The Fan-Cam Files: WWF @ The Cow Palace – 08.02.1992

Welcome back to the Fan-Cam Files! Last time (way back in AUGUST?!), we took a trip to Johnstown, PA in the Summer of 1987, which could best be described as your typical C-Show lineup. Ignoring the soon-to-be-retired Bruno Sammartino showing out for the Battle Royal, the card is filled with prelim syndication jobbers and a handful of singles matches featuring the mid-level tag teams, like the Rougeau Brothers and the NEW Dream Team. This time around, it’s the Summer of 1992 and the location is the Cow Palace in San Francisco, CA. We’re about 4-weeks away from SummerSlam, which saw some drastic changes to the original (projected) lineup as the show switched from the Capital Centre in Landover, MD to Wembley Stadium pretty late in the game, with certain pre-existing angles being put on ice or dropped completely to adjust to changes in plans.

Yes, the WWF ran two shows on this date, and while I would say the balance of talent is pretty good, I’d say the Philadelphia Spectrum got the “A” show because they got the WWF and Intercontinental Championship. Featured on that card; Randy Savage (WWF Champ) defeated Ric Flair with JIM DUGGAN as the special referee, Bret Hart (IC Champ) defeated Kamala by DQ, The Mountie def. Sgt. Slaughter, Tatanka def. Rick Martel, High Energy def. The Nasty Boys, Crush def. The Brooklyn Brawler, and The Bushwhackers (subs for Davey Boy and Kerry Von Erich) defeated SHAWN MICHAELS AND REPO MAN. The card only drew a reported 6,000, while this Cow Palace event drew 7,500.

Virgil vs. Skinner:
Before I start my preamble, I decided to check my recap of the ‘91 King of the Ring from Providence, and wouldn’t you know it, we were gifted Virgil vs. Skinner on that card, as well, though things have changed significantly in the 11-months since. At the time of that event, Virgil just won the Million Dollar Belt from Ted Dibiase and was still getting a respectable mid-level push, while Skinner was freshly debuted on TV, but at this point, Skinner is just a JTTS scrub heel, and Virgil’s babyface push died earlier in 1992 when a brief program with Repo Man didn’t have legs to stand on, so he’s in that Koko and Tito tier of babyfaces.

GOOD NEWS, EVERYONE! Looks like we have the complete card, though this match is already in progress. Virgil is already on the floor and Skinner brings the fight with him, throwing him into the post. Skinner shows off his dance moves, playing to the crowd. We’ve had THREE MINUTES of match time pass in all that conversation.. Back inside, Skinner with the abdominal stretch, and yes, he uses the ropes for added leverage. I appreciate the referee looking at the shaking ropes and going “Now, Skinner, you didn’t hold onto that rope, did you?” and Skinner aghast at such an accusation. He goes to the well once too often, allowing Virgil to escape. Whip to the corner, Virgil barely clears the charging Skinner but is put down running into an elbow. Virgil fights out of a chin-lock, only to run into a knee. Stack-up cover in the corner with feet on the ropes, but the referee sees it. Virgil unloads with jabs and a right hook to FINALLY get something going. Skinner gets 10 tastes of the turnbuckle and Virgil takes him down with a Russian leg sweep for two. Virgil with the best dropkick he’s ever thrown for two (NOT high praise). Whip is reversed into the corner, Skinner wastes too much time, and Virgil puts him away with a sunset flip at 9:28 (shown). This was a lazy effort until a hot 45-60 seconds to close it out. *

“El Matador” Tito Santana vs. Kato:
Welcome to the “Malibu Stacy has a new hat” part of Santana’s WWF run! After lingering as a bottom-feeder babyface for several years, Santana was taken off TV and brought back through vignettes detailing him “finding his roots”, which meant undergoing training as a Matador. Santana would get a modest push upon return, but soon found himself back to where he was, pre-repackage, and putting heels over far more than he was winning. Kato (Paul Diamond) is your typical Barry Horowitz/Brooklyn Brawler level heel at this point, getting squashed on syndication but working competitive prelims on the house show loop. He would soon get a repackaging of his own, but that is a story for another day.

