMahon
It is interesting to watch him host weekly Tuesday Night Titans’ while behind the scenes he is doing all the things that helped make him into the complicated legend he is today.
It’s an experience to see the ride of WWF monopoly in motion and what the WWF was presenting to the world while it happened. McMahon had experimented with stuff like this before: in the mid-70s he worked with his father to triple the WWF’s syndication, and he had a hand in promoting the infamous Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki match. But this was the BIIIG push.
It hit me on the March TNT’s that McMahon felt like a more serious host than in 1985 – less joking, no more silly intros for Alfred, no smirk as he introduces the show. It’s less about him and more about the stars, and he just feels busy. He’s still able to repeat things over and over as he does today: “the first EVER wedding on Network TV,” “superstars personified in the World Wrestling Federation,” “If you’re waiting to see WrestleMania on home TV, you could be old and gray before that ever happens,” etc.
I mean, he stole stuff too. Most guys who were anybody in the WWF took their shtick to the WWF, from Mr. Wonderful to Missing Link to Kamala. But Vince McMahon’s WWF machine was what introduced them and promoted them to their absolute fullest.
There is all this weird stuff too that reveals just who this sports entertainment titan truly is – his fascination with Sal Bellomo’s boats on TNT 3/1/85, his burial of “The Glad Bag Man” on TNT 8/23/85, the sheer glee in his laugh when Lord Alfred Hayes dumps water on Jimmy Hart on TNT 4/26/85.
At the end of the day, all of these crazy choices – Mr. T wrestling, B. Brian Blair, Ricky Steamboat fighting ninjas, Nikolai Volkoff singing the Russian National Anthem, Fuji General and Fuji Bandito, a Rolls Royce giveaway, Bobby Heenan and Captain Lou Albano bobbing for apples – are him saying YEAH PAL LET’S DO IT.
The Platform: WrestleMania
The story of Vince McMahon’s back against the wall, giving his everything for one last shot at success in the form of WrestleMania, has been told to death.
The basic jist is that the WWF had major momentum from the end of 1984 until the start of 1985, thanks to Lauper and Mr. T and Captain Lou and MTV and Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper and talk shows and music videos and all kinds of stuff. So they ran a big show at their main arena MSG, and chose to air it across the country on closed-circuit television, which was pay-per-view before pay-per-view.
To hard sell this big show, the bookers went with a few things in addition to promotion on MTV: Dr. D slapping John Stossel, the “rape the giant’s dignity” haircut angle, Cyndi Lauper, Mr. T, and Liberace.
Though the first WrestleMania has likely been seen by 95% of professional wrestling fans – and likely disappointed 94% of them – the real meat of this show is actually in the build-up. More interesting than seeing the first WrestleMania might be seeing the first Road to WrestleMania, with promos and angles and shows in general that just went into hyper-drive. All these hot new stars delivered on the promotion – Piper and Heenan in particular are INCREDIBLE and the perfect guys to take wrestling into a major show like this.
Overall – the show was OK.
It is less a wrestling show than a moment in time. Though the pomp and circumstance is there, it is still an in-ring heavy card and top-to-bottom the wrestling is not good.
Two great babyfaces (Tito Santana and Ricky Steamboat) have solid but not very notable squash matches. King Kong Bundy has a somewhat notable 9-second (more like 30) over S.D. Jones, which really was an awesome angle and a great intro for a big guy. The championships are defended in pretty good matches, Greg “The Hammer” Valentine retaining the IC Title over Junkyard Dog and The U.S. Express failing America and losing their Tag Team Titles to Nikolai Volkoff and the Iron Sheik. The Women’s Title match is pretty bad and mostly an angle around Cyndi Lauper. Andre vs. Big John Studd is a classic Battle of the Giants but is SUCH a bad match.
