No Holds Barred
Encyclopedia
No Holds Barred is a 1989
film
produced by Michael Rachmil, directed by Thomas J. Wright, written by Dennis Hackin and starring professional wrestler Hulk Hogan
(who is billed as executive producer alongside Vince McMahon
). The film is produced by World Wrestling Federation
(now WWE, inc.) under a "Shane Distribution Company" copyright and was released by New Line Cinema
on June 2, 1989. It was launched as an attempt to boost Hulk Hogan's acting career several years after his appearance in Rocky III
.
), whose presence in the audience motivates him enough to win his matches.
Rip appears on a television channel which screens all his matches. Thanks to Rip, the channel is highly popular. However, the evil, money-hungry chairman of a rival channel, Brell (Kurt Fuller
), wants to convince Rip to join their network. Rip respectfully declines, though Brell has his gang of thugs attempt to beat Rip into submission during the limo ride home from the meeting.
After visiting the No Count Bar, a rowdy establishment featuring a wrestling ring in the center and patronized by drunken, vicious fighters, Brell is inspired to create a new kind of wrestling program, focusing more on violence and sensationalism than Rip's more moralistic version of the sport. Brell's new program, Battle of the Tough Guys, is successful after the introduction of Zeus (Tom Lister, Jr.
), a violent, seemingly unfazable ex-con who sports a "Z"-shaped patch of hair on his skull. Zeus killed an opponent in the ring after the fight was over, and has been in prison until recently.
Samantha, a beautiful corporate spy (Joan Severance
), is sent by Brell to seduce Rip. However, Rip's good nature and dedication to charity wins her over, and she confesses the truth to the wrestler and turns to his side. After this fails, Brell attempts to have Samantha raped; as usual, Rip foils the plot and dispatches the would-be rapist into a tree trunk. Meanwhile, Brell and Zeus crash an outdoor charity event Rip is appearing at, demanding that Rip prove his honor by fighting Zeus live on Brell's new show. Once again, Rip avoids violent conflict and attempts to reason with Brell, who leaves in anger.
Randy and a friend decide to check out Zeus for themselves, attending an illegal fight being held in a warehouse. After watching Zeus defeat the monstrous Lugwrench Perkins (Jeep Swenson
), Randy foolishly identifies himself as Rip's brother to Brell and his associates. Randy attempts to defend himself, but Zeus brutally beats him, sending him to the hospital. Finally, after this ultimate insult, a tearful Rip decides to accept Zeus' challenge.
Before the match, Brell abducts Rip's friends and threatens to kill them if Rip doesn't lose deliberately. With the odds against him, Rip wins the match after Zeus falls from a perch into the wrestling ring, collapsing it. Rip turns his attentions to Brell, who accidentally falls into an electrical panel to his demise. With his friends rescued and his brother recovering in the hospital, Rip celebrates his victory.
taping on December 12 in Nashville, Tennessee
.
The main event pitted Hogan and Lister — appearing in character as "Zeus" — on opposing tag teams. Hogan teamed with longtime friend Brutus "the Barber" Beefcake
, while the heel
Zeus teamed with Randy "Macho Man" Savage. The four had been involved in an intertwined feud since the summer. Zeus had made several appearances at WWF events and cut promos stating that he, and not Hogan, should have received top billing in No Holds Barred. Meanwhile, as Hogan and Savage were feuding over the WWF World Championship
, Beefcake began feuding with Savage after Beefcake insulted Sherri during a TV taping. At the 1989 SummerSlam
, Hogan and Beefcake teamed to defeat Savage and Zeus, after which the tag team feud simmered for several months as Zeus began appearing with "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase
in the lead-up to the 1989 Survivor Series
.
The Hogan-Beefcake vs. Savage-Zeus tag team rivalry resumed after the Survivor Series, in the lead-up to "No Holds Barred: The Movie-The Match."
taping. In addition to matches pitting mid- and lower-card wrestlers against jobbers, other contests (which were not televised) saw "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes defeat Big Boss Man
, WWF Intercontinetal Champion The Ultimate Warrior
defeat Dino Bravo
, The Colossal Connection (Andre the Giant and Haku) defeat WWF Tag Team Champions Demolition
by countout, and "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig
defeat Ron Garvin
.
Hulk Hogan
and Brutus Beefcake
needed 9:32 to defeat Randy Savage
and Zeus
in a Steel cage match. Unlike traditional tag-team steel cage match rules the WWF had in place at the time, wherein both members of one team had to exit the cage to win, the match could end with a pinfall.
