What the World Was Watching: WWF Action Zone – 11.27.94

Vince McMahon announces that last night Diesel defeated Bob Backlund for the WWF Championship in Madison Square Garden. The announcement is reminiscent of fans being told in October 1992 that Bret Hart had won the WWF Championship from Ric Flair.

McMahon and Todd Pettengill are in the booth as a new taping begins in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping happened on November 9 and drew 4,000 fans.

Opening Contest: King Kong Bundy (w/Ted DiBiase) (8-0) beats Duke Droese (19-1) after two Avalanches at 6:53 shown:

This is Droese’s biggest test to date. He attacks Bundy when the big man enters the ring and knocks him out of the squared circle with some clotheslines and a dropkick. Then, Droese chases DiBiase off. After Bundy stalls and re-enters the contest there are a decent amount of near-falls as Bundy scores from an elbow drop and Droese comes back with a near-fall from a body press. Bundy responds with a knee drop and works a chinlock through a commercial break. Droese fights out but misses his corkscrew elbow drop. But then Bundy misses a splash. Droese proceeds to take down his straps and gloves in his version of a hulk up, ironically delivering a leg drop for two. A blind charge hits buckle, though, and two Avalanches are needed to keep Bundy undefeated. This was easily Bundy’s most enjoyable match since returning, although that does not say much. The work was so loose and soft from Droese that he looked out of his depth. Rating: *

McMahon and Pettengill recap how Diesel got the WWF title match against Bob Backlund last night at Madison Square Garden. Footage shows a quick match as Diesel kicked Backlund in the gut after the bell and immediately hit the Jackknife. Backlund sold Diesel’s finisher like a pro, crawling to the locker room afterward.

Well Dunn (w/Harvey Wippleman) (4-3) beat Gary Sabaugh & Mike Khoury when Timothy Well pins Khoury after a stun gun at 4:48:

Now that the WWF Tag Team titles are vacant look for a lot of teams to come out of the woodwork as the WWF will need to stage some type of contest to crown new champions. As the time attests, this squash goes on far too long and kills the crowd. Pettengill makes fun of Well Dunn’s thong attire, prompting McMahon to ask if he has personal experience wearing one. Pettengill also talks about the 100th episode of WWF Mania in a few weeks and how the producers are planning something special. The end comes when Steven Dunn whips Khoury into Well, who does a stun gun.

Adam Bomb (20-6) pins the Black Phantom after the pumphandle slam at 2:59:

The Phantom gets an introduction, wearing a black robe and a white facemask. Despite all of that he does not provide much of a test for Bomb, who McMahon says will face Irwin R. Schyster on Monday Night RAW tomorrow night. After some clotheslines, Bomb throws an elbow off the ropes and does the pumphandle slam.

McMahon emphasizes that Diesel defeated Bob Backlund in eight seconds for the WWF Championship. He says that Backlund’s excuse for the loss is that he was not ready. Footage of Diesel addressing the Madison Square Garden is shown, thanking them for their support.

Owen Hart (39-4) beats Jason Ahrndt via submission to the Sharpshooter at 2:29:

The squash serves as a way for McMahon and Pettengill to talk about Owen’s antics at Survivor Series. Owen becomes the first WWF superstar to rack up 40 singles wins by blasting Ahrndt with a spinning heel kick and submitting him with the Sharpshooter. Pettengill is outraged Owen uses that for a finisher, even though Owen has been doing it for more than a year.

Footage of the Undertaker, Paul Bearer, Razor Ramon, Lex Luger, the British Bulldog, Doink the Clown, and Dink riding the New York Daily News’ float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade is shown. This was reportedly not something many wrestlers enjoyed because they had to catch a quick flight after Survivor Series to New York City.

Non-Title Match: Razor Ramon (Intercontinental Champion) (33-4-1) pins J.S. Storm after the Razor’s Edge at 2:00:

Ramon really needs to find something meaningful to do as he has been stuck in neutral since winning the title at SummerSlam. Lauren Thierry from the show American Journal is the guest ring announcer, calling Ramon “the International champion.” Ramon vanquishes Storm with the usual and Thierry does not even announce him as the winner of the match. Regardless, Ramon goes over and kisses her hand before he leaves the ringside area.

The Bushwhackers (13-2) beat the Brooklyn Brawler & Ray Hudson when Luke pins Hudson after the Battering Ram at 3:17:

See the note about the Well Dunn squash in relation to teams coming out of the woodwork for the Tag Team titles. The Bushwhackers do their wacky acts of whipping their opponents into each other and then Butch bites the Brawler on the rear. The Kiwis isolate Hudson, dominate him, and then get the win with the Battering Ram. This was arguably the Bushwhackers best match of the year as they looked motivated. Afterward, Charlie Minn looks like a geek having fun with the Bushwhackers.

Tune in next week to see the 1-2-3 Kid & Aldo Montoya face the Heavenly Bodies!

The Last Word: Obviously, huge news broke about Diesel getting the WWF Championship from Bob Backlund, turning Backlund into a mere transitional champion from Bret Hart to a different babyface. It is a shame because there were still legs in Backlund’s heel character. It is also questionable to give Diesel the title off camera. Yes, it happened at Madison Square Garden but a first title win would have carried a bigger impact at The Royal Rumble or even a televised Monday Night RAW. When Bret won the title this way in 1992 he struggled to be taken as a top guy, so Diesel will face some of the same headwinds. Aside from the WWF title news, there was talk of a tournament for the Tag Team titles, something that is bound to be discussed next week or the week thereafter.

