Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are in the studio for this evening’s show. Heenan takes down a poster of Dusty Rhodes and replaces it with Ted DiBiase’s wrestling buddy because DiBiase paid him $1,000. Monsoon threatens to fine Heenan $5,000 for what he just did until Heenan argues he can whatever he wants to his side of the studio.
Opening Non-Title Contest: The Texas Tornado (Intercontinental Champion) (8-0) pins Barry O after the discus punch at 1:59:
Both competitors wear red and yellow trunks, making the bout seem like a battle to see who the best Hulkamaniac is. In the split screen, Mr. Perfect and Bobby Heenan say that the weather is changing and they will retake the Intercontinental Championship. The Tornado gets a great reaction for his entrance but his ring work is uninspired and receives no response.
Gene Okerlund’s Update segment recaps the growing Ultimate Warrior-Randy Savage feud. The most notable bit about the feud so far is that Savage is moving away from the king gimmick.
Saba Simba’s debut on Superstars airs. Afterward, Heenan puts over Simba as a powerful guy but jokes about the ridiculousness of the gimmick.
Demolition (2-0) defeat Ronnie Garvin, Jim McPherson & Jose Luis Rivera when Ax pins McPherson after Demolition Decapitation at 5:31:
Since this bout was filmed before SummerSlam Howard Finkel has to do a new voiceover in post-production because Demolition were tag team champions at the time. Garvin continues to hang out with jobbers, falling down the card by the day. This is confirmed when Crush does not sell Garvin’s chops. McPherson takes a Flair flip bump in the corner and flies to the arena floor, a bright spot in a long, dull squash.
A replay of Dusty Rhodes’ interview with Gene Okerlund on Wrestling Challenge is shown.
Jake Roberts’ squash from Wrestling Challenge airs.
Promo time with Sean Mooney! Tugboat tells Earthquake and Dino Bravo that he will fight them on the street or in the “deepest sea” because his torpedoes and full tanks are full. The Orient Express and Mr. Fuji say that they want the WWF Tag Team Championship. Fuji says that the Bushwhackers will be a steppingstone for his team, carrying the promo as Tanaka awkwardly talks about the Express’ training exercises.
Hacksaw Jim Duggan (25-1-1) pins the Genius (3-1-1) after the three-point stance clothesline at 2:59:
This match took place at the “SummerSlam Fever” taping in Utica, New York on August 15. The Genius is still wearing a big blonde wig, selling the Brutus Beefcake haircut like it has done death to his hair follicles. He has not wrestled on television since winning a squash on Prime Time on July 16. Duggan squashes the Genius like a bug and pulls his wig off after the match. The Glens Falls native then puts the wig on his 2×4, tosses it in the air, and proceeds to whack the wig with the 2×4 when it floats down to the canvas.
Dino Bravo (w/Jimmy Hart & Earthquake) (21-3-2) pins Mike Durham after the sidewalk slam at 3:39:
The WWF is preparing to run tag team matches on house shows that feature Bravo and Earthquake against Hulk Hogan and Tugboat, so Bravo needs to be built up for that. Durham sells Bravo’s offense like death, but gets too cute with it, flopping all over the canvas like a fish after taking a piledriver. Bravo uses an airplane spin to set up the sidewalk slam and Earthquake comes in after the bell to squash the jobber with a pair of Earthquake Splashes.
Brother Love’s interview with the Legion of Doom on Superstars is shown.
A replay of the Rockers-Power & Glory bout from SummerSlam airs.
Marty Jannetty’s squash from Wrestling Challenge is shown. Heenan says afterward that if Shawn Michaels cannot walk on his own power, he needs to stay home.
Earthquake’s squash from Wrestling Challenge airs. After a commercial break, Monsoon says he has a private message to relay to Heenan from the Big Bossman.
Haku (5-4-1) wrestles Shane Douglas (3-0) to a time limit draw at 15:00 shown:
As with many of the matches tonight, this also took place in Utica. This is a basic match where Douglas traps Haku in several pinning combinations early for near-falls and Haku fights hard to turn the tide without Heenan in his corner. Action picks up after the commercial break but Douglas’ babyface comebacks are poor and awkwardly timed. Douglas traps Haku in a Lou Thesz press out of nowhere but the time limit expires before the three count. Sean Mooney and Lord Alfred Hayes put a draw over as a victory for Douglas. Rating: **
Heenan steps up his Big Bossman insults at the end of the show, saying that his mother was a bag lady and found the Bossman in a dumpster. As a result, the Bossman is adopted and his mother is not his biological mother.
Tune in next week to see Nikolai Volkoff face Boris Zhukov! Also, Mr. Perfect and Rick Rude will be in action!
The Last Word: Much of the show was repeats of action from shows days earlier so fans could skip a lot of it. The big feature bout at the end was okay but if the WWF was serious about elevating Douglas they would have put him over Haku rather than taking him to a time limit draw.
Up Next: WWF Superstars for September 22!