After a back and forth match early on, all four competitors were knocked out after Hogan hit a suplex on Zeus, and Beefcake and Savage hit each other's heads into the cage structure. Sensational Sherri (the manager of the Savage-Zeus team) handed a chain to Savage, who attempted to strike Beefcake with a fist drop off the top of the cage, but Beefcake recovered and caught Savage coming off. Eventually, Beefcake knocked Savage to the mat and escaped the cage; Savage -- with some eventual help from Beefcake -- crawled outside, tying the match at 1-apiece.
Meanwhile, Hogan rallied against Zeus, battering him before dropping three leg drops to score the pin and the win for the Hogan-Beefcake team.
, with $
4,957,052 in ticket sales. Hogan writes in his autobiography the budget was about eight million dollars. Vince McMahon
, who financed the movie, more or less broke even because of distribution fees. The final tally was $16,093,651 in ticket sales.
During the October 13, 1997 episode of Monday Night Raw
, Vince McMahon joked, "Hogan promised me that if the movie lost money he was gonna return his salary. I guess the check is still in the mail." This was during the Monday Night Wars
and was part of a number of digs at Hogan's then-new movie project Assault on Devil's Island. Raw commentator Jim Ross
also joked during the late 90s; "No Holds Barred? More like No Profit Allowed."
1989 in film
-Events:* Batman is released on June 23, and goes on to gross over $410 million worldwide.* Actress Kim Basinger and her brother Mick purchase Braselton, Georgia, for $20 million...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
produced by Michael Rachmil, directed by Thomas J. Wright, written by Dennis Hackin and starring professional wrestler Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan
Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
(who is billed as executive producer alongside Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
). The film is produced by World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(now WWE, inc.) under a "Shane Distribution Company" copyright and was released by New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
on June 2, 1989. It was launched as an attempt to boost Hulk Hogan's acting career several years after his appearance in Rocky III
Rocky III
Rocky III is a 1982 American film that is the third installment in the Rocky film series. It is written and directed by and stars Sylvester Stallone as the title character, with Carl Weathers as former boxing rival Apollo Creed, Burgess Meredith as Rocky's trainer Mickey, and Talia Shire as Rocky's...
.
Plot
Hulk Hogan plays Rip, a very popular professional wrestler. Although Rip looks and acts like a brute, he is actually a golden-hearted guy. He has a younger brother, Randy (Mark PellegrinoMark Pellegrino
Mark Ross Pellegrino is an American actor of film and television. He is best known for his work on Lost as Jacob and for playing Lucifer on Supernatural.-Career:...
), whose presence in the audience motivates him enough to win his matches.
Rip appears on a television channel which screens all his matches. Thanks to Rip, the channel is highly popular. However, the evil, money-hungry chairman of a rival channel, Brell (Kurt Fuller
Kurt Fuller
Kurt Fuller is an American character actor. He has appeared in a number of television, film, and stage projects. He graduated from Lincoln High School in Stockton, California in 1971.-Career:...
), wants to convince Rip to join their network. Rip respectfully declines, though Brell has his gang of thugs attempt to beat Rip into submission during the limo ride home from the meeting.
After visiting the No Count Bar, a rowdy establishment featuring a wrestling ring in the center and patronized by drunken, vicious fighters, Brell is inspired to create a new kind of wrestling program, focusing more on violence and sensationalism than Rip's more moralistic version of the sport. Brell's new program, Battle of the Tough Guys, is successful after the introduction of Zeus (Tom Lister, Jr.
Tom Lister, Jr.
-World Wrestling Federation :Lister appeared in the 1989 wrestling movie No Holds Barred, which was financed by the World Wrestling Federation and starred Hulk Hogan. Lister's role was Zeus, a brutal monster heel....
), a violent, seemingly unfazable ex-con who sports a "Z"-shaped patch of hair on his skull. Zeus killed an opponent in the ring after the fight was over, and has been in prison until recently.
Samantha, a beautiful corporate spy (Joan Severance
Joan Severance
-Early life:Severance was born in Houston, Texas to John and Martha Severance. Her father was an IBM Systems Manager that had to move frequently around the world. According to Severance "by the time I was 11, we'd lived in 12 different places". Severance and her family also lived in Libya, but in...
