What the World Was Watching: WWF Prime Time Wrestling – December 28, 1992 (Last of the Series!)

Vince McMahon is running the evening’s panel that features Hillbilly Jim, Randy Savage, Bobby Heenan, and Jerry Lawler. This is the last two-hour edition of Prime Time.

Heenan is disappointed that he did not get Mr. Perfect in a body cast for Christmas.

Opening Contest: Virgil (25-9) beats the Berzerker (16-4) via disqualification when the Berzerker tries to use his sword at 6:03:

This match took place in Madison, Wisconsin on December 15. Mr. Fuji is no longer with the Berzerker and no explanation is given for his departure. Virgil and the Berzerker have had disappointing years and each is desperately in need of a win. A decent back-and-forth match develops as the Berzerker can only be an imposing force in squash matches. Unfortunately, the bout has a bad ending as Virgil knocks the Berzerker off the apron and the Berzerker gets frustrated and grabs his sword. Virgil and the referee flee when that happens and Virgil wins by disqualification. Rating: *½

Lawler says that since next week is going to be a “Best of Prime Time” that it will be full of nothing but Heenan highlights.

A Prime Time flashback goes back to Gorilla Monsoon and Heenan interacting with giraffes and zebras at a zoo in 1988 and coming across the Bushwhackers.

Savage takes issue with Heenan’s prediction that Mr. Perfect’s great run is going to come to an end. The problem with Heenan’s point is that Perfect has only wrestled one match this year at Survivor Series and that hardly constitutes “a run.”

Skinner (12-14-1) pins Buck Zumhoff after the inverted DDT at 2:55:

Since Skinner has been squatting on Prime Time for much of the year, it is fitting that he gets a squash on the last two-hour episode. Gorilla Monsoon and Heenan commentate and Monsoon argues that Yokozuna is the favorite to win the Royal Rumble because of his size. Skinner does nothing exciting, beating on various body parts before he decides to end the match with the inverted DDT.

Monsoon comes into the studio with a sledgehammer. He tells Heenan that he is not going to appear on Monday Night RAW. Monsoon then issues instructions to a crew to start tearing down the set.

Bob Backlund (6-0) pins Damien Demento (6-1) via count out at 5:20:

This bout also took place in Madison, Wisconsin on December 15. Backlund has some vocal fans, who work up a “Demento sucks!” chant. Demento’s offense is limited as Backlund takes him to school. Late in the match, Demento pulls Backlund to the floor so Backlund gives Demento an atomic drop – a finisher for him in the 1970s – and Demento gets counted out. At least that finish did not produce a double count out brawl that was standard for many feature matches in Prime Time’s past. Rating: *

Another flashback shows a clip from 1989 where Heenan is part of a Western movie, gets hit with a chair, and flies out of a window.

Monsoon and construction workers continue to tear apart the set as the panel debates the Rumble. Lawler complains about not being added to the match yet.

Marty Jannetty (9-1-1) defeats Repo Man (24-11-2) with a crucifix at 9:23:

This is yet another match from Madison, Wisconsin and Repo Man gets a jobber entrance. Monsoon spends a good portion of the match ripping Repo Man, whether it be his moves or the treads that appear on his tights. Jannetty sells well for what Repo Man does do, incorporating his 360 sell from a clothesline and popping out of the corner after getting whipped into it. After a slow middle section, there are some hot near-falls as Jannetty gets a superkick for two and Repo Man stops his momentum with a stun gun for two. After that, Jannetty surprises Repo Man off the ropes with a crucifix to win a hard-fought match. Rating: **

A new flashback shows Jamison getting tied to a stake by the Berzerker and launched off the studio roof in 1990.

Papa Shango (31-4-1) pins Todd Becker after the reverse shoulderbreaker at 2:46:

The big spot of the squash is Shango choking Becker against the corner turnbuckle as Becker looks on with fear at Shango’s smoking skull. Monsoon and Heenan discuss similarities between Shango and the Undertaker as the WWF had to plug Shango into house shows to replace Nailz. After winning, Shango does a small spell that has no discernable impact. He also hoists his voodoo stick high so sparks can shoot out of it.

As another panel of the set is taken away, Jamison is shown putting his pants on. Heenan has him approach the table so he can pull them back down. McMahon says that Jamison will be part of Monday Night RAW, which makes Heenan upset.

Mooney reminds fans that they can buy tickets to attend the first episode of RAW in the Manhattan Center.

Heenan calls WWF President Jack Tunney’s office and Monsoon comes back on the set and messes with the phone so Heenan’s call is dropped.

