Just S’pose 11.08.06

It was a miracle that the Republicans managed to cling to fifty seats in the Senate in 2006. Vice President Cheney had to cast tie-breaking vote after tie-breaking vote, cursing all the while. (When you’re all a little older, I’ll tell you what Cheney said, and why C-SPAN had to become a pay channel.) But it was no surprise that we Democrats regained control of the People’s House, the House of Representatives.

The stage was set for the 2008 presidential elections. — Al Franken, “A Letter to My Grandchildren, October 2, 2015,” The Truth (with Jokes)

After Tuesday, the first paragraph has come true (so far). As for the rest of it, we have two years to see what happens. I have a good feeling about it, myself.

In football news, Brooke lost the final game of the regular season to Wheeling Park, 20-14. Scott Victorio scored on a screen pass from Jimmy Reitter, which he then ran in from 56 yards. He also returned a punt 92 yards at the end of the game, getting to the Patriots 2. However, according to write-up in both the Wheeling (WV) Intelligencer and the Steubenville (OH) Herald-Star, “Brooke was penalized for an illegal block in the back that unfortunately occurred after Victorio had made his way past the initial wave of Patriot defenders.” The Bruins got the ball at their own 3, and the drive ended when Ronnell Green intercepted a pass at the Brooke 32. Scott Victorio finishes the regular season with 890 yards and 12 rushing touchdowns, plus two touchdowns receiving and one kickoff return for a touchdown.

Now, it’s on to the playoffs for the Bruins, for the first time in the 21st century, and the first time since 1997. They end up ranked number 15 in Class AAA, which wins them a trip to Martinsburg (number 2) Saturday afternoon.

College-wise, South Florida beat Pitt, 22-12.The Panthers are now 6-3, with three games left in the season. This week, they travel to Connecticut, then close out the season with home games against West Virginia and Louisville. I can see them possibly winning the Connecticut game, and then will need luck to win one more game.

As for the Steelers… wow. They are now 2-6, with a home game this week against New Orleans. I can’t say anything about this game that hasn’t been said about any of their other losses. I’d like to say they’ll still make the playoffs, but at 2-6 halfway through the season and four games behind Baltimore in the division, it looks like the best the Super Bowl Champions can hope for is to play spoiler.

On to other stuff, like the main base of this column.

BOB BACKLUND WAS THE FIRST

He looked down at his newly-earned belt and felt a twinge of regret. Sure, this was a huge night for the company. It was the very first live network television broadcast of wrestling in over 25 years, and he would forever be known as the man who won a title on the broadcast. From now on, whenever people thought of this night, they would think of him.

At the same time, he would also be known as someone who missed a big chance by winning a match. Sure, he was a two-time Intercontinental champion, but he knew the company had some huge plans in the next couple months, and he would miss out on them due to his other responsibilities. Who knew that when Randy Savage won on this night, he really lost?

In the reality we know, on February 5, 1988, Andre the Giant beat Hulk Hogan on NBC’s live broadcast of The Main Event. In the other match on the show, Intercontinental champion Honky Tonk Man lost to Randy Savage by countout, but kept his title. There have been many stories that said Savage was to win the belt that night, but for reasons we will not talk about here, Honky Tonk Man refused to lose the title. But, Just S’pose Randy Savage Beat The Honky Tonk Man for the Intercontinental Title. What might have happened?

Within two minutes of beating Hulk Hogan for the WWF title, Andre the Giant “sold” the belt to Ted DiBiase. Within two weeks of the transaction, WWF President Jack Tunney voided the transaction, declared the title vacant, and demanded a tournament at WrestleMania IV to decide the new champion. Tunney also announced that Randy Savage, as the only current singles titleholder in the Federation, would be facing many title defenses in the next six weeks, along with a title defense at WMIV against Hercules.

