What the World Was Watching: WWF Superstars – 05.11.96

Vince McMahon, Mr. Perfect, and Jim Ross are commentating, taped from Des Moines, Iowa.

Opening Contest: The Smoking Gunns (4-0) defeat Tekno Team 2000 (0-1) when Billy pins Troy after a back suplex-neckbreaker combination at 4:27:

This is the Gunns first match since The Royal Rumble as Billy is back from neck surgery. WWF Tag Team Champions the Bodydonnas sans Sunny are commentating, scouting their competition. The Teknos have some creative double teams, doing a double pump kick to Bart off the ropes and then doing an assisted avalanche spot. Neither team works heel and Travis soon finds himself in peril as well after a Bart stun gun. When Troy gets a hot tag a four-way brawl breaks out. Billy backdrops Travis out of the ring and the Gunns quickly finish Troy with a back suplex-neckbreaker combination. The match was not bad but the crowd had no reason to get into it. Rating: **

After the win, the Gunns look at the Bodydonnas on commentary and signal that they want their titles back.

Dok Hendrix’s Slam Jam features In Your House 8: Beware of Dog hype. Vader and Jim Cornette promise pain for Yokozuna. Savio Vega talks about how he would rather be dead than become Ted DiBiase’s chauffeur.

Steve Austin (w/Ted DiBiase) (10-1-1) defeats Matt Hardy via submission to the Million Dollar Dream at 4:13:

This marks the second time that Austin has wrestled Hardy this year, beating him in his debut on January 15. Austin has gotten rid of a big black elbow pad that he was wearing and now wears shorter black boots, completing the transformation to the look that he would adopt in the WWF for the rest of his career. Also, Austin’s attack on Shawn Michaels at the end of Superstars a few weeks ago does not appear to be leading to anything, even a short angle on the company’s B-show. The best bit of the long squash is Austin putting Hardy in a Liontamer and twisting him around when the referee checks if Hardy wants to submit. Hardy manages no offense and Austin puts him away with a superplex and the Million Dollar Dream.

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Owen Hart & the British Bulldog (w/Jim Cornette & Diana Hart Smith) (2-2) defeat Duke Droese & Bob Holly when the Bulldog pins Holly after the running powerslam at 9:44:

It bears repeating that considering the terrible state of the tag team division the WWF would lose nothing by pairing up some of its lower midcarders. The heels dominate much of the contest by working over Droese, who does a good job selling the beating and incorporating a few fluke near-falls to keep the action flowing. A false tag bit gets a good amount of crowd heat when it looks like Droese might get to his corner after reversing a suplex from Owen. Droese is able to get off the Bulldog’s shoulders when he tries a running powerslam and then gets his foot up when the Bulldog dives off the second rope to finally tag Holly. Holly’s run is interrupted by a commercial break, notching close near-falls from a dropkick and hurricanrana to Owen. However, he runs into an Owen spinning heel kick and the Bulldog tags in to deliver the coup de grace with his finisher while Droese just stands idly by on the apron and watches his partner get beat. That creates a flat finish to an otherwise fun TV tag bout. Rating: **¼

Jake Roberts (3-1) pins Derrick Stone after the DDT at 2:38:

Roberts freaks Stone out by placing him in an armbar and pushing his face closer to the bag that contains Revelation. That would have been great for Roberts to incorporate into his heel character of 1991-1992. Roberts gets one of the biggest pops of the taping for doing the DDT and throwing Revelation onto Stone after the match.

The Undertaker and Paul Bearer do a taped promo that criticizes Intercontinental Champion Goldust for mocking death on Monday Night RAW. It includes the usual promises of how Goldust will soon rest in peace.

The last match is supposed to be Fatu against Mankind but it never happens because when Fatu argues with the Samoan Gangsta Party, who follow him to the ring, Mankind attacks Fatu in the aisle until WWF officials intervene. Like Bart Gunn last week, Fatu has the Mandible Claw applied to him multiple times. He does a great job selling it.

On the Slam Jam, Marc Mero and Sable proclaim that Hunter Hearst Helmsley must answer the call of the wild. Mero talks of having a penetrating gaze that will cut through Helmsley like he is Superman or something. Helmsley, with an attractive lady, rebuts that Mero has stolen his property and he will be executed via a Pedigree.