A flashback segment from 1990 shows Heenan freaking out over Hacksaw Jim Duggan blowing up his rental car with a grenade.

When Lawler keeps complaining about the Royal Rumble, Monsoon tells him that there is an entry fee. A man comes on the set and asks who is in charge. Heenan says that he is and accidentally signs for all the demolition costs of the set.

The Nasty Boys (26-1) wrestle the Beverly Brothers (24-3-1) to a double disqualification at 6:45:

Unlike the other feature matches on tonight’s program, this one took place in Green Bay, Wisconsin on December 14. It is a collision of teams that were partners at the previous year’s Survivor Series and the result is not pretty, at least when the Nasties are in control. It takes Brian Knobbs two attempts to make a hot tag after slamming each of the Beverlys heads into the canvas. That happens again when Sags clears the ring and the referee gets knocked down as the teams brawl, so both teams get disqualified. That is not a ringing endorsement of the Nasties as number one contenders to the Tag Team titles. Rating: *

Footage of “Scotland Yard” visiting Prime Time last year and arresting a Queen Elizabeth impersonator is shown.

Mr. Perfect’s baseball vignette is shown. In response, Heenan claims on the panel that Ric Flair can bunt for home runs.

Mooney informs fans that another television show called WWF Mania will debut on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. on USA Network on January 9. Jamison walks into Mooney’s segment with Lawler’s crown on his head.

McMahon thanks fans for their support of Prime Time over the years as Heenan freaks out over being out of a job. Monsoon drags Heenan away as “something useless” and the demolition crew takes the table away.

The Last Word: The last two-hour Prime Time episode did not provide fans with much, although flashbacks clips from the 1980s were a sad reminder of how fun the show used to be with Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan. While the show often operated in its own universe, it was weird to see Marty Jannetty and the Nasty Boys, who are top contenders for the Intercontinental and Tag Team titles, fail to earn decisive wins against inferior competition.

Closing:

1992 ended up as a tumultuous, transitional year in WWF history. After WrestleMania VIII, the WWF embraced a new generation of talent. Old stars of the late 1980s and early 1990s such as Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, the Texas Tornado, the Warlord, the Barbarian, Jake Roberts, Greg Valentine, and others disappeared from television. The year saw Bret Hart become a two-time Intercontinental champion and unexpectedly become WWF champion in October while Shawn Michaels began the year in a tag team and ended it as Intercontinental champion. Other stars like Randy Savage and Ted DiBiase remained with the company but had a de-emphasized role. For DiBiase that meant joining the tag team ranks while for Savage that meant moving to a broadcast position after dropping the WWF title to Ric Flair and wrestling in a tag team with Mr. Perfect at Survivor Series.

These transitions did not pay immediate dividends for the company. Television ratings continued to go down, which marked the end of Prime Time Wrestling on USA Network on Monday nights for a new, live experiment called Monday Night RAW. Lower ratings for Saturday Night’s Main Event caused FOX to terminate the program, robbing the WWF of critical exposure. Additionally, every pay-per-view that the WWF held saw lower buyrates that the year before even though some events, like The Royal Rumble, carried greater stakes that in year’s past. And house show attendance in the United States nosedived after Hulk Hogan’s departure after WrestleMania VIII. Try as it might, the WWF failed for a second time to turn the Ultimate Warrior into a top draw in the spring and that forced it to rely on European tours to cover some of its losses, which resulted in SummerSlam being relocated to England in August. And none of this was helped by Vince McMahon’s desire to push the World Bodybuilding Federation (WBF) for the first half of the year. After poor returns in 1991, the WBF did worse in 1992, producing the worst pay-per-view buyrate of any event in American history.

Outside of the ring, the WWF remained plagued by public relations scandals that did little to restore the public’s faith in the product. A sexual harassment scandal before WrestleMania VIII led to the departures of Pat Patterson, Terry Garvin, and Mel Phillips and Vince McMahon came off as an unsympathetic figure to the allegations made against the company on The Phil Donahue Show. Questions about steroid usage in wrestling continued to swirl. The heat generated from that was one of the reasons for Hogan’s departure and greater steroid testing led to the dismissals of talents like Sid Justice, the Warlord, Chris Walker, and others. When it looked as if the situation could not get worse, it was revealed at the end of the year by The Wrestling Observer that the U.S. Department of Justice was looking closely at the WWF’s operations. None of this news helped the WWF’s relationship with toy companies, advertisers, or television producers and became the nail in the coffin of the Hulkamania wrestling boom.

