How "Iron" Mike Sharpe Changed my Perception of Wrestling

Growing up I watched as much wrestling as I could find on my television.  I felt fortunate back then because I had all the WWF and WCW weekend shows.  Then one day on the local channel I found IWCCW: International World Class Championship Wrestling promoted by the Savlodi's.

I don't remember the exact date, which is odd for me but it was definitely early 1990's.  I was watching WWF Superstars of Wrestling and during the show "Iron" Mike Sharpe appeared and lost a match in short order to a bigger name.  I later learned the term jobber or enhancement talent, but as a kid the guys that lost week in and week out I referred to them as bums.  So to me "Iron" Mike Sharpe was a bum.

Channel surfing I found IWCCW and I was intrigued as to what this wrestling was.  It didn't have that polished looked of Superstars and the arena was small as was the crowd significantly.  I was greeted by the "Boston Bad Boy" Tony Rumble who was talking about the opening match and was putting over the next competitor like he was the baddest man walking.
 

"Boston Bad Boy" Tony Rumble

I was intrigued, I mean who was Rumble talking about!?! Everyone that I thought of was in the WWF or WCW so I couldn't even image.  And then Rumble held up his right arm bent at the elbow and slapped his forearm announcing "Iron" Mike Sharpe

What?  The bum from the WWF that just lost in a minute to Koko B. Ware?  I can beat up Koko B. Ware!  The camera cut from the control room to the arena and we see Sharpe walking to the ring and it's the same guy.

I thought, "Who is he going to lose to now?"  Then it happened, Sharpe hit and offensive move, and then another, and another.  His opponent, who I can't recall, couldn't get a move in to save his life.  About two minutes later Sharpe pinned him for the win.  I was shocked!

That's when it hit me there are bums for the bums!  I could be a bum to the bums! And that day started my dream of becoming a professional wrestler with my goal of being a jobber to the jobbers.  I kept my feet on the ground while reaching for those stars. 

IWCCW was my introduction to independent wrestling, my introduction to the fact that wrestling like baseball had the major and minor leagues.  I wouldn't consider that the way it is today because I prefer independent wrestling in the smaller intimate arena's that put you right there in the action.

But back then I just knew what I saw Mike Sharpe in the WWF he was losing and when I saw him in IWCCW he was going to win.  This lead me to thinking, what other bums in the WWF are actually better than I think they are? 

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Hulk Hogan's rare TV Matches

Growing up when I was a kid I used to watch Superstars of Wrestling every week and looking back Hulk Hogan never wrestled on show.  Sure he made appearances on talk shows or interview segments to enhance an angle or feud but her very rarely actually had a match on TV.

The only one I can remember is when he teamed with Orndorff against Bundy & Studd and Orndorff turned on him leading to there match at Saturday Nights Main Event.  Sure Hogan wrestled at all the PPV's and Saturday Nights Main Event but never on Superstars, Challenge, or All American Wrestling just clips of matches.

So I decided to take a look and see just how many matches he had starting from when he won the Championship.  Turns out the match I remember wasn't even on Superstars, it was on Championship Wrestling the precursor to Superstars of Wrestling.

This list does not contain matches on shows taped at MSG, Boston Garden, The Spectrum, or Maple Leaf Gardens because I did not get those channels in my area, or Prime Time Wrestling because it was a compilation of everything.

Championship Wrestling

January 14, 1984 Allentown, PA Agricultural Hall, taped 1/3/84
Hulk Hogan & Bob Backlund defeated Mr. Fuji & Tiger Chung Lee when Hogan pinned Lee with the leg drop

April 14, 1984 Allentown, PA Agricultural Hall, taped 3/6/84
World Champion: Hulk Hogan pinned Tiger Chung Lee with the leg drop

August 5, 1984 Brantford, Ontario the Civic Center, taped 7/10/84
World Champion: Hulk Hogan pinned Jerry Valiant with a leg drop

January 19, 1985 Poughkeepsie, NY Mid-Hudson Civic Center, taped 12/17/84
World Champion: Hulk Hogan pinned Johnny Rodz with the leg drop

June 1, 1985 Poughkeepsie, NY Mid-Hudson Civic Center, taped 5/7/85
World Champion: Hulk Hogan defeated Ken Patera with Bobby Heenan & Big John Studd by disqualification when Studd and Heenan interfered, Paul Orndorff made the save preventing them from cutting Hogan's hair

