What the World Was Watching: WWF Superstars – April 17, 1993

Bam Bam Bigelow promises that Owen Hart is going down in flames. Owen rebuts that Bigelow will be the launch pad for his rocket to blast off.

Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler, and Randy Savage are in the booth, concluding the tapings in North Charleston, South Carolina.

Opening Contest: Crush (11-1) beats Glen Ruth via submission to the head vice at 2:14:

Doink the Clown does an insert promo with two screens, saying what happened at WrestleMania IX was an illusion. Crush gets back on the winning track, crushing Ruth’s head so Savage can scream “SHAKA!”

Sean Mooney makes his last appearance for the WWF in an Update segment, recapping the Sensational Sherri-Luna Vachon fight on Monday Night RAW.

The Headshrinkers (w/Afa) (9-1-1) defeat J.D. Stryker & Ron Preston when Fatu pins Preston after the splash off the top rope at 2:41:

McMahon says that WWF President Jack Tunney has ordered a medical examination of Lex Luger’s forearm. Afa plays with a shrunken head at ringside as the Headshrinkers take their time, relying on less brutal offense than usual to dispatch their foes.

Mr. Perfect (11-1) pins Barry Hardy with the Perfectplex at 3:00:

After Perfect spits out his gum and swats it away, Hardy does the same. Not impressed, Perfect drives him from the ring. No longer receiving a main event push, Perfect is going back to the Intercontinental title scene as Shawn Michaels does an insert promo about giving Perfect “the perfect beating” at WrestleMania. Perfect’s work is uninspired, going through the motions to put Hardy away.

Bam Bam Bigelow (17-1) defeats Owen Hart (3-0) after the flying headbutt at 6:31 shown:

This is a clash of Bigelow’s power and Owen’s speed. Owen hurts his knee when Bigelow dumps him across the top rope but kicks out when Bigelow falls on top of him from a slam attempt. The knee prevents Owen from flipping off the top rope after being whipped in by Bigelow. That leads to a sloppy finish where Owen cannot run into the other corner after an Irish whip and Bigelow ends with a slam and flying headbutt. If not for Owen suffering an injury, this was shaping up for a hot ending. Rating: **¼

Yokozuna (w/Mr. Fuji) (15-2) pins Chris Katowski after the sit-down splash off the second rope at 3:03:

Fans facing the hard camera like seeing Yokozuna pulverize the much smaller Katowski with a belly-to-belly suplex and leg drop. For the time being Yokozuna’s big program is against Hacksaw Jim Duggan as the commentators talk up clashes between the two. If Yokozuna gets past that, then it is said he will get to face Hulk Hogan again for the WWF Championship.

Tune in next week to see Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels, Tatanka, Mr. Hughes, the Steiner Brothers will be in action! There will also be an announcement about Lex Luger’s medical evaluation and an update on Owen Hart’s knee injury!

The Last Word: Owen Hart cannot catch a break. Last year he was primed for a big tag team push and that was scuttled by Jim Neidhart getting fired. Then he breaks into the singles ranks but before he can get anything going he suffers a knee injury. The WWF is still trying to determine its post-WrestleMania footing but one thing that will make the booking less boring during the spring will be the introduction of a June pay-per-view.

Up Next: Wrestling Challenge for April 18!

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