(Special thanks to Frost for suggesting this match. If you'd like to see a match covered on the Worst in the World, leave a comment down below.)
Before the match, we get some special commentators for this match; Mean Gene Okerlund and Bobby Heenan. Getting Bobby Heenan on commentary immediately makes this match worth it. Now onto the participants. Normally when I cover a battle royal type match, I tend to just list the entrants all at once. However, when the match is all about the craziest gimmicks of all time, not to mention the fact that they all get a televised entrance, it feels unjust to simply name them and leave it at that. So, let's take a bit of a deeper look at the participants.
The Bushwhackers-Luke and Butch would debut in the WWF in 1988 and continued to make appearances until 1996. Making their names prior to the WWF as the brawling Sheepherders, the Bushwhackers took on a comedic act during their eight-year stint in the WWF. They licked people and had a funny walk. That's the gimmick. They're...not very good. They are no strangers to the Worst in the World, having been featured here four different times.
Duke "The Dumpster" Droese-Popping up during the "Occupational gimmicks" period of the WWF, Duke Droese was a wrestling garbage man who carried a trash can to the ring. A young Frank Reynolds takes notes. Droese debuted in the WWF in 1994, but aside from feuds with Jerry Lawler and a pre-Triple H Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Droese didn't do much and by 1996, he had left the WWF. Droese's only achievement in the WWF was a Slammy Award in 1994...for "Most Smelliest." Oddly enough, the wrestling garbage man was not a WWF creation. Droese had actually used the gimmick on the indies in 1993, working simply as "Garbage Man." He chose this. Wild. I will say, despite not being super active outside of the WWF for the most part, Droese is still in pretty good shape here.
The Iron Sheik-What can one say about the Iron Sheik that hasn't been said already. The Twitter icon and avid Hulk Hogan hater first appeared in the WWF in 1979 with his pro-Iran, anti-American gimmick that he had debuted the year prior amidst the Iranian Revolution. After challenging WWF Champion Bob Backlund for the title, Sheik traveled the territories for several years before returning to the WWF in 1983, where he successfully defeated Backlund for the title. Sheik dropped the belt to Hulk Hogan 28 days later and after a kayfabe-breaking arrest alongside on-screen rival Jim Duggan in 1987, Sheik was released. Since then, he'd bounce in and out of the WWF, with this match being his first appearance since 1997. Along with his world title reign, the Sheik is also a former WWF Tag Team Champion alongside Nikolai Volkoff. As much as I love the Iron Sheik, I can fully admit that he probably should not have been wrestling here. You can tell just by the way he walks that he's in bad shape. The man could barely walk at Heroes of Wrestling, and that was a year and a half before this. He walks down the ramp so slowly that Bobby Heenan even quips that by the time he got to the ring, it would be WrestleMania 38 which, funny enough, is less than a month away when this goes up. Perfect timing.
Earthquake-Debuting in the WWF in 1989, former sumo wrestler John Tenta took on the name Earthquake. Quake quickly reached his highest point in the company, as he feuded with Hulk Hogan in the summer of 1990. Following his feud with Hogan, Earthquake remained in the company until 1994, winning the Tag Team Championships with Typhoon as the Natural Disasters along the way. Earthquake is awesome, but I'm not exactly sure what his wacky gimmick is supposed to be. He's just kind of a big unstoppable monster, which works, but it kind of stands out when's going up against the wrestling garbage man, among others. I'd argue that the Golga gimmick he used as part of the Oddities fits in a lot better, but I can't find an actual reason as to why he didn't work the gimmick here. Maybe the WWF figured people remembered Earthquake better than Golga (rightfully so), or maybe they figured it was too recent to bring Golga back (the Oddities only got released back in 1999). Nonetheless, Quake's looking great here, looking pretty much exactly the same as he did when he debuted.
The Goon-A veteran wrestler with nearly 20 years of experience at the time, Bill Irwin debuted as The Goon in the WWF in 1996. The Goon was a former hockey player (a "goon" in hockey being a player unofficially tasked with responding & retaliating to dirty or violent play by the opposing team) who had been banned from every league he had ever played in, so he turned to pro-wrestling. As silly as that sounds, an overly-violent former athlete is the exact same gimmick Cesaro had when he debuted in WWE. Funny enough, a young Chris Jericho had been in talks with the WWF around the time the Goon popped up, leading to the belief (even from Jericho himself) that he would've been saddled with the gimmick considering his link to hockey (Jericho's father is former NHL player Ted Irvine.) If that's the case, Jericho definitely made the right choice in passing on the offer. The Goon didn't last long, and within a year of debuting, he was gone. He's back now with a God-tier permed mullet.
Doink the Clown-Another gimmick that needs no introduction (but I'm gonna give you one anyway), Doink the Clown first popped up in 1992, with Matt Borne being the man behind the paint. Originally working as a devious clown who pulled mean-spirited pranks and loved making kids cry (brah), Doink would actually have a high-profile match early in his time with the WWF, as he wrestled Bret Hart at SummerSlam 1993 as part of Hart's feud with Jerry Lawler. Doink would later turn face, a role the character would keep until disappearing in 1997. Around the time of the face turn, Borne was fired by the WWF, leading to Ray Apollo assuming the role, with Apollo also working the gimmick here. Doink also led the plethora of shameless fake Doinks that pop up in various crap indy promotions. My personal favorite is the one that wrestled Heidenreich in a Golden Corral parking lot. That's a real thing that happened. When Doink comes out Mean Gene says "You gotta love this guy!" Heenan simply replies "Why?" Bobby Heenan is the best.
