What the World Was Watching: WWF Superstars – July 6, 1991

Vince McMahon, Roddy Piper, and Randy Savage are in the booth for a new round of television tapings in Sacramento, California. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the tapings took place on June 17 and drew a crowd of 13,000 fans, 11,500 of whom paid to attend.

McMahon and Piper give words of encouragement to Savage to propose to Elizabeth on today’s program.

Opening Contest: The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) (21-0) pins Rob Allen after the Tombstone at 1:57:

In the split screen, Bearer tells the Ultimate Warrior that he will learn the meaning of getting “down and dirty” when he faces the Undertaker again. The announcers spend most of the squash talking about the Savage-Elizabeth relationship, largely ignoring the Undertaker’s methodical destruction of another opponent. After the bell, the Undertaker and Bearer put Allen in a body bag and the Undertaker stomps it.

Gene Okerlund welcomes Elizabeth to the ring. Elizabeth says that Savage is sweet, caring, and affectionate and she loves him. That prompts Savage to go to the ring and say that he has been thinking of returning to the ring at SummerSlam. He shifts gears to tell Elizabeth he loves her and produces a ring. In a nice piece of stagecraft, Savage hesitates and fans in the front row yell for him to get on his knees. Savage does so and asks Elizabeth to marry him, to which Elizabeth says “Oh yeah!” Fans are shown teary eyed in the crowd as Okerlund proclaims the union “A match made in heaven.”

The Beverly Brothers (w/Coach) (2-0) beat Scott Key & David Bazo when Beau pins Key after an elevated mat slam at 2:00:

Coach and the Beverlys do an insert promo, hyping themselves as future tag team champions because of their roughness and discipline. The crowd is not into the Beverlys act, responding to much of the match with silence. Coach blowing his whistle a lot gets annoying fast, especially because there is no rhyme or reason what he is doing. In a move that probably makes Kevin Dunn blow a gasket, the Beverlys pose facing against the hard camera after the finish.

Jake Roberts’ squash from Prime Time Wrestling is shown.

The Natural Disasters and Jimmy Hart claim that Sid Justice could become a natural disaster in his own right. Virgil rebuts that Sid is a good dude.

The Mountie’s squash from Prime Time Wrestling airs.

Bret Hart (10-0-3) pins Haku (1-5) with a crucifix at 2:51:

McMahon and Piper suggest that the Savage-Elizabeth wedding will take place at SummerSlam, wondering if the crowd will make Savage clam up or if anyone will object. 1991 has been a rough year for Haku, losing his tag team with the Barbarian for no reason and losing Bobby Heenan as a manager. He has not made television since a May 7 defeat to the British Bulldog on Prime Time Wrestling. The crucifix is Haku’s kryptonite, having lost three of his six matches this year to that move. When looking at the win-loss totals, Bret winning here was a given but it is a big feather in his cap to defeat a former midcard player cleanly and it keeps his push going.

Gene Okerlund’s Update segment confirms that the Savage-Elizabeth wedding will take place at SummerSlam. He also announces a “Match Made in Hell” that will see Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior face Sergeant Slaughter, General Adnan, and Colonel Mustafa. Okerlund says that the match will have a guest referee that will be announced later.

The Rockers squash from Prime Time Wrestling is shown.

A vignette airs for Skinner, who hops out of a tree in the Everglades. He says that the difference between a gator and a WWF superstar is that a gator does not make as much noise when it is being skinned alive. Skinner would be Steve Keirn, better known as a member of the Fabulous Ones with Stan Lane in various Southern territories in the 1980s.

Sergeant Slaughter (w/General Adnan & Colonel Mustafa) (10-3) defeats Jim Gorman via submission to the Camel Clutch at 1:28:

Gorman, who wrestles in French flag tights for this match, had spent several years working as a WWF enhancement talent, working in that role since 1988.

Slaughter yells about Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior as he brutalizes Gorman, using a gourdbuster to set up the finish. After the bell, Adnan and Mustafa join Slaughter in putting the boots to Gorman. In a sad display, Mustafa whiffs on his effort to join Slaughter in a double clothesline spot.

Tune in next week to see Ted DiBiase, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Intercontinental Champion Mr. Perfect, and the Natural Disasters in action! Also, the Legion of Doom will be guests on the Funeral Parlor!

The Last Word: Aside from the “engagement” of Randy Savage and Elizabeth – who were already married in real life – the big news coming out of this show was that the SummerSlam main event would be a handicap match between Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior against Sergeant Slaughter and his cronies. That is a DUD of a main event because existing storylines would have suggested that the Warrior would be paired against the Undertaker. The WWF could try as much as they wanted but fans knew that Slaughter, Colonel Mustafa, and General Adnan stood no chance against two former world champions. A match putting Hogan and the Warrior against Slaughter and the Undertaker would have at least given the heels a fighting chance. Instead, a case can be made that this SummerSlam will have the weakest main event on record compared to previous editions.

Up Next: Wrestling Challenge for July 7!