Heading into 1993 the WWF was in search of a hard reset. It would be forced to push wrestlers that were untested with domestic audiences in a prominent position and it would need to use its Monday Night RAW experiment to jolt its television format out of a rut that it fell into after the national expansion boom ended. But it would take a while to see if the “New Generation” experiment would work and one had to wonder how long McMahon would stick with it if Hogan decided to return to the ring.

1992 Win-Loss Totals:

Top 25 Overall Records

1-Tatanka (44-0)
2-Crush (26-0)
3-Max Moon (3-0)
T4-Fatu (11-0)
T4-Samu (11-0)
T4-Yokozuna (11-0)
7-Bob Backlund (7-0)
8-Bam Bam Bigelow (5-0)
9-Hulk Hogan (2-0)
T10-Jason Phillips (1-0)
T10-Mr. Perfect (1-0)
12-The Undertaker (32-1)
13-The British Bulldog (31-1)
14-Nailz (19-1)
T15-Animal (18-1)
T15-Hawk (18-1)
T15-Razor Ramon (18-1)
18-Earthquake (33-2)
19-Bret Hart (38-2-1)
20-Typhoon (30-2)
21-Lance Cassidy (6-0-1)
22-Sid Justice (12-1)
23-Shawn Michaels (35-3-1)
24-Hacksaw Jim Duggan (16-2)
T25-Owen Hart (32-4-1)
T25-Papa Shango (32-4-1)

Top 25 Singles Wrestlers

1-Tatanka (44-0)
2-The Undertaker (32-0)
3-Crush (26-0)
4-Razor Ramon (18-0)
5-Max Moon (12-0)
6-Yokozuna (11-0)
7-Bob Backlund (7-0)
8-Owen Hart (6-0)
9-Bam Bam Bigelow (5-0)
T10-Earthquake (3-0)
T10-Hacksaw Jim Duggan (3-0)
T10-The Ultimate Warrior (3-0)
T13-Hulk Hogan (1-0)
T13-Jerry Sags (1-0)
15-The British Bulldog (30-1)
16-Nailz (19-1)
17-Bret Hart (37-2-1)
18-Shawn Michaels (35-2-1)
19-Lance Cassidy (6-0-1)
20-Ric Flair (11-1)
21-Sid Justice (10-1)
22-Papa Shango (32-4-1)
23-Marty Jannetty (10-1-1)
24-The Big Bossman (24-3-2)
25-The Texas Tornado (12-2)

Top 10 Tag Teams

1-The Headshrinkers (11-0)
2-The New Foundation (6-0)
3-The Nasty Boys (26-1-1)
4-The Legion of Doom (17-1)
5-The Natural Disasters (28-2)
6-Money Incorporated (32-3)
7-Hacksaw Jim Duggan & Sergeant Slaughter (10-1)
8-The Beverly Brothers (24-3-2)
9-High Energy (18-3-1)
10-The Bushwhackers (9-7)

Top 25 in Appearances

T1-Irwin R. Schyster (45)
T1-Tatanka (45)
T3-El Matador (43)
T3-Repo Man (43)
T3-Ted DiBiase (43)
T6-Bret Hart (42)
T6-Virgil (42)
8-Rick Martel (41)
9-Shawn Michaels (40)
10-Jerry Sags (39)
T11-Brian Knobbs (38)
T11-Owen Hart (38)
13-Papa Shango (37)
14-Blake Beverly (36)
T15-Beau Beverly (35)
T15-Earthquake (35)
T17-The British Bulldog (34)
T17-The Undertaker (34)
T19-Skinner (32)
T19-The Big Bossman (32)
T19-Typhoon (32)
T22-The Brooklyn Brawler (29)
T22-The Mountie (29)
T24-Kamala (28)
T24-Koko B. Ware (28)

Best Matches of 1992:

1-The Royal Rumble (Royal Rumble ’92, January 19) – ****1/2
2-Roddy Piper vs. Bret Hart (Intercontinental Championship Match, WrestleMania VIII, April 5) – ****1/2
3-Bret Hart vs. The British Bulldog (Intercontinental Championship Match, SummerSlam ’92, August 31) – ****1/2
4-Randy Savage vs. The Ultimate Warrior (WWF Championship Match, SummerSlam ’92, August 31) – ****1/4
5-Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage (WWF Championship Match, WrestleMania VIII, April 5) – ****

Honorable Mentions: Bret Hart vs. Ted DiBiase (Prime Time Wrestling, January 20) – ****; Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels (WWF Championship Match, Survivor Series ’92, November 25)

As always, thanks to everyone for reading another series of WWF columns and commenting each week or adding additional information for them. Next Monday I will start a new series breaking down the WWF in 1993!