What the World Was Watching: WWF Wrestling Challenge – September 5, 1993

All American Wrestling featured an exclusive match, which was taped in Lowell, Massachusetts on August 18. In a match with no available footage, Razor Ramon (23-3-2) beat Damien Demento (9-7) for the second time this year with a Razor’s Edge at 4:20.

Jim Ross and Bobby Heenan provide commentary, starting a new set of tapings in Lowell, Massachusetts. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping took place on August 18 and drew a sellout crowd of 2,500 fans.

Opening Contest: Irwin R. Schyster (1-1) beats Jerry Seavey after the Write Off at 2:27:

Heenan has a stinging burn on Lex Luger, arguing that he promised everything and did nothing at SummerSlam. Again, the WWF is trying to position Luger as a wronged party and someone who is going to get back in the title picture but it is not good when the babyface is facing criticisms that cannot be refuted. Before the match, IRS talks about how new tax laws are coming that will make the fans pay up. Ross echoes what Vince McMahon said on Superstars about IRS having a bout on the horizon against Razor Ramon. Seavey gets a fluke sunset flip for two, the lone highlight of a boring squash.

Men on a Mission (w/Oscar) (9-0) beat Richie Rich & Mike Moraldo when Mabel pins Rich after the assisted splash at 3:11:

Ross and Heenan discuss a future match that Men on a Mission have against Well Dunn, a lopsided matchup if there ever was one. Mabel does some arm work on Moraldo, which looks weird, and MOM flatten the jobber with a double dropkick. Rich fares no better, getting pulverized with a double elbow drop, a Mabel side suplex, and the assisted splash.

Bam Bam Bigelow (w/Luna Vachon) (31-3-1) pins Phil Apollo after the flying headbutt at 2:43:

Bigelow beat Apollo in a long squash on the April 19 edition of Monday Night RAW. He finishes him faster today, using a suplex to set up the flying headbutt. Heenan floats the rumor of Vachon meeting with Johnny Polo to put together a tag team of Bigelow and Adam Bomb to go after the Steiner Brothers. That would be a fun match if it were to occur but it seems unlikely since the Steiners are programmed with the Quebecers.

In a new vignette, Ludvig Borga stands in front of an abandoned warehouse and continues to rant about how Labor Day for Americans is about collecting welfare instead of working. One wonders why these vignettes did not air before Borga debuted.

Mr. Perfect (28-3-2) pins Paul Vendale after the Perfectplex at 3:25:

Vendale was also known as Paul Van Dale. He had been an enhancement talent for the WWF since the late 1980s. In 1992 he worked two televised matches, losing to Razor Ramon and Papa Shango. He is best known today as the father of WWE superstar Carmella.

Perfect gets the biggest pop of the taping to this point. It is juiced audio but the body language of the fans shows that he is still over. Vendale gets a body press off the ropes for a near-fall, earning him some hard chops in the corner. Perfect takes his time taking Vendale apart before doing the Perfectplex as Ross hypes a future Perfect-Diesel match.

Jerry Lawler does a taped King’s Court segment that focuses on his “car wreck” in Detroit. He once again calls Doink the Clown an idiot for failing to take care of Bret Hart at SummerSlam and complains about Bret Hart beating up a “cripple.” Lawler closes the segment by putting over how he was proclaimed the King of the WWF by beating Bret.

The 1-2-3 Kid (10-3-1) pins Mike Sharpe with a La Magistral Cradle at 2:56:

Sharpe refuses to shake the Kid’s hand and ends up on the receiving end of a loud “1, 2, 3” chant. Sharpe tries to bully the Kid with his size but is caught off guard with a spinning heel kick. The Kid pounces and rolls Sharpe up with a La Magistral Cradle to recover from his SummerSlam loss to Irwin R. Schyster.

Adam Bomb (w/Johnny Polo) (18-0) pins Bob Evans after a flying clothesline at 2:05:

Evans was trained by Gino Caruso and Jeff Costa, debuting in 1991 for the Rhode Island-based Power League Wrestling. While there he was a Tag Team champion and World champion. He would achieve a degree of fame late in his career in the 2010s in Ring of Honor (ROH) as “Brutal” Bob Evans.

Ross hypes the SummerSlam encore presentation having unaired footage, including an interaction between Lex Luger and Ludvig Borga. Bomb wins another squash, this time with a flying clothesline, as he searches for his place in the card. After the bell, Bomb gives Evans the Atom Smasher. In a funny bit post-match, Ross says “He has championship written all over him” as the camera pans to Polo. Although Ross is quick to correct that he meant Bomb, the initial statement would be true of Polo by 1996.

Tune in next week to see WWF Tag Team Champions the Steiner Brothers, Razor Ramon, Doink the Clown, Bret Hart, and the Quebecers in action!

The Last Word: Like Superstars, this was a dull show. The product does not seem to have much life in it after SummerSlam, a lingering effect of the pay-per-view’s disappointing ending.

Backstage News*: Although SummerSlam did not produce a sellout it did result in the largest crowd for a pro wrestling event in the United States this year. It broke the sellout crowd of 16,742 fans that Mexico’s AAA drew for an event at the Los Angeles Sports Arena on August 28. However, the lack of a sellout despite offering children’s tickets for $5 shows that the Lex Luger push was not a success.

-The dark match at SummerSlam had Owen Hart pin Barry Horowitz with a missile dropkick at 8:32. It was said to be a poor match because Owen had an injured knee.

-Irwin R. Schyster was supposed to be given a month off after SummerSlam but has been sent back onto the road immediately to face Razor Ramon because of Mr. Hughes’ dismissal. Adam Bomb was going to be Hughes’ replacement but the company wants to run he and Bigelow against the Steiner Brothers in some markets.

-In response to losing syndication in the St. Louis area via KPLR-TV, the WWF is pulling house shows from the market. It was recently announced that the WWF is losing syndication in Minneapolis, Minnesota from WCCO, so its syndication woes continue.

-Mike Quinn, who finished last in the 1992 WBF Championship, is suing Vince McMahon and Titan Sports for $175,000, claiming that he was dismissed without cause. Quinn argues that he did not fail a cocaine test and that a hotel employee did not find syringes and human growth hormone in his hotel room, which were factors in his dismissal.

-Lex Luger suffered a back injury working against Shawn Michaels at a television taping in Grand Rapids, Michigan on August 31 and was flown to Atlanta for emergency care. If Luger is out for any length of time, Ludvig Borga will be credited for the injury.

-Steve Lombardi, who wrestles as the Brooklyn Brawler, is going to be given a baseball gimmick called MVP.

-In talent relations news, the WWF gave the Texas Hangmen a one-night tryout but passed on them quickly. They wanted to give Sabu a tryout but he was wrestling in Japan. WWF Magazine wrote off the Ted DiBiase character for the time being, saying that DiBiase lost a lot of his wealth in bad investments.

*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for September 6 and 13.

Up Next: WWF Superstars for September 11!

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!