What the World Was Watching: WWF Superstars – 03.12.94

Vince McMahon and Johnny Polo are in the booth, taped from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping drew a sellout crowd of 3,500 fans when it took place on February 22.

Opening Contest: Tatanka (7-0) beats the Brooklyn Brawler after the Papoose to Go at 2:42:

Tatanka wears the headdress that he received on Monday Night RAW. Seeing Tatanka wrestle without the red streak through his hair will take some getting used to. Polo has a sound board and he plays a child crying and part of the Dragnet theme. In the split screen, Irwin R. Schyster says that Tatanka owes a gift tax on the headdress and he will be making sure he pays. Tatanka gets a decisive victory to build him for a non-title match against Yokozuna on tomorrow night’s March to WrestleMania X special.

After the match, Tatanka dons the headdress and is confronted at the video board by IRS. IRS hands him a tax form and tells him to fill it out. Tatanka tears it up. The material for this program is not good. While it makes sense for IRS to police tax issues, the WWF is turning him into a new Repo Man by having him target wrestler’s possessions.

Men on a Mission (w/Oscar) (5-1) beat Todd Mata & Jim Messenger when Mabel pins Mata after the Hip Hop Drop at 2:55:

This squash is a good showcase for MOM as they get to do their big double team moves. Messenger takes the drop toe hold-leg drop to the back of the head combination and then Mata gets avalanched by Mabel and eats the assisted splash. The finisher is called the Hip Hop Drop by Polo. During the bout WWF Tag Team Champions the Quebecers do an insert promo after a drum roll sound effect. When asked by Polo if they are going to lose the titles at WrestleMania, Jacques gives a funny response of “No baby, no baby, no!”

Shawn Michaels (w/Diesel) (7-0) pins Mike Moraldo after the superkick at 2:01:

Amy Falkenbach, decked out in WrestleMania gear, is the guest fan ring announcer and she is one of the better ones so far. To remind fans of the ladder match next Sunday, Diesel carries a ladder to the ring. Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon does an insert promo suggesting that Diesel can carry Michaels out of the ring at WrestleMania too. Polo uses a buzzer sound effect after Michaels uses the superkick. After the match, Michaels puts the ladder over Moraldo, climbs to the top, and does a promo about how he can scale ladders quickly and become the new Intercontinental champion.

Bastion Booger stuffs his face with donuts and drinks a Sprite in the locker room as Polo plays nasty sound effects.

Todd Pettengill does the WrestleMania X Report. Crush and Mr. Fuji tell Randy Savage that the clock is ticking until his demise. Savage rebuts that he is going to humiliate Crush. WWF Women’s Champion Alundra Blayze, in a promo that makes it seem she is reading from cue cards, says she is not going to the event to lose.

Earthquake (5-0) beats Bastion Booger (2-3) after the Earthquake Splash at 2:34:

Booger does not bring any food to the ring so he must have eaten everything in the locker room. The match lasts almost the same amount of time as their last encounter as Booger has hit rock bottom on the heel side of the roster. Speaking of low heel talents, Adam Bomb and Harvey Wippleman tell Earthquake that he is going to experience carnage, destruction, and ruin at WrestleMania. Booger is not long for the company as McMahon and Polo bury his ring work as ineffective. Earthquake shrugs off an avalanche and wins after a powerslam and Earthquake Splash.

McMahon does an in-ring interview with Lex Luger and Bret Hart. Both get good, natural reactions from rather than piped in cheers. Luger says he has worked too hard to lose to Yokozuna while Bret reminds him that he is on a mission to avenge his loss at last year’s WrestleMania. When McMahon tries to stir the pot between them Luger puts over Bret’s scientific skill but Bret does not do the same for Luger’s physical power. Each man shakes the other’s hand and but there is some tension with regards to who is going to pose on one of the corner turnbuckles. The WWF missed an obvious plot point of Luger attacking Bret before the last WrestleMania.

Sy Sperling shows what the Hair Club for Men could do for Bam Bam Bigleow.

Owen Hart (7-0) defeats Ben Jordan via submission to the Sharpshooter at 2:08:

Jordan was a Tennessee-based talent who was trained by Memphis superstar Bill Dundee. During the early 1990s he worked as an enhancement talent for the USWA, Global, and Smoky Mountain Wrestling. He did WWF enhancement matches from 1991-1992 and spent the previous year working a few television tapings for WCW.

Jordan catches Owen off guard with an arm drag and a dropkick but Owen avoids a second one and puts his opponent away after that.

Tune in next week to see a WrestleMania hype show in New York City!

The Last Word: Although Johnny Polo’s sound machine gimmick got old, this show did a nice job pushing WrestleMania. The Bret Hart-Lex Luger segment emphasized mutual respect rather than grudges, indicating that there was not going to be a shocking turn from either of them at WrestleMania. Shawn Michaels had a creative use of the ladder for his squash match, building interest for the Intercontinental title match with Razor Ramon.

Up Next: Wrestling Challenge for March 13!

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