What the World Was Watching: WWF Wrestling Challenge – January 24, 1993

Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan do commentary for a new taping cycle in Beaumont, Texas. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping took place on January 4 and drew a sellout crowd.

Opening Contest: Tatanka (2-0) pins Mike Sharpe after the Papoose to Go at 2:23:

Tatanka’s undefeated streak in singles competition is getting a lot of play, becoming a big part of his push. In the split screen, Tatanka talks about looking forward to participating in the Royal Rumble. Sharpe does not do as well as he did on WWF Mania and Tatanka goes on the war path after being taken to the turnbuckle three times, winning his third match of the year.

Papa Shango (1-0) pins Bob East after the reverse shoulderbreaker at 1:29:

After a year of voodoo terrorizing the roster, Shango’s push has been reduced to “He is a strong guy!” The Berzerker pops up in the split screen, warning everyone in the Royal Rumble to stay out of his way. Some of these random drop-in promos do not have the same effect as last year because the wrestler in question does not specifically call out someone else on the roster. After Shango wins, he shoots some fireworks out of his staff, startling a woman in the front row.

The Nasty Boys (2-0) defeat Chuck West & Isi Bermudez when Jerry Sags pins West after the Trip to Nastyville at 2:30:

West was a Johnny Valentine trainee and, in a funny bit of name association, was the brother of Bob East who was in the last match. He had previously wrestled in the Dallas, Texas area, working for World Class in the 1980s and Big D Pro Wrestling as an enhancement talent.

Bermudez was an ex-marine who wrestled on the independent circuit as Mr. B and the Bouncer.

Bermudez is a big wrestler that moves slowly and awkwardly and the Nasties seem to take some joy getting him off his feet because they look stronger as a result. The Nasties do an insert promo about how they will get nasty in the Royal Rumble. This month has been poor for the tag team division as the Nasties are top contenders for Money Incorporated’s titles but fans would be forgiven for forgetting about that program because it has barely received a mention on any of the company’s television shows.

Hacksaw Jim Duggan urges fans to help the “Headlock on Hunger” campaign.

Yokozuna (w/Mr. Fuji) (5-0) defeats Rudy Flores after the sit-down splash off the second rope at 1:36:

Typhoon does an insert promo about how Yokozuna is not the only big man in the Royal Rumble. Although the star power in this year’s Rumble is not as good as the previous edition, there are lots of different sizes of wrestlers involved so that creates some intrigue. Yokozuna’s path of destruction continues as fans are left to wonder who is going to stop him. His finisher also gets closer to taking on a name as Monsoon screams “Banzai” as he leaps off the second rope.

Bob Backlund (1-0) pins Louie Spicolli after a rolling cradle at 1:57:

Spicolli had served as an occasional enhancement talent going back to 1988, typically working WWF shows on the West Coast and Southwest. In 1992 he worked 17 matches, often against babyface wrestlers. The exceptions to that rule were losses to Rick Martel, Shawn Michaels, and Damien Demento. He also spent time that year in Global as an enhancement talent and worked a tour of Japan for Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling as the Body Snatcher. He was still a few years away from getting a small push in the WWF as Rad Radford.

Heenan makes a joke about Backlund copying his old wrestling moves. Backlund does a split screen promo about how he has been waiting for a decade to get another shot at the WWF Championship. He wins without a lot of flash, cradling Spicolli after a double underhook suplex.

Gene Okerlund does The Royal Rumble Report. In Rumble promos, the Undertaker and Paul Bearer are excited about getting 29 fresh bodies, Mr. Perfect discusses how the match is a perfect opportunity for him, and Ric Flair excitedly talks about how Perfect will not get in his way to win another Rumble.

Non-Title Match: Shawn Michaels (Intercontinental Champion) (3-0) beats Reno Riggins after the Teardrop Suplex at 2:19:

Riggins was the last trainee of Memphis legend Tojo Yamamoto and began his career on the Tennessee independent scene in 1986. He started doing televised work for the WWF, as well as WCW, in 1988 and did some enhancement work for Global in 1991. In 1992 he did jobs for Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) and the WWF used him for two matches in June. In those matches Riggins lost to Kamala and the Nasty Boys.

In his last tune up before The Royal Rumble, Michaels outmaneuvers Riggins in a fast-paced squash, sliding under his opponents’ feet and sending him to the floor by reversing a leverage spot on the ropes. In the split screen, Marty Jannetty says he is anxious to get his hands on Michaels. Michaels has not settled on whether he wants to go with the superkick or Teardrop Suplex as a finisher, using the latter to win today.

The Last Word: There was nothing significant on this show. Just some generic hype for tonight’s Royal Rumble.

The WWF held a few house shows before The Royal Rumble. Here is the result of one of those shows, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:

Denver, Colorado – Denver Coliseum – January 22, 1993 (5,200): El Matador beat Skinner…Jim Powers defeated the Predator…The Headshrinkers beat High Energy…Yokozuna defeated Earthquake…The Undertaker defeated the Berzerker…Bob Backlund beat Terry Taylor…Mr. Perfect defeated Repo Man…Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels beat Marty Jannetty.

Up Next: Royal Rumble ’93!

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