July 20, 1992
Vince McMahon is your host. Panelists include: Bobby Heenan, Mr. Perfect, Jim Duggan, and Hillbilly Jim.
Vince, Duggan, and Hillbilly gloat over the announcement of Randy Savage vs. Ultimate Warrior as the SummerSlam main event. Heenan & Perfect are pissed and accuse WWF President Jack Tunney of screwing over Flair.
Beverly Brothers w/ The Genius vs. Natural Disasters
This took place at the 6/30 “Wrestling Challenge” tapings in Binghamton, NY. Gorilla Monsoon and Lord Alfred Hayes are your announcers for the Prime Time matches. The Beverly Brothers use a sneak attack but the Disasters quickly fight back. Typhoon then beats on Blake for a bit. Blake ducks outside and gets clotheslined by Earthquake but that allows Beau to attack Typhoon from behind with The Genius’s scroll. Blake chokes out Typhoon with the top rope as the ref is distracted as the Beverly Brothers use quick tags and double-team attacks to stay in control. Beau eats boot on a charge in the corner then makes the tag as Earthquake hammers away on Blake. Beau comes in to break up a pin after a belly-to-belly suplex then again after an elbow drop. Earthquake knocks Beau off of the apron and sets up for a splash but Blake is able to roll outside. The Disasters head out and brawl as Typhoon tosses Genius in the aisle then Earthquake rolls Blake back inside just before the ten count as the Beverly Brothers get the win (7:12) *1/4.
Thoughts: The action was bland and we got the standard lame WWF house show finish for the match, which is usually an indication these teams will face off again in the future.
WWF Update from the 7/18 edition of “Superstars” airs. This was the SummerSlam main event announcement segment.
Sgt. Slaughter defeated Richie Rich from the 7/19 edition of “Wrestling Challenge.”
Razor Ramon at the beach vignette airs.
Tatanka vs. Kato
This took place at the 6/29 “Superstars” tapings in Glen Falls, NY. We also hear ring announcer Tony Chimel, called “Anthony” by Gorilla. Kato lands some chops and blocks a reverse rollup but ends up missing an elbow drop. Tatanka hits a hip toss after an Irish whip sequence then works the arm. The announcers talk about SummerSlam as Kato walks into a slam. Kato uppercuts Tatanka to block a back drop then uses kicks and stomps. Kato misses a charge in the corner then Tatanka dances around and fires away. Tatanka comes off of the top with a flying chop then uses a Samoan drop for the win (3:48) *1/2.
Thoughts: Decent action here as Tatanka continues to get himself over.
Back to the panel with Duggan wearing the new Tatanka t-shirt as this causes Vince to make fun of Flair and Heenan’s lack of merchandise sales. Hillbilly Jim then talks about the Bret Hart profile as part of the “WrestleFest ’92” Coliseum Home Video release then we see a clip of an El Matador vs. Repo Man match to help sell the video. This segment was used to hawk merchandise.
Skinner vs. Jason Knight
Another match from the 6/30 “Wrestling Challenge” tapings in Binghamton, NY. Knight hits a pair of arm drags and a dropkick but ends up getting caught with a hot shot. Skinner drops Knight across the top rope once again and continues to target the throat until hitting the inverted DDT for the win (1:30).
Thoughts: Knight looked good in his brief flurry of offense as the forgotten Skinner gets a win.
An ad for WBF Bodystars airs.
Ric Flair & Mr. Perfect interview from the 7/19 edition of “Wrestling Challenge.” airs
Summerslam ad.
Back in the studio, Vince accuses Heenan & Perfect of having sour grapes over being left out of the SummerSlam main event as Heenan reminds Vince that Flair’s trunks were grabbed when he lost the title at WrestleMania. Duggan then blames Heenan & Perfect for costing Flair the main event spot at SummerSlam.
Crush vs. Bob Bradley
And this is another match from the 6/3 Prime Time tapings in Cornwall, Ontario. Crush overpowers Bradley as the announcers talk about his ability. Crush tries to press slam Bradley back inside but did not get enough height as Bradley’s legs got caught up in the ropes. Crush stays in control then puts Bradley away with a head vice (2:59). Lord Alfred thinks Crush could possibly become the WWF World Champion.
