What the World Was Watching: WWF Action Zone – 10.30.94

Vince McMahon and Todd Pettengill commentate as the taping winds down in White Plains, New York.

Charlie Minn talks with WWF Tag Team Champions Shawn Michaels & Diesel. They emphasize that actions speak louder than words.

Opening Contest for the WWF Tag Team Championship: Shawn Michaels & Diesel (Champions) (6-0) beat Razor Ramon & the 1-2-3 (1-0) when Michaels pins the Kid after a Diesel big boot at 17:52 shown:

According to the participants, this match was taking place at the end of a long taping so getting fans engaged was a priority. They quickly do that as the babyfaces blitz the champions and Ramon gives Michaels a Razor’s Edge in 30 seconds. However, Diesel pulls Michaels to the floor to avoid a pin. Ramon quickly tosses Michaels back in, though, where the Kid scores near-falls from a schoolboy roll up, moonsault, and victory roll. Diesel is a force of nature for his team, making life hard on the challengers by throwing the Kid around with ease and overpowering Ramon. Surprisingly, it is Ramon who is placed in peril, forced to kick out of a side suplex from Diesel and flying elbow drop off the second rope from Michaels, among other moves. The heels do a good job cheating behind the referee’s back to keep Ramon in a compromising position as Michaels clotheslines Ramon from the apron, knees him in the back off the ropes, chokes him, and gives leverage to a Diesel abdominal stretch. There is a false tag after Ramon chokeslams Michaels, leading to a heel miscommunication where Michaels lays Diesel out with a superkick. That finally leads to a hot tag for the Kid and the challengers frantically try to finish Michaels before Diesel awakens. They come close with a Kid missile dropkick, when Ramon throws the Kid into Michaels from a fallaway slam, when Ramon rolls through a reversal of his super backdrop suplex, a Rocket Launcher, and a Ramon clothesline. Michaels desperately locks in a sleeper hold when Ramon kicks Diesel’s unconscious body to the floor, buying just enough time for the big man to recover. The Kid tags in after a double KO and flies off the top rope with a leg drop, almost winning the titles. The Kid runs the ropes after that as the referee is momentarily trying to prevent Ramon from entering the ring, missing Diesel blasting the Kid with a big boot so the champions can retain. This match sent the crowd on a great, emotional roller coaster. As the description attests, the participants packed a lot into the time they were given and this was the easily the best tag team match in the WWF this year. If not for two commercial breaks that chopped off some action, this may have reached five stars. Rating: ****½

McMahon talks about how he interviewed Bob Backlund recently in Madison Square Garden and Backlund promised that when he returned to the Garden he would be the WWF champion.

Bob Backlund (8-1) beats Russ Greenberg via submission to the crossface chicken wing at 2:59:

Backlund makes Greenberg look foolish in amateur wrestling sequences as Pettengill does a Kermit the Frog impression. After Greenberg misses a reverse flying body press off the second rope, Backlund locks in the chicken wing. A typical, slow squash for Backlund where he did very little.

It is announced that Mabel will face Yokozuna on next week’s show.

Call 1-900-454-4545 to have a WWF superstar call someone with a personal message. It is $9.95 per call!

Doink the Clown (w/Dink, Wink & Pink) (28-3) pins Tony DeVito after the Whoopie Cushion at 2:43:

The little people trip DeVito before the match, giving the announcers a laugh. They come in later in the squash to run over DeVito when he is trapped in an armbar. The referee allows that rather than call for a disqualification. Doink wins with a shoulderbreaker and Whoopie Cushion. The finisher gets a sound effect as McMahon and Pettengill force more humor. After the match, Doink dances with his companions as McMahon speculates on whether Doink will face Jerry Lawler at Survivor Series.

King Kong Bundy (w/Ted DiBiase) (5-0) beats Aaron Ferguson after the Avalanche at 1:45:

The split screen makes fun of the NFL on NBC, showing an empty football analyst studio because “Mike Zitka” and “Greg Gumball” are watching The Action Zone. This is the same squash that fans have seen Bundy do before.

Lex Luger (27-3-1) defeats the Executioner via submission to the Rebel Rack at 3:03:

McMahon treats this as a unique encounter even though Luger beat the Executioner a month ago on Monday Night RAW. Speaking of RAW, this match allows for McMahon to hype Luger’s match with Bob Backlund tomorrow night. The Executioner gets a few token shots in as Pettengill wonders if former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw is under the mask. Luger knocks the Executioner out of his boots with a clothesline, leading into a suplex, powerslam, and Rebel Rack.

