What the World Was Watching: WWF Wrestling Challenge – March 3, 1991

Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan provide commentary for the last episode of the taping cycle in Savannah, Georgia.

Opening Contest: The Texas Tornado (5-0) pins Alan Martin after the discus punch at 2:00:

In the split screen, the Tornado tells Dino Bravo that his first appearance at WrestleMania will be successful. The Tornado rolls to another easy win to stay undefeated for the year, his feud with Ted DiBiase all but forgotten at this point.

Lord Alfred Hayes’ Special Report recaps Sergeant Slaughter’s recent behavior of beating up medical personnel and setting fire to a Hulk Hogan poster. Afterward, Slaughter and General Adnan discuss destroying Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania.

The Big Bossman (7-0) defeats Johnny Ray after the Bossman Slam at 1:01:

Intercontinental Champion Mr. Perfect does an insert promo about how the Bossman does not stand a chance at WrestleMania because the Bossman is not perfect. The Bossman makes quick work of Ray, handcuffing the jobber to the ropes before running to the locker room.

The Nasty Boys (w/Jimmy Hart) (4-0) beat Jim Powers & Tommy Angel when Jerry Sags pins Angel after the Trip to Nastyville at 3:19:

Powers, who once received a push in the Young Stallions tag team with Paul Roma in the late 1980s, spent the previous year in an enhancement talent role, putting over the likes of Mr. Perfect, Randy Savage, Ted DiBiase, Rick Martel, Sergeant Slaughter, and the Barbarian. He also put over other enhancement talents like Paul Diamond as a sign of how far he had fallen down the card.

Angel loses the advantage for his team after missing a reverse flying body press off the second rope. The Nasties pulverize him with elbow drops as WWF Tag Team Champions the Hart Foundation do an insert promo about how the Nasties are in a nasty situation for WrestleMania. After an avalanche spot, the Nasties put Angel away with the Trip to Nastyville.

Hulk Hogan laces his boots in a locker room and tells Sergeant Slaughter that it matters to him how he won the WWF Championship.

Ted DiBiase (3-0) defeats Sonny Blaze via count out at 2:51:

In the split screen, Virgil stumbles through a promo about how DiBiase cannot buy self-respect. Roddy Piper adds that Virgil will win the lottery at WrestleMania. As DiBiase wails away on Blaze in the corner, Virgil walks to ringside. After DiBiase throws Blaze to the floor, Virgil picks Blaze up and carries him to the locker room. This frustrates DiBiase because he does not get to win with the Million Dollar Dream, but Heenan says what Virgil did was counterintuitive because he was just “carrying the garbage” back to the locker room anyway.

The Dragon is coming! Or maybe its Ricky Steamboat! Maybe both! The WWF cannot figure out the labeling.

Gene Okerlund does the WrestleMania VII Report. Randy Savage and Sensational Sherri tell the Ultimate Warrior that he cannot handle what they have. The Warrior rebuts that his warriors will show no pity when Savage goes down in defeat. For the blindfold match, Rick Martel tells Jake Roberts that he will feel his fury, while Roberts says that Martel will get “snake eyes” blindfolded at WrestleMania. A Queen Elizabeth impersonator says that she deplores bulldogs so she encourages fans “in the civilized world” to support the Warlord against the British Bulldog at WrestleMania. The Legion of Doom promise pain for Power & Glory for costing them a chance at the WWF tag team titles. Willie Nelson says that he is happy to be performing “America the Beautiful” at WrestleMania. And Regis Philbin says he looks forward to being a guest on the WWF’s show after he has had the wrestlers as a guest on his program. He worries about the WWF wrestlers making him do weird things, though.

The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) (6-0) pins David Isley with the Tombstone at 2:23:

Monsoon is somehow unaware of who Bearer is, prompting Heenan to recap recent storylines of Brother Love handing over managerial duties. In the split screen, Jimmy Snuka screams about how the Undertaker is not going to bury him at WrestleMania. The flying clothesline, ropewalk, and Tombstone put Isley away as the Undertaker continues to roll toward his first WrestleMania appearance.

