10 Desperate Booking Decisions WWE Have Made In December

10. No Holds Barred: The Match/The Movie

WWE's first December PPV tried to combine two entities to gain more ratings. The 'No Holds Barred' film was an attempt to boost Hulk Hogan's career as it took place several years after his appearance in Rocky III. Essentially, Rip, played by Hogan, is the World Wrestling Federation champion who is faithful to his fans and the network he wrestles for. Brell, the new head of the World Television Network, wants Rip to wrestle for his network but Rip refuses and goes back to his normal life. Still looking for a way to raise ratings, Brell initiates a show called "The Battle of the Tough Guys", which took on the guise as a violent brawling competition. A mysterious man named Zeus, played by Tom Lister, is the lead of the competition. This gets Brell to use him as an angle to get at Rip. Zeus is an ex-convict who actually killed an opponent in the ring. Hogan's character meets a mysterious love interest and eventually ends up fighting Zeus. 'No Holds Barred: The Match/The Movie', is how WWE billed their first December PPV. The event consisted of the film in its entirety, followed by a 'Wrestling Challenge' taping. Zeus would actually step inside the ring as he teamed with 'Macho Man' Randy Savage to take on the baby face team of Hogan and Brutus Beefcake in the main event. Of course, the good guys would get the win. As for the movie, it debuted at number two in the charts, behind Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade with $4,957,052 in ticket sales. The final tally was $16,093,651 in ticket sales.