Nearly 40 years ago, the WWF (now WWE) ran a house show at Frederick Community College in Frederick, Maryland, in January 1988, just a couple months before WrestleMania IV. Lifelong Montgomery County resident Gus Moshovitis remembers taking the 30-minute drive to watch some of his favorite superstars go at it in one of the smaller venues you’d catch the WWF in at that time.
The main event featured the Killer Bees taking on the Bolsheviks, with the entire card also participating in a 14-man over-the-top-rope battle royal. The winner of that match remains unclear. The undercard is a fascinating snapshot of the era: Junkyard Dog vs. Hercules, Ultimate Warrior vs. Steve Lombardi, and Outback Jack vs. Barry Horowitz. The card also included what was then billed as a “midget tag team match,” with Cowboy Lang and Pepe Gonzalez facing Little Tokyo and Lord Littlebrook.
This was considered a “C” show, held in a smaller venue and featuring lesser-known or developing talent. Junkyard Dog and Hercules were among the more established singles stars on the card, while Ultimate Warrior was just months away from winning the Intercontinental Championship and a little over two years from defeating Hulk Hogan for the WWF Championship.
On the same day, the WWF’s “B” show was headlined by Intercontinental Champion Honky Tonk Man vs. Randy Savage in a steel cage in Los Angeles, shortly before Savage’s first world title run. The “A” show saw Hulk Hogan defend the WWF Championship against Ted DiBiase in Milwaukee.
“Seeing these guys in person was the highlight of my childhood,” Moshovitis shared with us. A wild reminder of how deep the touring schedule was in the late ’80s and how many future stars passed through small venues like this one just a few miles away.
