Hello everyone! We are going old school, and when we go old school, I usually like to add a bit of history so we can see where America was at in the era of wrestling we are watching. Tuesday Night Titans was a weekly show though and WWE Network has every episode, so I think every five episodes or so will be a review of where the nation was at, at the time of the show we are watching.
Tuesday Night Titans
We get the typical beginning of letters and pictures floating through space as a horn section plays triumphant music. Lord Alfred Hayes welcomes us to the show and tells us who will all be on the show.
McMahon introduces Alfred Hayes as the man who taught taught people how to break in to buckingham palace. Hayes says well “at least the intruder got a cup of tea in the palace, I haven’t had one on TNT yet.” Vince throws it to commercial!! LOL
Hulk Hogan Interview
Vince introduces this “titan of entertainment” as Thunderlips in Rocky III. Alfred Hayes says Hogan “was born to a certain destiny.” They then bring up the fact that Hogan beat the Iron Sheik for the title. McMahon says Iron Sheik was expected a different opponent, but Hogan showed up to challenge for the title.
We get a replay of Hogan winning, this is the second time we have seen it on Titans and the third time I have seen it this month. McMahon really was putting all he had in terms of presentation to put Hogan over as a star. We are even going to see the interview where Hogan was with his parents celebrating the victory. replay of Hogan and his parents cutting promo.
Vince then cuts to commercial and promises a great match between Hogan and Dr. D. When we come back McMahon says that Hogan was returning to Minneapolis where he has “many man fans”.
Camera cuts to Mean Gene is Minnesota telling us that Hogan is “coming back home” even though he was from California. They are really putting over the fact that Hogan will be in Minnesota. Being from Minnesota, I am able to speak with many people who grew up on AWA. Not many people seem to bring up Hogan or how influential he was. I hear most about Da Bruiser and Da Crusher. Also Verne and Bockwinkel . One of my regulars lived in the trailer park where Verne had his wrestlers stay while training, they have some very interesting stories. None of which pertain to Hogan who is “back home in the Twin Cities”
Something that strikes me as humorous is how often Hogan tells us stuff turns him on… Like here.
Mean Gene says “Jesse Ventura finally made it from Minneapolis to the big leagues” Hogan says “down the line, Jesse Ventura, we are gonna have to get it on and show the Twin Cities what is really going down between us.” WHAT THE HELL HOGAN?!?! LOL Your ridiculous.
Hogan asked Mean Gene if he has ever met a woman who brought him to his knees. Hogan then says that Minneapolis is his woman that brought him to his knees. Hulk then says that he brought “the real world championship to the Twin Cities, The one from Madison Square Garden.” He tells the Twin Cities that he is coming home.
McMahon keeps telling us how this match was in Minnesota and the first match we see from Hogan is from Minnesota where the fans love him so much. It is at the Met Center which brings back some memories.
And I’m Like… Getting it now. Hogan still wasn’t completely over with the fans. So on WWE’s only real nationally broadcast show, they are gonna put him in front of a crowd that adores him. Apparently that is Minnesota. We as a state are very passionate for our hip-hop and indie music, comedians that are about to blow up, and hometown wrestlers. I think it is a good idea and am liking all the shoutouts my state got on the early part of the show.
Dr. D David Shultz vs. Hulk Hogan
So this is our match…. Gene Okerlund and Gorilla Monsoon talk about how bloody Hogan is and they keep putting this over Hulks face…
Monsoon says the chair was made of iron. LOL. I am thinking they should keep the camera away from Hogan’s face so we can watch the match. Shultz hits his finisher and fans throw garbage in the ring like its NWO 1996.
Hogan kicks out at two and starts to “hulk up”. Hogan still doesn’t do the finger wag, but he does the Thunderlips double choke. Hogan bites Shultz and Monsoon and Okerlund try and decide if the blood on David’s face belongs to Shultz or Hogan. Hogan hits a clothesline and elbow drop. It should be three but Hogan pulls up David after two to dole out more punishment. Hogan is biting and choking and stopping the pin… He is the top babyface of the company. Just remember that when fans today complain that babyfaces aren’t acting like true babyfaces.
