1988 World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event
WrestleMania IV was the fourth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). The event took place on March 27, 1988, at Boardwalk Hall (advertised as Trump Plaza) in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The announced attendance of the event was 19,199.
The main event featured the finals of a one-night, 14-man single-elimination tournament for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, in which Macho Man Randy Savage defeated "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase to win the vacant title. This marked the first WrestleMania that did not feature Hulk Hogan - regarded as the WWF's biggest star in the 1980s - as a participant in the main event (though he was at ringside in Savage's corner).
The undercard featured a 20-man battle royal won by Bad News Brown, Demolition (Ax and Smash) versus Strike Force (Tito Santana and Rick Martel) for the WWF Tag Team Championship, and Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake versus The Honky Tonk Man for the WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship.
Contemporary critics gave the event a lukewarm reception, noting its extended length. Retrospective analysis, some by sociologists, noted the presentation of wrestler's interpersonal relationships, and how the event's sponsor, Donald Trump, used the event to craft his public persona.
Production.
Background.
WrestleMania is considered the World Wrestling Federation's (WWF, now WWE) flagship pay-per-view (PPV) event, having first been held in 1985. It is held annually between mid-March to mid-April. WrestleMania IV was scheduled to be held on March 27, 1988, at the Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. This event was advertised as being held at the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, but taking place across the road at Convention Hall. Donald Trump used the event to promote his properties and, although only an audience member, was highlighted in the broadcast.
Much of the promotion of the event featured the continued rivalry of André the Giant and Hulk Hogan, who had faced off in the previous edition's main event. This took place inside of a single elimination fourteen-man tournament for the vacant WWF World Heavyweight Championship. The event was broadcast across closed-circuit television to 175,000 homes, and also on PPV.
Storylines.
André vs Hogan.
The most heavily promoted feud heading into the event was between Hulk Hogan and André the Giant, similar to the year before when the two met at WrestleMania III. In January 1987, Hogan was awarded a trophy for his third year as WWF World Heavyweight Champion, while Hogan's on-screen friend André was awarded a smaller trophy than Hogan's for being undefeated in the WWF for the previous fifteen years. Hogan congratulated André over winning the award, but André exited the arena before Hogan's speech was finished. In February, on an episode of Piper's Pit, André announced his new manager, Bobby Heenan, Hogan's longtime on-screen rival. Hogan asked André to leave Heenan, which André refused. André then challenged Hogan to a WWF World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania III, before ripping off Hogan's Hulkamania shirt and golden cross necklace, turning from an on-screen hero to villain (heel). At WrestleMania III, Hogan defeated André to retain the title. 
At the first Survivor Series in November 1987, André along with team members One Man Gang, King Kong Bundy, Butch Reed, and Rick Rude defeated Hogan, Paul Orndorff, Don Muraco, Ken Patera, and Bam Bam Bigelow in a traditional Survivor Series match. Shortly after Survivor Series, during Hogan's WWF World Heavyweight Championship defense against Bundy, André sneak-attacked Hogan, applying a chokehold. Heel character Ted DiBiase, who was portrayed as "The Million Dollar Man", an evil millionaire, offered Hogan a large sum of money to sell DiBiase the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, which Hogan refused. At the first Royal Rumble in January 1988, Hogan and André had an official contract signing for a WWF World Heavyweight Championship rematch. Their rematch took place on "The Main Event I" in February, where André defeated Hogan with a dusty finish. André won the match when referee Dave Hebner's identical twin Earl Hebner made the decision. 
Shortly after being awarded the championship, André kayfabe sold the title to DiBiase. Whilst André's championship reign is recognized by the WWF, DiBiase was stripped of the title. Plotwise, WWF President Jack Tunney vacated the title due to it having not been won in a sanctioned match and ordered it to be decided in a single elimination 14-man tournament at WrestleMania IV. As previous champions, André and Hogan received byes to the second round of the tournament, but faced each other in their second-round matchup.
Hogan formed an unlikely alliance with a former enemy and top challenger to his WWF World Heavyweight Championship, Randy "Macho Man" Savage (which was later known as the Mega Powers). Savage had been portrayed as an egomaniacal heel during most of his first two years in the WWF, but in the late summer of 1987, began to slowly turn face. Their on-screen friendship, then, was formed when Hogan (at the persuasion of Savage's valet, Miss Elizabeth) intervened when Savage was being attacked by The Honky Tonk Man and the Hart Foundation in an angle. Although Hogan and Savage teamed together at un-televised house shows, nothing more was made of it on national television until shortly before WrestleMania IV, when Hogan rescued Savage in a similar angle featuring Andre, DiBiase and Virgil.
Undercard.
Brutus Beefcake had become one of the most popular WWF superstars after turning face at WrestleMania III (after several years of playing a self-absored heel), and after feuding with former tag-team partner Greg Valentine, was receiving his first huge push toward the WWF Intercontinental Championship, held by The Honky Tonk Man. Beefcake, nicknamed "The Barber" after his gimmick of a barber, vowed "to cut his (Honky Tonk Man's) ducktail hair" before winning the championship. Honky, meanwhile, was portrayed as a cowardly champion, frequently relying on outside interference from manager Jimmy Hart or on-screen girlfriend Peggy Sue to win matches, or intentionally getting himself counted out or disqualified to retain his championship with the champions advantage.
