What the World Was Watching: WWF Superstars – December 22, 1990

Vince McMahon, Roddy Piper & the Honky Tonk Man do commentary for this Christmas edition of Superstars, concluding the tapings in Rochester, New York.

Opening Contest: Rick Martel (21-1-1) defeats Jim McPherson via submission to the Boston Crab at 1:45

As Martel works McPherson over, he promises to give Jake Roberts his own bottle of Arrogance for Christmas in the split screen. A double underhook suplex sets up the Boston Crab and allows Martel to secure a twelfth-straight win.

Gene Okerlund’s Update segment recaps how Mr. Perfect regained the Intercontinental Championship on last week’s show. The Texas Tornado does a taped promo about how he is going to shatter Ted DiBiase’s dreams.

Randy Savage (9-2) pins Koko B. Ware (13-5-1) after the flying elbow drop at 2:43:

Savage does the royal entrance, carried to the ring on a throne by jobbers. While Ware gets a few hope spots like a small package out of nowhere, Savage squashes him with all of his big moves as the commentators talk up his odds for the Royal Rumble.

The British Bulldog (6-0) beats Chris Duffy with the running powerslam at 1:21:

The Warlord and Slick do an insert promo, putting over the Warlord’s strength relative to the Bulldog. The Bulldog hardly breaks a sweat in this one, clotheslining Duffy against the buckles before finishing with the running powerslam.

A new Mountie vignette sees him catch a woman getting out of her car. He asks to see her license, revealing that she is from Georgia. The woman sheepishly gets back in her car as she is afraid of the Mountie’s horse.

Non-Title Match: The Hart Foundation (WWF Tag Team Champions) (24-0-1) beat the Black Demon & Black Bart when Bret Hart pins the Demon after the Hart Attack at 2:39:

Power & Glory and Slick do an insert promo saying it is an inevitability that they will become the new tag team champions. As per usual, Anvil brings the power while Bret brings the finesse and the Foundation win easily.

Okerlund does The Royal Rumble Report. New matches added to the show include Dusty & Dustin Rhodes vs. Ted DiBiase & Virgil, the Big Bossman vs. the Barbarian, and the Rockers vs. the Orient Express. Sergeant Slaughter and General Adnan promise to win the WWF Championship and take it back to the Middle East, where they will be welcomed as heroes with Saddam Hussein. The Warrior rebuts says that Slaughter is walking toward his own destruction. Hulk Hogan says he is motivated to win the Royal Rumble because of how much the fans support him. The Undertaker and Brother Love discuss how they look forward to the Rumble because it means more plots to dig. Demolition and Mr. Fuji talk up their chances and how they could end up fighting each other. The WWF is still advertising Andre the Giant as appearing even though Dave Meltzer argues that will not happen.

The Barbarian (w/Bobby Heenan) (25-0) pins Sonny Blaze after the flying clothesline at 1:18:

The Barbarian makes short work of Blaze and McMahon and Piper talk up the Barbarian’s match with the Big Bossman at The Royal Rumble.

The Rockers play “WrestleMania Challenge” for the NES.

Brother Love’s guests are Dusty & Dustin Rhodes. Dustin tries to match his dad’s cadence on the mic and it does not work. They talk about the evils of money and hype themselves as a common family.

Tugboat dances with the Gobbledy Gooker as the WWF continues to try to find a way to salvage the character.

The Orient Express (w/Mr. Fuji) (1-0) defeat Mike Durham & Mike Pocari when Tanaka pins Pocari after a superkick-German suplex combination at 1:43:

In the split screen, the Legion of Doom yell about how they want to get revenge on Fuji for allowing Demolition to beat them up several weeks ago. Kato’s gourdbuster sets the stage for the Express’ double team finisher, which Piper is impressed with.

The Last Word: The Royal Rumble hype went up a notch as there were promos by some of the participants and more matches were added to the card. Randy Savage’s squash of Koko B. Ware was a fun match, but the rest of the show was filler. It is obvious that Dusty Rhodes is zoning it in as his time in the company is winding down, giving the bare minimum of effort in his appearance on the Brother Love Show.

Up Next: Wrestling Challenge for December 23!