This ‘Piledriver’ should have been banned in all 50 states
Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer notes that reader Jason Singh reminded him that 24 years today, Koko B. Ware was filmed lip-synching for the “Piledriver” video, the title cut from one of those treacherous wrestling albums of the ’80s, as part of a 4-hour-plus TV taping typical of the era.
During these marathon tapings, they usually filmed nearly 20 squash matches, along with live interview segments like Piper’s Pit. Newspaper ads usually lured people in with promises to be “seen on TV” and a hot dark-match main event, sometimes headlined by Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, Jake Roberts or Randy Savage, to prevent the audience from bailing early to give the appearance of a full house, even for the crappiest of lineups, on its syndicated shows like “Superstar” and “Wrestling Challenge.”
Apparently, Meltzer had the misfortune of attending this particular show at San Francisco’s Cow Palace.
He writes: “…They filmed the ‘Piledriver’ video for Koko B. Ware and had him lip synching in the ring. I remember that. What a disaster. They made Ware do it three times and the crowd didn’t like it the first time, and downright hated it the second and third time. I think Ken Patera tore his triceps that night. This was a long night, more than 20 matches, I think they taped four hours of television and then Hulk Hogan beat Killer Khan in the main event. The crowd was still hot for the main event after all that.”
The end result made a strong case for a nationwide ban-not just limited to the Memphis territory-on the hold of the same name.
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