Thoughts:
WWF Intercontinental Title Match: “The Model” Rick Martel vs. Bret “The Hitman” Hart (c)
This match took place at the 6/1 “Superstars” tapings in Hamilton, Ontario. This match is also featured on the “Bashed in the USA” Coliseum Home Video release. Gorilla says that Shawn Michaels is not happy over Martel getting a title shot. Martel hits Bret low then avoids him with a cartwheel. Bret comes back with a clothesline to send Martel through the ropes then heads out and fires away. Back inside, Martel cuts off Bret as he entered the ring then hammers away in the corner. Martel rams his shoulder into the post after missing a charge as Bret now works the arm. Bret gets a two count with a backslide then goes back to the arm. Martel hits a slam but misses an elbow drop as Bret once again goes back to the arm. Martel is able to catch Bret with a hotshot then chokes him out on the mat. Martel stomps away before applying a chinlock. Bret comes back with a sunset flip for two but Martel immediately chokes him out. Martel hits a gutwrench suplex for two but Bret gets his knees up on a slingshot splash attempt from Martel as both men are down. Bret is up first and hits an inverted atomic drop and follows with a clothesline. Bret then uses his five moves of doom and goes for the Sharpshooter but Martel grabbed the ref’s leg as everyone falls down. Martel is then able to hit Bret with the atomizer behind the ref’s back and after that he puts on the Boston Crab but we see Shawn Michaels head out. Shawn starts punching Bret repeatedly in the face and the ref rings the bell for the DQ but Martel thinks he won the match (10:14) **3/4. After the match, Martel and Shawn get in each other’s face as Shawn leaves while Martel is pissed Shawn screwed him out of getting the IC Title.
Thoughts: Good match. You could tell something would happen when right off the bat Gorilla mentioned that Shawn was pissed over Martel getting a title shot here as this was still the era of heels siding with heels and faces with faces. Since this match was hyped on the syndicated shows expect more fallout next week.
We are once again back to the panel as Vince puts over the “Body Star Wars” and both Duggan and Perfect name their teams.
Papa Shango defeats Ross Greenberg in a match from the 7/19 edition of “Wrestling Challenge.”
Big Bossman interview from the 7/18 edition of “Superstars” airs.
Back to the panel as they talk about the Bossman/Nailz feud with Duggan saying Nailz still belongs in jail. Heenan said Nailz is innocent.
WWF Tag Team Title Match: High Energy vs. Money Inc. (c) w/ Jimmy Hart
Another match from the 6/1 Superstars tapings. Owen takes DiBiase over with an arm drag to start. The announcers make fun of Koko’s pants as Owen continues to frustrate DiBiase. Money Inc. shake hands after DiBiase slams Owen but Owen comes back with a pair of dropkicks then High Energy clears the ring. The crowd taunts IRS with an “Irwin” chant then he finally tags in to face off with Koko. IRS stalls as Koko dances as the fans that are seen on the hard cam are visibly clapping. Koko hits a flurry of offense on IRS, who gets more shit from the crowd. DiBiase knees Koko in the back from the apron then snaps his neck off of the top rope. DiBiase tags in and Money Inc cuts off the ring. DiBiase then distracts the ref so he would miss Koko tagging out. Koko blocks a suplex from IRS and hits one of his own then tags out as Owen runs wild on DiBiase. The match breaks down then as Koko is ordered back to the apron by the referee, IRS sneaks out and whacks Owen with his briefcase then DiBiase rolls back inside and gets the win by countout (8:44) **.
Thoughts: Decent enough match with an uninspired finish. Odd to see High Energy get a title shot but Owen looked really good and this match was at its best when he was in the ring with DiBiase.
We are in the studio as Heenan continues to rant about what happened to Flair. Vince then told them announcement of Savage vs. Warrior caused Wembley Stadium to sell out in ten hours and believes it will cause an increase of PPV buys. Well, in reality the show was not sold out but on the American TV they said it was while it was the opposite on the European TV.
British Bulldog defeats Vito Krus in a match from the 7/18 edition of “Superstars”
Nailz defeats Tony Roy in a match from the 7/19 edition of “Wrestling Challenge.”
Next week’s matches include: Nasty Boys vs. Jim Brunzell & Jim Powers, Jim Duggan vs. Repo Man, Undertaker vs. Skinner, and Shawn Michaels vs. Texas Tornado.
Final Thoughts: The big angle was what happened after the Intercontinental Title match while the theme of the show continued what we saw on TV with Flair, Perfect, and Heenan pissed off over the SummerSlam main event announcement. The studio banter was largely terrible here as the Duggan and especially Hillbilly are just not good fits for this format, which is quite stale to begin with.
Here is my schedule for the next several days:
Saturday: Mid-South Wrestling 2/9/84
Sunday: WWF Superstars 7/25/92, WWF Challenge 7/26/92
Monday: WWF Superstars 8/1/92, WWF Challenge 8/2/92
Tuesday: WWF Superstars 8/8/92, WWF Challenge 8/9/92
Wednesday: WWF Superstars 8/15/92, WWF Challenge 8/16/92
Thursday: WWF Superstars 8/22/92, WWF Challenge 8/23/92
Friday: WWF SummerSlam Spectacular 8/23/92