What the World Was Watching: WWF Wrestling Challenge – January 3, 1993

Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are doing commentary for the first Wrestling Challenge episode of the year, taped from Madison, Wisconsin. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, this show took place on December 15.

Opening Non-Title Contest: Shawn Michaels (Intercontinental Champion) pins Jim Brunzell after a superkick at 5:28:

Michaels had one of the strongest singles pushes in the company in 1992. He ditched his long-time tag team partner Marty Jannetty in January 1992 and acquired Sensational Sherri as a manager. After beating El Matador at WrestleMania VIII, Michaels had a long feud with Bret Hart over the Intercontinental Championship. That temporarily branched off into a brief program with Rick Martel where both men fought over Sherri’s affections, leading to a fun SummerSlam match where neither man could punch the other in the face. Following that pay-per-view, Michaels resumed his pursuit of the Intercontinental Championship and finally won it from the British Bulldog on the last episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event before Survivor Series. At the last pay-per-view of the year Michaels challenged Bret for the WWF Championship in the main event and fell short in a hard fought, 26-minute technical masterpiece. Michaels had a hot feud going into 1993 as Jannetty returned to the WWF and was after revenge. He was also no longer with Sherri, who was convalescing from injuries suffered from a Jannetty attack on Michaels with a mirror where Michaels pulled Sherri in front of him to absorb the blow.

WWF fans best knew Brunzell as a member of the Killer Bees, a 1980s tag team with B. Brian Blair. Unfortunately, Brunzell’s stock nosedived after Blair left the promotion and he was employed off and on since 1988 as a glorified enhancement talent. He was winless in 17 televised matches in 1992, losing to the likes of Repo Man, Ric Flair, the Warlord, the Berzerker, Terry Taylor, and Rick Martel, among others.

Michaels has a new set of red tights with white hearts on them, a departure from the white tights that he used throughout 1992. Even though Michaels in the star that is rising, Brunzell resists succumbing too early. He gets a late rally with a fluke small package and dropkick for near-falls, sending some excitement through the crowd. However, Brunzell runs into a superkick off the ropes moments later and Michaels chalks a win in the ledger for his first match of the year. Rating: **

Tatanka pins George Petrovsky after the Papoose to Go at 2:28:

Tatanka, a Native American wrestler, debuted in February and was part of a new crop of talent that the WWF hoped would lead it through the rest of the decade. His biggest claim to fame by this point was sporting a long unbeaten streak that stood at 44 televised matches as of this show. Unlike some other new acts, Tatanka got a feud in 1992 against Rick Martel after the latter stole his tribal feathers. Tatanka beat Martel at WrestleMania and won their feud at Survivor Series. He did not have a new program as 1993 began but fans had taken to his successful run and he was arguably one of the promotion’s biggest midcard acts.

Petrovsky was an Ox Baker trainee who had started his wrestling career in 1988. He wrestled a handful of enhancement matches for the WWF in 1988 and then spent two years in the AWA, where he worked as the Russian Brute and participated in the promotion’s Team Challenge Series.

As Tatanka runs to the ring he encounters the clown, who is carrying a large mallet. A week prior, the clown had hit Tatanka in the face with a mop so the two have some history. Heenan makes a good point that Tatanka losing the Royal Rumble should count as a loss but Monsoon demurs, although he does not provide a reason Heenan is wrong. In the split screen, Tatanka talks about fighting in the Rumble for his “little braves.” Tatanka chops his opponent down to size as the clown dances in the aisle, winning his 45th consecutive match with the Papoose to Go.

During the Event Center, Sean Mooney urges fans to contribute to the Somalia Relief Fund by calling 1-800-842-2200. The WWF will also donate $100,000 for the relief effort and donate proceeds of its next Madison Square Garden show on January 29. Some of these charitable efforts were an attempt by the WWF to fix its public image after a year of scandal. The segment was also notable because Papa Shango appeared at a press conference to promote the effort without his face paint.

Bob Backlund beats Dale Wolfe with a rolling cradle at 2:47:

Backlund, a two-time former WWF champion, made a surprising return to the promotion in November. Promotional videos put over his desire to become WWF champion again but this was hard to conceive due to Backlund’s old school style of technical wrestling and his lack of charisma in a promotion that was becoming centered around larger than life figures rather than legitimate athletes. Still, Backlund was unbeaten since his return and had chalked up wins over lower midcard heels like the Repo Man, Skinner, and Damien Demento.

Wolfe, a twelve-year veteran trained by Ken Johnson, had been with the WWF since 1987. He was used often as an enhancement talent from that point forward. Behind the scenes he helped get bigger stars to different venues.

In the split screen, Virgil talks about how he wants to win the Royal Rumble and face the WWF champion at WrestleMania. Backlund avoids Wolfe’s dropkick and then flattens his opponent with a double underhook suplex. Backlund follows that up with a rolling cradle for a pin, continuing his run of beating opponents with underwhelming moves.

Ray Rougeau interviews Kamala, Harvey Wippleman, and Kim Chee. Wippleman calls Kamala stupid and they will hit him as part of a program of “positive reinforcement” to make him live up to his potential. Slick interrupts, arguing that Kamala is not an animal but a man and should be treated as such. Wippleman and Kim Chee start heading to the locker room but Kamala is slow to follow so Kim Chee slaps him. After that, Kamala reluctantly follows even as Slick beseeches him that he deserves better treatment. Slick gets fans to chant “You are a man!” to end the segment.