Kamala-The Ugandan Giant Kamala first debuted in the WWF in 1984, the gimmick being a savage headhunter complete with a handler, quickly rising up the ranks and challenging Hulk Hogan for the WWF Championship, and later Andre the Giant. Kamala would leave the WWF that same year, returning in 1986 to once again challenge Hogan for the title. Kamala left again in 1987 before returning in 1992, feuding with the Undertaker before departing again in 1993. Fun fact, Kamala once challenged Bryan Danielson for the ROH World Championship. That's another real thing that happened. Kamala is accompanied his manager Harvey Wippleman, along with...
Kim Chee-Kim Chee, portrayed by Steve Lombardi (better known as the Brookly Brawler), was Kamala's masked handler. Lombardi rarely wrestled as Kim Chee outside of house shows, with this only being his sixth televised match under the gimmick in the WWF.
Repo Man-Better known as Smash from the legendary tag team Demolition, Barry Darsow took inspiration from his former profession and became the Repo Man in 1991. He was a repo man who FUCKING LOVED taking people's stuff. Which, considering that's just what a repo man does, is he really a heel if he's just doing his job? Although, based on the fact that he's dressed like an old-timey bandit, I think the implication was that he's actually a thief, or at the very least, a rogue repo man. I probably just put more thought into this gimmick than anybody else did. Repo Man's most famous feud was his brief one with Randy Savage, where Repo Man stole Savage's hat. Repo Man was shelved in 1993 when Darsow left the WWF. Is this gimmick any sillier than his evil golfer gimmick Mr. Hole-in-One that he worked in WCW? You be the judge.
Jim Cornette-Here's another entrant who sticks out. Cornette was a veteran manager in Mid-South Wrestling and Jim Crockett Promotions/World Championship Wrestling, along with running his own promotion in Smokey Mountain Wrestling, before he joined the WWF in 1993, managing the likes of Yokozuna, Vader, Owen Hart, the British Bulldog (all of whom were part of Camp Cornette) and the Heavenly Bodies, along with taking part in an NWA invasion storyline. Cornette moved away from managing to commentary before becoming the head booker of the WWF's developmental territory at the time, Ohio Valley Wrestling, in 1999. Cornette's an odd inclusion, not just because he's not really a wrestler (he'd only have nine matches in the WWF, three of them televised including this one) but he doesn't really have an outlandish gimmick. Outside of the WWF, he played the role of the obnoxious rich kid who bought his way into the business, but that didn't really carry over into the WWF. However, Cornette isn't the strangest inclusion in this match.
Nikolai Volkoff-After a stint in the pre-WWF World Wide Wrestling Federation as Bepo Mongol (during which he won the WWWF International Tag Team Championships with Geeto Mongol), Nikolai Volkoff returned to the WWWF in 1974, feuding with WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino, and later Bob Backlund when he won the title. After leaving the company again in 1980, Volkoff returned in 1984, teaming with the Iron Sheik under the management of Freddie Blassie. Originally billed from Mongolia, Volkoff became a Russian patriot as he and Sheik won the WWF Tag Team Championships at the first WrestleMania. Volkoff would also challenge Hulk Hogan for the world title during this time. Following Sheik's departure from the company, Volkoff paired up with Boris Zhukov to form the Bolsheviks in 1987. Volkoff would later turn face before leaving the WWF in 1992, returning briefly in 1994 as an unwilling member of Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation, with Volkoff being portrayed as having fallen on hard times before leaving again in 1995. Like with his former tag partner, seeing how bad of shape Volkoff was in at Heroes of Wrestling less than two years prior makes having him wrestle at all dicey. Volkoff's entrance is all wrong, as he comes out to the Finnish national anthem (the same used by Ludvig Borga.) Also, they spell his name wrong on the graphic. It's the biggest show of the year, you can't spell-check this stuff?
Michael Hayes-Remember when I said Cornette wasn't the strangest inclusion in this match? Meet the strangest. Hayes is a legend of the wrestling business but there are two reasons he stands out as an odd inclusion here. First off, Michael Hayes doesn't really have an outlandish gimmick. Sure, the Fabulous Freebirds had a lot of flashy attires, but would you really lump them in with guys like Repo Man and The Goon? Second, Michael Hayes himself wasn't super prominent in the WWF. The Freebirds had a brief stint in the WWF, but outside of that and his equally brief stint as the Hardy Boyz manager, Michael Hayes himself didn't have a big on-screen role in the WWF. If we're being honest, Hayes most likely got this spot just because he's close with Vince McMahon.
One Man Gang-I know what you're thinking; why would they not have George Gray bring back Akeem the African Dream? That gimmick is way wackier than the One Man Gang, who's just kind of a brawler-type. Well, the plan actually was for Gray to work as Akeem for this match, but because he'd lost so much weight prior to this that the gear didn't fit him anymore, that wasn't an option. So we get One Man Gang, who debuted for the WWF in 1987, mostly working as a jobber to the stars before transitioning to Akeem the following year.
