I think the blog would really appreciate this rare match featuring World Champion Ted DiBiase / Andre the Giant vs. Hulk Hogan / Bam Bam Bigelow.
Sweetness. For those who don’t know, this is the only existing footage known of Ted Dibiase with the WWF World title following the Main Event in 88.
BamBam could have been so much more
ReplyDeleteNow that they have the Mid-South library, DiBiase needs to get his own 3-disc DVD set with this match on it.
ReplyDeleteThreadjack: The NHL lockout is over!
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of that arcade game WWF Superstars where Dibiase and Andre were the champs and it was next to impossible to beat them when Andre was in the ring.
ReplyDeleteStill too late for A season I would think :(
ReplyDeleteNot quite the only footage--the same match was held at Philly the same week (maybe even the same day) which was also televised.
ReplyDeleteSome guys in the late 80s/early 90s were fantastic in the ring (Savage, Steamboat, Flair, Sting, etc.) but, my god, Hogan was always horrendous. As a kid I loved him, but every time one of his matches gets queued up I cringe. Even a depleted Andre gets caught botching (when all he had left was his ability to sell) because Hogan either can't remember spots or doesn't hear the call.
ReplyDeleteThat would be incredible. I'd love to be able to watch some Mid-South after Scott reviewed some stuff a while back
ReplyDeleteI can't believe I'll defend Hogan, but here goes. No, he wasn't a technician in the ring, no question. However, Hogan understood one of the most important things in wrestling, and that's timing your comebacks. He was a master at knowing exactly when it was time to Hulk up after taking a big time beating from the heel. If you pay attention, that's not a skill many faces have. So, for that alone, he was not "horrendous".
ReplyDeleteI don't care how well you time your comebacks, if you spontaneously forget you're supposed to slam your opponents head into the ring post a mere 30 seconds into the match, then you're horrendous.
ReplyDeleteThe belt looked good on him. They should have kept the belt on him and have him face Hogan at Wrestlemania. He bribes the ref in the match to keep the title. Then Hogan chases him until Summerslam where he gets the title back.
ReplyDeleteAlso I thought it was funny that the ad that came up when showing the video was a pill to block pregnancy ad.
You may not care about comebacks, but it's a huge part of wrestling psychology and the storytelling in a match. So he had a flub, who the fuck cares. I've watched hundreds of Hogan matches and it's not a normal occurrence.
ReplyDeleteHave a heel win at wm? No savage reign? No mega powers? Dumb idea all around.
ReplyDeleteIf you go and take a look at some of Hogan's work in Japan, he was actually not as horrendous as you may think. I have to agree with flair here, Hogan mastered the comeback and really knew how to work a crowd.
ReplyDeleteSo why was Dibiase holding the belt? I know Andre won it for him but if Ted was wearing it around his waist for a couple of weeks then why wasn't he known officially as the World Heavyweight champion?
ReplyDeleteYou could manhandle Andre when using Savage. Just keep on clotheslining him into oblivion.
ReplyDeleteI was always disappointed that, no matter how much you beat on Andre, Bossman could never put him down with the Bossman slam.
It was only a couple of days. The kayfabe reason is that it took that long for Jack Tunney to research the rules and come to his decision, which was that Andre could surrender the title, but could not name his successor. This means that Ted DiBiase was not a valid champion, because he never had a valid claim to the title.
ReplyDeleteSupported by the fact that he successfully worked a totally different style in Japan. Dude was just giving the American audience what (some of) they wanted.
ReplyDeleteReally? I know an arcade that has this. I'm going to try this.
ReplyDeletewho was that interviewer? just some random NESN personality?
ReplyDeleteActually, Dibiase had 3 matches where he was officially billed as WWF Champion.
ReplyDeleteI have the two tag matches on a hard drive, but i haven't seen the Dibiase vs Bigelow match.
WWF @ Boston, MA - Boston Garden - February 6, 1988 (matinee) (15,534; sell
out)
Televised on NESN - included Craig DeGeorge & Lord Alfred
Hayes on commentary:
Hulk Hogan & Bam Bam Bigelow (w/ Sir Oliver
Humperdink) defeated Ted Dibiase (w/ Virgil) & Andre the Giant at 7:59 when
Hogan pinned Dibiase with the leg drop after Andre's arm became entangled in the
ring ropes; prior to the bout, Dibiase came to the ring wearing the WWF World
Title belt and was introduced as the new champion as a result of what occured
the previous night in Indianapolis
Later that night.....
WWF @ Philadelphia, PA - Spectrum - February 6, 1988
(13,112)
Televised on the PRISM Network - featured Dick Graham &
Lord Alfred Hayes on commentary; included footage from the previous night's The
Main Event in which Andre the Giant won the world title and then sold it to Ted
Dibiase; featured the announcement that Dibiase would defend his newly won title
against Hulk Hogan at the following month's card, to be held March
12:
Hulk Hogan & Bam Bam
Bigelow (w/ Sir Oliver Humperdink) defeated Andre the Giant & Ted Dibiase
(w/ Virgil) at 9:56 when Hogan pinned Dibiase with the legdrop after Andre
became tied in the ring ropes; prior to the bout, Dibiase came to the ring in
possession of the world title belt and was announced as the champion
and two days later......
WWF @ Los Angeles, CA - Sports Arena - February 8, 1988 (3,000)
Ted Dibiase pinned Bam Bam Bigelow after Virgil hit Bigelow with the world title
belt; Dibiase was billed as the WWF World Champion and the match was recognized
as a title match (Bigelow's 3rd career pinfall loss)