What the World Was Watching: WWF Superstars – 02.17.96

WWF Mania had its last feature match, which was taped in Stockton, California on January 22. Unfortunately, footage of the match has become lost media due to a lack of recording at the time and a lack of release by the modern WWE. But here is the result of that match, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:

Tatanka (w/Ted DiBiase) (1-1) beat Marty Jannetty (1-1)

Things are getting worse for Jannetty since he lost to a guy who is reportedly on his way out of the company.

WWF Superstars later in the day had the usual trio of Vince McMahon, Mr. Perfect, and Jim Ross calling the action. This was the fourth and final episode of Superstars that was taped in San Jose, California.

Sunny is on the beach in a bikini, letting viewers know that discretion is advised.

Opening Handicap Contest: Yokozuna beats Jay Storm & Billy Mack after pinning both after a Banzai Drop at 1:38:

The names of Yokozuna’s opponents are not announced but this is who arena reports said that they were. However, Storm may not be accurate as it does not look like the same J.S. Storm who was featured in previous WWF squash matches. Mack appeared in two WWF enhancement matches in 1995, losing to the Allied Powers and Kama.

McMahon announces that Vader has been reinstated as the enhancement talents jump Yokozuna before the bell to no effect. Jim Cornette does an insert promo, arguing that Yokozuna blew the best thing in his career by dispensing of his services. Yokozuna’s former manager says that the Bulldog will kill the legend at In Your House. Yokozuna slams both of the enhancement talents on top of each other and beats them in less than two minutes with a Banzai Drop. After the match, there is talk of Cornette bringing Vader to In Your House.

Dok Hendrix’s Slam Jam features a promo from Diesel about In Your House 6. The former WWF champion says that Bret took a pounding at Survivor Series and has never been the same. Unfortunately, Diesel reverts to not talking like a real person, going back to a static form of delivery about whether Bret wants to pay the price to beat him.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley (2-1) pins Barry Horowitz (0-1) after the Pedigree at 2:39:

Tylen John accompanies Helmsley to the ring again, not turned off by him abandoning her at ringside in his last Superstars appearance. Horowitz is dominated throughout but has a spirited rally from some good forearms. The crowd thinks he is on the verge of winning with a Northern Lights suplex but Helmsley kicks out at two and catches Horowitz with the Pedigree after Horowitz puts his head down too early on an Irish whip.

WWF Champion Bret Hart talks about being excited to be in India for the first time. Footage shows fans lining up for autographs and different images of the country. Ross puts over that over 90,000 people turned out across multiple shows. Bret meets young people who scream “We want Bret Hart!” Razor Ramon tells fans that the WWF “loved visiting their beautiful country.” According to Bret’s autobiography, this tour was not loved by the talent because many of them developed gastrointestinal problems from drinking the water. The culture clash was also stark as the talent saw lots of abject poverty and lack of infrastructure. McMahon talks about the WWF touring Germany for two weeks in April, aiming to show the global reach of the WWF and subtly note that it is not a minor league promotion in its war with WCW.

Call 1-900-737-4WWF during In Your House 6 for special updates and interviews!

The Godwinns (w/Hillbilly Jim) (2-0) beat the Brooklyn Brawler & Joe Gomez when Henry pins Gomez after the Slop Drop at 2:08:

The Brawler was a staple of WWF television, ranked as one of its more noticeable enhancement talents and one that would get more offense than whomever the WWF plucked from the area it was visiting. Steve Lombardi, who had the gimmick, had been with the WWF since 1983. He had not won a televised match since 1992 and that winless streak continued into 1995 as he appeared in – and lost – 22 matches. All of those losses were to babyface singles and tag team competitors.

Despite the same name, this is not the same Joe Gomez that popped up in WCW from 1996-1999. This Gomez was a West Coast independent wrestler by the name of Nito Gomez, who did some WWF enhancement matches in 1988 and 1990.

In the split screen, Jim talks about smelling sweet success for his country boys. He frames the Godwinns as hillbillies, recasting the Godwinns from Appalachia instead of as Arkansas hog farmers. Ross discusses how Roddy Piper is organizing a tournament for the WWF Tag Team Championship. The Godwinns make short work of another team as the Brawler and Gomez manage no offense. Based on their recent run, the Godwinns should be a favorite in the title tournament.

Ross talks about how the WWF’s board of directors decided to reinstate Vader because WWF President Gorilla Monsoon put his hands on Vader first. It is announced that Vader will make an appearance on the Free for All to discuss the situation.

McMahon does an in-ring interview with WWF Champion Bret Hart. Bret critiques how Diesel dragged the WWF title when it was in his possession, which he interpreted as a sign of disrespect. While he acknowledges that some fans like Diesel, he does not respect him and insists that Diesel will come up short at In Your House 6. Bret repeats the Undertaker’s words that it will be a cold day in hell before Diesel wins the WWF Championship again. There were some good lines in this promo but it just went too long since McMahon wanted to recap Bret’s entire title run since Survivor Series.

Call 1-800-TITAN91 to get a sweatshirt of the Undertaker, Diesel, Shawn Michaels, and/or Bret Hart. They are $19.95 for youth and $29.95 for adults (plus shipping & handling)!

An announcement changes the planned Monday Night RAW main event as now Intercontinental Champion Goldust is defending against Razor Ramon instead of facing the Undertaker.

