What the World Was Watching: WWF Superstars – October 16, 1993

Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler, and Randy Savage provide commentary, starting a new taping in Worcester, Massachusetts. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping occurred on September 28 and drew a crowd of 2,000 fans. This is the second time that Worcester has hosted a Superstars taping this year.

Opening Contest: Tatanka (34-0-3) pins Mike Bell after the Papoose to Go at 3:13:

This is a rematch from the June 19 edition of Superstars where Tatanka beat Bell in two minutes. Hype is provided for the Savage-Crush summit on the next RAW as Tatanka wins to keep pace with Bam Bam Bigelow in the race for most singles wins in 1993.

Gorilla Monsoon’s Update segment announces that one of the matches at Survivor Series will feature Lex Luger, Tatanka, and the Steiner Brothers against WWF Champion Yokozuna, Ludvig Borga, and WWF Tag Team Champions the Quebecers. Luger’s team is called the All Americans and Yokozuna’s team is called the Foreign Fanatics.

Backstage footage shows Ludvig Borga arguing with Tatanka over Borga’s anti-American rhetoric. They are kept apart by WWF officials and Tatanka tells Borga he would love to get him in the ring.

Ludvig Borga (12-0) defeats Tony Roy via submission to the torture rack at 2:51:

The WWF is trying to get over the nickname “The Instigator” for Borga. Roy absorbs a lot of punches to the midsection, unable to mount any offense against the Finnish heel.

The 1-2-3 Kid (14-5-1) defeats Pat Tanaka with a victory roll at 5:26 shown:

This marked Tanaka’s return to WWF television after exiting the company in the early months of 1992. Tanaka was part of the Orient Express from 1990-1992, teaming first with Akio Sato and then joining up with longtime tag team partner Paul Diamond, who wrestled under a mask as Kato. In 1992 the team only made one appearance, losing at The Royal Rumble to the New Foundation. Tanaka wrestled in three singles matches afterward, losing to Tatanka in Tatanka’s debut, the Texas Tornado, and Virgil. At the time that this show aired, Tanaka was working with Diamond in Eastern Championship Wrestling (ECW) as Badd Company.

The battle of light heavyweights sees the Kid carry the action. There are some wilder spots like the Kid doing a sunset flip powerbomb to Tanaka from the apron to the floor and following it up with a suicide dive. After a commercial break, there is a weird spot where the Kid does a moonsault but sells like Tanaka caught him with a knee to the gut. A Tanaka blind charge is met by a spinning heel kick and the Kid traps Tanaka with a victory roll to win. While the Kid looked good, Tanaka was a step slower and botched a few sequences. It was not a good showcase for him if he wanted to get signed. Rating: *½

Monsoon does the first Survivor Series Report, weird for fans that are used to Gene Okerlund doing these. A new match announced is the Hart Family, composed of Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Bruce Hart, and Keith Hart, against the King & His Knights, led by Jerry Lawler. Stu Hart will back up his sons in the match. Family Feud host Ray Combs will also be on the pay-per-view.

Lawler tells McMahon and Savage that he looks forward to eliminating the Harts one-by-one at Survivor Series. He promises that he will bring a red, blue, and black knight with him but refuses to reveal their identities.

Owen Hart (10-5) pins Scott Taylor after the Northern Lights suplex at 3:52:

Lawler cracks jokes about the size of the Hart Family, likening them to a parade and dubbing them “12 little cowards.” Not to be outdone by the Kid earlier, Owen does a pescado after waving away the referee. He puts away Taylor with the same sequence that he used to win on RAW. After the bout, Lawler uses the Royal Magistrator to draw a toilet underneath Owen because Helen Hart had to potty train 12 children.

There is a vignette at the Country Music Hall of Fame featuring Jeff Jarrett. He puts himself over as part of a wrestling family and that he wants to use the WWF to break into the music business. Since he runs down Garth Brooks, a pop culture icon of the 1990s, and calls out Randy Savage, Lex Luger, and Bret Hart that means he is going to come in as a heel. It is not a bad introductory segment and shows Jarrett has promo skills. His vocalized spelling of his name as “J-e-double f, J-a-double r-e-double t” was memorable.

Non-Title Match: Mike Davis & Jerry Seavey beat the Quebecers (WWF Tag Team Champions w/Johnny Polo) (8-1) via disqualification when Pierre pulls Seavey up from a cover at 2:05:

The WWF Tag Team title scene had a good run for most of 1993 but backstage issues with the Steiner Brothers have wrecked it because the Quebecers do not have clear direction since winning the titles. Not only that, but no teams are engaged in a prominent feud. Seavey takes a long beating but the Quebecers keep picking him up. When Pierre does so after Jacques backdrops him onto his opponent, referee Tim White disqualifies them. This angers the Quebecers, who throw Seavey out of the ring and give Davis their trademark moves and finisher. That gets a lot of heat back for the team, who looked like killers doing those maneuvers.

Tune in next week to see Doink the Clown, Irwin R. Schyster, the Rock N’ Roll Express, Diesel, and Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon in action!

The Last Word: A new taping brings lots of new developments. The Survivor Series matches announced so far look good on paper, making fans wonder who Jerry Lawler could bring in for backup against the Hart Family. Speculation at the time ranged from using old WWF legends to allies in the USWA. The Quebecers have had a weird run so far as their two losses were to the Bushwhackers and a jobber tag team. And again, Superstars continues to be sidelined from the big storylines as a new Intercontinental champion was crowned on RAW and that show will also have the Randy Savage-Crush summit.

Up Next: WWF Wrestling Challenge for October 17!

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!