The Gobbledy Gooker-The Gobbledy Gooker's infamous debut is the stuff of legend. The Gooker debuted at Survivor Series 1990, hatching out of a giant egg with Hector Guerrero (yes, from that Guerrero family) donning the turkey costume, intending for him to be a mascot for the company. The crowd was having none of this, booing it out of the building and leading to the gimmick being iced almost immediately. The gimmick is so infamous that WrestleCrap (which is like The Wrestling Section if the Wrestling Section was successful & popular) named their year-end award for the worst moment in wrestling after the gimmick. Guerrero is once again in the costume, making this not only the only match he worked as the Gooker, but the only WWF match Guerrero ever worked. Also, they misspelled the Gooker's name on the graphic as well. Again, on the biggest show of the year. Come on, WWF
Tugboat-Look...I know it wasn't in the WWF, but...Man, how do you not have Fred Ottman bust out the Shockmaster for this? Such a shame. Anyway, Tugboat debuted on WWF television in 1990. His gimmick is either that he really loves boats, or that he is a man who thinks he is a shoot-boat, as he'd regularly mimic the horn of a boat. Tugboat was initially paired with Hulk Hogan, but never really did much until turning heel and forming the Natural Disasters with Earthquake, changing his name to Typhoon in the process. Another fun fact, according to Bruce Prichard, he was originally supposed to take on the role of the Iraqi Sympathizer that Sgt. Slaughter had and feud with Hogan going into WrestleMania VII, taking on the name "Sheik Tugboat." We almost lived in a world where "WWF Champion Sheik Tugboat" was a reality. That is hilarious.
Hillbilly Jim-Hillbilly Jim debuted in the WWF in 1984, working a pretty standard hillbilly gimmick, mostly as a fun, less-than-serious comedy character until 1990. He'd pop up in 1995 as the referee in Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Henry O. Godwinn's Hog Pen match and as the Godwinn's manager until their heel turn in 1997. I've gotta say, the man looks fantastic here. Even at 48 years old, he looks like he was plucked right out of the 80s. He's easily in the best shape of anyone in the match.
Brother Love-Out of all the non-wrestlers who sneaked into this match, Brother Love is the most understandable. Bruce Prichard debuted the Brother Love character in 1988 as a red-faced, southern televangelist preacher-type based on the likes of Jimmy Swaggart & Robert Tilton, among others, only instead of preaching the word of God, he preached the word of Love. Brother Love would host his own self-titled interview show before briefly managing the Undertaker before Paul Bearer took over that job. This is the first of only two matches Brother Love would have, the second being the APA's Invitational Bar Room Brawl at Vengeance 2003
Sgt. Slaughter-We round out the participants with Sgt. Slaughter. Slaughter would debut in the WWF in 1980, working the gimmick of a former U.S. Marine. Slaughter would challenge Bob Backlund for the WWF Championship during his first stint in the company before departing in 1991 soon after his famous Alley Fight match with Pat Patterson. Slaughter returned in 1983 to face Backlund again before entering a feud with the Iron Sheik. Slaughter left the WWF again in 1984 before returning in 1990 for his most successful stint, turning his back on America and adopting an Iraqi sympathizer gimmick following the invasion of Kuwait prior to the Gulf War. Slaughter would capture the WWF Championship from the Ultimate Warrior in 1991. He'd ultimately drop the title to Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania VII before shifting to an on-air official role in 1992.
Duke "The Dumpster" Droese-Popping up during the "Occupational gimmicks" period of the WWF, Duke Droese was a wrestling garbage man who carried a trash can to the ring. A young Frank Reynolds takes notes. Droese debuted in the WWF in 1994, but aside from feuds with Jerry Lawler and a pre-Triple H Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Droese didn't do much and by 1996, he had left the WWF. Droese's only achievement in the WWF was a Slammy Award in 1994...for "Most Smelliest." Oddly enough, the wrestling garbage man was not a WWF creation. Droese had actually used the gimmick on the indies in 1993, working simply as "Garbage Man." He chose this. Wild. I will say, despite not being super active outside of the WWF for the most part, Droese is still in pretty good shape here.
The Iron Sheik-What can one say about the Iron Sheik that hasn't been said already. The Twitter icon and avid Hulk Hogan hater first appeared in the WWF in 1979 with his pro-Iran, anti-American gimmick that he had debuted the year prior amidst the Iranian Revolution. After challenging WWF Champion Bob Backlund for the title, Sheik traveled the territories for several years before returning to the WWF in 1983, where he successfully defeated Backlund for the title. Sheik dropped the belt to Hulk Hogan 28 days later and after a kayfabe-breaking arrest alongside on-screen rival Jim Duggan in 1987, Sheik was released. Since then, he'd bounce in and out of the WWF, with this match being his first appearance since 1997. Along with his world title reign, the Sheik is also a former WWF Tag Team Champion alongside Nikolai Volkoff. As much as I love the Iron Sheik, I can fully admit that he probably should not have been wrestling here. You can tell just by the way he walks that he's in bad shape. The man could barely walk at Heroes of Wrestling, and that was a year and a half before this. He walks down the ramp so slowly that Bobby Heenan even quips that by the time he got to the ring, it would be WrestleMania 38 which, funny enough, is less than a month away when this goes up. Perfect timing.
