One of the most unique concepts for a pay-per-view was No Holds Barred. Sharing its name with the World Wrestling Federation-produced film -- released on June 2, 1989 -- the PPV was to be a combination event. The first part of the event was to be a broadcast of the movie -- which followed Hulk Hogans character, Rip, as he battled Brell of the World Television Network and Brells minion, Zeus. It was a terrible movie by all accounts -- although it did debut in the number two spot at the box office, surpassed only by Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. After the movie aired, a match was to follow. It was a rematch of the Summerslam 1989 main event. At that show in August, Hulk Hogan had teamed with his longtime friend, Brutus Beefcake. Together they took on the pairing of Zeus and Randy Savage. It was a very confusing storyline wherein Zeus entire conflict with Hogan was based around the idea that Zeus thought he should have received top billing in the movie -- even though Zeus was a fictional character portrayed by Tiny Lister. Anyway, Hogan and Beefcake had bested the Macho King and Zeus back in August. However, on December 27th of 89, the rematch would take place. This time, however, the tables had turned -- it was to be a no holds barred match, supposedly Zeus specialty. Furthermore, it was to take place inside a steel cage. Zeus, the Macho King, and even the Sensational Queens confidence grew exponentially, despite their prior loss at Summerslam. This confidence boost led to an insane promo from Savage, Zeus, and Sherri in the lead-up to the match. (Fair warning if you click that link: Your ears may bleed, and your brain may melt.) The match would be eerily similar to the above promo -- a nonsensical, utterly insane affair. The Macho King, The Barber, and the Hulkster were all one step short of taking Zeus by the hand and leading him through the match. It was obvious to anyone watching that Zeus was not an athlete, was not a well-trained professional wrestler, and had the charisma of a gnat. The bout started with Hogan tearing off Beefcakes shirt, followed by the ripping of his own, before the tandem entered the cage -- it's exactly as it sounds. The match got off to a blinding start and maintained a solid pace throughout -- keep in mind, the match itself only lasted ten minutes. Everyone involved tried their best to power through this crapper of a contest and make it something worthwhile -- but just like the movie, it stank like dookie. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wYs-0EO0ts In the end, Hogan would deliver three consecutive leg drops to The Human Wrecking Machine, before pinning him. The Hulkster and the Beefer would walk away with the win, but everyone would part with a little bit of their dignity in the process. Zeus would thankfully never appear in a Federation ring again, and the film would be mostly forgotten about until its release on DVD in July of 2012 -- and then swiftly forgotten about again. Hey, no one ever claimed that all of these pay-per-views deserved to be on the Network.
Douglas Scarpa is a freelance writer, independent filmmaker, art school graduate, and pro wrestling aficionado -- all of which mean he is in financial ruin. He has no backup plan to speak of, yet maintains his abnormally high spirits. If he had only listened to the scorn of his childhood teachers, he wouldn't be in this situation.