Savage went through those six weeks as warm-ups for many of the men in the tournament, wrestling Ted DiBiase, Jim Duggan, One Man Gang, Greg Valentine, Butch Reed, Rick Rude, Jake Roberts, and Andre the Giant. He didn’t win any of the matches cleanly, but he didn’t lose the title, either. Some of the matches went to time-limit draws, while others were disqualifications or double count-outs. Every match was intended to keep Savage a strong champion while showing any of his opponents easily deserved to be in the title tournament.

At WrestleMania IV, Savage beat Hercules in seven minutes. Later in the card, Ted DiBiase beat Jake Roberts to win the WWF title.

Savage then started beating all competition, as a reward for missing out on his chance to win the World title. He even was given wins over Gang, Valentine, Reed, Rude, Bad News Brown, Harley Race, and was the second person in WWF history to cleanly pin Andre the Giant.

On nights when he wasn’t defending the Intercontinental title, Savage teamed with his as-regular-as-possible partner, Hulk Hogan, when Hogan wasn’t busy making a movie somewhere. Vince McMahon told Savage his plan was for Hogan and him to challenge Demolition for the tag title. When Hogan was ready to devote six months straight to the company, he would even give them the belts, making Savage the second person to hold two belts at the same time in WWF history. He would also become the first person to defend both regularly, as there were no plans to take the I-C belt from him.

On October 14, 1988, Hogan and Savage beat Demolition to win the tag titles. The next night, Savage defended the I-C title against Bad News Brown. The night after that, Hogan and Savage beat Demolition to retain the titles. A week later, Savage and Hogan beat Nikolai Volkoff and Boris Zhukov to retain the tag titles, followed four matches later by Savage beating Rick Rude to retain the Intercontinental title, making him the first person to successfully defend two separate titles on the same card.

At Survivor Series 1988, Hogan, Savage, Koko B. Ware, Hillbilly Jim, and Hercules beat Ted DiBiase, Haku, Akeem, Big Bossman, and Terry Taylor, with Savage eliminating WWF World champion DiBiase. Savage was guaranteed a match with DiBiase at the next Saturday Night’s Main Event in December, but before they could get there, DiBiase lost the title to Hulk Hogan.

Savage still had his match with DiBiase, but instead of Ted defending his World title, Randy was defending his Intercontinental title. Savage won the match, while Hogan defended his new title against Curt Hennig. At the Royal Rumble in January 1989, history was made when Hogan and Savage lost the tag team titles, which had been relegated to an afterthought, to the Brainbusters, Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard. During the match, Bobby Heenan threw a chain into the ring to Anderson, who wrapped it around his fist and tried to punch Savage. Savage ducked, but in the process, fell out of the ring and onto Elizabeth, his manager. Savage carried her back to the dressing room, while Hogan yelled for Randy to come back to the ring and finish the match, and to allow the ringside doctors to help his manager. Hogan was overwhelmed by Anderson and Blanchard, and after they pinned him to win the titles, Hogan left the ring to find Savage.

In the dressing room, Gene Okerlund was trying to talk to a distraught Savage when Hogan burst through the door, demanding to know why Savage couldn’t wait until after the match to see how his manager was doing. During his tirade, Hogan said, “It makes sense now. You’ve been ‘whipped this whole time, but just could never admit it.”

Savage attacked him, and it took many referees and wrestlers to pull them apart. The next week on WWF television, the first match for WrestleMania V was announced: Hulk Hogan would meet Randy Savage in a match advertised as “The Mega-Powers Explode!” Both titles would be on the line, but the winner would relinquish the Intercontinental title afterward.

For the next two weeks, neither man would have a title defense end in a clean decision if both were on the same card. Jack Tunney announced on television that until WrestleMania, both men would not be allowed in the same building at the same time. When both men were announced for a card, Howard Finkel would announce when the man in the earlier match had left the building, meaning it was now legal for the other man to enter.

On April 2, 1989, at WrestleMania V, the Trump Plaza was a complete sell-out. Both men had their own following, but Savage had the much larger fan support. The match itself went back and forth for over 20 minutes, and when it was over, Randy Savage was the WWF World champion.

