What the World Was Watching: WWF Wrestling Challenge – 08.07.94

Stan Lane and Ted DiBiase commentate, concluding the taping in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Opening Non-Title Contest: The Headshrinkers (WWF Tag Team Champions w/Afa & Captain Lou Albano) defeat Corey Student & Mike Sharpe when Fatu pins Student after the splash off the top rope at 2:46:

DiBiase jokes that his stable is looking into “gold futures” since Bam Bam Bigelow and Irwin R. Schyster are teaming up to face the Headshrinkers for the titles at SummerSlam. Sharpe tags out early so Student can take the brunt of the punishment. Lane calls the Headshrinkers double forward leg sweep the Samoan Jam. That did not catch on.

Bam Bam Bigelow (w/Ted DiBiase) (24-4) pins Dwight Polk after a moonsault at 2:52:

Enhancement talents do not do as well as they did against Bigelow when he had Luna Vachon in his corner. Bigelow opts not to pin after the Million Dollar Nightmare, going to the top rope at DiBiase’s behest and doing a moonsault. Since Bigelow is not with Vachon anymore, it is presumably no longer named after her. Bigelow gets a wad of cash from DiBiase after his win.

Tatanka (23-3-2) pins Duane Gill after the Papoose to Go at 2:46:

Tatanka does an insert promo about how he will beat Lex Luger at SummerSlam and not allow Luger to enjoy the gifts he has received from DiBiase. Gill gets knocked out of the ring a few times before Tatanka goes on the warpath.

Non-Title Match: Diesel (Intercontinental Champion w/Shawn Michaels) (18-0-1) pins Gary Sabaugh after the Jackknife at 2:41:

DiBiase does not think it is fair for Walter Payton to be in Razor Ramon’s corner at SummerSlam. Diesel shows off his power with a side suplex and Jackknife.

Get the latest edition of WWF Magazine! Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart are on the cover and there is an interview with Diesel!

Todd Pettengill does the SummerSlam Report. WWF Champion Bret Hart says that Owen Hart will go down hard because he is the best there is, best there was, and best there ever will be.

The Bushwhackers (6-2) beat Tyrone Knox & George South when Luke pins Knox after the Battering Ram at 1:32:

The Bushwhackers make a short appearance, flooring their opponents with double clotheslines and quickly finishing Knox with the Battering Ram. Afterward, they lick referee Tim White. With many tag teams not getting showcased on television, giving television time to a special attraction like the Bushwhackers was questionable.

Ray Rougeau interviews Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart. Neidhart takes credit for all of WWF Champion Bret Hart’s success. Owen says that wrestling Bret in a cage will be like when they wrestled in the Dungeon where Owen alleges he beat Bret. Bret comes out, telling Owen and Neidhart that they are a disgrace and that Owen’s win at WrestleMania was a fluke. He ends with a powerful line about how he lost to Owen once but he will never lose to him again.

Irwin R. Schyster (22-3) beats John Paul via submission to the Penalty at 2:49:

IRS’ pre-match material is weak, telling the crowd that he is tired of tax cheats. DiBiase guarantees victory for Bam Bam Bigelow & IRS at SummerSlam as IRS methodically works Paul over before a submission win.

Tune in next week to see Mabel and Jeff Jarrett in action! And Razor Ramon will appear for an interview!

The Last Word: It was nice to see the WWF title feud get some attention on the C-show and Bret Hart had some nice lines in his confrontation with Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart. The rest of the show was just basic SummerSlam hype and continued to be a vehicle for Ted DiBiase to talk up his corporate team. This would also be the last appearance of Stan Lane as Wrestling Challenge’s play-by-play announcer. According to Lane, Vince McMahon was not a fan of his style and he was looked down on as a Jerry Jarrett hire. He would continue to work in various capacities for the WWF until 1995 when he would quit, using his broadcasting experience to call super boat racing events for the next 20 years.

After spending the initial part of the week doing television tapings through August, the WWF did some Southern house shows and cards in Pennsylvania. Here were the results of some of those events, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – Pittsburgh Civic Arena – August 5, 1994 (4,000): Thurman Plugg pinned Pierre with a crucifix at 11:07…Adam Bomb beat Kwang after a DDT at 9:17…Jerry Lawler defeated Duke Droese via disqualification after Droese used a trash can as a weapon at 9:54…The Smoking Gunns beat Well Dunn when Billy pinned Steven Dunn with a sunset flip at 13:36…Razor Ramon defeated Intercontinental Champion Diesel via disqualification after Diesel used his title belt as a weapon at 10:23…Tatanka beat Irwin R. Schyster in a strap match at 7:09…Yokozuna pinned Mabel after Jim Neidhart distracted Mabel and Yokozuna delivered a belly-to-belly suplex at 11:13…WWF Champion Bret Hart (w/Bruce Hart) defeated Owen Hart (w/Jim Neidhart) via submission to the Sharpshooter at 16:52.

North Charleston, South Carolina – August 5, 1994 (1,500): Jeff Jarrett defeated Doink the Clown…WWF Tag Team Champions the Headshrinkers beat Bam Bam Bigelow & Bastion Booger…Bull Nakano defeated Heidi Lee Morgan (substituting for WWF Women’s Champion Alundra Blayze)…Abe Schwartz beat P.J. Walker…The Bushwhackers defeated the Executioners…Nikolai Volkoff beat Virgil…Lex Luger defeated Crush in a stretcher match.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – The Philadelphia Spectrum – August 6, 1994 (1,800): Jerry Lawler beat Duke Droese via disqualification…Razor Ramon beat Intercontinental Champion Diesel via disqualification…Tatanka beat Irwin R. Schyster…Yokozuna defeated Mabel…Thurman Plugg defeated Pierre…Adam Bomb beat Kwang…The Smoking Gunns defeated Well Dunn…WWF Champion Bret Hart defeated Owen Hart in a 60-minute marathon match two falls to one.

Backstage News*: Bob Backlund’s heel turn was his idea. He is no longer doing autographs for fans or talking to them to get himself over as a bitter, crazed athlete.

-Monday Night RAW’s recent show drew a 3.1. However, this is not leading to more people attending television tapings or house shows. For example, the WWF’s August 3 Wrestling Challenge taping in Cincinnati only drew 2,500 fans to an area that could seat 14,000.

-In injury news, WWF Women’s Champion Alundra Blayze was hurt wrestling Bull Nakano on Monday Night RAW, which caused her to miss house shows.

-In talent relations news, Jim Ross may get an extended deal from the WWF, which wants him to commentate Wrestling Challenge and host All American Wrestling. The WWF now denies that it tried to contact Chris Benoit.

*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for August 14.

Up Next: Monday Night RAW for August 8!

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