Hogan hits more punches to David’s head and the crowd is going CRAZY. Hogan hits a slam and leg drop and this time gets the… nope he stops the pin attempt to just bite Shultz in the face…. Hogan then tells the ref he is not ready to do a three count. Hulk throws David over the top rope and it is hard to see what is happening.
Hogan rammed Shultz face into the steel post, the ref yells at Hogan who shakes his head no at the ref. I believe the ref is Gorilla Monsoon’s son. David is busted wide open and now Hogan is attacking him with a chair… I think this is No DQ. This match is basically a blue box now.
Hogan is biting Shultz wound open even more. Hogan hits a clothesline and punches Dr. D’s head tons of times. Referee is telling Hogan to keep his hand open. Hulk debuts his big boot because Monsoon and Mean Gene react like they have never seen that before.
Dr. D is able to fight back and Monsoon says he is digging down deep to fight back. Shultz misses his flying elbow and Hogan ‘hulks up again’. Hogan hits a clothesline and pin for the win. There is a beautiful shot of the Met to end the match.
And I’m Like… If I was watching this in real time, I would think Hogan is a cheater. I sympathize with Ventura everytime he calls Hogan a cheat. That being said, after the match was over and Alfred gave his insight, I changed my heart a bit. Hayes says we have to understand how dirty Dr. D has been in his feud with Hogan. He said “first time viewers might find The Hulk to aggressive, but the truth is he wasn’t really, he was only giving kind for kind and Shultz got what was deserved.” McMahon and Hayes said Hogan is one of the best scientific wrestlers, but he can brawl too.
McMahon introduces the roughest wrestlers in the world today. Classy jazz music plays until Butcher Vachon comes out.
Butcher Vachon Interview
Paul Vachon- Paul Vachon grew up as one of thirteen children of Ferdinand Vachon, a Montreal police officer. In 1957, he followed his brother Maurice into professional business, adopting his brother’s, the “Mad Dog”, vicious heel style and the moniker “Butcher Vachon”. He wrestled in the American Wrestling Association, World Wrestling Federation (now WWE), National Wrestling Alliance and Georgia Championship Wrestling (later would become WCW). He often teamed with his brother “Mad Dog” Vachon, with whom he won the AWA World Tag Team Championship. In the early 1970s he appeared alongside his sister Vivian Vachon in the motion picture Wrestling Queen. Paul retired in 1984.
Vachon says it is really nice to be here and says he is not ready to be on the show. He says wrestling fans don’t associate the personality of the wrestler with any other talent. Vince says that he knows Paul can sing well.
Vachon seems like a very great man. He is humble and knows the end of his career is coming. This is one of his last recorded appearances on WWF Television.
He sings in French… the music sounds distorted because of it being on a tape, but it sounds very good. I am a fan of lounge music so this hits a weird spot in my heart. This man is known as the Butcher and has a tremendous voice and sings a beautiful song. Segments like this shows that McMahon was preparing for the WWE Network and always wanted to show off his wrestlers as more than wrestlers. Vachon transitions into English so we can hear it is a love song.
McMahon says “the voice we just heard is not what I would expect” McMahon says lets se the Butcher in action.
Butcher Paul Vachon vs. Superfly Jimmy Snuka
What a way to prepare us for some fighting. We hear a wonderful song about love and it is mostly in French. Now we get to see that singer beat the snot out of someone. That really won me over on the Butcher.
Vachon is quick to attack and starts hammering Snuka with body blows and back rakes. Vachon keeps at it with eye rakes and more back rakes. This dude must not cut his nails because he does this so much. I miss the back scratch move, that sIhould be used more, maybe by Kevin Owens.
Vachon bites Superfly and Mean Gene and McMahon say that he might get disqualified for actions like that…..? What about Hogan? That was completely legal?
Snuka hit a headbutt and jumped off the top rope to hit a headbutt for the quick victory.. Poor Vachon, the only match he gets to see is him losing in 3 minutes.
And I’m Like… That was peanuts. I wished to see more or hear more, now I will be on the YouTubes til late watching the matches of his. That’s about all I can say, it was too short for anything else.
Mailbag!!
Alfred Hayes gets so mad at the postman. Hayes says he will sick a dog onto the mailman.
