What the World Was Watching: WWF Superstars – 06.25.94

Gorilla Monsoon and Jerry Lawler are commentating today’s matches, wrapping up the taping in Erie, Pennsylvania. Lawler is still wearing sunglasses.

Opening Contest: Typhoon (1-0) pins Pierre (w/Johnny Polo) (0-1) after the Tidal Wave at 5:50:

Monsoon talks about how Typhoon will face Earthquake on house shows as part of the WWF’s Summer Sizzler Tour. The match is bad as Typhoon is not as good of a big man worker as Earthquake. Pierre only does a missile dropkick as his only non-choking move and there is a botched spot where Pierre slips out of the corner before Typhoon avalanches him from the back but then sells it anyway. This would be Pierre’s last televised match. He would have a house show feud in Montreal with former tag team partner Jacques and do house shows through the fall before returning in 1995 with a new gimmick. Polo would be transitioned into a backstage producer after being replaced by Ted DiBiase on All American Wrestling. He would leave in October and head to ECW where he would develop a new character called Raven. Rating: ¼*

Well Dunn (w/Harvey Wippleman) defeat John Paul & Gary Sabaugh when Timothy Well pins Sabaugh after a Steven Dunn flying forearm at 2:58:

Well Dunn, a team composed of Timothy Well and Steven Dunn, were returning to the WWF after a mediocre campaign the previous year. Saddled with a generic gimmick of two men who think they are great; they debuted with no vignettes in a six-man tag team match against the Steiner Brothers and Tatanka on All American Wrestling in July. They went on to lose almost as much as they won, dropping three matches to the Smoking Gunns and one to Bret Hart & Owen Hart. The team’s biggest victory came against then-Smoky Mountain Wrestling Tag Team Champions the Rock N’ Roll Express but even that victory was due to count out. After November, Well Dunn stopped making appearances due to an injury suffered by Well in a house show tag team match against Men on a Mission. The team spent early 1994 in Smoky Mountain, feuding with the Thrillseekers before getting called back to the WWF because the division was in desperate need of heel teams.

It is announced that Jim Neidhart will be in Owen’s corner for his Summer Sizzler Tour match against Bret. Lawler adds that Neidhart will be the next guest on the King’s Court on Monday Night RAW. There is not much hullabaloo made about Well Dunn’s return. The team still lacks something that will make the crowd care about them.

Get your copy of WrestleFest ’94 and Bloopers, Bleeps and Bodyslams this Wednesday!

Thurman Plugg (13-2-1) pins George South after a schoolboy roll up at 2:44:

The funniest part of the squash is that South wants to argue the referee’s count when he slams Plugg and Plugg kicks out before one. Plugg does not bother to go airborne today, winning after turning a crucifix into a schoolboy roll up.

The Fake Undertaker (w/Ted DiBiase) pins P.J. Walker after the Tombstone at 2:11:

To keep the Undertakers separate, this will be referred to as the Fake Undertaker because it is Brian Lee, a cousin of the Undertaker. Lee made his wrestling debut in Memphis in 1988, remaining in the territory until 1991. He made a few appearances for WCW from 1990-1991 and got a few WWF tryouts in 1992 but was not signed. Lee started to gain more notoriety in Smoky Mountain Wrestling when he was pushed as a top babyface and became the promotion’s first Heavyweight champion. He feuded with the Dirty White Boy, Kevin Sullivan, and Tracy Smothers before turning heel and aligning himself with Chris Candido and Tammy Fytch.

Lee does his best to copy the Undertaker’s mannerisms but longtime fans can tell it is not the Undertaker because he looks shorter and his posture is different. The camera stays wide for much of the match to keep the illusion going and Lee wrestles with his hair over his face. He briefly does the Undertaker’s hair flip during the Tombstone cover but quickly realizes that is going to ruin the illusion and puts his head back down. After the match, the Fake Undertaker has the house lights turn down and goes to attack Walker some more but DiBiase lures him away with money.

The 1-2-3 Kid (11-2) defeats Jeff Hardy via submission to a figure-four guillotine chokehold at 2:56:

Hardy gets to wrestle under his own name for the first time in the WWF. The Kid smiles when Hardy turns a handshake into an arm drag and applauds when Hardy hiptosses him. Hardy moves well but tries to sell too much, flopping like a fish sometimes after moves. The youngster tries his own moonsault but misses and the Kid uses an interesting figure-four guillotine choke submission hold for a submission win.

Kwang (w/Harvey Wippleman) (11-4-1) beats Chris Hamrick with a superkick at 2:28:

Kwang now wears a red mask and red boots. He also spews red mist, which Monsoon chalks up to something he ate recently. Hamrick strikes a few blows, catching Kwang with a superkick and later getting his boot up on a blind charge. However, his top rope dive is met with a superkick and he loses.

Lex Luger (16-2) beats Barry Horowitz via submission to the Rebel Rack at 1:33:

Brian Young is the guest fan ring announcer and does a good job. The piped in crowd noise is noticeable for this squash as the sounds are deafening but no one facing the hard camera are on their feet. Horowitz’s attempt to ambush Luger backfires and Luger puts Horowitz away for the second time this year with a powerslam and the Rebel Rack.

Tune in next week to see Doink the Clown face Irwin R. Schyster! Also, Jim Neidhart will be in action! And Paul Bearer will be a guest on the Heartbreak Hotel!

The Last Word: The last few squash matches were a fun watch but the first two-thirds of the program were dreadful. One can hope programming will get better next week since it will be taped after The King of the Ring.

Up Next: Wrestling Challenge for June 26!

And if you would like to read a compiled breakdown of 1990-1993 WWF, 1993-1994 ECW, or of various promotions in 1995, check out my Amazon author page to purchase e-books or paperback copies!