What the World Was Watching: WWF Superstars – December 12, 1992

Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan, and Jerry Lawler provide commentary for today’s show. Heenan introduces Lawler as his replacement. Lawler says that WWF President Jack Tunney got on his knees to beg him to share his knowledge with the peons that watch WWF programming. They are starting a new taping cycle in Dayton, Ohio. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, it took place on November 24 and drew a sellout crowd of 7,000 fans.

Opening Contest: The Nasty Boys (24-1) defeat the Brooklyn Brawler & John Richner when Jerry Sags pins Richner after the Trip to Nastyville at 2:45:

Richner has a weird hairstyle with two buns in his hair, one in the front and one in the back. The jobber squad dazes Sags with some blows but Sags shrugs them off and Lawler is disgusted when Richner takes the Pit Stop. After the match, Brian Knobbs throws Richner to the arena floor and tells the camera that the Nasties are coming for Money Incorporated’s Tag Team titles.

Gene Okerlund’s Update segment announces that the main event for The Royal Rumble will see WWF Champion Bret Hart defend his title against Razor Ramon. That announcement was surprising because of last week’s segment that appeared to slot Ric Flair as the number one contender to Bret’s title. Footage is shown of past Royal Rumble matches to show off the concept to new fans. Okerlund closes the segment by saying that the winner of this year’s Rumble will get a shot at the WWF Championship at WrestleMania IX. This was the first time that stipulation was attached to the Rumble match and it is one that continues today.

Bam Bam Bigelow (2-0) pins John Paul after the flying headbutt at 1:15:

One would think that Heenan would be incensed over Flair not getting the WWF title match at The Royal Rumble but he has nothing to say about it. The clown walks down the aisle during the squash with a metal bucket of water and drinks some of it. Heenan notes that one must be tough to have their head tattooed and McMahon wonders if Bigelow will enter this year’s Rumble.

After the match, the clown comes face-to-face with Bigelow and goes to throw the content of the bucket on him. Bigelow warns the clown against it but the clown goes through with it, except the bucket is filled with confetti that flies all over Bigelow. The clown laughs like a maniac as Bigelow opts to go back to the locker room rather than beat the clown up, which is a curious choice for his character.

Slick argues that life is like the Royal Rumble as trouble can come from every direction. He urges fans to say to themselves each day that they are going to have a happy day.

Marty Jannetty (7-0-1) pins Dwayne Gill after the flying fist drop at 3:04:

The clown is still sticking around, carrying his bucket in the aisle and coming to ringside. In the split screen, Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels says he does not know where Sensational Sherri is but when he needs her she will be there like other women in his life. Gill rears up for a big blind charge but it misses and Jannetty wins with the flying fist drop after driving Gill’s face into the canvas.

As Jannetty makes his way to the back, he takes time to shake hands with a fan. The clown catches up and throws a bucket of water on him. Jannetty stands in shock as the clown laughs some more. Since the clown does not run away, Jannetty looks foolish not doing anything in return just like Bigelow earlier.

Nailz (18-1) defeats Mike Collins via submission to the chokehold sleeper at 1:46:

Nailz no longer carries a nightstick to the ring, smarting over his loss to the Big Bossman at Survivor Series. Although Heenan and Lawler disliked the clown when he went after Bam Bam Bigelow, they think the clown is great because of what he did to Jannetty. Nailz makes short work of Collins in what would be his last televised match as he would be fired for choking McMahon backstage two days later in Green Bay, Wisconsin over his SummerSlam payoff.

Okerlund interviews WWF Champion Bret Hart. When asked if he is defending the title too much, Bret promises he is not going to burn himself out because he is trying to become the greatest WWF champion ever. Heenan leaves the broadcast booth and interrupts, questioning whether Bret will even get past Flair to be WWF champion at The Royal Rumble. Bret rebuts that Flair already submitted to the Sharpshooter once and Ramon does not have the technical acumen to beat him. Heenan welcomes out Flair, who rushes the podium, argues he has more sex appeal than the Hitman, and that beating the man and staying the man are different things. When Flair finishes, Heenan has Ramon walk out and Bret takes off his ring jacket, anticipating a fight. Ramon tells Bret that he knows all about execution and that he is going to take his gold at The Royal Rumble. Bret clobbers Ramon after Ramon tosses a toothpick in his face and Flair tries to turn things into a two-on-one beatdown but Mr. Perfect makes a save before damage is done. This was a long segment by the standards of the time and it anticipated the interview-interruption-brawl format that would be adopted by the WWF in the Attitude Era five years later.

Lance Cassidy (3-0-1) pins Gus Kantarakis after a flying clothesline at 1:31:

Cassidy wastes no time taking Kantarakis down, allowing McMahon and Lawler time to argue over the previous angle. After kicking Kantarakis a lot in the corner, Cassidy hiptosses his opponent and wins with a flying clothesline.

The Undertaker, Yokozuna, Ric Flair, Bobby Heenan, Shawn Michaels, the Nasty Boys, and Randy Savage are shown attending a Make-A-Wish benefit at Planet Hollywood.

The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) (30-0) pins Barry Horowitz after a chokeslam at 1:31:

The Undertaker’s dominance of his feud with Kamala has made him arguably the most over babyface on the roster and he gets a thunderous reaction for his entrance. As evidence, one kid screams into the camera “The Undertaker is the best!” at the top of his lungs. McMahon and Lawler talk about the Undertaker’s soon to be aborted program with Nailz, which was hyped on the cover of the latest WWF Magazine. Rumors were that that the feud would culminate in an electric chair match but plans for such a match have never been released by the WWF or confirmed by top WWF officials at the time. The Undertaker, still ailing from injuries, opts to finish with a chokeslam rather than the Tombstone. After the bell, the Undertaker and Bearer put Horowitz in a body bag.

Joe Bevins gets comments from WWF Champion Bret Hart, who says Ric Flair and Razor Ramon tried to jump him today and failed. He says Flair underestimated him before and reiterates that Ramon does not have the wrestling ability to beat him. Bret closes by saying that he wants to take on both men badly.

Tune in next week to see the Big Bossman, WWF Tag Team Champions Money Incorporated, Crush, and Yokozuna in action! Also, find out the first six names of participants in this year’s Royal Rumble!

The Last Word: Unfortunately, backstage drama killed the last half of the show’s work to hype the Undertaker’s feud with Nailz but there was good booking for the WWF title scene by blending the Bret Hart-Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect-Razor Ramon programs. While the announcement of Ramon as Bret’s challenger at The Royal Rumble seemed odd at the beginning of the show, the WWF provided a good story for it later by positioning Ramon as a backstop should Flair fail to beat Bret for the title before the pay-per-view. Still, Flair’s omission from the match sparked rumors that he was heading back to WCW. Jerry Lawler also did well in his first commentating appearance but he did not mix well with Bobby Heenan because both men were trying to be respectful of each other’s material and deferred too much to each other.

Up Next: Wrestling Challenge for December 13!