Our friendly, snarky camera operator shows off a graphic that reads “Dream Card – NOT! 8.2.92” and proudly talks about how he can change the colors. Priorities, right? Lockup to the ropes and Kato gives a clean break. Another lockup, this time he complains that his mask was pulled. They take turns executing a combo of hip tosses and arm drags, with Tito getting the better of things and grounding Kato with an arm bar. Kato with a slam, but Tito rolls through, keeping the hold applied. An atomic drop sends Kato into the corner and Santana hits a clothesline for two. Kato takes advantage of the referee’s position and sucker punches Santana to take control, and it’s just a long stretch of lame schtick and minimal contact. We sat on a chin-lock for a while, and it’s so dull, there’s a conversation about DAVE MELTZER and his reporting on a match between Manami Toyota and Toshiyo Yamada that was getting rave reviews. Santana gets near-falls with a body press and sunset flip between holds. Kato straddles the turnbuckle on a failed dive into the corner. Tito with an inverted atomic drop, clothesline and finishes with El Paso del Muerte at 11:09. This was only slightly better than the previous match, but instead of “standing around doing nothing”, there were long chin-locks. *½

The Undertaker (w/ Paul Bearer) vs. The Berzerker (w/ Mr. Fuji):
Welcome to the first of many, MANY feuds where babyface Undertaker is matched up with a freak or goofy gimmick and we cross our fingers, hoping for the best. Shortly after WrestleMania VIII, an angle was featured on Superstars where a scheduled match between the two resulted in the match not only being thrown out, but Berzerker ATTEMPTING TO IMPALE UNDERTAKER WITH HIS SWORD, with the sword being stuck in the canvas for visual effect. I guess I should note that this is Berzerker’s first (and only) angle in WWF, having debuted very early in 1991 and mostly being a mid-card filler act with zero direction.

Berzerker attacks from behind, but Taker quickly cuts him off and grabs the goozle. Whip across the ring, Taker meets a boot in the corner and Berzerker sends Taker tumbling over the ropes with a big boot. Taker lands on his feet, of course, and pulls Berzerker out for an introduction to the ringside furniture. Back inside, Berzerker ducks the diving lariat and sends Taker back to the outside, giving him a taste of the steps. Taker no-sells repeated attempts, so Berzerker whacks him with a chair while the referee looks for his keys. Back in and back out, AGAIN, with Taker giving Zerker a chair shot with the referee now making dinner plans with Mr. Fuji. IN AND OUT OF THE RING AGAIN. Seriously, find a new set up. Taker gets slammed on the floor and choked out with a soiled sock. Berzerker traps Taker’s arms in the ropes, but goes to the well once too often and gets sent over the top rope. Berzerker cuts Taker off immediately, and hits three piledrivers, with the third finally keeping Taker down for longer than 2-seconds. He wastes time playing the crowd, allowing Taker to sit up and avoid getting hit with Fuji’s cane. Taker with the diving lariat and Tombstone to finish at 8:20. Post-match, FUJI TAKES THE TOMBSTONE! Well, at least the finish satisfied. I’ll give them credit for always doing something instead of endless stall and rest periods, but they had two spots in the playbook and ran through them multiple times in a match that was well short of 10-minutes. *¼

WWF Tag Team Championship Match:
The Natural Disasters (c) vs. Money Inc. (w/ Jimmy Hart):
I guess we have a little to unpack here, and I promise to try and keep it reasonably short. The Natural Disasters did one of those magical face-turns where it’s just announced to the audience, as Money Inc. defeated the LOD for the Titles in a complicated mess of a situation, and with Jimmy Hart now managing THREE tag teams, the decision was made to have the Disasters play the “he gave our shot to someone else” card, which lead to a heatless and terrible match at WrestleMania VIII. The feud would continue through the Spring and then, for whatever reason, a title switch was done at the July 20th TV taping, a match that was never broadcast, but made it to home video over a year later, long after the reign ended and Earthquake was gone from the company.

