Vince McMahon and Roddy Piper are in the booth, starting a new round of television tapings in Macon, Georgia. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping took place on January 28 and drew a crowd of 7,500 fans.
Opening Contest: Tito Santana (1-0) pins Ted Oates after the flying forearm at 1:57:
Oates began his wrestling career in 1970 and was part of a tag team called the Oates Brothers, which won the NWA Central States Tag Team Championship, NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship, and the All Japan Pro Wrestling All Asia Tag Team Championship. He later worked for Smoky Mountain Wrestling as the Power Ranger in 1994.
In the split screen, Santana screams about how is ready for WrestleMania and that seven is his lucky number. Oates floors Santana with a clothesline and an elbow but the former Intercontinental champion rallies with a backdrop and the flying forearm.
The Mountie (w/Jimmy Hart) (3-0) beats Sonny Blaze via submission to a nerve hold at 1:21:
The Mountie does an insert promo about how when Canada needs to impose authority they call him. A chokeslam sets up the nerve hold finish, but the Mountie would be better served using the chokeslam off the ropes as it looks more devastating. After the bell, the Mountie handcuffs Blaze and shocks him with a cattle prod.
Sean Mooney hypes WrestleMania VII. The British Bulldog says that the Warlord will never get him in the full nelson. Rick Martel claims not to be afraid of the blindfold match even though he is not happy with the stipulation for his match against Jake Roberts.
The Nasty Boys win a seven-team tag team battle royal to get a WWF tag team title shot at WrestleMania after Power & Glory eliminate the Legion of Doom at 6:23:
Other Participants: Demolition, the Rockers, Power & Glory, the Orient Express, and the Bushwhackers
For this battle royal a team is eliminated when one of its members is thrown over the top rope and to the arena floor. It is a poor battle royal that features few interesting bits, just lots of punching and kicking and few elimination teases. Demolition’s rapid fall down the card is confirmed when they are the first team to bite the dust as the Rockers double dropkick Smash over the top rope. The Express get rid of the Bushwhackers and then the Rockers go out when Shawn Michaels accidentally dropkicks Marty Jannetty over the top rope. Animal single handedly eliminates both members of the Express and tosses Paul Roma when Power & Glory try to do a modified Rocket Launcher. That leaves the Legion and the Nasties but when the Legion try to a Doomsday Device on Jerry Sags, Roma knocks Hawk off the top rope and eliminates the Legion, sending the Nasties to WrestleMania. Again, the Legion of Doom look like the strongest force in the universe and most of the heel teams look inept. Rating: *
More promos with Mooney for WrestleMania VII. Intercontinental Champion Mr. Perfect and Bobby Heenan promise that the Big Bossman will run into a dead end in Los Angeles. The Bossman rebuts that taking the Intercontinental Championship will bust up the Heenan Family.
The Texas Tornado (4-0) pins Darryl Woodworth after the discus punch at 1:32:
The Tornado is still over, especially with female fans, but his ring work is awful to watch, just stumbling around and twisting and turning and throwing punches with reckless abandon.
This week’s Brother Love Show sees Love admit that he cannot give the Undertaker the twenty-four hours of love that the Undertaker needs. As a result, he reveals that he has obtained the services of Paul Bearer to guide the Undertaker’s career. Bearer was Percy Pringle, a real-life mortician who worked as a manager in World Class in the 1980s. And one of the talents he managed there was Mark Calaway, so the two were familiar with each other. Love says he has a vision of the Ultimate Warrior’s career ending at WrestleMania and the Undertaker and Bearer burying him.
Gene Okerlund provides the WrestleMania Report. New matches announced for the show are Ted DiBiase vs. Virgil with Roddy Piper in Virgil’s corner, the Hart Foundation defending the WWF Tag Team Championship against the Nasty Boys, Greg Valentine vs. Earthquake, and the Texas Tornado vs. Dino Bravo. WWF Champion Sergeant Slaughter and General Adnan put themselves over as the new leaders of the WWF and that they will kill Hulkamania. Hulk Hogan rebuts that God can guarantee that he is going to win back the WWF Championship. It is also announced that Regis Philbin will co-host the show and NBC’s Paul McGuire and Bob Costas will be part of a segment on instant replay with New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.
Okerlund puts over all the great WWF merchandise that can be bought at Toys R Us like wrestling buddies and Hasbro action figures. He talks about how buying WWF merchandise there can get you autographed photographs of Hulk Hogan, the Ultimate Warrior, and the Legion of Doom.
Rick Martel (3-0) defeats Tommy Landell via submission to the Boston Crab at 1:12:
Landell, no relation to Buddy Landel of the NWA, also went by Buck Brannigan, Bull Brannigan, and Bulldog Brannigan on the independent circuit. In the early 1980s he had been an enhancement talent in Georgia and for NWA Mid-Atlantic.
In the split screen, Jake Roberts says that Martel had better be prepared to turn the lights off because his party is over. Martel works quickly, suplexing Landell with reckless abandon to set up the Boston Crab. McMahon notes that Martel will not be able to do any of these “flashy moves” at WrestleMania.
After the match, Martel goes to spray Landell with Arrogance until a masked man enters the ring, attacks Martel, and headbutts him in the back of the head before running back through the curtain. Brutus Beefcake was under the mask, which reportedly disguised the scars from his surgery the previous year.
A vignette shows a man in a dragon costume breathing fire. When the fire is exhaled fans can see that it is former Intercontinental champion (and NWA World champion) Ricky Steamboat.
A final round of WrestleMania VII promos air with Mooney. Dino Bravo and Jimmy Hart tell the Texas Tornado that he had better be ready for the fight of his life. Greg Valentine steals Tito Santana’s bit earlier in the show about how seven is his lucky number and he is going to need a lot of luck to beat Earthquake.
Tune in next week to see Virgil, with Roddy Piper in his corner, face Haku, with Ted DiBiase in his corner! Also, WWF Champion Sergeant Slaughter will be in action! And Brother Love will interview Randy Savage!
The Last Word: This was a good Superstars show that featured significant storyline developments. The tag team battle royal sends the Nasty Boys to WrestleMania while also setting up a new tag team feud between the Legion of Doom and Power & Glory. The show also gives the Undertaker a new manager, one that is better suited for his gimmick and that will have a big impact on the character over the next seven years. And fans got a peek at how Ricky Steamboat will be returning to the company after a three-year absence and a new masked character that attacked Rick Martel. The new WrestleMania matches also show that the Earthquake is back to the midcard after his main event run with Hulk Hogan and that the Texas Tornado is not as important as Virgil since Virgil is getting the WrestleMania match with Ted DiBiase. That is another sign of how the Tornado is becoming less relevant after he got a strong push the previous summer. All in all, the WWF kept its forward momentum going with this show, setting the stage for a fun WrestleMania.