“Isn’t it about time Snuka got a title shot?” Vince says Jimmy is due for a title shot and we would look forward to it. Vince made fun of the handwriting on the letter.
Alfred picks up another letter and says “this one is better and more articulate, it’s from Minneapolis” WOW they are praising the hell out of the Twin Cities, I wonder the reason behind it. “I have made many inquires to the whereabouts of Red Bastien. My Mother said he was very handsome, can we see some matches of him?” McMahon says maybe in the future, he is living in California and does some special guest refereeing.
“My friend and I have a $10 bet, who is younger, John Studd or Sgt. Slaugher. Also is it true Studd is from Los Angeles.” McMahon said Studd is from California, but age wise, I don’t know”
And I’m Like… That was way quick, it is more streamlined too, I like that McMahon will sometimes be honest with his answers and sometimes not. The Mailbag is always interesting.
Gorilla Monsoon Interview
Gorilla Monsoon- originally billed himself as Gino Marella, a proud Italian American babyface who would sing in Italian prior to his matches. Even after changing his ring name, “Gino” stuck as Marella’s nickname among friends and colleagues, including Jesse Ventura, who would call Marella “Gino” on the air. Marella garnered moderate popularity, but soon realized that fans paid more attention to outlandish monster heel gimmicks, and they therefore made more money. Marella totally revamped his image, growing a long beard and billing himself as Gorilla Monsoon, a terrifying giant from Manchuria. Supposedly born on an isolated farm, “Monsoon” traveled across the countryside with a gypsy caravan wrestling bears, spoke no English, ate raw meat, and drank his victims’ blood. The story given on WWWF television was a bit different: his first manager, Bobby Davis, claimed to have discovered Monsoon in Manchuria wading nude in a mountain stream. The Monsoon character was far more successful, and fans were genuinely afraid of him, sparking a huge financial windfall for Marella. In the ring, Monsoon dominated opponents with vicious chops, the dreaded Manchurian Splash, and his signature move, the Airplane Spin. Marella first wrestled Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF World Championship on October 4, 1963, at Roosevelt Stadium, in Jersey City, New Jersey. Monsoon qualified by winning a partially televised Ring Wrestling Magazine tournament, where he pinned Killer Buddy Austin in about a minute. Monsoon’s disqualification win over Sammartino in NJ triggered a series of rematches at Madison Square Garden, and they would renew the feud again there in 1967. At the end of the Jersey City match as Monsoon was sitting on the mat a fan (not part of the show) jumped into the ring and busted the back of a wooden chair over Monsoon’s head. In 1963, Vincent J. McMahon reformed the Capitol Wrestling Corporation into the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) (currently known as World Wrestling Entertainment), breaking his territory away from the National Wrestling Alliance in an attempt to create a new national powerhouse. At the time, the WWWF was the dominant wrestling promotion in the Northeast U.S. Marella formed a friendship with McMahon, and became a 1/6 shareholder in the WWWF, controlling bookings in several WWWF territories. He also became one of the promotion’s top heels, feuding with popular babyface champion Bruno Sammartino in sellout arenas across the country. Despite his huge size, then in excess of 400 pounds, Monsoon had great agility and stamina, often wrestling Sammartino to one-hour time-limit draws. Monsoon teamed up with Killer Kowalski with success. In November 1963, they defeated Skull Murphy and Brute Bernard to win the U.S. Tag Team Championship. The following month, the duo lost the belts to the Tolos Brothers (Chris and John) in Teaneck, New Jersey.[2] Monsoon and Kowalski reunited in the late 1960s to defeat champion Bruno Sammartino and Victor Rivera 2 falls to 1 in Madison Square Garden in a main event, marking the first, and possibly only time, that Sammartino & Rivera lost as a tag team. Monsoon also teamed with Professor Toru Tanaka, and they had a number of tag matches in Madison Square Garden. They won a main event on disqualification over Sammartino and Spyros Arion and later lost a Texas Death rematch to the same team. A year later, after defeating teams such as Al Costello & Dr. Bill Miller; and Bobo Brazil and Earl Maynard, they went on to lose a main event to Sammartino and Victor Rivera. Monsoon had semi main event matches with Spyros Arion as well as Bobo