What the World Was Watching: WWF Superstars – 08.31.96

WWF Mania aired its last exclusive match earlier in the day. It would be the last televised appearance for the Bushwhackers until WrestleMania X-Seven in 2001. The team would become a staple of the independent circuit, make a few ECW appearances in 1998, and appear on the infamous Heroes of Wrestling pay-per-view in 1999. Sadly, footage of the last WWF match of their run from 1988-1996 was not available but here was the result, according to thehistoryofwwe.com:

-The Bushwhackers (6-1) defeated T.L. Hopper & Dave Criner when Butch pinned Criner after the Battering Ram

Kevin Kelly and Mr. Perfect host another syndicated episode of WWF Superstars, originating again from Columbus, Ohio.

Opening Contest: Vader (w/Jim Cornette) (13-2) defeats Kenny Hendrix after a powerbomb at 1:56:

Like several enhancement talents on the previous episode, Hendrix was a Charlie Fulton trainee, although he also received some training from Ron Cumberledge, who did enhancement matches for the WWF in the early 1990s. He was enjoying his third year in the wrestling business and did enhancement matches for the WWF from 1993-1994. In 1994 he appeared four times, losing to Irwin R. Schyster, Crush & Yokozuna, and Well Dunn. After 1998, Hendrix left the wrestling business and became a model, actor, and stunt man.

Hendrix has fighting spirit, attacking Vader before the bell. His strikes do not look good, so Vader does not sell them and proceeds to pulverize Hendrix with strikes of his own. Vader follows up with a belly-to-belly suplex and refuses to pin Hendrix after a splash off the second rope. Instead of using the Vader Bomb, Vader uses the powerbomb to win and Kelly says that Vader is telling people he is the originator of that move. That implies a future program against Sid, who also uses it as a finisher.

Kelly and Perfect announce that WWF Tag Team Champions the Smoking Gunns will defend their titles against Owen Hart and the British Bulldog at In Your House 10: Mind Games.

Dok Hendrix’s Slam Jam provides promos for the Tag Team title match at In Your House. Owen, the Bulldog, and Jim Cornette joke about Sunny, saying that she was voted “Most Likely to Conceive” in high school and that their team knows what it takes to be Tag Team champions. Owen and the Bulldog put over how they were the leaders of teams that won the belts. The Gunns and Sunny fire back, saying that Sunny is a better manager than Cornette. Billy makes a weird statement that Owen and the Bulldog are putting their singles careers on the line for the titles.

The Godwinns (w/Hillbilly Jim) (13-7-1) defeat Matt Duval & Bob Bolby when Phineas pins Duval after the Slop Drop at 1:52:

Bob Backlund provides guest commentary, upset that Vince McMahon is not doing play-by-play. Backlund thinks WWF Champion Shawn Michaels has too many “sexual, connotative movements” to wear the title. The enhancement team gets bonus points for wearing matching colors with black tops and long white tights. They lose points for moving awkwardly and throwing weak punches. The Godwinns barely do any moves and Phineas wins after kicking Duval in the face and hitting the Slop Drop after. When the match ends, Kelly says that Backlund will reveal his new wrestler on RAW Championship Friday.

Brian Pillman does an in-ring interview with Steve Austin. Austin says that he thinks Marc Mero and Sable are trash, confident that he will beat him in the first round of the Intercontinental Championship Tournament and go on to become the new champion. Austin then issues a challenge to Bret Hart, which appears to trouble Pillman, and Austin gets upset when Pillman questions Austin going after a WWF legend.

Perfect defeating Tito Santana to win the Intercontinental Championship in a tournament final in 1990 is this week’s “Greatest Intercontinental Championship Moment.” Jim Ross dubs the commentary to wipe away traces of Jesse Ventura.

Crush (w/Clarence Mason) (2-0) beats Frank Stalletto after the heart punch at 2:21:

Crush now wears a black glove on his right hand. He attacks Stalletto before the bell as an insert promo puts over a heart punch that will be Crush’s new finisher. After a gorilla press slam, Crush stands Stalletto up and hits the heart punch for a third win this year. Mason adds a new post-match bit to Crush’s wins, leaving his card in Stalletto’s tights.

Kelly tells fans that Ahmed Johnson should start to do light training in about four weeks and could return early next year.

Vader powerbombing Kenny Hendrix in the opening match is the Stridex Slam of the Week.

Sid (4-0) pins Leon Downs after the powerbomb at 2:23 shown:

Downs was an enhancement worker in the USWA from 1993-1994 and 1996.

Even though he is a babyface, Sid attacks Downs before the bell and before the show returns from a break. The match allows Kelly and Perfect to hype Sid’s match against Hunter Hearst Helmsley on RAW Championship Friday in the Intercontinental Championship Tournament. Perfect insists that he got involved in Helmsley’s match last week because he needed to protect the woman Helmsley brought to the ring. The former Intercontinental champion adds that Helmsley needs to focus more on what happens in the ring rather than the ladies. Helmsley pops up in the split screen, telling Perfect to stay out of his business and that he is going to be the next Intercontinental champion.

