What the World Was Watching: WWF Superstars – February 19, 1994

Owen Hart tells Marty Jannetty that he cannot wait to beat him today.

Vince McMahon and Stan Lane are doing commentary, starting a new taping in White Plains, New York. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping took place on February 1 and drew a crowd of 3,000, with many not paying full price for tickets.

Opening Contest: Owen Hart (5-0) beats Marty Jannetty (1-1) via submission to the Sharpshooter at 4:18:

The match is not given a lot of time but Owen and Jannetty are able to put together something enjoyable. There are some good near-falls exchanged where Owen hits a big move like a belly-to-belly suplex and then Jannetty counters something into his own near-fall. Sadly, the crowd barely reacts. The finish is somewhat flat as Owen hits a swinging neckbreaker off the ropes and applies the Sharpshooter. Jannetty does not fight it much and submits. This would be Jannetty’s last appearance since he got fired a week before this aired on the European tour. He would toil in the independents and wrestle for ECW a few times until the WWF called him back at the end of the summer of 1995. This run from 1993-1994 would be his best run as a single in the WWF since he won two legs of the triple crown and was usually in the midcard mix. Rating: **½

Bret Hart gives pre-recorded comments where he wishes Lex Luger luck against Yokozuna and says he has enough to beat whomever he has to face in the main event. He tells Owen that he is going down.

Johnny Polo joins the announce team, a welcome change because he can play heel. Lane goes off to do Face to Face. This would create a commentary shakeup as McMahon and Polo would call Superstars going forward and Lane would be moved to Wrestling Challenge with Gorilla Monsoon. Polo irritates McMahon by calling him “Vic.”

Kwang (w/Harvey Wippleman) (3-0) pins Scott Taylor after a superkick off the ropes at 1:27:

Kwang continues to show off his martial arts skills as the WWF is reportedly looking into capitalizing on the youth karate and martial arts craze with a side project.

WWF Women’s Championship Match: Alundra Blayze (Champion) defeats Heidi Lee Morgan after a Northern lights suplex at 1:51:

Blayze, who was better known to wrestling fans as Madusa from runs in the AWA in the 1980s and WCW in the early 1990s, was signed by the WWF in the fall of 1993 as the centerpiece of its rebooted women’s division. She beat Morgan, a Fabulous Moolah and Johnny Rodz trainee who had been working in various women’s federations like the Ladis Professional Wrestling Association (LPWA), in a six-woman tournament final that aired on All American Wrestling on December 26 to become the first WWF Women’s champion since 1990. The WWF did follow up with Blayze’s win afterward, owed to backstage issues as Blayze quit due to hazing like the 1-2-3 Kid allegedly defecating in her duffel bag. She was talked into returning a month later.

The match between these two in December was given a healthy amount of time and they made the most of it. They are given a criminally short amount of time for this match, but like the opener they shove a lot of action into the two minutes they are given. Morgan goes for a German suplex but Blayze blocks with an elbow and uses a Northern Lights suplex to retain. The WWF has to do more to make crowds care about this division because right now it is Blayze and nothing else. That makes it tough for fans to get into matches.

Todd Pettengill does the WrestleMania X Report. Crush and Mr. Fuji promise to be Randy Savage’s worst nightmare. Savage rebuts that Crush’s thoughts are completely backward and he has a nice line of being Crush’s tour guide around Madison Square Garden in their falls count anywhere match. Debbie Combs has been removed as a challenger for Alundra Blayze’s title so now Blayze is just hyped as appearing. New matches added to the card are Earthquake against Ludvig Borga and Bam Bam Bigelow & Luna Vachon facing Doink the Clown & Dink in a mixed tag team match. Sy Sperling, the official hair consultant for the pay-per-view, talks about how he could give Bastion Booger hair.

McMahon announces that Burt Reynolds will be a guest ring announcer at WrestleMania.

Earthquake (1-0) pins Jim Massenger after the Earthquake Splash at 1:52:

Nina Francis is the guest fan ring announcer, doing a much better job than those who have come before her. For some reason the WWF loved to mess with Messenger’s name. Messenger ambushes Earthquake as Polo calls the big man old. Earthquake fights back and ends up squashing Messenger with his usual moves of an elbow drop, powerslam, and Earthquake Splash.

The Funeral Parlor returns, last airing in 1992. In a great visual, the set rises by the entrance. WWF Champion Yokozuna, Jim Cornette, and Mr. Fuji are guests. Paul Bearer says it is only a matter of time before the Undertaker faces the champion again. Cornette complains about the temperature and reiterates his WWF conspiracy theory until Lex Luger interrupts. Luger tells Yokozuna that he is going to slam him at WrestleMania and win the championship. This feud was hotter last summer. It comes across as flat now, especially since a lot of fans want the Undertaker to return and avenge The Royal Rumble. Still, there was good effort by all and the Funeral Parlor set was cool.

Diesel (w/Shawn Michaels) (3-0) pins Mike Moraldo after Snake Eyes at 1:26:

Moraldo was a Mike Sharpe trainee and was going into the third year of his career. He was a staple of the East Coast independent scene in the 1990s, wrestling as Ace Darling. In 1993 he appeared in nine matches.

Former WWF Tag Team Champion Nikolai Volkoff is at ringside and Diesel taunts him when the match starts. McMahon says Volkoff could be at the Fan Festival. In the split screen, International Champion Razor Ramon appears and tells Shawn Michaels that he will have to win without his bodyguard. With how much hype Diesel is getting it seems like he is going to get something bigger to do after WrestleMania.

Adam Bomb and Harvey Wippleman close the show by saying that Bret Hart may not make it to WrestleMania when they are done with him next week.

Tune in next week to see Bret Hart battle Adam Bomb! Also, WWF Tag Team Champions the Quebecers will be in action!

The Last Word: The solid opener between Owen Hart and Marty Jannetty made this a show worth watching. Everything else was serviceable.

Up Next: Wrestling Challenge for February 20!

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!