Brazil in his key heel years. In 1969, Monsoon became a babyface, befriending his former arch-rival when Sammartino rescued him from an attack by Crazy Luke Graham. The stage was set for Monsoon to become a fan favorite of the 1970s and feud with top heels of the decade, including champion Superstar Billy Graham. He briefly turned heel again in 1977 and feuded with André the Giant, and the two engaged in a special boxing match in Puerto Rico (where Monsoon owned stock in the territory), with André winning the match. As a face, he had major wins in Madison Square Garden, including over Killer Kowalski as well as “Big Cat” Ernie Ladd. On June 2, 1976, a very famous incident occurred in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania involving boxing great Muhammad Ali. Ali, preparing for his upcoming crossover bout with Antonio Inoki in Japan later that month, jumped into the ring as Monsoon was concluding a short match against Baron Mikel Scicluna. Ali removed his shirt and started dancing around Monsoon while gesturing and throwing jabs at him, to which Monsoon responded by grabbing Ali in his Airplane Spin and slamming him to the mat. Incidentally, a very young Vincent K. McMahon narrated the fight. Marella would never reveal whether the incident was preplanned. In an interview, he commented, “I never saw him before and haven’t seen him since.” A kind of torch bearer of the Vincent J. McMahon-era WWWF, Gorilla Monsoon was rabidly supported by New York audiences. On June 16, 1980, a young and up-and-coming Hulk Hogan was booked to face him at Madison Square Garden. At the time, Hogan was a widely-followed heel character, while Monsoon was still a babyface. However, in order to push the new talent, McMahon told Hulk Hogan to beat Monsoon in under a minute. Upon that outcome, the crowd became livid and chased Hogan when he was leaving the arena, turning over his car. Policemen on horses had to be summoned to quiet the mob. On August 23, Monsoon put his career on the line in a match against Ken Patera. Monsoon lost the match and stayed true to his word, retiring several weeks later and returning just four times: wrestling a match in 1982 as a substitute for André the Giant, taking part in Big John Studd‘s “Body Slam Challenge” in 1983.
Monsoon calls this the greatest wrestling program since started by the Greeks. Monsoon puts over how great the company is and how excited he is to work for a company that can produce shows like this.
McMahon asks Alfred Hayes if anyone could be as fast and strong as Gorilla. Alfred says Gorilla Monsoon is legendary in wrestling. McMahon cuts off Alfred and asks Monsoon to talk about being on the Olympic team that went to Russia. The 1960’s Olympics.
Vince asked when Gorilla thought about being a wrestler. Monsoon says he was an English teacher. Frank Tunney called Gorilla up one day and asked if he wanted to be a wrestler. Vince wonders how hard it was for Gorilla to start in the business. Gorilla says his size was in his favor and he transitioned quite easily.
McMahon is taking us to when Muhammad Ali confronted Monsoon.
As Monsoon comes down for his match the crowd pops huge. Turns out Baron Mikel Scicluna is the opponent and The Baron does the WarMachine taunt from ROH. Gorilla throws Mikel over the top rope. Ali gets pissed and takes his suit off as Gorilla laughs. Muhammad takes his shirt off and gets in the ring. DUDE LOOKS SO SMALL!!
ALi is trying to hit jabs on Monsoon who just kinda stands there. Ali hits a punch on Monsoon and Gorilla just picks up Ali and airplane spins the man to the floor!! This is NUTS!! Ali just walks back to his seat and looks visibly upset. Ali throws such a tantrum they have police take him the the dressing room. That is how you do it Big Show
Monsoon gets interviewed. Gorilla says “this man might be a great boxer, but this guy is nothing all he knows is a few lousy jabs. He doesn’t know a wristlock to a wrist watch. You can’t wrestle a wrestler.” McMahon keeps putting over the fact that Monsoon could do whatever he wanted with Ali. Monsoon walked away saying “terrible terrible wrestler”
McMahon says it was 1977 and Ali was then World Boxing Champion. That is crazy that Ali would sign up to do that at the height of his career. That must have helped WWE so much, and props to Monsoon for dealing with it like a cool, calm, and collected pro.
Vince drops a bombshell…. He says wrestling is the greatest martial art. I always say in the spectrum of Mixed Martial Arts. Wrestling is or is close to being the most artistic side. It is controlled creative combat. Love that Vince points this out 22 years ago.