November 9, 1985 Poughkeepsie, NY Mid-Hudson Civic Center, taped 10/22/85
World Champion: Hulk Hogan pinned Rusty Brooks with a leg drop in 36 seconds, Randy Savage attacked Hogan after the match but Hogan cleared the ring

March 29, 1986 Poughkeepsie, NY Mid-Hudson Civic Center, taped 3/11/86
World Champion: Hulk Hogan pinned Moondog Spot with a leg drop

July 12, 1986 Poughkeepsie, NY Mid-Hudson Civic Center, taped 6/24/86
World Champion: Hulk Hogan & "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff defeated The Moondogs when Orndorff pinned Rex with a piledriver, Orndorff refused to tag in Hogan during the match

July 19, 1986 Poughkeepsie, NY Mid-Hudson Civic Center, taped 6/24/86
World Champion: Hulk Hogan & "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff defeated King Kong Bundy & Big John Studd with Bobby Heenan by disqualification when Bundy & Studd wouldn't stop double teaming Hogan.  After the match Orndorff attacked Hogan with a clothesline and a piledriver

All Star Wrestling

April 14, 1984 Hamburg, PA the Fieldhouse, taped 3/7/84
World Champion: Hulk Hogan pinned Afa with Captain Lou Albano & Sika

January 5, 1985 London, Ontario London Gardens, taped 12/16/84
World Champion: Hulk Hogan pinned Terry Gibbs with the leg drop

August 17, 1985 Brantford, Ontario the Civic Center, taped 8/5/85
World Champion: Hulk Hogan pinned Tiger Chung Lee with the leg drop, this match was also re-aired on a best of show on December 28, 1985

Superstars of Wrestling

May 23, 1987 Anaheim, CA Convention Center, taped 5/12/87
World Champion: Hulk Hogan pinned "Cowboy" Bob Orton Jr. with Mr. Fuji with a leg drop, the top rope broke during the match

May 14, 1988 New Haven, CT The Coliseum, taped 4/21/88
Hulk Hogan pinned Boris Zhukov with Slick & Nikolai Volkoff with the leg drop, post match Volkoff and Slick entered the ring, Volkoff was slammed and leg dropped while slick was given an atomic drop to the outside.

March 10, 1990 Phoenix, AZ, Veterans Memorial Coliseum taped 2/13/90
World Champion: Hulk Hogan pinned Dino Bravo with Jimmy Hart and Earthquake with a leg drop, after the match Earthquake attacked Hogan with Warrior making the save.

He had no matches on Wrestling Challenge and only 15 matches on these three primary shows in the 9 years he was in the promotion since his first championship.  That's not a lot of matches because back then you had to go to the house shows to see Hogan live.  TV was used to build the house shows unlike now where TV is the primary and house shows are just an opportunity to see the wrestlers live.

Let's put this in perspective, "Nature Boy" Ric Flair who wrestled in the WWF for 17 months had 15 matches on Superstars and Challenge during that time.

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The Last Match: Classic WWE Television Shows

Over the years the WWWF, WWF, now WWE have had many televisions shows to bring their matches to the masses.  Once upon a time these shows were there to simply bring us to the house shows where the real matches were contested.  Now the television shows bring us the big matches each and every week.  

In this edition of The Last Match I am bringing to you the final matches of top WWE wrestling shows for the 80's and 90's.  I thought of expanding more, but sadly most of those shows were just re-cap shows that featured maybe one exclusive jobber squash match, so I decided not to.  

Championship Wrestling

The original flagship show of the WWWF and later WWF before being replaced by Superstars of Wrestling, taped at the Philadelphia Arena, then Allentown Agricultural Hall before ending its run at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center.  Ran 1972 – August 30, 1986

Aired August 30, 1986 Taped August 5, 1986

Mid-Hudson Civic Center, Poughkeepsie, NY

US Express: Mike Rotundo & Danny Spivey defeated Steve Lombardi & Gino Carabello at 4:35 when Spivey pinned Carabello with a bulldog

All-Star Wrestling

This was the B show of the WWWF and later WWF before being replaced by Wrestling Challenge, taped at the Hamburg Fieldhouse in Pennsylvania until mid-1984 before moving to various Ontario venues eventually settling in Brantford.  Ran 1972 – August 30, 1986

