Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are calling the action, kicking off a new taping cycle in Lubbock, Texas, which is where the recent Saturday Night’s Main Event was filmed. Heenan is wearing a red jacket that says “Indiana’s Favorite Bobby” on the back.
Footage of Sid Justice’s recent heel turn airs.
Lord Alfred Hayes’ Special Report recaps the changes that WWF President Jack Tunney had made to the WrestleMania VIII main event.
Opening Contest: El Matador (4-0) pins Dale Wolfe after El Paso Del Muerte at 1:58:
Heenan is critical of Tunney switching the WrestleMania main event, arguing that he should have asked Ric Flair who he wanted to wrestle. Wolfe throws a few blows but Santana does not sell them and has a backdrop set up El Paso Del Muerte.
The Mountie (w/Jimmy Hart) (3-2) beats Terry Daniels after a dropkick at 1:29:
The Mountie is going to have to rebuild himself after getting knocked out of the Intercontinental title picture on Saturday Night’s Main Event. He must believe that the power of a dropkick is going to get him there. Daniels starts getting up after taking it, thinking it is just a transition move so the Mountie has to awkwardly push him back down and cover for the win. After the bell, he uses the shock stick on Daniels.
Hacksaw Jim Duggan & Sergeant Slaughter (5-0) defeat Brian Elmore & the Brooklyn Brawler when Duggan pins Elmore after the three-point stance clothesline at 2:11:
For whatever reason, the Brawler decides that he is not going to wear his usual torn t-shirt for the squash and is a sight for sore eyes. The Duggan and Slaughter super team keeps rolling, putting them in the conversation for a title shot.
Check out Suburban Commando at your local video store!
The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) (3-0) pins Ed Robinson after the Tombstone at 1:14:
Robinson was a local wrestler who did jobs for the USWA and Global in 1991.
The Undertaker wastes little time finishing Robinson, Tombstoning Robinson on his bald spot as Monsoon and Heenan put over the Dead Man’s abilities. After the bell, the Undertaker and Bearer stuff Robinson in a body bag.
Monsoon and Heenan comments on some WrestleMania moments.
Gene Okerlund does the WrestleMania VIII Report.
Bret Hart (4-0-1) defeats B.A. Dalton via submission to the Sharpshooter at 1:28:
Monsoon questions whether Bret’s technical abilities will overcome Roddy Piper’s craziness at WrestleMania. Dalton’s blind charge eats boot, allowing Bret to land the second rope elbow drop, do a side Russian leg sweep, and lock in the Sharpshooter.
Tune in next week to see Shawn Michaels, Papa Shango, and the New Foundation in action!
The Last Word: This show featured a lot of recycled content from Superstars, living up to its C-show billing. Next week promises more of the same as Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan talked about seeing the Randy Savage-Jake Roberts match and its aftermath from Saturday Night’s Main Event, the same thing that was hyped on Superstars a day earlier.
And here is a recap of the WWF’s house show action, provided courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:
Long Island, New York – The Nassau Coliseum – February 14, 1992 (5,000): Skinner pinned Chris Walker…The Big Bossman beat Repo Man via count out…Shawn Michaels pinned Jim Powers (substituting for Jimmy Snuka)…Owen Hart pinned Blake Beverly…Hacksaw Jim Duggan pinned Typhoon after hitting him with a 2×4…Beau Beverly defeated Jim Neidhart after the Beverlys switched places behind the referee’s back…El Matador pinned the Barbarian (substituting for Ted DiBiase)…WWF Champion Ric Flair beat Intercontinental Roddy Piper in a non-title match via disqualification when Piper hit Flair with a chair.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Philadelphia Spectrum – February 15, 1992: Skinner pinned Chris Walker…The Big Bossman beat Repo Man via disqualification when Repo Man choked the Bossman with his tow rope…Shawn Michaels pinned Jim Powers…Hacksaw Jim Duggan & Sergeant Slaughter defeated the Nasty Boys after heel miscommunication with Duggan’s 2×4…El Matador pinned the Barbarian (substituting for Ted DiBiase)…The New Foundation beat the Beverly Brothers when Jim Neidhart pinned Beau Beverly…Randy Savage pinned Jake Roberts in a steel cage match after the flying elbow drop. After the match, Savage delivered another flying elbow drop to Roberts.
Orlando, Florida – Orlando Arena – February 15, 1992 (4,600): Rick Martel pinned J.W. Storm (substituting for the Texas Tornado) after using the tights for leverage…Tatanka beat the Warlord…Luke beat Typhoon via count out…Kato pinned Jim Brunzell (substituting for Greg Valentine) with a small package…Bret Hart defeated the Mountie via submission with the Sharpshooter…Irwin R. Schyster defeated Virgil…Hulk Hogan & Roddy Piper beat Ric Flair & the Undertaker when Hogan pinned Flair with a small package after heel miscommunication, causing the Undertaker to walk out.
Backstage News*: Before a house show in St. Louis on February 14, members of the St. Louis Police Department, a police dog, and officials from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) did a surprise raid on the WWF locker room. Wrestlers were searched as they came to the arena and nothing was found. Dave Meltzer considers that incredibly lucky as a bust could have destroyed the company. It is said that wrestlers were informed an hour before coming to the arena that police were there. Otherwise a source says that up to ten wrestlers could have been arrested for having marijuana, downers, and steroids. St. Louis Arena management was not happy with the WWF over the incident but things would have been worse if half a dozen wrestlers had been arrested since news outlets already airing critical coverage of the WWF would have piled on. That could have led to sponsors abandoning the promotion and television networks following them out the door.
*And if the drug scandals were not a big enough mess for the company, former enhancement talent Barry Orton spoke about alleged sexual harassment from gay executives in the WWF on a Wrestling Insiders radio show on Saturday night. He argued that refusing advances hurt his position in the company. The WWF is remaining silent on Orton’s claims for now.
*One piece of good news is that the recent Saturday Night’s Main Event was a hit for FOX. While the show placed 27th out of 92 shows for the week its 8.2 rating was two points higher than other FOX programming in the time slot. Still, even some of this news was tempered by the fact that USA Network’s showing of the Westminster Dog Show outdrew the ratings that Prime Time Wrestling usually gets.
*The WWF has reached out to George Foreman through promoter Bob Arum to referee the Hulk Hogan-Sid Justice match at WrestleMania but Foreman turned it down. The WWF now wants Lou Ferrigno, who it signed for the WBF, to fill the role.
*WrestleMania ticket sales have been disappointing so far. It was initially reported that 20,000 tickets had been sold but figure was proven false.
*Ted DiBiase has been nursing a back injury and has been out of action for the past week.
*Toy and Hobby World Magazine reported that the WWF’s toy sales declined in 1991, mirroring declines in television ratings and pay-per-view buyrates.
*In talent relations news, Jimmy Snuka has been fired for unprofessional conduct. There are rumors that the Legion of Doom is finished with the company as they have been replaced on house shows by the Bushwhackers. The reshuffling of cards due to suspensions and the like is angering fans as fans in St. Louis were not happy that Kerry Von Erich was not there and fans in Orlando were upset that the Legion of Doom were not present. The WWF did not offer refunds after announcing card switches in either town, compounding the problem. J.W. Storm was given a tryout recently and it did not go well. Another factor against Storm is that his physique does not fit the anti-drug image the company is promoting. The WWF was interested in signing Brian Pillman but he recently signed a two-year contract to stay in WCW.
*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for February 24.
Up Next: Prime Time Wrestling for February 17!