The main event is an honest to god classic though. This was Vince McMahon introducing his world to the real world. Hogan and Mr. T vs. Piper and Orndorff. Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka is in one corner and Cowboy Bob Orton in the other. Muhammad Ali and Pat Patterson are outside as referees. The Guest Timekeeper with a full entrance is Liberace. The awkward ring announcer is Yankees manager Billy Martin. The crowd is hot as all hell. Mr. T isn’t exactly Dean Malenko, but this is a match perfectly executed for maximum entertainment. The Mr. T exchanges look more real than embarrassing, with lots of takedowns and Roddy Piper classic selling. Hogan is OVER. Orndorff is a DICK. And the screwy finish is legendary stuff.
With the benefit of hindsight I think WrestleMania can be classified a success, and this major show was just another major move that the WWF made smack dab in the middle of the 1980s.
Happy Thoughts – WrestleMania I (3/31/85).
The Platform: The Wrestling Classic
It isn’t the best show, but it is a throwback to a simpler time of mid-80s professional wrestling that had its’ charms. The Macho Man and Elizabeth have four separate matches and four different outfits. Jesse “The Body” Ventura is wearing something crazy. Nikolai Volkoff is a Russian asshole. Terry Funk is a Texas asshole. And Vince McMahon and Lord Alfred Hayes are looking at a big blue board of tournament brackets as their guest Susan Watkis uses a pointer to point at things.
The thing about this tournament held at the Rosemont, Horizon in Chicago, IL, was that it was a very large tournament, with 16 entrants. That’s a cool idea and all, but it also meant most matches were a minute long and nothing really had any time to breathe. So it kind of feels like a waste of time, with a bunch of nothing matches with crap finishes, then a tournament finals that ends via countout. Junkyard Dog and Macho Man kind of seem like stars coming out, but only kind of, and nobody else gets over even if Dynamite Kid downing Nikolai in 10 seconds is pretty cool.
On the other hand, it’s kind of a breezy show with an epic Savage performance, especially versus Steamboat. Hogan vs. Piper for the WWF Title is also really really good. Plus a Rolls Royce was given away to a lucky resident of Batavia, IL.
Happy Thoughts – The Wrestling Classic (11/6/85)
The Platform: Saturday Night’s Main Event
It’s interesting to see how an NBC-produced product kind of became the template of what really made the WWF click at this point and into the future. Everything from the intros to the matches to the little skits are completely over-the-top. Most WWF TV shows at this point were squashes and angles and promos. SNME had squashes and angles and promos, but it also had big angles and title matches and weddings and pie eating contests. It also had all kinds of HYPE. Modern day WWE hype can likely be traced back to one singular event: a Main Event. On Saturday’s.
The graphics were big, music was catchy, and superstars looked like superstars. Most shows opened with these professional wrestlers just screaming at you about their opponent.
The open of the first SNME is a doozy: the crowd is buzzing as they cut to Cyndi Lauper and Mr. T promos. Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura are on commentary, with Jesse decked out in a trademark batshit insane outfit (pink suit, big earings, bandana, sunglasses). Vince and Jesse run down the card and out charges THE IRON SHEIK with a spotlight and Iranian flag. Mean Gene appears with screaming throngs of fans in the background. The gorgeous babyface tag team known as The U.S. Express is standing there and looking all pretty, all the while Captain Lou Albano is ranting and raving.
These shows were stacked. The first one had George “The Animal” Steele and Paul Orndorff babyface turns, a really fun 6-man tag match, a World Title match, Hulk Hogan and Mr. T, Cyndi Lauper, and Junkyard Dog’s mom.
The second had Hulk Hogan defending the honor of America, Piper and Orndorff beating the shit out of each other, Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant teaming up, and a WEDDING.
The third is so incredibly special, as it takes place around Halloween and the WWF roster is dressed up in costumes bobbing for apples and eating pies. Hulk Hogan is Hercules, Randy Savage and Elizabeth are Tarzan and Jane, and Iron Sheik is Batman. It also has the legendary sketch with children visiting Rowdy Roddy Piper’s house for Halloween, as well as Junkyard Dog vs. Terry Funk in one of the greatest matches of all time. Oh and TITO SANTANA VS. RANDY SAVAGE.
