Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan are in the booth, wrapping up the taping cycle in Springfield, Massachusetts. Heenan continues his string of jokes against the Bossman’s mother, saying that she is looking for a garbage truck to live in.
The Legion of Doom’s squash from Prime Time Wrestling kicks off the show.
Lord Alfred Hayes’ Special Report segment recaps Sapphire’s heel turn at SummerSlam.
Rick Rude’s squash from Prime Time Wrestling is shown.
Tito Santana’s squash from Prime Time Wrestling airs.
A replay of Sergeant Slaughter’s confrontation with Nikolai Volkoff on last week’s episode is shown.
Sergeant Slaughter (1-0) defeats Jim Powers via submission to a noogie at 2:52:
Before the match starts, Slaughter says that Volkoff is a dumb individual for attacking him last week. Slaughter’s promo work has been top notch since returning to the company but the crowds are not reacting to anything in the ring yet. The only heat he gets is the crowd working up a “gomer” chant, military slang for someone that is inept or stupid. This squash is a better showcase of Slaughter than his debut as he works quickly, but the noogie finisher must go.
Hacksaw Jim Duggan (24-1-1) pins Pez Whatley after the three-point stance clothesline at 1:47:
As Duggan works his formula match, Heenan says that the Big Bossman’s mother can eat up food like a garbage disposal. Duggan botches his finisher at the end of the match, running into Whatley with an ugly forearm instead of the usual clothesline he was going for.
Gene Okerlund interviews Rick Martel, who puts over Arrogance. Martel insults Okerlund’s attire as Okerlund plays with the Model Vision binoculars. The only purpose of this segment is to reinforce Martel’s prior comments about the importance of vision, which is foreshadowing his next feud.
The Bushwhacker’s squash from Prime Time Wrestling is shown.
Dino Bravo (w/Jimmy Hart & Earthquake) (20-3-2) beats Jim Brunzell (1-6) after the sidewalk slam at 1:38 shown:
Bravo has not wrestled on television since July 29, cooling him off a bit as he played an ineffective secondary role in the Hulk Hogan-Earthquake feud. The match is joined in progress and Tugboat does an insert promo about how Bravo and Earthquake have turned him into a destroyer. Bravo uses a jawbreaker to escape a chinlock and finishes right after with the sidewalk slam. After the match, Earthquake does a couple of Earthquake Splashes to Brunzell, who does a stretcher job.
Tune in next week to see Akeem, Earthquake, Jake Roberts, Demolition, and the Texas Tornado in action! And Dusty Rhodes will do a special interview!
The Last Word: This was just another throwaway episode of Wrestling Challenge because of the lack of storyline development. At least Sergeant Slaughter looked better in his second squash. He is positioned for a strong push regardless but it is better than the push is accompanied by fun matches.
Here is a sampling of the WWF’s house show circuit for the first full week of September, with results provided courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:
Moline, Illinois – Wharton Fieldhouse – September 6, 1990 (1,860 paid): Saba Simba pinned Buddy Rose…Ronnie Garvin pinned Bob Bradley (substituting for Rick Martel)…Tito Santana beat the Warlord via disqualification…Dusty Rhodes pinned Virgil (substituting for Ted DiBiase)…Boris Zhukov defeated Jose Luis Rivera…Hercules defeated Marty Jannetty in a match that was originally booked to feature the Rockers against Power & Glory. That match did not happen because of Shawn Michaels’ knee injury…The Legion of Doom defeated Demolition.
Portland, Oregon – Memorial Coliseum – September 8, 1990 (2,600): Jim Brunzell pinned Pez Whatley…Dustin Rhodes beat the Brooklyn Brawler…Jim Powers beat Barry O…The Big Bossman & Tugboat defeated Dino Bravo & Earthquake…Sergeant Slaughter beat Nikolai Volkoff…WWF Tag Team Champions the Hart Foundation beat Rhythm & Blues via disqualification.
Orlando, Florida – Orlando Arena – September 9, 1990 (3,600): Hacksaw Jim Duggan beat Akeem…Koko B. Ware pinned the Genius…The Orient Express defeated the Bushwhackers…Mr. Perfect beat Jake Roberts…The Barbarian defeated Jimmy Snuka…Shane Douglas beat Black Bart…WWF Champion the Ultimate Warrior pinned Rick Rude.
Seattle, Washington – Seattle Center Coliseum – September 9, 1990 (1,400): Dustin Rhodes pinned Pez Whatley after a flying elbow smash and leg drop…The Brooklyn Brawler pinned Jim Brunzell with the Flair pin…Jim Powers beat Barry O with a dropkick…Sergeant Slaughter defeated Nikolai Volkoff via submission to the Cobra Clutch…WWF Tag Team Champions the Hart Foundation beat Rhythm & Blues via disqualification when Greg Valentine hit Bret Hart with the timekeeper’s bell…Intercontinental Champion the Texas Tornado pinned Haku with the discus punch…The Big Bossman & Tugboat beat Dino Bravo & Earthquake when Tugboat pinned Bravo.
Backstage News: The talent made $5,000 each for WrestleMania VI except for Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior, who received $1 million each. Last year talent were paid $8,500 for WrestleMania V.
*Randy Savage is using the time off to try to start a family with his wife, Elizabeth.
*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for September 17.
Up Next: Prime Time Wrestling for September 10!