Going into 1989, Hulk Hogan and WWF World Heavyweight Champion "Macho Man" Randy Savage were on top of the WWF world as they teamed up and were known as The Mega Powers. However, by the end of 1988, there were cracks within the foundation of the team as Savage had been jealous over the attention Hogan had been giving Miss Elizabeth.
At the 1989 Royal Rumble, Hogan accidentally eliminated Savage during the Royal Rumble battle royal. Savage came into the ring to angrily confront Hogan, beginning the breakup of The Mega Powers. Elizabeth ran into the ring to calm them both down and the duo embraced as Savage left the ring.
Then on the February 3, 1989 edition of The Main Event, Hogan and Savage took on The Twin Towers (Akeem and Big Boss Man) in a tag team match. During the match, Savage was thrown out of the ring and accidentally colliding with Elizabeth, knocking her out.
Hogan picked up Liz and carried her to the back for medical attention, leaving Savage all alone to take on the twin 400+ lb. monsters. Hogan eventually came back to the match, but Savage slapped him in the face. He grabbed his title belt and walked to the dressing room, leaving Hogan all by himself in the match. Hogan eventually got the win and walked to the back where Elizabeth was.
Savage angrily confronted Hogan about 'lusting' after Elizabeth and then he attacked Hogan as The Mega Powers officially broke up and Savage turned heel. Hogan challenged Savage for the title at WrestleMania V, which Savage accepted. Savage would show footage of Hogan "lusting after" Elizabeth with Hogan responding by showing the same footage but Hogan and Liz being just friends.
Savage defended his title against Hogan at WrestleMania V on April 2, 1989 from Trump Plaza in Atlantic City. The main event match was billed "The Mega Powers Explode." Miss Elizabeth was there as many wondered who's side she was on, but she maintained she was in a "neutral corner." Elizabeth tried to help both men before she was sent backstage by referee Dave Hebner.
Savage hit Hogan with his Flying Elbow Drop off the top rope, but Hogan kicked out and began to "Hulk Up." Hogan then gave Savage three right-hand punches, the big boot, and then the leg drop to win the match and his second WWF World Heavyweight Championship, ending Savage's 371-day reign.
Hogan's feud with Savage did not end. In fact, it was taken to Hollywood in a weird angle. Hogan starred in a movie that was financed by the WWF called No Holds Barred. Hogan played the character Rip as he took on and defeated "Zeus", played by Tom Lister Jr.
The 6-ft-5 300+ lb. Lister, as Zeus, came to the WWF to get revenge on Hogan for beating him in the movie and he teamed with Savage. Hogan teamed with Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake, who was Hogan's real-life best friend Ed Leslie, to take on Zeus and Savage in the main event at SummerSlam '89.
Savage and Zeus were accompanied by Savage's new valet, Sensational Sherri who replaced Miss Elizabeth as Savage's valet. Elizabeth accompanied Hogan and Beefcake as she was now Hogan's valet. Elizabeth prevented Sherri from interfering. Hogan hit Zeus with Sherri's loaded purse and hit him with the leg drop to win the match.
Hogan and Beefcake took on Savage (who by now was the "Macho King" Randy Savage) and Zeus in a rematch in a Steel Cage match at the one and only No Holds Barred PPV aired on December 27, 1989. Hogan and Beefcake won when Hogan hit Zeus with three leg drops as Zeus left the WWF shortly after the PPV.
Dusty Rhodes came over from NWA-JCP-WCW to the WWF in the middle of 1989. Rhodes was given the gimmick of the "Common Man" as he dressed in black with yellow polka dots. Many felt Rhodes was "buried" by the WWF because of Rhodes' time as the head booker for JCP and the NWA.
Rhodes was partnered by his manager Sapphire, who was to be the "Common Woman." The two would feud with "Macho King" Randy Savage and his valet "Queen" Sherri throughout 1990, that ended at SummerSlam '90.