), is sent by Brell to seduce Rip. However, Rip's good nature and dedication to charity wins her over, and she confesses the truth to the wrestler and turns to his side. After this fails, Brell attempts to have Samantha raped; as usual, Rip foils the plot and dispatches the would-be rapist into a tree trunk. Meanwhile, Brell and Zeus crash an outdoor charity event Rip is appearing at, demanding that Rip prove his honor by fighting Zeus live on Brell's new show. Once again, Rip avoids violent conflict and attempts to reason with Brell, who leaves in anger.
Randy and a friend decide to check out Zeus for themselves, attending an illegal fight being held in a warehouse. After watching Zeus defeat the monstrous Lugwrench Perkins (Jeep Swenson
Robert Swenson
Robert Alexander Swenson, Jr. , was an American professional wrestler, stuntman, and actor.-Career:Swenson wrestled for World Class Championship Wrestling in 1987 and 1988 for manager Gary Hart. His main feud was with Bruiser Brody, who was wrestling as the masked "Red River Jack"...
), Randy foolishly identifies himself as Rip's brother to Brell and his associates. Randy attempts to defend himself, but Zeus brutally beats him, sending him to the hospital. Finally, after this ultimate insult, a tearful Rip decides to accept Zeus' challenge.
Before the match, Brell abducts Rip's friends and threatens to kill them if Rip doesn't lose deliberately. With the odds against him, Rip wins the match after Zeus falls from a perch into the wrestling ring, collapsing it. Rip turns his attentions to Brell, who accidentally falls into an electrical panel to his demise. With his friends rescued and his brother recovering in the hospital, Rip celebrates his victory.
The match
No Holds Barred: The Match/The Movie, which is how the event was billed, was shown on pay-per-view, on December 27, 1989. The program consisted of the film in its entirety, followed by a match pre-recorded at a Wrestling ChallengeWWF Wrestling Challenge
WWF Challenge is a professional wrestling television program produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It was syndicated weekly and aired from 1986 to 1996. The show premiered as WWF Wrestling Challenge and became simply known as WWF Challenge in 1995. The show featured matches, pre-match...
taping on December 12 in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
.
The main event pitted Hogan and Lister — appearing in character as "Zeus" — on opposing tag teams. Hogan teamed with longtime friend Brutus "the Barber" Beefcake
Edward Leslie
Edward Harrison "Ed" Leslie is an American professional wrestler, best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation under the ring name Brutus The Barber Beefcake. He later worked for World Championship Wrestling under a variety of names, mainly as "The Disciple" of real-life best friend...
, while the heel
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
Zeus teamed with Randy "Macho Man" Savage. The four had been involved in an intertwined feud since the summer. Zeus had made several appearances at WWF events and cut promos stating that he, and not Hogan, should have received top billing in No Holds Barred. Meanwhile, as Hogan and Savage were feuding over the WWF World Championship
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
, Beefcake began feuding with Savage after Beefcake insulted Sherri during a TV taping. At the 1989 SummerSlam
SummerSlam (1989)
SummerSlam was the second annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on August 28, 1989 in the Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey....
, Hogan and Beefcake teamed to defeat Savage and Zeus, after which the tag team feud simmered for several months as Zeus began appearing with "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase
Ted DiBiase
Theodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase, Sr. is a retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. DiBiase achieved championship success in a number of wrestling promotions, holding thirty titles during his professional wrestling career...
in the lead-up to the 1989 Survivor Series
Survivor Series (1989)
Survivor Series was the third annual Survivor Series professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 1989 at the Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois. This was the first Survivor Series event to feature team...
.
The Hogan-Beefcake vs. Savage-Zeus tag team rivalry resumed after the Survivor Series, in the lead-up to "No Holds Barred: The Movie-The Match."
Match result
The Hogan-Beefcake vs. Savage-Zeus steel cage was part of a WWF Wrestling ChallengeWWF Wrestling Challenge
WWF Challenge is a professional wrestling television program produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It was syndicated weekly and aired from 1986 to 1996. The show premiered as WWF Wrestling Challenge and became simply known as WWF Challenge in 1995. The show featured matches, pre-match...
taping. In addition to matches pitting mid- and lower-card wrestlers against jobbers, other contests (which were not televised) saw "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes defeat Big Boss Man
Ray Traylor
Ray Walter Traylor, Jr. was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Big Boss Man and World Championship Wrestling under various ring names, most notably Big Bubba Rogers.-Early years:Traylor, a prison guard in...
