Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are doing commentary, concluding the taping cycle in Huntington, West Virginia. Heenan says that Randy Savage was denied reinstatement because he did not bribe WWF President Jack Tunney. When Monsoon says he saw a weakening in Tunney’s position, Heenan adds that this just means Tunney is now open to being bribed with credit cards or frequent flyer miles.
Opening Contest: The British Bulldog (32-2-1) pins Duane Gill after the running powerslam at 1:49:
The Bulldog tosses Gill around, telling fans in the split screen that Winston is back home and doing well, adding that Winston has a girlfriend and there will soon be a lot of little Winstons that he is going to bring to Survivor Series. What was sad about this is that Winston passed away the week of this show of a heart attack. On the bright side, the Bulldog pays tribute to his old dog by squashing Gill.
Lord Alfred Hayes’ Special Report recaps the Roddy Piper-Ric Flair feud. Flair and Bobby Heenan do a taped promo where Flair brags about making Piper “kiss” the NWA World Heavyweight Championship Belt. He also tells WWF Champion Hulk Hogan that all he wants is the pleasure of beating him.
El Matador (5-2) beats Tanaka (0-5) after the flying forearm at 1:57:
In a sad display, Tanaka tries to punch El Matador through the bullfighting cape and fails. That leads leading to piped in “Ole!” chants, something that never got over in the long run. Tanaka’s losing ways continue, succumbing to a knee lift and flying forearm.
The Natural Disasters (w/Jimmy Hart) (13-0) beat the Rockers (18-1) when Typhoon pins Shawn Michaels after the Tidal Wave at 4:35:
The Disasters quickly assert their size advantage on Marty Jannetty and Michaels has to grab Earthquake’s leg to stop an Earthquake Splash on his partner. When Michaels gets a hot tag he and Jannetty ram the Disasters heads together. Jannetty’s flying body press effort is caught by Earthquake, so Michaels does a missile dropkick to Jannetty’s back to complete the move for a near-fall. As the fight rages on, Michaels ends up caught between the Disasters and when Jannetty floats over a Typhoon slam, his dropkick to Typhoon’s back causes Michaels to be avalanched between both big men. Instead of staying in the fight, Jannetty chases Hart to the locker room and that allows the Disasters to hit Michaels with both of their finishers. A quick match but it worked in some fun spots and had a creative finish. The outcome ends a twelve-match winning streak for the Rockers. Rating: *½
After the match, WWF referees move to put Michaels on a stretcher, but he refuses to go out that way and chases them off. He is too angry to fight Jannetty but gives his partner angry looks as he is helped to the back.
Sergeant Slaughter is at Bunker Hill, recounting the bravery of those who fought there. He still wants his country back!
Jake Roberts’ squash from Prime Time Wrestling airs.
WWF Champion Hulk Hogan is a guest on the Barber Shop. Hogan repeats how the Undertaker will have to dig a grave for all his Hulkamaniacs to defeat him at Survivor Series. For whatever reason, Hogan did not appear focus in this segment and his promo lacked the usual fire one would expect.
Gene Okerlund does the Survivor Series Report. Sid Justice, the Big Bossman, and the Legion of Doom hype themselves as the most feared force in Survivor Series history. Ric Flair, the Warlord, Ted DiBiase, and the Mountie hype their abilities, arguing they are the most talented team the event has ever seen. The Undertaker and Paul Bearer argue that Hogan is staying up at night, worried that he is going to lose his title and that they will take Hogan’s soul and possess he and his Hulkamaniacs.
Virgil (18-0) beats Barry Hardy via submission to the Million Dollar Dream at 1:45:
Virgil devastates Hardy with a release German suplex out of the corner and a backdrop out of the ring. When the action comes back in, Virgil remains undefeated with a swinging neckbreaker and Million Dollar Dream. It is surprising that there were no mentions on commentary or promos for Virgil’s feud with Ted DiBiase, but there is not much left to be said for that program.
The Texas Tornado says he is not impressed with the Undertaker and will take the fight to him. The Undertaker and Paul Bearer rebut that the Tornado will be their next victim.
