What the World Was Watching: WWF Prime Time Wrestling – March 12, 1990

Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan run the studio portion of the telecast. Heenan is wearing a dark green jacket, so Monsoon asks him if that will be his attire for WrestleMania VI. Heenan responds that he might be preparing for the Masters golf tournament.

Opening Contest: The Hart Foundation (3-0) defeat Buddy Rose & Mike Sharpe when Jim Neidhart pins Sharpe after the Hart Attack at 6:09:

Commentator Lord Alfred Hayes immediately goes after Rose, arguing that no one “wants to play with him except to bounce him around, maybe.” The WWF opts to book a competitive jobber match for the Foundation here, with Rose using his weight to put Bret Hart in peril. Sharpe does not look good, dangerously botching a stung un and then looking out of place when jobber miscommunication allows for the hot tag to Neidhart. That leads to Rose taking his butt-first bump to the floor, leaving Sharpe alone to succumb to the Hart Attack as the Foundation continue their hot streak going into WrestleMania VI.

Gene Okerlund’s Update segment recaps the split of the Powers of Pain. Afterward, Heenan puts over the Barbarian, saying that the Barbarian has a lot of untapped, raw talent.

Rick Rude’s squash from Wrestling Challenge is shown. In the studio, Heenan says it will not take Rude a lot of effort to beat a “tree climbing buffoon” like Jimmy Snuka at WrestleMania.

Hercules & Paul Roma defeat Black Bart & the Brooklyn Brawler when Roma pins the Brawler after a Rocket Launcher at 7:28:

This is the first appearance of Hercules and Roma as a tag team, providing a new look for Hercules as he wears black tights instead of the powder blue trunks he has worn since a babyface turn years earlier. The crowd likes the new team as Roma takes down his opponents with a headlock and headscissors in the beginning and he and Hercules clear the ring with a double powerslam. Roma gets too cute on some sequences, failing to headscissor Bart into an armbar and falling into the heel corner when he tries another one later. However, he uses a nice dive over a double clothesline by Bart and the Brawler to give a hot tag to Hercules and a rocket launcher finishes the Brawler to a nice pop. These two have a lot of potential as a team, throwing some crisp double teams. The match does not get a rating because it was a long squash.

Heenan says Hercules does not take well to instruction, but he does not discount his odds at WrestleMania because Hercules has the power to slam Earthquake.

Monsoon announces that Ronnie Garvin will face Earthquake on the “Ultimate Challenge” special on March 25.

Tugboat (3-0) pins Randy Jones after a splash at 2:17:

The undersized Jones never finds a way to knock Tugboat off his feet and falls victim to four consecutive backbreakers. An avalanche in the corner, slam, and splash put Jones out of his misery.

Heenan argues that Tugboat smells like a sea lion. Monsoon takes offense and says that all the stench in the WWF can be found in the Heenan Family. He also attacks Heenan for ruining Rick Rude’s career since Rude is not going to get back in the title picture in the WWF anytime in the near future.

A replay of Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior’s promos for WrestleMania VI air.

Rick Martel (4-1) beats the Red Rooster (3-0-1) via submission to the Boston Crab at 15:28 shown:

These two put on a nice showcase of technical wrestling, working reversals of armbars and abdominal stretches and finding ways to make those spots interesting by struggling with them or looking for active counters rather than passively sitting in them. There are some great false finishes, as the referee refuses to count when Martel tries a Flair pin and the Rooster schoolboys Martel as Martel argues with the referee. These are coupled with some hot near-falls, with the Rooster coming close to winning with a small package, sunset flip, and falling clothesline. However, a missed dropkick allows Martel to hook the Boston Crab for a submission win. The lack of legwork to set that up makes that a weak finish but this was still the best match on Prime Time to this point in the year. Rating: ***

Monsoon announces that the Rockers will face the Colossal Connection on the “Ultimate Challenge” special. Heenan issues a warning to the Rockers that they are walking into dangerous territory and vows that Andre the Giant will start the match and end the match.

A replay of Roddy Piper’s interview with Okerlund on Wrestling Challenge is shown.

Okerlund provides the WrestleMania VI Report.

Monsoon puts over the Big Bossman-Akeem match as a highlight of WrestleMania. Heenan says that Akeem has the size advantage and without stooges, the Bossman is in trouble.

The Akeem squash from Superstars airs.

Monsoon asks Heenan what match at WrestleMania he is looking forward to the most. Heenan answers Jake Roberts-Ted DiBiase.

Sean Mooney kicks the broadcast over to WrestleMania promos. DiBiase and Virgil promise to make Roberts the biggest fool at the pay-per-view. They also say they have a plan to deal with Damien. The Hart Foundation promise that they will not be tricked by the Bolsheviks, even if perestroika is going on in the Soviet Union.

Demolition (4-0) beat Dale Wolfe & Steve Vega when Ax pins Vega after Demolition Decapitation at 3:00:

In the split screen, Demolition vow to tear the Colossal Connection apart at WrestleMania because they will stop at nothing to get the tag team titles back. Vega takes the worst beating between the two jobbers as Ax slams him on the floor, Smash gives him a stun gun in the ring, and he takes Demolition’s finisher.

Heenan says that he hopes Demolition takes a loss at WrestleMania well. Monsoon reminds him that whoever loses at WrestleMania will have a long walk to the dressing room to think about it.

The Hulk Hogan-Dino Bravo match on Superstars is shown. Afterward, when Monsoon puts over the title-for-title main event at WrestleMania between Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior, Heenan blows it off, arguing that Jake Roberts could leave Skydome with four or five titles because he has become so adept at stealing other people’s property.

It is uncertain what fans should tune in for on next week’s show because Heenan loses the lineup card.

The Last Word: There was some good action on this week’s show between the Red Rooster-Rick Martel bout and the tag team match featuring Hercules and Paul Roma. Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan continue to do a good job talking up the big matches for WrestleMania, helped by Heenan having a personal interest in the outcome of some of the bouts.

Up Next: WWF Superstars for March 17!