–Jim Ross and Todd Pettengill are doing commentary and they are concluding the tapings in Lowell, Massachusetts.
–Opening Contest: Adam Bomb (7-2-1) pins The Brooklyn Brawler after the Neutron Bomb at 3:07:
Bomb prefers to show off more of his wrestling skills in this encounter, taking the Brawler down and working the arm rather than relying on power moves. However, power moves are what wins Bomb the match as he catches the Brawler with a sidewalk slam and finishes him with the Neutron Bomb. After the match, Bomb throws his yellow and red footballs into the crowd since babyfaces love to give away free merchandise.
–Ross and Pettengill recap Sid joining the Million Dollar Corporation on last week’s show, as well as Bam Bam Bigelow not fitting into the “new” team that Ted DiBiase has assembled.
–Non-Title Match: Owen Hart & Yokozuna (WWF Tag Team Champions w/Jim Cornette & Mr. Fuji) (3-0) beat Tim McNeany & Bill Payne when Owen makes McNeany submit to the Sharpshooter at 3:04:
Ross puts over the tag team champions as an unbeatable combination and they prove that maxim correct here, with Owen and Yoko not taking a single bump at the hands of their opponents. The finish is fun, with Owen slamming McNeany, Yokozuna doing a leg drop, and then Owen trapping McNeany in the Sharpshooter for the win.
–Ross and Pettengill hype the In Your House pay-per-view on May 14. They announce that Bret Hart and Hakushi will face each other on the card.
–We get a replay of this week’s Bob Backlund spring break segment where he tries to stop a bikini contest.
–Call 1-900-747-4WWF to find out Shawn Michaels plans for the future, what new tag team has arrived in the WWF, and find out more about Dok Hendrix and why Ted DiBiase wants to get the 1-2-3 Kid!
–Midget Tag Team Match: Dink & Pink beat Cheesy & Sleazy after Dink pins Cheesy after a flying body press at 6:06:
This is a really random match to put on the television tapings because Cheesy and Sleazy turned against Jerry Lawler at the Survivor Series yet they are still billed as being part of “The Royal Family.” As expected, the match is full of comedy spots as Cheesy complains about a slow count and then Dink gets the referee to keep throwing him on top of Cheesy in a cover spot. Ross subtly communicates his disdain for the match by saying that it is not “your traditional tag team encounter” and sarcastically noting how much height Dink is getting on a dropkick. After a lot of stalling and slow action, Dink pins Cheesy and Doink celebrates with his small friends in the ring. Rating: ½*
–WWF Champion Diesel calls from Stuttgart, Germany and says that the WWF’s tour of Germany has been a success. He says that he has given Bam Bam Bigelow a title shot because Bigelow was taunting him in the locker room in order to “save face with the Corporation”, and that he is not sure how to face Sid because Sid has not wrestled in a while. Diesel concludes by noting that his friendship with Shawn Michaels is growing stronger. This was a really boring interview since Diesel sounded exhausted and appeared to be on the broadcast to kill time.
–The Blu Brothers (w/Uncle Zebekiah) (6-1-1) wrestle The New Headshrinkers (w/Captain Lou Albano & Afa) (4-1-2) to a double disqualification at 7:37 shown:
Both teams wrestled to an inconclusive finish last month on Monday Night RAW and have been feuding on the house show circuit before today’s show. Fatu is the babyface in peril, but the Blus lack enough offense to keep their beatdown interesting so we see lots of knee drops and elbows thrown. Owen Hart and Yokozuna walk out to observe the action and start beating on Fatu after the hot tag, which brings out the Smoking Gunns and the action spills into the ring with the referee calling for the bell. The brawl that created the double disqualification was fun, but the match itself was boring and did not hold the crowd’s interest. Rating: ¾*
–After the bell, the New Headshrinkers square off with the tag team champions and they knock Owen and Yokozuna out of the ring and celebrate with the Smoking Gunns.
–Jean-Pierre LaFitte (2-0) pins Ben Jordan after Le Cannonball at 3:07:
It seems like Jordan can get the upper hand on LaFitte in the beginning, but LaFitte back drops him out of the ring and Jordan never recovers, with LaFitte finishing him off with Le Cannonball after running through a few other high impact moves.
The Last Word: It was obvious that many of these matches were at the end of the tapings because the crowd was really tired and barely reacted to anything except the wild brawl at the end of the feature match. As noted above, the midget tag match was a weird bout to show on the broadcast but it probably entertained Vince, who thought kids might like it. What the show did well, though, was doing the hard sell for Diesel-Bam Bam Bigelow for Monday Night RAW as the RAW ratings were climbing during this time period and the company wished to have that continue.
The Wrestling Challenge broadcast featured several matches that did not air on The Action Zone. These matches included the following:
*Hakushi (11-0) defeated Bert Centeno
*Bob Holly (2-4) defeated Nick Barberri
*Mantaur (11-1) defeated Buck Quartermaine
As Ross and Pettengill highlighted in this week’s Action Zone, the company was on a tour of Germany. The tour featured several sell out shows and here were some of the highlights of that tour (courtesy of historyofwwe.com):
Stuttgart, Germany – Hanss-Martin Schleyerhalle – April 20, 1995: Adam Bomb pinned Kwang after the Atom Smasher…Hakushi pinned the 1-2-3 Kid after Shinja interfered…The Undertaker pinned Bam Bam Bigelow after a powerbomb…Diesel & Razor Ramon defeated Sid & Jeff Jarrett when Diesel pinned Jarrett. After the bout, Diesel gave the Roadie a Jackknife and Ramon gave the Roadie a Razor’s Edge…The Allied Powers beat Tatanka & Kama when Luger pinned Tatanka…Henry Godwinn beat Aldo Montoya…Bret Hart defeated Owen Hart via submission to the Sharpshooter in a no holds barred match.
Munich, Germany – Olympiahalle – April 21, 1995 (9,800): Adam Bomb defeated Kwang..Henry Godwinn defeated Aldo Montoya and slopped ring announcer Carsten Schaefer after the match…The Allied Powers beat Tatanka & Kama when the Bulldog pinned Tatanka…Bret Hart beat Owen Hart via submission to the Sharpshooter in a no holds barred match. Bret previously won the match via disqualification after Hakushi interfered but Bret asked that the match continue…The Undertaker beat Bam Bam Bigelow…Hakushi beat the 1-2-3 Kid. After the bout, the Kid did a stretcher job for an apparent neck injury…Diesel & Razor Ramon beat Sid & Jeff Jarrett when Diesel pinned Jarrett. After the match, the Roadie took a Jackknife and a Razor’s Edge.
And here was some gossip concerning the company (courtesy of The Wrestling Observer):
*Expect to see Glenn Jacobs in the company soon. Jacobs has been wrestling as Unabomb in Smoky Mountain Wrestling and Dave Meltzer reports that Jacobs has been in Stamford, Connecticut meeting with “character development people.”
*Meltzer also reports that the company has an interest in Brian Christopher of the USWA and it may be putting him on the main roster in the near future. Christopher is the son of Jerry Lawler and is one of the top babyfaces in the Memphis territory.
*The WWF’s next tour of Europe will be in June when the company goes back to Germany, Austria, Ireland, and Great Britain. The company is excited about its European box office gates since the German tour had great fan reactions and attendance.
Up Next: Monday Night RAW for April 24, 1995!