What the World Was Watching: WWF Superstars – 05.04.96

Vince McMahon, Mr. Perfect, and Jim Ross are back to calling action in the ring, kicking off a new taping cycle in Des Moines, Iowa. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping took place on April 30 and drew 7,000 fans, of which 5,373 paid for tickets. The Superstars song is going to need to be fixed soon since a reference to Diesel leads it off.

Ross interviews the New Rockers in the aisle. Leif Cassidy talks about feeling the love and Marty Jannetty says it is only a matter of time before the team becomes Tag Team champions. To mock the Godwinns, the Rockers pull stuffed pink pigs to the ring on string. Phineas likes the gimmick until the New Rockers hilariously field goal kick one into the crowd.

Opening Contest for a Future WWF Tag Team Title Shot: The New Rockers (0-1-1) defeat the Godwinns (w/Hillbilly Jim) (8-2-1) when Leif Cassidy pins Phineas after a flying sunset flip at 5:48 shown:

The first minute features more intense action from Monday Night RAW as Henry gorilla press slams Cassidy and Phineas throws Cassidy into the air off the ropes. WWF Tag Team Champions the Bodydonnas and Sunny are shown watching the match backstage, ripping on each team. When Sunny is asked about her feelings for Phineas, she says she will do whatever it takes to keep the Tag Team titles. After a commercial break, the champions and their manager walk down the aisle and Sunny gets more chants. Sunny speaks for many fans in saying that neither team deserves a title shot. While the Godwinns started the match well, the New Rockers offense is not interesting. After Phineas makes the hot tag, Skip trips Henry when he runs the ropes but Jannetty misses a flying fist drop. As Henry is distracted by Skip, Phineas positions Jannetty for a piledriver. That makes him vulnerable to a Cassidy flying sunset flip and that move is enough to get the New Rockers the title shot, which McMahon says is coming in several weeks on Superstars. The ending started to get too convoluted and the New Rockers tandem has no chemistry, owed to Cassidy and Jannetty not getting along behind the scenes. Rating: *½

Dok Hendrix’s Slam Jam clarifies that the next In Your House will be billed as “Beware of Dog” and will take place on Sunday, May 26. Intercontinental Champion Goldust quotes Tombstone about how he is coming for the Undertaker and is not afraid of the dark because he does some of his best work there.

Mankind (4-0) defeats Scott Taylor via submission to the Mandible Claw at 2:11:

Taylor tries to use his quickness to get around Mankind but he just gets hung in a Tree of Woe. Bob Holly pops up in the split screen, likening the Mandible Claw to running into a wall at Talladega Speedway. Holly says Fatu will need some luck to avoid the Mandible Claw next week. Mankind does nothing too devastating to Taylor but he catches the enhancement talent running off the ropes with his finishing hold and Taylor submits.

Footage of Ross catching up with Steve Austin and Ted DiBiase earlier in the day airs. DiBiase fires his chauffeur in the segment because he momentarily puts the limo in reverse, giving DiBiase an idea for accepting the Caribbean strap match on Austin’s behalf. If Savio loses the match he has to be DiBiase’s chauffer.

Non-Title Match: The Bushwhackers (w/Kangaroo) (2-1) beat the Bodydonnas (WWF Tag Team Champions w/Sunny) (8-2) when Butch pins Skip after Phineas Godwinn interferes at 4:15 shown:

This is a rematch of the first round of the WWF Tag Team Championship Tournament in March when the Bodydonnas barely got by the Bushwhackers. The bout is joined in progress to the Bushwhackers briefly punishing Skip until they maneuver Luke into their corner to place him in peril. Surprisingly, Sunny makes no advances toward the Kangaroo. During the match, Ross leaves the announce booth to catch up to Harvey Wippleman, who has a clipboard. Wippleman talks about being unhappy with the official’s performance and that he is going to assemble a report on officiating for WWF President Gorilla Monsoon. The Godwinns soon come down the aisle in time to see Skip’s splash fail and Butch receive a hot tag. The crowd does not pop for that and when Butch runs the ropes Sunny does not even trip him, just slapping his rear end. That still distracts Butch, who gets kneed in the back by Zip. The Godwinns do not stand for that, with Henry threatening to slop Sunny. The Bodydonnas prepare a Rocket Launcher on Butch but Phineas gets on the apron, hits Skip in the launch position with his bucket and then puts the slop bucket on Zip’s head. Even though the referee sees Phineas laying in some blows on Zip, he disregards it and Butch pins Skip for the Bushwhackers to earn an upset win. The fans lose their minds at first, probably because they think that the Bushwhackers have won the titles. With how bad the tag team division is right now, the Bushwhackers winning the belts would not be that far-fetched. Rating: *¼

The Godwinns hug each other for causing the Bodydonnas to lose. Sunny does not know what to do with herself and is disgusted by the slop around ringside.

