What the World Was Watching: WWF Wrestling Challenge – 07.10.94

Gorilla Monsoon and Ted DiBiase are in the booth, still broadcasting from Poughkeepsie, New York. This is Monsoon’s return to commentating Challenge. He was taken off the show after WrestleMania X.

Opening Contest: Jeff Jarrett (19-5) defeats Rich Myers via submission to the figure-four leglock at 3:33:

DiBiase is confident that he will have his Undertaker at SummerSlam and that Paul Bearer will show up alone. Myers gives Jarrett all he can handle by scoring a few near-falls with roll ups and hitting Jarrett with an elbow off the ropes. However, Jarrett catches him late with a kneebreaker and prevails with the figure-four leglock. The win ends a two-match losing streak for the aspiring country music star.

Jim Neidhart (w/Owen Hart) (2-0) beats Thurman Plugg (14-2-1) after a powerslam at 6:09:

Neidhart has no interest in doing anything interesting, spending minutes clubbing Plugg across the back. Plugg hits a few dropkicks in his comeback but when he tries a flying body press, Neidhart catches him and spikes him to remain unbeaten. Rating: ¾*

The Smoking Gunns (13-2) beat Derek Domino & Mike Sharpe when Billy pins Domino after the Sidewinder at 4:11:

Monsoon hypes a new feature on All American Wrestling where classic matches will air. That was the brainchild of Johnny Polo, who enjoyed looking through the WWF’s video library while he was employed as a producer. DiBiase spends time talking about wanting to acquire Lex Luger. Monsoon is confident that DiBiase will not be able to get him. Very little talk is about the Gunns, who continue to grind out wins. DiBiase leaves the booth after the match so he can get Bam Bam Bigelow ready. Monsoon gives him $2 for some hot dogs.

Bam Bam Bigelow (w/Ted DiBiase) (21-4) pins Matt Baily after the Million Dollar Nightmare at 2:32:

Baily is of comparable size to Bigelow. Monsoon puts over Bigelow’s aggressiveness since DiBiase signed him as Bigelow refuses to pin Baily after a few falling headbutts off the ropes. Bigelow wins again by turning the Million Dollar Dream into a bulldog, a move that Monsoon dubs the Million Dollar Nightmare.

Ray Rougeau does an in-ring interview with WWF Champion Bret Hart to talk about Bret’s defense against the 1-2-3 Kid tomorrow night on Monday Night RAW. Bret says that he is a fighting champion and is confident he can beat the Kid. When it comes to Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart, Bret accuses Neidhart of creating division in the family. He says he will crown Owen with his fist when they meet again.

Yokozuna (w/Jim Cornette & Mr. Fuji) (10-3) defeats David Thornberg after the Banzai Drop at 3:22:

Monsoon doubts that Yokozuna’s is only 568 pounds. He also complains to DiBiase that he stole the $2 he gave him for hot dogs. Eventually DiBiase gives it back. Like Neidhart in the feature match, Yokozuna relies almost exclusively on strikes. Thornberg eventually ends up under a corner and Yokozuna decides he will do the Banzai Drop.

The 1-2-3 Kid (13-2) defeats Mike Bell after a spinning heel kick at 3:11:

Monsoon needles DiBiase about the Kid beating him once and the Kid earning the WWF title shot by beating Nikolai Volkoff. Bell scores a close near-fall after a powerslam but the Kid soon sends him out of the ring and connects with a somersault senton. A spinning heel kick gives the Kid some momentum going into Monday Night RAW with a hard-earned win.

Well Dunn and Harvey Wippleman are happy to get a WWF Tag Team title shot next week. Wippleman tells Afa that he is going to deal with him if he gets in the way.

Tune in next week to see WWF Tag Team Champions the Headshrinkers defend against Well Dunn! Also, Mabel, Irwin R. Schyster, Duke Droese, and Crush will be in action!

The Last Word: Gorilla Monsoon seemed more at ease working with Ted DiBiase, having some fun back-and-forth conversations during matches. Much discussion was had about who DiBiase may want to add to his stable as he is casting a wide net. But beyond that, this episode did not provide much entertainment except for the 1-2-3 Kid-Mike Bell match.

The WWF’s house show action went back overseas while also holding some shows on the East Coast. Here were some of the results of those cards, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:

Valley Forge, Pennsylvania – Valley Forge Music Fair – July 7, 1994 (200): Jim Powers beat Damien Demento…The Mighty Doom defeated Little Leopard…Sergeant Slaughter defeated Pierre…Mike Sharpe defeated Glenn Osbourne…Heidi Lee Morgan defeated Rusty Thomas…Bob Backlund beat Greg Valentine.

Wels, Austria – Messegelande – July 9, 1994 (750): Thurman Plugg beat Adam Bomb…Jeff Jarrett defeated Doink the Clown…WWF Women’s Champion Alundra Blayze defeated Luna Vachon…Mabel beat Bam Bam Bigelow…Lex Luger defeated Crush…The Smoking Gunns beat the Rock N’ Roll Express…Razor Ramon defeated Intercontinental Champion Diesel via disqualification.