Okerlund’s recent trip to Toys R Us sees him run into Hacksaw Jim Duggan, who is trying to complete his WWF Trading Card collection. He is looking for card number fifty-one, which is Okerlund’s card, and gets it when he drops his 2×4 on Okerlund’s foot.

Tune in next week to see Mr. Perfect, the Legion of Doom, and the British Bulldog in action! Also, the Ultimate Warrior will be around for a special interview!

The Last Word: One of the nice things about the WWF in this era is that they provide hype for every match on the WrestleMania card, making everything seem like a big deal even if it was a filler match like the Mountie against Tito Santana or the Undertaker against Jimmy Snuka. The Queen Elizabeth vignettes are dumb, though, as it does not fit the Warlord’s feud with the British Bulldog at all.

Here were the results of the WWF’s house show circuit for the first week of March. Results are courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:

Providence, Rhode Island – Providence Civic Center – March 1, 1991 (5,500): Jimmy Snuka pinned Koko B. Ware (substituting for Rick Martel) with a sunset flip…The Texas Tornado beat the Barbarian (substituting for General Adnan) via count out…The Big Bossman pinned Virgil (substituting for Ted DiBiase) with a reverse roll up…Hacksaw Jim Duggan pinned Dino Bravo…The Rockers defeated the Orient Express when Shawn Michaels pinned Kato…Earthquake beat Jake Roberts via disqualification after Roberts used Jimmy Hart’s megaphone as a weapon…Hulk Hogan won a 20-man battle royal, last eliminating Earthquake. Other participants included all other superstars on the show in addition to the Nasty Boys.

San Antonio, Texas – HemisFair Arena – March 1, 1991 (8,200): Tito Santana beat the Barbarian…The British Bulldog wrestled the Warlord to a no-contest in an arm wrestling match…The Mountie beat Jim Powers…The Undertaker defeated Tugboat…The Bushwhackers defeated Demolition…WWF Tag Team Champions the Hart Foundation defeated Power & Glory when Bret Hart pinned Paul Roma…Roddy Piper beat Intercontinental Champion Mr. Perfect via count out…WWF Champion Sergeant Slaughter defeated the Ultimate Warrior in a steel cage match.

Boston, Massachusetts – The Boston Garden – March 2, 1991 (7,000): Greg Valentine pinned Dino Bravo…Koko B. Ware pinned Pete Doherty…The Mountie pinned Tugboat…Jake Roberts pinned the Barbarian (substituting for Rick Martel)…The Rockers beat the Nasty Boys via disqualification…The Texas Tornado defeated Ted DiBiase…The Undertaker beat Jimmy Snuka…The Legion of Doom beat the Orient Express & Mr. Fuji in a handicap match…Hulk Hogan defeated Earthquake in a stretcher match.

Backstage News*: Even though WrestleMania VII had to relocate to the Los Angeles Sports Arena, the venue is sold out and will bring in a gate of at least $975,000. However, the 15,000 fans in attendance will make it the lowest attended WrestleMania to this point.

*There will be a celebrity switch on the show as Bob Costas withdrew over concerns with the Iraqi sympathizer angle with Sergeant Slaughter. The WWF signed Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek to replace him.

*The WWF is continuing to run the finish of the Ultimate Warrior-Sergeant Slaughter cage matches where the Warrior beats up Sensational Sherri and strips her clothes off. This is despite parents and women hating it.

*In a bad sign for the WWF’s WBF project, its bodybuilding magazine has had poor sales and writers are not coming on board because of fears that they will be blacklisted by more prominent organizations.

*In another bad sign for the WWF, ratings for the new Prime Time Wrestling are back at where the old studio version was after two episodes.

*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for March 11.

Up Next: Prime Time Wrestling for March 4!