| The War to Settle the Score | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Roddy Piper mocking the crowd by wearing a Hulkamania t-shirt as he is introduced by guest ring announcer Bob Costas | |||
| Promotion | World Wrestling Federation | ||
| Date | February 18, 1985[1] | ||
| City | New York, New York[1] | ||
| Venue | Madison Square Garden[1] | ||
| Attendance | 22,000[1] | ||
| Television special chronology | |||
| |||
The War to Settle the Score is aprofessional wrestling event produced by theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF).[1] It took place atMadison Square Garden inNew York, New York on February 18, 1985. Themain event featuredHulk Hogan defending theWWF World Heavyweight Championship against"Rowdy" Roddy Piper. Hogan retained the title after Piper gotdisqualified in the only match of the event that was shown on MTV.
On September 5, 2019, the entire show was added to theWWE Network in their "Hidden Gems" section;[2] however, the next day it was removed.[citation needed]
One of thefeuds at the event dated back to 1983, whenLou Albano, a wrestlingmanager, appeared inCyndi Lauper's music video for "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" as Lauper's father. The WWF capitalized on his appearance by creating a storyline feud between the two, in which Albano was portrayed as asexist.[3] As Lauper was too busy to make extensive appearances at WWF events, another storyline was developed between Albano and David Wolff, Lauper's manager. Albano, hyping his association with the bandNRBQ, portrayed himself as an up-and-coming star in music management, with Wolff coming along to steal his thunder. This created the background for the first WWF special on MTV,The Brawl to End It All. Albano managedWWF Women's ChampionThe Fabulous Moolah, while Lauper managed challengerWendi Richter. Richter won the match, and Albano and Lauper reconciled their differences.[4][5] Moolah, however, remained upset and challenged Richter to a match on behalf ofLeilani Kai, another women's wrestler.[6]
Lauper's involvement with the WWF also helped set up the other major feud at The War to Settle the Score. On December 28, 1984, she presented Albano with an award. Roddy Piper, who was angered by theRock 'n' Wrestling Connection that saw the WWF and MTV use cross-promotion to attract viewers,[7] attacked Lauper and Albano; Hogan's defense of Lauper led to a match for Hogan's WWF World Heavyweight Championship.[8]
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentator | Gorilla Monsoon |
| Gene Okerlund | |
| Interviewer | Gene Okerlund |
| Ring announcer | Howard Finkel |
| Bob Costas(Main Event) |
As withThe Brawl to End it All, only the final match on the card was televised on MTV.[1] Theundercard featured two title matches, however. The first featured Richter, accompanied by Lauper, defending her title against Kai, who was managed by Moolah. Kai defeated Richter to win the title belt.[9] In the following match,Barry Windham andMike Rotundo defeatedThe Spoiler and The Assassin to retain theWWF Tag Team Championship.[1]
In the main event match, Hulk Hogan defeated Roddy Piper bydisqualification to defend the WWF World Heavyweight Championship.[1]Paul Orndorff andBob Orton, Jr. interfered in the match on Piper's behalf.[10] Hogan's friendMr. T was sitting at ringside; at the end of the match, he and Lauper entered the ring after the match but were attacked by Piper and his friends. During the brawl, Piper kicked Lauper in the head.[11]
The fight at the end of the Hogan vs. Piper match set up the main event forthe first WrestleMania event promoted by the WWF, which took place on March 31, 1985. Hogan and Mr. T faced the team of Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff. Orton attempted to interfere on his friends' behalf but hit Orndorff instead. As a result, Hogan pinned Orndorff to win the match for his team.[12][13] The feud between Mr. T and Piper remained unresolved, and they faced each other the following year atWrestleMania 2 in a boxing match, which Mr. T won by disqualification.[14]
Richter and Kai also faced each other at the first WrestleMania. Richter defeated Kai to regain the WWF Women's Championship.[15] Richter would lose the title back toThe Fabulous Moolah in November of 1985 in the "Original Screwjob" where Richter's shoulders were counted for a pin though she lifted them up at the one count (the "screwjob" was due to Richter and the WWF failing to reach a contract agreement). She left the WWF immediately after that and did not return for over two decades.
Rick McGraw was shown on TV being attacked violently by Roddy Piper on an episode ofWWF Championship Wrestling in October of 1985 (aired in November 1985), McGraw died on November 1, 1985, from a heart attack and some fans erroneously thought Piper had caused his death because the segment aired after his death. David Sammartino left the WWF after a match where he controversially submitted to jobber Ron Shaw in November 1985.
In an unexpected consequence, pop-artistAndy Warhol, a long-time wrestling fan who was in attendance, accidentally walked into a room at the end of the event that had been set up for an interview with Hogan, Cyndi Lauper, Mr T and Captain Lou Albano. As this was being broadcast live to end the show, Warhol had to improvise a short promo praising the Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection.[16][17]
| No. | Results[1] | Stipulations | Times | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1D | Moondog Spot vs.Rick McGraw ended in adraw | Singles match | 15:00 | ||||
| 2D | Johnny Rodz defeated Jose Louis Rivera | Singles match | 11:14 | ||||
| 3D | Hillbilly Jim defeatedRene Goulet | Singles match | 7:29 | ||||
| 4D | Leilani Kai defeatedWendi Richter (c) | Singles match for theWWF Women's Championship[18] | 11:49 | ||||
| 5D | David Sammartino defeatedMoondog Rex | Singles match | 12:27 | ||||
| 6D | Matt Borne defeatedSwede Hanson | Singles match | 5:48 | ||||
| 7D | Jimmy Snuka defeatedBob Orton | Singles match[18] | 9:59 | ||||
| 8D | Paul Orndorff defeatedTony Atlas | Singles match[18] | 6:08 | ||||
| 9D | The U.S. Express (Barry Windham andMike Rotunda) (c) defeatedThe Spoiler and The Assassin | Tag Team match for theWWF Tag Team Championship[18] | 0:36 | ||||
| 10D | Don Muraco defeatedSalvatore Bellomo | Singles match | 2:41 | ||||
| 11 | Hulk Hogan (c) defeatedRoddy Piper bydisqualification | Singles match for theWWF World Heavyweight Championship[18][19] | 8:40 | ||||
| |||||||
