Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan, and Jim Neidhart are in the booth, doing the last taped broadcast from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Opening Contest: The Warlord (w/Slick) (8-2) wrestles Bret Hart (4-0-1) to a double disqualification at 5:33:
Bret is over with the female audience as a section of women desperately want his sunglasses and one freaks out after getting them. The Warlord asserts his power throughout the match, slamming his opponent in a variety of ways. Bret is able to go on the offensive after the Warlord misses a splash off the ropes, scoring near-falls from the second rope elbow drop and a falling clothesline. Slick hits Bret with a cane from the floor, leading to Bret getting a hold of the object and hitting the Warlord. At first it looks like Bret will be disqualified, but the referee disqualifies both. This was a nice back-and-forth match until the weird finish. Rating: **
Lord Alfred Hayes’ Special Report recounts the beatdown of the Big Bossman by the Nasty Boys and the Mountie on Superstars last week. Afterward, the Bossman says that his blood is now boiling with hate for the Mountie and he promises to make the Mountie serve hard time.
The Texas Tornado (15-0) pins Rick Rice with the discus punch at 2:29:
Rice manages to roll the Tornado up for a two count, which earns him a handshake from the Tornado as the crowd applauds. It is a fleeting moment of triumph for Rice, though, as the Tornado traps him in the claw and comes off the ropes with the discus punch to remain undefeated for the year.
The Rockers (8-1) defeat Brian Costello & Dan Johnson when Marty Jannetty pins Johnson after the double flying fist drop at 2:49:
The Orient Express and Mr. Fuji do an insert promo about how they are out to cripple the Rockers. The Rockers tee off on Johnson with a pair of superkicks, setting up their double flying fist drop finish.
Ted DiBiase (w/Sensational Sherri) (8-2-1) beats W.T. Jones via submission to the Million Dollar Dream at 1:37:
Virgil does an insert promo about how DiBiase and Sherri are heading down a one-way street that leads to him. This is an easy win for DiBiase, who barely breaks a sweat against Jones. After the bell, DiBiase pulls a $100 bill from Sherri’s pantyhose and stuffs it in Jones’ mouth. Sherri makes sure to take it before they leave the ring and stuffs it down her blouse.
WWF Champion Hulk Hogan is today’s guest on the Barber Shop. He says that his fans are ready for hand-to-hand combat to get rid of Sergeant Slaughter in a promo that continues to grind the wheels of the Hogan-Slaughter feud.
The Berzerker (w/Mr. Fuji) (9-0) defeats Randy Fox via count out at 2:19:
Fox had been doing enhancement work for the WWF since 1989, wrestling less than a handful of matches each year.
Heenan denies rumors that he tried to get the Berzerker into the Heenan Family. Monsoon argues that the Berzerker is dumb for winning matches via count out because it takes him out of contention for the Intercontinental Championship. Although the Berzerker showcases nice power offense, the crowd still does not care about him as he goes to double digits wins for the year. After the bell, the Berzerker jumps onto Fox on the floor.
Koko B. Ware (2-6) defeats Al Burke with the Ghostbuster at 1:54:
Ware takes a beating from Burke until the jobber puts his head down too early on an Irish whip, allowing Ware to spike him with the Ghostbuster. Singing gospel music is the biggest thing that Ware has done this year as the in-ring results have not been good.
Tune in next week to see Power & Glory, the Dragon, the Bushwhackers, Earthquake, and the Big Bossman in action! Also, Intercontinental Champion Mr. Perfect will be a guest on the Barber Shop!
The Last Word: Like the recent episode of Superstars this was a skippable episode after the first match. It makes sense for the WWF to protect Bret Hart and the Warlord because of existing house show programs but it was still disappointing not to get a winner in some fashion. Bret is catching on quickly as a single, though, and is getting more organic reactions than almost anyone else on the roster.
And here is a recap of the WWF’s big house show cards for this week in its history, with results courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:
Boston, Massachusetts – The Boston Garden – May 18, 1991: Greg Valentine beat Smash…Colonel Mustafa defeated Hacksaw Jim Duggan…Earthquake beat Jake Roberts via disqualification…WWF Champion Hulk Hogan defeated Sergeant Slaughter in a Desert Storm match…Bret Hart beat the Barbarian…The Texas Tornado defeated the Warlord…Irwin R. Schyster beat Jimmy Snuka…The Legion of Doom wrestled WWF Tag Team Champions the Nasty Boys to a double disqualification.
Tampa, Florida – The SunDome – May 18, 1991 (5,100): The Dragon pinned Haku…Intercontinental Champion Mr. Perfect wrestled the British Bulldog to a draw…The Mountie pinned the Big Bossman…Ted DiBiase beat Roddy Piper via referee stoppage…Power & Glory defeated the Bushwhackers when Paul Roma pinned Luke…The Berzerker pinned Tugboat…The Rockers defeated the Orient Express when Marty Jannetty pinned Kato…The Ultimate Warrior defeated the Undertaker via disqualification.
Backstage News*: Sid Vicious did a quick job for El Gigante on WCW’s SuperBrawl pay-per-view because he was informed if he did not show up to lose that he would not be released from his contract. Also, the WWF reportedly encouraged Sid to do the job as well to secure his release.
*The WWF’s card the night before SuperBrawl in Tampa drew just 900 fans shy of what WCW did in St. Petersburg for the pay-per-view.
*When it comes to St. Louis, the WWF is preparing to do a show at Busch Stadium to get revenge against the St. Louis Arena for allowing WCW to host a show there. They hope to draw such a big crowd that it makes the area kick WCW out. They plan to have the show headlined by Hulk Hogan vs. Sergeant Slaughter for the WWF Championship with Randy Savage as guest referee and the Ultimate Warrior against the Undertaker in a casket match. And just like the WWF”s recent behavior, this show will run on July 14, which is the same day that WCW will have its Great American Bash pay-per-view in Baltimore.
*When it comes to television, the WWF has broken ties with NBC for future wrestling specials, trying to get another network to agree to host The Main Event. NBC was not happy with the ratings for Saturday Night’s Main Event in February and past executives like Dick Ebersol, who was a staunch WWF supporter, are not in a position to lobby for the partnership’s continuation.
*In other bad broadcasting news, Prime Time Wrestling’s ratings continue to trend downward and the tweaks Vince McMahon keeps making to the format are not stopping the bleeding.
*The TV tabloid show Hard Copy is going to run a story on the Ultimate Warrior, accusing him of working as a homosexual prostitute before breaking into the wrestling business. The WWF’s strategy is going to be to ignore the story.
*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for May 27.
Up Next: Prime Time Wrestling for May 21!