What the World Was Watching: WWF Superstars – May 29, 1993

WWF Mania had an exclusive match, taped in Worcester, Massachusetts on May 4.

Mr. Hughes (w/Harvey Wippleman) (8-0) pins Owen Hart (3-1) after the sidewalk slam at 4:43:

Owen has not been on television since losing to Bam Bam Bigelow on Superstars on April 17. He suffered a knee injury in that match but was only sidelined for a month. Owen is treated like Jim Powers as Hughes stands like a brick wall for most of what he tries to do. A blind charge by Hughes gives Owen a small window of opportunity but his spinning heel kick off the ropes only gets one and then he runs into a sidewalk slam. Rating: ¾*

Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan, and Randy Savage are in the booth, taped from Worcester.

Opening Contest: Tatanka (19-0) pins Ricky Rich after the Papoose to Go at 2:36:

Rich, who wrestled in the WWF previously as Richie Rich, was one of the many Killer Kowalski trainees used at this taping. In 1992 he worked four matches in the WWF, losing to Sergeant Slaughter, the Legion of Doom, Bret Hart, and Crush.

Tatanka chops his way through Rich as McMahon hypes future matches with Bam Bam Bigelow. After the bout, Lawler draws Tatanka with some cigars like a “wooden Indian” and says if too many of them are lit at one time that Tatanka would blow up.

Gorilla Monsoon’s Update segment recaps how Shawn Michaels did not do well last week because he lost the Intercontinental title and had his head crushed by Crush. Monsoon announces that Michaels and Crush will wrestle at The King of the Ring because of their inconclusive match last week.

Doink the Clown (15-3-2) defeats Kevin Armstrong via submission to the stump puller at 1:47:

The WWF is pushing Doink as a sadistic heel after he failed to qualify for the King of the Ring. While he does not do anything vicious during the squash, he clotheslines Armstrong into the ring steps after the bell.

Boni Blackstone interviews Sensational Sherri, who promises to rip all of Luna Vachon’s hair out and make her scream how sensational she is.

Yokozuna (w/Mr. Fuji) (21-2) defeats Tony Ray after the sit-down splash off the second rope at 2:14:

Ray was better known to fans as enhancement talent Tony Roy, a Killer Kowalski trainee who debuted in 1988. He first appeared as a preliminary wrestler in the WWF in 1989 and in 1992 he wrestled in four matches, losing to Irwin R. Schyster, Nailz, Papa Shango, and Razor Ramon.

After wasting a minute on pre-match rituals, Yokozuna gets to the matter at hand and devastates Roy with a belly-to-belly suplex. McMahon comments again on how Yokozuna is bulking up for his title match against Hulk Hogan at The King of the Ring while Hogan is slimming down.

After showing highlights of the Kid’s upset of Razor Ramon on RAW last week and Ramon’s subsequent $2,500 offer for a rematch, the Kid provides taped comments refusing the offer. The Kid’s justification is that Ramon would try to injure him and he does not want to take the shine off of winning on RAW.

The Steiner Brothers (18-0) defeat Mike Bell & Tony DeVito when Scott pins DeVito after the Steinerizer at 3:04:

Bell and DeVito continue their jobbing tour to the four teams in the tag team division, succumbing to the Steiners suplexfest.

Gene Okerlund does The King of the Ring Report. Mr. Hughes and Harvey Wippleman promise that Mr. Perfect is going down in the first round of the tournament. Lex Luger says that Tatanka’s undefeated streak is about to end. Tatanka fires back that he is going to make Luger’s reality a sorry picture. WWF Champion Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart promise to erase the questions of Hogan’s title win at WrestleMania IX. The promo is the best Hogan has given for the match so far but then it steers off into a wild rant about how WWF President Jack Tunney did not give Hogan a shot at the WWF title like he should have upon his return and Hogan is going to prove to Tunney he can keep the title for a long time.

Mr. Perfect (16-1-2) pins Rich Myers with the Perfectplex at 2:11:

Perfect gets a good reaction throughout the squash, wrestling at a fast pace to vanquish Myers as McMahon expresses confidence that Perfect will win against Mr. Hughes at The King of the Ring. If that happens, it sets up a match with Bret Hart, who beat him for the Intercontinental Championship two years ago, or Razor Ramon, who he feuded with to start the year. As he walks to the locker room and sees the finish on the video board, Perfect warns Michaels that the footage shows what awaits him.

An irritated Razor Ramon says that he is now offering the Kid $5,000 to get into the ring with him.

Tune in next week to see Bret Hart battle Papa Shango! Also, Lex Luger, the Smoking Gunns, and Mr. Hughes will be in action!

The Last Word: Now that the brackets for the King of the Ring Tournament have been established the WWF is leaning back into developing existing feuds. Having Razor Ramon try to goad the Kid back into the ring with money was a good angle but it is funny how the WWF argues that $2,500 or $5,000 is “life changing money.” The announcement of Crush and Shawn Michaels at The King of the Ring was odd because both men are involved in other programs and the match has no stakes.

Up Next: Wrestling Challenge for May 30!

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!