Dibiase and I.R.S. attack before the bell but the Disasters quickly turn things around, squashing the challengers in the corner. Quake tries it again and takes a big bump over the top rope. I didn’t expect that, at least not this early in the match. Dibiase trips up Typhoon from the floor, allowing Irwin to bop him with the briefcase to take control. You really can’t do much with Typhoon, so it’s a lot of choking with some punchy-kicky stuff peppered in. This is terrible, they should have rushed a Nasty Boys babyface turn (like they ended up doing in similar fashion towards the end of the year). At least you can do SOMETHING with them beyond laying around. Dibiase and IRS take turns switching illegally while in control of a chin-lock. Typhoon creates separation, but IRS cuts him off and drops a series of elbows for a two-count. Typhoon wipes out Money Inc. with a double-clothesline but is cut off again. We get the front-facelock spot where the referee misses the tag. Typhoon counters an ill advised SUPLEX attempt from IRS and Earthquake FINALLY gets the hot tag. He runs wild on both men, showing how worthless Typhoon is. QUAKE goes for a school-boy on IRS, but Dibiase hits him with the briefcase for the cheap disqualification at 10:20. We had a fun opener and a couple of instances of solid tag team shenanigans, but the Natural Disasters as your #1 babyface team was zero buys, and getting heat on Typhoon was as entertaining as waiting for water to boil. ½*

The Legion of Doom & Paul Ellering vs. The Beverly Brothers & The Genius:
I guess this is a better match on paper than watching Typhoon work 80% of a match by laying around like a beached whale, but is it really? With the LOD taken out of the title picture, they were reintroduced with their former manager (as in “doesn’t work for WWE” former), who promised to bring them back to where they came from… which somehow included Rocco, the ventriloquist dummy, but thankfully that piece of garbage doesn’t make an appearance here. The Beverly Brothers (Beau and Blake, a.k.a Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom of the Destruction Crew back in the dying days of the AWA) were going around calling them the Legion of Sissies, and there you go, insta-feud! Don’t ask why we’re throwing Ellering and the Genius into the matches, I have no clue about that one. It’s not like this is going to juice the house show numbers.

Ellering is more than willing to start the action, while the Genius is less so, and instead does his usual prancing and cartwheel schtick that got old immediately when the character was fresh and somewhat interesting. If only Genius had the bodysuit that made him look like a knock-off Riddler. After a minute or so of non-action, Beau tags in to taunt Ellering and is so amused by his antics, he doesn’t realize Animal tags in, sending him to the corner for a timeout. Beau reluctantly accepts the test-of-strength and is immediately brought to his knees, forcing Blake to come in and help. Animal quickly regains control and Beau is begging off in the corner. Hawk offers a handshake, but ends up whipping Beau across the ring and hitting a clothesline across the back of the head. Hawk no-sells Blake’s offense and sends him face-first to the canvas. Ellering comes in to hit Blake with a Rude Awakening, but makes the mistake of going after the Genius. Blake pops up to make the save and Poor Paul is the babyface in peril! After watching some of their AWA stuff, it’s interesting to see that there’s almost zero improvement in execution, like Bloom and Enos are stuck in “fresh out of training school” mode. Genius tries his luck and a moonsault meets the raised knees of Ellering. Animal with the hot tag, running wild on the Beverly Brothers, including hitting a double DDT. Heck breaks loose, Beau is way short on a dive from the top rope, and Animal puts him down with a clothesline at 11:55. I think Animal and Hawk combined sold for about 8 seconds of the match. We got stalling, schtick, a manager as face-in-peril and a lackluster finish. *

The Big Boss Man vs. Nailz:
Following WrestleMania VIII, vignettes began airing on Superstars of a mysterious man from Boss Man’s past vowing revenge for his mistreatment while behind bars, leading to one of the more brutal debuts the WWF had done at the time, with Nailz jumping the Boss Man following a match and beating on him for what felt like an uncomfortable amount of time based on other hot storylines the WWF has done for syndication. The attack wrote Boss Man off TV for several months, with some wondering if he would come back at all.

Boss Man rushes the ring and Nailz cuts him off, immediately grabbing a choke. If there’s one thing Nailz was good at, it was choking someone (insert Vince McMahon joke here). Boss Man brings up the knees on a charge to the corner and unloads with right hands. Nailz goes to the eyes and sends Boss Man out of the ring with a high knee. A beverage to the eyes is no match for the intense anger of Nailz, who gives Boss Man a hard whip into the steps, followed by a chair shot in clear view of the referee who has attempted to count them out for a full minute. Back inside, Boss Man gets trapped in the ropes for some open blows… didn’t I just watch this match like 30-minutes ago?! Boss Man manages to sweep the legs of Nailz and gives him an uncomfortable blow below the belt via the ring post. Boss Man unloads with more punches, followed by a spine-buster and seated splash. Nailz is done with all the selling and whacks Boss Man with the nightstick for the cheap disqualification at 6:15. Post-match, Nailz continued the assault, targeting the right knee. OK, this might sound ridiculous… but I didn’t hate this. The finish was cheap on a show where we’ve already had a cheap finish in a high profile match, but the body of work before that, while not the prettiest, fit the mold of what their matches should be. **¼

