What the World Was Watching: WWF Prime Time Wrestling – July 8, 1991

Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are tonight’s hosts. This does not make Heenan happy as it is Monsoon’s first appearance on Prime Time since the format change after February 4. Monsoon chides Heenan over his behavior on the show over the last few months, noting that viewers have been complaining.

A replay of Randy Savage proposing to Elizabeth on Superstars is shown.

Hillbilly Jim is tonight’s first guest, bringing a guitar with him. He sings a song for Savage and Elizabeth but cannot carry a tune.

Opening Contest: Greg Valentine (13-3-1) beats Smash (0-3) with a schoolboy roll up at 10:59:

This match took place at Maple Leafs Gardens in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on June 2. Smash comes out to Demolition’s old Rick Derringer theme than the team’s 1990 heel theme for some reason. Other weirdness appears as Smash jiggles his pecs for the crowd and complains to the referee that Valentine’s figure-four leg lock is illegal. The bout moves at a methodical pace and the primary move from each man is a clubbing blow. A blind charge by Smash allows Valentine to daze him with an elbow off the second rope. He drops two elbow drops shortly thereafter and that should be the finish, but Smash kicks out so they can do a bad looking Flair pin situation near the corner. The referee sees the cheating, though, and when Smash complains, Valentine weakly rolls him up for the win. Rating: ½*

Gene Okerlund’s Update segment recaps the existing SummerSlam card.

Sergeant Slaughter, Colonel Mustafa, and General Adnan come into the studio. Slaughter says that they are not worried about the guest referee for the handicap match against Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior at SummerSlam. Slaughter stumbles around parts of the promo, probably because he has run out of interesting promo material that he has not already used in his never-ending feud with Hogan.

Koko B. Ware (3-7) defeats Mike Stone after the Ghostbuster at 4:38:

Stone broke into the business in 1980 and also went by Easy Rider during stints in Vancouver All-Star Wrestling, Central States Wrestling, Championship Wrestling from Florida, and Mexico’s CMLL promotion during the 1980s.

As is the case for a lot of Ware squashes, this is not easy for him as Stone gets the chance to throw some token blows and control the action. However, Stone eventually makes the mistake of putting his head down too early on an Irish whip and Ware catches him with the Ghostbuster. Although most fans cannot be bothered with the match, a guy in a white dress shirt and tie facing the hard camera mimics Ware’s trademark taunt so he still has at least one fan to count on.

Ted DiBiase’s squash from Wrestling Challenge is shown.

A new Skinner vignette sees him emerge from the waters of the Everglades, warning the WWF’s superstars that he is ready to skin them alive.

Sergeant Slaughter, Colonel Mustafa, and General Adnan take a blindfolded Sean Mooney to an undisclosed location. When the blindfold is taken off, Mooney tells Monsoon that Slaughter and his crew abducted him as he was leaving the studio. Monsoon asks Slaughter what he wants, but Slaughter is not sure yet, prompting Monsoon to say that nothing about this situation makes sense.

Bret Hart (11-0-3) defeats the Barbarian (6-3-1) with a sunset flip at 13:19 shown:

This match also took place at Maple Leafs Gardens on June 2. It serves as a televised blowoff for a house show feud that was hyped between these two after WrestleMania VII. Monsoon floats an idea that Coach might put the Barbarian back with Haku and manage them, but Lord Alfred Hayes questions whether he would be able to control them. Like the opener, this moves at a glacial pace as the Barbarian asserts his dominance with bearhugs. A missed elbow drop off the second rope lets Bret make a comeback with the moves of doom. Bret has a legitimate complaint about the pace of the count after his second rope elbow drop as the referee goes up very high before hitting the mat each time, something that Monsoon criticizes. The Barbarian knocks Bret out of the ring and when Bret sunset flips inside, the Barbarian holds the ropes to block. The referee kicks the Barbarian’s hands away from the ropes, allowing Bret to complete the move and prevail. While the match was not great, it was a good way to put over Bret’s fighting spirit against bigger competition. Rating: *½

Sergeant Slaughter tells Mooney that he does not care who the special guest referee is at SummerSlam and then the connection between Slaughter’s command center and the studio is lost.

Lord Alfred Hayes imagines Randy Savage laying down a cape for Elizabeth so she can get over a puddle. Jamison imagines Savage and Elizabeth living together like “Leave it to Beaver.” In Heenan’s mind Savage is stuck doing the domestic duties as Elizabeth nags him.

Savage comes into the studio and talks with Monsoon and Heenan about his wedding plans.

The Dragon’s squash from Wrestling Challenge is shown.

Mooney reads a statement given to him by Sergeant Slaughter. The statement says that the Ultimate Warrior is working to destroy Hulkamania and that sources say that this will be accomplished at SummerSlam.

Sergeant Slaughter & Colonel Mustafa (w/General Adnan) defeat the Bushwhackers (10-1) when Slaughter pins Butch after a clothesline at 6:15:

These teams faced off at the Wrestling Challenge taping in Tempe, Arizona on May 29. Mustafa moves so slow that he cannot adequately sell the Bushwhackers’ comedy, barely moving when he gets bitten on the rear end and not making it out of the ring quick enough to take a powder, causing the Bushwhackers to give him a love tap double clothesline to send him to the floor. It is also high comedy for the crowd to chant “USA” to give a boost to the Bushwhackers even though they are not an American team. The heels do not do much when they put Luke in peril and the Bushwhackers rally to give Slaughter a double stomachbreaker and Mustafa the Battering Ram. They try to give Slaughter a Battering Ram, but Adnan reaches up through the ropes and grabs Luke’s tights to stop it and then Slaughter finishes Butch with a clothesline as if this is the Survivor Series. The creative Battering Ram counter from Adnan is the only thing that keeps this bout out of DUD territory. And this was not a great way to put over the SummerSlam main event. Rating: ¼*

Heenan makes fun of Jamison, saying that he is a different type of natural disaster.

The Beverly Brothers’ squash from Superstars airs.

Sergeant Slaughter gets angry with Sean Mooney and orders Colonel Mustafa and General Adnan to beat him up when Mooney openly questions whether Slaughter fears Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior.

Randy Savage is shown in a local florist shop, tearing apart flowers as the florist is trapped behind a door.

Tune in next week to see Virgil, Ted DiBiase, and Andre the Giant!

The Last Word: Sergeant Slaughter and his crew got too much exposure on this telecast. The WWF is trying to do anything to add intrigue to the SummerSlam main event but there is hardly anything left that Slaughter can do to seem like a threat to Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior aside from getting better allies than Colonel Mustafa and General Adnan. It was nice that this show provided some fresh feature matches but unfortunately they all fell into a slow, plodding house show formula.

Up Next: WWF Superstars for July 13!