WWF's The Wrestling Classic was a 1985 professional wrestling event held by the World Wrestling Federation. It is the sixth event in the Alternate WWF Timeline. The event emanated from the Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont Illinois just outside of Chicago. It was also unique in that it was the first event broadcast over cable Pay-Per-View in those markets which had access, including New York and Los Angeles. It was also delivered via closed circuit television in smaller markets across the country. The event was headlined by a WWF Championship match between Hulk Hogan and King Kong Bundy, as well as a Street Fight between "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff and Rowdy Roddy Piper. In the undercard, Brutus Beefcake defended the Intercontinental Championship against Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, The US Express defended the World Tag Team Titles against The Hart Foundation, and Terry Funk battled the Junk Yard Dog.
Prelude[]
Following the tag team match at Rumble in the Bronx (and after subsequently losing the tag titles to The US Express), King Kong Bundy turned on Big John Studd and set out to defeat Hulk Hogan himself (in reality Studd was leaving the WWF and was written off TV this way). This included a vicious attack on the set of Capt. Lou's Sea Shanty, where Hogan was being interviewed by Albano, which resulted in severely injured ribs for the Hulkster.
The war between Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff had boiled over after several months of Piper eluding Orndorff through DQ victories and cheating to win on his part. Finally tired of their ongoing feud, WWF commissioner Arnold Skaaland made the match at the Wrestling Classic a No Holds Barred Street Fight while simultaneously suspending Bob Orton for 30 Days for his constant interference.
Luscious Johnny V's "Dream Team" was short-lived, as Valentine grew jealous of the fact that Brutus Beefcake was holding "his" Intercontinental Championship. Convincing Johnny V to side with him, Valentine turned on Beefcake (turning the champ babyface in the process) and promising to regain his title.
After winning the $100,000 Rumble in the Bronx through underhanded means, Terry Funk was presented with a gigantic check for the winner's purse at a ceremony on Tuesday Night Titans. This ceremony however was interrupted by the man whom Funk had screwed out of the winner's purse in the Junk Yard Dog. After the JYD stole the check from Funk, the Outlaw promised to take down the JYD once and for all.
Event[]
The event began with two dark matches, as Jacques Rougeau defeated journeyman Barry Horowitz, while Adrian Adonis, debuting a new more "effeminate" gimmick as the Adorable One, defeated S.D. Jones. The event proper began with a 20-Man Battle Royal, which was won by The Eighth Wonder of the World, Andre the Giant. This was followed by a singles match between "Macho Man" Randy Savage and George "The Animal" Steele. Savage was flummoxed by Steele's antics, but still managed to defeat him after The Animal was distracted by Miss Elizabeth at ringside. Afterwards, Savage angrily took Elizabeth to the backstage area to avoid Steele going after them both.
Television Champion Nikolai Volkoff fought Ricky Steamboat to a time limit draw, resulting in him keeping the title. Afterwards, the US Express successfully defended their tag team championships against the Hart Foundation, winning by disqualification after Jimmy Hart attempted to hit Windham with his megaphone. Following this, Terry Funk battled the Junk Yard Dog, and the JYD seemed to have Funk's number. However, with the referee down, a huge tall man in a cowboy hat attacked the JYD and helped Terry get the win in the end.
Brutus Beefcake successfully defended his Intercontinental Championship against Greg Valentine, albeit with controversy as Beefcake appeared to pin Valentine when the challenger had his foot underneath the bottom rope. Valentine demanded the match be restarted, which was granted by WWF Commissioner Arnold Skaaland, only for Valentine to be quickly rolled up afterwards for a second win. In retaliation, Valentine attacked the knee of Beefcake, locking him in the Figure-4 for a prolonged period of time.
Afterwards WWF Champion Hulk Hogan defended his title against King Kong Bundy, and it became clear that Bundy might finally be the kryptonite to Hulkamania, as the normally powerful Hulkster seemed unable to life the massive "Walking Condominium". However, Bundy couldn't defeat the Hulkster easily either. Eventually Bundy hit an Avalanche splash on the outside to Hogan, causing the champion to crumble to the ground and be counted out. This meant that Hogan kept his title, but Bundy won the match. In the other main event, Paul Orndorff finally got his hands on Roddy Piper and, without Bob Orton to protect him, made the Rowdy Scot pay for all the heartache he's caused over the course of a year. Piper did manage to get a few shots in, but ultimately Orndorff finished off Piper with a piledriver for the victory to send the crowd home happy.
Results[]
No. | Results | Stipulations | Time |
---|---|---|---|
1D | "Adorable" Adrian Adonis w/Slick d. S.D.Jones by Submission | Singles Match | 5:56 |
2D | Jacques Rougeau d. Barry Horowitz by Pinfall | Singles Match | 6:11 |
1 | Andre the Giant won a 20-Man Battle Royal | 20-Man Battle Royal | 15:56 |
2 | "Macho Man" Randy Savage w/Miss Elizabeth d. George "The Animal" Steele by Pinfall | Singles Match | 8:29 |
3 | Nikolai Volkoff w/Classy Freddie Blassie (c) & Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat wrestled to a time limit draw | Singles Match for the WWF Television Championship | 15:00 |
4 | The U.S. Express [Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo] (c) d. The Hart Foundation [Bret "The Hitman" Hart & Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart] w/Jimmy Hart by Disqualification | Tag Team Match for the WWF World Tag Team Championship | 12:30 |
5 | Terry Funk w/Jimmy Hart d. The Junk Yard Dog by Pinfall | Singles Match | 7:16 |
6 | Brutus Beefcake (c) d. Greg "The Hammer" Valentine w/Luscious Johnny V by Pinfall | Singles Match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship | 13:14 |
7 | King Kong Bundy w/Bobby "The Brain" Heenan d. Hulk Hogan (c) by Countout | Singles Match for the WWF Championship | 9:10 |
8 | "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff d. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper by Pinfall | Chicago Street Fight | 13:45 |
Aftermath[]
Piper would take some time off to film TV shows before returning before Wrestlemania the following year. Hogan would continue to feud with Bundy temporarily. The man who helped Terry Funk defeat the Junk Yard Dog was in fact Bruiser Brody, later renamed Brody "Hoss" Funk, a man in storyline alleged to be Terry Funk's cousin from Amarillo. The US Express would drop the tag team titles the following month to the Midnight Express (Dennis Condrey & Bobby Eaton), on account of Rotundo leaving the WWF. Barry Windham would linger as a singles star before leaving later in 1986.