The cheesy opening for the show that talked about Arsenio Hall and Oprah is gone. Vince McMahon welcomes fans to a new format where he sits at the head of a table. Gorilla Monsoon and Roddy Piper are to his right and Bobby Heenan and Mr. Perfect are to his left.
The participants debate Sid Justice’s injury. Piper argues that Sid should show up to Survivor Series with his cast on, while Heenan and Perfect dismiss that because WWF President Jack Tunney will not allow for that to happen. Monsoon adds that Tunney needs to make a decision about Randy Savage’s reinstatement so the Big Bossman and the Legion of Doom can plan strategy for their elimination match.
Opening Contest: Hacksaw Jim Duggan (22-0-2) defeats Big Bully Busick (w/Harvey Wippleman) (7-4) after the three-point stance clothesline at 6:20:
Busick is gone but he still has some matches in the can that will be rolled out in the coming weeks. Duggan’s offensive flurries try to add fire to the match, but the Bully kills them with chinlocks. Eventually, a Bully blind charge eats boot and Duggan slams his head into the timekeeper’s table, slams him, and wins clean with the three-point stance clothesline. Just another bad Busick match as he did not have a moveset that could entertain people when he was in control. Rating: ½*
The Berzerker (w/Mr. Fuji) (27-0) defeats Eric Freedom via count out at 3:01:
The smaller Freedom never stands a chance, laid out by one clubbing blow to the back. With so many babyfaces doing nothing in the midcard, it is surprising that the WWF has not given the Berzerker a feud.
Gene Okerlund’s Update segment recaps the Bret Hart-Mountie angle from Superstars two weeks ago.
The Jim Neidhart-Ric Flair match from Superstars airs.
There is a replay of the Sergeant Slaughter vignette by the Statue of Liberty.
A replay of the Beverly Brothers’ squash from Superstars, along with their beatdown of Jim Neidhart, is shown.
Heenan insists that Ric Flair is going to snap Piper and Hulk Hogan’s legs if he gets them in the figure-four. When Monsoon questions whether the figure-four will work on Hogan, Heenan quickly responds that it worked on Neidhart. Piper promises that he would never submit to the figure-four, something that Perfect does not believe.
Repo Man’s debut on Wrestling Challenge airs. Afterward, Perfect argues that the gimmick looks like the Lone Ranger got hit by a truck.
WBF Champion Gary Strydom gives workout tips to El Matador. Lots of grunting follows.
Okerlund does the Survivor Series Report.
The panel debates who are dropping out of Survivor Series. Heenan jokes that Hacksaw Jim Duggan will pick two people to replace Jim Neidhart because his eyes will look two different ways and see two different wrestlers. McMahon adds that “Survivor Series Showdown” will take place on USA Network on Sunday, November 24 at 7:00 p.m. EST.
WWF Tag Team Championship Match: The Legion of Doom (Champions) (19-0) defeat the Nasty Boys (w/Jimmy Hart) (23-3) via disqualification when the Nasties try to use Hart’s motorcycle helmet as a weapon at 7:30:
This must constitute the Nasty Boys rematch for the titles that they dropped to the Legion at SummerSlam. The Legion dominate until Hawk goes shoulder-first into the ring post on a blind charge and gets clocked by a Brian Knobbs chairshot on the floor. The Nasties get a near-fall on Hawk from a double elbow off the ropes but a Knobbs splash off the second rope eats boot and Animal gets the hot tag. Jerry Sags breaks up a pinfall on Knobbs after an Animal powerslam and that triggers chaos. Hart hops on the apron but referee Earl Hebner sees him tossing the Nasties his motorcycle helmet, an action that costs Hart’s team the match. This was a fine television match with a bad finish. Rating: *¾
The Undertaker’s squash of the Texas Tornado on Wrestling Challenge airs.
Perfect and Heenan contend that the Undertaker is too powerful to lose to Hulk Hogan at Survivor Series. Monsoon concedes that the Undertaker is a threat to end Hulkamania. Piper is the only voice that says Hogan will come through and win in Detroit.
Randy Savage is a guest on the Funeral Parlor. After Paul Bearer gloats over Sid Justice’s injury, Savage says he wants to even the odds by leading Justice’s team into battle against Jake Roberts’ team. Savage theorizes that WWF President Jack Tunney wants him to beg for reinstatement, so Savage does so.
Footage of the British Bulldog “retiring” Slick on last week’s show airs. Monsoon and Piper are skeptical of Slick “seeing the light,” as Monsoon claims Slick is trying to get a “license to steal.”
Irwin R. Schyster (19-1-2) wrestles the British Bulldog (34-2-1) to a time-limit draw at 11:46 shown:
This matchup is from the WWF’s recent Madison Square Garden show. IRS gets heat before the commercial break by bailing four times in the early going, leading to a small part of the crowd chanting “Irwin!” After a commercial break, the match is cut to the Bulldog escaping a chinlock only to get blasted with a flying clothesline. IRS is moving so slowly between moves that the finish is telegraphed from a mile away. The Bulldog gets tired of IRS taking a breather for a fifth time, so he chases after him and slams IRS’ head into the steps with three minutes of the time limit left. IRS grabs the ropes in the ring to block a running powerslam and falls on top for a hot near-fall. The Bulldog scores two from a backdrop, only to have IRS roll to the outside and stuff rope into his trunks. Back in, IRS wraps the rope around his hand and uses it to block a vertical suplex. Both men end up choking each other with it as the referee does not care about the foreign object being used and as the time limit expires, the Bulldog traps IRS in a small package. That makes two draws in two matches between the Bulldog and IRS this year. The uncut version of this match was better because this televised version cut out IRS’ offense, which included some near-falls, in the middle so fans with this version only saw IRS stall and do little else. Rating: *½
The Rockers (18-2) defeat Barry Horowitz & Mark Buenavera when Marty Jannetty pins Horowitz after an O’Connor roll at 1:53:
Buenavera is a big guy who cannot bump well, so Jannetty quickly gets him out so the more skilled Horowitz can wrestle instead. Near the end of the match, Jannetty wants to tag Shawn Michaels, but Michaels is talking with fans on the apron and not paying attention to the match. This leads to Jannetty reversing an O’Connor roll on Horowitz and winning on his own. After the bell, Jannetty and Michaels argue so Michaels covers Horowitz and counts his own three count, eventually high-fiving Jannetty and the two walk to the locker room.
Tune in next week to see the Rockers face the Beverly Brothers! Also, Intercontinental Champion Bret Hart defends his title against Skinner! And Hulk Hogan is a guest on the Funeral Parlor!
The Last Word: This format was a bit of a throwback to the old Prime Time format with Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan and ahead of its time, foreshadowing the popularity of panel discussions on sports channels over the next decade. It is an upgrade over studio audience format, which always came off as a cheap WWF imitation of successful late night talk show programs. The tag team title match here, albeit unadvertised, as well as the promotion of an Intercontinental title match next week are an attempt to get fans to tune back into the show and reverse its ratings problems. In other news, the Rockers breakup angle continues to develop nicely. The squash at the end of the show foreshadows that Shawn Michaels will be the member of the group turning heel.
Up Next: WWF Superstars for November 16!