First WWF UK Event 1989: Hulkamania Crossed the Atlantic

The untelevised six-man tag brings together an unusual mix of WWF visitors and established British names, giving the live crowd a distinctly local opening attraction. Dave Finlay, Mark Rocco and Skull Murphy bring a rougher European edge, while Al Perez, Dale Wolfe and Tim Horner provide the American opposition. Because the bout was not part of the Sky broadcast, its historical footprint is much smaller than the matches that follow, but its placement matters on the complete card. The British trio eventually takes control and secures the victory, giving the London audience an immediate hometown connection. There is enough talent involved for the match to carry interest beyond novelty, even without major storyline stakes. As a complete-event opener, it adds flavor and helps distinguish the show from an ordinary U.S. arena card.

Koko B. Ware and Boris Zhukov give the televised portion a straightforward babyface-versus-heel opener built around recognizable WWF personalities. Koko supplies the movement and crowd engagement, while Zhukov slows the pace with heavier offense and interference-adjacent presence from Nikolai Volkoff at ringside. The match never develops into a major dramatic contest, but its structure is easy to follow and well suited to introducing a new international television audience to familiar character types. Koko eventually creates enough separation to finish Zhukov cleanly and send the crowd into the rest of the card on a positive note. There is little lasting storyline consequence and no championship at stake. Still, the bout is competent, energetic enough, and more useful as part of the event's pacing than as a standalone recommendation.

Dino Bravo versus Bret Hart is interesting in retrospect because Hart is already clearly the more dynamic wrestler even though the singles hierarchy still favors Bravo. Hart bumps, moves and creates the match's sharper transitions, while Bravo relies on power, Jimmy Hart's presence and a deliberate heel pace. The sixteen-minute runtime gives Bret more room than most undercard matches of the period, allowing him to make the contest feel competitive rather than merely developmental. Bravo ultimately survives Hart's momentum and takes the victory, preserving his stronger singles position in 1989. The result can feel backward through a modern lens because Hart's future ceiling is obvious, but it fits the roster order of the moment. The match is solid, occasionally compelling, and valuable as a snapshot of Bret immediately before his singles ascent.

Jim Duggan and The Honky Tonk Man work almost entirely through character, crowd reaction and recognizable catchphrases, which makes the match effective for a first-time British WWF audience. Duggan's patriotic brawling is easy to understand, while Honky and Jimmy Hart provide the cowardly heel counterpoint. The actual wrestling remains basic, with punches, stalling and short control segments doing more work than intricate sequences. That simplicity is not necessarily a flaw in front of a hot London crowd, but it limits the match's replay value. Duggan eventually overcomes Honky's tactics and scores the victory, preserving the straightforward babyface payoff. It is a competent attraction built for live response rather than technical evaluation, and it succeeds better as atmosphere than as wrestling.

The Rockers and Fabulous Rougeaus deliver the clear in-ring highlight of the card, using nearly twenty-five minutes to build a layered tag match around speed, isolation and escalating tandem offense. Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels bring explosive movement, while Jacques and Raymond Rougeau slow them down with polished heel control and Jimmy Hart's ringside presence. The extended runtime allows the match to move beyond a television sprint and into a full arena-style structure with meaningful heat and a satisfying comeback. The Rockers eventually break through the Rougeaus' control and earn the victory, giving the crowd a rewarding payoff after a long middle section. The chemistry between the teams is obvious, and the match feels ahead of several other bouts on the show. It is the easiest pure-wrestling recommendation from the event.

The Brooklyn Brawler versus Paul Roma is the oddest result on the televised card and functions largely as late-show connective tissue before Hogan and Savage. Roma has the cleaner athletic presentation, while Brawler leans into his scrappy enhancement-character identity and keeps the match grounded. At just over six minutes, the bout never develops enough complexity to overcome its low stakes. The surprise is the finish: Brawler actually defeats Roma, giving a wrestler normally associated with losing a rare televised victory. That twist makes the result more memorable than the wrestling itself. The match is not actively bad, but it feels noticeably smaller than the tag-team showcase before it and the championship main event after it. For a selective rewatch, this is the easiest televised match to skip.

Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage give the first WWF event in Britain the marquee championship match the occasion requires. Their WrestleMania V rivalry is already familiar, and the London crowd reacts to both men as genuine headliners rather than novelty visitors. Savage, accompanied by Sensational Sherri, supplies the sharper offense and desperation, while Hogan works through the familiar damage-and-comeback formula that had become central to his title defenses. Miss Elizabeth's presence adds another recognizable thread from the feud without overwhelming the wrestling. Hogan eventually survives Savage's control, rallies and retains the WWF Championship cleanly enough to send the crowd home with the company's biggest star on top. It is not their definitive match, but it provides exactly the kind of main event a landmark international card needs.