What the World Was Watching: WWF Superstars – 03.16.96

The show’s opening theme has been tweaked to include Yokozuna, the Ultimate Warrior, the Godwinns, and the Bodydonnas.

Vince McMahon, Mr. Perfect, and Jim Ross are once again in the booth for the show, this time taping its episodes in Corpus Christi, Texas. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping happened on March 10 and drew a sellout crowd of 3,702.

Opening WWF Tag Team Championship Tournament First Round Contest: The Bodydonnas (w/Sunny) (2-2) defeat the Bushwhackers when Skip pins Butch after a flying headbutt to the back at 3:55:

The Bushwhackers had been with the WWF since 1989, although they had not been a relevant team since 1993. The team was plugged into shows when the WWF was in a bind, like this tournament, or to fill out house show or television tapings. At this stage of their career Luke and Butch were more goodwill ambassadors that the WWF sent to charity events or abroad. In 1995 they only had four televised matches, which were all squashes, and three of those happened on The Action Zone, the company’s C-show. This was their first television match in close to ten months.

The Bushwhackers have boomerangs but do not hand them to fans or toss them into the crowd. Ross announces that Razor Ramon has been suspended so that leads to speculation about what Savio Vega is going to do in the semi-finals. The Bodydonnas have to wrestle at half speed and the Bushwhackers do not take many bumps. Some Zip elbow drops miss, allowing Butch to receive a weak hot tag. The Bushwhackers hit Zip with the Battering Ram but the referee is preoccupied with getting Luke out of the ring. That allows Skip to fly off the top rope with a headbutt to Butch, who is covering Zip, and advance the Bodydonnas to the semi-finals to face Savio and whomever his partner might be, if anyone at all. Poor match but at least it kept moving. The Bushwhackers just had nothing left in the tank. Rating: *

The updated tournament bracket has a “Suspended” circle over Razor Ramon’s name.

Call 1-900-737-4WWF to play the WWF trivia game on Option 1! It will cost you $1.49 per minute!

Duke Droese (4-1) pins Bill Irwin after a side suplex at 3:29:

Irwin was a longtime veteran of the squared circle, wrestling since 1977 after receiving training from his brother Scott Irwin. His first territory was Central States, where he became a Tag Team champion, and he went on to team with his brother to wrestle in Mid-South, Jim Crockett Promotions, and the AWA. He adopted the name “Wild Bill Irwin” in World Class in 1982, winning several singles and tag team titles. In the 1990s he was positioned as an enhancement talent for WCW, working some dates as the infamous Black Scorpion at house shows in 1990, and making a pay-per-view appearance at SuperBrawl III in 1993, losing to the British Bulldog in the Bulldog’s debut. Irwin also wrestled for Global between 1991-1994, teaming with Black Bart and having many matches with the Fabulous Freebirds. His last WWF appearance was in 1993, losing a televised match to Tito Santana on WWF Mania.

Irwin, who wrestles in his “Wild Bill” cowboy gimmick, goes 50/50 with Droese but a lot of his moves are not crisp, appearing to belly flop on a flying headbutt and laying in a weak looking running knee in the corner. Irwin takes a wild bump over the top rope after being whipped into the corner and then Droese hits him over the head with a trash can. McMahon says Droese is sending a message to Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Droese goes for the Trash Compactor but he struggles to get Irwin up and does a side suplex instead. If this was a tryout for Irwin, he did not impress. Rating: ½*

Ted DiBiase gives a pep talk to Steve Austin, yelling that he needs to punish his next opponent.

Mankind talks about playing beautiful music on the piano and how he smashed his fingers with a hammer so he would never play again. The newcomer yells that screams of mercy are music to his ears now as he wants to put together a symphony of instruction. Piano banging is placed over the promo, ruining some of its dark effect.

Steve Austin (w/Ted DiBiase) (5-0-1) beats Aldo Montoya (0-2) via submission to the Million Dollar Dream at 3:04:

Speaking of dark promos, Austin does a split screen bit about how he is seeking to cut off the flow of blood to another man’s brain with the Million Dollar Dream. There is some basic wrestling before Montoya puts his head down too early on an Irish whip and Austin turns that into a gourdbuster. After that, the Million Dollar Dream puts Montoya on dream street. This was not worth rating as Montoya got very little offense, showing he was not in Austin’s league.