Bam Bam Bigelow pins Buck Zumhofe after the flying headbutt at 2:24:

Bigelow was another new signee for the WWF in 1992. He returned to the company after a four-year hiatus and after a successful run in New Japan Pro Wrestling. The WWF had big plans for him, evidenced by him destroying El Matador in his second match back, getting a WWF title shot against Bret Hart at the January 29 Madison Square Garden show, and a Royal Rumble match against popular babyface the Big Bossman.

Zumhofe was trained by Verne Gagne and made his professional debut in 1972. He reached his highest fame as a light heavyweight competitor in the AWA, winning the promotion’s Light Heavyweight title three times. He was also a tag team champion with Iceman Parsons in World Class. Zumhofe started doing enhancement work for the WWF in 1987. He went on to be one of the darker characters in the wrestling business as he was convicted of sexually abusing his daughter and sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2014. And that was not the first time Zumhofe was in trouble with he law as he was convicted of fourth degree sexual misconduct with a minor in January 1989. Unfortunately, that did not blackball him from the industry and the WWF had been using him for squash matches for the last few years despite its own sexual harassment and abuse scandals behind the scenes.

Heenan telegraphs the disgust for Zumhofe for some in the industry by loudly stating during the squash that he did not like him. In the split screen, Bigelow promises the Bossman that he is going down at The Royal Rumble. Zumhofe fails to take Bigelow off his feet and the big man slams him and finishes with the flying headbutt.

Gene Okerlund does The Royal Rumble Report. In Rumble promos, Randy Savage promotes how he is ready to face the WWF’s best, the Undertaker and Paul Bearer discuss getting 29 new souls, Yokozuna and Mr. Fuji put over his weight advantage, Mr. Perfect hypes the Rumble as the “perfect opportunity” to get a WWF title shot, and Jerry Lawler tells fans that they will find out why he is the king of the ring.

The Steiner Brothers defeat Red Tyler & W.T. Jones when Scott pins Tyler after a doomsday DDT at 2:32:

The Steiner Brothers were one of the most decorated tag teams in wrestling by 1992. Accomplished amateur wrestlers, they first teamed in WCW in 1989 and won the NWA United States Tag Team Championship and WCW Tag Team Championship in 1990 and 1991, respectively. The team also won the IWGP Tag Team Championship twice, first from Hiroshi Hase and Kensuke Sasaki in 1991 and then from Vader and Bam Bam Bigelow in 1992. They came to the WWF after allegedly being lowballed in contract negotiations with Bill Watts, who was given a mandate to reduce salaries. This was their first televised match after being signed.

Tyler had been doing enhancement work for the WWF since 1988. He had a good look and bore an uncanny resemblance to the Undertaker. Aside from the WWF, he had also made appearances in the AWA, Pro Wrestling America, and Stampede. In Stampede he wrestled as Blackheart Destruction and won the Stampede International Tag Team Championship with Tom Nash, who went by Blackheart Apocalypse.

Jones had been doing WWF enhancement work since 1989. He also served that role in the AWA in 1989 and 1990. On the independent circuit he went by names Conan the Dark Rider and Jawbreaker Jones.

The Steiners get a good reaction for their entrance, helped by competing close to their home territory in Michigan. They do an insert promo where they promise that the Beverly Brothers will find out what they are all about at The Royal Rumble. Heenan is impressed by the Steiners suplex variations on their opponents and those spots get pops from the crowd. The crowd is also amazed at the finish where Rick lifts Tyler on his shoulders and Scott gives Tyler a DDT off the top rope. To say that the Steiners were a breath of fresh air to the WWF tag team division would be the understatement of the decade.

Tune in next week to see the Marty Jannetty, the Headshrinkers, Crush, Yokozuna, and the Nasty Boys in action!

The Last Word: This was a good show by Challenge standards as Shawn Michaels and Jim Brunzell had a brief, yet competitive, opening match and the Steiner Brothers had a great debut. Kamala is also on the verge of a babyface turn but the WWF does not need new babyface talent right now, so it is tough to see him getting traction when that turn does take place.

Here is a summary of the WWF’s house show results for the start of 1993, with results provided courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:

St. Louis, Missouri – St. Louis Arena – January 1, 1993 (4,800): Lance Cassidy beat Skinner…The Headshrinkers defeated High Energy…Virgil beat Terry Taylor…Tatanka defeated Damien Demento…Bob Backlund beat the Berzerker…Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels pinned Marty Jannetty…Yokozuna pinned Randy Savage…The Undertaker defeated Papa Shango.

Auburn Hills, Michigan – The Palace – January 1, 1993 (3,600): El Matador pinned the Brooklyn Brawler…Bam Bam Bigelow pinned Typhoon after the flying headbutt…Mr. Perfect beat Razor Ramon via disqualification after Ric Flair interfered…WWF Tag Team Champions Money Incorporated defeated the Nasty Boys after using IRS’ briefcase. The Nasties initially won the match and the titles but it was restarted…Crush beat Beau Beverly via submission to the head vice…Repo Man pinned Jim Powers…WWF Champion Bret Hart pinned Ric Flair at 24:14.

Des Moines, Iowa – Veterans Memorial Auditorium – January 2, 1993 (1,900): Skinner pinned Jim Powers…Virgil pinned Terry Taylor…WWF Tag Team Champions Money Incorporated beat the Nasty Boys when IRS pinned Jerry Sags after Jimmy Hart hit Sags with IRS’ briefcase…Yokozuna pinned Randy Savage after a belly-to-belly suplex after Mr. Fuji hit Savage with the Japanese flag…Bob Backlund beat the Berzerker…El Matador pinned Repo Man…The Undertaker pinned Papa Shango.

Up Next: Prime Time Wrestling for January 4!