What the World Was Watching: WWF Wrestling Challenge – January 9, 1994

Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon are commentating, starting a new taping cycle from Augusta, Maine. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping took place on December 15.

Opening Contest: Ludvig Borga (1-0) defeats J.S. Storm via submission to the torture rack at 2:02:

Storm appeared in a couple of matches in 1993, losing to Rick Martel and the Undertaker.

The jobber is ready for Borga’s attack before the bell but he is unable to adequately defend himself. One must applaud the attempt, though. In the split screen, Tatanka warns Borga that he will feel a lot of pain at The Royal Rumble. Storm flips on his back after taking a clothesline and after that Borga finishes him off.

Lord Alfred Hayes leans back into heel tendencies, calling Lex Luger a “teacher’s pet” who uses nefarious means to win matches. He laments that “Dear old Jack [Tunney]” has been duped again.

Marty Jannetty & the 1-2-3 Kid defeat Duane Gill & Tommy Manson when Jannetty pins Manson after a super powerbomb at 2:31:

As would be the case for much of his singles career, Jannetty had an on again-off again relationship with the WWF in 1993. He started the year in pursuit of former tag team partner Shawn Michaels’ Intercontinental Championship, a feud delayed because of Jannetty’s firing in early 1992 for drug offenses and fighting with police officers in Tampa, Florida. Even though the two had great house show matches they had a disappointing outing at The Royal Rumble, which has been blamed on the insertion of Sensational Sherri into the match and alleged drug use. The next day Jannetty was fired after road agent Ray Stevens found him passed out backstage, a decision that was not popular in the locker room. At the behest of Curt Hennig (Mr. Perfect), Vince McMahon gave Jannetty another chance and Jannetty returned in May on Monday Night RAW to upset Michaels for the title, which he would drop a few weeks later at a house show. After that, Jannetty was steadily shifted down the card, used have good matches on television but losing to talents in big programs like Mr. Hughes, Ludvig Borga, and Irwin R. Schyster. He remained over, though, and was a survivor at Survivor Series with the Kid in the clash of Razor Ramon and IRS’ teams.

The Kid burst onto the scene as an enhancement talent, befuddling viewers who saw his abilities in the Dallas-based Global Wrestling Federation in the early 1990s. He went through several name changes, going from the Kamikaze Kid to the Cannonball Kid and then the Kid, getting squashed by Doink the Clown and Mr. Hughes. His fortunes changed on the May 17 Monday Night RAW – the same broadcast where Jannetty won the Intercontinental Championship – when he upset Razor Ramon. Due to his smaller stature, the Kid had a harder time winning squash matches but captivated crowds with high-flying offense and leg strikes that deviated from the offense they were accustomed to seeing. That helped him remain over even after losing to IRS at SummerSlam and to other stars like Rick Martel and Bastion Booger.

Jannetty and the Kid have good, combined offense, giving Gill a double backdrop and Jannetty lifts the Kid, who knocks Gill out of the ring with a dropkick. In the split screen, Jannetty and the Kid say that the Quebeces are taking them lightly. Even though there is a botched sequence where Gill trips before taking a Jannetty superkick, the Kid and Jannetty wipe that away by double superkicking Gill out of the ring and the Kid lifts Manson into Jannetty’s arms so he can do a super powerbomb. The crowd loved this and it makes fans want to see tomorrow night’s Tag Team title match on RAW.

Crush (w/Mr. Fuji) beats Tim McNeany after a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker at 2:23:

The previous year Crush was a fun-loving Hawaiian who wore orange ring gear. After racking up an undefeated streak in 1992, Crush’s stock declined as he got outmaneuvered for the first seven months of 1993 by Doink the Clown. Crush lost to Doink at WrestleMania and then Doink cost him matches against Lex Luger and Shawn Michaels. Even the blowoff was weak as Crush won via count out only to have multiple Doinks beat him up afterward. Despite this setback, Crush was billed as someone who might be able to slam Yokozuna and he came close to doing so aboard the U.S.S. Intrepid. That was followed a week later by a WWF Championship match on Monday Night RAW where Crush would have won the title if not for Fuji’s interference. After losing, Yokozuna gave Crush multiple Banzai Drops as Crush’s friend, Randy Savage, looked on from ringside. The injuries from that attack kept Crush out of action for three months and when he returned he turned on Savage, blaming him for not being there for him in his time of need and being jealous of his abilities. Crush cast his lot with Fuji – and by proxy Yokozuna – and his feud with Savage spilled into Survivor Series where both men were responsible for the other’s elimination in their respective team matches.