There was one additional bout syndicated on Wrestling Challenge where Gorilla Monsoon commentated with Ted DiBiase:

Jeff Jarrett (36-7-1) beats John Crystal via submission to the figure-four leglock at 1:42:

There is talk by the announcers of Jarrett going after the Intercontinental title. Some of that chatter has been going on for months but Jarrett has never given a promo about it, nor have he and Ramon had any interactions beyond being on separate Survivor Series teams. This is another enjoyable squash from Jarrett as Crystal goes toe-to-toe with him until he gets crotched going to the top rope. Jarrett superplexes him off and wins with the figure-four.

Here is a recap of the WWF’s house show action for the week of Survivor Series, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – Pittsburgh Civic Arena – November 25, 1994 (4,000): Pierre beat the 1-2-3 Kid…Duke Droese defeated Mo…Diesel (substituting for Bret Hart) defeated King Kong Bundy…The British Bulldog beat WWF Champion Bob Backlund via count out…Mabel defeated Steven Dunn…Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon beat Jeff Jarrett…The Undertaker defeated Irwin R. Schyster.

New York City, New York – Madison Square Garden – November 26, 1994 (7,300): The Bushwhackers beat Well Dunn…Aldo Montoya pinned Kwang with a hurricanrana at 7:03…Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon defeated Jeff Jarrett after the Razor’s Edge after blocking a backdrop attempt at 20:13. Jarrett initially won the match by count out at 16:23 after sending Ramon into the ring post as the two fought on the floor. However, Jarrett refused to accept the win because he wanted to win the title so the match was restarted…Mabel pinned Pierre with a body press off the second rope at 10:01…Diesel (substituting for Bret Hart) beat WWF Champion Bob Backlund after the Jackknife in eight seconds to win the title in a no count out, no disqualification, and no submission match…The New Headshrinkers beat the Executioners (substituting for Shawn Michaels & Diesel) after Fatu did the splash off the top rope at 12:43…The British Bulldog wrestled King Kong Bundy to a double count out at 6:53. The Bulldog ended up powerslamming Bundy on the arena floor…The Undertaker pinned Irwin R. Schyster with the Tombstone after catching IRS in mid-air at 8:06.

Oshawa, Ontario, Canada – Oshawa Civic Auditorium – November 27, 1994 (matinee): The Smoking Gunns beat the Heavenly Bodies…Bob Holly wrestled the 1-2-3 Kid to a draw…WWF Women’s Champion Bull Nakano defeated Alundra Blayze…Lex Luger wrestled Tatanka to a double count out…Duke Droese beat the Brooklyn Brawler…Jim Neidhart defeated Doink the Clown…Owen Hart beat Adam Bomb.

Cleveland, Ohio – The Gund Arena – November 27, 1994: This was the first WWF show at the venue…Aldo Montoya beat Kwang…The Bushwhackers defeated Well Dunn…Mabel beat Pierre…Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon defeated Jeff Jarrett. Jarrett initially won the match via count out but challenged Ramon to continue…WWF Champion Diesel defeated King Kong Bundy…The Headshrinkers beat the Executioners…The British Bulldog beat Bob Backlund…The Undertaker defeated Irwin R. Schyster.

Backstage News*: For the first time in years the WWF will be coming out of the Northeast and visiting larger arenas for television tapings. The feeling inside of the company was staying in smaller venues had run its course and started to make the company look less prestigious. The WWF has scheduled tapings in Texas in early January, Florida at the end of the month, and California in March.

-Jacques Rougeau had a falling out with Vince McMahon over McMahon not wanting to pay $154,000 to rent the 60,000-seat Olympic Stadium for a show on January 29. McMahon reportedly told Rougeau that he did not think the time was right for it and the product was not hot enough in Montreal to sell well. Rougeau wanted to headline the show with WWF Champion Bob Backlund vs. Pierre, unaware that Diesel would soon be the new titleholder. When McMahon turned him down, Rougeau contacted Jimmy Hart about working with WCW, pitching the idea of teaming with Hulk Hogan (or wrestle him). However, WCW has limited exposure in the area. Ray Rougeau is trying to play peacemaker between the two sides but Jacques has said he never wants to speak to McMahon again. It is unclear whether Pierre will side with Jacques or stick with the WWF. Many think he will get a renewed television push if he stays as a pirate character.

-Sunday Night Slam drew a 2.1 rating, the lowest ever for a WWF USA Network special. Monday Night RAW pulled a 2.5 for Razor Ramon vs. Diesel.

-ICOPRO has been sold by Titan Sports.

-In injury news, Shawn Michaels did not do much in the Survivor Series tag team match because of a hand injury. When it heals his feud with Diesel will begin over the WWF Championship. Bret Hart’s injury is kayfabed, meant to write him out until he finishes filming an episode of Lonesome Dove.

-In talent relations news, the WWF has signed Brian Armstrong and Louie Spicolli. SMW talents Chris Candido and Tammy Fytch have also been talked to with the idea that Candido would be part of a “Blonde Bombers” tag team with someone else. Yokozuna is expected to come back in April but WCW has some interest in him.

*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for December 5.

Up Next: Monday Night RAW for November 28!

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