Tune in next week to see Mabel face Yokozuna!

The Last Word: The Tag Team title match was tremendous, serving as the best non-pay-per-view match of the year. The rest of the show was background noise for Survivor Series and Monday Night RAW hype.

Wrestling Challenge featured a few new squashes and an exclusive interview. Gorilla Monsoon and Ted DiBiase hosted that broadcast.

The Bushwhackers (12-2) beat Kerry Davis & Reno Riggins after Luke pins Davis after the Battering Ram at 3:25:

Monsoon and DiBiase talk about the Guts & Glory vs. Million Dollar Team match at Survivor Series rather than what the Bushwhackers are doing. The enhancement talents argue when the Bushwhackers cause them to run into each other, constituting the sole highlight of the contest. The Bushwhackers look archaic compared to other teams in the division and many fans were wondering why they were still around.

Ray Rougeau does an interview with Yokozuna, Jim Cornette & Mr. Fuji from the Hart Attack Tour. There is more play about Yokozuna hating the word “casket,” which Cornette spins as Yokozuna having a small case of claustrophobia. Cornette is mad that Chuck Norris is the enforcer at Survivor Series, saying that he is there to stack the deck against the former WWF champion. He does have a funny line about how Norris is a deadly weapon that has to register everywhere he goes with the FBI, CIA, ASPCA, and others. Despite Norris’ participation, Cornette is confident that Yokozuna will make the Undertaker rest in peace again.

Kwang (w/Harvey Wippleman) (23-5-1) beats J.S. Storm after the spinning heel kick at 1:31:

Kwang treads water by beating another enhancement talent on a syndicated show. Storm does a sloppy O’Connor roll and when he gets back to his feet, Kwang takes his head off with a spinning heel kick.

The WWF continued to do shows in Canada and in its Northeast home base. Here were the results of some of those shows, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:

Long Island, New York – The Nassau Coliseum – October 28, 1994 (3,800): Abe Schwartz beat Jim Powers…Adam Bomb defeated Bam Bam Bigelow…Irwin R. Schyster beat Duke Droese…Lex Luger defeated Tatanka via disqualification…Jerry Lawler beat Doink the Clown…The Heavenly Bodies beat the Smoking Gunns. Jimmy Del Ray blew his knee out in this match…WWF Champion Bret Hart defeated Jim Neidhart…The Undertaker beat Yokozuna in a casket match.

New York City, New York – Madison Square Garen – October 9, 1994 (9,646): Adam Bomb beat Bam Bam Bigelow via disqualification…Jim Powers defeated Abe Schwartz…Jerry Lawler & Queasy beat Doink the Clown & Dink…Irwin R. Schyster defeated Duke Droese…WWF Champion Bret Hart defeated Jim Neidhart via submission to the Sharpshooter after avoiding a splash off the top rope at 8:31…Billy Gunn beat Tom Prichard…Lex Luger wrestled Tatanka to a double count out at 12:36. After the match, Luger challenged Tatanka to get back in the ring. When Tatanka did, Luger powerslammed him and put him in the Rebel Reck until referees intervened…The Undertaker beat Yokozuna in a casket match after a flying clothesline and chokeslam around the 12-minute mark. Irwin R. Schyster was in Yokozuna’s corner but was ejected midway through the match after closing the casket when the Undertaker tried to roll Yokozuna inside.

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada – Saskatchewan Place – October 29, 1994: King Kong Bundy defeated Bob Holly…Kwang beat Mo…The Bushwhackers defeated Well Dunn…WWF Women’s Champion Alundra Blayze beat Bull Nakano…The British Bulldog defeated Owen Hart…Diesel beat Fatu…Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon defeated Jeff Jarrett.

Backstage News*: The WWF held a press conference on October 27 in Hartford, Connecticut and announced that the city would host WrestleMania XI on April 2. The event will take place in conjunction with the Special Olympic World Games. Like last year, there will be a Fan Fest that will run for three days from March 31 to April 2 at the Hartford Civic Center.

-Monday Night RAW’s rating went down to a 2.5 this week, disappointing for the first Razor Ramon-Yokozuna match. The first episode of The Action Zone drew a 2.0 rating, which is 33% higher than what All American Wrestling was drawing in the same timeslot.

-The statute of limitations for the U.S. federal government to refile a final charge against Vince McMahon from his steroid trial passed this week. It appears all criminal prosecutions against McMahon and the WWF have ended.

*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for November 7.

Up Next: Monday Night RAW for October 31!

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