What the World Was Watching: WWF Superstars – June 12, 1993

WWF Mania featured a clash of King of the Ring tournament participants. It was taped at the Manhattan Center in New York City on May 31.

Mr. Hughes (11-0) wrestles Tatanka (21-0) to a double disqualification at 6:12:

Hughes imposes a methodical pace on the match, scoring near-falls from basic strikes. The action picks up when Tatanka makes his comeback, getting a two count from a flying chop. He struggles to slam Hughes and after an elbow drop misses there is an exchange of strikes. The referee tries to stop it and gets pushed aside by Hughes. However, the referee decides to disqualify both men instead of Hughes so that both men can avoid taking a loss. After the bell, Hughes wins the exchange and plants Tatanka with the sidewalk slam. Rating: *

Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler, and Randy Savage provide commentary for Superstars, starting a new taping cycle from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping drew 8,000 fans.

Lawler talks about Japan buying up U.S. assets and how they will soon have the WWF Championship. McMahon, cognizant of criticisms by Asian-American groups about the Yokozuna character, insists that Yokozuna represents himself and not Japan. Savage hypes the King of the Ring Tournament as a must-see event.

Opening Contest: The Steiner Brothers (21-0) defeat Ralph LaRue & Mike Sharpe when Scott pins LaRue after a Doomsday DDT at 2:32:

Sharpe gets off easy in the squash, avoiding the Steiners’ suplex display. LaRue is not so lucky, eating a release dragon suplex, double underhook suplex, and Doomsday DDT.

Gorilla Monsoon’s Update segment shows pictures of Shawn Michaels winning the Intercontinental Championship from Marty Jannetty at the house show in Albany, New York. Crush argues that Michaels’ bodyguard will not stop him from winning the Intercontinental title. Michaels and his bodyguard fire back that they are keeping the title.

The 1-2-3 Kid refuses Razor Ramon’s recent offer of $7,500 because if something were to happen to him that he does not know what his family would do.

Before the next match, Bret Hart appears on the video screen and runs down Razor Ramon’s chances of beating him at the King of the Ring because he could not beat the Kid. He leads the crowd in a “1, 2, 3” chant.

Razor Ramon (15-2-1) pins Bert Centeno after the Razor’s Edge at 1:22:

Unlike Tony Roy on RAW, Centeno is not able to capitalize on Ramon’s incensed state and is quickly finished off by Ramon’s trademark moves.

Hacksaw Jim Duggan (12-1) defeats Mike Bell after the three-point stance clothesline at 1:06:

Like Ramon, Duggan gets a quick win so that the announce team can talk about his chances of winning the King of the Ring Tournament. The only way Duggan wins is if the WWF thinks doing so would enhance his house show matches with Yokozuna. After the match, Lawler uses the Royal Magistrator to draw a thumbs up around Duggan’s 2×4 and draw a line through it.

Boni Blackstone interviews Yokozuna and Mr. Fuji, which repeats some of the same talking points as the Monday Night RAW King’s Court segment. Fuji adds that Hulk Hogan’s fans will be in tears after The King of the Ring. Yokozuna and Fuji have been given interview segments on the last three shows and none of them have been good. If Yokozuna is going to be positioned as a main event talent, he is going to need a better manager to speak on his behalf.

The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) (8-0-1) pins P.J. Walker after a chokeslam at 1:29:

This is the Undertaker’s first televised match since WrestleMania IX. McMahon refers to the Undertaker’s feud with Giant Gonzalez, showing that the program still has life even though it has been forgotten in hype for The King of the Ring. The Undertaker opts to finish the match with a chokeslam as he spots Gonzalez and Harvey Wippleman coming down to the ring.

After the match, Gonzalez gets into the ring and fights with the Undertaker. Mr. Hughes, Wippleman’s newest charge, comes out and lays out Bearer with a sidewalk slam. Hughes takes the urn and hits the Undertaker over the head several times, laying out the Dead Man. When Bearer tries to get up, Hughes gives him a stiff shot with the urn too. Since Hughes gets the big shine in the segment and gets all of Wippleman’s attention when he takes out the Undertaker, this angle is transferring the Undertaker’s feud with Gonzalez to Hughes.

Gene Okerlund tells fans that the Undertaker eventually got up and carried Bearer to the locker room.

Okerlund does The King of the Ring Report. WWF Champion Hulk Hogan, with Jimmy Hart, says he used to be turned on by “fine tuned guitars and firm feeling women” but now he is turned on by his children. That weird statement is followed by Hogan claiming that fans will find out if Hulkamania will live forever or if it will be Pearl Harbored. Okerlund tells fans that Hogan has not defended the title in two months, making some wonder why Hogan got to avoid the WWF’s classic rule of having to defend titles within 30 days.

McMahon announces that a new tag team, Men on a Mission, are coming to the WWF. Footage of an urban area is shown as a Black tag team raps with their manager. The vignette gives a babyface vibe.

Non-Title Match: Money Incorporated (WWF Tag Team Champions) (10-1) defeat Tony Roy & Buddy Lane when Ted DiBiase makes Roy submit to the Million Dollar Dream at 1:40:

Lane was a second-generation wrestler who was trained by Verne Gagne and worked as a preliminary wrestler and referee for Gagne’s AWA in the 1980s. He did some WWF enhancement matches from 1986-1988.

IRS tells the crowd that they are all tax evaders according to federal law. The champions keep the quick series of squash matches rolling after beating up their opponents in turn.

After the match, the Steiner Brothers come to ringside and issue an impromptu challenge for the titles. The champions respond by leaving the ring and DiBiase tells the camera that Money Incorporated will put their titles on the line when they want to.

The Last Word: The storytelling picked up on this episode with Mr. Hughes slotted into a new program against the Undertaker and the Steiner Brothers having a direct interaction with Money Incorporated. The 1-2-3 Kid turned down another offer from Razor Ramon, so one can expect the Bad Guy to increase the offer again on Monday Night RAW. Since the Kid was competing in New Japan’s Best of the Super Juniors event, it was a good way to keep the story fresh without having the Kid make any live appearances.

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