WWF Wrestling Challenge – May 28th, 1995

May 28, 1995

From the Springfield Civic Center in Springfield, MA

Your hosts are Jim Ross & Gorilla Monsoon

In action this week are Kama, Allied Powers, and Adam Bomb

The show starts off with the Diesel & Bam Bam Bigelow interview from “Superstars.”

Adam Bomb vs. Gus Kantarakis

The announcers tell us that Diesel & Bigelow will face Sid & Tatanka at King of the Ring as Bomb works the arm of Kantarakis. Ross puts over Bomb’s size then we see Bomb clothesline Kantarakis. The announcers put over Bomb in a less than enthusiastic manner as Bomb catches Kantarakis with a powerslam then a drop toehold. Ross puts over how great it is to see the WWF live as Bomb stays in control until he puts Kantarakis away with a flying clothesline (2:41). After the match, Bomb tosses his “bombs” into the crowd.

Thoughts: The announcers sort of portrayed Bomb as a possible Intercontinental Title contender but most of the focus was on other things.

WWF Live Event News with Stephanie Wiand on the World Tour de Force.

Henry Godwinn vs. John Crystal

Godwinn uses a wrist lock as the announcers talk about the King of the Ring PPV. Crystal avoids an elbow drop then works the arm very briefly until Godwinn takes him down. The announcers bring up Godwinn being paid by DiBiase to rough up Diesel in a match before the In Your House PPV. The announcers talk more about the King of the Ring and how Shawn Michaels will face Kama in the first round. Godwinn stays in control then puts Crystal away with the Slop Drop (2:35).

Thoughts: More hype for King of the Ring as Godwinn is not part of any storyline at the moment. Plus, he’s been pinned a few times already on TV and even though it was Diesel and Undertaker, there is no real way for him to move up the card at this time, especially with the limited upside of his gimmick.

We get a video package on the 1-2-3 Kid. We see him defeat Razor Ramon on RAW two years ago that shocked the world then matches against Ted DiBiase, Bret Hart, and when he teamed with Bob Holly to win the Tag Team Titles at the Royal Rumble. We are then told after all of this that Kid hurt his neck in a tag match exclusive to Coliseum Home Video and how Kid will be back later this Summer. When that ends, Razor says that’s a brief look at Kid’s career and after having him as an opponent and “strong” partner, he will be back. Razor also stressed how Kid was his friend. This package lasted for a few minutes and nice that we get an update on Kid’s condition. However, with how much Razor put over Kid as his friend, you got the sense that someone would be turning here.

The video package on Ernie Ladd’s WWF Hall of Fame announcement airs.

Rad Radford vs. Mike Khoury

Ross once again teases Gorilla about liking various “grunge” bands. The announcers talk about the Superstar Line as Radford beats on Khoury. Radford connects with a dropkick as Ross clarifies how Radford is just a fan of grunge music and not a musician. Radford hits a knee drop the dances around a bit before hitting a flying forearm. Radford tosses Khoury through the ropes then takes him down with a baseball slide before heading back inside where he puts Khoury away with a Northern Lights suplex (2:29).

Thoughts: Radford really played up the “grunge” dancing here and looked more like a moron than anything else. He is getting wins on TV but never had any vignettes to hype his debut and comes across as just another guy, especially with the passe gimmick.

We now see Bret Hart confronting Jerry Lawler from “Monday Night RAW.”

After the break, we see a clip of Bret acting on the TV show “Lonesome Dove.”

Duke “The Dumpster” Droese vs. Bob Cook

Droese tosses around Cook to start. Cook boots Droese in the gut as Ross puts him over for having a great right punch, Droese clotheslines Cook then puts on a chin lock as the announcers list off house shows in New York then Droese uses the corkscrew elbow drop for the win (2:20).

Thoughts: Just a back drop for the announcers to hype up house shows. In fact, they did that a lot on this show which given the recent business should not have been a surprise.

An ad for Bob Backlund’s Presidental campaign airs. He focuses on education and how a computer society is mentally defunct.

Kama w/ Ted DiBiase vs. Bill Weaver

Ross notes how Kama and Undertaker are as compatible as Connie Chung and Dan Rather. Kama hammers away to start. Weaver tries to fight back but is brushed away. Ross says that Kama might be The Undertaker’s greatest test as Ross plugs where you can get tickets for King of the Ring. Kama slowly beats on Weaver as Gorilla says you need to get a ticket to see how big Kama is in person. Kama then sizes up Weaver and punches him in the face then finally covers and gets the win (2:33). Ross then says that Kama just might be the next King of the Ring.

Thoughts: They keep playing up Kama as a major threat but even his squash matches are sluggish and heatless.

Another Live Event News segment on the World Tour de Force.

Allied Powers vs. Roy Raymond & Luis Morales

We see the clip of Bulldog lifting up Mabel on “Action Zone.” Ross then plugs Savio Vega vs. Eli Blu as the featured match this week on Action Zone as Bulldog works over Raymond. Ross says that the Powers might be the most powerful team in WWF history. Luger tags in and goes after Morales and stays in control until Bulldog tags and hits the running powerslam for the win (3:13). Ross then says that Cornette better have Owen Hart & Yokozuna ready for the Powers as Gorilla doesnt see anyone beating the Powers.

Thoughts: We were reminded of the Action Zone featured match but the main focus here was on the Allied Powers as they seem primed to win the Tag Team Titles sooner rather than later.

The Bodydonnas vignette from “Superstars” airs.

Clip of the In Your House winner seeing his new house airs.

Next week in action are Hakushi, Men on a Mission, Shawn Michaels, and the Challenge debuts of Tekno Team 2000 and Savio Vega.

Final Thoughts: Challenge is basically a recap show with squash matches tossed in and here we got some rather crappy action. The Kid video package was at least exclusive but Challenge has nothing going for it other than generic house show and PPV hype.