And I’m Like… Monsoon is a BAD ASS! I did not know he was an English teacher, or that he made Ali look like a chump. That man is amazing, he is articulate and has complete control over most situations. He must have been a very wise man.
McMahon puts down Captain Lou before he brings him out as a guest.
Captain Lou Interview
Captian Lou walks out to many boo’s even though no one is there. Albano spits into a beer can. He says he lives by the green color of money.
Albano says “this guy says pip, pip and all that stuff” while pointed at Alfred. Who looks very upset. Albano just burped and blew it in McMahon’s face!! Vince seems a bit flustered by this.
Albano gets mad that Alfred is a teetotaler (someone who doesn’t drink booze). McMahon wants to know why Albano is with Cyndi Lauper even though he isn’t well versed in music. Albano says he is an accomplished musician. He is gonna play piano for us.
Captain Lou plays three keys and McMahon claps and says that it was great. Albano keeps moving the bench and acts like he is about to play but stalls and LEGIT PLAYS ONE OF MY FAVORITE SONGS!!! No Other Love… THIS FUCKING SHOW YOU GUYS!!! Albano even plays the vocal part… I am legit shocked!!
Vince is shocked.. Albano starts yelling at people, tells other band members to just go grab a gun and shut up. Albano says Lauper was a barroom brawl. Captain Lou said he taught her the P.E.G. Politeness, Etiquette, and Grooming.
Vince was trying to transition to the Piper’s Pit segment but Albano keeps talking so we just cut to it.
And I’m Like… Before we get into Piper’s Pit, let me just say. WOW. Albano has so many talents, he looks like the biggest beach bum. Don’t judge a book by it’s cover, and let’s try to find more Albano playing music videos please. I want this show back, I want to see the hidden talents of all our superstars.
Piper’s Pit w/ Captain Lou and Cyndi Lauper
Piper said “you took Lauper from nothing to a superstar.” Albano goes through all the chart positions. He said he wrote the lyrics and filmed the video, he studied everything and made her what she is.
Albano is going through all the magazines and newspaper with Cyndi in it. Lou is pointing out all the things he did to help her. Then Captain Lou shows the golden record to Roddy Piper… That same golden record Piper will use on the way to WrestleMania 1.
Cyndi sets the record straight saying Lou is not her manager. The crowd blows up. Albano tells Cyndi to tell everyone how he made her a star. Lauper kept saying “Lou is only kidding” Piper is getting mad at all the lies. Lou says “Cyndi tell them how women only belong in the kitchen, and how women never accomplished anything without a man.” Lauper is getting very angry. Lou tells her to shut up!!!
Captain Lou said all women are slime. She says he was only in the video for one second. The women are cheering so loud. She keeps saying “don’t get me mad” She is trying to leave and flips a table and starts attacking Piper and Lou. The crowd is going nuts and Cyndi is throwing punches. Piper threatens to smack her and she gets taken off the stage. The mic broke too.
And I’m Like… Cyndi should be in the Hall of Fame along with Ali. They both did much to bring eyes on the product. That segment was played picture perfect.
Back in the studio Captain Lou is losing it. Albano calls her a tramp and McMahon starts yelling at him. Captain says “your a disgrace Cyndi Lauper, to your mother, your family, everyone.” Alabano says “I took you from a barroom broad to a lady, Got it Lauper? GOT IT LAUPER? GOT IT LAUPER!?!?!” Lou keeps screaming as we go to commercial.
David Wolff Interview
Wolff starts with “sorta happy being here” He had the displeasure of listening to Albano talk. Wolff says they invited Lou to play the part of Cyndi’s dad because it would be funny. David says Albano did nothing but play her father. Wolff is saying that Albano is riding on Lauper’s success.
David is trying to have this interview but Captain Lou keeps interjecting very loudly and Wolff says he isn’t comfortable being here. We cut to Lauper in the studio with Cyndi.
