What the World Was Watching: WWF Wrestling Challenge – November 1, 1992

In a production change, the entrance has colored bars around it with the WWF logo at the top. This was the same entrance setup that was used at WrestleMania VIII.

Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are the broadcasters of today’s program, starting a new taping cycle in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping took place on October 13.

A new Bam Bam Bigelow vignette sees him put over his physical attributes.

Non-Title Match: The British Bulldog (Intercontinental Champion) (28-0) pins Louie Spicolli after the running powerslam at 1:42:

Heenan is mad that the Nasty Boys drove him away from the commentary table after the Tag Team title change. The Bulldog does an insert promo congratulating Bret Hart for winning the WWF Championship. The clown that appeared on Superstars is also found on the steps facing the hard camera during this squash. Spicolli is wearing UWF colors for his tights scheme and the Bulldog vanquishes him with the running powerslam, hyping ICOPRO afterwards.

Hacksaw Jim Duggan reminds people to vote.

Papa Shango (28-2) beats Steve Gillespie after the reverse shoulderbreaker at 1:26:

Heenan jokes that Shango might turn Monsoon into a spider monkey. He also announces that the Natural Disasters and WWF Tag Team Champions Money Incorporated will be on Prime Time Wrestling via satellite. Gillespie is no match for Shango’s power in this match.

A video package provides highlights of WWF Champion Bret Hart’s career to the tune of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers “Makin’ Some Noise.”

Gene Okerlund does the Survivor Series Report. The Big Bossman promises to use the nightstick if he gets a hold of it first against Nailz. The Ultimate Maniacs do a promo where the Ultimate Warrior talks in a weird voice about how red and yellow to an ultimate maniac means that you go until you drop. Randy Savage adds that their team will survive. No mention is made of the once announced match between Intercontinental Champion the British Bulldog and the Mountie, so astute fans picked up that something was going on with one or both men.

Razor Ramon (12-0) pins El Matador (27-4-3) after the Razor’s Edge at 4:45:

Arena reports said that this match was started, aborted, and then restarted after the top rope broke and was fixed. El Matador quickly hits the flying forearm, knocking Ramon to the floor. He frustrates Ramon by avoiding a series of elbow drops but he gets stun gunned on a charge and Ramon starts working the back. El Matador uses a sunset flip to escape a bearhug for two and mounts a small comeback but a monkey flip out of the corner is blocked. Ramon follows up with the Razor’s Edge and captures his biggest win to date. This continues a trend in 1992 of new acts going over cleanly against the WWF’s old guard. Rating: **

The Beverly Brothers and the Genius hype themselves as undefeated, which is fake news. Tatanka says he does not care which of the Beverly Brothers he faces next week because he is a fierce animal that will win any encounter.

Tune in next week to see Tatanta wrestle a Beverly Brother! Also, Marty Jannetty, the Headshrinkers, Crush in action! Also, Ric Flair and Razor Ramon will appear for a special interview!

The Last Word: Razor Ramon got a big win on the program as Tito Santana’s long run in the WWF begins to wind down. One just wishes they were given as much time to develop their match as was given to the Tag Team title change between the Natural Disasters and Money Incorporated. However, it was still good by television standards in this era and that made this a good episode of Wrestling Challenge.

The WWF was forced to combine house show cards on October 31 and November 1 because of poor advance sales in Memphis, Tennessee; Nashville, Tennessee; and Huntsville; Alabama. Here were the results of some of the week’s house shows, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:

Youngstown, Ohio – Beeghly Center – October 29, 1992 (1,200): A scheduled match between the Undertaker and Ric Flair did not take place…Lance Cassidy beat Skinner…Max Moon defeated the Brooklyn Brawler…The Beverly Brothers beat High Energy…Tatanka defeated Repo Man…Intercontinental Champion the British Bulldog beat Kamala…WWF Champion Bret Hart beat Papa Shango.

Evansville, Indiana – Municipal Auditorium – October 31, 1992 (2,150): Max Moon beat the Brooklyn Brawler…Lance Cassidy defeated Skinner…Crush (substituting for the British Bulldog) defeated Kamala…Razor Ramon beat Randy Savage via count out…The Beverly Brothers beat High Energy when Beau pinned Koko B. Ware…Tatanka beat Repo Man…WWF Champion Bret Hart defeated Papa Shango.

Backstage News*: WWF talent are unhappy about payoffs as midcard and bottom talent are only making $1,000 to $2,000 per week ($250-$500 per night). There are complaints that wrestlers are not able to meet their road expenses.

-There has been some turnover in the WWF’s front office as John Fillipelli, who ran television production, has quit to try to get into professional sports. Much of his staff is also expected to leave.

-Even though there was an emphasis several weeks ago on changing the product to be more wrestling-centric, the WWF is already rolling that back. However, some of the matches planned for December house shows like Bret Hart-Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels-Marty Jannetty show that the company is still valuing a quality in-ring product.

-Recent Prime Time ratings recovered to a 2.0, which is the best in weeks.

-The WWF is looking at holding WrestleMania in Madison Square Garden in 1994 since it will be the tenth edition of the event.

-There are plans to turn Kamala and Sensational Sherri babyface. Kamala’s bits of chasing Harvey Wippleman and Kim Chee after losses on house shows have gotten over well.

-In injury news, Ric Flair was going to wrestle the Big Bossman on the next Saturday Night’s Main Event but the bout was scrapped because of Flair’s inner ear problem. Flair is not expected to return until Survivor Series. The Bossman has nagging injuries and is expected to take time off after Survivor Series. Brian Knobbs is also out with a knee injury.

-Jimmy Garvin was interviewed by Gene Okerlund at a television taping in Springfield, Illinois and hyped all the heels for Survivor Series. The segment was poorly received and is not expected to make air.

-In talent relations news, the Mountie quit on Monday to ostensibly open a golf center in Montreal. There are rumors that Earthquake might be leaving at the end of the year. The WWF also gave tryouts to Brian Lee and Herman the German.

*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for November 2 and 9.

Up Next: Prime Time Wrestling for November 2!

And if you would like to read a compiled breakdown of 1990 WWF, 1991 WWF, or of various promotions in 1995, check out my Amazon author page to purchase e-books or paperback copies!