The Ultimate Warrior – in sunglasses but no face paint – hypes Warrior University, his wrestling school. It charged $5,000 for tuition and had WWF branding, a cross promotional effort that was required as part of the Warrior’s contract. If fans want information they can write to a P.O. Box in Scottsdale, Arizona but they have to include a check for $9.95, which is credited toward the cost of a seminar that the Warrior will hold on the “campus” of his university.

Owen Hart (w/Jim Cornette) (5-2) beats Duke Droese (6-2) via submission to the Sharpshooter at 4:04:

Owen proudly carries his Slammy Award to the ring for “Crime of the Century.” Droese grabs it after Owen bails following a body slam and throws it in his trash can for a pop. Owen takes offense and races in to do a beatdown. Cornette retrieves the Slammy and polishes it, adding to the laughs as Owen yells at Droese “That was MY Slammy!” The match has a nice finish as Droese talks with a referee during his comeback and Owen quickly removes the turnbuckle pad, sagging against the buckle to disguise it. Droese charges in with a high knee but Owen moves, causing Droese’s knee to hit the steel and that makes Droese easy pickings for the Sharpshooter. The match was a good way to add a new nuance to Owen’s character. Droese is a vocational gimmick whose shelf life has nearly expired and he is sinking after the Hunter Hearst Helmsley feud did not go his way. Rating: *½

When the bell rings, Owen refuses to break the hold and Cornette taunts Droese with Owen’s Slammy. Bob Holly races in to break it up and goes toe-to-toe with Owen. The British Bulldog comes in for support and soon there is a four-way battle that includes Droese. WWF officials separate the combatants and Ross interviews Cornette, who talks about how he is happy to sign for a tag team match between Owen and the Bulldog and Droese and Holly.

On the Slam Jam there is a promo from Savio Vega, who accepts Ted DiBiase’s chauffer condition for the Caribbean strap match against Steve Austin at In Your House.

Ross interviews Duke Droese and Bob Holly in the locker room and they accept Cornette’s challenge.

Tune in next week to see Fatu battle Mankind! Also, Duke Droese & Bob Holly team up to face Owen Hart & the British Bulldog!

The Last Word: There were more feature matches and more storytelling on this episode of WWF Superstars so that was a welcome change. Even though Duke Droese and Bob Holly have their work cut out for them next week it is good to see small angles use guys like this because it gives them an opportunity to do a promo and gives fans more of a chance to invest in them.

Backstage News*: All five of the WWF’s upcoming shows in Kuwait have sold more than 20,000 tickets, so it is shaping up as the biggest tour for the WWF in years. House show business generally is doubling last year’s numbers.

-The Ultimate Warrior-Goldust match ran long at In Your House, requiring the Bodydonnas-Godwinns match to be cut from eighteen minutes to seven. The tag match also suffered because the WWF opted to extend the Razor Ramon-Vader match because they thought it was the best bet to make up for the Warrior-Goldust disaster.

-The WWF planned to have Ramon lose to Mankind and the British Bulldog at recent television tapings but Ramon had a doctor’s note for a groin injury and got out of doing them. Diesel will not have any more televised jobs because the WWF does not want to hurt the draw of its next Madison Square Garden show where he is main eventing against Shawn Michaels.

-Not only will the WWF be promoting the Ultimate Warrior’s wrestling school and using his gym in Scottsdale as a training center, but they will also be promoting his comic book.

-Vader was unhappy jobbing to WWF Champion Shawn Michaels in four minutes in a dark match at the recent Monday Night RAW taping.

-The 1-2-3 Kid was sent home from this week’s Superstars taping after he showed up in poor condition. There are concerns that the Kid has suffered too many concussions. It is expected that the Kid will be out of action for a while and it is not clear when he will return.

-Former WWF wrestler and road agent Ray Stevens passed away from a heart attack in his sleep in Fremont, California on May 3. He was best known for his success as a tag team partner with Pat Patterson on the West Coast.

-In talent relations news, the WWF gave a tryout to Carl the Lumberjack (Carl LeDuc) at its Superstars taping. LeDuc is the son of Canadian wrestler Paul LeDuc and the nephew of Jos LeDuc. The WWF has signed Dwayne Johnson and Bull Buchanan to developmental contracts. Both men will be sent to the USWA in Memphis to gain experience and be paid $300 a week by the WWF in addition to whatever they make there. Jim Neidhart has also been signed for a few appearances.

*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for May 6 and 13.

Up Next: Monday Night RAW for May 6!

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