Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are handling broadcast duties, wrapping up the taping cycle in Wheeling, West Virginia.
Opening Non-Title Contest: The Hart Foundation (WWF Tag Team Champions) (18-0-1) defeat Pez Whatley & Buddy Rose when Bret Hart pins Whatley after the Hart Attack at 3:20:
Rhythm & Blues and Jimmy Hart pop up in the split screen, promising a great musical performance later in the show and that the tag team titles will soon be theirs. Whatley and Rose bump well for the champions, who maintain their unbeaten streak and win their tenth straight match.
Lord Alfred Hayes’ Special Report talks about Rick Martel spraying Arrogance on the Brother Love Show the last couple of weeks. Martel says he sprays Arrogance around those who he thinks deserve it.
Dino Bravo (w/Jimmy Hart & Earthquake) (22-3-2) pins Duane Gill after the sidewalk slam at 1:50:
Before the match, Tugboat does an insert promo that promises revenge against Bravo and Earthquake. Bravo wears Gill out with elbow drops, but the use of an airplane spin to set up the sidewalk slam does not work as well as whipping the opponent into the ropes. Afterward, Earthquake caves in Gill’s chest with a few Earthquake Splashes.
Tito Santana (15-7-1) defeats Barry O after the flying forearm at 3:30:
Monsoon makes a laughable claim that Barry O is “coming off a successful world tour.” That must have been in something other than wrestling because Barry has not had any success in coming back to the WWF. Santana struggles with another enhancement talent and the crowd does not get into it until Santana hits the flying forearm to win a third straight bout.
The Orient Express (19-1) beat Ross Lindsey & Mike Pocari when Sato pins Pocari after a sitout powerbomb at 2:06:
The Bushwhackers rant about the Express’ supposed discipline, saying that they are ready for a fight in the split screen. The Express isolate Pocari and the Tanaka flying elbow and Sato sitout powerbomb put him away. Afterward, Heenan makes an outlandish claim that the Express are undefeated, even though they were squashed by Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Nikolai Volkoff at SummerSlam.
Hacksaw Jim Duggan (26-1-1) pins Bob Bradley after the three-point stance clothesline at 1:09:
Duggan must have learned from his last bout against Bradley, defeating him in half the time of their previous encounter in April.
Gene Okerlund interviews Rick Rude and Heenan. Rude says that the Big Bossman’s mother is a “sweat hog,” “a slimy slop sow,” and “a snaggle toothed sea hag” and if the Bossman has a problem with it, then he needs to see him about it. Rude puts over his genetics that make him perfect versus the cellulite that is in the Bossman’s bloodline.
Nikolai Volkoff (11-0) pins Black Bart after a clothesline to the back of the head at 1:18:
Sergeant Slaughter and General Adnan appear in the split screen, with Slaughter saying that Adnan has given him orders to destroy Volkoff. Bart’s sell of the finish is funny as he stands up for an additional second after taking the blow before toppling over like a tree.
The Rhythm & Blues squash from Prime Time Wrestling airs.
Tune in next week to see Dusty Rhodes, Sergeant Slaughter, Demolition, and Tugboat in action! Also, Intercontinental Champion the Texas Tornado will give a special interview!
The Last Word: As noted before, Rick Rude’s feud with the Big Bossman is a massive downgrade from where he was in the spring and it is a major step backward for his character. And there is a gap in the storytelling because why would Rude even care to target the Big Bossman in the first place? Rude and Bobby Heenan are doing the best to get the angle over but its jarring to see someone go from fighting for the WWF’s top championship to a playground bully-like angle in the span of a month.
Here were some of the results of the WWF’s house show circuit to end September, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:
Long Island, New York – Nassau Coliseum – September 29, 1990 (5,000): Haku pinned Mike Sharpe…The Warlord beat Jim Brunzell…Shane Douglas defeated Buddy Rose…Rick Rude pinned Jimmy Snuka…Earthquake beat the Big Bossman…Jake Roberts defeated Akeem (substituting for Bad News Brown) in a Harlem Street Fight…Hacksaw Jim Duggan & the Bushwhackers defeated the Orient Express & Mr. Fuji when Duggan pinned Fuji.
Auburn Hills, Michigan – The Palace – September 29, 1990 (5,300): Dustin Rhodes pinned the Brooklyn Brawler…The Barbarian beat Tito Santana…Sergeant Slaughter defeated Nikolai Volkoff via submission to the Camel Clutch…Paul Roma pinned Marty Jannetty after Hercules interfered…Pez Whatley beat Paul Diamond…Mr. Perfect beat Intercontinental Champion the Texas Tornado via count out…The Ultimate Warrior & the Legion of Doom defeated Demolition.
Backstage News*: Even though the WWF is running a house show in Chicago on the same night as WCW’s Halloween Havoc, they are not putting a lot of effort into as the card features the Ultimate Warrior defending the WWF Championship against Randy Savage and the rest of the matches are filled with preliminary talent.
*The WWF will not be doing closed circuit telecasts for WrestleMania VII after they had to close many closed-circuit locations because of a lack of interest. The change reflects the broader availability of pay-per-view in American households.
*Brutus Beefcake has returned to the road, accompanying Hulk Hogan to events but there is no timetable to get him back in the squared circle.
*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for October 8.
Up Next: Prime Time Wrestling for October 1!