Long Island, New York – The Nassau Coliseum – July 9, 1994 (3,100): Kwang pinned the 1-2-3 Kid with a spinning heel kick at 10:05…Duke Droese defeated Rick Martel after a corkscrew elbow drop…Yokozuna pinned Typhoon with a headbutt and leg drop at 8:26. Late in the match, the top rope broke when Typhoon was thrown into the ropes…Randy Savage pinned Jerry Lawler after reversing a backdrop into a sunset flip at 11:04…WWF Tag Team Champions the Headshrinkers defeated Double Trouble (substituting for the Heavenly Bodies) at 9:27…Irwin R. Schyster pinned Tatanka after hitting him with his steel briefcase…WWF Champion Bret Hart defeated Owen Hart in sudden death of a 60-minute marathon match. Bret won the first fall with a sunset flip reversal at 35:31. Owen won the second fall via submission to a figure-four leglock at 43:58. Owen won the third fall via another submission to a figure-four leglock at 46:08. Bret won the fourth fall via submission to the Sharpshooter at 53:45. And Bret won the sudden death fall via submission to the Sharpshooter at 68:23.

Backstage News*: Vince McMahon and Titan Sports’ federal trial began on July 6. The trial is now expected to last three weeks. In a break for the WWF, much of the public’s attention has been diverted to the O.J. Simpson murder trial, which started on June 16. The government alleges that WWF officials like Pat Patterson and Chief Jay Strongbow told Anita Scales, who handled athletic commissions, that she could not stop using George Zahorian as a ringside physician for shows in Hershey, Pennsylvania because talent wanted him there. Scales wanted to stop using Zahorian because she discovered he was giving out steroids to wrestlers. She went to Linda McMahon, who told her that she should do as Patterson instructed. The government further alleged that the WWF went about covering its tracks in 1991 after Zahorian was arrested by federal officials. This was part of the government’s argument that there has been a conspiracy by McMahon and Titan Sports to distribute steroids to talent, which also included giving talent advances so they could buy drugs from Zahorian and promoting a culture where wrestlers were punished if they were not taking steroids. Defense lawyers Jerry McDevitt and Laura Brevetti rebutted the charges by saying there had never been much communication between McMahon and Zahorian and witnesses who would be called by the government were not credible. They added that talent could get steroids easily without the need for a conspiracy because there was a time when it was legal. They further claimed that McMahon allowed Zahorian to distribute steroids under the belief it was safer than wrestlers going on the black market, which was the same defense Zahorian unsuccessfully tried to use in his own trial several years ago. The most revealing part of the opening statements was Brevetti giving a long explanation of how wrestling was not a real, competitive sport.

-Several wrestlers were called to testify for the government on the first day. Moondog Rex testified that he got steroids regularly from Zahorian in Allentown without going for a regular check-up but conceded that he took steroids in other promotions and that Zahorian did provide him with some medical care beyond steroids. Tom Zenk was compelled to testify, saying that he was told by road agent Blackjack Lanza that he could get anything he wanted from Zahorian and that the WWF wanted a cut of his All Japan money after he left in 1987, leading to Zenk threatening to call The New York Times and discuss steroids in the WWF. Zenk said he called McMahon a few weeks before the trial to say he had heat with Rick Martel but not the company and said that McMahon never told him to take steroids. The Warlord admitted that he injected other talent with steroids and agent Dave Hebner told him he could get steroids from Zahorian. However, the Warlord said the prices were too high and he got his steroids elsewhere. Under cross examination he said that McMahon told him to stop using steroids after Zahorian’s trial and that he had written McMahon recently asking for a job. Tully Blanchard was the last witness of the day, testifying that McMahon told him by a swimming pool that he did not care about steroids but recanted under cross-examination.

-Zahorian testified the next two days. He said that he supplied McMahon and road agents like Chief Jay Strongbow and Arnold Skaaland with steroids, but nothing he said lends evidence to a conspiracy by McMahon or Titan Sports. For example, the WWF’s legal team showed that Zahorian was supplying steroids to all talent regardless of their level on the card. Also, Zahorian admitted that he was never paid extra by Titan Sports for giving out steroids and that he never shared his profits with them. Moreover, no WWF executives, including McMahon, were in the room when he gave wrestlers to steroids. However, it was not a good look for the industry when Zahorian pointed out that Ken Patera, Superstar Billy Graham, Ivan Putski, Nikolai Volkoff, and Randy Savage received steroids from him.

-Spectators at the trial have been wrestling fans seeking autographs from McMahon and others.

-Referee Joey Marella, 30, died on the morning of July 4 when driving from a Superstars taping in Ocean City, Maryland to Newark, New Jersey. Marella worked the main event between WWF Champion Bret Hart and Owen Hart. He fell asleep at the wheel around 2:55 a.m. and crashed into a guardrail on the Southern end of the Jersey Turnpike. Marella, the son of Gorilla Monsoon, was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the car. It is believed that he died instantaneously. Harvey Wippleman, who was riding with him, wore a seat belt and survived with minor cuts and bruises. Brian Lee and Adam Bomb were supposed to ride with Marella and Wippleman but made other arrangements at the taping. Marella will still appear on WWF television for the next few weeks as he officiated matches that will air through early August.

-House show business was not good this week. The Bret Hart-Owen Hart marathon matches were said to be disappointing even though they legitimately wrestled for an hour or more.

-The July 4 holiday was not good for Monday Night RAW’s rating as it posted a 2.4.

-In talent relations news, there is interest in signing Chris Benoit to work in a babyface tag team.

*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for July 18.

Up Next: Monday Night RAW for July 11!

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