What the World Was Watching: WWF Action Zone – 12.18.94

Vince McMahon and Todd Pettengill commentate the last Action Zone and Wrestling Challenge taping of the year in Lowell, Massachusetts. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping happened on November 26 and drew a crowd of 1,700 fans.

Opening Contest: The Heavenly Bodies (w/Jim Cornette) (19-2) beat the 1-2-3 Kid & Aldo Montoya (1-0) when Tom Prichard pins the Kid after a clothesline at 7:42 shown:

The Bodies are in the weird spot of a heel team seeking revenge from a previous defeat. There is a great opening sequence where Montoya uses the ropes to headscissors Jimmy Del Ray, leading to a four-way fight that sees the Bodies sandwiched in the corner and then Prichard accidentally monkey flipping Del Ray when the Kid moves out of the in the corner. Montoya ends up in peril when Del Ray knees him in the back when he runs the ropes. The heat segment does not last long as Montoya delivers the hot tag out of a Camel Clutch. Prichard breaks up a Kid pinfall on Del Ray after a missile dropkick and when the referee escorts Montoya back to his corner, Del Ray blasts the Kid with a clothesline for the pin. It seems like the Bodies were supposed to do a double clothesline there but Prichard was out of position. This was not as good as their first encounter because the heat segment was so short so there was not much drama when the Kid came back in. Giving the Bodies a win was the right call because of their participation in the Tag Team Championship Tournament. Rating: **¼

The Smoking Gunns (24-2-1) beat Duane Gill & the Brooklyn Brawler when Billy pins Gill after the Sidewinder at 2:59:

The Brawler holds his own against Bart but Gill has a worse go of it, clocked by Bart after he stops himself from going into the babyface corner. Quick tags wear Gill down and the Gunns get their 25th win of the year with the Sidewinder. McMahon says that the Power Rangers would be proud of the Gunns for some reason.

Pettengill hypes WWF trading cards that fans can get by calling 1-800-TITAN-10. They are $2.95 (plus shipping & handling). He imitates Paul Bearer and marks out for finding a Smoking Gunns trading card.

Henry Godwinn pins Tony Roy after the Slop Drop at 2:02:

Godwinn wastes no time getting exposure on the WWF’s weekend programs after earning his first win the day before on Superstars. McMahon treats the match as Godwinn’s debut because in some markets Superstars aired on a Sunday. The match follows the Nick Barberri match layout as Godwinn delivers a fierce clothesline and scratches himself against the ropes. A headbutt to the midsection off the ropes is Godwinn’s preferred setup for the Slop Drop.

Non-Title Match: Razor Ramon (Intercontinental Champion) (36-4-1) pins Sonny Pruitt after a super backdrop suplex at 2:39:

Pruitt was a Florida-based talent that had been doing jobs in WCW since 1991. He worked two matches as Sonny Trout for the WWF in 1992, losing to the Natural Disasters and the Undertaker. Eventually he would form an enhancement tag team in WCW with Rick Thames called the Southern Posse.

It is probably a good thing that Pruitt changed his name because his last WWF squash match had McMahon making all kinds of fish puns. Jeff Jarrett and the Roadie are seen watching Ramon’s match backstage. Jarrett reiterates that it is only a matter of time before he beats Ramon for the Intercontinental title. Whether to serve a point to Jarrett or just for his own amusement, Ramon slaps Pruitt around and pins him with one foot after the super backdrop suplex instead of the Razor’s Edge.

Ray Rougeau interviews Shawn Michaels, whose early comments are interrupted by chants for Diesel. He makes a tasteless reference to the O.J. Simpson case in saying that he thought Diesel was someone who would be behind the wheel as he cruised in a white Bronco. According to Michaels, Diesel is soft because he cannot take a “kick in the chops.” After reiterating that he made Diesel, Michaels claims that Diesel stole his title shot against Bob Backlund in Madison Square Garden and then strips for the crowd. The promo repeated a lot of what Michaels already said on Monday Night RAW. What hurts him in a world title feud is that he has had a relatively weak 1994 on his own. He has charisma but more is needed for crowds to buy him as a main eventer.

Jeff Jarrett (w/the Roadie) (38-7-1) defeats Cory Student via submission to the figure-four leglock at 2:01:

Before Jarrett spells his name for the audience the Roadie checks the house mic. Student does not get any offense against Jarrett today as the wannabe music star flattens him with a flying clothesline off the second rope and submits him with the figure-four.

