What the World Was Watching: WWF Prime Time Wrestling – June 8, 1992

Vince McMahon presides over this evening’s panel, featuring Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Hillbilly Jim, Bobby Heenan, and Mr. Perfect.

Opening Contest: High Energy (6-0) beat Skinner & the Brooklyn Brawler when Owen Hart pins the Brawler after a splash at 7:58:

This match took place in Lexington, Kentucky on May 19. It is mostly a long squash for High Energy as their opponents never get their act together. The only exciting piece of High Energy’s offense in the first six minutes is Owen flipping off the ropes a few times. There is also a callback to WrestleMania VIII when Owen squares off with Skinner as Skinner has to kick out from an O’Connor roll. There is a false tag spot but the referee either does not realize what is going on or fails to intervene effectively as Owen treats it like a hot tag and lays out the heels. Chaos reigns after that and High Energy flatten their foes with missile dropkicks, capped off by Owen splashing the Brawler off the ropes to keep his team unbeaten. Rating: *¼

Shawn Michaels’ squash from Wrestling Challenge is shown.

Lord Alfred Hayes’ Special Report recaps Nailz’s beatdown of the Big Bossman.

Heenan says that Nailz was innocent and the Bossman is solely responsible for turning him into a vicious man because he “worked him over on the inside.” Duggan takes up for the Bossman, saying that any ill treatment Nailz may have received was well deserved.

Jim Powers (1-6) beats Barry Horowitz after a powerslam at 5:55:

Throughout the match, which also happens in Lexington, Gorilla Monsoon and Hayes hype The WBF Championship. Powers is getting a small window of opportunity because of the mass talent defections taking place but this match shows some of his shortcomings. A big one is how he struggles to engage the crowd in the early and middle portions of the match, doing long arm work instead of doing some power moves. Horowitz gets in a decent share of his own offense, using a neckbreaker for a two count. However, a blind charge cues Powers’ comeback and he finally gets the crowd into it by taking Horowitz to the buckle ten times. A powerslam off the ropes gives Powers a second win the year, something no WWF fan thought was possible. Rating: *

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Ric Flair’s squash from Wrestling Challenge is shown.

The panel tries to talk about the Randy Savage-Flair feud but there is no material to work with so the conversation lacks depth.

The Legion of Doom’s squash from Superstars two weeks ago airs.

Repo Man’s squash from Superstars is shown.

The Nasty Boys (w/Jimmy Hart) (11-0) beat El Matador & Virgil when Brian Knobbs pins Virgil after a double DDT at 6:39 shown:

The bout is joined in progress from Cincinnati, Ohio on May 18. Monsoon and Hayes act as if El Matador and Virgil have never teamed together, overlooking their fight against Ted DiBiase and Repo Man at last year’s Tuesday in Texas pay-per-view. In between hype for the WBF they also talk about how El Matador is more of a singles wrestler while Virgil is better for tag teams. The match is a bore, with El Matador spending a good chunk of time on Knobbs’ arm and the Nasties doing bearhugs. Missed elbow drops by the Nasties allow Virgil to get a hot tag. Jerry Sags trips Virgil when he runs the ropes and Knobbs drops an elbow but El Matador breaks up the pin. However, when El Matador is sent from the ring, the Nasties double team Virgil and hit a double DDT for the win. Doing the false finish before the double DDT was meaningless since it just delayed Virgil getting pinned by 30 seconds. Virgil getting the winning pin at WrestleMania in the eight-man tag has meant nothing too as he has lost his last three televised matches against name competition. Rating: ¾*

Gene Okerlund’s interview with Papa Shango from Superstars is shown. In the studio, Duggan has no idea where the black goo came from. Heenan wonders who will be cursed next.

Crush’s squash from Wrestling Challenge airs.

The British Bulldog (15-0) pins Irwin R. Schyster (w/Jimmy Hart) (3-2-1) after the running powerslam at 12:48:

This match was the main event of the UK Rampage ’92 event in Sheffield, England, which was held on April 19. The Bulldog gets a massive pop for his entrance and he appears genuinely touched by the reaction. IRS stalls a lot, meaning that sustained action does not commence until the five-minute mark when IRS blasts the Bulldog with an enzuigiri and beats him up on the arena floor. Long rest holds follow, with IRS breaking up some of the monotony by blasting the Bulldog with the Write Off. However, he waits too long to go for a cover and using a leg drop only gets two. The Bulldog also breaks up some of the rest holds by scoring some fluke near-falls with a schoolboy roll up, a sunset flip into the ring, and suplexing IRS into the ring from the apron. The Bulldog’s comeback starts after he reverses a take to the corner turnbuckles and when IRS tries to leave the ring again, the Bulldog stops him by stepping on his tie. Hart provides a distraction so IRS can grab his briefcase but when he tries to use it the Bulldog stops him. IRS tries to float over a blind charge but the Bulldog catches him and in a nice spot, Hart grabs IRS’ arm to prevent the completion of the move. Referee Earl Hebner kicks the grip free, the Bulldog completes the move, and wins the match. When IRS was not stalling this was good. The crowd was into everything and that turned an average match into something a bit better. Rating: **½

Heenan is skeptical that the Bulldog can win a feud with Repo Man because of fleas.

The Natural Disasters’ squash from Wrestling Challenge is shown.

A Bushwhacker’s squash from the January 13 edition of Prime Time airs.

Tune in next week to see Tatanka face Skinner! Also, the Texas Tornado squares off against Repo Man!

The Last Word: The WWF is in a weird place right now as Jim Powers and the Brooklyn Brawler have each won matches over the last month. This show was a step back toward the Prime Time of the last few years as there were two unique feature matches that had some intrigue. Unfortunately, the panelists still do not have much of substance to talk about and that weighs down the program.

Up Next: WWF Superstars for June 13!