10 Times Wrestlers Refused To Accept Certain Finishes

Many wrestlers would jump at the chance to wrestle in front of a TV audience of 35 million people. The Honky Tonk Man, on the other hand, would not.

Honky Tonk Man was scheduled to defend his Intercontinental title against Randy Savage at WrestleMania IV, in a match that Vince McMahon wanted him to lose. However, the champ saw losing in front of so many viewers as a destruction of his character—a destruction that would harm his chances of trying to negotiate a deal with Ted Turner’s WCW. He says he even called Turner, who said in no uncertain terms “do not do that on television if you want to come down here with us.” So he didn’t.

Instead, Honky Tonk Man faced Brutus Beefcake, losing via disqualification and thus retaining his title.

Meanwhile, Savage was compensated for being left in the lurch by being inserted into the WWF Championship tournament, which he fittingly went on to win. That set in motion a 371-day run with the belt, so at least there was a silver lining for Savage from Honky Tonk Man’s reluctance to do business.