What the World Was Watching: WWF Wrestling Challenge – 10.02.94

Gorilla Monsoon and Ted DiBiase commentate, taped from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Opening Contest: The 1-2-3 Kid (18-4-1) defeats Gary Scott after the flying leg drop at 3:52:

Monsoon tries to counter the narrative of the WWF’s syndication woes by claiming that lots of new viewers are checking out Wrestling Challenge each week. Scott, who is about the same size as the Kid, kicks out of a roundhouse kick and float over suplex. He gets a fair share of offense but his rally ends after a missed flying knee drop. The Kid devastates Scott with kicks afterward and wins a fifth-straight match with a flying leg drop.

Jerry Lawler (1-2) pins Ben Jordan after the piledriver at 2:44:

Lawler takes the microphone and insults the crowd for not bowing to him during his entrance. He continues working the crowd through the match, mocking them for going silent when he goes on offense. In the split screen, Doink the Clown and Dink promise to collect a debt from Lawler after he broke Dink’s tricycle. Jordan hits a few dropkicks but Lawler recovers quickly, delivers a DDT, and gets back to .500 with a piledriver.

Yokozuna (w/Jim Cornette) (17-4) defeats Frank Stalleto after a uranage at 2:42:

The Undertaker may soon have problems with Irwin R. Schyster too as DiBiase argues that death and taxes are life’s only certainty. Yokozuna works slowly to destroy Stalleto as the announcers hype his house show matches with the Dead Man.

The British Bulldog (1-0) pins Barry Horowitz after the running powerslam at 3:13:

Now that he is back on the road the Bulldog’s arms have shrunk in size from SummerSlam. In the split screen, Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart warn the Bulldog that he has made a mistake messing with them. The match is more of a showcase for Horowitz than the Bulldog as the perennial enhancement talent gets near-falls from a neckbreaker and high knee. His leapfrog attempt gets countered into the running powerslam, causing his defeat.

Ray Rougeau does an in-ring interview with Tatanka and DiBiase. Tatanka wears a suit and gold chain. DiBiase puts over Tatanka as the real American he needed for his stable. Tatanka argues that he feels great to be with DiBiase because he is wearing nice clothes and has nice accessories. He has a flat last line about how he and DiBiase have the meal and Lex Luger just has a $100 tip.

The Bushwhackers (11-2) defeat Ron Hagan & Ryan Scott when Luke pins Hagan after the Battering Ram at 3:11:

Hagan has a very 1990s attire of neon colors on a singlet and long tights. The Bushwhackers gingerly move around but the sequences with Hagan are fine. Scott looks lost so the Bushwhackers quickly have Hagan tag back in so they can finish the match. No mention is made of the Bushwhackers feud with Well Dunn.

Bam Bam Bigelow (w/Ted DiBiase) (25-4) beats Sonny Rodgers after a powerslam at 2:29:

Adam Bomb does an insert promo about how Bigelow cannot overcome he and his Bomb Squad. Bigelow annihilates Rodgers with suplexes, slams, and falling headbutts, coming across as a jerk because he will not go for a pin. There is a nice bit after the powerslam where Bigelow keeps turning Rodgers in a circle during the pinning combination, forcing referee Tim White to keep getting up and changing his position so he can see Rodgers shoulders to log the three count.

Monsoon asks DiBiase if he has King Kong Bundy in his back pocket. DiBiase refuses to answer.

Tune in next week to see King Kong Bundy, Adam Bomb, Tatanka, Doink the Clown, and Owen Hart in action!

The Last Word: By Wrestling Challenge standards this was a good show as the enhancement talents in many matches got a few stretches of offense, thereby making the squash matches better. The insert promos also give some attention to midcard feuds on the Hart Attack Tour, even if they are programs that do not move the needle much in terms of interest.

After doing another round of television tapings, the WWF ran shows in Canada and the Northeast. Here are the results of some of those cards, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:

Auburn Hills, Michigan – The Palace – October 2, 1994 (2,500): The Bushwhackers beat Well Dunn when Butch pinned Timothy Well…Adam Bomb defeated Johnny Polo (substituting for Bam Bam Bigelow) after a DDT…Mabel pinned Kwang after a leg drop…Jeff Jarrett defeated Bob Holly via submission to the figure-four leglock after Holly missed a flying knee drop. After the match, Jarrett challenged WWF Champion Bret Hart but Bret did not answer…WWF Tag Team Champions Shawn Michaels & Diesel defeated the New Headshrinkers via disqualification when Michaels got hit with a Tag Team title belt…WWF Women’s Champion Alundra Blayze pinned Bull Nakano with a German suplex…WWF Champion Bret Hart pinned Jim Neidhart with a roll up. Prior to the match, Bret was double teamed by Jeff Jarrett and Neidhart…The Undertaker defeated Yokozuna in a casket match.

Cornwall, Ontario, Canada – Cornwall Civic Complex – October 2, 1994 (3,500; matinee): Abe Schwartz pinned P.J. Walker after using the tights for leverage at 10:58…Doink the Clown defeated Nikolai Volkoff with a roll up after a Volkoff blind charge at 4:01…Tatanka pinned Duke Droese after the Papoose to Go after avoiding a Droese reverse flying body press at 12:18…The Smoking Gunns beat the Heavenly Bodies when Billy pinned Jimmy Del Ray with a flying clothesline at 15:35…Pierre beat Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon via count out after Ramon hit the ring post when both men brawled on the floor at 14:39. After the match, Pierre demanded a restart and the two men brawled, leading to Ramon delivering the Razor’s Edge. When Pierre recovered, he told everyone that he won the match…Owen Hart pinned the 1-2-3 Kid with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex at 7:24.

Backstage News*: WWF Champion Bret Hart wrestled Bob Backlund in a dark match at the September 26 Monday Night RAW taping in Utica, New York, winning with an inside cradle. The match was not well received by fans but the WWF is looking to position that as a main event match for Survivor Series.

-Last weekend at a show in Anaheim, California there was a fan with a “WWF needs Sabu!” sign. That caused a “Sabu” chant early in the show until road agent Jack Lanza came out and grabbed the poster.

-The WWF’s new steroid policy: If a wrestler tests positive they have to get their levels down on the next test. That is less onerous than the past.

-The September 26 Monday Night RAW drew a 2.6 rating.

-WrestleMania XI may take place next year in Hartford, Connecticut. Dave Meltzer jokes that it must mean that Utica and Poughkeepsie were already booked for that weekend.

-Johnny Polo substituted for Bam Bam Bigelow on house shows after Bigelow suffered an undisclosed injury.

-WWF road agent George Steele is in Tim Burton’s film Ed Wood, which started airing in U.S. theaters on September 28. Steele plays Tor Johnson, a Swedish professional wrestler that was used in some of Wood’s films.

-In talent relations news, there are rumors that the Ultimate Warrior and Sid Vicious may be returning.

*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for October 10.

Up Next: Monday Night RAW for October 3!

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!