Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are in the booth for another episode from Niagara Falls, New York. Heenan accuses WWF Champion Randy Savage of going AWOL prior to his interview on today’s program.
Opening Non-Title Contest: Bret Hart (Intercontinental Champion) (14-1-1) beats Mike Fury via submission to the Sharpshooter at 1:59:
Fury was a tall wrestler at 6’9” who wrestled as Primo Carnera on the independent circuit. He also worked as Mike Concero in a few matches for Herb Abrams’ UWF in the previous year. Fury participated in a few squashes on WWF television in 1991, losing to the Warlord and the British Bulldog, among others. He would achieve his biggest fame later in the decade in ECW as Big Guido.
This is a weird squash because Fury’s size makes him ill-suited to do squash matches. In the split screen, Bret calls Shawn Michaels a spoiled brat. Bret mows his bigger competitor down with a clothesline off the second rope and some brief moves of doom set up the Sharpshooter.
Lord Alfred Hayes’ Special Report recaps the Mountie’s shocking of Sergeant Slaughter two weeks ago on Superstars. The Mountie and Jimmy Hart do a taped promo about how Slaughter now knows who is in command.
Kamala (w/Harvey Wippleman & Kim Chee) (1-0) pins Bill Pierce after a splash to the back at 1:43:
Kim Chee was played by Steve Lombardi, who doubled as the Brooklyn Brawler. He is not wearing the usual Kim Chee white mask here and his attire is not up to speed either, wearing shorts. Monsoon jokes that Kamala could use some nutritional tips. Kamala throws lots of chops and finishes Pierce with a splash to the back, taking several seconds to roll Pierce over to complete the pinning combination.
A new Crush vignette has him back in a junkyard, talking about how eats men like the Mountie and Rick Martel for lunch.
Tatanka (15-0) pins Von Krus after the Samoan Drop at 1:20:
Tatanka also throws a lot of chops in his squash, dazing Krus with a chop off the second rope and using that to set up his Samoan drop finish.
The Mountie (w/Jimmy Hart) (8-4) beats Kerry Davis after a dropkick at 1:10:
Sergeant Slaughter pops up in the split screen, saying that the Mountie will need more than his electrocution machine to put him down. Monsoon announces that WWF President Jack Tunney has threatened the Mountie with “punitive measures” if he uses his larger shock stick again. After the simple squash, the Mountie terrifies Davis by threatening to shock him with the big device but does not use it when the referee gets involved.
Gene Okerlund interviews WWF Champion Randy Savage. Okerlund says that there are rumors that next week Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect might release more evidence to sully Elizabeth’s reputation. Savage says that Flair and Perfect have no credibility. He also tells Flair that the WWF title was his before it was Flair’s. That is a nice line but this promo showed that the WWF had played out the Flair-Elizabeth angle for what it was worth. The WWF title scene is ice cold, which is in stark contrast to the chaos and intrigue that surrounded the belt at the start of the year.
The Brooklyn Brawler (0-11) defeats Mark Kay after a superplex at 1:34:
The Brawler getting a squash match on a syndicated show is further evidence of the WWF’s thin roster.
A replay of Papa Shango’s vignette where he curses the Ultimate Warrior is shown.
The British Bulldog (13-0) pins Dwayne Gill after the running powerslam at 1:46:
After hearing of the Bulldog’s need to sit out because of his doctors on Superstars it is weird to see the Bulldog pop up the next day. In the split screen, the Repo Man promises to impound the Bulldog with his tow rope that will serve as a “choke chain.” The Bulldog delivers a vertical suplex, applies a chinlock, and remains undefeated for the year after the running powerslam.
The Beverly Brothers (w/the Genius) (10-1) beat the Bushwhackers (4-3) when Blake pins Butch after Beau hits Butch with the Genius’ scroll at 1:23:
Before the match, the Genius keeps taunting the Legion of Doom via poetry, saying that Paul Ellering manages a “sissy team.” That poem is about as long as the match as the Bushwhackers wipe out Blake with a double clothesline only to have Beau smash Butch in the face with the Genius’ scroll to give the Beverlys the win.
After the match Beau hits Luke in the back with a flying double axe handle and sends him out of the ring. The Beverlys try to paint Butch like they have several jobbers but the Legion of Doom and Ellering rush the ring. In the chaos, the Beau grabs the Genius’ scroll and wallops Hawk in the back of the head and the Beverlys escape the ring and gloat in the aisle.
Tune in next week to see the Big Bossman, Repo Man, Shawn Michaels, and the Legion of Doom in action! Also, there will be a special interview with Sergeant Slaughter!
The Last Word: The angle at the end of the broadcast was a noble effort to put some heat on the Legion of Doom-Beverly Brothers feud but, like many of the promotion’s existing storylines, it has been hammed up with “sissy” talk to the point that few take the feud seriously. Some of that is bleeding into the Intercontinental title feud too as Bret Hart said that Shawn Michaels was a “spoiled brat” on today’s program. It has also been a weird week for the promotion’s television as two enhancement talents – Jim Powers and the Brooklyn Brawler – won televised matches.
Here is a snapshot of the WWF’s house show business for mid-May, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:
Des Moines, Iowa – Veterans Memorial Auditorium – May 11, 1992 (2,000): Virgil beat the Brooklyn Brawler (substituting for the Berzerker) via submission to a sleeper hold…Tatanka defeated Colonel Mustafa…Crush beat Kato…The Mountie beat Sergeant Slaughter via disqualification…The Natural Disasters beat WWF Tag Team Champions Money Incorporated via count out…The Texas Tornado pinned Skinner…The Undertaker pinned the Berzerker (substituting for Papa Shango) after the Tombstone. After the match, the Undertaker gave Mr. Fuji a Tombstone…WWF Champion Randy Savage pinned Ric Flair with the flying elbow drop.
Richfield, Ohio – The Richfield Coliseum – May 16, 1992 (5,100): Crush defeated Kato via submission to a claw hold…High Energy beat the Nasty Boys via count out…El Matador pinned Bob Bradley…Intercontinental Champion Bret Hart pinned Shawn Michaels…The Ultimate Warrior beat Papa Shango…Hacksaw Jim Duggan defeated Repo Man via disqualification…The Legion of Doom beat the Beverly Brothers.
Nashville, Tennessee – Nashville Municipal Auditorium – May 17, 1992 (2,400): Jim Powers beat the Brooklyn Brawler…Tatanka pinned Colonel Mustafa…Kamala beat Sergeant Slaughter after the Mountie interfered…Virgil pinned the Genius…The Texas Tornado beat Skinner…The Undertaker defeated the Mountie (substituting for Papa Shango)…The Natural Disasters defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Money Incorporated via count out…WWF Champion Randy Savage beat Ric Flair via disqualification.
Backstage News*: WWF television ratings did not do well during sweeps week as shows that aired between May 9 and May 11 drew the lowest ratings for wrestling on cable.
-The WWF does not have any house shows scheduled for the July 4 weekend, which is unusual because that is usually when some of the best houses of the year take place.
-In talent relations news, look for Scott Hall to come to the WWF as he quit WCW on Sunday and told people that he was headed to the WWF to play a character based on Fonzie from Happy Days.
*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for May 25.
Up Next: Prime Time Wrestling for May 18!