Ross interviews Mankind, who is cowering in the locker room. Mankind misquotes the U.S. Constitution giving him the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and he is angry that people are criticizing him for exercising those rights. The deranged superstar talks of feeling good when he hurt the Undertaker and that he wants to make his days last a long time. This continued a strong series of promos for Mankind as the WWF is opting for a slow burn for his Undertaker program. It still feels odd that the Undertaker has not responded.

Tune in next week to see WWF Tag Team Champions the Bodydonnas defend against the New Rockers! Also, Savio Vega faces Justin Bradshaw!

The Last Word: This was a good B-show, giving much more time to showcased talents than recapping Monday Night RAW. The Smoking Gunns return is welcome to the tag team division, which now has four full-time teams. That would be five if one counts Tekno Team 2000 but it seems they are just glorified enhancement fare now, reinforced by the commentators confusing or not saying their names.

The WWF began a long tour through Kuwait, during which time it also ran a separate “B” circuit of shows in the United States. Here were the results of some of those cards, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:

Kuwait City, Kuwait – Al Arabi Stadium – May 8, 1996 (20,000): Savio Vega pinned Duke Droese after blocking Droese’s Trash Compactor with a roll up at 12:01. Droese was a heel in the bout…Kuwait Cup First Round: Steve Austin beat Marty Jannetty via submission to the Million Dollar Dream at 13:18…Kuwait Cup First Round: Ahmed Johnson pinned Aldo Montoya after the Pearl River Plunge at 3:31. Montoya worked as a heel in the match…The Bushwhackers beat Bob Backlund & Isaac Yankem…Kuwait Cup First Round: Bret Hart defeated Leif Cassidy via submission to the Sharpshooter at 10:44…Kuwait Cup First Round: Owen Hart beat Yokozuna via count out at 5:31 when Yokozuna threw Owen into the ring when they were brawling on the floor…The Undertaker pinned Hunter Hearst Helmsley after the Tombstone…WWF Champion Shawn Michaels pinned the British Bulldog after Sweet Chin Music. The match was stopped shortly after it began when an object was thrown in the ring and hit referee Earl Hebner in the eye, knocking him down. He was bandaged up backstage and returned to the ring, restarting the contest.

Erie, Pennsylvania – Erie Civic Center – May 9, 1996 (2,403): Bob Holly defeated the Brooklyn Brawler (substituting for Bob Backlund)…The Smoking Gunns defeated the Samoan Gangsta Party…Justin Bradshaw beat Barry Horowitz…Jerry Lawler (substituting for Intercontinental Champion Goldust) beat Razor Ramon in a match where Mr. Perfect was the special guest referee…Marc Mero defeated Mankind via disqualification…WWF Tag Team Champions the Bodydonnas beat the Godwinns…The Ultimate Warrior pinned Vader.

Kuwait City, Kuwait – Al Arabi Stadium – May 9, 1996 (20,000): Aldo Montoya defeated Luke…Kuwait Cup First Round: Savio Vega pinned Bob Backlund after reversing a Backlund powerslam attempt into a small package at 4:30…Kuwait Cup First Round: Hunter Hearst-Helmsley pinned Butch after the Pedigree at 11:56…Yokozuna & Ahmed Johnson defeated the New Rockers when Yokozuna pinned Cassidy after the Banzai Drop at 12:46…Kuwait Cup First Round: The British Bulldog pinned Duke Droese after the running powerslam at 10:36…Kuwait Cup First Round: The Undertaker beat Isaac Yankem after the Tombstone at 11:19…Bret Hart beat Steve Austin via submission to the Sharpshooter at 16:37…WWF Champion Shawn Michaels pinned Owen Hart after Sweet Chin Music at 14:27.

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada – Copps Coliseum – May 10, 1996 (11,515): Justin Bradshaw defeated Barry Horowitz…Bob Holly pinned Sexton Hardcastle…The Smoking Gunns beat the Samoan Gangsta Party…Marc Mero pinned the Brooklyn Brawler…Jerry Lawler pinned Razor Ramon after using a foreign object. Mr. Perfect was the special guest referee…WWF Tag Team Champions the Bodydonnas defeated the Godwinns…Mankind beat Jake Roberts via submission to the Mandible Claw…The Ultimate Warrior pinned Vader.

