What the World Was Watching: WWF Wrestling Challenge – July 19, 1992

Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan provide commentary for a new taping in Binghamton, New York. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping took place on June 30 and drew a crowd of 4,000 fans.

Heenan is excited for the SummerSlam main event announcement, confident it is Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair for the WWF Championship. Monsoon tries to reason with him that historically SummerSlam has featured tag matches but Heenan will not listen.

Opening Non-Title Contest: Money Incorporated (WWF Tag Team Champions w/Jimmy Hart) (15-1) beat Bill Pierce & Flex Armstrong when Irwin R. Schyster pins Pierce after the Write Off at 2:21:

IRS tells fans that they better not try to cheat on their electronic tax filings. In the split screen, the Natural Disasters tell the Money Incorporated that they are going to take their opponents’ pride, money, and tag team titles. Heenan is obsessed with the SummerSlam announcement as Monsoon questions whether he can work with Heenan when he is thinking like that. Money Incorporated go through the motions on another set of jobber opponents to solidify their standing as the division’s champions.

Lord Alfred Hayes’ Special Report segment repeats the SummerSlam news from Superstars that the show will be headlined by Randy Savage defending the WWF title against the Ultimate Warrior.

Sergeant Slaughter (8-1) defeats Richie Rich via submission to the Cobra Clutch in 45 seconds:

Rich was a Killer Kowalski trainee and wrestled on the Massachusetts independent scene.

Heenan screams throughout the squash about how Flair was “jobbed again” by WWF President Jack Tunney. Slaughter does not have to do a lot of work to checkmate Rich, winning a seventh-straight singles bout.

There is a replay of the Razor Ramon vignette from Superstars.

Papa Shango (15-0) beats Ross Greenberg after the reverse shoulderbreaker at 1:29:

Greenberg was trained by fellow WWF enhancement talent Mario Mancini. He wrestled ten squash matches for the WWF in 1991, losing to heel acts like Jake Roberts, Irwin R. Schyster, Big Bully Busick, and Skinner, among others.

Heenan spins a conspiracy theory about how Randy Savage and the Ultimate Warrior want no part of Ric Flair, the Warrior especially, so they both greased WWF President Jack Tunney’s palms so they could avoid having to face the former WWF champion. Shango is supposed to be a main attraction but Monsoon and Heenan spend the squash hyping the WWF vs. WBF tug-of-war on WBF Body Stars in a few weeks.

The Legion of Doom’s squash from Prime Time Wrestling airs.

Gene Okerlund interviews Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect. Perfect argues that WWF President Jack Tunney has an axe to grind with Flair, having Flair as the third entrant earlier in the year at the Royal Rumble and changing the WrestleMania main event. Flair hilariously calls the Ultimate Warrior “a blowfish with paint on his face” that took his title shot away. He is angry at being left off the SummerSlam card entirely, telling the Warrior that he will get even later and warns Savage that he will regain the WWF title sooner or later. Some of this promo went long but Flair and Perfect did a good job laying out their grievances of being left out of SummerSlam.

Tatanka (21-0) defeat Mike Sharpe after the Samoan Drop at 1:55:

Sharpe was trained by Dewey Robertson (the Missing Link) and was a second-generation talent. He made his debut in 1975 and worked for Gene Kiniski’s NWA All Star Wrestling and Stampede Wrestling, holding tag team titles in each promotion. He came to the WWF in February 1983 and got a strong push, headlining a show at the Philadelphia Spectrum against WWF Champion Bob Backlund. After that he moved down the card into an opening act and television enhancement talent. In 1991 he did not do work for the WWF and made appearances in Herb Abrams’ UWF and Northeastern independent promotions instead.

Sharpe is one of the bigger opponents Tatanka has faced to this point but he does not present much difficulty as Tatanka uses his agility to escape a corner avalanche and slams his opponent several times. Tatanka throws a lot of chops to set up the Samoan Drop.

A clip of Heenan taking tennis lessons on WrestleFest ’92 is shown.

A clip of the Big Bossman’s interview with Okerlund on Superstars airs.

Nailz (6-0) beats Tony Roy via submission to a chokehold sleeper in 50 seconds:

Roy was another Killer Kowalski trainee and began his career in 1988. He did some WWF enhancement work in 1988 and spent much of his career on the Northeast independence scene in the early 1990s.

