The Brawl to End It All
| The Brawl to End It All | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| Promotion | World Wrestling Federation |
| Date | July 23, 1984[1] |
| Attendance | 23,416[1] |
| Venue | Madison Square Garden[1] |
| City | New York, New York[1] |
The Brawl to End It All was a professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and broadcast live on MTV. It took place at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York on July 23, 1984. The show was a major event in the Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection in the mid-1980s WWF. The main event featured The Fabulous Moolah defending the WWF Women's Championship against Wendi Richter. Richter pinned Moolah to win the Women's Championship. It was the only match of the event that was shown on national television. The entire event was recorded and shown on the Madison Square Garden Network however.
Background
Captain Lou Albano, a wrestling manager, appeared in Cyndi Lauper's 1983 music video for "Girls Just Want to Have Fun". This led to a scripted wrestling storyline in which Albano's sexism angered Lauper. Albano and Lauper appeared on WWF television programs to voice their anger at each other.[2] Eventually, it was decided that the feud would be settled in a wrestling match. Lauper chose WWF female wrestler Wendi Richter to represent her, while Albano managed The Fabulous Moolah, who had held the WWF Women's Championship for almost 28 years.[3][4]
Event
Although the event consisted of eleven matches, only the Richter vs. Moolah match was shown on television.[1] Several championships were defended on the card. Adrian Adonis and Dick Murdoch retained their WWF Tag Team Championship against Sgt. Slaughter and Terry Daniels. WWF World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan successfully defended his title against Greg Valentine. Antonio Inoki, the WWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Champion won two matches at the event, as he retained his championship against Charlie Fulton and later won a 20-man battle royal.[1]
In the main event match, Richter pinned Moolah and was awarded the WWF Women's Championship.[1][5]
The event had a 9.0 Nielsen rating,[1] which made it the most-watched program in the history of MTV.[2]
Aftermath
On February 18, 1985, the WWF promoted another wrestling event, The War to Settle the Score, on MTV. Lauper was involved again, as she intervened in the main event match that saw Hulk Hogan defend his WWF Championship against Roddy Piper.[6] Another featured match on the card saw The Fabulous Moolah avenge her loss to Richter by managing Leilani Kai to a victory over Richter for the WWF Women's Championship.[7]
Results
| No. | Results[1] | Stipulations | Times[1] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1D | Sika defeated Ron Shaw | Singles match | 5:03 |
| 2D | The Iron Sheik defeated Tony Garea | Singles match | 5:56 |
| 3D | Tito Santana (c) wrestled Bob Orton, Jr. to a draw | Singles match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship | 20:00 |
| 4D | Bob Backlund defeated Paul Vachon via submission | Singles match | 7:24 |
| 5D | Hulk Hogan (c) defeated Greg Valentine (with Lou Albano) | Singles match for the WWF Championship | 10:24 |
| 6D | Antonio Inoki (c) defeated Charlie Fulton | Singles match for the WWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship | 3:50 |
| 7D | Adrian Adonis and Dick Murdoch (c) defeated Sgt. Slaughter and Terry Daniels | Tag Team match for the WWF Tag Team Championship | 17:16 |
| 8 | Wendi Richter (with Cyndi Lauper and David Wolff) defeated The Fabulous Moolah (c) (with Lou Albano) | Singles Match for the WWF Women's Championship[3] | 11:20 |
| 9D | Paul Orndorff defeated Chief Jay Strongbow | Singles match | 6:05 |
| 10D | Afa defeated Rene Goulet | Singles Match | 3:43 |
| 11D | Antonio Inoki won a battle royal by last eliminating Rene Goulet | 20-man battle royal | 13:23 |
| |||
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "The War to Settle the Score results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. July 23, 1984. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
- 1 2 Beekman, Scott (2006). Ringside: A History of Professional Wrestling in America. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 125. ISBN 0-275-98401-X.
- 1 2 "Captain Lou Albano". WWE. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
- ↑ "History of the Women's Championship: The Fabulous Moolah". WWE. Retrieved 2009-01-14.
- ↑ "History of the Women's Championship: Wendi Richter". WWE. Retrieved 2009-01-14.
- ↑ Oliver, Greg; Johnson, Steven (2007). The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Heels. ECW Press. pp. 99–100. ISBN 1-55022-759-9.
- ↑ "History of the Women's Championship: Leilani Kai". WWE. Retrieved 2009-01-14.