Savage defended the world title for almost nine months, losing it to Rick Rude in December. In a rematch at Royal Rumble 1990, Savage regained the title, setting up a rubber match at WrestleMania VI, in Toronto. Before that could happen, though, Rude broke his left arm in a match against Jim Duggan in a freak accident, leaving Savage without an opponent.

Again, Jack Tunney came through with another announcement that would change WrestleMania history, as Savage and Hogan would have a rematch for the title. This match was billed as “The Final Encounter,” to take place in a steel cage, and this would be the very last match between the two. The first man to escape the cage would be champion and the loser would leave the WWF.

For the next six weeks, once again, neither man would be allowed in the same building at the same time. This time, however, after twenty-five minutes, Hulk Hogan would win the match and the title, forcing Randy Savage to leave the company.

Savage took a few weeks off from wrestling, then entered the NWA and became an instant top challenger to Ric Flair. Savage joined with Lex Luger, Barry Windham, and Sting as a group of men to challenge the reformed Four Horsemen, with all four alternating their shots at Flair. Finally, at Great American Bash 1990, Flair was caught by Luger, and the four men celebrated together in the ring.

Savage then went after the United States title, beating Arn Anderson in Septemer 1990. He defended the title for the next nine months, losing it two weeks before Great American Bash 1991. Strangely enough, three days after he lost the title, NWA President Jim Herd announced that Ric Flair was being stripped of the NWA title and fired from the company. Flair was to defend the title against Sting in a steel cage match, but without Flair, Sting would need a new opponent. It was decided that Sting would wrestle Savage in a cage match for the brand new WCW World title. Savage would lose the match when Sting’s new manager, Harley Race, would come to the ring and pass Sting a weapon through the cage.

Randy Savage would beat Sting at Starrcade 1991 to win the title and hold on to it for another eight months before losing it to mega monster Big Van Vader. After that, he had a feud with Ricky Steamboat, wrapping up with a twenty-five minute match at Starrcade 1992 that rivaled their match at WrestleMania III. Savage would continue to wrestle, occasionally picking up a United States or tag team title reign, but nothing that lasted more than two months. In January 1996, he beat a young Alex Wright on Monday Nitro, then immediately announced his retirement from wrestling.

Like all wrestling retirements, it didn’t last. He had various matches in independent groups before resigning with the WWF in August 1997. His final match was at SummerSlam 1999, where he and partner Crush lost in a Tag Team Turmoil match.

Today, he lives happy in Sarasota, FL, signing autographs, posing for pictures with local kids, and making the occasional appearance with the WWF whenever they have a television show in Florida.

THAT WAS NICE OF YOU

I thought it was, too. That’s just where the story took me. Just remember, though, that it doesn’t always work that way.

Before we leave, one letter from a loyal reader who has challenged a certain 411 writer to a match somewhere.

“Hey Ron, it’s your longtime favorite indy wrestler, Zack Practor Jr. I like the new Just S’pose columns, good stuff. Got some suggestions to throw out for ya: Just S’pose Bret Hart left for WCW in 91 (assuming that’s not just a myth that he was going to leave)… Just S’pose Owen Hart did not fall to his death at Over the Edge 99… and (the one I would look forward to the most, being the huge Shawn Michaels mark I am) Just S’pose Shawn Michaels did not have the (supposed to be) career-ending back injury.

Thanks for the kind words, Zack, although I have to say, while I am a fan, I also seem to like your girlfriend.

Not in that way, you sick freaks!

Anyway, I will look at doing a couple of those in the future, but as a rule, I try to stick to events that are more than ten years old. While Owen and Shawn’s ideas are not quite aged, Bret going to WCW is something I’ll look into. In the meantime, we can all look forward to the next story, “Just S’pose David Von Erich didn’t die.”

Peace, yunz!