Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are in the booth, commentating a new round of tapings from Corpus Christi, Texas. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, these tapings took place on December 2.
Opening Contest: Ric Flair (8-0) beats Larry Luden via submission to the figure-four leglock at 3:31:
As Flair chops Luden down, Ted DiBiase and Sensational Sherri do an insert promo saying that they have a lot in common in terms of loving money and titles but in the Royal Rumble it will be every man for himself. For the finish, Flair drops his distorted title onto Luden and locks in the figure-four, grabbing the ropes for added leverage after the bell.
Lord Alfred Hayes’ Special Report provides Royal Rumble hype. The Mountie and Jimmy Hart promise to take Bret Hart apart and capture the Intercontinental Champion. Bret’s counter promo is the same from Superstars. In Rumble promos, Greg Valentine talks about hammering his way to the WWF Championship, Rick Martel discusses bringing class back to the WWF, and Sid Justice says that it is fate that when he is healed up it is time to enter the Rumble and win the WWF Championship.
Hacksaw Jim Duggan & Sergeant Slaughter (3-0) beat the Brooklyn Brawler & B.A. Dalton when Duggan pins Dalton after a three-point stance clothesline at 4:09:
Monsoon and Heenan continue a conversation from the last match, with Monsoon talking about how he has a hunch that Ric Flair will draw a number between one and five. Heenan argues such a draw would not be “fair to Flair.” They also discuss the odds of participants like the Rockers and Martel. In the split screen, the Nasty Boys tell Duggan and Slaughter that nasty treatment awaits them in the Royal Rumble. Duggan and Slaughter do not sell for their jobber opponents, punching their way to victory. After the bout, Monsoon puts over Slaughter tossing Duggan a 2×4 as a big team ritual worthy of adulation.
Irwin R. Schyster (23-1-3) pins Scott Bazo after the Write Off at 1:45:
IRS tells fans that 1991 has been a bad year for tax cheats but a good year for him. He promises that 1992 will be even worse for tax cheats across America. Skinner pops up in the split screen, promising to give IRS a receipt in the Royal Rumble. IRS stretches Bazo a bit near the ropes and cruises to a fifth-straight singles win with the Write Off.
A replay of Chris Chavis’ vignette from Superstars is shown.
El Matador (14-2) pins Louie Spicolli after El Paso Del Muerte at 1:40:
Greg Valentine does an split screen promo putting over how he and El Matador are longtime veterans and the best man between them should win in the Royal Rumble. As Heenan continues to put over Ric Flair’s chances, Monsoon shoots that down by insisting that Flair has too many enemies to last. Spicolli sells well for El Matador, who vanquishes his opponent in less than two minutes.
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Jake Roberts is a guest on the Barber Shop. He says that he and the Undertaker sat down and discussed who would be a better champion, deciding that each of them would be better than the other twenty-eight competitors. Roberts adds that Randy Savage must feel bad to not have vanquished him in Texas.
Gene Okerlund does The Royal Rumble Report. In Rumble promos, Roddy Piper talks about problems everyone will have with him, Virgil discusses never having lost a street fight, Randy Savage promises revenge on Roberts, and the Berzerker hypes the Rumble as his kind of match.
The Beverly Brothers (w/the Genius) (17-0-1) defeat Sean Spencer & Richie Garvin when Blake pins Spencer after the Shaker Heights Spike at 1:55:
The Bushwhackers and Jamison do an insert promo about trashing their opponents at The Royal Rumble. Compared to other jobbers, Spencer and Garvin do not take much of a beating before the finish. Blake gets the winning pin today, which is a rarity.
Tune in next week to see the Big Bossman, Repo Man, Intercontinental Champion Bret Hart, and the Natural Disasters in action!
The Last Word: The WWF is doing a good job layering the Royal Rumble and giving multiple ways that various competitors can win the match. It was also a nice addition on this show to see babyfaces cutting promos on other babyfaces and heels doing the same to sell the “every man for himself” concept.