Austin refuses to break the Million Dollar Dream after the bell. Savio Vega rushes to the ring and Austin releases the hold, doing a staredown with Savio before the camera cuts away.

Call 1-900-737-SLAM to vote for the Slammys! This week’s categories are “WWF’s Greatest Hit” with Jeff Jarrett smashing Ahmed Johnson over the head with a guitar at The Royal Rumble, Diesel throwing Bret Hart through a table at Survivor Series, Yokozuna doing a Banzai Drop to two opponents in a recent handicap match, Hunter Hearst Helmsley having an enhancement opponent take a Duke Droese trash can blow to the head, and the Undertaking pulling Diesel under the ring at In Your House 6 up for the honor. “The Crime of the Century” award nominates the 1-2-3 Kid turning on Razor Ramon, Sid turning on Shawn Michaels, Vader attacking Gorilla Monsoon, Diesel being a sore loser after Survivor Series, and Owen Hart taking credit for knocking Shawn Michaels out of action with an enzuigiri.

McMahon interviews Yokozuna, Ahmed Johnson, and Jake Roberts at a recent house show. Roberts notes that Yokozuna cannot wrestle Vader one-on-one because he is fighting all of Camp Cornette so he issues a challenge for a six-man tag team match at WrestleMania XII. Ahmed tells the British Bulldog that he is in America and Yokozuna notes that he brought all the gold to Jim Cornette’s stable. The former WWF champion yells about how WrestleMania is going to be “Banzai time.” Roberts did a good job justifying the six-man challenge but to many fans it seemed an unnecessary pivot.

Call 1-800-TITAN91 to get a WrestleMania XII hat that also has a limited edition label on the back, along with a pin. You also get the first issue of RAW Magazine. This will all cost $25.00 (plus shipping & handling).

Isaac Yankem (2-3) pins Al Walker after the DDS at 2:05:

Walker was a Texas independent wrestler who won multiple heavyweight titles in the state during the 1990s. He is the father of prominent Houston rapper Sauce Walka.

Bob Backlund campaigns in the crowd as the announce team hypes the WrestleMania XII main event. Walker’s gear looks like a poor man’s Harlem Heat, wearing gold tights with white lighting bolts down the sides and inside the thighs. Walker manages a body press off the ropes for a one count but after that Yankem runs thorough him quickly.

Dok Hendrix’s Slam Jam features a promo from the Undertaker and Paul Bearer. The Undertaker warns Diesel that he is entering a world where he will never return. The Dead Man is angry that Paul Bearer was attacked on Monday Night RAW. It is also announced that Roddy Piper will face Intercontinental Champion Goldust in a Hollywood backlot brawl match, explained as a street fight. What is not clarified is if Goldust’s title is on the line.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley (6-2) defeats Bob Holly (0-2) after the Pedigree at 4:30:

A woman who about as tall as Helmsley serves as his female valet of the day. Ross tells fans that she is a former University of Texas basketball player named Alicia Jigabowski. Helmsley does a pre-match split screen promo talking up his chances against the Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania. Holly blocks a Pedigree and slingshots Helmsley into the corner, leading to a comeback where he nails a dropkick for a near-fall. A hurricanrana is sloppy but still takes Helmsley down but then Helmsley pulls Holly toward him, knees him in the gut, and hits the Pedigree. The ending was rather abrupt but channeled nicely into the give-and-take flow of the match. Due to the fact that Holly fought back hard the audience can assume that he is above Aldo Montoya on the babyface hierarchy. Rating: **

The end of the Bushwhackers-Bodydonnas match earlier is the Karate Fighters Slam of the Week.

The Bodydonnas and Sunny think they have a bye to the finals because of what happened to Razor Ramon. However, Ross stops by their locker room to relay news from interim WWF President Roddy Piper that a blind draw will take place next week for Savio’s new partner, so there will be a semi-final match next week. As expected, Sunny is less than thrilled with the news and throws a fit.

Tune in next week to see the Bodydonnas face Savio Vega and a randomly drawn partner in the WWF Tag Team Championship Tournament semi-finals!

The Last Word: Having a blind draw for Savio Vega’s tag team partner was a great hook for next week’s episode. Outside of some new WrestleMania announcements there was not much to make this particular episode worth watching, though. There was a good amount of effort today but the WWF’s midcard is not over and that is death for a B-show like Superstars that is built around that talent.

