What the World Was Watching: WWF Superstars – April 6, 1996

Vince McMahon, Mr. Perfect, and Jim Ross commentate, starting a new taping in San Diego, California. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, 7,052 fans attended, with 5,557 paying for their tickets.

Footage of Ahmed Johnson winning New Sensation of the Squared Circle at the Slammy Awards airs.

Opening Contest: Ahmed Johnson (8-0) defeats Tim Patterson after the Pearl River Plunge at 2:00:

Ahmed fires up the crowd by kicking Patterson to death and diving onto him on the arena floor. During the beating, Ahmed calls out the British Bulldog and Vader. That leads to the announcers talking about Ahmed’s arm-wrestling bout against the Bulldog in two days on Monday Night RAW.

Hunter Hearst Helnsley (8-3) beats Fatu (0-3) after the Pedigree at 5:10:

Shae Marks is back in Helmsley’s corner for this match, reprising an appearance she made on Monday Night RAW months ago. Fatu is distracted by some well-dressed Samoans who start walking down the aisle. Those Samoans the Samoan Gangsta Party from ECW, composed of Fatu’s former tag team partner Samu and his first cousin Matthew Anoa’i. Their arrival distracts Fatu and also distracts fans from following the match, which features some good action. Fatu backdrops out of a Pedigree attempt and nearly defeats Helmsley with a powerslam. However, a blind charge sends him shoulder-first into the ring post and Helmsley wins with the Pedigree. The Samoans walk off in disgust afterward. Rating: **

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Jerry Lawler (1-0) pins Greg Davis after the piledriver at 4:41:

Lawler has a match with Shawn Michaels on the next RAW so this is used to build him up. Like his previous Superstars match against Al Jackson, Lawler wrestles with a microphone in his hand and calls the match. During a chinlock he makes a funny joke about taking Flintstone vitamins and that they have not made him stronger but he can now stop his car with his feet. Then, when he has a headscissors applied he pulls out a note and tells the audience that whomever has a 1974 Ford Pinto needs to move it in the parking lot. When Lawler looks to the entrance to tell the announcers that he hopes Michaels puts up more of a fight on RAW, Davis makes a comeback, dropkicking Lawler in the back, slamming him, clotheslining him, and backdropping him. Through it all, Lawler screams into the microphone. Davis tries a moonsault but Lawler moves and then decides enough is enough and wins with the piledriver. While funny, this went on too long and the crowd was not as into it as his match against Jackson.

Marc Mero’s aerial offense against Isaac Yankem on Monday Night RAW and Sable’s slapping of Hunter Hearst Helmsley is the Karate Fighters Slam of the Week.

Duke Droese (5-1) pins Raven Clark after the Trash Compactor at 2:39:

Clark did some WWF enhancement bouts in 1993 and returned to fulfill that same role in 1995. The previous year he wrestled in three televised matches, losing to Bob Backlund, the Heavenly Bodies, and King Kong Bundy.

McMahon announces that Droese will have a match with Hunter Hearst Helmsley on RAW. That would seemingly be the televised blowoff of their program. Droese toys with the smaller Clark, who manages to do an avalanche in the corner before Droese re-establishes control and runs through some power offense for a third-straight win since the loss to Helmsley at In Your House 6. After the match, Droese puts a trash can over Clark’s head and hits the top of it with a trash can lid.

Vader (w/Jim Cornette) (2-0) defeats Shawn Dakota after a powerbomb at 1:48:

Dakota was a Steve Gatorwolf trainee who began his career in Southwest independent promotions in 1989. He first started doing WWF enhancement matches in 1993. In 1995 he appeared three times, losing to Owen Hart, Hakushi, and the Blu Brothers. Dakota later went by the name the Navajo Warrior on the independent circuit.

The bout allows the announcers to talk about Vader’s fight with Yokozuna this Monday on RAW. There is a weird spot where Vader misses an avalanche and Dakota tees off, only to be stopped by referee Earl Hebner. Vader pokes his opponent in the eyes and folds him up with a powerbomb moments later for a dominating victory. Ross promises a “demolition derby” on RAW.

The announcers discuss Steve Austin’s victory over Savio Vega at WrestleMania. McMahon notes that Austin has refused to a give Savio rematch but will face Savio’s friend the Caribbean Kid next week.

Tune in next week to see Steve Austin battle the Caribbean Kid! Also, Marc Mero and Mankind make their Superstars debuts!

The Last Word: Fatu might be getting something to do in the midcard with the Samoan Gangsta Party showing up. That team did not do much in ECW, though, so it is unclear why the WWF would be interested in them. The rest of the show was dedicated to hyping Monday Night RAW or recapping WrestleMania. Overall, a passable effort that had nothing fans needed to seek out.

The WWF started doing its post-WrestleMania XII loop of Germany at the end of the week. Here were the results of one of the first shows there, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:

Dortmund, Germany – Westfalenhalle – April 7, 1996 (7,339): The Bushwhackers & the Godwinns defeated the Bodydonnas, the 1-2-3 Kid & Leif Cassidy…Savio Vega defeated Owen Hart via disqualification…Justin Bradshaw beat Duke Droese…Ahmed Johnson beat Isaac Yankem…The British Bulldog defeated Jake Roberts…Hunter Hearst Helmsley pinned Razor Ramon…The Undertaker beat Intercontinental Champion Goldust via disqualification…Bret Hart defeated Steve Austin via submission to the Sharpshooter…WWF Champion Shawn Michaels pinned Diesel after Sweet Chin Music.

Backstage News*: At the Monday Night RAW taping in San Bernardino there were several anti-Shawn Michaels posters from Bret Hart fans. WWF officials confiscated them. While Michaels still got a warm reception, the Undertaker and the Ultimate Warrior got louder pops.

-Bret’s column in The Calgary Sun, which is kayfabed, criticized Michaels as a role model for children and chastised the Warrior’s conditioning, arguing that the Warrior was more blown up for a two-minute match than Bret was after wrestling in a 62-minute iron man match.

-The Warrior’s participation in an American Online chatroom attracted so much traffic that it crashed the site. More than 1,500 people were in the chat.

-The Connecticut Post ran an article on March 31 that included criticisms of the Goldust character. Local Connecticut gay rights groups argue that the portrayal is horrendous and a therapist argued that it was bad for children.

-The WWF is heading to Kuwait in May and June, wrestling at a 30,000-seat outdoor venue. The expectation is that it will sell out each night. There will be a single elimination tournament for a Kuwaiti Cup during the tour. Domestic shows will run that same week. The planned headline bout for those shows is the Warrior vs. Vader.

-USA Network liked the 1.7 rating for the Slammy Awards because the late nighttime slot it was placed in usually draws ratings between 0.8 to 1.0.

*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for April 8 and 15.

Up Next: Monday Night RAW for April 8!

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