–Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler are doing commentary and they are still in Corpus Christi, Texas.
–Opening Contest: The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) (1-0) pinned Henry Godwinn (3-0) after a chokeslam at 7:00:
Seeing the Undertaker wrestle on “free” television was special in this era since his appearances were largely relegated to interviews or angles. The same could be said of other stars – for example, WWF Champion Diesel has not made an appearance since the Royal Rumble – and it just goes to show how the company preserved its “attractions” during this period. The Undertaker does not have the urn because the Million Dollar Corporation stole it at The Royal Rumble so Godwinn is able to escape the Tombstone and wear down the Undertaker with some strikes. Nevertheless, the Undertaker survives the somewhat dull onslaught and captures the victory with the chokeslam for his second win of the year. It was really hard for the WWF to sell me on the “Undertaker is weak without the urn!” storyline when the Undertaker kept winning matches without it. Rating: *
–Stephanie Wiand does the Live Event News segment and hypes the “In High Gear” Tour. The next Madison Square Garden show on March 19 will feature Diesel & Razor Ramon against Jeff Jarrett & Shawn Michaels. Also, the Undertaker squares off against Bam Bam Bigelow and Bob Backlund faces Adam Bomb in a submission match. The Smoking Gunns will defend their tag team titles against IRS & Tatanka as well.
–Mantaur (w/Jim Cornette) (4-0) beat Gary Scott with the Stampede at 1:45:
Scott is giving up three of himself to Mantaur, which would call for Mantaur to destroy him with power moves. Mantaur tries to do so, but Scott takes some very awkward bumps so it really makes a mess of things, especially when he accidentally rubs off half of Mantaur’s eye makeup during a rest hold. Mantaur is now using the spinebuster as a finisher, which Lawler tells us is called “the Stampede.”
–A replay of Bam Bam Bigelow challenging Lawrence Taylor to a match on Monday Night RAW is shown.
–The Bushwhackers (1-0) defeat Reno Riggins & Adam Croom after Butch pins Croom after a double stomachbreaker at 2:11:
The only real highlight of Bushwhackers matches is their entrance and seeing if any fans are infuriated that they get kissed or licked by them. Corpus Christi is “mark” city, though, so the people dig it. Riggins takes the Bushwhackers offense like a champ, making very weak blows look like the second coming of Death himself. For that sacrifice it only makes sense for Croom to eat the pin, which he does a few short moments after tagging in.
–Man Mountain Rock says he is a physical freak of nature so that is why he became a wrestler. McMahon lets us know that he will make his in-ring debut on next week’s show.
–King Kong Bundy (w/Ted DiBiase) (6-0) pins Bill Weaver after an Avalanche at 1:09:
David Perez, a young fan, is our gest ring announcer and does a decent job after some initial nerves. Bundy is a force of nature at the moment, running up the best win/loss record in the company to pave the way for an expected WrestleMania match with the Undertaker. Bundy wants a five count on Weaver but the referee only does three because those are the rules and all.
–Shawn Michaels “Heartbreak Hotel” segment welcomes its guest this week: WWF Champion Diesel. However, instead of the genuine article it is just a cardboard cutout but the cutout gets its own pyro entrance, which is a nice touch. Michaels reiterates that he is in the market for a bodyguard before going through a rather dry promo about Diesel’s lack of backbone. McMahon’s outrage when Michaels pushes over the cutout by screaming “OH MY GOODNESS!” drew a laugh from me, though. The cardboard cutout was actually a shill for merchandise as you could later purchase “life size” cardboard cut outs of Diesel, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, and the Undertaker via a company merchandise catalog that came with WWF Magazine.
–Duke “the Dumpster” Droese (4-0) pins The Brooklyn Brawler after the Trash Compactor at 1:36:
Lawler does not pay any attention to this match, instead taking time to make jokes about Japanese people that he ascribes to things he allegedly heard from Bret Hart in the locker room. Typical Droese squash here as he hits a few moves before his finisher and wins. Fun fact: Droese’s longest televised match this year has only gone 2:12.
–The Blu Brothers (w/Uncle Zebekiah) (1-0) defeat Butch Long & Jason Ahrndt after Jacob pins Long after a spinebuster/leg drop combination at 2:38:
The Blus look much more menacing in black, but the company later made them wear brown and that made both men look like they were wrestling in potato sacks. McMahon spends the match hyping a match in Brookhaven, New York at Bellport High School between Adam Bomb and King Kong Bundy. Just imagine the WWE promoting shows in a high school gym today. The Blus try to pull off a Headshrinkers-style squash by mercilessly beating up Long and Ahrndt but they need more power moves in their arsenal.
–Wiand hypes the “In High Gear” Tour more.
–McMahon and Lawler hype the Adam Bomb-Shawn Michaels match that is booked for next week’s show and show footage of the two having a confrontation on last week’s episode.
The Last Word: There was not much to see with this episode as the marquee matchup was very forgettable and the squashes were pretty dull. Adam Bomb-Shawn Michaels sounds like a promising matchup for next week’s show, though, even if the outcome is pretty predictable.
Up Next (on Tuesday): The Action Zone from February 5, 1995!