10 Things You Didn't Know About WWE In 1990

As we have seen from previous installments, sometimes the biggest stories in WWF/E happen off screen rather than on screen. Last time, in 1991, we learned about the identity of the mysterious Mariner, Typhoon and Shawn Michaels continued to wrestle as babyfaces after their heel turns, the Hart Foundation briefly reunited in Madison Square Garden, and Andre The Giant was scheduled to make an in-ring return, among other tidbits. In this installment, we take a look at 1990, the beginning of a pivotal decade in WWE's history. The Rock N Wrestling era of the 1980s, led by Hulk Hogan, was in the process of being phased out, giving rise to a new generation of wrestlers. Hogan himself began to start taking sabbaticals to film movies. Andre The Giant wrestled his last match, and The Undertaker wrestled his first. It was a period of great transition for the WWF. With so much happening on- and off-screen, you€™d think you would know everything that went on backstage in the WWF, but you€™d be wrong. There are plenty of little nuggets of trivia that came from this year. Some of these you may have also known about, but simply forgot. Here are 10 things you didn€™t know about the WWF in 1990.

10. The Mystery Of Battle Kat

In the fall of 1990, a masked wrestler by the name of Battle Kat appeared on television. He did a series of high flying moves, something that was rarely seen on WWF television. In his televised debut, Battle Kat defeated a preliminary wrestler by the name of Bob Bradley. Battle Kat was played by Dean Peters, who had a previous stint in the WWF as enhancement talent Brady Boone, who teamed with Billy Jack Haynes. Later in the fall, Peters was released from his WWF contract, and the Battle Kat character ironically went to Bradley, the man Battle Kat beat in his debut match. Peters unfortunately died in a car accident in 1998. Wrestling fans may not know it, but Peters was a major influence on a big star in professional wrestling. Rob Van Dam was trained by Peters early in RVD's career, and many of the high flying moves that Van Dam did in ECW and WWE were learned from watching Peters as Battle Kat.