Vince McMahon and Mr. Perfect provide commentary, continuing the taping cycle in Syracuse, New York. Perfect makes lots of hamburger puns because it is National Hamburger Week.
Opening Contest: Shawn Michaels (w/Sensational Sherri) (14-1) pins Sonny Blaze after the Teardrop Suplex at 2:30:
McMahon takes time to hype Michaels’ ongoing feud with Bret Hart over the Intercontinental Championship as Michaels easily rolls through another opponent.
Gene Okerlund’s Update segment shows a replay of the Mountie’s shocking of Sergeant Slaughter on last week’s episode. The Mountie and Jimmy Hart do a taped promo boasting about how Slaughter will surrender to them.
Tatanka (14-0) defeats Barry Hardy after the Samoan Drop at 1:59:
This is an easy venue for wrestlers that like to run to the ring like Tatanka and the Ultimate Warrior because the distance from the entrance to the squared circle can be covered in a couple of seconds. Tatanka does an insert promo vowing revenge on Rick Martel for stealing his ancestral feathers. The crowd is dead when Tatanka does a war dance although a few yell back when he does a war cry before coming off the second rope with a chop. At the end of the squash, McMahon puts over Tatanka’s undefeated streak.
Do not forget to order the WBF Championship on June 13! McMahon has a funny line about how audiences should buy it to see some “U.S. Grade A tested prime beef.”
The Berzerker (w/Mr. Fuji) (7-2) defeats Scott Taylor via count out at 1:54:
The Berzerker’s sword looks like child’s play compared to the one that would be used by Drew McIntyre decades later. Although the Berzerker had won a recent squash with a powerslam, Fuji orders him to win this match via count out.
A new Crush vignette shows him back in a junkyard. He shows fans that he relaxes by using a compactor to crush cars. He takes pleasure in hearing the car buckle and crack. These vignettes have been some of the worst the company has produced for a new character as they make Crush look like a big child rather than the imposing force for good that he could be.
Repo Man (12-2) defeats Jay Sledge after a single leg Boston Crab at 1:16:
The British Bulldog is in the split screen, promising to come after Repo Man. McMahon covers for the Bulldog’s house show absences, explaining to fans that doctors want the Bulldog to take time off. Like the Tatanka squash, fans do not react to any of this and even Repo Man seems confused on how he wants to end the match before settling for a single leg Boston Crab. Afterward, he ties a rope around Sledge’s neck and drags him around the center of the ring.
The Big Bossman (10-1-1) pins Glen Ruth after the Bossman Slam at 1:29:
Before the match Perfect announces that Shawn Michaels has left the building. After not reacting to the last few bouts, the crowd is excited to see the Bossman dismantle Ruth. Afterward, the unknown convict’s voice comes over the arena’s loudspeakers and tells the Bossman that he is coming for him.
The Ultimate Warrior (1-0) defeats Brian Knobbs (w/Jimmy Hart & Jerry Sags) after a splash at 3:52:
The Warrior runs the Nasties down with three clotheslines and some of his recklessness is shown on the arena floor when he tosses Knobbs into the timekeeper’s table and knocks the timekeeper to the floor. Sags helps his partner beat down the Warrior on the floor and even does a few shots in the ring in full view of the referee, who opts not to call for a disqualification. Papa Shango comes out and picks up a wristband of the Warrior that was removed during the match and exits. Sags puts a stop to the Warrior’s comeback by smashing him in the back with a chair as he runs the ropes and then decides to leave the ringside area for reasons known only to himself. Knobbs covers the Warrior but only gets two and the Warrior shakes the ropes, throws more clotheslines, and wins with a splash. This was an overbooked mess for the Warrior wrestling a tag wrestler but Knobbs did an awesome job bumping throughout. Rating: *
After the match Shango comes out and does into a trance in the aisle. The Warrior celebrates for fans until he clutches his stomach in pain and falls off the apron. As McMahon wonders whether the Warrior is suffering from appendicitis, Perfect tells him that the Warrior has been cursed by Shango. WWF officials come out to help the Warrior and, in a bad sign for the WWF, the crowd chants for Hulk Hogan.
When the show returns from a commercial break the Warrior is shown backstage being tended to by medical personnel. He projectile vomits a green substance on the doctor attending to him.
The Beverly Brothers (w/the Genius) (9-1) beat Bobby Knight & Jim Brunzell when Beau pins Knight after the Shaker Heights Spike at 1:47:
The Genius’ pre-match poem calls the Legion of Doom and Paul Ellering “The Sissies Three.” In the split screen, Ellering tells his team that he wants the Beverlys destroyed. Brunzell atomic drops Beau into the ropes and rolls him up for a near-fall. He makes the mistake of tagging Knight, who gets good hang time when taking a stun gun and is later finished with the Shaker Heights Spike. After the bell, the Beverlys paint Knight’s face and write “LOS” on his chest. Beau also puts a mohawk cap on Knight before slapping him.
Tune in next week to see the Bushwhackers, Kamala, the Undertaker, and WWF Tag Team Champions Money Incorporated in action!
The Last Word: If the WWF wanted to get over Papa Shango’s voodoo powers, it would have carried greater impact to have the Warrior be affected during a match and possibly lose rather than participate in a disgusting backstage segment. Using magical powers over another person was already far-fetched for 1992 and the medical slant that the WWF chose to go for the angle took things into the realm of the ridiculous. Broadcasting affiliates were not happy with the vomiting angle, further straining the WWF’s relationship with key media outlets at a time when they could ill afford to jeopardize those relationships. The lack of crowd reaction to new acts in the middle of the show like Tatanka, Repo Man, and the Berzerker is also reflective of where the WWF’s business has been going since WrestleMania.
Up Next: Wrestling Challenge for May 17!