Vince McMahon and Mr. Perfect are in the booth, starting a new cycle of television tapings from Amarillo, Texas. According to the historyofwwe.com, the taping took place on January 28.
A replay of Sid Justice’s heel turn on Saturday Night’s Main Event airs, along with Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake’s promo with Gene Okerlund. Footage of Sid destroying the Barber Shop on last week’s Wrestling Challenge is shown too.
For the Update segment, Okerlund reads a statement from WWF President Jack Tunney. Due to accusations of favoritism and actions in the ring, Tunney declares that WrestleMania will have two main events. One will see Ric Flair defend the WWF Championship against Randy Savage and Hogan will face Sid in the other. Okerlund says that there is speculation a special guest referee might be added into the Hogan-Sid bout.
Opening Contest: The British Bulldog (3-0) pins Omar Atlas after the running powerslam at 1:38:
Atlas was nearing the end of a long wrestling career, breaking into the business in Spain in 1958 after winning a silver medal in amateur wrestling at the Pan-American Games for his native Venezuela. During the 1960s and 1970s he worked for a variety of NWA territories, winning the Central States Heavyweight Championship from Harley Race in 1972. He began working for the WWF in a preliminary capacity in 1984.
Perfect is flustered over Tunney’s decision to change the WrestleMania main event. Bulldog makes quick work of Atlas, who McMahon says is being sent back into retirement.
McMahon and Perfect narrate some WrestleMania moments in an attempt to encourage fans to buy tickets for the show.
The Nasty Boys (w/Jimmy Hart) (4-0) beat Kris Germany & Larry Williams when Jerry Sags pins Germany after the Trip to Nastyville at 2:47:
Germany was a Chris Adams trainee who began wrestling in 1988. Prior to this match he had worked as an enhancement talent for the USWA and Global.
Williams appeared as an enhancement worker a few times the previous year, losing to heels like Sergeant Slaughter, the Warlord, and Mr. Perfect.
The Nasties punish their jobber opponents with a few suplexes, with Sags opting not to get a winning pin a minute in with a pump handle slam. No mention is made of the Nasties house show feud with Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Sergeant Slaughter but that might be for the best because they are losing those matches.
Non-Title Match: Roddy Piper (Intercontinental Champion) (4-0) defeats Todd Overbow via submission to a sleeper hold at 1:27:
Overbow was better known to WWF fans as Mark Young. He was trained by Stu Hart and was the adopted son of WWF legend and agent Chief Jay Strongbow. That got him some matches in the WWF in the late 1980s but he was only used in a preliminary capacity. Overbow also had a run in WCW in 1989 as a breakdancer named Vince Young but he quit to go back to the WWF and that never amounted to anything substantial.
In the split screen, Bret Hart gives some heel vibes by saying that his friendship with Piper means little because he wants the Intercontinental Championship back. Overbow slaps Piper against the ropes, causing Piper to nearly push the referee out of the ring. That does not get Piper disqualified so he punches Overbow a lot before locking in the sleeper.
Shawn Michaels (w/Sensational Sherri) beats Rudy Gonzales after the Teardrop Suplex at 1:42:
This is Michaels’ first singles match since turning heel and it is against someone who would later be a trainer at his wrestling academy. Sherri accompanies him to the ring but is still wearing attire better suited for managing Ted DiBiase. Michaels’ traditional “Sexy Boy” theme had not yet been created so he enters to a generic, uplifting theme better used for a banquet and it does not fit. Some bars of it would later be used to craft Lex Luger’s theme song the next year. In the split screen, Michaels says that he is not insecure and sometimes you have to learn to go against the grain. Michaels has more ring presence than his former tag team partner. He moves seamlessly through the various parts of the squash, blasting Gonzales with a superkick and then hits a Saito suplex variation, later called the Teardrop Suplex, to win.
Okerlund does the first WrestleMania VIII Report. WWF Champion Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect are not happy that Randy Savage has been slotted in as their new opponent. Savage rebuts that he is showing up to the Hoosier Dome to regain the WWF title. Sid Justice argues that Hulk Hogan did not want to face him one-on-one in the Royal Rumble, which is why he targeted Flair when the match got down to three men. Hogan rebuts with a complaint that he has been taken out of the WWF title match with Flair and says that he will teach his fans how to turn a positive from a negative when he beats Sid.
Rick Martel (2-1-1) defeats Terry Daniels via submission the Boston Crab at 2:08:
Daniels was a Texas-based talent that had been working since 1982. He worked as a WWF preliminary worker from 1983-1984 and again in 1989. Daniels also worked in that capacity for Bill Watts’ Mid-South Wrestling and Joe Blanchard’s Southwest Championship Wrestling. In 1991 Daniels made some appearances for the USWA, winning as many matches as he lost.
Perfect tells McMahon that he and Flair have something that will mess with Savage’s wrestling abilities but he will not reveal more than that at the present time. Martel wins with his usual squash formula, in need of a program to get him back into the mix of things again.
Tune in next week to see Tatanka, Bret Hart, and Ted DiBiase & Irwin R. Schyster in action! Also, see exclusive footage of what happened between Randy Savage and Jake Roberts when Saturday Night’s Main Event went off the air!
The Last Word: The WWF deciding to move away from Hulk Hogan-Ric Flair as the WrestleMania main event was disappointing for many fans because that was a dream match at the time but it was needed because Hogan was going to be doing Hollywood projects in the spring and early summer. Naming Randy Savage as the new number one contender to the WWF Championship has merit as well since Savage decisively defeated Jake Roberts in their feud and finished in the final four of the Royal Rumble. Still, the WWF opted for a lazy method to rebook the show that made President Jack Tunney look like a fool, cowering in the face of Sid’s criticism of his initial decision. And the WWF is keeping the tag team title switch under wraps for a while longer, not discussing how the Legion of Doom lost the belts last week.
Up Next: Wrestling Challenge for February 16!