What the World Was Watching: WWF Wrestling Challenge – November 22, 1992

Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are in the booth, starting a new taping cycle from Louisville, Kentucky. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping took place on October 28 and drew a sellout crowd of 4,500.

Opening Contest: Jerry Sags beats Beau Beverly (w/the Genius) after the flying elbow drop at 4:37:

Sags runs the Genius off early, only for the Genius to return moments later. Beau throws Sags to the floor and then uses a flying double axe handle for two. Sags quickly fights out of a chinlock but falls victim to a piledriver. However, a Beau dive off the top rope eats boot and Sags uses a side suplex to set up his flying elbow drop for the victory in an ugly confrontation. The Beverly Brothers have slid down the card after SummerSlam and their prospects of rising again seem slim. Rating: *

After the match, Sags throws the Genius into the ring, gives him the Pit Stop, and clotheslines him over the top rope.

The Berzerker (w/Mr. Fuji) (14-4) beats John Paul after a powerslam at 2:47:

Paul was from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and began his wrestling career in the AWA in the early 1970s. He had uneventful stops in Central States Wrestling and Continental in the 1980s before getting a push in the last years of the AWA in a tag team called the Top Guns with Ricky Rice.

The Berzerker screams “Hus!” so much that the crowd starts chanting along. The clown does not partake even though he is shown in the crowd. The Berzerker takes his time between moves, holding Paul up for a long time before driving him into the canvas with a powerslam. A strange squash but the Berzerker is a strange person inside and outside of the ring.

Lord Alfred Hayes’ Special Report recaps the events of the recent Saturday Night’s Main Event. Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels tells WWF Champion Bret Hart that he is walking out of Survivor Series with his belt.

Bob Backlund pins Brian Costello with a three-quarter nelson cradle at 2:44:

Backlund, an NCAA champion amateur wrestler, was trained by Eddie Sharkey and started wrestling in 1973 for the AWA. Before coming to the then-WWWF in 1976, he also wrestled for Western States Sports, Georgia Championship Wrestling, Championship Wrestling from Florida, and the St. Louis Wrestling Club, winning titles in all of them. After coming to the WWWF, he beat Superstar Billy Graham for the WWWF Championship in 1978 and held the title until 1984, also winning the Tag Team titles during that time frame with Pedro Morales. Backlund refused to turn heel and lose the WWF Championship to Hogan at the end of his reign, dropping the belt to the Iron Sheik and endorsing Hogan as the new champion. Backlund left the WWF in August and made appearances over the next eight years for Pro Wrestling USA, the AWA, Herb Abrams’ UWF, and the Japanese shoot-style UWF promotions.

Backlund gets a good reaction for his entrance but has no theme music. He does an insert promo, talking about how his comeback can be successful with the support of fans. Heenan jokes that Backlund’s promo was really an apology for being dull. After shaking Costello’s hand he wrestles circles around him but it is clearly an older style when hiptosses were considered big spots. After a double underhook suplex, Backlund cradles Costello and wins. On the one hand, Backlund’s style is realistic and that helps him stand out. On the other, it is a style that is not what the WWF has been pushing for the last eight years and fans are probably not going to like it.

Gene Okerlund interviews Kamala, Harvey Wippleman, and Kim Chee in the locker room. Wippleman repeats that the Undertaker is going in his own coffin. Kamala seems anxious during the segment, screaming and wailing when he hears the word “coffin.”

Nailz (17-0) defeats Gary Jackson via submission to a chokehold sleeper at 2:25:

Nailz does an insert promo about how he has waited for a long time to break the Big Bossman’s legs with a nightstick. After lots of choking, Nailz finally puts Jackson out with the chokehold sleeper. After the match, Nailz pushes Jackson out of the ring with his nightstick.

Tatanka (37-0) pins Tom Stone after the Papoose to Go at 2:39:

When the match starts, Monsoon announces that Virgil has answered Yokozuna’s open challenge for Survivor Series. In the split screen, Rick Martel tells Tatanka that he should not make promises that he cannot keep as Tatanka’s eagle feathers are staying with him. Tatanka uses a new move – a powerslam off the ropes – as part of his arsenal in this squash to continue his undefeated streak.

The Last Word: Bob Backlund had an average debut and the feature match was bad. A consequence of the WWF readjusting the SummerSlam card several months ago is that some feuds are ice cold like the Big Bossman against Nailz and Tatanka against Rick Martel because they have either run too long or they have not been adequately reheated. With all the defections and backstage turmoil, the WWF’s mindset at this point was likely just to get through Survivor Series and recalibrate before 1993 began.

Up Next: Prime Time Wrestling: “Survivor Series Showdown”!

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