What the World Was Watching: WWF Wrestling Challenge – 07.31.94

Stan Lane and Ted DiBiase call today’s action, taped from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Crush & Yokozuna (w/Mr. Fuji) (2-1) beat Typhoon & Mabel (w/Oscar) when Yokozuna pins Typhoon after a belly-to-belly suplex at 8:27:

Although the moves that can be done in the match are limited, the participants throw enough bombs to keep things interesting. Mabel is the one who ends up in peril when Yokozuna holds his foot when he runs the ropes. Unfortunately, Crush slows the good flow to the match with a long headscissors. Typhoon gets the hot tag after Crush misses a flying knee drop and all hell soon breaks loose in the ring. As the referee ushers Mabel out, Crush superkicks Typhoon in the back of the head and Yokozuna hits a belly-to-belly suplex for the pin. Rating: *¾

Duke Droese (9-0) pins Austin Steele after the corkscrew elbow drop at 2:08:

Lane says that Droese is still struggling as a working man. That does not say much about what WWF superstars make but it is 1994. Steele sells a Droese clothesline well. Droese has added a call of “It’s time to take out the trash!” before doing his finisher, which today is the corkscrew elbow drop.

Jeff Jarrett (21-5-1) beats Jim Powers via submission to the figure-four leglock at 2:47:

Powers slips out of the way when Jarrett tries to work his leg but soon runs into Jarrett’s foot on a blind charge. Powers gets a near-fall from a knee lift and small package before doing his patented Rick Martel finish of missing a dropkick so Jarrett can beat him via submission.

Todd Pettengill provides the SummerSlam Report. Paul Bearer says he is impressed by Ted DiBiase’s Undertaker but DiBiase’s version is not the real deal. WWF Champion Bret Hart says he is the only Hart that is going to leave the pay-per-view with the WWF title. Razor Ramon tells Intercontinental Champion Diesel that it is one thing to win a title but another to keep it.

Thurman Plugg (16-3-1) pins Barry Hardy after the flying body press at 2:26:

Once again a Plugg match is used to, well, plug other program as Lane and DiBiase debate whether Lex Luger has sold out. Hardy runs into a thrust kick when he does a blind charge. That makes him dazed so Plugg can win a filler match with the flying body press.

Jim Neidhart (w/Owen Hart) (5-0) defeats Ray Hudson via submission to the Camel Clutch at 2:41:

Neidhart throws Hudson around until he gets tired of that and locks in the Camel Clutch. After the bell, Owen gets in the ring and puts Hitman shades on Hudson while Neidhart keeps the Clutch locked in. He snaps the glasses back on Hudson’s face twice.

Kwang (w/Harvey Wippleman) (15-4-1) defeats Chris Canyon after the spinning heel kick at 2:11:

There is discussion of Kwang facing Adam Bomb in the future, a match that Lane and DiBiase are excited to see. Spinning heel kicks are all that Kwang has to offer, doing one in the corner and one in the middle of the ring to win his fifth-straight match.

Tune in next week to see WWF Tag Team Champions the Headshrinkers, Tatanka, Intercontinental Champion Diesel, and the Bushwhackers in action! Also, Owen Hart will appear for a special interview!

The Last Word: The tag team feature match was better than expected but the rest of the show was flat. Now that sweeps month is over Challenge will fall further into irrelevance without a feature match.

The WWF’s house show circuit took it across the West Coast and Canada at the end of July. Here are the results of some of those shows, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:

Guelph, Ontario, Canada – July 28, 1994: The Smoking Gunns defeated Well Dunn…WWF Women’s Champion Alundra Blayze defeated Luna Vachon…The Fake Undertaker beat Thurman Plugg…Yokozuna defeated Typhoon…Jeff Jarrett beat Doink the Clown…Tatanka defeated Irwin R. Schyster in a strap match.

Los Angeles, California – The Great Western Forum – July 29, 1994 (7,000): The 1-2-3 Kid beat Pierre…WWF Tag Team Champions the Headshrinkers defeated the Heavenly Bodies…Jerry Lawler beat Duke Droese via disqualification…Lex Luger defeated Crush…Adam Bomb beat Kwang…Razor Ramon defeated Intercontinental Champion Diesel via disqualification…Mabel defeated Bam Bam Bigelow…WWF Champion Bret Hart (w/Bruce Hart) defeated Owen Hart in sudden death of a 60-minute marathon match two falls to one.

Backstage News*: Dave Meltzer argues that the biggest break that the WWF got in its federal steroid case happened in late 1989 when Jack Cryll, a Pennsylvania attorney, leaked to Linda McMahon that Dr. George Zahorian was under investigation. It prevented the WWF from hiring someone who became known for giving steroids and other drugs to wrestlers and giving credence to the government’s conspiracy charge.

-For the second time this year the WWF was forced to cancel a house show because of sending the ring to the wrong place. A card scheduled for Johnstown, Pennsylvania could not take place because the ring was shipped to Youngstown, Ohio, which was doing a Monday Night RAW taping, a day early. Wrestlers were unhappy because the cancellation came after they were already at the building.

-Monday Night RAW’s rating rose this week to a 3.4.

-In talent relations news, the WWF is trying out Tammy Fytch of Smoky Mountain Wrestling in a broadcast capacity. She has been appearing on Radio WWF. Some of the enthusiasm for bringing in Chris Benoit has dissipated because the plan was for him to be Konnan’s tag team partner and plans to acquire Konnan have fallen through.

*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for August 8.

Up Next: Monday Night RAW for August 1!

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!