Justin Bradshaw (w/Zebekiah) (2-0) pins Tim Patterson after the lariat at 3:00:

There is an entertaining split screen promo where Zebekiah tries to put the locker room on notice but Bradshaw shoves him aside and lets the roster know that they are going to have to deal with his 300-pound frame. Bradshaw devastates Patterson with a boot to the face and a side Russian leg sweep sets up a punishing lariat. This was a good squash for Bradshaw, albeit not as fun as the one on The Action Zone because Patterson was a taller and more filled out talent.

Mankind says that the day he lost his ear was the greatest day of his life because he realized pain was his friend. Now he wants to share his friend with others.

Dok Hendrix’s Slam Jam reminds fans that In Your House 6 is tomorrow night. Owen Hart and Jim Cornette remind Shawn Michaels that Owen came close to ending his career and he is going to finish the job in Louisville, Kentucky. Hendrix worries that Vader may help Owen win. Michaels does a rebuttal promo about how his fans – dubbed the Kliq – are behind him and that his road to WrestleMania goes through Owen.

Ahmed Johnson (3-0) defeats the 1-2-3 Kid (w/Ted DiBiase) (2-0) via disqualification when Jeff Jarrett interferes at 3:50 shown:

This match is related to Ahmed saving Razor Ramon from the Kid two weeks ago at the end of Ramon’s match with Jarrett. It presents Ahmed with a great chance to make his power look like a million bucks, which he takes advantage of early by easily tossing the Kid over the top rope and then across the ring. None of the Kid’s responding strikes are sold by Ahmed. After Ahmed does a spinebuster Jarrett runs out with a guitar. He gets on the top rope to try to replay the guitar shot he gave Ahmed at The Royal Rumble but Ahmed catches him this time. Jarrett slides out of the ring when Ahmed whips him into the ropes and the Kid knocks Ahmed to the floor. Despite Jarrett putting the boots to Ahmed referee Jimmy Korderas does not call for the bell. Ramon runs out to even the odds, chasing Jarrett into the ring and setting up the Razor’s Edge. Before he can do the move, the Kid picks up Jarrett’s guitar and hits Ramon, which finally draws a disqualification in Ahmed’s favor. The slow disqualification aside, this was a fun small man vs. big man match while it lasted. The Kid flying everywhere against a bigger competitor was always great fun. This match would mark the last WWF appearance for Jarrett for more than a year. He would injure his back on the day of this show wrestling Ahmed in Memphis, Tennessee and when his WWF contract expired, he would sign with WCW. Rating: *

Call 1-900-737-SLAM to vote for this year’s Slammy Awards! The call costs 99 cents a minute. This week’s announced categories are for the “Blue Light Special” (worst fashion award) and the nominees are Jim Cornette, Harvey Wippleman, Henry Godwinn, Brother Love, and Dok Hendrix. Another is Best Buns. Goldust, Sunny, Yokozuna, Shawn Michaels, and Razor Ramon are nominated in this category.

The brackets for the WWF Tag Team Championship Tournament are announced. The tournament final will happen on the Free for All before WrestleMania XII:

The Bodydonnas vs. the Bushwhackers
Razor Ramon & Savio Vega vs. Tatanka & the 1-2-3 Kid
The Godwinns vs. Marty Jannetty & a mystery partner
Owen Hart & the British Bulldog vs. Hakushi & Barry Horowitz

The announce crew remind fans about the card for In Your House 6. A quick video package hypes the matchups on the card.

Tune in next week to see Shawn Michaels face Shinobi! Also, the WWF Tag Team Championship Tournament gets started!

The Last Word: The Smoking Gunns injury comes at a bad time for the tag team division, which is at an all-time low point. The tournament bracket reveals a lot of makeshift teams but the bright side is that it will provide lots of easy feature match content for WWF programming throughout February. Today’s show was doing its best to remind fans about In Your House 6 and moved along well enough. The video package at the end was well produced, which was something the WWF could always lean on in its war with WCW.

Since the WWF was running a pay-per-view in USWA territory, they did a joint show with the USWA in the Mid-South Coliseum the day before In Your House. Here were the results of that card, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:

Memphis, Tennessee – The Mid-South Coliseum – February 17, 1996 (7,500): Steve Austin pinned Savio Vega with a roll up at 11:24…Brian Christopher defeated Tatanka with a small package at 9:23…Yokozuna pinned the British Bulldog after the Banzai Drop at 6:26…Duke Droese (substituting for Razor Ramon) pinned the 1-2-3 Kid after the Trash Compactor at 4:14…Tommy Rich & Doug Gilbert beat the Bodydonnas and the Godwinns in an elimination match after Rich pinned Skip at 12:15. The Godwinns were the first team eliminated when Skip pinned Phineas at 2:13…Ahmed Johnson defeated USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett via count out at 3:30 when Jarrett was unable to continue after diving onto Ahmed on the floor from the apron. Jarrett was taken out on a stretcher…Shawn Michaels pinned Owen Hart after Sweet Chin Music at 11:30…Intercontinental Champion Goldust beat Yokozuna (substituting for the Undertaker) via disqualification at 1:30 when Yokozuna shoved the referee. Prior to the match, Paul Bearer told fans that the Undertaker could not make it due to the weather…WWF Champion Bret Hart defeated Jerry Lawler in a cage match by escaping the cage at 9:39.

Up Next: In Your House 6!

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!