What the World Was Watching: WWF Wrestling Challenge – January 30, 1994

Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon are commentating today’s matches, broadcasting from a new location in Florence, South Carolina. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping took place on January 11.

Opening Contest: Thurman Plugg (1-0) pins Barry Horowitz after the Overhead Cam at 2:17:

Plugg notches his second win of the week on syndicated shows, getting through Horowitz without much difficulty. Ross says that Plugg calls his finish off the top rope the Overhead Cam. Of all the racing-related lingo that the WWF could have used that is what they decided to go with?

Lord Alfred Hayes is back to no longer being a heel, supporting WWF President Jack Tunney’s decision to make Lex Luger and Bret Hart co-winners of the Royal Rumble.

Adam Bomb (w/Harvey Wippleman) (1-0) beats Gary Sabaugh after a slingshot clothesline at 2:32:

Sabaugh was a trainee of Dusty Rhods, Gene Anderson, and Ole Anderson, achieving recognition as the Italian Stallion in Jim Crockett Promotions as an enhancement worker. He played a similar role in Memphis and Mid-South in the 1980s and for the WWF in 1990. In 1993 he appeared once, teaming with Reno Riggins in a losing effort against WWF Tag Team Champions Money Incorporated on the March to WrestleMania IX special. At this time he was promoting the PWF in Charlotte, North Carolina with George South.

Ross and Monsoon do not talk much about Bomb, preferring to talk about Tunney’s decision about WrestleMania X and WWF Women’s Champion Alundra Blayze.

The Bushwhackers beat Scott Powers & Mark Thorn when Luke pins Thorn after the Battering Ram at 2:42:

The Bushwhackers were a relic of the WWF’s glory days, having been with the company since 1988. From 1991 onward they had been used sporadically but after a bad campaign in 1992 they had more success in their few appearances in 1993, posting an unbeaten televised record that included a shocking win over the Quebecers on All American Wrestling shortly before the French Canadians won the Tag Team titles. They also were part of the Four Doinks faction that swept Bam Bam Bigelow’s team at Survivor Series.

The Bushwhackers are more focused on winning usual, preferring to impose their will with strikes than comedy spots.

Ludvig Borga (4-0) defeats Larry Croy after a punch to the gut at 2:09:

Referee Jack Doan keeps Borga from assaulting Croy before the bell. Ross mocks Croy when the jobber celebrates after avoiding a Borga elbow drop. Croy is quickly put in his place after Borga shrugs off some clotheslines. Viewers were led to believe that Borga had recovered from the injury that kept him out of The Royal Rumble but that was not the case as this match was taped days before his ankle injury at Madison Square Garden.

The Headshrinkers (w/Afa) (6-0) defeat J.D. Stryker & David Clements when Fatu pins Clements after the splash off the top rope at 2:41:

Stryker and Clements were not used much in 1993. Stryker appeared in two matches, losing to Mr. Hughes and the Headshrinkers while Clements appeared once, losing to Papa Shango.

Ross has been critical of the enhancement talents for much of the broadcast, going into a tirade about Stryker and Clements turning their back on the Headshrinkers. When they are attacked he screams about how they are not able to defend themselves. Stryker and Clements’ actions in the ring do not provide much of a rebuttal as the Headshrinkers give Stryker some brutal chops and Clements is finished with the splash off the top rope. This gives the Headshrinkers wins on all of the WWF’s television programs this week. Ross and Monsoon wonder if the reason that the Headshrinkers are not getting a Tag Team title shot is because Afa cannot communicate with WWF President Jack Tunney.

Like Superstars, Paul Bearer wheels the Undertaker’s casket to ringside while a replay of the Undertaker’s words from The Royal Rumble are heard over the public address system. Ross says that this is a celebration of the Undertaker’s life.

Kwang (w/Harvey Wippleman) pins Ray Hudson after a superkick off the ropes at 3:40:

Kwang was Puerto Rican superstar Juan Rivera, who is wrestling under a mask as a Japanese martial artist. Rivera broke into the business in 1985 for Mid-South Wrestling and after a stint in Mexico he returned to Puerto Rico, working for Carlos Colon’s WWC (then called Capitol Sports Promotions). He found success there wrestling as TNT, feuding with Mr. Pogo, Abdullah the Butcher, Buddy Landel, and Chicky Starr, among others. After doing tours for All Japan and New Japan, Rivera was signed by the WWF.

Some of Kwang’s mystique was ruined by having him debut at the Royal Rumble and get tossed by Diesel. The WWF gives him the Great Muta’s mist gimmick, which he spews into the air early in the match. It is not a great debut as Kwang throws a kick and takes a long time before following up. It is a good demonstration of how a gimmick can hold someone back as the WWF wants him to be a gifted martial artist who admires his work after hitting a move but it drains the life out of the crowd. Kwang’s spinning heel kick is good, even though that is not what he uses for a finish.

Bam Bam Bigelow and Luna Vachon tell Doink the Clown that they are going to end his clowning around next week. Vachon warns Dink that she will keep him out of the way. Doink, with Dink, rebuts that Dink will have his back. Ray Apollo only has one gear for his promos and they are becoming tiresome to listen to.

