What the World Was Watching: WWF Superstars – 07.16.94

Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler are in the booth, concluding the taping from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

Opening Contest: Typhoon (3-0) beats Yokozuna (w/Jim Cornette & Mr. Fuji) (11-3) via disqualification when Crush interferes at 3:50:

Yokozuna beat Typhoon in quick fashion on television the previous year in the run up to WrestleMania IX. Yokozuna botches falling out of the ring after some Typhoon strikes and Typhoon lets the big man lay on the canvas before he decides to roll to the floor for a breather. Typhoon tries to pin Yokozuna after a clothesline and elbow drop but the former WWF champion kicks out of both. Typhoon goes for the Tidal Wave but Crush comes to ringside and trips him in front of referee Joey Marella, producing a disqualification. That is a surprising finish because Yokozuna was beating Typhoon around the house show circuit. It appears that program will run a while longer. Rating: ½*

After the bell, Typhoon fights Yokozuna and Crush but runs into a Yokozuna belly-to-belly suplex. The heels take turns leg dropping Typhoon before the show cuts to Live Event News.

Duke Droese discusses a profile piece about him that is in the latest WWF Magazine.

Razor Ramon (22-2) pins Barry Hardy after the Razor’s Edge at 1:44:

Ramon does not work at his usual methodical pace. He does not sell Hardy elbowing him to escape a hammerlock, slaps his opponent, and goes through a series of his signature moves to notch a convincing win. During the match Ross announces that Leslie Nielsen will be the detective looking for a resolution to the Undertaker vs. Undertaker situation.

Todd Pettengill does the SummerSlam Report, announcing that the card will have a second main event of WWF Champion Bret Hart defending against Owen Hart in a steel cage match. Bret says that he hates what Owen has become and that Jim Neidhart stabbed him in the back. According to Bret, he hated the stipulation for this match as he wanted to face Owen in a ladder match. However, that was not possible because Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon already had that type of bout at WrestleMania.

Jeff Jarrett (20-5) defeats Russ Greenberg via submission to the figure-four leglock at 2:19:

Greenberg has a good accounting for himself, trapping Jarrett in a sunset flip for two and later landing a few dropkicks. He poses for the crowd, though, and Jarrett kicks him in the leg, works it over, and submits him with the figure-four.

Bob Backlund talks about how his WWF title reign ended when Arnold Skaaland threw in a towel against the Iron Sheik in 1983 and how the loss has eaten away at him because he never submitted. He issues a challenge to WWF Champion Bret Hart for a title match. This was the first time Backlund had been seen on television since The Royal Rumble.

Non-Title Match: The Headshrinkers (WWF Tag Team Champions w/Afa & Captain Lou Albano) (17-0) defeat Nick Barberi & Mike Bell when Fatu pins Bell after the splash off the top rope at 3:16:

The Headshrinkers regain their edge with this squash, destroying their opponents once the bell rings. They knock Barberi out with a double clothesline and Samu tosses Bell in from the apron, giving him a brainbuster. The Headshrinkers toy with Bell for a bit, refusing to pin him until doing their double forward leg sweep and Fatu splash off the top rope.

There is a vignette for Abe “Knuckleball” Schwartz, who is dressed as a baseball player and has his face painted like a baseball. It is the MVP gimmick of the previous year with a new name and assigned to Steve Lombardi, otherwise known as the Brooklyn Brawler. The vignette is in black and white and Schwartz tees off in a batting cage while running down current Major League Baseball players. This was part of the WWF’s continued shots at baseball for stopping play because of a player strike.

Tatanka is a guest on the Heartbreak Hotel, accusing Lex Luger of selling out to Ted DiBiase. When Shawn Michaels demands proof, Tatanka has the video board show DiBiase’s talk with Lawler from RAW where DiBiase proclaimed that he bought Luger. The part where DiBiase admitted not having Luger under contract is omitted. Tatanka warns Michaels and Diesel that Luger is getting help to come after Diesel’s Intercontinental title on Monday night. Tatanka was flat on the mic but Michaels did a good job keeping the segment rolling.

Thurman Plugg (14-3-1) pins the Black Phantom with a flying body press at 1:15:

Shawn Flaherty is the guest fan ring announcer and can barely be heard, delivering the introductions with little enthusiasm. Like Razor Ramon, Plugg works quickly with some dropkicks and a clothesline, finishing with a flying body press instead of the Pit Stop Plunge.

Todd Pettengill does a long recap of the Undertaker saga since The Royal Rumble. Ted DiBiase tells Paul Bearer that he has the real Undertaker and that they will destroy whatever Bearer brings to SummerSlam.

Nikolai Volkoff (w/Ted DiBiase) (5-2) defeats P.J. Walker via submission to the Boston Crab at 1:28:

Volkoff gets fireworks as part of his entrance because DiBiase paid for them. Volkoff uses a few power moves on Walker to set up the finish as Ross and Lawler talk about the Undertaker-Undertaker program.

Live Event News highlights the Smoking Gunns appearing at a street basketball three-on-three tournament in Baltimore, Maryland.

Tune in next week to see the 1-2-3 Kid battle Jeff Jarrett in a King of the Ring rematch! Also, Jim Neidhart, Tatanka, and Bam Bam Bigelow will be in action!

The Last Word: The feature match was poor and had a surprising result. Yokozuna has become background noise quickly after losing the WWF title at WrestleMania. Tatanka was not a good salesman for a future match with Lex Luger but at least the WWF is trying to add some intrigue to the Lex Luger-Diesel Intercontinental title match on Monday night.

Up Next: Wrestling Challenge for July 17!

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!