Happy Thoughts – WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event #1 (5/11/85)
Happy Thoughts – WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event #2 (10/5/85)
Happy Thoughts – WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event #3 (11/2/85)
The Platform: Tuesday Night Titans
In 1985, they try some different stuff. In general Lord Alfred Hayes seems a bit quieter and isn’t bantering so much with Vince. Vince meanwhile seems a little more serious, a little more busy.
After experimenting with it a few times in 1984, TNT also officially goes from two hours to one, which makes the shows a lot easier to digest.
A TNT Band is briefly added, while a live studio audience becomes permanent midway through the year. It kind of changes vibe of the show – less Vince and friends fucking around and trying weird stuff, more a performance. Things like Audience Q&A’s and contests at the end of the show for a TNT jacket are added to the circus.
Into 1985, as with any WWF TV, the show can get stale. The WWF was throwing a lot at the wall at this point, so while you get things like Hogan and Piper and Savage and Heenan, you also get stuff like the B. Brian Blair’s kids’ wrestling academy, Johnny Rodz interviews, way too much time spent with The Hillbillies, or the awkward introduction of The British Bulldogs.
January through March 1985 features some incredible episodes of TNT in the lead-up to the first WrestleMania. But being that there aren’t many REALLY BIG shows they are building to for the rest of the year outside of MSG shows and maybe The Wrestling Classic, TNT becomes more about introducing characters and focusing on some characters that maybe don’t deserve the focus.
Regardless, on every show at least one completely fascinating thing pops up, and some classic angles are shown along with more follow-up and context than YouTube might allow: Andre the Giant’s haircut, Orndorff firing Heenan and turning face, George “The Animal” Steele’s shock treatment. Bob Orton going to the doctor, Macho Man Randy Savage longform promos, Leaping Lanny Poffo poetry. The show might slow down a bit in relevancy as the year goes on, but you are still getting some classics.
The characters who became the legends that are Rowdy Roddy Piper and Macho Man Randy Savage are on their first big runs too. And Vince McMahon is still just dicking around in his own little world before he got so busy that he could not host a weekly talk show.
I talk more about TNT as a whole in the Year in Review – WWF Tuesday Night Titans (1984).
I talk A LOT more about TNT in 1985 here:
Year in Review – WWF Tuesday Night Titans (1985) – Part 1
Year in Review – WWF Tuesday Night Titans (1985) – Part 2
Vince’s intros for Lord Alfred Hayes are sadly phased out, though a few remain:
TNT #22 – “My pleasure now to introduce you to the gentleman who always has his fly buttoned indeed, Lord Alfred Hayes.”
TNT #23 – “The English version of Mr. Green Jean is right here with us, Lord Alfred Hayes.”
TNT #29 – “The red-fallen breasted Lord Alfred Hayes”
TNT #38 – “Her majesty’s answer to the Pillsbury Dough Boy”
TNT #43 – “And now, it is my pleasure to introduce to you, her Majesty’s answer to the Pale Rider, Rowdy Yates, and the Lone Ranger all rolled into one, Lord Alfred Hayes.”
TNT #55 – “Her Majesty’s answer to the Headless Horsemen, Lord Alfred Hayes”
TNT #58- “Her Majesty’s answer to the tiny bowl man, Lord Alfred Hayes”
TNT #60 – “The leftovers from Thanksgiving, Lord Alfred Hayes”
WWF Old School
WWF OLD SCHOOL (MSG 3/17/85)
This has some terrible bits averages out to a strong MSG show, with an awesome go-home angle, fun 6-man with Andre, fun Neidhart squash, and strong main event with Hammer vs. Tito plus Lumberjacks. It’s the go-home show for the first WRESTLEMANIA, for godssakes. Incredible Piper’s Pit with Mr. T too.
Happy Thoughts – WWF Old School (MSG 3/17/85)
WWF OLD SCHOOL (MAPLE LEAF GARDENS 4/21/85)
Amazing tag team wrestling here, with Steamboat & Santana vs. The Dream Team. Otherwise – basic Hogan title match, basic young Bret Hart match. Worth a watch for curiosity, and the wrestling is completely solid, but not essential or anything. Hogan/Orndorff shake.
