What the World Was Watching: WWF Superstars – December 18, 1993

Vince McMahon and Stan Lane are in the booth, beginning the last Superstars taping of the year in Utica, New York. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, 4,500 fans attended the show, which took place on December 1.

McMahon announces that Bret and Owen Hart will be in the Royal Rumble, with another seven names in that match to be revealed later today. Lex Luger has been prohibited entry for the moment, though, due to a protest from Yokozuna and his team.

Opening Contest: Bam Bam Bigelow (w/Luna Vachon) (41-3-1) beats P.J. Walker (1-9) after a powerslam at 2:28:

There is a nice spot early where Walker lands on his feet after Bigelow knocks him out of the ring and he comes back in with a missile dropkick for a near-fall. In the split screen, Bigelow says he wants a big fireplace for him and Luna for Christmas along with Doink the Clown’s head on a platter. After a blind charge, Walker rolls Bigelow up in a small package for two but Bigelow catches him with a powerslam off the ropes for the win.

A taped locker room interview between McMahon and Bret Hart airs. He disputes being favored over Owen in the family and says Owen was welcomed to celebrate after the victory at Survivor Series as the team resolved they would all celebrate when the match was over. When it comes to Owen’s challenge, Bret says that under no circumstances will he wrestle his brother.

The 1-2-3 Kid (18-6-3) pins Duane Gill after the reverse flying body press at 2:00:

Like the opener, this is a fun back-and-forth squash. Gill eventually gets staggered by the Kid’s kicks and pinned after a flying body press.

Jeff Jarrett defeats Chris Duffy after a DDT off the ropes at 1:51:

Jarrett was a second-generation wrestler, the son of legendary Memphis wrestling promoter Jerry Jarrett who founded the Continental Wrestling Association and later the USWA with Jerry Lawler. He was trained by Tojo Yamamoto and his father, starting as a referee and becoming an in-ring competitor in an angle with Tony Falk in 1986. Since he was a Memphis mainstay, he had multiple reigns as USWA Southern Heavyweight champion and USWA Tag Team champion. Between 1986-1992, Jarrett also had appearances in the AWA, Puerto Rico, and Japan. His arrival in the WWF a year after Lawler showed that the USWA’s foothold as a wrestling territory was weakening. His jump was smoothed over by his father looking to exit his business interests in the USWA while he served as a creative consultant for the WWF. It was commonly believed that his father might even take over some of the WWF’s operations if McMahon was found guilty and sentenced to jail time in 1994.

Jarrett’s gear does not make a good first impression as he is wearing an orange headband and orange and purple tights that do not reflect the country music gimmick from his vignettes. Why not have him wear a cowboy hat or have a guitar? One wonders if concern about an overlap with the Smoking Gunns look may have played a role. Jarrett struts down the aisle and tells the crowd not to forget his name. He also gets an insert bit about how he gets whatever he wants. There is not much reaction to Jarrett, who calls out the Undertaker, Bret Hart, and Randy Savage as he rubs Duffy’s face into the canvas. After he wins, he gets back on the microphone and announces his aim to turn the WWF into the JJF.

Gorilla Monsoon’s Update segment says that Razor Ramon’s gold chains went missing after Shawn Michaels beat him up on Monday Night RAW two weeks ago and IRS has them in his briefcase. It is announced that Ramon will face IRS in an Intercontinental title match at The Royal Rumble.

Crush (w/Mr. Fuji) (29-4-2) beats Ross Greenberg after a leg drop at 2:40:

McMahon says that Randy Savage is back on WWF Mania as WWF President Jack Tunney deferred to the fan poll that Todd Pettengill commissioned on Monday night. Greenberg staggers Crush a bit but fails to take him off his feet. As Crush gets his thirtieth win of the year in singles competition, McMahon says that Crush will be in the Royal Rumble.

There is a vignette for a new wrestler called Thurman Plugg, who also goes by the name Sparky. He is at a racetrack, promising to put the “pedal to the metal” when he is in the WWF and go to the top.

Todd Pettengill does the first Royal Rumble Report. The Undertaker and Paul Bearer are in their private workshop. In a callback to the past, the coffin used for the Kamala feud at the 1992 Survivor Series is near the door. Bearer promises that the casket for Yokozuna will be double wide and the Undertaker rolls back his eyes on a work bench as he carves a piece of the casket. Like last year, the winner of the Royal Rumble gets a WWF title shot at WrestleMania X. Pettengill talks about how it is unfair to keep Lex Luger out of the match because it would deny him a title opportunity if Yokozuna was not the WWF champion at WrestleMania. He adds that details about an opinion poll about Luger’s Rumble entry will be revealed on All American Wrestling. Rumble participants aside from Bret Hart, Owen Hart, and Crush are Kamala, Doink the Clown, Mabel, Scott Steiner, Shawn Michaels, and Diesel.

Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon urges fans not to smoke. Unfortunately, the irony of using a character inspired by a Cuban drug lord to preach an anti-drug message is lost on the WWF.

The Steiner Brothers (42-1) defeat Tony DeVito & the Brooklyn Brawler when Scott pins Devito after the Steinerizer at 2:55:

Brian George is the guest fan ring announcer. He does a good job since he has enthusiasm. The gimmick loses something, though, when adults are doing it instead of kids. In the split screen, the Steiners tell Santa that they want the WWF Tag Team Championship and hope that the Quebecers have a rotten Christmas. Scott is getting featured more in the Steiners squashes of late and is also the only member of the team announced for the Royal Rumble. That led to renewed speculation about a singles push in 1994.

Tune in next week to see Irwin R. Schyster, Shawn Michaels, and Doink the Clown in action!

The Last Word: The Royal Rumble is starting to come into focus and on paper, it looks like a good card. Irwin R. Schyster’s thievery was a lame twist in his feud with Razor Ramon but that should get the feud to January until it is time for Ramon to confront Shawn Michaels. In other storylines, fans now await Owen Hart’s response to Bret’s refusal to wrestle him, leaving open the possibility of that match being added to the Rumble as well. When it came to new characters, Jeff Jarrett had a disappointing debut, coming off as a wrestler to fill the card than someone who should be prominently featured later. That was not good because the WWF had big plans for Jarrett, evidenced by him substituting for Jerry Lawler against Bret Hart on house shows. Finally, the WWF Women’s Championship Tournament was supposed to wrap up this week but there has been no mention of it on any of the WWF’s television broadcasts so far. That is not good for the division’s reboot.

Up Next: Wrestling Challenge for December 19!