Hakushi (w/Shinja) beats Gary Scott via count out at 1:54:

Hakushi was best known to Japanese wrestling fans as Jinsei Shinzaki. He was trained by Gran Hamada, a pioneer in Japanese wrestling due to adopting Mexico’s lucha libre style. Shinzaki got his start in 1992, working for Hamada’s Federación Universal de Lucha Libre (FULL) under a mask as Mongolian Yuga. More attention followed when he began wrestling for Japan’s Michinoku Pro Wrestling for the Great Sasuke between 1993-1994. While there Shinzaki adopted a Buddhist pilgrim gimmick. After working some WWF cards in Japan earlier in 1994, the 1-2-3 Kid convinced him to give the promotion a try. There were reports that the WWF initially made an offer to Hayabusa but when he rejected it, they signed Shinzaki.

Boxer Vinny Pazienza joins McMahon and Pettengill in the booth to hype his upcoming bout with Roberto Duran on January 14. That takes away from some of the debut as Pazienza talks trash about Duran. Hakushi has a manager in white face paint named Shinja, which is former Orient Express member Akio Sato. The name means “white paper” in Japanese and Hakushi still has his Buddhist pilgrim look from Michinoku Pro. What the audience immediately notices as he disrobes is that he has Japanese script on his arms, chest, and back. Pettengill cracks jokes about that, saying that it is Hakushi’s “grocery list.” Hakushi’s babyface or heel alignment is not established but the crowd cheers him when he floats over Scott on a blind charge, does a backward flip, and superkicks Scott. After a thrust kick knocks Scott out of the ring, Hakushi follows up with a pescado that gets a lot of hang time. Scott is unable to get up after that and Hakushi wins a count out victory. Again, he gets some cheers but a few fans try do a “USA!” chant.

Pazienza closes the show by saying that Duran is going to come into their fight looking like Doink the Clown but will leave looking like Dink.

The Last Word: This was a good final episode of The Action Zone for 1994. The Lowell Memorial Auditorium always has a unique ambience about it that translates well to television. Hakushi immediately stood out because he was doing things that no one other than the 1-2-3 Kid could do on the roster, foreshadowing an evolution in U.S. professional wrestling. Unfortunately, the WWF thought that someone with cool moves should be a heel.

Wrestling Challenge had three exclusive matches, with Gorilla Monsoon and Ted DiBiase on commentary:

Mabel (w/Oscar) (20-3) pins Mike Bell after a sidewalk slam at 1:36:

Mabel is already flirting with going back to singles competition after Mo cost the team a shot at the WWF Tag Team Championship. Monsoon expresses his dismay that Men on a Mission did not make it out of the first round of the tournament. The squash is just a vehicle to put over Mabel’s size as there is a discussion of his Royal Rumble odds. DiBiase does not think Mabel can go toe-to-toe with King Kong Bundy.

The Heavenly Bodies (w/Jim Cornette) (20-2) defeat Roy Raymond & J.S. Storm when Tom Prichard pins Storm after a sidewalk slam-flying knee drop off the second rope combination at 3:02:

Since this match aired in some markets before The Action Zone there is discussion of the Bodies rematch with the 1-2-3 Kid and Aldo Montoya. Neither enhancement talent has any luck against the Bodies, who are put over strong for the Tag Team Championship Tournament.

Aldo Montoya (5-0) pins Chris Kanyon after the reverse flying bulldog off the second rope at 2:35:

DiBiase remains bitter over Montoya rejecting his offer. Since this is a running issue it seems like Montoya might be headed for a match with someone in the Million Dollar Corporation. Hakushi’s debut aired before this squash so DiBiase argues that Hakushi did a better pescado than Montoya, cluing more of the audience in that Hakush is supposed to be a heel. Kanyon does a nice vertical suplex for a near-fall. He does not try a moonsault this time but still loses when Montoya dazes him after a clothesline off the ropes and missile dropkick.

Backstage News*: In a concession to talent, the WWF is allowing them to keep their frequent flier miles instead of redirecting them back to the company. This has boosted morale and people believe it is a sign that the WWF’s financial fortunes are starting to improve after a rough couple of years.

-Advance mail order tickets are now available for WrestleMania XI. The first several rows are going for $250, which includes a commemorative chair. The cheapest tickets are going for $20.

-The recent Monday Night RAW slid below a 3.0 again, posting a 2.7 rating.

-Gerald Brisco has been named as the head of the WWF’s road agents.

-The WWF threatened legal action toward WCW should it work with Jacques Rougeau to promote shows in Montreal. The WWF’s notice told WCW that Rougeau is under contract with them.

-In talent relations news, the WWF has engaged in discussions with Ron & Don Harris. It plans to start Tammy Fytch as an announcer who will grow more obnoxious and transition into a heel manager position. Fytch’s hiring, along with Stephanie Wiand, is the WWF looking to become younger in announcer positions to fit its “New Generation” branding. The WWF fired Anita Scales and Margaret Sharkey, who worked in the front office but testified against Vince McMahon and the company at his federal steroid trial. WWF talent have been told that anyone caught talking to anyone in WCW’s front office will be fired. This is in reaction to Randy Savage leaving.

*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for December 26.

Up Next: Monday Night RAW for December 19!

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