Ross puts over Crush as the strongest man in the WWF before Crush and Fuji do an insert promo about how he is going to show off his power in the Royal Rumble. Crush adds that he is out to end Savage’s career. Ross also hypes Crush as a possible Rumble winner, wondering what might happen if he wins and Yokozuna retains the WWF title against the Undertaker. There are not a lot of moves by Crush in this match as he is content to throw some kicks and win with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker.

Thurman Plugg talks about how he loves the atmosphere of racing and that he is going to put the pedal to the metal when he gets to the WWF.

The Headshrinkers (w/Afa) (2-0) defeat Dan Dubiel & Phil Apollo after Fatu pins Dubiel after the splash off the top rope at 2:56:

Apollo was another Killer Kowalski trainee who made his debut in 1986 for the Boston-based International Championship Wresting (ICW). After winning the Heavyweight Championship there he went to World Class in 1987, becoming part of Gary Hart’s New Age Management stable. He did a few enhancement matches for WCW in 1989 and had been doing them for the WWF since 1991. Apollo, who was often confused with Ray Apollo, who was given the refurbished Doink gimmick, appeared 14 times in 1993.

Monsoon is not a fan of the vocational gimmicks coming into the WWF, suggesting that Thurman Plugg is going to find that racing a car is different from wrestling. Apollo gets wiped out with a double clothesline and that is followed by an insert promo where the Headshrinkers talk in a foreign language about the Royal Rumble. Dubiel has had a rough week, taking a brutal Banzai Drop from Yokozuna on Monday Night RAW and Fatu’s stiff splash off the top rope today.

Todd Pettengill does The Royal Rumble Report. In Rumble promos, Shawn Michaels bills himself as the favorite and Doink the Clown and Dink laugh about getting a chance at the WWF Championship. WWF Tag Team Champions the Quebecers and Johnny Polo hype their match tomorrow night with Marty Jannetty & the 1-2-3 Kid as a tune up for their battle with the Hart Brothers. Irwin R. Schyster says he will take all of Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon’s gold. Ramon rebuts that IRS cannot steal his title and has to fight to take it.

The Smoking Gunns urge kids to stay in school and work hard to realize their dreams.

Tatanka (1-0) pins Jim Messenger after a flying body press at 1:33:

Messenger did an enhancement match for Herb Abrams’ Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) in 1991. He made one televised appearance in 1993, losing in a tag team match to the Smoking Gunns. Later in life he would work security for musical acts like Creed and Jessica Simpson.

Tatanka wastes no time going on the warpath, winning with a flying body press.

Ludvig Borga comes to ringside when the match is over but WWF officials keep him from getting in the ring.

The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) pins Derek Domino after the Tombstone at 2:06:

The Undertaker enjoyed another strong campaign in 1993, posting an unbeaten record in televised contests. He was originally scheduled to feud with Nailz but those plans were scuttled after Nailz’s firing in December 1992. As a result, the Undertaker got paired with Giant Gonzalez, producing some terrible matches because Gonzalez could not work. As that feud progressed, Mr. Hughes attacked he and Bearer and stole the urn in June. The Undertaker beat Hughes in house show matches but Hughes was fired months later for failing a drug test. At SummerSlam the Undertaker won a lazily booked “RIP” match against Gonzalez to win that program and was finally given something important to do against WWF Champion Yokozuna, issuing a challenge to the champion in September on WWF Superstars. Yokozuna scored victories on house shows due to Fuji’s interference on their first loop of matches and the Undertaker won some non-title casket matches when they looped back. Television did not emphasize the program until Survivor Series where the Undertaker recovered from Yokozuna’s offense and the two got counted out. That made the Undertaker a top contender for Yokozuna’s title, which produced their scheduled match for The Royal Rumble.

Domino was a Northeast independent wrestler. He appeared on an ECW card in 1992 and wrestled for the East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA). Domino appeared once on WWF television in 1993, losing to Razor Ramon.