Landover, Maryland – Capital Centre – December 26, 1991 (6,212): Chris Walker pinned the Brooklyn Brawler…The Warlord pinned Greg Valentine…The Nasty Boys defeated the Bushwhackers when Jerry Sags pinned Luke…Sergeant Slaughter beat Colonel Mustafa & General Adnan in a handicap match by pinning Mustafa…Animal pinned Earthquake after heel miscommunication from Typhoon…Virgil beat Repo Man via disqualification when Repo Man used his rope against Virgil and the referee…El Matador wrestled DiBiase to a double disqualification…Hulk Hogan beat Ric Flair via disqualification. There were two reversed referee decisions before the final result.
Richmond, Virginia – Richmond Coliseum – December 27, 1991 (9,000): Greg Valentine pinned the Brooklyn Brawler after an elbow drop at 7:40…The British Bulldog defeated the Berzerker via disqualification when the Berzerker shoved the referee at 10:00…El Matador pinned Skinner after the flying forearm at 10:30…The Beverly Brothers beat the Bushwhackers…Intercontinental Champion Bret Hart beat the Mountie via submission to the Sharpshooter at 9:42…Ted DiBiase beat the Texas Tornado with a roll up after Sherri distracted the Tornado and slapped him at 7:00…Irwin R. Schyster pinned the Big Bossman with a roll up and having his feet on the ropes at 8:35…Hulk Hogan beat Ric Flair via count out after throwing him into the ring post at 11:10. Hogan initially thought he won the match with a leg drop but Flair’s foot was on the bottom rope during the pin. Then, Flair pinned Hogan after hitting him with brass knuckles but another referee came out and voided that decision and the match was restarted again.
New York City – Madison Square Garden – December 29, 1991 (11,000; matinee): The British Bulldog beat the Berzerker with a small package at 5:05…Sergeant Slaughter defeated General Adnan & Colonel Mustafa in a handicap match when he pinned Mustafa with a clothesline at 3:27. After the match, Slaughter led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance…Hercules beat Greg Valentine by lifting his shoulder out of a double pin situation at 7:44…The Nasty Boys defeated the Bushwhackers when Brian Knobbs pinned Butch with a clothesline at 9:45. After the match, the Nasties kept beating on the Bushwhackers until Sergeant Slaughter made the save…Skinner beat Jim Powers after an inverted DDT at 6:51…Chris Walker pinned the Brooklyn Brawler with a flying body press at 4:02…Virgil defeated the Repo Man via disqualification when Repo Man choked Virgil with his rope at 9:35…Intercontinental Champion Bret Hart wrestled Ted DiBiase to a 20-minute time-limit draw at 19:06…Hulk Hogan defeated Ric Flair via count out at 10:09 after ramming Flair into the ring post. After the match, Flair jumped Hogan from behind but Hogan fought him off.
Chicago, Illinois – The Rosemont Horizon – December 29, 1991: Chris Chavis beat Kato…El Matador defeated the Warlord…The Undertaker beat Hacksaw Jim Duggan…The Mountie beat the Texas Tornado…Hawk defeated Typhoon…The Beverly Brothers beat the Rockers…The Big Bossman defeated Irwin R. Schyster…Randy Savage beat Jake Roberts.
Backstage News*: The WWF has not been able to escape steroid scandals after the trial of Dr. George Zahorian as former WWWF champion Superstar Billy Graham is telling Inside Edition that he personally injected Hulk Hogan with steroids. While the WWF was quick to attack Graham’s claims, other media outlets still smell a story and new steroid pieces are being prepared by 20/20 and 60 Minutes. ESPN has also showed recently how easy it is to beat the WWF’s steroid testing, so the company is continuing to take a massive public relations hit. Speaking of Zahorian, he was recently sentenced to three years in prison, twenty-four years of probation, fined $12,0000, and forfeiting half of his $3.7 million condominium.
*In other legal problems for the WWF, former commentator Jesse Ventura has filed a lawsuit, claiming that the company is selling videotapes of his likeness and commentary without permission or compensation.
*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for January 6, 1992.
Up Next: Prime Time Wrestling for December 30!