Earthquake-Debuting in the WWF in 1989, former sumo wrestler John Tenta took on the name Earthquake. Quake quickly reached his highest point in the company, as he feuded with Hulk Hogan in the summer of 1990. Following his feud with Hogan, Earthquake remained in the company until 1994, winning the Tag Team Championships with Typhoon as the Natural Disasters along the way. Earthquake is awesome, but I'm not exactly sure what his wacky gimmick is supposed to be. He's just kind of a big unstoppable monster, which works, but it kind of stands out when's going up against the wrestling garbage man, among others. I'd argue that the Golga gimmick he used as part of the Oddities fits in a lot better, but I can't find an actual reason as to why he didn't work the gimmick here. Maybe the WWF figured people remembered Earthquake better than Golga (rightfully so), or maybe they figured it was too recent to bring Golga back (the Oddities only got released back in 1999). Nonetheless, Quake's looking great here, looking pretty much exactly the same as he did when he debuted.
The Goon-A veteran wrestler with nearly 20 years of experience at the time, Bill Irwin debuted as The Goon in the WWF in 1996. The Goon was a former hockey player (a "goon" in hockey being a player unofficially tasked with responding & retaliating to dirty or violent play by the opposing team) who had been banned from every league he had ever played in, so he turned to pro-wrestling. As silly as that sounds, an overly-violent former athlete is the exact same gimmick Cesaro had when he debuted in WWE. Funny enough, a young Chris Jericho had been in talks with the WWF around the time the Goon popped up, leading to the belief (even from Jericho himself) that he would've been saddled with the gimmick considering his link to hockey (Jericho's father is former NHL player Ted Irvine.) If that's the case, Jericho definitely made the right choice in passing on the offer. The Goon didn't last long, and within a year of debuting, he was gone. He's back now with a God-tier permed mullet.
Doink the Clown-Another gimmick that needs no introduction (but I'm gonna give you one anyway), Doink the Clown first popped up in 1992, with Matt Borne being the man behind the paint. Originally working as a devious clown who pulled mean-spirited pranks and loved making kids cry (brah), Doink would actually have a high-profile match early in his time with the WWF, as he wrestled Bret Hart at SummerSlam 1993 as part of Hart's feud with Jerry Lawler. Doink would later turn face, a role the character would keep until disappearing in 1997. Around the time of the face turn, Borne was fired by the WWF, leading to Ray Apollo assuming the role, with Apollo also working the gimmick here. Doink also led the plethora of shameless fake Doinks that pop up in various crap indy promotions. My personal favorite is the one that wrestled Heidenreich in a Golden Corral parking lot. That's a real thing that happened. When Doink comes out Mean Gene says "You gotta love this guy!" Heenan simply replies "Why?" Bobby Heenan is the best.
Kamala-The Ugandan Giant Kamala first debuted in the WWF in 1984, the gimmick being a savage headhunter complete with a handler, quickly rising up the ranks and challenging Hulk Hogan for the WWF Championship, and later Andre the Giant. Kamala would leave the WWF that same year, returning in 1986 to once again challenge Hogan for the title. Kamala left again in 1987 before returning in 1992, feuding with the Undertaker before departing again in 1993. Fun fact, Kamala once challenged Bryan Danielson for the ROH World Championship. That's another real thing that happened. Kamala is accompanied his manager Harvey Wippleman, along with...
Kim Chee-Kim Chee, portrayed by Steve Lombardi (better known as the Brookly Brawler), was Kamala's masked handler. Lombardi rarely wrestled as Kim Chee outside of house shows, with this only being his sixth televised match under the gimmick in the WWF.
Repo Man-Better known as Smash from the legendary tag team Demolition, Barry Darsow took inspiration from his former profession and became the Repo Man in 1991. He was a repo man who FUCKING LOVED taking people's stuff. Which, considering that's just what a repo man does, is he really a heel if he's just doing his job? Although, based on the fact that he's dressed like an old-timey bandit, I think the implication was that he's actually a thief, or at the very least, a rogue repo man. I probably just put more thought into this gimmick than anybody else did. Repo Man's most famous feud was his brief one with Randy Savage, where Repo Man stole Savage's hat. Repo Man was shelved in 1993 when Darsow left the WWF. Is this gimmick any sillier than his evil golfer gimmick Mr. Hole-in-One that he worked in WCW? You be the judge.
Jim Cornette-Here's another entrant who sticks out. Cornette was a veteran manager in Mid-South Wrestling and Jim Crockett Promotions/World Championship Wrestling, along with running his own promotion in Smokey Mountain Wrestling, before he joined the WWF in 1993, managing the likes of Yokozuna, Vader, Owen Hart, the British Bulldog (all of whom were part of Camp Cornette) and the Heavenly Bodies, along with taking part in an NWA invasion storyline. Cornette moved away from managing to commentary before becoming the head booker of the WWF's developmental territory at the time, Ohio Valley Wrestling, in 1999. Cornette's an odd inclusion, not just because he's not really a wrestler (he'd only have nine matches in the WWF, three of them televised including this one) but he doesn't really have an outlandish gimmick. Outside of the WWF, he played the role of the obnoxious rich kid who bought his way into the business, but that didn't really carry over into the WWF. However, Cornette isn't the strangest inclusion in this match.
