Long before William ”the Refrigerator” Perry and Jimbo Covert escaped unharmed from Wrestlemania 2 Monday night, Bears` fans at the Horizon somehow got the impression that everything would come out all right.
Neither won the nationally telecast closed-circuit ”Battle Royal,” but having won the hearts and wallets of 10,000 ringside fans, neither one seemed particularly upset or stunned to see Andre the Giant emerge victorious. After all, of the 20 bodies in the ring, the 500-pound Andre appeared to be the only one to break a sweat.
It was a night for right and might, from the moment Ray Charles sang
”America the Beautiful” in New York until Hulk Hogan climbed from his cage to subdue King Kong Bundy in Los Angeles. It was heralded as ”What The World Is Coming To See.”
Most fearful of the outcome in the Battle Royal was Bears` president Michael McCaskey, who sent team physician Dr. Clarence Fossier and trainer Fred Caito to the match to examine all the NFL players before and after.
This unexpected demand sent the World Wrestling Federation scrambling for a doctor of its own, former World Football League physician Dr. James Ryan, to verify Fossier`s opinion. Apparently, a doctor never was a necessity in the world of pro wrestling before Yale and Harvard product McCaskey thought of it. Covert was among the first tossed over the ropes, and Perry was among the last. Covert landed on his feet. Perry fell dramatically and athletically on his side after charging Big John Studd, who ducked in the nick of time.
San Francisco 49ers` tight end Russ Francis, wearing the outfit of his retired pro wrestler father, was the last NFL player in the ring and the fourth from last to go. Atlanta Falcons` tackle Bill Fralic went before Perry. When Studd reached over the rope to shake Perry`s hand, the Fridge pulled him out of the ring. Studd went after Perry and the two were separated by
”guest referee” Dick Butkus. Studd then backed out of the arena staring down Perry all the way.
Earlier, Perry had blasted both Bret Hart and Jim ”the Anvil” Neidhart out of the ring at once with a bull rush that delighted the crowd. But Hart and Neidhart, a tag team nicknamed ”The Hart Foundation,” somehow returned to the action to provide the last challenges to Andre. The whole Battle lasted a Royal 15 minutes.
Before the Chicago portion of the three-ring New York-Chicago-Los Angeles circus began, the Horizon fans watched the closed-circuit telecast from the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y., where guest announcer Joan Rivers introduced guest judges Darryl Dawkins of the New Jersey Nets, Cab Calloway
”of Hi-De-Ho” and G. Gordon Liddy ”of the Nixon administration,” a slice of America that only wrestling could meld.
After guest timekeeper Herb, of Burger King fame, added further legitimacy to the extravaganza, Mr. T and Rowdy Roddy Piper squared off in a wrestling match with boxing gloves that ended with Mr. T`s corner man, former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier, trying to body slam Piper`s corner man, Lou Duva.
As Liddy gazed conspiratorally from ringside in New York, the Horizon guest timekeeper and former Wendy`s spokeswoman Clara Peller was helped toward ringside, where announcer Mean Gene Okerlund predicted she would soon find the beef.
No interviews were allowed afterwards, as many of the stars were hauled away from the Horizon in limousines.
It was only 25 minutes before showtime in Chicago, but Wells` predicament was nothing compared to the consternation of Perry`s agent, Jim Steiner, whose client had not yet arrived.
Finally, Perry made it, accompanied by his wife Sherry, who gave birth to a daughter last week. Compared to that, Mrs. Perry had no worries on Monday.
