Ax & Smash vs. Rick Martel & Tito Santana

[6.0] "A barely decent tag team match that offered nothing of note on an evening that desperately needed a WrestleMania-worthy wrestling match. In-ring quality: 0.5/4. Stakes: 2/2. Justification: 0.25/1. Placement on the card: 1/1. Suspense: 1/1. Positive/negative rating: None. Total: 5.75/10. Match watched on Netflix (FR)."

[3.0] "I must admit, by this point in the show, I was really, I guess, fatigued? It just felt like a real slog to get through the last half of the show, as too many of the contests just had a flat atmosphere and a slow pace. Again, worth noting, this crowd just sucked. It really does aid your viewing if the crowd is into a match, and the performers will, most of the time, respond to that and really step things up. This was not that kind of night at all. All four worked fairly well together with decent enough chemistry, but the match lacked momentum. It was a fairly forgettable match and a weak finish."

[3.0] "Might be the dead crowd that settled the mood for this match, because I wasn't feeling this at all. A fine well worked encounter that stands out in such an underwhelming card, without being a good one by itself."

[5.0] "Good match for the time It had, nothing too extraordinary to say besides It was like all the matches on this show, still I'll give it 5/10 [***1/4]"

[5.0] "A finely worked wrestling match that suffers from a disinterested crowd. Some good graps are in this but nothing too crazy to overcome the lack of crowd investment. **1/2"

[5.0] "There is not a lot to talk about here. The event leading up to this match has been very lackluster and I had some hopes that we would get a bit more than just an okay match but we did not. This was a match that just happened and will be forgotten as soon as the event is over."

[5.0] "A fine match but the crowd was tired and nothing of note really happened besides the title change. 5/10."

[5.0] "A match that could have been great, but is sadly dragged down by a crowd AND commentators that are both just understandably tired at this point. Good match, but hurt by its environment."

[5.0] "This was just another slow match in an endless chain of slow matches that just aren't good at all. Just an absolute shit show with this match being my match of the night which is just sad. Another okay match."

[5.0] "The crowd killed this (again) but at this point you can't blame them. This show is such a slog of endless slow matches. Thankfully promoters would figure out how to better structure a PPV in future years. Anyway, this was a decent match with a good hot tag and we got the correct title change, as Strike Force were pretty much done and Demolition were getting cheers as heels."

[5.0] "Even Ventura is getting cranky, as he says its too deep into the night to be arguing. This show is such a slog at this point, even a decent match like this is suffering from it. Its a basic tag match, ending with Ax drilling Martel with Fujis cane behind the referees back to score the win and the titles. **1/2"

[3.0] "The crowd has been consistently dead for the show. I chalk this up to two things: the overall middling to poor match quality and bringing out your main draw, Hulk Hogan, in the middle of the show. So, this is the first real failing of the match. Second, the story being told is that Rick Martel doesn't understand that he's going to cost his team the belts by constantly interfering. The babyfaces look stupid in comparison to the heels who are performing tag team fundamentals such as cutting off the ring. Third, there is a fuck up where referee Joey Marella has to pause after the two count and tell the guys to kick out. It's a minor gripe, but it's looks like amateur hour when rolled up into everything else. Overall, I'd say it's a bad match on an already weak show."

[6.0] "I loved Strike Force as a team. Demolition was great as well. I feel like this was good, but could have been better. Sanatna and Martel wouldn't team much over the next year, but they would break up then for good."

[6.0] "In some ways. Strike Force are the poster boys for transitional tag champions. Vince was pushing the Can-Am Connection so damn hard that it could only blow up in his face, even when Tito Santana turned things into Strike Force. Demolition got over more organically and I, like millions of others had totally cast aside EVERY WWF tag team in favor of Ax & Smash. This was a forgone conclusion yes, but ALL of us wanted to see HOW Demolition would win. The win was unfortunately quite weak. Prior to a disappointing finish, everything is working. The crowd is still mostly dead but at least we finally have a match that's not rushed. Tito Santana is our face in peril, because Rick Martel had the best hot tag ever. Santana hits the El Paso de la Muerte but can only manage to cover Ax's thigh (these days it would have been a 2 count but back then, covering a thigh wasn't enough of a Pinfall Attempt I guess). What should have been a hot tag pops all of 3 people, this crowd TOTALLY SUCKS, I want to say more but it would turn into a political tirade against a real horse's ass. Martel looking FANTASTIC and the congregation of corpses doesn't even know how to pretend to care (yah that's a double entendre political reference). Earlier in the match, Jesse Ventura casts doubt on the ability of Martel to even put on the Boston Crab to one of Demolition; he eats his words but only somewhat, it's not the best Boston Crab you'll see. Another El Paso de la Muerte is less effective, Tito has the referee distracted though... As Martel *STILL* has the Boston Crab on, here comes Ax with Fuji's cane and an anticlimactic finish. 6.25, A better finish would have helped. Having this one earlier in the night would ha-ah fuck it. HAVING THIS ON A TOTALLY DIFFERENT NIGHT IN AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT VENUE would have made a world of difference."

[4.0] "They are all good wrestlers, so yes is pretty decent, but is just not the moment to make the match, maybe earlier on the show, but now it has barely heath"

[5.0] "Was a very deacet version of the calsic WWF tag team match untill the finiah wich i found a bit lame, as the cane shot just dosent feel like the mind of thing that would keep any wretler and epicly a chapion down, still one of the better things on this show"

[5.0] "Match started out strong and I enjoyed the hot tag. Obviously it had a cheap finish so that Strike Force stayed strong and Demolition could still get the win. In ring action was pretty good for the most part but this match could have used better pacing and a better finish"

[4.0] "Not a bad match, but definitely could have been better. Very close to 5 points from me, but the weak heel finish changed my mind. This is the start of Demolition's historic reign, and this match got them over pretty strong. I still don't see the problem with strong heels winning relatively clean, especially after dominating most of the match, but it's 1980's WWF. The match was just a bit too simplistic and lacked any real big or strong moments. Couple into that that I think the crowd was worn out or bored of this show in general, because they did not care. A decent match and a historic one, but definitely could have been better."