Rhodes even brought his son Dustin Rhodes to the WWF late in 1990 where the two feuded with the "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and his bodyguard Virgil (Mike Jones who was named after Dusty Rhodes' real life first name Virgil as a shot at Rhodes). They lost to DiBiase and Virgil at the 1991 Royal Rumble and the two left the company shortly after as Dusty ended his career as a full-time wrestler.
Speaking of NWA-Jim Crockett, two of their best wrestlers and former Four Horsemen members Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard came to the WWF in late 1988 where they were known as "The Brain Busters." They would be managed by Bobby "The Brain" Heenan.
Amazingly, their fame and success in Crockett's promotion actually helped them get a push in the WWF. The Brain Busters had a feud with relative newcomers The Rockers (future WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty). They had some of the best tag team matches in the year and perhaps ever. The Brain Busters would be number one contenders to WWF Tag Team Champions Demolition.
They defeated Demolition in a two-out-of-three falls match to win the titles on the July 29, 1989 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event, ending Demolition's record-reign of 478 days, still remains as the record for longest reining WWF Tag Team Champions ever. The Brain Busters became the first team to win the WWF and NWA World Tag Team Championships.
The Brain Busters defeated The Hart Foundation at SummerSlam '89. They lost the titles back to Demolition on October 2 on an episode of Superstars. The Brain Busters lost to The Rockers in a two-out-of-three falls match on the November 25 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event.
After the match, Bobby Heenan publicly "fired" them for losing. Arn Anderson went back to NWA-WCW. Tully Blanchard was to join him as well, but did not go back with him as they did not want him back.
Demolition would lose the WWF World Tag Team Championship in December to the new team "The Colossal Connection" as Bobby Heenan paired two of his wrestlers, Andre the Giant and Haku. This would be Andre's last hurrah as his health was taking its toll on him seriously.
Before he teamed with Haku, he was involved in two feuds with Jake "The Snake" Roberts and The Ultimate Warrior. His rivalry with Roberts started when Roberts threw his snake Damien at him as Andre suffered a storyline "heart attack" as he was afraid of snakes.
Roberts would take advantage of Andre's fear of snakes and gain a psychological advantage over the much larger Andre. Andre took on Roberts at WrestleMania V with Andre's former rival Big John Studd as the special guest referee. Andre was disqualified when he attacked Studd, prompting Roberts to chase Andre away with Damien.
The other really big popular WWF Superstar, The Ultimate Warrior, started 1989 as the reigning Intercontinental Champion as his momentum was starting to build. He started a feud with another bodybuilder in "Ravishing" Rick Rude over who had the better physique. This must have been around the time Rude legitimately beat Warrior's ass.
They faced off against each other in a "Super Posedown" at the Royal Rumble PPV in January. Warrior defeated Rude in all posedowns and Rude attacked him with his own metal workout bar. Warrior lost the title to Rude at WrestleMania V with help from Rude's manager Bobby Heenan holding Warrior's leg when Rude pinned him.
Warrior looked to win the title back from Rude at SummerSlam. During the match, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, who returned to the WWF at WrestleMania V following a two-year hiatus, interfered and allowed Warrior to defeat Rude to win the Intercontinental Championship for the second time. This started a feud between Piper and Rude.
Warrior next feuded with Andre the Giant throughout the fall of 1989. He defeated Andre in numerous squash matches at house shows in an attempt to showcase his talent and promote him to main event status. The feud lasted through Survivor Series and with the Warrior defeating Andre on the November 25 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event.
1989 closed what was a very successful decade, or at least half-decade, for the WWF and professional wrestling as a whole as it became very popular and mainstream with the national media. Superstars like Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, and The Ultimate Warrior, to name a few, helped make the WWF a success.
Hogan and the Warrior were the two most popular wrestlers in the WWF and the two would soon take the "Ultimate Challenge" going into the first year of a new decade and the final decade of the millennium.
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