Tune in next week to see the Texas Tornado face the Undertaker! Also, WWF Tag Team Champions the Legion of Doom in action and Repo Man will make his debut! And Ric Flair and his Survivor Series team will be on the Barber Shop!
The Last Word: Since the Texas Tornado and the Undertaker possess the top two win-loss records in the company, next week’s clash is one of the biggest Wrestling Challenge matches in some time. The beginning of the Rockers split was a highlight of this show, laid out well enough to do a slow burn to something bigger later.
Here were the results of the WWF’s house show circuit, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:
New York City, New York – Madison Square Garden – October 28, 1991 (9,000): The Texas Tornado pinned Big Bully Busick after the discus punch at 7:47…The British Bulldog wrestled Irwin R. Schyster to a 20-minute time-limit draw at 20:05…The Mountie beat Jim Neidhart with a roll up and using the tights for leverage at 11:19…Ric Flair defeated Roddy Piper with the Flair pin at 11:59. After the match, Piper hit the referee with a chair before repeatedly hitting Flair, knocking him to the floor…The Big Bossman pinned Colonel Mustafa after the Bossman Slam at 4:52…Intercontinental Champion Bret Hart pinned the Berzerker with a crucifix at 10:17…El Matador beat Hercules after the flying forearm at 9:11…WWF Tag Team Champions the Legion of Doom beat the Natural Disasters via disqualification after Typhoon tossed the referee to the arena floor at 8:02. After the bell, Hawk cleared the ring.
Las Vegas, Nevada – Thomas & Mack Center – November 1, 1991 (3,700): Greg Valentine beat Big Bully Busick via submission to the figure-four leglock…The Nasty Boys defeated the Rockers…The Undertaker pinned Hacksaw Jim Duggan after hitting him with the urn…Ted DiBiase beat Virgil via count out…The Bushwhackers defeated the Beverly Brothers via disqualification…Intercontinental Champion Bret Hart beat Jerry Sags (substituting for the Berzerker)…Randy Savage (substituting for Sid Justice) defeated Jake Roberts via count out.
Champaign, Illinois – Assembly Hall – November 3, 1991 (6,300): Skinner pinned Jimmy Snuka (substituting for the Dragon) after using a foreign object…El Matador beat Hercules…The Mountie defeated the British Bulldog via count out after Jimmy Hart interfered…WWF Tag Team Champions the Legion of Doom defeated the Natural Disasters after Typhoon hit the referee…Irwin R. Schyster pinned the Big Bossman after hitting him with his briefcase…WWF Champion Hulk Hogan beat Ric Flair (w/Jimmy Hart, substituting for Bobby Heenan) via count out after ramming Flair’s head into the ring post at 14:00.
Backstage News*: WCW/NWA’s lawsuit against Ric Flair ended this week. Flair will be paid $50,000 and surrender the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. He stopped wearing the belt on this week’s house shows.
*England has expressed interest in hosting one of the WWF’s pay-per-views next year but there are concerns about the time difference and production costs. The WWF was not happy with the difficulties of hosting WrestleMania VI in Canada and was reportedly done doing major pay-per-views outside of the United States again.
*Matches between Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair are selling well in small markets but the inverse is happening in bigger towns.
*Jimmy Hart substituted for Bobby Heenan as Flair’s manager this week because Bobby Heenan was having neck problems. Heenan’s health issues are causing the WWF to look into replacing him as Flair’s advisor with someone else.
*Attendance woes at Madison Square Garden are causing the WWF to rethink airing the cards on MSG Network as they believe getting rid of that could boost attendance.
*Randy Savage is changing his look on house shows, wrestling with a shirt on. He is reported to have slimmed down, likely due to the WWF’s recent anti-steroid push. Even though Sid Justice is hurt, the WWF does not plan to plug Savage into his slot for Survivor Series.
*Despite financial issues, Vince McMahon refuses to give up on the WBF, pushing for television shows on USA Network to showcase the bodybuilding talent that he has under contract.
*In talent relations news, the WWF will be giving Chris Walker of Global a tryout after promoter Joe Pedicino moved to nullify Walker’s contract with the company.
*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for November 11.
Up Next: Prime Time Wrestling for November 4!