What the World Was Watching: WWF Wrestling Challenge – September 26, 1993

Jim Ross and Bobby Heenan call today’s action, starting a new taping in Saginaw, Michigan. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping took place on September 1 and drew a crowd of 3,000 fans. Heenan is still selling his “cold” from Doink the Clown throwing water on him last week on Monday Night RAW.

Opening Contest: The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) (11-0-1) pins Steve Moore after the Tombstone at 2:54:

Moore was a trainee of Jim Lancaster, who ran Ohio Midwest Championship Wrestling. He made his debut in 1982 and spent the next decade working the Midwest independent circuit, with a few enhancement appearances for the AWA and Jim Crockett Promotions. In a few years he would make a bigger name for himself in Smoky Mountain Wrestling as Al Snow.

Since the Undertaker is on a collision course with Yokozuna he annihilates Moore, slowing him down with chokes before winning with the Tombstone.

The new “Unbelievable!” ad sees a baby get excited after accidentally using a television remote to tune into WWF programming.

Bam Bam Bigelow (w/Luna Vachon) (33-3-1) pins Gary Jackson after the flying headbutt at 2:38:

This is the second time that Bigelow has wrestled Jackson this year, previously beating him on the January 23 edition of Superstars. Vachon had a great debut with the company at WrestleMania but she has not been given anything to do since Sensational Sherri was released. Even in Bigelow’s matches she does not do much to assert her authority. The victory gives Bigelow the most singles wins in the WWF to this point in the year, one more than Tatanka and Mr. Perfect.

Men on a Mission (w/Oscar) (10-0) defeat Red Tyler & Chad Miller when Mabel pins Miller after a spinning heel kick at 2:34:

Ross wonders if the Quebecers are going to give MOM a Tag Team title match on Monday Night RAW. MOM tag Tylerwith a double dropkick and Mo catches Miller with a nice flying forearm after he tags in. To make Mabel’s spinning heel kick look good, Miller jumps as he is taking the move.

Doink the Clown is a guest on the King’s Court. Doink brings two metal buckets onto the set. He throws the contents of one (confetti) onto the cameraman. Doink proceeds to make fun of Lawler being called a “Burger king” and laughs about SummerSlam. An irritated Lawler tells Doink that as his court jester he takes orders from him. Doink counters that by giving Lawler various fast-food orders. When Lawler turns to address the crowd, Doink takes the second bucket that is full of water and dumps it on Lawler’s head. This solidifies the Doink babyface turn.

Irwin R. Schyster (3-2) pins John Paul after the Write Off at 2:34:

Paul was a Minnesota-based talent who worked in the 1980s for Memphis and the AWA. In 1992 he wrestled in four televised matches for the WWF, losing to the Berzerker, Shawn Michaels, Bam Bam Bigelow, and Razor Ramon.

IRS does an entertaining opening bit, accusing ring announcer Mike McGuirk of claiming eight dependents on her latest tax return and reminding fans that they will pay dearly for lying on their taxes. The match is basic, with IRS showing himself as a more accomplished technical wrestler than Paul to build future house show matches with Razor Ramon.

Ross and Heenan talk about how the Quebecers backed out of their word to give the Steiner Brothers another WWF Tag Team title shot.

Owen Hart (8-5) defeats Reno Riggins with a Northern Lights suplex at 3:33:

Owen has not wrestled since beating Shawn Michaels on the August 8 edition of All American Wrestling. He is cold as an act and looks like a loser compared to his brother, Bret. Since Owen has no program, Ross and Heenan use the bout to discuss the WWF’s upcoming international tour and Bret’s feud with Jerry Lawler. Heenan also makes lots of jokes about the size of Owen’s nose. Riggins gets enough time to shine to do a cartwheel back elbow into the corner and avoids an Owen dropkick. However, Owen catches him with a belly-to-belly suplex when Riggins rebounds out of the corner and a missile dropkick and Northern Lights suplex finish. It was good to see Owen doing moves off the top rope again as that is what helped him stand out on the roster.

