[1992-04-05-WWF-Wrestlemania VIII] Tatanka vs Rick Martel

[cactus]

Tatanka made his TV debut at the start of the year and it's obvious that they have big things planned for him. A Native American tribe perform a dance in the ring before the match and it's clear as day who's winning this. Much like many of the other undercard matches on this show, this wasn't anything special from a workrate perspective, but I found the ending to be completely baffling. Tatanka, who has been booked as a total powerhouse who crushes the opposition with ease, lands a lucky crossbody for the finish. Rick Martel, who played his role well, was winding down his career and could of afforded a jobber-like lose to their new star. The crowd did not care for this and the commentators were still talking about the result of the Savage/Flair match before this. 

★½

[flyonthewall2983]

They must have liked working each other enough to have such a more even finish, since they would have a feud nobody remembers at the end of 1992, that took many direct cues from Martel's program with Jake Roberts. 

The lull in the matches between the two main events are pretty obvious now. I guess it was charitable to such a large crowd to have essentially a long piss break.