What the World Was Watching: WWF Wrestling Challenge – June 28, 1992

Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan provide commentary, starting a new series of episodes from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping took place on June 2.

Opening Contest: Papa Shango (12-0) beats Bob Perez after the reverse shoulderbreaker at 1:45:

After weeks of destroying jobbers with voodoo, Shango decides to stop doing that and wrestles. Shango avalanches Perez against the buckles and tries to look scary for the camera before the finish. After the match, fire shoots out of the skull Shango is holding.

Lord Alfred Hayes’ Special Report has ICOPRO piled up on table. Call 1-800-634-1010 to get yours! After a replay of Shawn Michaels’ interview with Gene Okerlund on Superstars two weeks ago, Intercontinental Champion Bret Hart says Michaels’ mirror will not make a difference because he is better than that.

Rick Martel (13-3-1) defeats Jay Sledge via submission to the Boston Crab at 1:40:

Before the match, Martel uses Tatanka’s tribal feathers to cool down his armpits. Martel does an insert promo where he tells Tatanka that when he sees something that he wants, like Tatanka’s tribal feathers, there is nothing that he can do about it. Sledge does not get any offense before submitting to the Boston Crab.

You can buy your copy of The WBF Championship on Coliseum Video on July 2! A video package recaps the event.

Virgil (14-3) pins Joe Milano after a side Russian leg sweep at 1:28:

Milano throws some punches into Virgil’s mid-section but Virgil does not sell them and Milano sells all of Virgil’s blows to the same body part. After a clothesline, Virgil uses a side Russian leg sweep for a fifth-straight singles win.

The Nasty Boys (w/Jimmy Hart) (14-0) defeat Jason Speed & Jay Blade when Jerry Sags pins Speed after a double DDT at 30 seconds:

The Nasties have received a lot of exposure this week, appearing on all of the WWF’s television programs. In the split screen, High Energy talk about going to the top of the WWF and Koko B. Ware sings the team name. When the promo finishes, Sags gets the winning pin on Speed in the quickest tag team squash to this point in the year. After the bell, the Nasties double team Blade in the corner and give him the Pit Stop and their finisher. Monsoon makes a point that the Nasties are putting themselves back in contention for the tag team titles.

Sergeant Slaughter (6-1) defeats Kerry Davis via submission to the Cobra Clutch at 1:33:

Slaughter is not stupid like Hacksaw Jim Duggan and does not bring the American flag to wave since he is in a foreign country. In the split screen, the Mountie and Jimmy Hart yell about who the Mountie is. The Mountie was not able to attend the recent Superstars, Wrestling Challenge, and Prime Time television tapings because the Royal Canadian Mounted Police threatened to arrest him if he wrestled in his Mountie attire. Slaughter makes quick work of Davis after a clothesline.

Okerlund interviews the Berzerker and Mr. Fuji. Fuji puts over his man as unbeaten, which is not true, and the Berzerker says he talks loud, burps loud, and smells loud and that he stays awake at night thinking of ways to bust the Undertaker up. He vows not to let the Undertaker get up from his next beating and bury him like a Viking. To put over the power of his sword, the Berzerker cuts off half of Okerlund’s tie as heels are now torturing the long-time WWF interviewer. This was not a good promo for the feud because the Berzerker came off as a big Bushwhacker rather than a powerful heel that could go toe-to-toe with the Undertaker.

The Texas Tornado (10-1) pins Barry Horowitz after the discus punch at 1:08:

Tornado beat Horowitz on the January 20 episode of Prime Time Wrestling. To avoid that same outcome, Horowitz attacks the Tornado before he gets his ring robe off but then makes the stupid error of giving the Tornado a free shot. The Tornado takes advantage and Monsoon credits the Tornado’s stamina to ICOPRO. The crowd works up a chant for the Tornado just before the finish, illustrating that he is still over. However, the WWF could not trust him with a long-term program of any significance.

Razor Ramon’s latest vignette from Superstars is shown.

