What the World Was Watching: WWF Wrestling Challenge – 10.09.94

Gorilla Monsoon and Ted DiBiase are doing commentary, wrapping up the taping in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Opening Contest: Tatanka (w/Ted DiBiase) (28-4-2) pins Ron Cumberledge after the Papoose to Go at 2:40:

Tatanka loves whipping Cumberledge into the turnbuckles, doing that spot five times. Cumberledge gets fluke near-falls from a body press off the ropes, small package, and sunset flip. Tatanka chops his way back on track and hits his finish. If not for Cumberledge’s smooth movements, this would have been dreadful. As a heel Tatanka is robbed of his exciting offense and he does not have good heel moves to make up for it.

Monsoon announces that King Kong Bundy has joined DiBiase and could bring the stable some gold.

Doink the Clown (w/Dink) (26-2) pins Reno Riggins after rolling through a reverse flying body press off the second rope at 3:04:

Doink offers Riggins a piece of gum before the match. Riggins hesitantly takes it and starts chewing it but it turns his mouth green. In the split screen, Jerry Lawler talks about how much he despises Dink, who he deems as Snow White’s “eighth dwarf.” Doink does not look strong in the squash as Riggins gives him all he can handle. Riggins kicks out of a Doink sunset flip and small package and mounts an offense with eye rakes and whips into the corner. After a Riggins jawbreaker, Doink does a sloppy German suplex, which gets a two count, and Riggins tries one last move by doing a reverse flying body press off the second rope. Doink is supposed to catch Riggins and roll through it but is not able to make that look smooth, eventually getting himself on top of the enhancement talent to win. Doink repositioning himself must have been bad as there is a camera cut as the count is going on. If someone was watching the WWF for the first time they would wonder why the least talented wrestler went over. Rating: ½*

Todd Pettengill narrates a video package that summarizes the feud between WWF Tag Team Champions Shawn Michaels & Diesel and the New Headshrinkers. Michaels says that his bond with Diesel has been patched up since SummerSlam and it will not be broken. He also says that Captain Lou Albano’s “war stories” are the closest that the Headshrinkers will get to being champions.

King Kong Bundy (w/Ted DiBiase) (1-0) pins Rod Bell after an elbow drop at 1:44:

Bundy does the same basic work that he did on Superstars, using nothing other than strikes to wear down Bell. He refuses to pin him after a knee drop, doing the Avalanche and elbow drop before demanding a five count from the referee.

Bob Holly (22-3-1) defeats Red Tyler with the flying body press at 2:52:

Since Holly does not have a feud, Monsoon and DiBiase use the squash to hype the Hart Attack Tour’s lineup. Tyler gets some basic offense in the middle of the bout as this seems to be the week that enhancement talents strike back but Holly shrugs it off and throws some stiff punches. After a powerslam, Holly tells the crowd that he is headed for the finish line, winning with the flying body press. Not everyone is clued into Holly’s name change as ring announcer Bill Dunn still announces him as “Thurman Sparky Plugg.”

Kwang (w/Harvey Wippleman) (22-5-1) defeats Kevin Krueger after the spinning heel kick at 1:14:

When Kwang sprays his mist, Monsoon screams “You almost got that on me, dummy!” which is good for a laugh. Kwang uses two spinning heel kicks to defeat Krueger, once in the corner and once when he gets back in the ring. All this happens as Monsoon talks about George Steele’s appearance in Ed Wood.

Get your copy of the new WWF Magazine this Tuesday, which has WWF Champion Bret Hart on the cover. The magazine has a story on where the Undertaker has been.

Owen Hart (w/Jim Neidhart) (35-2) beats Gary Jackson via submission to the Sharpshooter at 2:10:

This is Owen’s first televised match in close to a month as he has spent time seconding Neidhart. Jackson makes the enhancement mistake of trying a dropkick against an opponent with a submission finish, missing it when Owen holds onto the ropes and he is submitted seconds later. Monsoon talks about Bob Backlund’s challenge to WWF Champion Bret Hart throughout the contest. After the bell, Owen puts Hitman shades on Jackson and snaps them back in his face.

Adam Bomb (14-6) pins Rock Werner after a slingshot clothesline at 2:35:

There is miscommunication between Bomb and the fireworks crew as he does a taunt in the ring for fireworks and they do not go off until the lights go out and he can no longer be seen. Monsoon accuses DiBiase of evading Bomb’s challenge to Bam Bam Bigelow. Bomb rolls to an eighth-straight win after running through his entire moveset.

DiBiase is on the phone trying to buy more talent for his stable.

Tune in next week to see Bam Bam Bigelow, the British Bulldog, Jeff Jarrett, and the Smoking Gunns in action! WWF Champion Bret Hart will also have a special interview!

The Last Word: The squashes at the end of the broadcast were much better than the ones at the beginning. However, a lot of the talent look uninspired in the ring at the moment, which does not make for a good television product.

Here is a recap of the WWF’s house show action in early October, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com. The WWF did smaller shows in Danville, Pennsylvania and Watkins Glen, New York which drew less than 1,200 people but full results for those B-level cards were not available:

Tampa, Florida – The SunDome – October 8, 1994 (4,500): Irwin R. Schyster beat the 1-2-3 Kid…The Bushwhackers defeated Well Dunn…Lex Luger wrestled Tatanka to a double count out…Adam Bomb defeated Bam Bam Bigelow…Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon beat Owen Hart…The Smoking Gunns defeated the Heavenly Bodies…Bob Holly beat Kwang…WWF Champion Bret Hart defeated Jim Neidhart…The Undertaker beat Yokozuna in a casket match.

Backstage News*: Vince McMahon appeared on a cable talk show in Chicago on October 5, criticizing Hulk Hogan for going back on his word that he would never work against him. He said that he wanted to make Hogan a Babe Ruth-like special attraction but Hogan wanted to wrestle more regularly. When asked about WCW, he said it was a “minor annoyance.”

-The WWF is giving away free tickets to its Cow Palace show in San Francisco on December 3. The WWF no longer has television exposure in the area. Fans who bought SummerSlam got two free tickets in the mail this week.

-The reason for Hartford, Connecticut being the likely host for WrestleMania XI is that McMahon is insistent on Connecticut getting to host the show once.

-Tampa, Florida will be the site of The Royal Rumble in January. Ringside seats will go for $175 and fans will get to keep their chair.

-Monday Night RAW drew a 2.7 rating, continuing a run of shows in the mid-2’s.

*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for October 17.

Up Next: Monday Night RAW for October 10!

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!