Nikolai Volkoff-After a stint in the pre-WWF World Wide Wrestling Federation as Bepo Mongol (during which he won the WWWF International Tag Team Championships with Geeto Mongol), Nikolai Volkoff returned to the WWWF in 1974, feuding with WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino, and later Bob Backlund when he won the title. After leaving the company again in 1980, Volkoff returned in 1984, teaming with the Iron Sheik under the management of Freddie Blassie. Originally billed from Mongolia, Volkoff became a Russian patriot as he and Sheik won the WWF Tag Team Championships at the first WrestleMania. Volkoff would also challenge Hulk Hogan for the world title during this time. Following Sheik's departure from the company, Volkoff paired up with Boris Zhukov to form the Bolsheviks in 1987. Volkoff would later turn face before leaving the WWF in 1992, returning briefly in 1994 as an unwilling member of Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation, with Volkoff being portrayed as having fallen on hard times before leaving again in 1995. Like with his former tag partner, seeing how bad of shape Volkoff was in at Heroes of Wrestling less than two years prior makes having him wrestle at all dicey. Volkoff's entrance is all wrong, as he comes out to the Finnish national anthem (the same used by Ludvig Borga.) Also, they spell his name wrong on the graphic. It's the biggest show of the year, you can't spell-check this stuff?
Michael Hayes-Remember when I said Cornette wasn't the strangest inclusion in this match? Meet the strangest. Hayes is a legend of the wrestling business but there are two reasons he stands out as an odd inclusion here. First off, Michael Hayes doesn't really have an outlandish gimmick. Sure, the Fabulous Freebirds had a lot of flashy attires, but would you really lump them in with guys like Repo Man and The Goon? Second, Michael Hayes himself wasn't super prominent in the WWF. The Freebirds had a brief stint in the WWF, but outside of that and his equally brief stint as the Hardy Boyz manager, Michael Hayes himself didn't have a big on-screen role in the WWF. If we're being honest, Hayes most likely got this spot just because he's close with Vince McMahon.
One Man Gang-I know what you're thinking; why would they not have George Gray bring back Akeem the African Dream? That gimmick is way wackier than the One Man Gang, who's just kind of a brawler-type. Well, the plan actually was for Gray to work as Akeem for this match, but because he'd lost so much weight prior to this that the gear didn't fit him anymore, that wasn't an option. So we get One Man Gang, who debuted for the WWF in 1987, mostly working as a jobber to the stars before transitioning to Akeem the following year.
The Gobbledy Gooker-The Gobbledy Gooker's infamous debut is the stuff of legend. The Gooker debuted at Survivor Series 1990, hatching out of a giant egg with Hector Guerrero (yes, from that Guerrero family) donning the turkey costume, intending for him to be a mascot for the company. The crowd was having none of this, booing it out of the building and leading to the gimmick being iced almost immediately. The gimmick is so infamous that WrestleCrap (which is like The Wrestling Section if the Wrestling Section was successful & popular) named their year-end award for the worst moment in wrestling after the gimmick. Guerrero is once again in the costume, making this not only the only match he worked as the Gooker, but the only WWF match Guerrero ever worked. Also, they misspelled the Gooker's name on the graphic as well. Again, on the biggest show of the year. Come on, WWF
Tugboat-Look...I know it wasn't in the WWF, but...Man, how do you not have Fred Ottman bust out the Shockmaster for this? Such a shame. Anyway, Tugboat debuted on WWF television in 1990. His gimmick is either that he really loves boats, or that he is a man who thinks he is a shoot-boat, as he'd regularly mimic the horn of a boat. Tugboat was initially paired with Hulk Hogan, but never really did much until turning heel and forming the Natural Disasters with Earthquake, changing his name to Typhoon in the process. Another fun fact, according to Bruce Prichard, he was originally supposed to take on the role of the Iraqi Sympathizer that Sgt. Slaughter had and feud with Hogan going into WrestleMania VII, taking on the name "Sheik Tugboat." We almost lived in a world where "WWF Champion Sheik Tugboat" was a reality. That is hilarious.
Hillbilly Jim-Hillbilly Jim debuted in the WWF in 1984, working a pretty standard hillbilly gimmick, mostly as a fun, less-than-serious comedy character until 1990. He'd pop up in 1995 as the referee in Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Henry O. Godwinn's Hog Pen match and as the Godwinn's manager until their heel turn in 1997. I've gotta say, the man looks fantastic here. Even at 48 years old, he looks like he was plucked right out of the 80s. He's easily in the best shape of anyone in the match.
Brother Love-Out of all the non-wrestlers who sneaked into this match, Brother Love is the most understandable. Bruce Prichard debuted the Brother Love character in 1988 as a red-faced, southern televangelist preacher-type based on the likes of Jimmy Swaggart & Robert Tilton, among others, only instead of preaching the word of God, he preached the word of Love. Brother Love would host his own self-titled interview show before briefly managing the Undertaker before Paul Bearer took over that job. This is the first of only two matches Brother Love would have, the second being the APA's Invitational Bar Room Brawl at Vengeance 2003
Sgt. Slaughter-We round out the participants with Sgt. Slaughter. Slaughter would debut in the WWF in 1980, working the gimmick of a former U.S. Marine. Slaughter would challenge Bob Backlund for the WWF Championship during his first stint in the company before departing in 1991 soon after his famous Alley Fight match with Pat Patterson. Slaughter returned in 1983 to face Backlund again before entering a feud with the Iron Sheik. Slaughter left the WWF again in 1984 before returning in 1990 for his most successful stint, turning his back on America and adopting an Iraqi sympathizer gimmick following the invasion of Kuwait prior to the Gulf War. Slaughter would capture the WWF Championship from the Ultimate Warrior in 1991. He'd ultimately drop the title to Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania VII before shifting to an on-air official role in 1992.