The Ultimate Warrior had debuted in the WWF in the fall of 1987, and his feud with Hercules was his first major angle, the two feuding over who was the stronger, gladiatorial-style superstar in the WWF. To further the angle, the two met in a match on WWF television, wherein Hercules attacked Warrior with his steel chain and beat him down, but Warrior was able to fight back, gain control of the chain and began using it on Hercules until other wrestlers and officials were able to separate the two.
After being left off the WrestleMania III card, The Islanders were in the middle of their second major feud since turning heel in the spring of 1987, going up against The British Bulldogs. The storyline began shortly after the inaugural Survivor Series, when during a match on "WWF Superstars Of Wrestling", the Islanders took the Bulldogs' mascot, Matilda the bulldog, from ringside. Following a brief suspension in connection with the dog-napping incident, Islanders members Haku and Tama began bringing dog collars tied to a chain to ringside to taunt the Bulldogs. At the same time, the Islanders' manager Bobby Heenan began making remarks on the legality of having animals at ringside (in lieu of official managers), and also made derogatory remarks about Koko B. Ware's macaw, Frankie, who accompanied Ware to ringside. This led to a Six-man tag team match with manager Heenan tagging with the Islanders against the Bulldogs and Ware.
Demolition, a leather-outfitted tag team who had their faces painted in a combination of black, white, red and silver colors, received their first major push in the fall of 1987, where they began aggressively dominating and overwhelming their opponents. After dominating most of the established face tag teams, Ax and Smash began targeting Strike Force (Tito Santana and Rick Martel), which had recently become the WWF Tag Team Champions and had defeated several top heel tag teams, including The Hart Foundation (from whom Martel and Santana won the belts), The Bolsheviks and The Islanders before Demolition demanded a match at WrestleMania IV.
Event.
Opening match, 20-man battle-royal.
WrestleMania IV's coverage began with Gladys Knight singing a rendition of "America the Beautiful". The first match of the pay-per-view event was a twenty-man over the top rope battle royal. The winner of the match would receive a trophy. After fourteen eliminations, the final six participants were Bad News Brown, Bret Hart, Paul Roma, Harley Race, Jacques Rougeau, and Junkyard Dog.
Race hit a back body drop on Rougeau, sending him over the top rope before Junkyard Dog punched him over the top rope. Brown eliminated Roma as Junkyard Dog was left to battle Hart and Brown. The duo double teamed Dog before Brown attempted a clothesline on Dog, but hit Hart instead. Junkyard Dog hit both men with several headbutts before they both decided to cooperate and they eliminated Junkyard Dog. After eliminating Dog, Hart indicated that he and Brown would share the trophy; however, Brown caught Hart with his Ghetto Blaster before eliminating him over the top rope to win the battle royal. Brown was presented with the trophy, but Hart interrupted and hit Brown with the trophy. Hart and partner Jim Neidhart later turned babyface over the next few months.
First round.
Before the 14-man tournament for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship began, Robin Leach from the TV show "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" outlined the background for the tournament, and how the championship was vacated. As former champions, André the Giant and Hulk Hogan were given a bye and had directly qualified for the next round. In the first round, "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase (with bodyguard Virgil and André the Giant) defeated "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan by pinfall. "The Rock" Don Muraco (with Superstar Billy Graham) defeated Dino Bravo (with Frenchy Martin) by disqualification after Bravo pulled the referee in front of him, causing the referee to be hit by a flying forearm from Muraco.
"Macho Man" Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth) defeated "The Natural" Butch Reed (with Slick), Greg "The Hammer" Valentine (with "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart) defeated Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, the One Man Gang (with Slick) defeated Bam Bam Bigelow (with Oliver Humperdink), and "Ravishing" Rick Rude (with Bobby "The Brain" Heenan) fought Jake "The Snake" Roberts to a time limit draw. The winners of these matches advanced to the quarterfinals. As Rude and Roberts tied, they were both eliminated from the tournament, thereby giving the One Man Gang a bye into the semifinals.
Tournament intermission one, singles match.
In his PPV debut, The Ultimate Warrior faced Hercules. The pair locked up with Warrior chopping Hercules in the corner. Hercules fought back as he hit two clotheslines on Warrior, who no-sold them before a third from Hercules took Warrior off his feet. Warrior then countered a Hercules clothesline and hit a clothesline of his own. In the corner, Warrior hit him with ten punches, but while Warrior was looking at the referee, Hercules hit an inverted atomic drop. He then tried to apply his finishing move, a full-nelson, but could not lock his fingers behind Warriors head. Warrior then pushed his feet off the top turnbuckle and both men fell to the mat with both men being pinned. Warrior lifted a shoulder before the end of the count, awarding Warrior the win.
Quarter-finals.
The first of three quarterfinals saw Hulk Hogan take on André the Giant. During the match, Hogan hit André with a chair in front of referee Joey Marella. André retaliated, grabbing the chair and hitting Hogan. After both men hit each other with the chair, they both were disqualified by Marella and, as a result, were eliminated from the tournament.
The second quarterfinal saw Ted DiBiase (without either André or Virgil after Virgil had been Suplexed in the aisle by Hulk Hogan) defeat Don Muraco by pinfall. With both André and Hogan disqualified, DiBiase got a bye to the final. The third quarterfinal saw Randy Savage defeat Greg Valentine also by pinfall. As One Man Gang had received a bye in the quarter-finals due to Rick Rude and Jake Roberts having wrestled to a time limit draw in the first round, Gang faced Savage in the semi-finals.
Tournament intermission two, Intercontinental title match and six-man tag team match.
Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake fought WWF Intercontinental Champion The Honky Tonk Man for the Intercontinental championship.