Sean Mooney and Bobby Heenan oversee the studio portion of the show.
Ric Flair’s squash on Wrestling Challenge is shown.
WWF Champion Hulk Hogan puts over his momentum, saying that it is too much for Ric Flair to overcome.
Intercontinental Championship Match: Bret Hart (Champion) (19-0-3) beats Hercules (w/Slick) (1-1-1) via submission to the Sharpshooter at 8:26 shown:
This match is from the Wrestling Challenge tapings in Cornwall, Ontario on September 10. It follows Bret’s template in matches against the Barbarian early in the year where Hercules asserts his power early, and Bret finds workarounds. There is a dangerous botch in the middle where Hercules is supposed to do a stun gun but picks up Bret too far from the ropes and Bret ends up on the arena floor after being driven into the canvas. Bret recovers and puts Hercules through the moves of doom, only to see the Power & Glory member kick out of the second rope elbow drop at one. Hercules moves down Bret with a lariat but makes the weird decision to go to the top rope, only to get crotched. On the floor, Bret avoids a chairshot and rams Hercules and Slick’s heads together and then rolls the bigger man in, where he applies the Sharpshooter to win his first title defense. After a rough start, this settled in and became decent. Rating: **
There is more hype for the Randy Savage & Elizabeth Hotline. Heenan floats the idea of Jake Roberts winning the Hotline’s grand prize, forcing Savage and Elizabeth to meet with him.
Virgil is the next guest, carrying the Million Dollar Championship Belt. He slaps lots of hands and lets people touch it. He also lets some kids in the audience hold it as he talks about Ted DiBiase.
DiBiase’s squash from Wrestling Challenge is shown.
Back in the studio, Virgil says he won the Million Dollar Championship for the people. He dares DiBiase to come after him any night he wants because he will be glad to put the title back on the line.
Lord Alfred Hayes’ Special Report replays Sergeant Slaughter’s babyface turn promo.
Non-Title Match: The Legion of Doom (WWF Tag Team Champions) (15-0) defeat Mike Durham & Mike Williams when Hawk pins Durham after the Doomsday Device at 3:03:
Williams gets tossed around so much that Durham is hesitant to tag in. That hesitation is warranted as Hawk bowls over him with a shoulder block and Animal powerslams him. Eventually, Durham gets clotheslined against the buckles by Animal and eats the Doomsday Device.
Hulk Hogan comes back into the studio in Suburban Commando gear to scare Heenan and hype his movie. This leads into showing a clip of the film. Hogan argues that he is going to teach Ric Flair a wrestling lesson because he, not Flair, is the real world’s champion.
The Beverly Brothers (w/the Genius) (12-0) defeat Martin Roy & Joe Milano when Beau pins Roy after the Shaker Heights Spike at 2:32:
The Beverlys use a weird double team where they whip Milano into the ropes and Blake lifts Beau up in a full nelson so he can kick Milano in the face. In the split screen, the Bushwhackers yell about how they can beat the Beverly “sissies” anytime. Mooney dubs the Beverlys finish as “The Shaker Heights Bomb,” even though it has been established as something else.
The British Bulldog (29-2-1) beats Big Bully Busick (w/Harvey Wippleman) (5-1) via disqualification when Wippleman pulls down the top rope at 9:27 shown:
This bout was filmed at the Superstars tapings in Ottawa on September 9. While the Bulldog had a fun match with a power wrestler in the Warlord earlier in the year, this is not that match, which is littered with rest holds. One can see why the WWF quickly cut bait on Busick as his offense is below 1970s standards. It even drags down the Bulldog’s moveset. The Bulldog does not mount much of a comeback before Wippleman pulls down the top rope in view of the referee and gets his man disqualified. After Wrestling Challenge why protect Busick anymore? The Bulldog has had a rough end to the year as he had to job to Colonel Mustafa before SummerSlam and now fails to get a pin or submission over a lower midcard act like Busick. Rating: DUD
After the bell, the Bulldog gets back in the ring, knocks Busick over the top rope, and tries to give Wippleman a running powerslam. However, Busick grabs the Bulldog’s leg and rescues his manager.
A replay of the crazy ending to Superstars where Ric Flair attacked Roddy Piper and Vince McMahon did a stretcher job airs.
Skinner in the next guest. He does not want to talk to Mooney because he does not trust men in suits. Skinner shows how he ripped the tail off of a lizard and promises to do the same to the Dragon.
Hacksaw Jim Duggan (20-0-2) beats Colonel Mustafa (w/General Adnan) (13-2) after hitting him twice with a 2×4 at 7:41:
This clash between men who feuded earlier in the year also took place in Cornwall, Ontario. Duggan puts on a clinic of how to make a bad match tolerable as he gets the crowd to chant “USA!” and yells “No!” every time he blocks a blow from Mustafa. Then, when Adnan rakes his eyes on the floor he starts moving into the crowd, who give him encouragement and point him back toward the ring. Duggan fights his way out of two chinlocks and kicks out when Mustafa blasts him with a loaded boot. After Duggan reverses a suplex, Mustafa grabs Duggan’s 2×4 but Duggan blocks the blow, nails Mustafa several times with it, and hands Mustafa a third straight loss. Mustafa’s bouts should all be kept under five minutes. At least the right act went over. Rating: ¼*
Back in the studio, Skinner talks about the gator paw that he wears around his neck. He talks about severing it from the gator while it was alive and then he skinned it. Lord Alfred Hayes, possibly full of the gumption given to him by the Rockers, comes out of his director’s chair to run down Skinner’s look. That leads to Skinner spiting “tobacco juice” (actually licorice) on Alfred’s shirt.
Jake Roberts (17-1) pins Tony Diamond after the DDT at 2:52:
This is Roberts’ first match since his heel turn and first since beating Typhoon on Prime Time Wrestling on August 5. His long tights have a new look, with red, orange, and red flames rising from the bottom. He also carries a cobra out of the bag on the way to the ring, only tying it up before the match. Roberts messes with the crowd by setting up the DDT and then letting Diamond drop. He finally does the move to win, laying over Diamond as the referee counts to three.
Heenan calls Ric Flair, arguing that Hulk Hogan admitted that Flair was better and left the building terrified. Hogan sneaks behind Heenan and grabs him by the neck, getting a hold of the phone, giving Flair a “Woo!,” and promising to take him to wrestling school.
Tune in next week to see Roddy Piper, the Warlord, and the Nasty Boys!
The Last Word: Having Hulk Hogan dress up in his Suburban Commando gear looked silly, but he always had great interactions with Bobby Heenan and this show was no exception to that. The show also continued to put over Bret Hart’s willingness to defend the Intercontinental Championship against anyone and develop Jake Roberts’ heel persona. After a long slog to SummerSlam the company is finally getting some creative momentum. Unfortunately, the company’s fiscal picture is not trending in the same direction.
Up Next: WWF Superstars for October 5!