So, that's over 2,000 words for just the entrances and backstories. Let's see how few it takes to cover the actual match.
Everyone brawls before Slaughter's even in the ring, prompting the bell to ring. Three seconds in and Repo Man gets tossed out by Michael Hayes. The Gobbeldy Gooker quickly follows suit, getting dumped out by Tugboat, only for Earthquake to take the opportunity to dump his former tag partner out of the ring as well. Earthquake then gets tossed out by Kamala, who then gets attacked by his handler Kim Chee. Kamala quickly tosses him out as well. Bushwhacker Luke holds Brother Love in place for Jim Cornette to hit with his tennis racket. However, Love ducks, causing Luke to get hit and smacked over the top rope. As Cornette taunts Luke, Hillbilly Jim runs over and dumps Cornette out. Duke Droese gets clotheslined out by Doink the Clown shortly after, with the Goon and Nikolai Volkoff getting dumped out almost simultaneously by Bushwhacker Butch and Sgt. Slaughter, respectively. Doink tosses out the remaining Bushwhacker, sending Butch to the outside before Kamala dumps him out in turn. Kamala gets a ton of heat from the crowd for that. Hayes is tossed out by the One Man Gang soon after, who in turn gets tossed out by Kamala...who then gets tossed out by Slaughter. Brother Love tries to dump out Slaughter, but he's easily dumped out by Slaughter. In turn, Slaughter gets tipped out by Hillbilly Jim, who then gets dumped out by Sheik for the win. Turns out the easiest way to get booked to win a battle royal is to be physically unable to go over the top rope. Sore loser Sgt. Slaughter runs in and puts Sheik in the Cobra Clutch. He wasn't even the runner-up.
The Verdict
Look, it's not a good match, I'm gonna sit here and pretend it is, but it's just a fun little battle royal. It's also pretty short, which makes it a very easy watch. Just turn your brain off for a couple of minutes and you'll have a fun time with this match.
The Rankings (Best to Worst)
- Tommy Dreamer vs Bully Ray-Victory Road 2011
- Triple H vs Kevin Nash-TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs 2011
- Rick Rude vs Jake Roberts-WrestleMania IV
- Too Much vs Al Snow & Head-King of the Ring 1998
- Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns-Greatest Royal Rumble
- Ernest Miller vs Norman Smiley-Fall Brawl 1998
- Shane McMahon vs Eric Bischoff-SummerSlam 2003
- The Tag Team Gauntlet-Extreme Rules 2010
- The Gimmick Battle Royal-WrestleMania X-Seven
- Hernandez vs Matt Morgan-Victory Road 2011
- Randy Orton vs Bray Wyatt-WrestleMania 33
- Vampiro vs Sting-Great American Bash 2000
- T&A vs Head Cheese-WrestleMania 2000
- David Arquette & Diamond Dallas Page vs Jeff Jarrett & Eric Bischoff
- The Women's Tag Team Turmoil-WrestleMania 37 (Night 1)
- Triple H vs Sgt. Slaughter-D-Generation X: In Your House
- Konnan vs One Man Gang-SuperBrawl VI
- Ultimate Warrior vs Hercules-WrestleMania IV
- Rick Rude vs Hawk-Clash of the Champions XXV
- Shelton Benjamin vs Viscera-New Year's Revolution 2006
- Steve McMichael vs Reggie White-Slamboree 1997
- Lars Sullivan vs Lucha House Party-Super Showdown 2019
- Alexa Bliss vs Bayley-Extreme Rules 2017
- The Tag Team Fatal 4-Way Match-WrestleMania 13
- The Barbed Wire Christmas Tree Match-TNA iMPACT (12/20/2007)
- Tag Team Battle Royal-WrestleMania XIV
- The Chamber of Horrors-Halloween Havoc 1991
- The Natural Disasters vs Money Inc.-WrestleMania VIII
- Ivan Koloff vs Paul Jones-Clash of the Champions IV
- ODB, Taylor Wilde, and Roxxi vs The Kongtourage-Genesis 2009
- Kazushi Sakuraba & Yuji Nagata vs Daniel & Rolles Gracie-Wrestle Kingdom 8
- Ivory vs Tori-SummerSlam 1999
- Giant Baba vs Bulldog Bob Brown-WrestleRock
- The Reverse Battle Royal-Impact! (10/26/2006)
- Jerry Blackwell vs Boris Zhukov-SuperClash II
- Nikita Koloff vs Bobby Eaton-Bunkhouse Stampede
- Alex Wright vs Steve McMichael-Halloween Havoc 1997
- The Great Khali vs Kane-WrestleMania 23
- Savio Vega vs Crush vs Faarooq-Ground Zero: In Your House
- The Shockmaster vs Awesome/King Kong-Starrcade 1993
- Total Divas vs Other Divas-Survivor Series 2013
- The Intercontinental Championship Elimination Chamber-Elimination Chamber 2015
- The Oddities vs Kaientai-SummerSlam 1998
