What the World Was Watching: WWF Superstars – February 6, 1993

Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler, and Randy Savage are in the booth, concluding the tapings in San Antonio, Texas.

Opening Contest: The Nasty Boys (3-0) beat Dave Silgero & Robert Taylor when Jerry Sags pins Silguero after the Trip to Nastyville at 2:19:

The Nasties are in a tough spot as they have spent a few months as the top contenders to the WWF Tag Team Championship but Money Incorporated is now focusing their attention on Brutus Beefcake, so that could shove the Nasties out of title contention. The Nasties go through the motions and after the match, they warn Money Incorporated that they are coming after them. Lawler uses the Royal Magistrator to draw a can of Raid that the Nasties need to use for their body odor.

Gene Okerlund’s Update segment shows Giant Gonzalez’s beatdown of the Undertaker at The Royal Rumble. Gonzalez and Harvey Wippleman do a promo and the height comparison puts over how tall Gonzalez is. They tell the Undertaker that it is time for his funeral.

Bam Bam Bigelow (7-0) defeats Rudi Flores after the flying headbutt in 50 seconds:

Bigelow plows through Flores, chalking up his quickest victory to date. As they say, you do not get paid by the hour in this profession.

Doink the Clown (2-0) defeats Reno Riggins with a stump puller in 46 seconds:

After Lawler puts over Doink’s technical skills, McMahon rebuts that doing that is not what clowns are for since they are supposed to make kids laugh. That reveals McMahon’s gameplan for a Doink face turn whenever that may happen. Riggins is trapped in a stump puller after he misses a corner avalanche and afterward, Doink gives him a balloon toy that he pops. McMahon tells the audience that Crush will return next week on Superstars.

Mr. Perfect makes fun of the unveiling of Lex Luger at The Royal Rumble, pulling back a curtain to reveal a lanky wrestler in white tights. Perfect argues that is what Luger is going to look like when he gets done with him. He closes by chopping the man on the chest.

Ray Rougeau interviews Hacksaw Jim Duggan, who argues that he is going to prevail like American troops did in the Persian Gulf War and like they will in Somalia. That last example would, unfortunately, not prove true.

Hacksaw Jim Duggan (1-0) beats Yokozuna (w/Mr. Fuji) (7-0) by knocking him off his feet with a shoulder block at 3:08:

The rules of the match are that Duggan can win by “simply” knocking Yokozuna off his feet. Or at least those are part of the rules. How can Yokozuna win? Regularly or if Duggan quits getting up? Referee Joey Marella holds up fingers during Duggan’s attempts, so one wonders if he only gets a specified number. McMahon’s commentary makes it seem like he is living in a 1930s world, or even a decade earlier, hyping a U.S.-Japanese rivalry that was already muted by the 1990s because of Japan’s economic difficulties. Duggan does what he does best in working the crowd before every charge at Yokozuna and he succeeds on his fourth attempt. This was more segment than match so no rating is given but it worked as it did not drag out too long, Yokozuna sold falling like a champ, and the crowd popped big for the ending.

After the encounter, Duggan waves the flag but when he turns around, Yokozuna throws salt in his eyes. It looks more like baby powder and fans in the front row are not happy because they get doused with some of it. Yokozuna gives Duggan a belly-to-belly suplex, leg drops him, and then does four sit-down splashes off the second rope as McMahon laments that this is like Pearl Harbor in 1941. To add insult to injury, Fuji drapes the U.S. flag over Duggan for the fourth one. That gets massive heat. When WWF officials tend to Duggan and stretcher him out he bleeds out of his mouth.

The Beverly Brothers (0-1) beat Pete Christie & Bob East when Beau pins Christie after the Shaker Heights Spike at 1:28:

Short of a feud with the Nasties there is not much left for the Beveryls to do in the WWF. McMahon floats the idea that they want more matches with the Steiner Brothers but that program ended definitely at The Royal Rumble. The big highlight of the squash is that Christie takes the Shaker Heights Spike with a lot of hangtime and lands right on his head. McMahon gives a great “Oh no!” reaction, probably fearing as a boss that he had another Chuck Austin situation on his hands. Christie deserved a bonus for that bump as it got the Beverlys their best reaction in a long time. The slow-motion replay makes it look even better.

Tatanka says that the WWF appreciates the help of fans as part of the “Headlock on Hunger” campaign.

Tune in next week to see Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels battle Tatanka in a non-title match! Also, Lex Luger, the Steiner Brothers, and WWF Tag Team Champions Money Incorporated will appear! And Giant Gonzalez wrestles in a handicap match against three others wrestlers! Crush returns to action as well!

The Last Word: This was a great episode of Superstars. Even though the Hacksaw Jim Duggan-Yokozuna angle was shrouded in the nationalist fervor of a prior era, which drew condemnation from some Asian American groups and got it yanked from television in some California markets, it got Yokozuna over as a killer heel. One could argue the American flag bit was too much but the flag was a huge part of Duggan’s character so it took the segment to another level. Also, no one had ever destroyed Duggan like that before as Duggan was always one of the most protected members of the roster. It also gives Yokozuna a program after WrestleMania whenever Duggan returns to the ring. The Pete Christie bump in the Beverly Brothers match is also worth tracking down. It was a terrible botch but it is like finding gold in a mine full of pedestrian squashes.

Up Next: Wrestling Challenge for February 7!

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