[1991-02-01-WWF-The Main Event] Sgt. Slaughter vs Jim Duggan

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Last few minutes. Slaughter gets DQd for swinging a chair. He continues the attack after the match. Hogan makes the save, but is immediately intercepted with the chair. Slaughter then spits on him. Hot segment, but Hogan didn't sell the effects of the attack longer than 10 seconds before he started helping Duggan to his feet.

[shoe]

I think beating Duggan with nefarious means would have helped here. Instead Slaughter was on the run, and then used a chair for a DQ. I liked the Hogan beat down , but sold the damage like a transition pile driver spot .

[PeteF3]

Sarge's miracle run continues as from the last few minutes this is stunningly intense, with Slaughter taking some crazy bumps even by his standards and even Duggan taking some nasty shots. This makes for at least two occasions when Sarge dragged something good out of post-Mid-South Duggan which is one of the most amazing feats I can think of, wrestling or otherwise. I like Sarge immediately cutting off Hogan's attempted save. Yeah, Hogan sort of blows off selling it once Slaughter leaves, but eh, that didn't really bother me. Sarge would get in a much better beatdown on the Superstars & Stripes Forever show.

 

By the way, the version of this show I have has a cut-in from Garrick Utley at NBC about a development in the Persian Gulf, either during or immediately after this segment. Contrasting with the angle here, it unintentionally served to just completely bludgeon any self-discerning viewer over the head with how distasteful this WM build-up has been.

[Kevin Ridge]

Big corner bump by Sarge. Camera work was good catching him in flight to the floor. Chair shot to the head gets Slaughter disqualified. Hogan tries to save but gets a chair shot too. Slaughter spits on Hogan. Hulk holds up the US Flag with Duggan at his side. Agreed that Hogan could have sold a bit more the beating.

[soup23]

Slaughter should have gotten the win here. The beatdown was good but I agree with everyone else that Hulk could have been bothered to sell more.

[PhilTLL]

The match in whole is quite watchable. As for the Hogan beatdown, I honestly think that was about right for two chair shots on a fairly fresh Hogan. I mean, on the sliding scale. You take what you can get.

[garretta]

If two chair shots from an exhausted, sweating Sarge to Hogan's big, heavily muscled back are enough to put Hogan down for any length of time, then Hogan's got bigger problems than Sarge hitting him with a chair. Now, if he'd taken one right to the head like Duggan did and still no-sold it, the people criticizing him here would have a point. I'm surprised that Hacksaw wasn't busted open hardway.

 

I didn't think Sarge took bumps like the one into the corner that we saw at that point in his career. Tastelessness of this gimmick aside, I'll never say that he didn't work his ass off verbally and physically to get it over.

 

Vince and Piper really push the "Slaughter's Rules" stuff hard here. If this had been part of his persona from the beginning, we would have been so much better off.

 

It's a shame for Hacksaw that this mini-feud with Sarge was his only time as a WWF main eventer, even temporarily. He deserved better, or at least his previous reputation did.

[Migs]

If two chair shots from an exhausted, sweating Sarge to Hogan's big, heavily muscled back are enough to put Hogan down for any length of time, then Hogan's got bigger problems than Sarge hitting him with a chair. Now, if he'd taken one right to the head like Duggan did and still no-sold it, the people criticizing him here would have a point. I'm surprised that Hacksaw wasn't busted open hardway.

 

I didn't think Sarge took bumps like the one into the corner that we saw at that point in his career. Tastelessness of this gimmick aside, I'll never say that he didn't work his ass off verbally and physically to get it over.

 

Vince and Piper really push the "Slaughter's Rules" stuff hard here. If this had been part of his persona from the beginning, we would have been so much better off.

 

It's a shame for Hacksaw that this mini-feud with Sarge was his only time as a WWF main eventer, even temporarily. He deserved better, or at least his previous reputation did.

 

Duggan main evented shows with Andre during their feud, and a bit with Savage.

[garretta]

I consider "main eventing" title matches, Mig. Any two wrestlers can main event spot shows; that doesn't make them a true main event player. There are always exceptions for red-hot feuds like Sarge/Sheik and Piper/Snuka, but neither one of the feuds you mentioned were pushed to that level. Duggan/Savage was decent-sized, but Duggan/Andre was just a placeholder for the Giant until the SummerSlam buildup could start when Hogan returned.

[Migs]

I consider "main eventing" title matches, Mig. Any two wrestlers can main event spot shows; that doesn't make them a true main event player. There are always exceptions for red-hot feuds like Sarge/Sheik and Piper/Snuka, but neither one of the feuds you mentioned were pushed to that level. Duggan/Savage was decent-sized, but Duggan/Andre was just a placeholder for the Giant until the SummerSlam buildup could start when Hogan returned.

 

These were main events for weeks at a time on tour, which is a pretty good slot. Also, there weren't a lot of logical opportunities for Duggan to get title shots - Slaughter was the first heel champ (other than two months of Savage) during his time with the company. He could have gotten some shots at the IC title, I guess, but I'm not sure that would have been a higher slot than what he got (working with Andre > working with Honkytonk Man).

[drew wardlaw]

What we see isn't great but I like the idea of Duggan being a USA stepping stone to Hogan.

[dawho5]

We all know why Hogan wasn't selling. He is the unconquerable American hero. This is Vince land and i think what we got was more vulnerability than he would have wanted.