- Team RAW vs Team SmackDown Men's Elimination Match-Survivor Series 2017
- Hulk Hogan vs Sid Justice-WrestleMania VIII
- Paul Ellering vs Teddy Long-Capital Combat
- Dusty Rhodes vs Big Boss Man-Saturday Night's Main Event (10/31/1989)
- Konnan vs Scott Hall-Fall Brawl 1998
- Damian Priest vs The Miz-WrestleMania Backlash
- Tyson Tomko vs Stevie Richards-Unforgiven 2004
- Kane vs The Great Khali-SummerSlam 2009
- Rick Steiner vs Scott Steiner-Fall Brawl 1998
- The Extreme Elimination Chamber-December to Dismember 2006
- Hollywood Hogan vs The Giant-Hog Wild
- Hollywood Hogan vs The Giant-Souled Out 1997
- Dustin Rhodes & King Kong vs Awesome Kong & The Equalizer-Battlebowl
- Finlay & Little Bastard vs The Boogeyman & Little Boogeyman-No Way Out 2007
- Mr. Anderson vs Rob Van Dam-Victory Road 2011
- Jake Roberts vs Andre the Giant-WrestleMania V
- El Gigante vs Nailz-G1 Climax 1994 (Day 1)
- Yokozuna vs King Mabel-In Your House 4
- Dusty Rhodes vs The Honky Tonk Man-SummerSlam 1989
- Sting & Hawk vs Meng & Kurasawa-Clash of the Champions XXXI
- The Hurt Business vs RETRIBUTION-WWE Monday Night RAW (10/26/2020)
- Hulk Hogan vs Randy Savage-Uncensored 1998
- Al Snow vs Big Boss Man-Unforgiven 1999
- Vince Russo vs Ric Flair-WCW Monday Nitro (6/5/2000)
- Mickie James vs Ashley-Royal Rumble 2006
- Antonio Inoki vs The Great Antonio-NJPW Sumo Hall Show (12/8/1977)
- Christy Hemme vs Big Fat Oily Guy-Against All Odds 2007
- The Big Show vs Erick Rowan-TLC: Tables, Ladders, Chairs 2014
- British Bulldog & Jim Neidhart vs The Dancing Fools-Fall Brawl 1998
- Stevie Ray vs Konnan-World War 3 1998
- Vampiro vs The KISS Demon-Bash at the Beach 2000
- Team WCW vs nWo Wolfpac vs nWo Hollywood-Fall Brawl 1998
- Vampiro vs Oklahoma-Starrcade 1999
- Big Swole vs Penelope Ford, Rebel, and Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D.-AEW Dynamite (8/27/2020)
- Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant-WrestleMania III
- Jinder Mahal vs Randy Orton-Battleground 2017
- Van Hammer vs Terrance Taylor-Clash of the Champions XVI
- Junkyard Dog vs Moondog Spot-Wrestling Classic
- The New Blood Gauntlet-WCW Monday Nitro (6/5/2000)
- Chris Jericho vs "Goldberg"-Fall Brawl 1998
- Hulk Hogan vs Kevin Nash-WCW Monday Nitro (1/4/1999)
- Sting vs Hulk Hogan-Halloween Havoc 1999
- Hulk Hogan vs Jeff Jarrett-Bash at the Beach 2000
- Roman Reigns vs The Undertaker-WrestleMania 33
- The Undertaker vs Goldberg-Super ShowDown 2019
- Hiroshi Wajima vs Tom Magee-All Japan Pro Wrestling 1988
- Jim Duggan vs Big Boss Man-Royal Rumble 1990
- Meng vs Jim Duggan-Uncensored 1995
- Jim Steele vs The Equalizer-SuperBrawl IV
- The Golden Truth vs Breezango-Money in the Bank 2016
- The Undertaker vs Giant González-WrestleMania IX
- Sting vs Tony Palmore-Battle 7
- D-Generation X vs Brothers of Destruction-Crown Jewel
- Wendi Richter vs Leilani Kai-WrestleMania
- Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar-WrestleMania XX
- Hornswoggle vs Chavo Guerrero-WWE Monday Night Raw (7/20/2009)
- Edge vs Triple H vs Vladimir Kozlov-Survivor Series 2008
- Rosita & Sarita vs Angelina Love & Winter-Victory Road 2011
- Kevin Sullivan vs Dave Sullivan-SuperBrawl V
- Steve McMichael vs Brian Adams-Road Wild 1998
- Scott Hall vs Roddy Piper-SuperBrawl IX
- Boris Zhukov vs Paul Samson-Beach Brawl
- Roddy Piper vs Hollywood Hogan-Halloween Havoc 1997
- Kane vs The Great Khali-Breaking Point
- Hollywood Hogan & Dennis Rodman vs Diamond Dallas Page & Karl Malone-Bash at the Beach 1998
- PN News & Bobby Eaton vs Steve Austin & Terrance Taylor-Great American Bash 1991
- Scott Steiner vs Sid Vicious vs Jeff Jarrett vs Road Warrior Animal-Sin
- Hollywood Hogan vs Roddy Piper-SuperBrawl 1997
- The 2015 Royal Rumble Match
- Batista vs The Great Khali-SummerSlam 2007
- Sting vs Hollywood Hogan-Starrcade 1997
- Sable vs Tori-WrestleMania XV
- Super Invader vs Todd Champion-WrestleWar 1992
- Brock Lesnar vs Cain Velasquez-Crown Jewel 2019
- King Kong Bundy & Jim Neidhart vs Yokozuna & Jake Roberts-Heroes of Wrestling
- Sid Vicious vs The Nightstalker-Clash of the Champions XIII
- The 8-Divas Tag Match-Survivor Series 1999
- The Fabulous Freebirds vs The Renegade Warriors-Halloween Havoc 1990