Happy Thoughts – WWF Old School (Maple Leaf Gardens 4/21/85)
WWF OLD SCHOOL (MAPLE LEAF GARDENS 11/10/85)
This isn’t really worth anyone’s time, but it’s also 48-minutes and 3 matches so whatever. Andre/Jim vs. Bundy/Studd is alright, and seeing Andre get the stretcher job was wild, even if it went on forever. Pretty crap show though. Big Andre angle goes on way too long. There’s a crappy Cousin Junior match and a crappy Dino Bravo match.
Happy Thoughts – WWF Old School (Maple Leaf Gardens 11/10/85)
WWF OLD SCHOOL (BOSTON GARDEN 12/7/85)
Steamboat/Savage, Bruno/Piper, Tito/Jesse, Dream Team/Killer Bees – Excellent top-to-bottom show, with a fun atmosphere, great match-ups, and quality wrestling all around. If you see the whole card, they cut the exact right amount of riffraff too. 10/10
Happy Thoughts – WWF Old School (Boston Garden 12/7/85)
WWF Home Video Classics
WWF HOME VIDEO CLASSICS (BLOOPERS, BLEEPS AND BODYSLAMS)
This is just a bunch of clips from Tuesday Night Titans. As a digest of that show’s 1984, it’s alright, and if you haven’t seen TNT before, it’s a pretty entertaining watch. Most of the stuff here is worth watching too as far as mid-80s WWF insanity, and they do feature a few of the best ever TNT segments. But it also leaves a little to be desired and is kind of haphazardly edited. There will be better Coliseum tapes. The Butcher Vachon wedding, Piper’s Pit with Cyndi Lauper, Andre the Giant’s “Fish Song,” Mean Gene visiting NYC with Adrian Adonis, and Lord Alfred Hayes puking from Hulk Hogan’s Python Powder are highlights.
Happy Thoughts – WWF Home Video Classics (Bloopers, Bleeps and Bodyslams 4/12/85)
WWF HOME VIDEO CLASSICS (MOST UNUSUAL MATCHES)
A great tape. It sputters out a bit towards the end, but almost everything is fun and some stuff legitimately great. There are some cool classic gimmick matches not yet on the Network here too, like the Strap Match and full Snuka splash match. The Coliseum presentation has improved as well, and Ventura is incredible. Gorilla Monsoon on the Bloopers tape was fun, but Ventura on these is an absolute treasure. He does voiceover intros for most of the matches (and even commentates one) which is cool, but the real magic is how logically he breaks down just why these competitors couldn’t just get it done in a regular old wrestling match. In a world where a Hell in a Cell match is set up just because the next pay-per-view is called Hell in a Cell, it is so cool to hear.
Happy Thoughts – WWF Home Video Classics (Most Unusual Matches 5/16/85)
WWF HOME VIDEO CLASSICS (BIGGEST, SMALLEST, STRANGEST, STRONGEST)
There are some neat clips here but no meat to anything. And it’s kind of a drag to get through. Might have been a neat oddity back in the day and I guess acts as some kind of intro to wrestling, but it’s not a well-done one. Sheik swinging clubs, The Wolfman, Haystacks Calhoun and midgets.
Happy Thoughts – WWF Home Video Classics (Biggest, Smallest, Strangest, Strongest 12/11/85)
The End, Until Next Year
Gorilla Monsoon: Superstars personified here in the World Wrestling Federation… Gorilla Monsoon, for Jesse “The Body” Ventura, saying so long, ’till next time!
The WWF in 1985 ends with a lot happening, but more around character-building: Hulk Hogan dominating, Rowdy Roddy Piper reeling, Macho Man Randy Savage ascending. The World Wrestling Federation and its’ crazy cast of characters was now firmly planted in the awareness of a national audience.
I wonder how that’ll go.
