Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are in the booth, starting a new taping cycle from Syracuse, New York. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the tapings took place on November 20.
Opening Non-Title Contest: The Hart Foundation (WWF Tag Team Champions) (23-0-1) defeat Barry Hardy & Paul Perez when Bret pins Perez after the Hart Attack at 3:13:
Kids are catching onto Bret giving away his shades, starting to crowd around the guardrail where the Foundation set up shop. In the split screen, Power & Glory and Slick insist that they are more impressive than the Foundation and it is just a matter of time before they become tag team champions. Monsoon dismisses this, though, by saying that Power & Glory have not been named as the top contenders for the tag team titles. The Foundation go through the motions on Perez and cap off a dull squash with their finisher.
Lord Alfred Hayes’ Special Report segment repeats the hype for The Royal Rumble that Gene Okerlund gave on Superstars.
Kane the Undertaker (w/Brother Love) pins Rick Sampson after the Tombstone at 1:56:
Brother Love and the Undertaker appear in the split screen, with the Undertaker saying nothing excites him more than putting another soul to rest. Crowds are not sure what to make of the Undertaker, but he does have their attention after doing a one handed chokeslam and walking the top rope. The Tombstone remains dangerous looking, but Sampson is not spiked like Koko B. Ware was at Survivor Series. This was a good singles debut, with Mark Calaway trying to figure out how he wanted to wrestle as a zombie-like character.
Saba Simba (6-0) pins Bob Bradley after the Lion’s Roar at 1:29:
Before the match, Heenan tries to call up a local flower shop to get roses for the Big Bossman’s mother and aims to charge them under Monsoon’s name. Bradley corners Simba and lays in some blows, but Simba shakes it off and triumphs with the Lion’s Roar, defeating Bradley for the second time this year.
Power & Glory (w/Slick) (17-0) defeat Chris Hawn & Mike Pocari when Paul Roma pins Hawn after the Powerplex at 3:36:
Hawn was an Ohio-based talent who later progressed into bodybuilding and transitioned into becoming a Hollywood stuntman.
In the split screen, WWF Tag Team Champions the Hart Foundation promise that Power & Glory are not taking their titles. Hawn takes most of the beating for his team, flattened with some stiff blows by Hercules and pinned after the Powerplex.
Jimmy Snuka (19-2) pins Duane Gill after the Superfly Splash at 3:15:
Monsoon and Heenan have a debate over whether Snuka is illiterate and there was some sad truth in that because Snuka was illiterate in English in real life. The Superfly wins another deliberate squash as his future on the card remains undefined.
Okerlund interviews Randy Savage, who promises to beat the Ultimate Warrior for the WWF Championship and strip him of his dignity.
Tugboat (26-0) defeats Boris Zhukov (4-7) after a splash at 1:43:
It is not a good week for Zhukov as he jobs to Battle Kat on Prime Time Wrestling and does another here, succumbing to a few slams, a corner avalanche, and a splash off the ropes.
The Orient Express (w/Mr. Fuji) defeat Ron Cumberland & Mario Mancini when Tanaka pins Mancini after a superkick-German suplex combination at 2:35:
This is the new Orient Express as Paul Diamond goes under a mask as Kato and replaces Sato on the team, reuniting former AWA tag team champions Badd Company under a different name. The switch is an upgrade as the Express now feature more double team moves than the previous combination. In the split screen, the Legion of Doom scream about how they are going to have fun beating up the Express and Fuji. Fuji hits Mancini with his cane in full view of the referee and does not get disqualified. After the match, Fuji strikes Mancini a few more times with his cane to put over the ruthlessness of his new team.
Tune in next week to see Earthquake, the Bushwhackers, Rick Martel, the Big Bossman, and Sergeant Slaughter in action!
The Last Word: Like Superstars, a fresh cycle brings some positive changes to the company. The Undertaker gimmick carries the aura of mystery while the new Orient Express team is a workrate upgrade over the original version. Power & Glory getting a tag team feud on house shows with the Hart Foundation implies that they won their feud with the Rockers, a program that never had a proper televised blowoff.
And here is what the WWF was doing on the house show circuit for the first week of December:
Denver, Colorado – The Coliseum – December 3, 1990 (4,400): Koko B. Ware pinned Black Bart with a missile dropkick…The British Bulldog pinned Buddy Rose with the running powerslam…Jim Neidhart beat Smash…The Legion of Doom defeated the Orient Express & Mr. Fuji in a handicap match when Hawk pinned Kato after a flying clothesline…Sergeant Slaughter pinned Hacksaw Jim Duggan…Intercontinental Champion the Texas Tornado beat Mr. Perfect via disqualification…Hulk Hogan & Tugboat defeated Earthquake & Dino Bravo when Hogan pinned Bravo with the leg drop.
Long Island, New York – The Nassau Coliseum – December 7, 1990 (8,000): Jim Powers pinned Bob Bradley with a powerslam…Rick Martel beat Dustin Rhodes via submission with the Boston Crab…Jimmy Snuka pinned the Warlord with a flying body press…Tugboat pinned Dino Bravo with a splash…The Big Bossman beat the Barbarian by reversing an inside cradle…WWF Champion the Ultimate Warrior defeated Randy Savage via count out when Savage left the ring after taking a flying shoulder block…WWF Tag Team Champions the Hart Foundation beat Power & Glory via reverse decision. Paul Roma initially pinned Bret Hart after using a chain but a second referee disputed the call and got it overturned.
Boston, Massachusetts – The Boston Garden – December 8, 1990 (8,000): Rick Martel beat Dustin Rhodes via submission to the Boston Crab…Marty Jannetty pinned Smash with a sunset flip…Tugboat pinned Dino Bravo with a splash…The Warlord beat Jimmy Snuka…The Big Bossman defeated the Barbarian…WWF Tag Team Champions the Hart Foundation defeated Power & Glory via disqualification…Earthquake beat Hulk Hogan via count out after Dino Bravo interfered and hit Hogan with Jimmy Hart’s megaphone when Hogan was climbing back into the ring. After the match, Earthquake and Bravo double teamed Hogan until Tugboat made the save.
Backstage News*: Wrestlers are laughing backstage at how Dusty Rhodes is being treated on his way out as he lost to Virgil in ninety seconds at a house show in San Antonio, Texas over the weekend.
*The WWF sent Ted DiBiase, Greg Valentine, and the Bushwhackers over to SWS to work for Genichiro Tenryu and have even allowed DiBiase to do clean jobs because they want the relationship to be productive.
*In talent relations news, the Nasty Boys will be making their debut at the next television tapings in Florida.
*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for December 17.
Up Next: Prime Time Wrestling for December 10!