What the World Was Watching: WWF Superstars – May 11, 1991

Vince McMahon and Randy Savage provide commentary for today’s episode, still coming from the long taping in Omaha, Nebraska.

Roddy Piper is in the dressing room preparing for his match today with Rick Martel. His left knee is wrapped up and he dedicates today’s match to his mother. Savage rebuts that he is dedicating the match to his mom too because Martel will beat Piper.

The Bushwhacker’s squash from Prime Time Wrestlingis the first match on today’s program.

Gene Okerlund’s Update segment shows Slick’s efforts to convince Andre the Giant to let him manage him. Slick pulls up to the arena in a limo and says that he can get Andre a deal on a gold Rolls Royce. Andre does not buy into it, tossing Slick in the trunk, closing it, and directing the driver to go to New Jersey. This was a fun bit that shows how tall Slick was as he is not dwarfed by Andre like other talent.

Sergeant Slaughter (w/Colonel Mustafa & General Adnan) (5-3) beats Kevin Kruger via submission to the Camel Clutch at 1:24:

Kruger was a trainee of fellow WWF jobber Tom Stone, beginning his career in 1990. He started doing jobs for WWF talent that year and would continue to do so through 1996.

McMahon and Savage talk up Slaughter’s title credentials and ruthlessness but judging by crowd reaction, no ones cares about Slaughter anymore. Slaughter does some token work on the back to set up the Camel Clutch and after the bell Mustafa puts Kruger in the Camel Clutch for a while.

A replay of Irwin R. Schyster’s vignette from Wrestling Challenge is shown.

The Big Bossman (16-0-1) pins Dan Johnson after the Bossman Slam in 45 seconds:

The Bossman wastes no time with the jobber, giving him some hard slaps and finishing with the Bossman Slam.

After the bell, the Nasty Boys attack the Bossman before he can handcuff Johnson to the ropes. They handcuff the Bossman to the top rope and beat him down as Jimmy Hart ushers the Mountie out. The Mountie shocks the Bossman with the cattle prod as he puts himself over on the mic as the world’s best law enforcement officer. Having the Nasties do the beatdown and having the Mountie saunter out afterward was a nice touch.

The Dragon (4-0) pins Ricky Rice after the flying body press at 2:03:

Rice thinks of attacking the Dragon before the bell but thinks better of it because the Dragon has fire in his hands. Ricky Steamboat seems frustrated that he cannot do an actual match with Rice, letting the jobber do a reverse flying sunset flip off the second rope and then rolling that into a jackknife pin. For a time, the Dragon even has Rice in position for a Styles Clash but just does a simple slingshot out of it. McMahon and Savage put over Steamboat’s past accolades, but as of yet he is squashing jobbers and has not been thrust into contention for anything.

Jim Quinn bumps iron and says he cannot wait for the WBF Championship on June 15.

Intercontinental Champion Mr. Perfect and Bobby Heenan are guests on the Funeral Parlor. Heenan asks Paul Bearer for a casket for Winston as Bearer hilariously produces a small one. Perfect warns the British Bulldog that he is going to end up being buried like his other opponents. The weird dog-centric nature of this feud is not working and is making Perfect, Heenan, and the Bulldog look childish.

Roddy Piper beats Rick Martel (8-2-1) with a small package at 5:34:

This is Piper’s first televised match of 1991. He spent the previous year as a special attraction, winning a house show program with Rick Rude and feuding with Bad News Brown. That feud went off the rails as Piper brought in weird racial puns and infamously painted half of his body black for their WrestleMania VI match. After that, Piper was slotted into a commentary role, although he did wrestle Mr. Perfect for the Intercontinental Championship on house shows near the end of the year.

These two had a fun match the year prior in the first round of the Intercontinental Championship Tournament and this carries the same good flow. Ted DiBiase and Sensational Sherri do an insert promo, telling Piper that he should have kept his crutch because of the condition of his knee. Martel intelligently targets the injured limb after Piper hurts it after a leapfrog. There is a fun bit where Piper crotches Martel on the top rope and does a rope burn variation by dragging Martel along the top rope. Shortly thereafter, Piper hits Martel in the gut and small packages him for a win in a fun television match. This would be Martel’s last televised appearance for a while as he left the company to pursue real estate interests. Rating: **½

The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) (15-0) defeats George Anderson with the Tombstone in 48 seconds:

The Undertaker wins his quickest squash of the year, dazing Anderson with a big boot seconds into the bout and using the chokeslam to set up the Tombstone. After the bell, the Undertaker and Bearer put Anderson in a body bag.

Smash and Mr. Fuji tell the Ultimate Warrior that they will get the last punch and kick, ending the Warrior’s career. The Warrior rebuts that he backs down from no challenge and he is prepared to smash his opponent into the ground.

Tune in next week to see the Ultimate Warrior face Smash! Also, British Bulldog, Power & Glory, Jake Roberts, and Irwin R. Schyster in action!

The Last Word: This was a fun episode because of the well-designed heel beatdown of the Big Bossman and the fun feature match. It is too bad that Roddy Piper and Rick Martel never had a feud as they had great chemistry together.

Up Next: Wrestling Challenge for May 12!