Tune in next week to see Bam Bam Bigelow battle Doink the Clown! Also, Diesel, Crush, and Men on a Mission will be in action!

The Last Word: Thurman Plugg and Kwang are destined for the midcard because of their gimmicks. Fans did not have much of a reaction to either of them. It seems like something is brewing for the Headshrinkers with growing talk about them getting a Tag Team title shot. That is a long time coming because of the path of destruction they have blazed to this point in their WWF tenure. The good news for Challenge is sweeps month is starting so it will get some feature matches over the next few weeks, finally giving the show a purpose again.

The WWF’s house show circuit took it back through the Northeast. Here is a summary of some of its shows, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – The Philadelphia Spectrum – January 24, 1994 (5,000): Owen Hart beat Jim Powers…Thuman Plugg defeated Bastion Booger…Jeff Jarrett wrestled Marty Jannetty to a draw…Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon defeated Shawn Michaels in a ladder match…The Headshrinkers beat Men on a Mission…Crush defeated Randy Savage via count out…Lex Luger & Tatanka beat Yokozuna & Kwang (substituting for Ludvig Borga).

Boston, Massachusetts – The Boston Garden – January 29, 1994 (4,500; matinee): The Headshrinkers beat the Smoking Gunns…Adam Bomb wrestled Rick Martel to a double count out…Owen Hart beat Scott Taylor…Doink the Clown defeated Bam Bam Bigelow…Bret Hart defeated Irwin R. Schyster…Crush beat Randy Savage in a best-of-three falls, falls count anywhere match…Lex Luger & Tatanka defeated Yokozuna & Kwang.

Pittsburgh, Massachusetts – Mount Pleasant High School – January 29, 1994 (1,100; charity show): Thurman Plugg pinned Bastion Booger with a flying body press at 8:20…Jeff Jarrett pinned Jim Powers (substituting for the 1-2-3 Kid) after a DDT at 12:06…Rick Steiner & Bob Backlund (substituting for Scott Steiner) beat WWF Tag Team Champions the Quebecers via disqualification when Jacques stopped the referee from counting a pinfall on Pierre…Diesel pinned Bob Backlund after a backbreaker at 10:00…Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon pinned Shawn Michaels with a roll up after heel miscommunication between Michaels and Diesel at 12:24.

Long Island, New York – The Nassau Coliseum – January 30, 1994 (7,500; matinee): Diesel wrestled Tatanka to a double count out…Johnny Polo beat Jim Powers (substituting for the 1-2-3 Kid)…Bret Hart pinned Irwin R. Schyster with a sunset flip at 25:00…Rick Steiner & Randy Savage (substituting for Scott Steiner) beat Yokozuna & Kwang in a best-of-three falls match. In fall one, Rick pinned Kwang with a bulldog. In fall two, Yokozuna pinned Rick with a thrust kick. And in fall three, Savage and Steiner won via disqualification after Crush interfered after Savage hit the flying elbow drop on Yokozuna…Owen Hart defeated Marty Jannetty via submission to the Sharpshooter…WWF Tag Team Champions the Quebecers beat Men on a Mission when Jacques pinned Mo…Lex Luger defeated Crush in a loser surrenders match when Fuji waved the Japanese flag to surrender after Luger hit Crush with the running forearm and applied a Boston crab.

Backstage News*: WrestleMania X tickets sold out a few days after they went on sale, a testament to the growing power of the WrestleMania brand in attracting interest. Dave Meltzer argues that this year’s WrestleMania does not have a strong draw as Yokozuna-Lex Luger had a disappointing SummerSlam buyrate and Yokozuna-Bret Hart did not draw a strong rating for their title match at Survivor Series Showdown.

-The WWF announced on January 27 that it will be doing a four-city tour of Japan called “Japan-Mania” between May 7 and 11. The cards will be loaded with whatever storylines are happening in the United States. Many expect Genichiro Tenryu and Atsushi Onita to appear to boost sales since only the Undertaker has a big following in the country.

-Some fans in New York had the Royal Rumble outcome spoiled for them as Wrestling Challenge aired on the MSG Network at the same time as the Rumble as Gorilla Monsoon discussed the finish of the match when the Rumble was starting.

-In injury news, Ludvig Borga’s broken ankle is expected to keep him out of the ring for seven weeks.

-Hulk Hogan spoke at the NAPTE convention this past week in Miami Beach, Florida of returning to the ring in May after filming Thunder in Paradise and wanting to wrestle Ric Flair. This has led to speculation that Hogan might sign with WCW, which has reportedly offered him a deal that would give him a cut of any increase in pay-per-view buys. There are also rumors Hogan wants to run a tour in his own name in Europe because a single he released there reached the top 40 on pop charts. If such a tour happened it would feature a rock concert before a wrestling show and Jimmy Hart would be involved.

-In talent relations news, the WWF has made an offer to Curt Hennig (Mr. Perfect) to return for WrestleMania but Hennig has not accepted it yet. The Heavenly Bodies are going to be used more in March and into the spring.

*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for February 7.

Up Next: Monday Night RAW for January 31!

And if you would like to read a compiled breakdown of 1990-1993 WWF, 1993 ECW, or of various promotions in 1995, check out my Amazon author page to purchase e-books or paperback copies!