What the World Was Watching: WWF Wrestling Challenge – October 31, 1993

Jim Ross and Bobby Heenan commentate, concluding the taping in Portland, Maine. This would be the last WWF television show that Mike McGuirk would be ring announcer for.

Opening Contest: Marty Jannetty (23-4-2) pins Tony DeVito after the flying fist drop at 3:00:

DeVito takes a big bump out of the ring after eating a superkick. That leads to him taking the Rocker Dropper and flying fist drop when he gets back in the ring.

The Headshrinkers (w/Afa) (25-2-1) defeat Ralph Mosca & Barry Horowitz when Fatu pins Mosca after the splash off the top rope at 2:42:

Horowitz puts Fatu in a compromising position with an arm drag but Mosca squanders the advantage. A frustrated Horowitz abandons his partner after the Headshrinkers deliver the doble forward Russian leg sweep to set up their finisher.

Irwin R. Schyster (8-2) pins Phil Apollo after the Write Off at 1:04:

IRS does not have much new material, recycling the “Read my lips, pay your taxes!” line he has used before. Apollo gets a near-fall from a sunset flip into the ring but IRS quickly gets back on track by hitting the Write Off and continuing a small unbeaten streak.

Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon is a guest on the King’s Court. Ramon dares IRS to try to collect on any taxes he supposedly owes. When Lawler runs down Ramon’s Survivor Series squad, Ramon hypes the abilities of his team and how he knows their toughness because he has faced them. Ramon makes fun of Lawler not having a title and says that he is not only known as the Bad Guy now, but “champ.” The promo showed that the babyfaces were over much more than the heels as Rick Martel was the only one to get a reaction when he was named.

Owen Hart (11-6) beats Mike Bell after the Northern Lights suplex at 2:17:

Ross and Heenan fill time speculating on who Lawler’s knights might be at Survivor Series. Owen chalks up another enhancement win to build him for another feature match.

Rick Martel “plays” Royal Rumble on Sega Genesis, beating up Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon in the game.

WWF Tag Team Championship Match: Men on a Mission (w/Oscar) (13-0) beat the Quebecers (Champions w/Johnny Polo) (8-2) via count out at 7:26 shown:

Jacques is a great annoying heel, mocking Mo’s walk and doing a moonwalk before they engage. The champions struggle with Mabel as he swats aside their early double teams. A distraction by Polo allows them to put Mo in peril until the assisted top rope senton bomb fails. When Jacques goes after Oscar, Mabel squashes him with a leg drop. There is confusion about who the legal man is, as Ross insists that Mabel is legal. Mabel rolls Jacques in at the count of nine but Pierre has an issue with the count. As that argument rages, Mo covers Jacques and Oscar counts a pin that does not count. And then it is announced that MOM win by count out even though the Quebecers beat the count and Mabel did not. Clearly, none of this makes sense. MOM were sloppy throughout, especially Mo. It was not a good showing in their first big match. Rating: ½*

Tune in next week to see a rematch between the 1-2-3 Kid and Bastion Booger! Also, the Steiner Brothers, Mr. Perfect, and Crush will be in action!

The Last Word: The feature match had one of the worst finishes of the year, showing that Men on a Mission needed more seasoning. Razor Ramon is on fire as the new Intercontinental champion, getting some of the best reactions from crowds.

The WWF had two circuits running for this week in its history, sending one group through Florida while another had matches in bigger towns. Here were the results of some of those shows, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:

Detroit, Michigan – Joe Louis Arena – October 28, 1993 (1,700): Owen Hart pinned Bastion Booger with a flying tackle at 7:53…The Headshrinkers beat Men on a Mission when Samu pinned Mo with a thrust kick…Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon defeated Irwin R. Schyster via count out after tying IRS’ tie to the ring post…Lex Luger pinned Ludvig Borga after the running forearm despite the interference of Yokozuna and Mr. Fuji at 10:30. After the match, Yokozuna gave Luger a Banzai Drop and WWF officials pulled Luger out of the ring before Yokozuna could do the move again…The Steiner Brothers beat WWF Tag Team Champions the Quebecers via disqualification when Jacques hit Scott with one of the Tag Team title belts after Scott covered Pierre following a Frankensteiner at 13:22…WWF Champion Yokozuna pinned the Undertaker after hitting him with Mr. Fuji’s salt bucket at 7:53…Bret Hart defeated Jerry Lawler in a steel cage match by escaping over the top after interference from the Black Knight and Owen Hart at 14:10.

Long Island, New York – The Nassau Coliseum – October 29, 1993 (10,300): Owen Hart pinned Bastion Booger at 9:00…Razor Ramon & Mr. Perfect beat Irwin R. Schyster & Diesel when Perfect pinned Diesel at 18:00…Bob Backlund beat Duane Gill at 8:00…Bret Hart beat Jerry Lawler via disqualification when one of Lawler’s masked knights interfered after taking out Owen Hart on the floor with a piledriver. After the match, Lawler and the masked knight double teamed Bret…Rick Martel defeated Marty Jannetty after reversing a roll up and using the tights for leverage at 7:00…The Smoking Gunns beat WWF Tag Team Champions the Quebecers via count out at 19:00…Lex Luger pinned Ludvig Borga after the running forearm at 12:00.

Orlando, Florida – Orlando Arena – October 29, 1993 (1,400): The Bushwhackers & Tiger Jackson defeated Dave Heath, the Cuban Assassin & Little Louie…Adam Bomb beat the 1-2-3 Kid…Men on a Mission beat Barry Horowitz & Timothy Well…The Undertaker defeated WWF Champion Yokozuna via disqualification…Bam Bam Bigelow beat Doink the Clown (Steve Lombardi)…The Steiner Brothers defeated the Headshrinkers.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada – Maple Leaf Gardens – October 31, 1993 (5,300; matinee): Johnny Polo defeated Virgil…Owen Hart beat Bastion Booger…WWF Tag Team Champions the Quebecers defeated the Smoking Gunns…Owen Hart (substituting for Mr. Perfect) beat Rick Martel…Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon defeated Diesel via disqualification…Lex Luger beat Ludvig Borga…Bret Hart defeated Jerry Lawler in a steel cage match.

Backstage News: Newsday, a daily newspaper in Long Island, New York, ran a story on Saturday that the federal government is investigating the WWF and Vince McMahon for illegally distributing steroids to wrestlers. Jim Ross’ radio program had Nashville doctor David Lee Black and Lex Luger as guests, who discussed the rigor of the WWF’s steroid testing program. Ross acknowledges that the story was not going away.

-The WWF’s “B” shows with Yokozuna and the Undertaker have drawn poorly and other upcoming “B” shows were cancelled because of poor advance sales. The strength of attendance for “A” shows is credited to the Bret Hart-Jerry Lawler program, which is getting good reactions from crowds. Crowds are not reacting well to the Lex Luger-Ludvig Borga program even though it is positioned on the “A” shows as the main attraction.

-Steve Doll missed appearances on “B” shows because an undisclosed member of Men on a Mission landed on him wrong during a previous match. Mr. Perfect also missed shows because of family issues.

-In talent relations news, the WWF has informed Mike McGuirk that it is scaling back her work because of transportation expenses.

*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for November 8.

Up Next: WWF Monday Night RAW for November 1!

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