What the World Was Watching: WWF Superstars – November 17, 1990

Vince McMahon and Roddy Piper are in the booth and they start a new round of tapings in Indianapolis, Indiana. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping took place on October 29.

Opening Contest: The Big Bossman (28-1) pins Spike Jones after the Bossman Slam at 1:23:

In the split screen, Bobby Heenan appears with Haku and the Barbarian. He promises that both men will prove that actions can speak louder than words when they face off with the Bossman as part of the Hulkamaniacs-Natural Disasters elimination match at Survivor Series. The Bossman has no struggles against Jones, handcuffing him to the ropes after the bout and posing for the crowd.

Gene Okerlund’s Update segment recaps the beatdown of the Legion of Doom at the hands of Demolition and the Orient Express on last week’s telecast. Okerlund suggests that Mr. Fuji might have reunited with Demolition and WWF President Jack Tunney might do something to Fuji and Demolition soon.

The Warlord (w/Slick, Rick Martel & Power & Glory) (20-0) beats Gary Jackson after a running powerslam at 1:32:

As his Survivor Series teammates cheer him on, the Warlord makes quick work of Jackson for the second time this year. In the split screen, the Vipers team promise that Martel’s team will have nowhere to hide at Survivor Series. Giving the Warlord smaller opponents is a great way to get him over.

Earthquake (w/Jimmy Hart & Dino Bravo) (24-2) beats Tom King after the Earthquake Splash at 1:54:

Earthquake and Bravo do an insert promo where they warn Hogan that they will end Hulkamania at Survivor Series. Earthquake throws an impressive dropkick en route to running his win streak to five matches. After the bell, Earthquake gives King two more Earthquake Splashes and medical personnel come to the ring to cart King away.

Brother Love hosts the Warriors, telling them that they do not stand a chance against the Perfect Team. McMahon is not a fan of the Warrior’s promo, saying “Okay?” after the Warrior discusses how a forcefield is around his team. The Texas Tornado says that no one has beaten the Legion of Doom and no one can survive his discus punch. The Legion of Doom put over how their team is made of survivors, so the Survivor Series will not be hard for them. The Warrior closes the promo by saying if anything comes out of the egg resembling Brother Love, he will scramble it.

Tom Stone (0-7) defeats Jake Roberts (22-1) via disqualification when Roberts shoves the referee at 2:36:

Roberts wears an eye patch and Shawn Michaels helps to guide him out for the match, his first since September 16. Since Roberts has issues with his peripheral vision he struggles, missing a shoulder block and finding it difficult to lockup. In the split screen, the Visionaries talk about how they look forward to crippling other members of Roberts’ team at Survivor Series. Stone scores a near-fall from a shoulder block but makes the mistake of ripping off Roberts’ eye patch, causing Roberts to go into his signature moves. After using the DDT, Roberts refuses to go for a cover and when the referee interjects, Roberts shoves him and gets disqualified. Michaels then runs out to calm down his Survivor Series teammate. To get some heat back, Roberts knocks Stone over the top rope with an elbow.

Okerlund does the Survivor Series Report. The Perfect Team puts over how perfect they are, with Crush making a funny claim that people might hate Demolition, something they should already be doing since Demolition are programmed as heels. The Mercenaries say they will take no prisoners at Survivor Series. The Alliance counters with a weak promo that they are done talking and are ready for a fight. The Hulkamaniacs promise that the Natural Disasters will be in for a long night. Okerlund implies that the Grand Finale match will be a babyface vs. heels elimination match.

WWF Tag Team Championship Match: The Hart Foundation (Champions) (21-0-1) defeat Rhythm & Blues (26-1-1) via disqualification when Ted DiBiase and Virgil run in at 5:20:

Before the match, Greg Valentine thinks of doing into business for himself and busting open the giant egg with his guitar but the Honky Tonk Man stops him. Referee Danny Davis shows no partiality toward his former stablemates, failing to stop illegal double teams from the Blues. After a short Blues heat spot on Jim Neidhart, Bret gets the hot tag and cleans house for a long time to foreshadow his singles push. That is interrupted when DiBiase and Virgil run in, providing a predictable disqualification to build to the Survivor Series. Rating: *½

After the bell, Dusty Rhodes and Koko B. Ware run down and make the save.

Tune in next week to see Tito Santana square off against Sergeant Slaughter! Also, Rick Martel, Dustin Rhodes, Mr. Perfect, and Legion of Doom will be in action!

The Last Word: The feature bout was okay and the wild brawl between the Dream Team and the Million Dollar Team was effective, but once again the memorable part of the show was Jake Roberts trying to compete with poor eyesight. It is a testament to Roberts how he has elevated a midcard program to be the most interesting feud the company has going.

Up Next: Wrestling Challenge for November 18!