Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are in charge of the studio for tonight’s show. Heenan says he knows nothing about Battle Kat but knows that the Big Bossman’s mother used to wrestle as “Battle Sow.”
Battle Kat’s debut on Wrestling Challenge is the first bout on the show.
Gene Okerlund’s Update segment recaps Jake Roberts’ eyesight crisis.
Demolition’s squash from Superstars is shown.
Shane Douglas (3-0-1) pins Pez Whatley after a hurricanrana at 1:39:
In a sign that the WWF saw long-term potential in him, Douglas avoided the C-loop budget cuts. He does an insert promo about how he is in the WWF to earn everyone’s respect. Even though Douglas has been around since June, the WWF is trying to portray him as someone who just walked through the door. Douglas dazes Whatley with a couple of dropkicks and uses a slow hurricanrana to win his first match since August 6.
A replay of the Big Bossman’s interview with Okerlund on Wrestling Challenge airs. Afterward, Heenan reminds the Bossman that he is merely relaying messages from Rick Rude.
The Barbarian’s squash on Superstars is shown.
Promo time with Sean Mooney! Tugboat talks about how he is overcome by all the love WWF fans show him. Sergeant Slaughter and General Adnan say they will take no prisoners in the WWF.
Ronnie Garvin (6-8-1) defeats Black Bart with a schoolboy roll up at 4:28:
Neither man gets an entrance and Garvin sleepwalks through the match, landing a few blows and then schoolboying Bart after the former World Class champion blocks an O’Connor roll with the help of the ropes. This is Garvin’s first win since June 4.
Okerlund does the Survivor Series Report. It would be nice of the WWF to tell fans that this “Grand Match of Survival” is. Is it another elimination bout? A battle royal? Something else?
Marty Jannetty (2-1) pins Paul Diamond (1-10) after a flying fist drop at 5:09:
Diamond has struggled in other televised appearances but this is Prime Time where enhancement talents rise above their station. The former member of Badd Company holds back on his offense, positioning Jannetty into spots where the Rocker can flip over him or fly off the top rope. Case in point is the finish where Diamond is crotched on the top rope, superplexed off, and finished with a flying fist drop. Rating *
Heenan says that he has seen a memo where Shawn Michaels is retiring because he is scared of Power & Glory. Monsoon is aghast that Heenan would lie to viewers.
The Ultimate Warrior’s strange appearance on the Brother Love Show on Superstars is shown.
Rick Rude (w/Bobby Heenan) (17-3-1) pins Jim Evans after the Rude Awakening at 1:04:
Rude quit the company the week prior but the WWF had a few matches left in the can so they were not going to tell fans he was gone until those matches aired. In the split screen, an older woman says that she is disgusted by Rude’s comments about the Big Bossman’s mother. Rude gives Evans a backbreaker and finishes him in a little over a minute with the Rude Awakening. After the bout, Rude kisses a female fan.
Young fans touch the big egg by the entrance, with Sean Mooney and Lord Alfred Hayes putting over how it will hatch at Survivor Series.
Non-Title Match: The Hart Foundation (WWF Tag Team Champions) (20-0-1) defeat Alan Reynolds & Randy Jackson when Bret Hart pins Reynolds after the Hart Attack at 2:12:
Rhythm & Blues and Jimmy Hart appear in the split screen. Hart says that he has shared the Foundation’s secrets with the Blues, which will allow them to put together a big hit and capture the titles. The squash is a showcase for Bret as he gets to pulverize both jobbers with technical moves before the Hart Attack.
The Legion of Doom (9-0) defeat Brian Costello & James Sexton when Hawk pins Sexton after the Doomsday Device at 1:54:
Demolition do an insert promo about how they are watching the Legion’s every move. Costello gets lucky in that he does not have to take any punishment, with the Legion pummeling Sexton with clotheslines before earning their tenth victory with the Doomsday Device.
Heenan cracks Monsoon up when he hypes the Survivor Series match where the Legion of Doom will team with the Ultimate Warrior and “the Texas toilet” against Mr. Perfect and Demolition.
The Orient Express (w/Mr. Fuji) (21-1) defeat Reno Riggins & Red Tyler when Sato pins Tyler after a sitout powerbomb at 2:47:
As the Express chop and kick away, the Bushwhackers do an insert promo about how they are ready for anything the Express dish out. The crowd is dead for the match, an indictment of the Express as they have been on the roster for six months and have yet to make much of an impact.
Heenan announces that the Express will team with Sergeant Slaughter and Akeem against Nikolai Volkoff, Tito Santana, and the Bushwhackers at Survivor Series.
More promos with Mooney! Rhythm & Blues and Jimmy Hart put themselves over as the greatest tag team of all-time because they are multi-talented in the ring and outside of it.
The Big Bossman (25-1) beats Haku (5-5-3) after the Bossman Slam at 5:43:
This match came from the recent Wrestling Challenge taping in Flint, Michigan. Throughout the match Bobby Heenan serves as a distraction for the Bossman, but his results are mixed so he keeps running between ringside and the interview podium. Most of the match is composed of strikes, but Haku looks like nothing more than an effective jobber to the stars. With all the recent budget cuts, it is amazing that Haku was not given a pink slip. Rating: *
After the bout, Heenan gets on the house mic and calls the Bossman “stupid,” bolting for the locker room before the Bossman can leave the ring. In the studio, Heenan warns the Bossman that he can play mind games with him all across the country.
The Last Word: Despite some of the WWF’s best efforts, the product feels very tired at this point in the year. The Hulk Hogan-Earthquake feud that generated interest in the spring and summer has stalled out because of Hogan’s absence to film Suburban Commando, Bobby Heenan is running out of creative mother jokes for the feud with the Big Bossman, and the tag team division is weak because the Legion of Doom are getting the strongest push but are not close to getting a title shot against the Hart Foundation. The company needs a massive creative shakeup because nothing is catching.
Up Next: WWF Superstars for October 20!