One caveat added to the Undertaker’s entrance in 1993 was turning out the lights as he walked to the ring. It did a lot to add mystique to the character. Domino mounts no challenge, wiped out with a flying clothesline and the Tombstone. Afterward, the Undertaker and Bearer put Domino in a body bag.

Tune in next week to see Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon, Doink the Clown, Bastion Booger, the Steiner Brothers, and WWF Champion Yokozuna in action!

The Last Word: The WWF is putting effort into every match for The Royal Rumble, which is a big upgrade over the last few editions. For example, in 1993 some of the matches were just talked out like Steiners-Beverly Brothers and Bam Bam Bigelow-Big Bossman without any interaction between the participants. That is not the case for most of this year’s matches. So while Tatanka and Ludvig Borga did not fight on today’s show at least there was the chance of an interaction instead of each man just doing a promo.

The WWF some house shows in the Mid-Atlantic region and a tour through Florida. Here were the results of some of those shows, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:

Elizabeth, New Jersey – Ritz Theatre – January 7, 1994 (1,500): The 1-2-3 Kid pinned Johnny Polo with a sunset flip at 13:41…Doink the Clown pinned Bam Bam Bigelow with a roll up after Bigelow argued with the referee at 14:36…Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon beat Shawn Micahels with a roll up after heel miscommunication with Diesel at 11:30…Bob Backlund defeated Mike Sharpe at 10:16…Men on a Mission beat WWF Tag Team Champions the Quebecers via disqualification when Jacques jumped on the referee to prevent a pinfall after Mabel leg dropped Pierre at 11:37…The Undertaker pinned Adam Bomb in a casket match after a chokeslam at 8:48. After the match, Bomb was stuffed in the casket.

Tampa, Florida – The Sun Dome – January 7, 1994 (4,000): Owen Hart defeated Bastion Booger…Irwin R. Schyster beat Marty Jannetty…Bret Hart defeated Jeff Jarrett…Crush defeated Randy Savage in a best-of-three falls, fall count anywhere match…Lex Luger beat Ludvig Borga…The Headshrinkers defeated the Smoking Gunns…Tatanka defeated WWF Champion Yokozuna via disqualification.

Landover, Maryland – U.S.Air Arena – January 9, 1994 (1,800): Men on a Mission beat the Headshrinkers via disqualification…Marty Jannetty defeated Rick Martel via disqualification…Doink the Clown beat Bam Bam Bigelow…Crush defeated Randy Savage in a best-of-three falls, falls count anywhere match…WWF Tag Team Champions the Quebecers beat the Smoking Gunns…Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon defeated Shawn Michaels in a ladder match…Lex Luger & Tatanka beat Yokozuna & Ludvig Borga.

Backstage News*: Backstage morale is low as wrestlers were not happy with SummerSlam payoffs, which averaged $5,000 to $10,000, and how their frequent flier miles now transfer to the company. There is a rumor that wrestlers will have a confrontation with Vince McMahon at the tapings next week over these issues.

-Rape and sodomy charges have still not been dismissed against Jerry Lawler, even though he was predicting that would happen on January 7. A final hearing in his case is scheduled for March 24 and a trial is set for April 5. The WWF would welcome Lawler back if charges were dropped, especially now that a five-page affidavit has his 14-year-old accuser recanting her claims. Her attorney has said she does not want Lawler prosecuted. Lawler has taken a few independent dates in Philadelphia for February and told the WWF he would not want to work as extensive of a travel schedule if he returns.

-After complaints about the Wrestling Challenge taping at Carbondale High School from the Cardondale School Board, the WWF agreed to pay $200 for repairs to a broken door and toilet paper racks.

-With regards to the martial arts casting call in November, The New York Daily News reported that the WWF is looking to put together a weekly syndicated television show called the World Martial Arts Federation, which cast martial arts fighting as a real sport like Japan’s UWF.

-At a video game convention in Las Vegas, Nevada this past week no one was visiting the WWF booth to play their titles. WCW had the same problem. People were flocking to the NBA booth, though.

-In talent relations news, the WWF has hired NBC public relations executive Curt Block as its new Vice President of Media Relations. There are rumors that Pat Patterson might think of bringing back Big John Studd and teaming him with Ron Reis as part of a duo called “The Giants of Wrestling.”

*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for January 17.

Up Next: Monday Night RAW for January 10!

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!