Piper tells Cyndi to apologize, she says she will not apologize. I hope the guy she is sitting next to apologizes for those sunglasses. Cyndi said “Lou said a lot of things that made my family cry.” She said he didn’t make her, he knows nothing about music. Lauper says she is gonna show him he knows nothing about music and even less about wrestling. She said she will get a woman wrestler and in a week her wrestler will beat Lou’s pick. Albano starts freaking out and getting milk and banana all over him….
David says “rather than get into a whole lot of lawsuits, we will just challenge him and shut him up.” David says that their wrestler will beat the crap out of Moolah. McMahon was surprised that Wolff dropped the name to let us know who the match is against. They won’t say who their pick is.
David says “Captain likes to say he taught Cyndi the P.E.G. Well she will teach him B.A.D. cause he will be Beaten, Annihilated, and Destroyed. Shit goes nuts and Albano starts screaming and attacks David. Security takes away Captain Lou as he screams so loud… so loud.
Wolff says “we will destroy him, and whatever wrestler he brings with” McMahon keeps apologizing and looks super stressed out.
And I’m Like… Didn’t think I would enjoy that, but David did fantastic. Lou seems like he is legit pissed and pissing everyone off. He is so good at his job, I know he is acting and whatever but DAMN do I want to see someone kick his ass!! This is from 30 years ago and I am still getting agitated at this man. This feud kicked off about a year before the culmination. Cyndi was in it for the long haul and I am so glad she was. Very entertaining.
Terry Daniels Interview-
Not much was accomplished by Terry Daniels other than being in Sgt. Slaughter’s Cobra Corps. There is a nice read about him shooting on Adrian Adonis.
Terry says “serving in the Marines was an accomplishment, but not as much as one as being in the Cobra Corps” They don’t let him speak much because he is from the South.
We cut to a match.
Sgt. Slaughter vs. Tiger Chung Lee
Terry is seen bringing a flag to the ring for Sarge. There are TONS of signs for Slaughter but there is no match because we were just seeing Terry carrying the flag. HAHA!
We cut back and all they talk about is how good Slaughter is. Poor Terry…
Daniels is telling us how important trust is in tag teams. He doesn’t know how to really talk with charisma, but he points out how they both were Marines so they know how to win battles with teamwork. McMahon asked if they want to face Murdoch and Adonis.
Daniels says its a dream come true to be able to have a title match. McMahon asked if Daniels was with Slaughter when Sarge visited the Statue of Liberty. Terry said “no I was not with but Slaughter had me in mind.”
And I’m Like… Poor Terry
We hear America the Beautiful play as images of a camo clad Sgt. Slaughter walks around with his American Flag. People are looking at him like he is all sorts of weird. Slaughter points at the statue and tells us that is where we are headed, calls her ‘Ms. Liberty’
As the song continues we catch a shot of Slaughter looking at the statue being restored… What is even better is Slaughter holding up his hand as kids chant “USA USA” and in the background are the Twin Towers…
And I’m Like… That honestly got me emotional. The beginning was cheesy, but when the Towers were shown and a bunch of kids chanting USA and saying the Pledge of Allegiance, I legit teared up. That image should be shown more on WWE television. Man who would have thought… Good job team.
McMahon brings up the fact that Mad Dog Vachon has some talents like his brother. McMahon says lets go to Minneapolis where Mad Dog makes his return as.. a hometown hero. I think Vince has a soft spot for ‘Sota.
The ovation is tremendous though. I hope the guy with the Blue Mustang shut his lights off!!
We don’t know who Mad Dog is wrestling but he is hammering Vachon like crazy. Monsoon starts talking and based on the trunks I assume that it is Buddy Rose. His trunks have a playboy bunny.
Mad Dog does many chest scratches and chokes. They cut the match away and Vince points out how Minneapolis always “gives the best ovations” and is sure other wrestlers wish to have those reactions.
And I’m Like… This show is getting better and better. A week or two ago I was not excited to review this show. After tonight my tune has changed. I don’t know what it is but this show humanizes so many of the wrestlers. It makes me form opinions on people outside of the ring, which translates to cheers or boo’s inside the ring.
Until Next week, please like and share, yes it was a show 30 years ago, but people need to know about Paul Vachon’s singing voice, Albano’s piano skills, Lauper’s hand in helping create wrestling what it is today, and Slaughter making people emotional. The share button is just below.
Have a good one and thank you!
-Jake