[3.0] "I never liked Demolition. I don't like Martel as a babyface. The crowd don't care about this at all until the finish. The finish is lousy. Yet another in a string of dire matches on this PPV. I feel bad for Tito Santana having to hold this all together."

[6.0] "27/3/88 Wrestlemania IV WWF. Trust the tag teams to pull it off. A solid match from both the clash of styles really works and Demolition always at their best as heels. The classic Fuji manager finish saves face for Rick Martel and Tito Santana, but also gives the Demoliton the title. I wonder was it in the cards already for Demolition to turn face as Gorilla Monsoon was working them more like faces and heels. Great also to hear the heels getting pops from the crowd, Atlantic City has class. 6*"

[6.0] "Here we go. Best version of Demoliton was always them as the heels, as their ring style works perfectly for the bad guys. Tito and Martel are great too, using their speed and agility to get some advantage over the contenders and especially Rick shows why he deserves a singles push in the future."

[5.0] "This one was decent. Demolition takes the titles from Strikeforce here to start their first, and historic reign. I liked Strikeforce as a team as well, a bit of an upgrade for Martel from the Can-Am Express. The heels use good cheating tactics here to win."

[6.0] "Really enjoyed seeing Demolition...demolish this match. Quickens up the sluggish pace WM4 has had up to this point, and is the highlight of the show overall."

[5.0] "I might have to rewatch this in isolation one day, because at this point in the show everything felt like a slog. It was fine, but not very interesting, and I didn't really like the finish either. The teams had styles which complemented each other well, but there wasn't really much of note here outside of the title change."

[4.0] "About a year into their run, Demolition - Vince McMahon's answer to the Road Warriors - achieved ultimate tag team success on the grandest stage of them all. This match was all about crowning them as champions and beginning their record-setting reign and the action here was as a result largely controlled by Demolition. Although they had a similar look and feel to the Road Warriors, and were technically skilled wrestlers in comparison, they failed to capture the same charisma and intensity that made the Road Warriors such a dominant force in the NWA. Demolition's slow and plodding control of the match left much to be desired when compared to the high-energy performances of their NWA counterparts. Despite their limited roles in this match, Strike Force put in a solid performance. **1/4"

[6.0] "Finally another decent match on the show. Hearing Demolitions Rick Derringer theme was already a nice treat after so much nothingness. The match itself was nothing more than fine, with Strike Force having some fast paced offense in the beginning but finally falling to the more badass team"

[3.0] "Compared to the rest of card, its alright but overall in wrestling, its still a very bad no good match"

[3.0] "It starts off fast paced to try and wake up the crowd but quickly settles into the slow plodding bore the rest of the card is."

[6.0] "The birth of Demolition's record-breaking tag title reign came in the form of a decent tag team contest. Tito and Martel are the faster, more experienced team, so they used that bit of advantage in their favor, overwhelming the Demos from the get-go with quick movements and classic tag IQ. Smash cut off said shine by catching Tito in a bearhug and dropped him onto an Ax clothesline, which was a neat transitional spot. Strike Force looked like they got this in the bag when Martel locked Smash in a Boston crab, but Mr. Fuji interfered, opening the door for Ax to hit Martel in the back with a cane shot for the win. I could see myself liking this more had the crowd been hotter. [**3/4]"

[5.0] "average match. Love how it ended and offenses were good. Bad psychology as expected. Not a watch worthy from here. (**1/2)"

[5.0] "Crowd is clearly behind Demolition as they aren't buying the baby face act. Demolition kicks off a historical run with the tag belts."

[4.0] "Adequate match but at this point I just wanted the main event so this show would be over with, so I admit I had little patience for this one. The in-ring action was good and it started one of (if not the) best tag title reigns in WWF/E history, but it was nothing special otherwise. [*3/4]"

[4.0] "A decent enough match hindered by a burnt-out audience. Ax and Smash look the part and do a good job of being big bullies, cutting off the much quicker team of Martel and Santana. Demolition looks cool as hell and even receives some cheers when they steal the win as Mr. Fuji hands them his cane to use as a weapon. If this show was 30-60 minutes shorter, I'm sure this bout would have been better received."

[7.0] "Probably one of the better matches on the show, not sure why Demolition had to cheat to beat these guys seeing as they had destroyed everyone before them but overall it was still a decent match and Tito did his hardest to carry it"

[6.0] "Strike Force is really good in this match. Demolition is boring on offence and not particularly good at selling and two matches in a row with cane related finishes? Lazy. Overall a serviceable match."

[6.0] "Definitely one of the better outings they managed to squeeze onto WM4. It still needs more time to breathe properly, but both teams work hard, with Strike Force playing the plucky heroes as ever, and Demolition being their best version of Not-The Road Warriors. A good little match and a fun title change."

[6.0] "Solid enough tag match, it wasn't anything particularly special, but it filled it's role as a bridge between the semi-final and final of the tournament. Nothing must-see, but a fine little match"

[9.0] "Some people say there isn't a great match at Wrestlemania IV, to which I would say it's time to rewatch this one! Two of the best teams of the era having a great match, the super fired up Strike Force and the ass kicking might of Demolition, I love it."