What the World Was Watching: WWF Superstars – November 20, 1993

Vince McMahon and Reo Rodgers are commentating, concluding the taping cycle from Burlington, Vermont. Rodgers is Bruce Prichard doing a heel Dusty Rhodes gimmick and dressed in a cowboy outfit. According to Prichard, Jerry Jarrett liked his Rhodes impression and had him do it on the show. Prichard got permission from Rhodes to mimic him but hated doing it. The gimmick is tiresome after its opening bit.

McMahon says that the Foreign Fanatics will announce a new team member for Survivor Series because Pierre cannot compete due to being knocked out by Lex Luger on Monday Night RAW.

Opening Contest: The Smoking Gunns (21-3) defeat Phil Apollo & Mike Bell when Bart pins Bell after the backdrop-piledriver combination at 2:57:

Did you know the Gunns went to Sam Houston State on a rodeo scholarship? The WWF announces that for each of their matches and it is unclear why that is supposed to make fans care about them or buy tickets. Bart barely catches Bell for the piledriver so he drops down on his side to avoid injuring him.

Gorilla Monsoon’s Update segment features the Foreign Fanatics announcement of their new partner. They have added Crush to their squad, not a big surprise because of Crush’s ties to Mr. Fuji. That makes the Foreign Fanatics less foreign because Crush is not from a foreign country. The All Americans have a rebuttal segment where the Undertaker and Paul Bearer repeat how they stand for all the Americans who have lived before.

Bam Bam Bigelow (w/Luna Vachon) (39-3-1) pins Scott Taylor after a dropkick at 1:37:

Enhancement talents are having a better run against Bigelow recently. Taylor avoids Bigelow’s flying headbutt and small packages the big man for two. After the kickout, Bigelow manages to whip Taylor into the ropes and beats him for the second time this year with a mere dropkick. It would help if Bigelow’s struggles were connected to being distracted by Doink the Clown or something about that feud. Instead, it just makes it seem like Bigelow has lost a step against inferior competition.

Doink the Clown appears on the video screen after the match, telling Bigelow that he is bringing other Doinks to Survivor Series. Four Doinks appear on the video board, laughing at Bigelow.

In a production change, Jim Ross replaces the fired Joe Fowler on Face to Face segments for local markets.

Jim Cornette plays Royal Rumble on Sega Genesis. Cornette’s wild movements with the controller make it clear that he has no idea how to play video games.

Owen Hart (12-6) defeats Mike Sharpe after a missile dropkick at 1:47:

Like the previous match, this is also a rematch as Owen beat Sharpe on the June 20 edition of Wrestling Challenge. Sharpe never catches up with Owen, who is too quick for him. Owen cannot get Sharpe over for the Northern Lights suplex so he finishes with a missile dropkick instead.

Todd Pettengill, in WWF studios, goes through the instructions of how fans can order Survivor Series from their cable company. This is a patronizing segment.

Well Dunn (w/Harvey Wippleman) (6-5) beat Dennis Diamond & P.J. Walker when Timothy Well pins Walker after whipping Walker into a Steven Dunn flying forearm at 1:31:

There were reports circulating that Dunn were getting released but those were not true. Steven Dunn got injured in a match against Men on a Mission and the team would soon be sent to Smoky Mountain Wrestling. While there it would help for them to get a gimmick change because it is painful to watch this team go nowhere.

Bret Hart (9-3) defeats Irwin R. Schyster (10-2) via disqualification after Mr. Fuji interferes at 9:27 shown:

Rodgers talks about visiting Stu and Helen Hart on Survivor Series Showdown. To build a match with Yokozuna on that program, Fuji visits ringside early in the bout. Most of the match is spent on the mat. While there are a few good counters, IRS falls into his habit of using long rest holds. The crowd is quiet while IRS is on offense, reacting only when Fuji trips Bret as he runs the ropes. When Bret goes into the moves of doom, Yokozuna and Jim Cornette join Fuji at ringside. As Bret runs the ropes during his rally, Fuji jabs him in the back with the Japanese flag and that produces a disqualification to end a bland match. The ending dissolves IRS’ seven-match winning streak. Rating: *½

After the bell, IRS puts the boots to Bret until Owen Hart makes the save. After Owen dropkicks IRS out of the ring, Bret dropkicks Yokozuna off the apron. Before an impromptu tag team match breaks out, WWF officials pour out of the locker room.

The Last Word: The Reo Rodgers gimmick was death, making the whole show embarrassing for the regular fan to listen to. Thankfully, this was the only broadcast Rodgers would do. Due to all of the roster changes, the WWF seems to be in very much of a “Let’s get this show over with” attitude going into Survivor Series so that it can reboot some storylines and direction for The Royal Rumble.

Up Next: Wrestling Challenge for November 21!

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