Repo Man (17-3) defeats Joe McMullen via submission to a single leg Boston Crab at 1:28:

The British Bulldog does an insert promo telling Repo Man that when they face off they will find out who is going to be begging. WWF wrestlers love stun gun-like moves recently as they have popped up a few times on this show. Repo Man does Snake Eyes in the corner to set up his finish. Monsoon says that Repo Man calls it something different from a single leg Boston Crab but does not name it. After the bell, Repo Man puts his tow rope around the jobber’s ankles and when the jobber tries to run away, Repo Man pulls the rope and the jobber faceplant.

Tune in next week to see the British Bulldog, Shawn Michaels, Nailz, and the Undertaker will be in action! And there will be a special interview with the Ultimate Warrior!

The Last Word: This was the typical squasherific, low key Wrestling Challenge episode. The Berzerker got a big change with the special interview spot on this program but did not deliver.

As the WWF neared the end of June, here were the results of some its house shows, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:

Providence, Rhode Island – Providence Civic Center – June 22, 1992 (4,000): Virgil pinned the Brooklyn Brawler after a side Russian leg sweep…The Texas Tornado beat Nailz via disqualification when Nailz beat up the Tornado with a nightstick at 3:09…The Bushwhackers defeated Double Trouble…The Natural Disasters beat WWF Tag Team Champions Money Incorporated via count out when the champions walked out of the match…The British Bulldog pinned Repo Man after hitting Repo Man with his own tow rope…Intercontinental Champion Bret Hart pinned Shawn Michaels with a schoolboy roll up after heel miscommunication with Sensational Sherri…The Ultimate Warrior beat Papa Shango after a splash.

Louisville, Kentucky – Louisville Gardens – June 22, 1992 (2,700): El Matador beat Skinner…Animal beat Blake Beverly (The match was originally supposed to be the Legion of Doom vs. The Beverly Brothers)…Rick Martel beat Tatanka via count out…The Undertaker defeated the Berzerker…Crush beat Kato…The Nasty Boys defeated High Energy…WWF Champion Randy Savage defeated Ric Flair via reverse decision.

Montreal, Quebec, Canada – Montreal Forum – June 26, 1992 (2,800): Virgil beat the Brooklyn Brawler…Rick Martel defeated Tatanka…Hawk pinned Jerry Sags…Koko B. Ware (substituting for Crush) beat Skinner…Kamala defeated the Texas Tornado…The Undertaker beat the Berzerker…WWF Champion Randy Savage beat Ric Flair via disqualification.

Landover, Maryland – Capital Centre – June 28, 1992 (2,800): El Matador defeated Kato…Nailz beat Jim Brunzell via submission…The British Bulldog defeated Repo Man…The Mountie beat Sergeant Slaughter via disqualification…WWF Tag Team Champions Money Incorporated beat the Natural Disasters when Ted DiBiase pinned Typhoon after IRS hit Typhoon with his steel briefcase…Intercontinental Champion Bret Hart pinned Shawn Michaels…The Ultimate Warrior pinned Papa Shango.

Backstage News*: Former WWF talent Paul Roma was interviewed in John Clark’s Wrestling Flyer newsletter and said that Jim Powers was a victim of sexual harassment and that the Young Stallions tag team of the late 1980s was formed to keep Powers quiet. Roma says he was also approached at the home of a WWF executive, turned it down, but claims that Power & Glory would have gotten a tag team title run out of it if he had acceded to the executive’s demands.

-The first WWWF titleholder, Buddy Rogers, who was also a former NWA World champion, passed away in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on June 26. He was 71 years old.

-The recent episode of Prime Time Wrestling posted a 1.6 rating, its worst-ever. Much of that is likely due to running head-to-head with WCW’s Clash of the Champions, which drew a 2.8 rating.

-Roddy Piper is angling for a television series on HBO.

-The Berzerker suffered a jammed shoulder in his match with the Undertaker in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and had to be replaced over the weekend by Kamala. He is expected to recover in a week or two from that injury.

*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for July 6.

Up Next: Prime Time Wrestling for June 29!