The Ultimate Warrior vs. Papa Shango:
The MAIN EVENT and final match of the card. Another big angle taped for Superstars during the Spring, and unlike Nailz/Boss Man, this one was DUMB from start to finish. When your heel is doing a gimmick of a voodoo master, there’s only so much you can do with practical effects on the WWF budget in the mid 90’s, and that includes black ooze and a can of pea soup for Warrior to cough up all over some poor extra. That is supposed to make fans rush out and spend money on tickets to watch Warrior get revenge. Judging by the numbers, the plan didn’t work so well.

Warrior comes in hot, no-selling Shango’s attacks and dumping him over the top rope. The fight continues at ringside (again), with Shango getting thrown across the ringside table. About time the table took on some of the work, those poor steps needed a break. Back inside, Warrior with clubbing rights. Shango gets sent to the corner and Warrior puts the boots to him. Shango ducks under a clothesline and hits Warrior with a piledriver, with Warrior selling like he’s simulating having a medical episode. Shango with a second piledriver (OH MY GOD, HOW LITTLE MATERIAL DID THESE GUYS HAVE THAT WE’RE RECYCLING THE ENTIRE TAKER/BERZERKER MATCH ACROSS TWO OTHERS?!) and now Warrior is rolling around like he’s on fire and trying to put himself out. Shango busts out the reverse shoulder breaker for a near-fall. Now THAT is a damn cool move. The referee gets sandwiched in the corner, allowing shenanigans to take place. What kind of shenanigans? Shango grabs his voodoo stick and ATTEMPTS TO PUT A SPELL ON WARRIOR. This goes on for like 30-seconds, but Warrior still does the comeback routine, so Shango audibles and tries using the voodoo stick as a weapon. Warrior blocks the shot, hits Shango with it, and finishes with the splash at 6:30. That… was something. You know, this wasn’t too bad of a match considering the participants, but doing the voodoo routine as the big finish? I guess I should give kudos for attempting to be creative, but at the same time, WHAT THE HELL AM I LOOKING AT?! I don’t pretend to be a wrestling snob, I like some dumb shit, usually when it’s intentionally for comedy (and more as prelim filler), but I don’t think that was the desired route for this finish. ZERO STARS

Strength of Card: We don’t have the WWF Championship or Intercontinental Championship, but we do have Warrior and Undertaker, as well as the hot angle of Boss Man vs Nailz (oh, and the Tag Titles, but it’s babyface Natural Disasters, it’s not that much of a strength). While this card got the lesser of the Championships, they got all the big attractions not presently tied down with one of the two solo titles, and honestly, in Summer 1992… I’m probably buying the ticket more for Taker and Warrior than I would Bret Hart (the reigning IC Champion). Grade: B+

Highs: When the Big Boss Man vs. Nailz is your match of the night, the highs are not very high.

Lows: The babyface Natural Disasters give us an uninteresting dynamic against Dibiase and IRS, the top singles matches are handicapped by limited workers who appear to be running plays from the same book, considering how short they were but still managed to lean on big spots multiple times. PAPA SHANGO TRIED TO PERFORM A LIVE VOODOO CURSE TO WIN A PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING MATCH.

Final Thoughts: Despite a reasonable card when it came to star power (we’ve also got LOD on here, and without the dummy!), the quality of the action wasn’t there, with an over-reliance on outrageous gimmicks or guys slotted in spots that doesn’t play to their strengths (assuming they have any to begin with). Most of the matches are kept short, so it’s not a punishing card to sit through, but there’s not much to go out of your way to look at, unless you really want to check out a decent Nailz match. Final Grade: D+

Hopefully we won’t wait another three months before the next edition of the Fan-Cam Files. I haven’t committed yet to a specific show, but I do have another card from 1994 that I want to check off my list for historical significance.