- The Knockouts Gauntlet-One Night Only: Live! 2016
- AJ Styles vs Frank Trigg-No Surrender 2008
- Rick Rude vs Masahiro Chono-Halloween Havoc 1992
- Mike Awesome vs Vampiro-Halloween Havoc 2000
- Bray Wyatt vs John Cena-Extreme Rules 2014
- Brothers of Destruction vs KroniK-Unforgiven 2001
- The Miss WrestleMania Battle Royal-WrestleMania 25
- Mabel vs The Undertaker-King of the Ring 1995
- Wendi Richter vs The Fabulous Moolah-The Brawl to End it All
- David Flair vs Kimberly Page-Mayhem 1999
- The Truth Commission vs The Disciples of Apocolypse-Survivor Series 1997
- Daffney vs Miss Hancock-Bash at the Beach 2000
- The Bushwhacker vs The Fabulous Rougeaus-WrestleMania V
- Randy Orton vs "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt-WrestleMania 37 (Night 2)
- The Beverly Brothers vs The Bushwhackers-Royal Rumble 1992
- Teddy Long vs Eric Bischoff-Survivor Series 2005
- Greg Valentine vs George Steele-Heroes of Wrestling
- Abdullah the Butcher vs One Man Gang-Heroes of Wrestling
- Major Gunns vs Miss Hancock-New Blood Rising
- Vince Russo vs Booker T-WCW Monday Nitro (9/25/2000)
- Bradshaw & Trish Stratus vs Christopher Nowinski & Jackie Gayda-WWE Monday Night RAW (7/8/2002)
- Triple H vs Scott Steiner-Royal Rumble 2003
- Goldberg vs "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt-Super ShowDown 2020
- Santina Marella vs Vickie & Chavo Guerrero-Extreme Rules 2009
- Kevin Nash vs Scott Steiner vs Goldberg-New Blood Rising
- Hollywood Hogan vs The Warrior-Halloween Havoc 1998
- Mr. T vs Roddy Piper-WrestleMania 2
- The Royal Family vs Clowns R' Us-Survivor Series 1994
- The House of Horrors Match-Payback 2017
- The Blacktop Bully vs Dustin Rhodes-Uncensored 1995
- Team Dos Caras vs Team El Canek-Leyendas Mexicanas 2017
- Pat Patterson vs Gerald Brisco-King of the Ring 2000
- The Wyatt Swamp Fight-The Horror Show at Extreme Rules
- The Four Doinks vs Team Bigelow-Survivor Series 1993
- Sting vs Jeff Hardy-Victory Road 2011
- Bret Hart vs Mr. McMahon-WrestleMania XVI
- WarGames 2000: Russo's Revenge-WCW Monday Nitro (9/4/2000)
- Oz vs Tim Parker-SuperBrawl
- Brock Lesnar vs Braun Strowman-Crown Jewel 2018
- Brock Lesnar vs Ricochet-Super ShowDown 2020
- The Mighty Maccabee vs The Iron Sheik-Maccabiah Mania II: Shekel Slam
- Van Hammer vs Doug Somers-Halloween Havoc 1991
- Ultimate Warrior vs Andre the Giant-Saturday Night's Main Event (11/25/1989)
- Jeff Jarrett vs Sting-Halloween Havoc 2000
- The Doomsday Cage Match-Uncensored 1996
- Kane vs The Undertaker-Judgement Day 1998
- Rebel vs Shelly Martinez-One Night Only: Knockouts Knockdown
- Kaitlyn vs Maxine-NXT (10/19/2010)
- Sabu vs The Sandman-November to Remember 1997
- Seth Rollins vs "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt-Hell in a Cell 2019
- Michael Cole vs Jerry Lawler-WrestleMania XXVII
- The Bushwhackers vs Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff-Heroes of Wrestling
- James Storm vs Chris Harris-Lockdown 2007
- John Laurinaitis vs John Cena-Over the Limit 2012
- Hulk Hogan vs The Giant-Halloween Havoc 1995
- Ultimate Warrior vs Goldust-In Your House 7
- Los Villanos vs Los Psycho Circus-Triplemania XXIII
- Jenna Morasca vs Sharmell-Victory Road 2009
- Akira Maeda vs Andre the Giant-NJPW Big Fighter Series 1986 (Day 15)
Thanks for reading! Be sure to share if you enjoy and leave any suggestions for matches you'd like to see covered in the Worst in the World in the comments. Next time, I'll be doing a double feature and taking a look at two matches from the 2020 New Japan Cup, both of which are in the bottom five lowest-rated matches on Cagematch.net. Until then.
To put things into perspective: there are guys in this match that could barely move and this is STILL better than the worst Battle Royals of all time. And, as I believe I mentioned before, the match did what it needed to do for the show as a whole: it gave the crowd a break between two classic matches.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, this is far from the worst battle royal out there. And your also 100% right, this is a much needed, light hearted break between big matches.
DeleteToo bad there aren't many normal people commenting on this blog using pseudonyms.
ReplyDelete