, WWF Intercontinetal Champion The Ultimate Warrior
Warrior (wrestler)
Also see Warrior .Warrior is an American retired professional wrestler who notably performed under the ring names The Ultimate Warrior and Warrior...
defeat Dino Bravo
Dino Bravo
Adolfo Bresciano was an Italian-born Canadian professional wrestler, best known for his work as Dino Bravo, self-proclaimed as "Canada's Strongest Man".-Territories:...
, The Colossal Connection (Andre the Giant and Haku) defeat WWF Tag Team Champions Demolition
Demolition (professional wrestling)
Demolition is a professional wrestling tag team most prominent during the late 1980s / early 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation made up of Ax , Smash , and later Crush . In WWF, Demolition were three-time Tag Team Champions, and hold the records for both the single longest tag title reign...
by countout, and "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig
Curt Hennig
Curtis Michael "Curt" Hennig , also known by the ring name Mr. Perfect, was an American professional wrestler, manager and color commentator who worked for, among other promotions, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , the American Wrestling Association , World Championship Wrestling and the World...
defeat Ron Garvin
Ron Garvin
Ron Garvin is a Canadian former professional wrestler and referee most known for his time in the National Wrestling Alliance.-Early career:...
.
Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan
Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
and Brutus Beefcake
Edward Leslie
Edward Harrison "Ed" Leslie is an American professional wrestler, best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation under the ring name Brutus The Barber Beefcake. He later worked for World Championship Wrestling under a variety of names, mainly as "The Disciple" of real-life best friend...
needed 9:32 to defeat Randy Savage
Randy Savage
Randall Mario Poffo , better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler, best known for his time with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling .Savage held twenty championships during his professional wrestling career and was a...
and Zeus
Tom Lister, Jr.
-World Wrestling Federation :Lister appeared in the 1989 wrestling movie No Holds Barred, which was financed by the World Wrestling Federation and starred Hulk Hogan. Lister's role was Zeus, a brutal monster heel....
in a Steel cage match. Unlike traditional tag-team steel cage match rules the WWF had in place at the time, wherein both members of one team had to exit the cage to win, the match could end with a pinfall.
After a back and forth match early on, all four competitors were knocked out after Hogan hit a suplex on Zeus, and Beefcake and Savage hit each other's heads into the cage structure. Sensational Sherri (the manager of the Savage-Zeus team) handed a chain to Savage, who attempted to strike Beefcake with a fist drop off the top of the cage, but Beefcake recovered and caught Savage coming off. Eventually, Beefcake knocked Savage to the mat and escaped the cage; Savage -- with some eventual help from Beefcake -- crawled outside, tying the match at 1-apiece.
Meanwhile, Hogan rallied against Zeus, battering him before dropping three leg drops to score the pin and the win for the Hogan-Beefcake team.
Box office gross
The movie debuted at #2, behind Indiana Jones and the Last CrusadeIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 American adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, from a story co-written by executive producer George Lucas. It is the third film in the Indiana Jones franchise. Harrison Ford reprises the title role and Sean Connery plays Indiana's father, Henry...
, with $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
4,957,052 in ticket sales. Hogan writes in his autobiography the budget was about eight million dollars. Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
, who financed the movie, more or less broke even because of distribution fees. The final tally was $16,093,651 in ticket sales.
During the October 13, 1997 episode of Monday Night Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
, Vince McMahon joked, "Hogan promised me that if the movie lost money he was gonna return his salary. I guess the check is still in the mail." This was during the Monday Night Wars
Monday Night Wars
Monday Night Wars is the common term describing the period of mainstream televised American professional wrestling from September 4, 1995, to March 26, 2001. During this time, the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw went head-to-head with World Championship Wrestling's Monday Nitro in a...
and was part of a number of digs at Hogan's then-new movie project Assault on Devil's Island. Raw commentator Jim Ross
Jim Ross
James William "Jim" Ross is a professional wrestling commentator, former professional wrestling referee, restaurateur, occasional wrestler, and former company executive of WWE, where he currently works as a commentator on the WWE Raw brand...
also joked during the late 90s; "No Holds Barred? More like No Profit Allowed."
External links
- http://www.i-mockery.com/minimocks/no-holds-barredReview of No Holds Barred with animated screenshots at I-MockeryI-MockeryI-Mockery is a pop culture humor site owned and operated by Roger Barr that has existed online in various forms since 1996. Before then, it was a printed periodical called Visionary Darkness. Free copies of Visionary Darkness were distributed in local high schools and record shops...
] - HulkHogan.com (Official Website)
- Cinema Connoisseur review
- Review of No Holds Barred (1989) on the Video DeathRay podcast