What the World Was Watching: WWF Superstars – February 10, 1990

Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura call today’s action and kick off a new round of television tapings at the Miami Arena in Miami, Florida. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping took place on January 22 and drew a crowd of 15,063, 10,500 of which paid to attend.

Opening Contest: Roddy Piper (3-0) beats Tom Stone with the Polish Hammer in 41 seconds:

Stone had been wrestling since 1978, wrestling as a preliminary worker for the AWA, Central States, Mid-South, and the NWA until he started taking work for the WWF as an enhancement talent in 1987. He later became a trainer.

Piper wrestles like a crazy man, laying out Stone with a clothesline before the opening bell and using a variation of Ivan Putski’s Polish Hammer for a quick win.

In the Update segment, Gene Okerlund recaps last week’s promos from WWF Champion Hulk Hogan and Intercontinental Champion the Ultimate Warrior. WWF President Jack Tunney announces that Hogan and the Warrior will face off at WrestleMania VI, hyping it as the biggest match in the history of the show. Tunney said it is an open question as to which man’s title will be on the line, so he says that question will be answered later.

Hercules (3-0) beats Carl Nelson via submission to a torture rack at 1:37:

Nelson has an unusual wrestling get up for this era, wearing a gaudy pair of black pants and black shirt. He had a small run in the Continental Wrestling Federation (CWF) and developed a friendship with Mick Foley before the latter became famous.

Nelson angers Hercules in the match by setting up a right hand to escape an arm ringer and not throwing it, making both men look silly. As a result, Hercules takes his head off with a clothesline and then carelessly dumps him after doing the torture rack.

Dino Bravo (w/Jimmy Hart & Earthquake) (5-0) pins Terry Bronson after a sidewalk slam at 1:42:

In a nice callback to the past, McMahon calls referee Danny Davis a great referee and Ventura piles on, arguing that there was a time several years ago when McMahon could only say nasty thing about Davis during Davis’ heel referee angle. Earthquake’s name has officially shed the “Canadian” name as well, with the Canadian flag no longer appearing on his tights. In the split screen, Bravo promises to be the Intercontinental Champion by WrestleMania VI so the Warrior’s title will not be on the line. Bravo throws Bronson around, hits a piledriver, and then uses his sidewalk slam to remain undefeated.

After the bell, Bravo gets Earthquake to do the Earthquake Splash to Bronson.

Ronnie Garvin (2-1) beats Pete Sanchez via submission to the reverse figure-four leg lock at 2:31:

This squash is dull as Garvin throws a lot of strikes, causing Sanchez to scream in pain. The Garvin Stomp sets up the reverse figure-four. McMahon takes note of Garvin no longer wearing the Hammer Jammer, a sign that the feud with Greg Valentine is over.

Rhythm & Blues and Jimmy Hart put over their feature article in WWF Magazine, but they are angry they are not on the cover.

Brother Love’s guest this week is Rick Martel, who brings something to the segment underneath a cloth. He reveals it an atomizer called Arrogance, a fragrance of success that will set fashion trends for the 1990s.

Mr. Perfect (w/the Genius) (4-0) pins Scotty Williams after the Perfectplex at 2:14:

A Boris Malenko trainee, Williams spent most of his recognized career doing television jobs for the CWF, WWF, and WCW until 1992.

Perfect argues in the split screen that he will beat Hulk Hogan for the WWF Championship before WrestleMania VI. Perfect spends most of the match working over Williams’ leg but still ends the match with the Perfectplex.

The Big Bossman’s babyface turn on last week’s telecast airs and that leads to a promo by Ted DiBiase and Virgil. DiBiase argues that the Big Bossman is now an accessory to the theft of the Million Dollar Belt and vows to get even.

Demolition (2-0) defeat the Powers of Pain (w/Mr. Fuji) (2-2) via disqualification at 4:55:

The Powers do not get an entrance, yet another sign of their decline down the card. And these teams are familiar with each other, feuding the previous year over the WWF Tag Team Championship. This is a glorified squash as Demolition control ninety percent of the action, which involves basic strikes. The Powers effort to use a foreign object does not work either as Ax leaps off the second rope to knock down the Warlord when the Warlord gets Fuji’s cane to break up Demolition Decapitation. Demolition then use the cane to force the Powers to flee. Rating: *

Rick Rude and Bobby Heenan promise that there will be no haircut on next week’s show. Brutus Beefcake says Rude will be in for a Rude Awakening where he might wake up bald.

Tune in next week to see Brutus Beefcake face Rick Rude! Also, there will be more matches announced for WrestleMania VI! And Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior provide more comments!

The Last Word: Lackluster main event aside, this was a good episode that officially lays out the main event for WrestleMania VI, although it seems silly that WWF President Jack Tunney does not know who will be defending their title. The WWF Championship is the promotion’s most important belt and it would make no sense for Hulk Hogan to want to take a step down and win the Intercontinental Championship. The Rick Martel segment on the Brother Love Show was simple but effective as well, giving Martel a new characteristic to his gimmick.

Up Next: Wrestling Challenge for February 11!