Vince McMahon and Mr. Perfect are doing commentary for the last Superstars of 1991, starting a new taping cycle in Austin, Texas. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping took place on December 4 and drew a heavily papered crowd of 7,500.
Opening Contest: The New Foundation (5-0) defeat Brian Donahue & Brian Costello after Owen Hart pins Donahue after the Rocket Launcher at 2:38:
Showing that Prime Time exists in its own universe, Perfect argues that the Foundation have not proven anything to him because they have not defeated anyone of note. Owen wrestles most of the match, wiping out both jobbers with quick offense. The Foundation is getting too cute with the Rocket Launcher, though, as only Owen’s hands land on Donahue for the finish.
Okerlund’s Update segment reveals that the Rockers, Greg Valentine, Sid Justice, Sergeant Slaughter, Jimmy Snuka, the Big Bossman, the Barbarian, Rick Martel, Colonel Mustafa will be in the Royal Rumble. Sid reframes the Rumble problem as one where twenty-nine wrestlers have to go through him, the Bossman says he will not let down the American people and will win the Rumble, and Mustafa plays with his mustache and promises to become a two-time WWF champion. A new match added to the card is Bret Hart defending the Intercontinental Championship against the Mountie. The Mountie and Jimmy Hart yell about taking Bret’s pride, integrity, and title. Bret does a promo without his shades, unusual for his character to this point, promising revenge.
Rick Martel (8-3-1) beats Dale Wolfe via submission to the Boston Crab at 3:00:
Martel has not appeared on television since a May 11 loss to Roddy Piper on Superstars. During that time, he was starting to build a real estate business. The WWF kayfabes that away by saying he was doing some modeling in Europe. Martel congratulates Wolfe several times for outwrestling him in the early going and opens the ropes for him to re-enter the ring. However, when Wolfe goes for a third handshake, Martel clotheslines him and rams him into the ring post on the floor. In the split screen, Martel vows to win the Rumble and become a “model champion.” This was a fun squash to reintroduce Martel, who immediately adds some depth to the heel midcard.
The Big Bossman (43-0-1) pins an unnamed opponent with the Bossman Slam in 55 seconds:
As the Bossman makes short work of his unnamed opponent, Irwin R. Schyster does an insert promo where he vows to give the Bossman a hard time in the Royal Rumble. That is the first time that feud has been brought up since Survivor Series. After the match, the Bossman handcuffs the jobber to the middle rope and slaps him a few times.
Repo Man (4-0) defeats Larry Sampson via submission to a leg grapevine at 1:19:
In the split screen, Repo Man claims that what will belong to him after the Royal Rumble is the WWF title. Repo Man makes quick work of Sampson, who grunts more than yells in pain from the submission.
A vignette for Chris Chavis airs. He walks in the woods and talks about his Native American ancestors and their beliefs, ideas he will carry with him into the WWF.
Roddy Piper is a guest on this week’s Funeral Parlor. Piper urges young fans to dream big like Martin Luther King, Jr. and he discusses his dreams of wanting to be big (which got him a kilt), wanting to be like the Beatles (which got him a bagpipe), and wanting to be a professional wrestler. When Piper talks of dreaming of winning the Rumble, Bearer hilariously pipes in “Well, what about my Undertaker?” That gets him shoved in one of the sets coffins by Piper, who ends the promo by declaring he will be the next champion. This was more coherent and serious than most of Piper’s work for the last few years and it was a home run.
Okerlund does The Royal Rumble Report. Another match announced is the New Foundation against the Orient Express. Footage is shown of last year’s Rumble match to put over the concept. In Rumble promos, Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect talk about walking the aisle and winning. Flair appears with a championship belt, and it is painfully obvious it is not the NWA World Championship he was carrying around in the summer. Jake Roberts declares that he or the Undertaker will win the title. And the Undertaker and Bearer vow to make Hulk Hogan a twenty-ninth victim and cremate him after the Rumble. Hogan rebuts that he is wired to bust people up.
WWF Tag Team Championship Match: The Legion of Doom (Champions) (23-0) defeat the Rockers (21-2-1) when Animal pins Marty Jannetty after a powerslam at 3:29:
With two babyface teams colliding, the crowd has divided loyalties. The Rockers try to do various roll ups on the powerful Legion and they appear headed for success when they lay Hawk out with a double superkick. However, when Shawn Michaels goes to dropkick Jannetty’s back when Animal has him up for a slam, Michaels dropkicks Animal’s back instead, resulting in Jannetty getting powerslammed and pinned. Seeing these two teams face off for a long period of time would have been great. Still, this was a fun “blitz”-like bout. Rating: **
After the match, Michaels gets in Jannetty’s face about screwing up the match. When Jannetty tries to play nice, Michaels pushes him away and slaps him a couple of times. Jannetty thinks of responding but opts to go back to the locker room instead.
Tune in next week to see the British Bulldog, the Beverly Brothers, Roddy Piper, and the Undertaker in action! And there will be a special interview with Randy Savage and Elizabeth!
The Last Word: The Legion of Doom-Rockers bout was a dream match of sorts so that was a good way to end Superstars in 1991. Roddy Piper is being pushed heavily for the Rumble, becoming a dark horse candidate relative to the chances of other big names like Hulk Hogan, the Undertaker, and Ric Flair. And the return of Rick Martel is a welcome breath of fresh air to the midcard since his character is less cartoonish than other midcard heels like Skinner, Repo Man, and the Berzerker.
Up Next: Wrestling Challenge for December 29!