What the World Was Watching: WWF Superstars – February 29, 1992

Vince McMahon and Mr. Perfect call the action, concluding the tapings in Amarillo, Texas. McMahon says that the Update segment will provide information about new tag team champions. The image for that shows Jimmy Hart with the belts, making fans believe the Natural Disasters are the new champions.

Opening Contest: El Matador (6-0) pins Brian Elmore after El Paso del Muerte at 1:29:

McMahon announces that El Matador will face Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania. In the split screen, Michaels and Sensational Sherri promise to do a “Mexican hat dance” around El Matador and Michaels puts himself over as the sexiest man alive. El Matador throws a few knees into Elmore’s mid-section and blasts him with El Paso del Muerte for an easy win.

Gene Okerlund’s Update segment says that Jimmy Hart contacted WWF President Jack Tunney before the Legion of Doom were going to face the Natural Disasters in Denver, arguing that a member of the Legion was injured and they should face Ted DiBiase & Irwin R. Schyster instead. The Disasters were said to be fine with this switch as they just wanted to face the Legion when the former tag team champions were 100%. This led to DiBiase and IRS winning the belts. Afterward, it was revealed that Hart took DiBiase’s money and never consulted with the Disasters about the switch. This caused an infuriated Disasters team to dump Hart as their manager. In response to the uproar, Tunney has booked DiBiase and IRS to defend their newly won titles against the Disasters at WrestleMania. DiBiase, IRS, and Hart do a taped promo about how the Disasters have flaws, even though Hart struggles to think of any.

Repo Man (3-0) beats Don Richter via submission to a leg grapevine at 1:02:

As Repo Man pounds away, Virgil does an insert promo where he rambles about how the Repo Man sneaks around so he is going to “sneak right back.” McMahon is confused about what that means. Repo Man locks in a grapevine out of nowhere, making short work of the jobber. After the match, Repo Man puts his tow rope after Richter’s neck and drags him in a circle around the ring.

The New Foundation (5-0) defeat Todd Overbow & Khris Germany when Owen Hart pins Overbow after the Rocket Launcher at 2:09:

Owen’s talents are showcased again as he lands a flying elbow drop off the second rope onto Germany and then flips over Overbow during a blind charge sequence. Neidhart throws a few forearms to daze the jobbers, slamming Overbow to set up the finish. This would be the Foundation’s last televised match because of Neidhart’s firing for unprofessional conduct. If not for that, one could have seen the Foundation getting a title run at some point later in the year.

Papa Shango (3-0) pins Larry Williams after the reverse shoulderbreaker at 1:18:

Williams bumps well for Shango, taking a nice reverse shoulderbreaker to put over Shango’s power offense. After the bell, Shango hovers over Williams and shakes his bone necklace.

McMahon and Perfect discuss past WrestleMania moments.

Okerlund does the WrestleMania VIII Report. WWF Champion Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect reiterate that they know something important about Randy Savage that will take the world by surprise and bring them victory. Savage rebuts that he hates surprises and plans on proving he is the man by beating Flair. Sid Justice talks about how the greatest lion in Africa eventually gets old and is killed by a young opponent, arguing that Hulk Hogan is the old lion that will be ended in Indianapolis. Hogan fires back by alleging that Sid has the same look as Charles Manson or Jeffrey Dahmer and he is going to take Sid’s soul. No mention is made of the guest referee for Hogan-Sid that was discussed in previous weeks.

The Texas Tornado (3-1) pins Kato (0-5) after the discus punch in 35 seconds:

Kato throws a few blows, the Tornado does not sell them, slugs away and then bounces off the ropes to send the former Orient Express member deeper into the jobber ranks.

Jake Roberts is a guest on what would become the last Funeral Parlor segment. After Bearer recaps Roberts’ attacks on Randy Savage and Elizabeth, Roberts says he needs to find out where the Undertaker stands. The Undertaker comes out of a casket and startles Roberts. When Roberts asks what side the Undertaker is on, the Undertaker grabs the urn, thinks for a few seconds, and tells Roberts “Not yours.” Roberts then seizes the urn and throws it in an open coffin. When the Undertaker goes to retrieve it, Roberts slams the coffin shut on the Undertaker’s hand, trapping the Dead Man. Roberts plants Bearer with a DDT and picks up a chair, hitting the Undertaker in the back multiple times. However, the Undertaker recovers quickly so Roberts hits him several more times. The Undertaker still refuses to go down, though, and moves toward Roberts with the coffin in tow. That is something that the crowd eats up. Roberts uses the chair some more but it does no good so Roberts flees as WWF officials start coming out. This was like something out of a horror film, putting over the Undertaker as a badass and showing that Roberts had finally bitten off more than he could chew.

Hacksaw Jim Duggan & Sergeant Slaughter (6-0) defeat Dale Wolfe & Rudi Gonzalez when Duggan pins Gonzalez after the three-point stance clothesline at 1:39:

Duggan and Slaughter work the crowd, do a few slams, and win a quick squash. Earlier reports said that they were going to get the tag team title shot at WrestleMania. That is not happening now so their future is uncertain.

Tune in next week to see Shawn Michaels, WWF Tag Team Champions Ted DiBiase & Irwin R. Schyster, Tatanka, and Sid Justice in action! Also, there will be a special interview with WWF Champion Ric Flair and an update on what is going on with the Undertaker and Jake Roberts!

The Last Word: The tag team title picture is a mess, evidenced by a convoluted explanation of how Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster got the titles, how they got Jimmy Hart as their new manager, and how the Natural Disasters are now a babyface team. Doing a turn off-screen typically has poor results, so that is not good for Earthquake and Typhoon. They also have a new challenge of being vulnerable in matches and selling more, a struggle for big men when they are cast in a babyface role. The other big news on the show was the Undertaker solidifying his babyface turn. That will lead to a match against Jake Roberts, where Roberts has close to a zero chance of winning. Crowds were pining for the Undertaker to turn since his feud with the Ultimate Warrior the previous spring so this was a case of the WWF listening to fans.

Up Next: Wrestling Challenge for March 1!