Vince McMahon, Randy Savage, and Roddy Piper are in the booth, starting a new taping cycle in Las Vegas, Nevada. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping took place on March 26and drew a crowd of 14,000, with 7,000 paying to attend.
Opening Contest: The Texas Tornado (11-0) beats the Black Knight with the discus punch at 2:13:
The announcers spend the squash speculating on the identity of the Black Knight. In Savage’s crazed mind he thinks it could be Andre the Giant. As per usual, the Tornado fires off lots of punches before doing two discus punches, one to the gut and one to the head, to win.
Gene Okerlund’s Update segment recaps Jake Roberts going after Earthquake on last week’s show. Earthquake and Jimmy Hart warn Roberts to keep Damien away from them. Roberts rebuts that he does not take warnings well because his mother used to do that to him all the time. He dares Earthquake to come after him if he wants.
The Berzerker (w/Mr. Fuji) (5-0) defeats Jim Kolhep via count out at 2:25:
McMahon must have had to field a lot of questions about the Berzerker name as he spends the entrances talking about the name’s historical origins. In the split screen, the Berzerker and Fuji talk about the suffering they are going to bring to the WWF. Even though the Berzerker has been given six television matches, he is not getting over, with most of this match happening in silence. After the match, the Berzerker splashes onto Kolhep after leaping from the ring.
Bret Hart defeats Barry O via submission to the Sharpshooter at 2:45:
Barry O was the brother of former WWF talent Bob Orton, Jr. He worked for the WWF as an enhancement talent from 1985-1988 and then made a handful of appearances for the promotion in 1990.
This is the WWF’s third attempt to give Bret a singles push after prior efforts in 1988 and 1989 did not take off. In the split screen, Bret calls out the Barbarian, saying the Barbarian is going to have to bring his horns if he wants to win. Bret’s aim here appears to be to have a good match more than showcase his offense, but he gives too much offense in the beginning to the longtime WWF jobber. After Barry misses a knee drop off the second rope, Bret tears him apart with the moves of doom, flattens him with a falling clothesline, and locks in the Sharpshooter for a submission win. One can tell that the WWF is serious about this Bret push because he is given a named finisher and is also immediately plugged into a program.
Non-Title Match: The Nasty Boys (WWF Tag Team Champions w/Jimmy Hart) (8-0) defeat Stephen DeLeon & Riki Ataki when Jerry Sags pins DeLeon after the Trip to Nastyville at 3:38:
DeLeon and Ataki had a rivalry on the West Coast independent circuit. Both of them worked as jobbers for the WWF starting in the late 1980s.
The Nasties debut their Pit Stop maneuver in this match when Ataki is taken to the corner and has his face rubbed into Sags’ armpit. That disgusts McMahon. The Legion of Doom do an insert promo about how they will soon have possession of the WWF Tag Team Championship as the Nasties cruise to an easy win in their first televised appearance as tag team champions.
The Ultimate Warrior is Paul Bearer’s guest on the Funeral Parlor. Bearer unveils a casket that has the Warrior’s symbol painted on it, saying that it is a gift from the Undertaker. As the Warrior investigates the casket, Bearer screams about how the Warrior is scared of the gift and of facing the Undertaker. The Warrior grabs Bearer in response, arguing that his gods have not told him it is his time to be buried. As he wraps up, the Undertaker pops out of a wooden coffin propped up on the set, attacks the Warrior, and dumps him into the custom casket after hitting him in the back of the head several times with an urn. Then, to send the angle up a notch, Bearer locks the casket. Savage is elated to see this because of a lingering grudge from WrestleMania but quickly changes his tune when Piper notes that there is no air in the casket for the Warrior to breathe. WWF officials pour out to try to release the Warrior but it takes a sledgehammer, a drill, a crowbar, and a chisel to get the casket open. When it is, there are signs that the Warrior was trying to claw his way out of the top before falling unconscious. Referee Earl Hebner does CPR to revive the Warrior, who is helped out of the casket by the officials and cannot make it back to the locker room on his own accord.
Tugboat (5-2) pins the Brooklyn Brawler after a splash at 2:02:
Without the Hulk Hogan alliance, Tugboat is sinking fast as a character. The Brawler goes to the eyes a few times but fails to knock the big man down and he is soon avalanched against the buckles and squashed.
A new vignette for Irwin R. Schyster promises to go after fans who do not pay their taxes on time because people that file late are trying to rip off the government. He also warns people against taking deductions for things that do not apply to them.
Piper tells his broadcasting colleagues that the Warrior is restless backstage and is in bad physical shape.
Tune in next week to see the Dragon, the Legion of Doom, the British Bulldog, and Ted DiBiase in action! Also, Sergeant Slaughter will be a guest on the Funeral Parlor!
The Last Word: The Funeral Parlor segment was a home run that got lots of fans talking. It was an excellent use of Paul Bearer’s new interview segment and immediately made the Undertaker look like the Ultimate Warrior’s biggest threat in some time. This show is also historically notable for the beginning of Bret Hart’s singles push and it was clear from his mic work, look, and general ring work that he was more prepared to take advantage of this opportunity.
Up Next: Wrestling Challenge for April 14!