Aired August 30, 1986 Taped July 28, 1986

Civic Centre, Brantford, Ontario

Tito Santana pinned “Iron” Mike Sharpe with a flying forearm in 9 minutes

All American Wrestling

This was the first non-syndicated show for the WWF as it ran on the USA Network replacing Soutwest Championship Wrestling when it was cancelled.  Originally featured a multiple matches but by the end of its run featured just one match and the rest recapping other shows.  It was replaced by WWF Action Zone.  I cannot find the final match that was aired.  Ran September 4, 1983 – October 16, 1994

Tuesday Night Titans

A WWF variety show that aired on the USA Network in the format of a late night talk show and was hosted by Vince McMahon and Lord Alfred Hayes, “Mean” Gene Okerlund took over has host near the end of the run.  Each episode featured kayfabe interviews and skits like “Fuji Vice” and pre-taped matches.  Ran from May 29, 1984 – May 21, 1986

Taped April 21, 1986 Poughkeepsie, NY

Commentary: Gorilla Monsoon & “Big Cat” Ernie Ladd

SD Jones & Paul Roma defeated Joe Mirto & Mike Angelo with roman pinned Angelo with a powerslam

Saturday Night’s Main Event

Aired on NBC in place of re-runs of SNL.  I remember staying up late to watch this show and being amazed by it.  Every match was a star vs star instead of the jobber matches we got on the weekend morning shows.  I recently re-watched them what I didn’t realize before was that they ran long term storylines from one episode to another.  Ran original May 11, 1985 – November 14, 1992 revival March 16, 2006 – August 2, 2008.

Aired November 14, 1992 Taped October 27, 1992

Hulman Center, Terre Haute, IN

World Heavyweight Champion: Bret “Hitman” Hart submitted Papa Shango with the Sharpshooter

Aired August 2, 2008 Taped July 28, 2008

Verizon Center, Washington DC

Edge pinned Jeff Hardy with a spear

Prime Time Wrestling

The first WWF Monday night wrestling show airing for two hours on the USA Network originally hosted by Jesse Ventura and Jack Reynolds.  Later Reynolds was replaced by Gorilla Monsoon and in 1986 Bobby Heenan replaced Ventura.  The show is most remembered for the Monsoon & Heenan five year run hosting the studio show that aired pre-taped matches from Madison Square Garden, Maple Leaf Gardens, Spectrum, and Boston Garden.  The final two years featured a multi-person panel in front of a live studio audience and pre-taped matches.  Ran January 1, 1985 – January 4, 1993

Aired January 4, 1993 Taped December 15, 1992 Dane County Coliseum, Madison, WI

The Steiner Brothers: Rick & Scott defeated WT Jones & Red Tyler when Scott pinned Tyler

Superstars of Wrestling

For many years prior to the launch of Raw this was the flagship show for the WWF airing in syndication from its launch until late 1996 when it began airing on the USA Network in place of WWF Action Zone.  In early 1997 the format changed from airing exclusive matches to being a recap show airing segments from Raw.  Ran September 6, 1986 – 2001

Aired March 9, 1997 Taped February 26, 1997 Berlin, Germany

Doug Furnas & Phil LaFon defeated Aldo Montoya & Bob Holly when LaFon pinned Montoya w/ a German suplex

Wrestling Challenge

WWF’s B show debuting in 1986 in syndication.  We never got Wrestling Challenge in my area growing up it was always listed on WVII 7 out of Bangor, a channel we didn’t get.  I did however attend a Wrestling Challenge taping on August 15, 1995 in Portland, Maine and an interview by Dok Hendrix with Bret Hart was featured on that final episode. Ran September 7, 1986 - August 27, 1995

Aired August 27, 1995 Taped August 14, 1995 Worcester, MA

Razor Ramon pinned Tony Devito with the Razors Edge at 3:18

 

Shotgun Saturday Night

A syndicated show that started out being taped at New York City Night Clubs featuring an edgier product that the rest of their television shows.  The ring and a very small club right with all yellow ropes.  I remember watching this and thinking they were trying to compete with ECW while making it a unique experience.  Sadly this format only last a few weeks before the show started being taped the same night as Raw.  The show primarily became a recap show with squash matches sprinkled in.  Ran January 4, 1997 – August 21, 1999

Aired August 21, 1999 taped August 9, 1999 Chicago, IL

Intercontinental & European Champion: D-Lo Brown defeated Albert with the Low Down at 7:16

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