What the World Was Watching: WWF Superstars – April 24, 1993

Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler, and Randy Savage dare doing commentary, starting a post-WrestleMania taping cycle from Tucson, Arizona. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping took place on April 6.

Opening Non-Title Contest: Shawn Michaels (Intercontinental Champion) (9-2) pins Dale Wolfe after the superkick at 3:17:

Luna Vachon is not with Michaels so her appearance at his side at WrestleMania appears to be a one-off deal. Michaels has had a rough year so far since his feud with Marty Jannetty was aborted for a second time and he looked weak throughout his program with Tatanka. The feud with Mr. Perfect is very much make or break for him at this point as he needs something to get back on track. As McMahon talks about Michaels not being the same without Sensational Sherri at his side Michaels catches Wolfe with a superkick off the ropes to win a slow, dull squash.

The Steiner Brothers (15-0) beat Reno Riggins & Billy Jones after Scott pins Riggins with the Frankensteiner at 4:01:

Riggins has removed the silly tassels from his tights. Rick kills Jones with a super belly-to-belly suplex and Riggins refuses to tag in. So when Riggins looks at the crowd, Scott forces the tag and goes on to pin Riggins after the Frankensteiner.

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Raymond Rougeau interviews Bam Bam Bigelow. Or at least that is the plan before Sensational Sherri walks onto the podium in a dress that she is falling out of and talks about wanting a piece of Luna Vachon. Bigelow is mad that Sherri is taking his interview time so he grabs her by the hair and threatens her. Tatanka makes the save and dropkicks Bigelow off the podium. He dives onto Bigelow as WWF officials try to separate them. This was a good way to kickoff a feud. It can be inferred that Bigelow will align with Vachon to fight Tatanka and Sherri.

El Matador (5-1-1) pins Louie Spicolli after El Paso del Muerte at 2:07:

McMahon announces that Owen Hart blew his knee out in last week’s match. After Lawler jokes about Owen getting care from Dougie Houser, the announcers talk about the investigation into Lex Luger’s forearm rather than the match, which just exists to fill time.

Damien Demento (7-4) pins K.C. Cleric after the knee drop at 2:38:

Speaking of time filler, fans are treated to a Demento squash. Like the previous bout, the announcers would prefer to talk about something else so they hype Monday Night RAW’s match between Crush and Luger. What gets their attention is Demento forcing Cleric’s fingers in his own mouth and then forcing Cleric’s jaw shut, making the jobber bite himself. Savage demands an investigation into what Demento does with his kneepad before doing the knee drop. However, Demento cannot beat anyone important so the WWF front office would not consider it a high priority.

A vignette airs for a new tag team called the Smoking Gunns. As a Western theme plays in the background they ride horses in the desert. They announce their names as Billy and Bart, talking about coming to the WWF to confront the good, the bad, and the ugly.

An ad announces that King of the Ring will happen on pay-per-view on June 13. It is going to feature a tournament. Lawler is not happy there is a tournament being held that infringes on his gimmick.

Hacksaw Jim Duggan (5-0) pins Tim Patterson after the three-point stance clothesline at 2:59:

Duggan has changed his look, wearing a blue singlet with the America flag on the back straps and on his knee pads. He yells about Yokozuna a lot, distracting him from pinning Patterson after a knee drop.

Gorilla Monsoon does the Update segment, which shows footage of Lex Luger knocking WWF Champion Bret Hart out with his forearm on the morning of WrestleMania with a brunch. Monsoon announces that the physical Luger was forced to undergo by WWF President Jack Tunney revealed that he has a metal plate in his forearm because of a motorcycle accident. Since Luger had it added for a needed medical procedure, Tunney cannot do anything about it. Luger provides comments, making fun of those who say that the metal plate gives him an advantage.

The next match is supposed to be Tatanka against Steve Vega but Tatanka does not come out when his entrance music plays. Cameras backstage show Tatanka laid out and Bam Bam Bigelow standing over him. Bigelow keeps WWF officials away with scissors and cuts some of Tatanka’s sacred hair.

Mr. Hughes (1-0) defeats Raven Clark after a sidewalk slam at 2:40:

Harvey Wippleman appears in the split screen and says that he would love to manage Hughes. If Hughes is looking for a manager he does not have a lot of choices since the only heel managers the company has right now are Wippleman and Mr. Fuji. Lawler comments that Hughes was Whitney Houston’s bodyguard before Kevin Costner took his job. In a sign of Jim Ross’ influence, McMahon notes Hughes’ athletic career at Kansas State. Hughes shows no vulnerability, winning with another impressive sidewalk slam.

Doink the Clown wonders if Mr. Perfect has perfect vision for next week’s match. Perfect rebuts that Doink needs to worry about how he is going to get around him.

Tune in next week to see Mr. Perfect battle Doink the Clown in a King of the Ring qualifying match! Also, Lex Luger will be in action! And the Undertaker appears for a special interview!

The Last Word: There were lots of bland squashes on today’s program but the Tatanka-Bam Bam Bigelow angles were great. Next week should be better as doing qualifying matches for The King of the Ring will fill a lot of television time between now and the June pay-per-view. And it is a good idea for the WWF to insert that show into the calendar to avoid the rut that some of the booking usually fell into after WrestleMania.

Up Next: Wrestling Challenge for April 25!

And if you would like to read a compiled breakdown of 1990-1992 WWF, 1993 ECW, or of various promotions in 1995, check out my Amazon author page to purchase e-books or paperback copies!