Ludvig Borga (8-0) beats Rod Bell via submission to the torture rack at 3:03:

Bell was an Indiana-based wrestler who wrestled with the nickname “Hot Stuff” on the independent circuit. This was his first televised enhancement match for the WWF.

Borga could win after two minutes with his flying clothesline off the ropes but he opts to do some more punches and win with the torture rack instead. After the match, Borga takes a while to release the hold as Ross says Borga’s finish makes sense because he wants to break the back of America. When Borga leaves the ring he takes a poster from one member of the audience and tears it up.

Tune in next week to see Mr. Perfect, the Headshrinkers, the 1-2-3 Kid, Adam Bomb, and Razor Ramon in action! Also, Ludvig Borga will be a guest on the King’s Court!

The Last Word: The King’s Court segments are the only thing that gives life to Wrestling Challenge right now. The Doink turn was questionable at a time when the company was running low on quality heels but Matt Osborne says Vince McMahon made the decision to curtail Osborne’s drug use, believing that it would “slow him down” on the road. Unfortunately, babyface Doink had less material than heel Doink and, as today’s King’s Court segment showed, it was going to turn the character into one that told lame, childish jokes.

The WWF returned to big cities for some house shows and here were the results of some of those events, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:

Chicago, Illinois – The Rosemont Horizon – September 24, 1993 (4,900): Tatanka pinned Bastion Booger at 9:11…Mr. Perfect wrestled Irwin R. Schyster to a 20-minute time-limit draw. Perfect had IRS trapped in the Perfectplex when the bell sounded…Men on a Mission beat Well Dunn…WWF Champion Yokozuna pinned the Undertaker after hitting him with Mr. Fuji’s salt bucket at 9:16…Diesel (substituting for Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels) beat the 1-2-3 Kid at 5:49…Bam Bam Bigelow & Adam Bomb defeated WWF Tag Team Champions the Quebecers (substituting for the Steiner Brothers) via count out when the Quebecers walked out of the match…Razor Ramon pinned Rick Martel with the Razor’s Edge.

New York, New York – Madison Square Garden – September 25, 1993 (11,500): Bastion Booger (substituting for Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels) pinned the 1-2-3 Kid by blocking a sunset flip with the sit-down splash…Men on a Mission beat Well Dunn when Mabel pinned Steven Dunn…Tatanka wrestled Irwin R. Schyster to a 20-minute time-limit draw…WWF Champion Yokozuna pinned the Undertaker with a leg drop after hitting the Undertaker over the head four times with Mr. Fuji’s salt bucket when the referee was knocked down. After the match, Yokozuna attempted the Banzai Drop but the Undertaker fought him off and forced him to flee…WWF Tag Team Champions the Quebecers beat Adam Bomb & Bam Bam Bigelow via count out when Bigelow and Bomb started to argue on the floor at 12:56. Late in the match, Johnny Polo shoved Luna Vachon after Vachon interfered. That caused the argument between Bigelow and Bomb. Polo got on his knees to apologize to Bigelow after the match, getting thrown into the corner. When Bomb attacked Bigelow, Bigelow knocked him to the floor…Jimmy Snuka defeated Brian Christopher with the splash off the top rope at 7:26. Snuka answered an open challenge Christopher made to the locker room after insulting the crowd…Razor Ramon pinned Rick Martel after the Razor’s Edge…Mr. Perfect beat Diesel via disqualification when Rick Martel interfered to break up a Perfectplex. When Perfect and Martel fought, Razor Ramon ran in and made the save.

Backstage News*: Monday Night RAW’s ratings rebounded a bit to a 2.1 but that is the second-lowest rating for the program since its debut.

-Expect to see the Rock N’ Roll Express brought in for a few matches as part of Jim Cornette’s agreement to work with the WWF. The intention is to showcase Smoky Mountain Wrestling’s talent and titles on some WWF shows.

-There are reports that Bret Hart has been asked to take three months off after Survivor Series so that pay-per-view could feature a major angle to write him off for a while.

-In talent relations news, the WWF has signed Jeff Jarrett of the USWA. Bruce Hart is also expected to be brought in to work a match at Survivor Series.

*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for October 4.

Up Next: Monday Night RAW for September 27!

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!