Vince McMahon moderates the usual panel of Gorilla Monsoon, Hillbilly Jim, Bobby Heenan, and Mr. Perfect. Heenan starts the show by complaining that WWF Champion Randy Savage will not sign for a match with Ric Flair. Monsoon argues that Savage is a fighting champion, which is why he is defending the title against Irwin R. Schyster today. Heenan then cracks a joke about how this must mean that Elizabeth is about to kiss every one of Savage’s opponents.
Opening Contest: The Bushwhackers (3-3) beat Barry Hardy & Kato when Butch pins Hardy after the double stomachbreaker at 5:16:
The Bushwhackers lick a toddler in the audience and it bursts into tears. The referee does a terrible job, allowing Hardy to enter the bout without getting tagged and the Bushwhackers to do excessive double teams. In a testament to the Bushwhackers charisma, the crowd remains engaged throughout the long squash, chanting for the team and popping for spots where the Bushwhackers outsmart Kato and lay out their opponents with clotheslines.
Gene Okerlund’s Update segment recaps the pre-WrestleMania VIII activities. Afterward, Jim hypes the Coliseum Video release.
Papa Shango’s squash from Wrestling Challenge airs.
McMahon argues that Sid Justice is a coward who is bound to run away from the Ultimate Warrior.
Shawn Michaels (w/Sensational Sherri) (12-1) pins Virgil (9-1) after the Teardrop Suplex at 12:12 shown:
Before going to the match McMahon acknowledges that it took place before WrestleMania VIII. That explains why Virgil is wearing his face guard. The bout took place at Madison Square Garden on March 23. Virgil floats over a Michaels blind charge and schoolboys him for two. He then scores some near-falls from a headlock but ends up on the arena floor when Michaels sidesteps a clothesline effort. Sherri distracts the referee and Michaels intelligently lifts Virgil’s protective mask and punches him in the face to take control of the match. Michaels works the nose, something you rarely see in a match, but Virgil surprises him with a backslide for a near-fall. Michaels fires back with a clothesline for two and Virgil’s face mask flies off when Michaels takes him to the corner turnbuckle. Referee Danny Davis puts it back on, earning criticism from Lord Alfred Hayes, and drives Michaels face into the canvas when Michaels puts his head down too early on an Irish whip to launch a comeback. Virgil thinks of using his mask as a weapon, which Davis stops, and a side Russian leg sweep gets two. However, a blind charge causes Virgil’s knee to crash into the corner and Michaels immediately hits the Teardrop Suplex to win a hard-fought match. Based on how much attention was paid to Virgil’s face that probably should have factored into the finish. Rating: ***
The British Bulldog’s squash from Superstars airs.
The Beverly Brothers’ squash from Superstars is shown.
WWF Championship Match: Randy Savage (Champion) (3-0) beats Irwin R. Schyster (w/Jimmy Hart) (3-1) after the flying elbow drop at 11:16:
Savage’s first televised title defense was filmed in Kalamazoo, Michigan on April 8. It was rare to get a WWF title match on a weekly television program in this era, a sign that the WWF did not see Savage as a special attraction reserved only for house shows. Savage forces IRS to bail several times in the first five minutes and gets a two count from a flying double axe handle. Hart provides a timely distraction after that to put his charge in control and IRS wears down the champion with an abdominal stretch and chinlock, using the ropes for leverage. A flying clothesline almost wins IRS the title but heel miscommunication follows when Hart and IRS try to ram Savage’s head into IRS’ briefcase and Savage follows up with a flying elbow drop. This was a paint by numbers title defense. IRS made for a good initial opponent because IRS had some singles credibility and could take a loss because he was now in the tag division. Rating: **
The Undertaker-Berzerker angle from Superstars is shown. In the studio, Heenan and Perfect joke about the Berzerker and Mr. Fuji making “cold cuts” out of the Undertaker.
Sid Justice and Harvey Wippleman’s interview with Sid Justice on Superstars airs. Afterward, Jim says that Justice is still upset that he needed outside help against Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania. Heenan rebuts that Hogan is nowhere to be found so Sid did run him out of the WWF.
Chris Walker (2-3-1) beats the Brooklyn Brawler with a flying body press at 4:54:
These two faced off on the January 20 edition of Prime Time in Walker’s debut. Walker goes 50/50 with the Brawler a week after getting squashed by Sid Justice. It is an uninspired match but that is mostly due to the Brawler sucking the energy of it with a long chinlock. This would be Walker’s last televised match as he was released from his contract at the end of the month. All of his matches took place on Prime Time Wrestling so fans that only watched the syndicated programs did not know that he existed. Rating: ½*
The Natural Disasters’ squash from Superstars airs.
Mr. Perfect is on the phone trying to get a date with Cameo Kneuer, a host of WBF BodyStars. Heenan asks Perfect to ask Cameo is she has a sister.
El Matador (13-1) beats Rick Martel (11-2-1) via disqualification after Martel uses Arrogance as a weapon at 7:09:
These two used to team together as Strike Force and held the WWF tag team titles and this is one of many clashes between them that date back to Martel’s heel turn in 1989. Sean Mooney acknowledges their history at the beginning of the bout, which was filmed in Mobile, Alabama on March 9. There are a few minor miscommunication spots, surprising for two men that know each other well, and the ring action is decent but uninspired. Martel rolls out of the ring after taking El Paso del Muerte. Dazed, he finds Arrogance and blasts El Matador with it in view of the referee and gets disqualified. It is the second time in as many weeks that El Matador has won a match by disqualification when his opponent uses their gimmick on him. Rating: *½
Skinner’s squash from Wrestling Challenge is shown.
Tune in next week to see the Bushwhackers & Bret Hart face the Nasty Boys & the Mountie! Also, there will be the debut of High Energy, the new tag team of Owen Hart & Koko B. Ware!
The Last Word: A panel show like this only works if there are things to talk about. The problem with the WWF right now is that the biggest drama is happening behind the scenes and the panel cannot talk about any of that. Randy Savage winning the WWF title was a nice moment at WrestleMania VIII but he already feels flat as a champion, almost as if the title he possesses is an afterthought. His feud with Ric Flair also has no momentum behind it after the photographs Flair passed around prior to WrestleMania were exposed as frauds and poor house show attendance is reflecting this. While the panel discussion was weak, this show featured a good Shawn Michaels match and a serviceable title defense from Savage so it was worth viewer’s time.
Up Next: WWF Superstars for May 2!