NO HOAX BARRED

NO HOLDS BARRED (1989)
dir: Thomas W. Wright


NO HOAX BARRED
MAD #291, December 1989
w: Stan Hart
a: Jack Davis

No Holds Barred was about the ultimate fighting championship between Rip Thomas (“Hulk” Hogan) and Zeus (Tiny Lister). The beginning shows what Hulk does, at a stand-in for a WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.) wrestling match announced by “Mean” Gene Okerlund and Jesse “The Body” Ventura. It was produced by Vince McMahon, who was the president of WWE.

”Hulk” Hogan made his debut in Rocky III

Tom Brell (Kurt Fuller), head of the World Television Network needs a hit show, and sees a cash cow in Rip. Rip meets with them and turns the offer down since he works for a rival network. Brell will stop at nothing to sign Rip and when Rip is being driven home in a limousine, he finds the limo has been hijacked, breaks out, and beats everyone that was trying to kidnap him and send him back to the network. Brell hires Samantha (Joan Severance) to seduce Rip but even though she starts to like him, can't go through with it.

Ted DiBiase worked for the World Wrestling Federation.

Brell and his yes-men (Charles Levin, David Paymer) have given up on Rip and go to a redneck bar to check out the ultimate fighting that goes on there. They announce a $100,000 purse for the winner for their new show and in comes Zeus to be their new champion.

Not shown: At a charity event for kids hosted by Rip, Tom Brell and his men fly in, trying to get him to fight Zeus, but he refuses. Later, Zeus is practicing at a warehouse. Rip's brother Randy (Mark Pellegrino) and a friend decide to check him out, which winds up with Zeus badly beating Randy and putting him in the hospital.

Crippling Randy is too much for Rip and now he'll fight Zeus. His trainer (Bill Henderson), who knew Zeus in the past, and Randy's doctors, suggest other ways to go about it, but he's determined. During the fight, Brell kidnaps Samantha and threatens to kill her if Rip doesn't throw the fight. He's about to lose, but when he sees Randy in peril again, he gets back up and wins.

The last panel has Gene Siskel, Roger Ebert, Rex Reed, Joel Siegel, Leonard Maltin, and Gene Shalit