The WWF did one last house show swing before WrestleMania XII. Here are the results of those shows, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:

Hartford, Connecticut – The Hartford Civic Center – March 15, 1996 (7,317): Bob Backlund beat the 1-2-3 Kid…Barry Horowitz defeated Isaac Yankem…Hunter Hearst Helmsley pinned Duke Droese…Bret Hart & the Undertaker defeated Diesel & Shawn Michaels when Bret pinned Diesel…Ahmed Johnson & Yokozuna defeated Owen Hart & the British Bulldog…Intercontinental Champion Goldust defeated Savio Vega…Justin Bradshaw pinned Aldo Montoya…Steve Austin beat Avatar via submission to the Million Dollar Dream…The Godwinns defeated the Bodydonnas.

Landover, Maryland – USAir Arena – March 16, 1996 (6,660): The Godwinns defeated the Bodydonnas when Henry pinned Zip after the Slop Drop…The 1-2-3 Kid pinned Barry Horowitz after a spinning heel kick…Ahmed Johnson beat Isaac Yankem after the Pearl River Plunge…Justin Bradshaw pinned Avatar after the lariat…Hunter Hearst Helmsley pinned Duke Droese…Yokozuna & Jake Roberts defeated Owen Hart & the British Bulldog…Intercontinental Champion Goldust beat Savio Vega…Shawn Michaels defeated Steve Austin…WWF Champion Bret Hart beat the Undertaker and Diesel in a triple threat elimination match. Bret wrestled the Undertaker first, pinning him after Diesel interfered. Diesel then wrestled Bret and Bret pinned him after the Undertaker interfered.

New York, New York – Madison Square Garden – March 17, 1996 (17,000; 14,824 paid; sellout): Aldo Montoya pinned Isaac Yankem with a small package…Justin Bradshaw pinned Avatar after the lariat…The Godwinns beat the Bodydonnas…Steve Austin defeated Barry Horowitz via submission to the Million Dollar Dream…Bret Hart & the Undertaker beat Diesel & Shawn Michaels via disqualification when Diesel hit the Undertaker with a chair when the Undertaker had Michaels hoisted up for the Tombstone. After the match, Diesel hit Bret with the chair and then did the same to Michaels…Hunter Hearst Helmsley pinned Duke Droese in a no disqualification match after a Pedigree on a trash can lid…Intercontinental Champion Goldust pinned Savio Vega after hitting him with the Intercontinental Championship Belt…Ahmed Johnson beat the 1-2-3 Kid after the Pearl River Plunge…Yokozuna & Jake Roberts (w/George Steele) beat Owen Hart & the British Bulldog when Yokozuna pinned Owen after a leg drop and Roberts DDT. During the match, Jim Cornette was handcuffed to Steele at ringside.

Backstage News*: The recent Madison Square Garden card was the WWF’s first sellout of the venue in a long, long time, even eclipsing a Hulk Hogan-Ric Flair match in 1991. The $299,596 gate set an all-time record, owed to higher ticket prices. The other house shows in Hartford and Landover, Maryland also set gate records. However, Landover fans said that the triple threat match, which did not see the participants fighting simultaneously, was a letdown.

-There are rumors that Bret Hart will be taking an extended leave of absence after the WWF tours Germany following WrestleMania XII.

-The Ultimate Warrior demanded that a professional bodybuilding photographer do his publicity photos.

-To get a Bob Backlund autograph, fans now have to recite all of the U.S. presidents in order. Only six people have been able to do it so far.

-In talent relations news, Marc Mero, who wrestles as Johnny B. Badd for WCW, quit the promotion on March 11 and signed a three-year deal with the WWF on March 14. Mero had been working the last few weeks without a contract and he is not leaving on good terms since he was booked to face Diamond Dallas Page at WCW’s Uncensored pay-per-view next weekend in an “I Quit” match. There were rumors that the Nasty Boys were interested in leaving for the WWF but were talked into staying with WCW. The WWF expressed some interest in Rey Misterio, Jr. too but that went nowhere. For its part, WCW has interest in signing the 1-2-3 Kid. Hulk Hogan has criticized the money used for Razor Ramon and Diesel, saying that it should have been spent on the Ultimate Warrior and Yokozuna.

*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for March 18 and 25.

Up Next: Monday Night RAW for March 18!

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