Kuwait City, Kuwait – Al Arabi Stadium – May 10, 1996 (20,000): Duke Droese beat Bob Backlund…Aldo Montoya defeated Isaac Yankem…The New Rockers defeated the Bushwhackers when Marty Jannetty pinned Butch after a flying fist drop to the back of the head when Butch tried to pin Cassidy…Kuwait Cup Quarter-Finals: The Undertaker pinned the British Bulldog after the Tombstone at 4:20…Kuwait Cup Quarter-Finals: Hunter Hearst Helmsley beat Savio Vega after the Pedigree when Steve Austin interfered at 16:10…Kuwait Cup Quarter-Finals: Owen Hart pinned Bret Hart with a small package at 11:31…Kuwait Cup Quarter-Finals: Ahmed Johns pinned Steve Austin after a spinebuster at 9:20…WWF Champion Shawn Michaels pinned Yokozuna after Sweet Chin Music at 14:55.

Kuwait City, Kuwait – Al Arabi Stadium – May 11, 1996 (20,000): Duke Droese pinned Aldo Montoya after reversing a pinfall at 8:29…Yokozuna pinned Isaac Yankem after a leg drop at 7:47…The Bushwhackers beat Bob Backlund & Leif Cassidy when Butch pinned Cassidy with a roll up at 12:06…Savio Vega defeated Steve Austin in a Caribbean strap match at 9:45…Bret Hart pinned the British Bulldog with a roll up after heel miscommunication at 12:59…Kuwait Cup Semi-Finals: Ahmed Johnson pinned Owen Hart after the Pearl River Plunge…Kuwait Cup Semi-Finals: Hunter Hearst Helmsley defeated the Undertaker via disqualification when the Undertaker was caught using Helmsley’s foreign object at 9:11…WWF Champion Shawn Michaels pinned Marty Jannetty after Sweet Chin Music.

Kuwait City, Kuwait – Al Arabi Stadium – May 12, 1996 (20,000): Luke beat Aldo Montoya…Butch defeated Leif Cassidy…Duke Droese pinned Marty Jannetty after the Trash Compactor at 10:59…Yokozuna & Savio Vega defeated Bob Backlund & Isaac Yankem when Yokozuna pinned Yankem after the Banzai Drop at 9:39…Bret Hart & the Undertaker beat Owen Hart & the British Bulldog when the Undertaker pinned Owen after the Tombstone at 14:48. Bret came to the ring wearing traditional Middle Eastern headwear…WWF Champion Shawn Michaels pinned Steve Austin after Sweet Chin Music at 16:41. Lighting went out midway through the match, which took place in darkness until it was fixed…Kuwait Cup Finals: Ahmed Johnson pinned Hunter Hearst Helmsley after the Pearl River Plunge at 21:03.

Backstage News*: WCW is moving Monday Nitro to two hours, starting on May 27. The show will now air from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. This is a reaction to the 1.9 rating the show drew this past week when it aired at 7 p.m. because of the NBA playoffs. The move will spike whatever advantage the WWF was planning to get by airing RAW three minutes earlier at 8:57 p.m. in recent weeks to pre-empt Nitro.

-The WWF’s show in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada drew a gate of $188,471 Canadian and is its largest non-pay-per-view and non-Madison Square Garden show since the Jacques Rougeau retirement show in October 1994. The WWF was surprised by this as the show was only using a “B” crew. Other “B” crew shows this week in the Northeast in places like Erie, Pennsylvania and Syracuse, New York drew double what the WWF pocketed the last time they visited those locations. Despite the success, the WWF does not plan to revive “A” and “B” house show tours.

-The 1-2-3 Kid is not expected to return until next month.

-In talent relations news, the WWF signed Tom Brandi (Johnny Gunn), Tracy Smothers, Alex Porteau, Tony Anthony, and Bill Irwin on May 10. Anthony was best known as the Dirty White Boy in Smoky Mountain Wrestling. The plan for these hires is to make them glorified enhancement talents.

*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for May 20.

Up Next: Monday Night RAW for May 13!

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