Nailz spends less than a minute choking the life out of Roy. Heenan insists that Nailz was arrested for three unpaid parking tickets and got a bum rap. As per usual, Nailz beats on Roy and chokes him with a nightstick until WWF officials put Roy on a stretcher and take him to the locker room.

There is a replay of Randy Savage and the Ultimate Warrior’’s comments for their face-to-face segment from Superstars.

Tune in next week to see the Mountie, the Undertaker, the Nasty Boys, and Intercontinental Champion Bret Hart in action!

The Last Word: While this episode reprised the angle of Ric Flair being angry over the booking of the SummerSlam main event it packed more punch because Bobby Heenan did a better job than Mr. Perfect at selling it on commentary and this show had a promo from Flair. That alone was enough to make this a more enjoyable edition of Wrestling Challenge than has been the norm for 1992.

Here is a summary of some of the WWF’s house show action from the middle of July, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:

Niagara Falls, New York – Niagara Falls Convention Center – July 13, 1992 (1,500): Owen Hart pinned Brian Knobbs with a splash off the top rope…The British Bulldog beat Repo Man after hitting Repo Man with his own tow rope…Sergeant Slaughter beat the Mountie via count out…Randy Savage & Bret Hart defeated Ric Flair & Shawn Michaels when Savage pinned Michaels…Virgil beat Kato with a crucifix…Jerry Sags pinned Koko B. Ware after Knobbs interfered…The Legion of Doom defeated the Beverly Brothers when Animal pinned Beau following a double neckbreaker.

Tampa, Florida – The Sun Dome – July 17, 1992 (3,500): The Brooklyn Brawler pinned Jim Powers…Hacksaw Jim Duggan beat the Mountie…Kamala pinned Jim Brunzell…Tatanka pinned Rick Martel…WWF Champion Randy Savage beat Ric Flair…Virgil pinned Skinner…The Natural Disasters defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Money Incorporated via count out…The Undertaker pinned the Berzerker.

Houston, Texas – The Summit – July 17, 1992 (5,400): El Matador pinned Kato…The Big Bossman beat Nailz via disqualification…The Nasty Boys defeated High Energy…The British Bulldog pinned Repo Man…Intercontinental Champion Bret Hart pinned Shawn Michaels…The Ultimate Warrior beat Papa Shango.

Hyannis, Massachusetts – Cape Cod Melody Tent – July 19, 1992 (2,800; sellout): Jim Powers pinned Kato…Tatanka beat Rick Martel…The Samoans (Headshrinkers) defeated the Bushwhackers…Hacksaw Jim Duggan beat Ric Flair via disqualification…The Latin Fury (Konnan) beat Pete Doherty…The Natural Disasters beat WWF Tag Team Champions Money Incorporated via count out.

Warwick, Rhode Island – Warwick Musical Theatre – July 19, 1992 (2,000): The Genius pinned Bob Bradley…Virgil beat the Brooklyn Brawler…Kamala pinned Jim Brunzell (substituting for the Texas Tornado) with a thrust kick and splash after Brunzell was distracted by Kim Chee…The Big Bossman beat Nailz via disqualification when Nailz used a nightstick as a weapon at 6:38…Animal pinned Beau Beverly after hitting Beau and Blake Beverly with a double DDT when Blake tried to interfere at 7:10 (The bout was originally booked as the Legion of Doom vs. the Beverly Brothers)…WWF Champion Randy Savage pinned Shawn Michaels with a schoolboy roll up after heel miscommunication with Sensational Sherri at 22:42.

Backstage News*: 20,000 tickets remain for SummerSlam, causing the WWF to tell European audiences on its shows that tickets were still available. The original plan to do closed circuit telecast of the event was shelved.

-On July 15, Titan Sports announced that WBF Magazine would cease publication with its September issue. Many see this as the beginning of the end of the WBF. Bodybuilder Mike Quinn has been fired, Mike Christian has quit, and champion Gary Strydom now has a strained relationship with the company. There are rumors that Strydom held up Titan Sports on the day of The WBF Championship. The bodybuilders contracts expire at the end of this year so Vince McMahon could let them expire and cease the project that way. Some might be offered new deals to promote ICOPRO and WBF Body Stars may continue to pursue the same end.

-In talent relations news, Kerry Von Erich (the Texas Tornado) has been fired. Bob Backlund has still not signed a contract but the WWF is convinced that he will.

*Backstage news is courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for July 27.

Up Next: Prime Time Wrestling for July 20!