What the World Was Watching: WWF Superstars – 12.24.94

Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler are in the booth, taped from Poughkeepsie, New York. Lawler refuses to wear a Santa hat because he likes his crown.

Opening Contest: Lex Luger (34-4-1) beats Chris Avery via submission to the Rebel Rack at 1:45:

One of the issues with Luger’s fan flag bearer gimmick is that they give the kids too big of a flag to wave and it is too heavy for them. It seems like every time that Luger has a setback that he is given a squash on Superstars to reheat him. He does not want to go to the canvas with Avery when doing a powerslam off the ropes and finishes him in less than two minutes with the Rebel Rack.

WWF Tag Team Championship Tournament First Round: The Heavenly Bodies (w/Jim Cornette) (21-2) beat the Bushwhackers (16-3) when Tom Prichard pins Butch after Jimmy Del Ray trips Butch on a slam attempt at 3:36:

The WWF is not doing the matches in the order of the bracket. The Bodies jump the Bushwhackers to start and immediately place Luke in peril. It is the second poor tournament match in a row as the Bodies do not do anything interesting on offense. Luke rolls out of the way of Prichard strikes to give Butch a hot tag. That goes well as Butch shows some fire and clotheslines Del Ray over the top rope. However, when Butch tries to slam Prichard into the ring, Del Ray trips him from the arena floor and the Bodies advance. Rating: *

Cornette does not immediately flee to the locker room with his team. The Bushwhackers “chase” him to the locker room.

King Kong Bundy (w/Ted DiBiase) (12-0) pins Gary Scott after a knee drop at 1:32:

Angel Santana is the guest ring announcer, doing a good job. Bundy is starting to add a few wrinkles to his squash matches as he throws Scott shoulder-first into the ring post before clotheslining him and then doing an Avalanche and knee drop to remain undefeated.

Todd Pettengill does The Royal Rumble Report. It is announced that Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon will defend his title against Jeff Jarrett at the show. Ramon says that Jarrett having the Roadie does not scare him because he has been fighting against the odds his entire life. Another match added to the card is the Undertaker vs. Irwin R. Schyster. The Undertaker and Paul Bearer do their first promo addressing IRS, saying that they will be his worst nightmare. For the Royal Rumble match fans are told that it will be the quickest in history as participants will enter every minute as opposed to every 90 seconds or two minutes as was the case in the past. New participants in the Rumble include Men on a Mission, the British Bulldog, the 1-2-3 Kid, Bob Holly, and Shawn Michaels. Bret Hart resurfaces for the first time since Survivor Series, having stubble because of filming for Lonesome Dove. Standing in front of a Christmas tree, Bret says that he is not sure if he could have kicked out of Diesel’s Jackknife at King of the Ring. He says that he is coming back on January 9 and will be going after his brother, who he hopes has a rotten Christmas.

Jeff Jarrett (w/the Roadie) (39-7-1) beats Scott Taylor via submission to the figure-four leglock at 1:42:

The Roadie continues to build his gimmick, wiping some sweat off Jarrett shortly after the match begins. Jarrett continues a string of dominant squashes by crotching Taylor on the top rope, superplexing him, and submitting him for the second time this year with the figure-four leglock. After winning, Jarrett points to the video screen on his way to the locker room and says he has a gift like the figure-four for Ramon at The Royal Rumble.

McMahon interviews WWF Champion Diesel at Titan Towers. He tells Bob Backlund that he hopes Santa brings him a “Howdy Doody” bowtie. Referencing his match with Bret Hart at King of the Ring, he is unsure whether Bret would have kicked out of the Jackknife. He puts over Bret’s ability to take punishment and wonders aloud whether he can do the same because he has not been tested. Still, he promises to run over Bret in Tampa. When Diesel gets to talk like a normal person, he is fine. This was a much better way to build the match than the cartoonish promos he has been asked to cut in recent weeks. The WWF also spliced Diesel’s interview with footage of his King of the Ring match with Bret, giving this an ECW-like production quality. Of course, there is still some cringe at the end when Diesel stands up from his seat and holds his fist in the air as piped in “Diesel!” chants are heard.

Hakushi (w/Shinja) (1-0) beats Reno Riggins after a praying flying headbutt at 2:31:

Hakushi works quickly, knocking Riggins down and doing a corner slingshot splash for a near-fall. Like the Lowell crowd, Poughkeepsie fans are enthralled by Hakushi’s agility. Riggins does get up after a pescado but is mowed down with a flying shoulder block off the top rope. Hakushi’s finish today is a flying headbutt where he prays beforehand. Lawler gives Hakushi a nickname: “The White Angel.” In response to the squash, some fans give Hakushi a standing ovation.

A vignette puts over a new superstar named Kama who is tougher than Mike Tyson, more menacing than Steven Seagal, and faster than Jean Claude Van Damme. He is billed as “The Supreme Fighting Machine.” This is an MMA-like gimmick for Charles Wright, who is coming back to the WWF after a run as Papa Shango from 1992-1993.

Doink the Clown (w/Dink) (34-4) pins Sonny Pruitt after the Whoopie Cushion after a flying sunset flip at 1:49:

Dink continues to get involved in Doink’s squashes of late, running over Pruitt when Doink twists the enhancement talent in a hold and then biting Pruitt’s rear end. Pruitt does some arm work when Doink misses a blind charge but Doink comes back with an elbow and slam to set up a flying sunset flip finish. After the match, Doink and Dink give presents to the fans.

Shawn Michaels joins McMahon and Lawler in front of the video board. Michaels is mad that the Heartbreak Hotel was pre-empted today for Diesel’s interview. To start out the new year, Michaels says that the Undertaker will be his first guest.

McMahon gives Lawler a Burger King crown as a gift. Lawler is mad and rips it up in response.

WWF Champion Diesel leads the employees of Titan Towers in singing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” Many do not look happy to be participating.

Tune in next week to see the New Headshrinkers face Owen Hart & Jim Neidhart in the first round of the WWF Tag Team Championship Tournament!

The Last Word: The Heavenly Bodies got what they could out of the Bushwhackers in the feature match and it was smart to keep it short. The Diesel-Bret Hart match is getting a realistic, sports-like build for The Royal Rumble, which is the right way to go. However, while it makes sense that Bret would be entitled to a rematch, it is questionable whether matching Diesel up with arguably the company’s number one babyface in the eyes of the fans is the best way to get him over.

Up Next: Wrestling Challenge for December 25!

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!