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

Wrestling Spotlight had an original match, which was taped in Huntington, West Virginia on June 15 and had Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon on commentary. It was the last match of Kamala’s run:

The Headshrinkers (w/Afa) (18-2-1) defeat Hacksaw Jim Duggan & Kamala when Samu pins Duggan after a double thrust kick at 7:16:

When Ross wonders how Duggan and Kamala will communicate, Monsoon responds with a pointed “They’re not.” Monsoon also criticizes Slick for abandoning Kamala. The match goes through the required bits of the tag team checklist – babyface shine, putting a babyface in peril (in this case Kamala), and there is a brawl between everyone at the end – but everyone goes through the motions. For example, Duggan mows down the Headshrinkers with clotheslines and it does not take long for the Headshrinkers to put Kamala in peril and nothing they do is interesting. The only fun bit is Afa telling his team “ICOPRO! ICOPRO!” and wildly dancing at ringside. After receiving the hot tag, Duggan nails Samu with the three-point stance clothesline but Afa hops on the apron to prevent a pinfall. Kamala gets too wound up in the brawl and accidentally chops Duggan, setting Duggan up for a Headshrinkers double thrust kick. Monsoon summarizes the ending as Kamala being a “big dummy,” providing one last jab at a character who would not appear in the WWF again until WrestleMania X-7. Rating: *

Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler, and Randy Savage were commentators for WWF Superstars, starting a new taping cycle in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The Wilkes University Marts Center is a unique venue as there are large windows so natural light projects in during the broadcast. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping took place on July 6 and drew a sellout crowd of 3,400.

Opening Contest: Hacksaw Jim Duggan (14-2) pins Duane Gill after the three-point stance clothesline at 2:57:

This match must have been early in the taping as the crowd loses its mind to see Duggan. Before the match, Duggan talks about how proud he is to be an American and how he is proud of Lex Luger. Gill tries to attack Duggan before the bell but just gets tossed out of the ring. The WWF’s casting of Luger as America’s biggest champion usurps Duggan’s gimmick so barring a recasting his time is winding down.

Gorilla Monsoon’s Update segment features a phone call between McMahon and WWF President Jack Tunney. Tunney says that Luger will get a title match against Yokozuna at SummerSlam but he must wear an approved forearm pad for the bout because of complaints by Mr. Fuji. On the Lex Express, Luger promises to seize the opportunity given to him at SummerSlam. He says that his tour of America will continue until the pay-per-view in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

Ludvig Borga defeats Tony DiMauro after a flying clothesline off the ropes at 1:32:

Borga was Tony Halme, a Finnish athlete who was a former boxer. He was trained in the late 1980s by Verne Gagne and wrestled on U.S. television as the Viking for Herb Abrams’ UWF in 1990. Prior to signing with the WWF, he worked under a boxing gimmick for New Japan, feuding with Shinya Hashimoto and Vader. He was also an IWGP Tag Team champion with Scott Norton, with whom he eventually had a falling out and left the promotion.

Borga’s gear is an overkill of the Finnish flag as it is on his boots, kneepads, and singlet. After he bull rushes DiMauro, fans catch on that he is a heel so they work in a “USA!” chant. Borga lays in some stiff shots, popping up after a clothesline. Without any vignettes, he is simply a generic foreigner on the roster but the physicality of his work in the squash, albeit limited, puts him on the map as someone with potential.

McMahon announces that the 1-2-3 Kid and Ted DiBiase will face off on Wrestling Challenge next week.

WWF Tag Team Championship Match: The Steiner Brothers (Champions) (26-0) beat Money Incorporated (12-2) via count out at 9:31 shown:

IRS tells the crowd that their tax cheating makes him sick before the match. The bout has more energy than their contest last week as the Steiners clear Money Incorporated from the ring twice and IRS creatively blasts Rick in the back of the head with a clothesline when the referee moves Rick back to his corner. After a commercial break, Rick is placed in peril and the referee misses his fluke sunset flip on DiBiase because of an IRS distraction. When Scott gets the hot tag, he nearly pins IRS with a double underhook suplex but DiBiase breaks the count. All four participants end up fighting on the floor and at the end, IRS and Scott battle on the apron, with IRS suplexing Scott into the ring but not making it in himself before the referee’s ten count ends. The lack of a clean finish keeps the feud going, although McMahon said that this could be Money Incorporated’s last shot at the titles. Rating: **¾

Gene Okerlund does the SummerSlam Report. The rules are still not clarified for the “RIP” match because the Undertaker is not talking. Bret Hart promises to grind Jerry Lawler up.

The 1-2-3 Kid (4-2-1) pins Barry Horowitz after the flying leg drop to the back of the head at 2:44:

Lawler has a funny joke that he sold a box of Cheerios to the Kid for $100 because the Kid is using them for hula hoops. The Kid continues some of his struggles against enhancement talent as Horowitz fires off a few European uppercuts and a jawbreaker. However, the Kid rallies and uses a slam to set up his finish and capture a fourth straight win.

The Quebecers defeat Rich Myers & Tony Webb when Pierre pins Myers after a Boston Crab-flying leg drop to the back of the head off the second rope combination at 2:33:

The Quebecers were composed of a returning Jacques Rougeau and Carl Ouellet, who was named Pierre. Rougeau left the WWF over creative disagreements ten months earlier, causing a small reordering of the Survivor Series card when he was supposed to wrestle the British Bulldog for the Intercontinental Championship. Ouellet was a French Canadian wrestler who was trained by Pat Girard, Edouard Carpentier, Steve Strong, and Dan Kroffat. He made his debut in 1987 and spent the next six years working around the world in Canada, South Africa, Germany, and Puerto Rico. The team wears Mountie-like uniforms in a nod to Rougeau’s old gimmick but since that gimmick got in trouble with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), a tweak is made to the duo’s theme song, again borrowed from Rougeau’s second theme the prior year, which proclaims “We’re not the Mounties!”

The squash that unfolds is in the running for the best of the year and one of the best WWF debut squashes ever as the Quebecers unleash a bevy of creative double team moves that get lots of “Oooh” reactions from the audience. Rougeau backdrops Pierre onto Webb and then Myers is wiped out with the finisher of the Fabulous Rougeau Brothers as Pierre raises Myers for a flying seated senton from Rougeau. The finish is also devastating as Rougeau delivers a double leg slam (later known as the Alabama Slam) to Myers, twists him up in a Boston Crab, and then Pierre flies off the second rope to leg drop the jobber across the back of the head. It is amazing work that immediately makes the Quebecers a team to be reckoned with.

Luna Vachon yells about how she is the most dominating force in the WWF. Sensational Sherri rebuts that Vachon will get a chance to prove that she is the woman of the 90s next week.

A list of the Lex Express’ upcoming stops plays the show out.

Tune in next week to see Sensational Sherri face Luna Vachon! Also, Mr. Perfect, Men on a Mission, Adam Bomb, Mr. Hughes, and the Headshrinkers will be in action!

The Last Word: Next week’s program will be the end of the line for Sensational Sherri as she had already been fired by the time this show aired. This program had a good flow to it, helped by a fun Tag Team title match and two solid debuts by new heels. Even though house show attendance and pay-per-view buyrates have been poor, the WWF’s leap into a new generation is making the in-ring product better. The company just has to find a way to adequately build its top wrestlers into more marketable attractions.

Up Next: Wrestling Challenge for July 25!