What the World Was Watching: WWF Superstars – March 27, 1993

WWF Mania had one exclusive match that was filmed in Augusta, Georgia on March 9.

Mr. Perfect (7-0) beats Papa Shango (4-2) with the Perfectplex at 4:54 shown:

Perfect has lost a step in his feud with Lex Luger. Their match is no longer getting major billing for WrestleMania since Hulk Hogan returned. The best parts of the match are when Perfect is on offense as Shango opts for a long chinlock when he is given control. The ending is creative, though, as Perfect avoids a headbutt to the groin and traps the dazed Shango in a Perfectplex. Rating: *½

Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler, and Randy Savage were in the booth for WWF Superstars, starting a new taping from North Charleston, South Carolina. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping drew a crowd of 8,500, 7,800 of which paid for tickets.

Savage is happy that Andre the Giant is in the Hall of Fame. Lawler complains that he should be in it.

Opening Contest: Crush (9-0) beats Lee Armstrong via submission to the head vice at 1:54:

Savage argues that Crush is going to make “Doink juice” instead of pineapple juice at WrestleMania. In the split screen, Doink tells Crush that he has a big surprise for Crush at the pay-per-view. Crush manhandles his opponent in a preview of what he is going to try to do next Sunday to Doink.

There is the premiere of the “WrestleMania” music video from WrestleMania: The Album. Jimmy Garvin’s scream of “Are you ready for the Survivor Series?” leads it off even though fans never saw Garvin on WWF television. That soundbite came from a tryout appearance that did not go well for the former Freebird. It is a catchy tune with wrestlers doing promos. The Big Bossman is prominently featured even though he has disappeared from the company.

Hacksaw Jim Duggan is at a sawmill to get an “All American board” to take down Yokozuna and get vengeance for what happened to him. This should have aired last week instead of McMahon doing an off-hand announcement that Duggan was returning. It is also funny that Duggan keeps calling Yokozuna “Yokozuma.”

The Headshrinkers (w/Afa) (7-0-1) defeat two unnamed opponents after a Fatu splash off the top rope at 2:08:

The Headshrinkers opponents do not get an introduction and arena reports did not provide their names either. The Steiner Brothers do an insert promo about how the Headshrinkers do not care about what happens to their opponents and that is something they like. This is a fantastic squash as the Headshrinkers lay waste to their opponents and get some “Ooohhs” from the crowd for a helicopter slam, piledriver, and Fatu’s finishing splash.

Gene Okerlund moderates a contract signing between WWF Champion Bret Hart and Yokozuna. WWF President Jack Tunney is on hand, making his first televised appearance in a year. The segment is credited to Wrestling Challenge so commentary switches to Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan. Photographers from different countries surround the ring. Both men stare each other down before signing, with Yokozuna keeping his eyes on Bret as he signs. Mr. Fuji proclaims that Yokozuna will soon be the new WWF champion. Bret rebuts that he will be 100% for the match and Yokozuna will find out why he is a premier wrestler. Yokozuna takes offense, shoving the table into Bret’s leg, avalanching Bret against the buckles, and giving him a sit-down splash. Yokozuna sits on Bret’s chest until WWF officials, including Sergeant Slaughter, intervene. To show his fighting spirit, Bret eventually gets to his feet after Yokozuna leaves the ring.

The Nasty Boys (8-0-1) beat Barry Hardy & Duane Gill when Jerry Sags pins Gill after the Trip to Nastyville at 2:18:

Hardy and Gill take a simultaneous Pit Stop as McMahon repeats the Nasties graciousness in giving a WrestleMania payday to Hulk Hogan.

Gene Okerlund does the WrestleMania IX Report. WWF Tag Team Champions Money Incorporated say that Hulk Hogan is coming back to the WWF so he can feed his ego by getting their titles. The Mega-Manias rebut with a ridiculous promo about how Hulk Hogan ran over Brutus Beefcake’s masked face with a tank so an “armor piercing” briefcase will not do any damage to him. Hogan then talks about eating kryptonite in his cereal to give him bigger muscles. The Undertaker and Paul Bearer say that they will soon possess Giant Gonzalez’s soul.

Lex Luger (9-0) pins an unknown wrestler after the running forearm at 2:13:

The WWF does not care about giving the enhancement talents recognition today as Luger’s opponent’s name is not announced. Mr. Perfect does a split screen promo about how Luger will understand that the WWF only has one Mr. Perfect at WrestleMania. McMahon wonders if Perfect will be knocked unconscious like all of Luger’s opponents to this point.

Tune in next week for a special show from Caesar’s Palace. WWF Champion Bret Hart, Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels, and Giant Gonzalez will be guests.

The Last Word: While Monday Night RAW did not provide much build for WrestleMania, this show did a lot to generate interest in the show, confirming that Superstars was still the WWF’s “A” show. The contract signing segment was not as good as the WrestleMania III segment with Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant but it accomplished its aim of bringing Bret Hart and Yokozuna together for the first time, making Yokozuna look like a threat, and putting over Bret’s determination as champion that gave him a fighting chance in the match. One only wishes the WWF did this sooner and then added a few more things to the program so that it would have more heat. It still does not feel like a WrestleMania caliber match versus bouts that have headlined in the past. And that is largely a consequence of Yokozuna’s previous angle with Hacksaw Jim Duggan getting more heat.

Up Next: Wrestling Challenge for March 28!

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