What the World Was Watching: WWF Action Zone – 11.20.94

Vince McMahon and Todd Pettengill are in the booth for the last part of the taping in Albany, New York.

Charlie Minn gives a rundown of what we are going to see today on the show. On his way to the ring Jeff Jarrett says he cannot wait for Survivor Series.

Opening Contest: Fatu (w/Afa & Captain Lou Albano) beats Jeff Jarrett (36-6-1) after heel miscommunication at 4:50 shown:

McMahon and Pettengill make a lot of jokes about Fatu’s problem wearing ring boots, a storyline that is only serving to hurt what little credibility Fatu has left. Why would Albano insist on Fatu wearing boots anyway? They only hinder his performance. He must be on the take from someone to destroy the team. Fatu keeps playing with his stupid boots throughout the match, limiting how much he can follow up after putting Jarrett in a compromising position. After Jarrett delivers a bulldog and dropkick, Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart come to ringside to cheer on their Survivor Series teammate. Neidhart later provides leverage for a Jarrett armbar. Fatu fights out of another armbar after a commercial break, powerslamming Jarrett but Owen distracts the referee. As that happens, Neidhart gets in the ring and tries to clothesline Fatu but heel miscommunication occurs and that costs Jarrett his eleven-match winning streak. Giving Fatu the win was surprising as Jarrett was building momentum in the midcard. Fatu had crowd support, which boded well for his future, but this match was too short to be meaningful. Rating: *½

Afterward, an unhappy Jarrett argues with Neidhart and Owen until Diesel comes out and settles everyone down. McMahon and Pettengill wonder where Shawn Michaels is.

Bob Backlund (w/Owen Hart) (11-2) defeats Tony DeVito via submission to the crossface chicken wing at 3:06:

DeVito has jobbed to most of the roster this year so he checks Backlund off his scorecard today. Backlund forces DeVito to wrestle an old school style, sweeping his legs and working the arm. After a body slam exchange, Backlund rolls DeVito into the crossface chicken wing for the win. Backlund refuses to break the hold after the bell but does so after Owen throws a Bret Hart towel into the ring.

The British Bulldog & the 1-2-3 Kid beat Roy Raymond & the Executioner when the Kid pins the Executioner after the Bulldog press slams the Kid on top of the Executioner at 2:07:

The Bulldog and the Kid make for one of those “power and speed” teams like the British Bulldogs of old. Their pairing today is a Survivor Series preview of what the Bad Guys bring to the table. The Kid blasts Raymond with a spinning heel kick and the Bulldog later annihilates the Executioner with a long vertical suplex. After tagging the Kid, the Bulldog gives the Executioner the running powerslam and then press slams the Kid on top for a fun squash victory.

McMahon and Pettengill do a long rundown of the Survivor Series card. McMahon argues that if Bob Backlund wins the WWF Championship that he might throw his hat into the political arena. Pettengill uses that comment to rip on Newt Gingrich.

Diesel (24-1-1) pins Aaron Ferguson after the Jackknife at 2:44:

Diesel starts quickly by pulverizing Ferguson in the corner but things slow down halfway through. A side suplex and choke in the corner lead to the Jackknife.

Minn goes nuts near the announce table, speaking quickly about how the Survivor Series is just days away. It is tough to see why he was hired as he is not good at these segments.

The Last Word: The extracurriculars after the feature match were meant to emphasize how the Teamsters may be riven by tension at Survivor Series, especially because Diesel and Shawn Michaels had problems at SummerSlam. The problem there is that the only time fans have had any clue Diesel and Michaels are having problems is when the announcers bring it up. There have been no on-screen issues aside from instances of heel miscommunication in matches to get that angle over. Like Superstars, this tried to sell the Survivor Series as a big event but the card is weak compared to previous years.

Wrestling Challenge had one match that did not make The Action Zone broadcast. Gorilla Monsoon and Ted DiBiase commentated:

Bob Holly (26-5-1) pins Phil Apollo with a small package at 2:30:

As with most of Holly’s matches this year, this provides background noise for talk of Chuck Norris’ appearance at Survivor Series. DiBiase chides him as “soft.” Apollo seems to have hope when he throws Holly off the top rope but he puts his head down too quickly on an Irish whip and Holly pins him with a small package.

Up Next: Sunday Night Slam for November 20!