WWF 305 Live: Hogan! King Mabel!! Bam Bam! Volkoff!

Hulk Hogan vs. Nikolai Volkoff WWF SNME 10/5/85 - GREAT

ER: This was a flag match, so you get Volkoff out singing the Russian anthem, Hogan comes out waving a gigantic American flag and wearing his resplendent whites. This is unquestionably the greatest gear of Hogan's career. The white boots, kneepads, and trunks, but with a proper sheen so it doesn't look like he's wearing a diaper (see Akiyama, Jun). The match is good, good enough that I wish we had more Hogan/Volkoff showdowns. This gets the added Red Menace heat, and it's worked at a quicker pace than a lot of era Hogan matches, and benefits from more back and forth (less Volkoff taking his share up front so Hogan can come back). It's more of a slugfest brawl with Hogan fired up (because of America), hitting an early axe bomber and awesome elbowdrop. Hogan had a really great elbowdrop in 84/85, something he dropped almost entirely not long after. It was a fistdrop like elbow, dropping down like Dibiase but placing the elbow perfectly across the throat. It's honestly one of the finest elbowdrops in wrestling, which is funny as I don't think of an elbowdrop as a Hogan move. He knocks Volkoff through the ropes, onto the time keeper's table, and Volkoff only takes over by running Hogan into a ringpost. His control is good, slamming Hogan and bullying him around, lifting him up with a super impressive overhead press, holding Hogan over his head by the trunks before crashing him down with a backbreaker. The finish is tight and sudden, with Hogan dodging a charging Volkoff, sending him high up on the turnbuckles into the post, leading to a quick Hogan legdrop. After the match Hogan actually spit shines his boots with the Russian flag!

King Mabel vs. Bam Bam Bigelow WWF Superstars 8/19/95 - VERY GOOD

ER: This is a literally and figuratively BIG match to show up on Superstars, maybe the two heaviest guys on the roster at this point. My only complaint is that Bigelow really needed to lay in shots, just to put over this ring-stressing clash of colossus. Bigelow is someone who always pulled his shots, never worked stiff, and used his agility to bump around generously for opponents. I appreciate a nice worked shot, but Mabel is such a tower of mass that you need to really run into him to back him up. That said, obviously this was a (ahem) ton of fun. Mabel is a real beast and really aims to smoosh Bigelow. The best parts were obviously when they would just run and leap into each other. A match like this basically needs to be nothing but avalanches, over and over, until one of the big fat guys falls on the other big fat guy. Mabel is good at selling for Bigelow, and my favorite thing might be Mabel selling the pyro during Bigelow's intro. Now there *was* a lot of fire in that ring, but Mabel sold it like he got maced. Bigelow runs the ropes really cool, always leaning deep into them to show how much is size can bend them, and it really puts across any extra spring he might be getting before hurling himself into the King. Bigelow runs into a big Boss Man Slam and Mabel chokes him in the ropes a bunch, whips him hard in the buckles, drops axe handles, Bam Bam bumping around for all of it. We get a fantastic spot, where Bigelow tries to surprise Mabel with his enziguiri, but Mabel ducks it and when Bigelow gets back to his feet MABEL hits an enziguiri! I'm not sure I've seen Bam Bam's enziguiri countered and used against him before, and it rules. Mabel hits an avalanche but crashes hard into the buckles on another one, and then Bigelow nails the enziguiri. Mo gets involved and takes a huge bump off the apron when Bigelow immediately shuts that interference down. Missed headbutt off the top and Mabel puts him away (a little easily) with a nice belly to belly. I would have liked to see one more Bigelow kickout before Mabel crushed him for good, but this had the kind of squishing you'd want from two behemoths.

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