What the World Was Watching: WWF Wrestling Challenge – September 12, 1993

All American Wrestling’s feature match took place in Saginaw, Michigan on September 1. It was commentated by Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon:

Marty Jannetty (18-4-1) beats the 1-2-3 Kid (12-3-1) via count out at 7:21 shown:

Ross hypes this unique babyface clash as a contender match to Shawn Michaels’ Intercontinental Championship. There are some good reversal sequences as the Kid traps Jannetty in a victory roll for a near-fall and Jannetty counters a hurricanrana attempt with a sit out powerbomb. Jannetty then does a creative spot where he slingshots the Kid into the ropes and rolls him up on the rebound for a two count. He could win by count out after a pescado but opts to toss the Kid into the ring. That backfires when the Kid dropkicks him off the top rope and the Kid follows with a somersault plancha that he overshoots and nearly ends up in the first row. Back in, Jannetty uses a headscissors to set up the flying fist drop but the Kid gets a foot up to block. However, the Kid takes one risk too many as a suicide dive misses and Jannetty beats the count back into the ring. As the summary attests, this was a match ahead of its time, especially with the high-flying spots, and it is a shame it ended up on a D-show. The outcome was weird, though, as the Kid was still on the receiving end of a push while Jannetty was going in the opposite direction. Rating: ***½

After the match, Jannetty checks on the Kid’s condition and brings him into the ring so he can acknowledge his effort.

Jim Ross and Bobby Heenan were commentators on Wrestling Challenge, taped from Lowell, Massachusetts.

Opening Non-Title Contest: The Steiner Brothers (WWF Tag Team Champions) (33-0) beat Blake Beverly & Tony Ulysses when Scott pins Ulysses after the Steinerizer at 3:45:

Ulysses was a Killer Kowalski trainee who the WWF used at some of its Northeast tapings. He started working as a WWF enhancement talent in 1988. In 1992 he appeared in three matches, all tag contests, losing to the Beverly Brothers, the Nasty Boys, and the Headshrinkers.

Since the WWF does not care to pair Beverly with a jobber it signals that his time in the company is ending. The Steiners take their time exchanging tags and pulverizing Ulysses with suplexes until they get bored and finish with the Steinerizer. This builds them for a title defense against the Quebecers tomorrow night on Monday Night RAW.

A new “Unbelievable” segment makes Yokozuna seem like Godzilla.

Razor Ramon (24-3-2) pins Chris Duffy after the Razor’s Edge at 4:16:

Ross hypes a match at the Monday Night RAW taping that is going to feature Lex Luger and Randy Savage against Yokozuna and Ludvig Borga. He and Heenan proceed to hype the Ramon-Irwin R. Schyster feud, which needs a big angle to get going. There is also some hype for Ramon as an Intercontinental title contender. This is the second long squash of the program as Ramon stretches Duffy and toys with him before the super backdrop suplex and Razor’s Edge.

Doink the Clown (25-7-3) beats Scott Despres after the flying butt splash at 3:13:

There is a loud “Doink” chant that breaks out halfway through the match. It has the opposite effect, though, as Despres dropkicks Doink over the top rope. When he returns to the ring, Doink folds Despres up with a release German suplex. Ross and Heenan argue over Doink not being pleased with Jerry Lawler’s recent comments about how Doink dropped the ball against Bret Hart at SummerSlam so a program between those two should break out soon.

Bret Hart (7-3) defeats Barry Horowitz via submission to the Sharpshooter at 3:33:

This is Bret’s first televised squash match since October 10 of the previous year. It signifies that his stock has fallen a bit as main event talents did not do these types of matches. Ross notes that Bret is going to get another WWF title match against Yokozuna soon as he excellently executes Horowitz for nearly four minutes..

The Quebecers (5-1) beat Ross Greenberg & P.J. Walker when Pierre pins Walker after an assisted top rope senton bomb at 2:59:

The Quebecers take turns slamming themselves on Walker, culminating in an assisted top rope senton bomb. The Quebecers then give Greenberg their Boston Crab-flying leg drop maneuver. They choose not to stack the jobbers and simultaneously pin them, though, as Pierre just covers Walker, who has been laid out for close to a minute, for the win.

