What the World Was Watching: WWF Prime Time Wrestling – September 14, 1992

Footage that aired on Superstars of Ric Flair celebrating his WWF title victory with Mr. Perfect, Bobby Heenan, and Razor Ramon is shown.

Vince McMahon moderates tonight’s panel of Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Hillbilly Jim, Heenan, and Perfect. An irate Duggan lets the heels know that Randy Savage was injured and had guts to defend the title against Flair. This scares Heenan for a bit but he taunts Duggan by saying that Savage has guts but is no longer WWF champion.

Opening Contest: Hacksaw Jim Duggan & the Bushwhackers defeat the Mountie & the Nasty Boys (w/Jimmy Hart) when Duggan pins the Mountie after heel miscommunication at 10:17 shown:

This was a match that took place at SummerSlam but did not make pay-per-view. It was the first match that the crowd was treated to so the crowd is hot for an early sequence where the babyfaces taunt to cheers and heels try to replicate it but get booed out of Wembley Stadium. Duggan and his teammates clear the ring several times until Butch ends in peril during a commercial break. The heels work a long reverse chinlock and Brian Knobbs comes close to winning after a splash. However, when he tries one off the second rope that eats boot and Duggan gets the hot tag. When all hell breaks loose the Bushwhackers give Battering Rams to each of their opponents and Duggan hits the Mountie with the three-point stance clothesline after some confusion when Hart does not hop on the apron at the right time. Jerry Sags tries to break the pin with his flying elbow drop but Duggan moves, tosses Sags over the top rope, and covers the Mountie again for the win. Like many things on the pay-per-view, the crowd enhanced the quality of this match. Rating: *¾

Heenan tells Duggan his win in the last match was nice but it is did not win him a title. Perfect adds that Ric Flair will be WWF champion as he long as his consulting for him.

Promo time with Sean Mooney! Crush starts talking like a Hawaiian because his family and friends back home wanted him to be more like himself. Heenan interrupts to tell Mooney that he does a terrible job at the Event Center and Jamison could do a better.

Papa Shango’s squash from Superstars is shown.

A replay of Razor Ramon’s promo on Randy Savage from Wrestling Challenge two weeks ago airs.

In a full viewing of the segment that aired in clips on Superstars, Okerlund interviews Savage in Hershey, Pennsylvania when he was still WWF champion. Savage says that he and the Warrior beat themselves up at SummerSlam and he finds him a worth adversary that is just as much of a champion as he is. Savage tells Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect that he is going to meet them head on even though he has a bad knee. Razor Ramon interrupts, saying that Savage does not impress him and needs lessons in “machismo.” After Ramon flicks his toothpick at Savage, Savage goes to pick it up and hits Ramon, who goes off the interview podium. WWF officials rush out to make Ramon go back to the locker room as Ramon warns Savage that he is his later.

Shawn Michaels (w/Sensational Sherri) (24-1-1) defeats Jim Powers (3-8) after the Teardrop Suplex at 5:59:

This clash took place in Worcester, Massachusetts on July 20. Gorilla Monsoon says that Michaels is still the top contender for the Intercontinental title that is now held by the British Bulldog. Each man trades an equal amount of offense, with Powers getting a hope spot schoolboy roll up for a near-fall when Michaels is in control. Powers makes a comeback after Michaels’ blind charge eats boot but he never goes for a cover of his own, losing after a blind charge of his own leaves him vulnerable to Michaels’ superkick and Teardrop Suplex. Rating: **

WWF Championship Match: Ric Flair (w/Mr. Perfect) (10-1) pins Randy Savage (Champion) (5-1) with the figure-four leglock to win the title at 15:56 shown:

Since this match took place in Hershey, Pennsylvania the day after SummerSlam aired on pay-per-view Savage is selling his left knee, which Flair injured with a chair during Savage’s battle with the Ultimate Warrior. It limits his offense as Savage stays in the corners or near the ropes to keep himself up and Flair stalks him for an opening. Doing that also makes him vulnerable to Perfect’s interference as Perfect reaches into the ring on multiple occasions. Flair is in his element working the knee, even using a cover after a suplex where he hooks Savage’s left knee and Savage is in pain kicking out. After a commercial break Savage makes a comeback, clotheslines Flair over the top rope, and exacts some punishment to Flair there. Back inside, Savage lands a flying double axe handle but his injury does not let him cover as Razor Ramon comes to ringside. Perfect grabs Savage’s leg when he runs the ropes and when Savage turns to confront Perfect, Flair knees him to the floor, where Ramon takes Savage’s knee out behind the referee’s back. Flair rolls Savage in and applies the figure-four. Savage tries to turn out and fight out, going as far as to grab referee Earl Hebner, but fails to escape the hold and passes out from the pain. Despite that, Hebner is reluctant to count the fall for whatever reason and that extends Savage’s suffering rather than ends it. Lots of fans are seen cheering the title change but the WWF pipes in boos. The match told a good story of stacking the odds against Savage and how he walked into a trap by defending the title when he was not healthy. It is Flair’s tenth straight singles win and Savage’s third consecutive loss (if singles and tag matches are combined). Rating: ***

Footage after the match is shown where Ramon returned to the ring and attacked Savage until WWF officials intervened. Savage tries to make it to the locker room under his own power but cannot and the Ultimate Warrior carries him to the locker room.

When Perfect puts over the strong bond that exists between himself, Heenan, and Flair, Duggan argues that they are really the Three Stooges.

Kamala’s match from SummerSlam Spectacular is shown.

Courtesy of TSN in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Bret Hart joins the show. Bret says that Papa Shango’s curse had nothing to do with why he lost to the British Bulldog and he proceeds to indict Shango’s gimmick, raising a good point that if Shango had the power people claim he does then he would turn him into “a newt or something.”

The next scheduled bout is supposed to be Sergeant Slaughter against Nailz from Huntsville, Alabama on August 10. Nailz knocks Slaughter off the apron before the bell rings, stun guns him on the guardrail, and beats him with a nightstick and chair. The crowd cheers for the Big Bossman but again, the Cobb County law enforcement officer is nowhere to be found. Eventually, WWF officials intercede and Slaughter is wheeled out on a stretcher. Nailz excels doing these brutal beatdowns as violence like this was relatively unknown to WWF audiences since the Hulkamania era. Fans did know it at the time but this would mark the last time Slaughter acted like a full-time wrestler in the WWF. And it was time for him to do something else as his babyface act since late 1991 has not resonated like it did a decade earlier.

More promos with Mooney! Money Incorporated, with Jimmy Hart, put themselves over as unstoppable and that they are coming for the tag team titles that Natural Disasters “stole” from them. Heenan interrupts again, saying that Mooney is ignoring a wrestler with gold in the WWF: Ric Flair.

The Bossman’s squash from Superstars airs.

Heenan asks McMahon to give some pencils to Savage to sell because Savage is in no condition to make a living in the ring at this point.

Jamison comes onto the set with more disgusting cooking. This week he has pasta salad and shows off a homemade WWF jacket.

The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) (25-0) defeats Kato (0-17) after the Tombstone at 3:00:

This bout took place in Portland, Maine on July 21. Lord Alfred Hayes, always Kato’s biggest champion on commentary, makes the laughable claim that Kato has been on a small winning streak and is close to challenging for titles. Kato does not mount any offense after jumping into the Undertaker’s clutches early and once he is in the Undertaker’s grasp it is all over. This would be Kato’s last televised appearance as Paul Diamond, who was under the mask, would soon be working under a mask for a different gimmick. It would be fitting if he was carried out in a body bag but the Undertaker and Bearer have better things to do.

Jamison eats his nasty pasta salad as the show goes off the air.

Tune in next week to see Virgil square off against Razor Ramon! Also, the Big Bossman faces Rick Martel and El Matador wrestles Papa Shango!

The Last Word: It was a big thing in this era to see a WWF title change air on television. The angle and match would have played better if the WWF did not tip its hand a few days earlier on Superstars and had tried to frame the show as a “live look in” to what was happening in Hershey but Vince McMahon may have believed that giving away the title change on Superstars would be a way to get a good rating for Prime Time. The WWF title match, in conjunction with the Nailz-Slaughter angle, being on this show was the first step in the WWF putting significant storyline content on cable, a trend that would accelerate in the coming years. Doing this was made even more important because of the WWF’s loss of stations for its syndicated programs, which would also become a problem as the decade went on. Overall, this was a good program that provided fans with more entertaining matches than usual.

Up Next: WWF Superstars for September 19!