Gorilla Monsoon is back in the booth with Bobby Heenan as we start another round of television tapings in Wheeling, West Virginia. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the tapings drew a crowd of 8,300 and took place on August 29.
Opening Contest: Jake Roberts (21-1) pins Brian Costello after the DDT at 1:51:
Roberts gets a big reaction, as does the DDT, and the Snake Man rolls to his fifteenth straight win. After the match, Roberts dumps Damien onto Costello.
Lord Alfred Hayes’ Special Report recaps the beginning of the Ultimate Warrior-Randy Savage feud. Savage says that it will be easy to regain the WWF Championship because the Warrior could not stand up to Sensational Sherri last week on the Brother Love Show.
Akeem’s squash from Prime Time Wrestling airs.
A recap of the Rockers-Power & Glory match from SummerSlam is shown.
Marty Jannetty (w/Shawn Michaels) (0-1) beats Dale Wolfe after a flying fist drop at 2:53:
Michaels accompanies Jannetty to the ring on crutches. It seems odd to book this squash for Jannetty, but it seems like an excuse to show the Rockers off to the fans and let people know they are still alive after SummerSlam. In the split screen, Power & Glory and Slick gloat about taking out Michaels and they say Jannetty is next. The squash is not very good as Jannetty takes his time between moves, but Wolfe takes the Rocker Dropper like a pro and gets it over as a devastating setup move.
Earthquake (w/Jimmy Hart & Dino Bravo) (21-2) defeats Sonny Blaze after the Earthquake Splash at 1:53:
Earthquake rolls through Blaze with a powerslam, elbow drop, and Earthquake Splash as the crowd works up a weak “Hogan” chant. After the bell, Earthquake does another Earthquake Splash to send Blaze to the nearest medical facility.
Gene Okerlund interviews Dusty Rhodes, who is rocking a weird Papa Shango-like look of a black top hat and cape with red polka dots. Rhodes tells Ted DiBiase that he will never be bought and he will make DiBiase’s life hell.
The Barbarian (w/Bobby Heenan) (15-0) pins Scott Summers after the flying clothesline at 1:26:
Summers was a trainee of Charlie Fulton and this was his first year in the business. Before doing work for the WWF, Summers works for the Oklahoma-based Central States Wrestling Alliance and won the promotion’s heavyweight title.
The Big Bossman pops up in the split screen and reminds Heenan to stop making fun of his mother, issuing a final warning. Summers provides no competition for the Barbarian, who continues his winning ways to match those of the Warlord, his former tag team partner.
Non-Title Match: The Texas Tornado (Intercontinental Champion) (7-0) defeats the Conquistador after the discus punch at 2:11:
As the match starts, Monsoon chides Heenan about the Tornado’s victory over Mr. Perfect at SummerSlam. Heenan also laughs off the Big Bossman’s final warning. Perfect then does an insert promo, complaining about the WWF making him defend the Intercontinental Championship on short notice. The Tornado’s incorporation of the claw to setup the discus punch is a nice touch.
Demolition (1-0) defeat Glen Ruth, D.K. Blanch & Rico Federico when Ax pins Ruth after Demolition Decapitation at 1:49:
As the six-man unfolds, Demolition do an insert promo about how they are going to go back to their fundamentals to destroy the Legion of Doom. The only highlight of the match happens afterward, when Demolition make sure that Blanch and Federico suffer Demolition Decapitation.
Sergeant Slaughter tells fans that he will reveal who gives him orders.
Tune in next week to see Tugboat, Mr. Perfect, the Legion of Doom, Saba Simba, Ted DiBiase, and the Big Bossman! And Sergeant Slaughter will give a special interview!
The Last Word: The WWF needs to move the Big Bossman-Bobby Heenan storyline forward as it is starting to make the Bossman look weak to issue several warnings and do nothing when Heenan keeps making jokes about his mother. This show moved the existing feuds forward with insert promos but the crowd was not into much aside from Jake Roberts’ opening win.
Here were the results of some of the WWF’s house shows for this week in its history, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:
West Palm Beach, Florida – West Palm Beach Auditorium – September 13, 1990 (300): Battle Cat pinned the Brooklyn Brawler…Bob Bradley pinned Jim Powers…The Orient Express defeated the Bushwhackers when Tanaka hit Butch with Mr. Fuji’s cane…Saba Simba beat Buddy Rose with a powerslam…Jimmy Snuka defeated the Warlord via disqualification when the Warlord pushed the referee…Ted DiBiase pinned Dusty Rhodes after Virgil hit Rhodes with the Million Dollar Championship Belt…Jake Roberts pinned Akeem (substituting for Bad News Brown) in a steel cage match.
Grand Rapids, Michigan – Grand Center – September 14, 1990 (2,800): Koko B. Ware pinned Boris Zhukov…Tugboat beat Dino Bravo…The Barbarian pinned Tito Santana…Earthquake pinned the Big Bossman…Jim Brunzell beat Paul Diamond…Mr. Perfect defeated Intercontinental Champion the Texas Tornado via count out…The Big Bossman won a fourteen-man battle royal, which was an impromptu main event after the Hart Foundation and Rhythm & Blues no-showed due to transportation problems.
Boston, Massachusetts – The Boston Garden – September 15, 1990 (6,000): The Genius pinned S.D. Jones…Dustin Rhodes beat Black Bart…Ronnie Garvin defeated Pez Whatley (substituting for Akeem)…Hacksaw Jim Duggan beat Conquistador #1 (substituting for Rick Rude)…Sergeant Slaughter beat Nikolai Volkoff…Paul Roma pinned Marty Jannetty…The Ultimate Warrior & the Legion of Doom defeated Demolition when the Warrior pinned Smash.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada – Maple Leaf Gardens – September 16, 1990: Jim Brunzell pinned Paul Diamond with a dropkick…Koko B. Ware beat Boris Zhukov with a missile dropkick…The Barbarian pinned Tito Santana…Tugboat pinned Dino Bravo (substituting for Akeem) with a splash at 8:36…WWF Tag Team Champions the Hart Foundation beat Rhythm & Blues via disqualification after Greg Valentine hit the referee…Mr. Perfect beat Intercontinental Champion the Texas Tornado via count out after the Tornado hit the ring post shoulder-first…Earthquake pinned the Big Bossman with an elbow drop at 10:04 after Dino Bravo provided a distraction. After the match, Tugboat saved the Bossman from taking an Earthquake Splash.
Backstage News*: Vince McMahon attended the recent Mr. Olympia contest and bought a booth to promote his bodybuilding magazine. McMahon also turned heads by announcing the creation of the World Bodybuilding Federation (WBF), promoted as “Bodybuilding the way it was meant to be.” The WBF has been created as a new subsidiary of Titan Sports and McMahon thinks the money he could generate from it could be more than the WWF because high ticket prices could be charged for bodybuilding competitions. Dave Meltzer speculates that McMahon might also start selling supplements if he launches the WBF.
*Expect Mark Calaway to be programmed into a feud with Hulk Hogan next year because Calaway recently landed the villain role in the new Hulk Hogan movie.
*In a piece of good news for the tag team division, Shawn Michaels will not need knee surgery and should return to action in a month.
*Due to poor ratings of recent Main Event telecasts, there will not be a Main Event special in February.
*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for September 24.
Up Next: Prime Time Wrestling for September 17!