Tune in next week to see Tatanka, the Headshrinkers, Marty Jannetty, Ludvig Borga, the Smoking Gunns, and Bastion Booger in action! Also, WWF President Jack Tunney appears on the King’s Court!

The Last Word: Fans got the treat of a Bret Hart squash appearance, the sole highlight in an episode where the squash matches took too long.

Here are the results of some of the WWF’s post-Labor Day house shows, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:

Allentown, Pennsylvania – Allentown Fairgrounds – September 6, 1993 (5,514): Bob Backlund pinned Damien Demento…Razor Ramon wrestled Irwin R. Schyster to a time-limit draw…The Undertaker beat Adam Bomb (substituting for Mr. Hughes) via disqualification when Johnny Polo interfered…WWF Tag Team Champions the Steiner Brothers defeated the Headshrinkers…Doink the Clown pinned the 1-2-3 Kid after using the tights for leverage…Razor Ramon (substituting for Mr. Perfect) & Tatanka beat Shawn Michaels & Diesel when Tatanka pinned Michaels…WWF Champion Yokozuna defeated Bret Hart in a steel cage match.

Boston, Massachusetts – The Boston Garden – September 11, 1993 (4,800): Doink the Clown pinned the 1-2-3 Kid after using the tights for leverage…Razor Ramon beat Irwin R. Schyster via count out…WWF Tag Team Champions the Steiner Brothers beat the Headshrinkers…The Undertaker pinned Adam Bomb with a chokeslam…Shawn Michaels & Diesel beat Mr. Perfect & Marty Jannetty when Michaels pinned Jannetty…Tatanka pinned Bam Bam Bigelow after Bigelow hit an unprotected turnbuckle…WWF Champion Yokozuna beat Bret Hart in a steel cage match after escaping through the door as Bret went over the top of the structure at 23:04.

Backstage News*: The WWF planted a story in the September 8 edition of The New York Observer that alleged Department of Justice investigator Anthony Valenti and NBC news producer Len Tepper committed ethical violations by sharing protected grand jury testimony to push for more investigations of the company. The piece also alleged that Valenti and the Department of Justice were trying to coerce witnesses to testify against the WWF. The piece was run a day later by USA Today, which has always had a friendly attitude toward the WWF. To substantiate the allegations, the WWF pointed to an ex-employee that got cold feet about mailing a videotape of former ring announcer Mel Phillips with young ring boys. The employee tried to stop the delivery to NBC but Valenti seized the tape at a FedEx location. In response, NBC and the Justice Department have not stopped their investigations. NBC is looking to air a critical segment about the WWF on its Now program and the Department of Justice is continuing to call witnesses to testify before a grand jury. The WWF’s attempt to call these investigations into question could be a signal that they are worried about what they may reveal.

-August house show attendance was good, increasing for the first time over the previous month since March 1992. However, the WWF only ran 17 shows in North America, much less than the 35-45 shows it ran in other months so part of the increase was due to getting rid of circuits and towns that were not drawing well. Since there was only one circuit, towns that got shows got better lineups, which probably also played a role in increasing attendance. The improved attendance did not generate a better pay-per-view buy for SummerSlam, though, which the company was hoping for.

-In a sign of how cold the wrestling economy is becoming, the Dallas-based Sports Management Group (SMG) released a survey of the Most and Least Popular Sport in America and the WWF, along with pro wrestling generally, was rated as the Most Hated Sport.

-Lex Luger remains out with his back injury and there is no word yet on when he will return. Randy Savage will substitute for Luger where appropriate.

-In talent relations news, the WWF has signed Rex Lardner, who used to work for TBS Sports and was a senior producer of the 1990 Goodwill Games, as a vice president.

*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for September 20.

Up Next: Monday Night RAW for September 13!

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!