A Stalker vignette sees him grab a lizard off a plant, arguing that the lizard was “easy pickings,” the same fate that awaits WWF superstars.

Justin Bradshaw (w/Zebekiah) (12-5-1) defeats Chris Harris after the lariat at 2:43:

Zebekiah prefers to do commentary, justifying Bradshaw’s attack on Savio Vega at SummerSlam because Savio has chosen to involve himself in Bradshaw’s business. Even though Harris lands a dropkick, Bradshaw stops him cold with a stiff kick to the gut. After annihilating Harris with the lariat, Bradshaw has Zebekiah come to the ring and brand his beaten opponent.

Ross reports that there has been an altercation between Sid and Vader backstage. Cornette argues that Vader is upset because Sid stole his powerbomb finish as Vader destroys a chalkboard.

Salvatore Sincere (2-0) beats Aldo Montoya (2-8) after Sincerely Yours at 2:18:

Kelly announces that there will be a King’s Court featuring Mark Henry on RAW Championship Friday. Both men work quickly as Montoya catches Sincere with a dropkick but then falls victim to some offense after going chest-first into the corner turnbuckles. Montoya hits a flying body press late for a near-fall but then runs into Sincerely Yours off the ropes. Of all the new gimmick wrestlers, Sincere is getting the best push.

On the Slam Jam Mankind and Paul Bearer have a funny bit of singing some of Shawn Michaels’ theme music. Bearer talks about taking Mankind to the WWF title like he did the Undertaker and Mankind wonders if the girls will kiss him if he wins the belt.

Goldust (w/Marlena) (13-7-1) pins Zip (1-1) after the Curtain Call at 4:02 shown:

Goldust and Marlena do an insert promo during ring introductions. Marlena quotes Gaslight before Goldust talks of how beating Michaels will put him on the path to drop the final curtain on the Undertaker at In Your House. The announcers fail to talk about what would happen to the In Your House card if Goldust were to win the WWF Championship on Friday. With Skip on the shelf Zip now has the task of jobbing to bigger stars in singles matches. Goldust dominates to make him look strong for RAW Championship Friday and Zip only manages a few fluke roll ups for near-falls. After whipping Zip chest-first into the corner, Goldust hits the Curtain Call for the win. Rating: ½*

Goldust feels up Marlena on the apron and carries her to the locker room as Kelly and Perfect provide final hype for RAW Championship Friday.

The Last Word: The in-ring action was nothing to write home about but the show had better pacing because of a lack of RAW recaps since RAW did not take place. There was decent hype for RAW Championship Friday, a new match was announced for In Your House, and the show laid the foundation for some future feuds. That made the show worth watching even if fans may not have stuck with the entire show to see the Goldust-Zip finale.

Backstage News*: There is still backstage heat between Shawn Michaels and Jim Cornette as Michaels is angry at the push Cornette is getting as a heel manager. He is also angry at the booking of the company, which he feels is not keeping up with the times. Jim Ross has also drawn Michaels’ ire.

-Michaels will be on the cover of the October issue of Playgirl magazine.

-The Bodydonnas team has been scrapped. Tom Prichard will be put in a trainer role to help some new signees like Mark Henry. When Chris Candido is able to return to the ring he will be given a new gimmick.

-Wrestling fans are unhappy with America Online (AOL) after the platform removed an editorial from its Grandstand wrestling section that criticized the WWF’s idea of doing weekly pay-per-views. The WWF has an exclusive deal with AOL and has gotten angry over negative comments posted about the company on other AOL forums. WWF folders on the Grandstand section have also been removed.

-The February 1997 In Your House will take place in Memphis.

-The Ultimate Warrior filed a lawsuit against the WWF on August 28 for unfair termination and trademark infringement. The Warrior alleges that the WWF used terms like “Warrior,” “Ultimate Warrior,” and “Always Believe” without permission. The WWF argues that the lawsuit lacks merit and “Always Believe” is too vague a slogan to be trademarked.

-In talent relations news, the British Bulldog signed a new, five-year contract worth $250,000 per year a few days before his deal was going to expire. WCW was hoping to use the Bulldog as the fourth member of the New World Order stable and reportedly offered him $400,000 with fewer dates for the next three years. The Bulldog had been unhappy after getting beaten quickly by Sid on house shows and having their SummerSlam match cut down from its planned 15 minutes. However, he does believe that the WWF’s stronger presence in Europe is better for him over the long run. Bret Hart is also expected to return for Survivor Series on November 17, believing that going to WCW would be a step down. Preliminary plans are for Bret to face Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania next year. Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle has been offered a deal by Linda McMahon. Achim Albrecht, a German bodybuilder, has signed with the WWF.

*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for September 9.

Up Next: RAW Championship Friday for September 6!

And if you would like to read a compiled breakdown of 1990-1995 WWF, 1993-1995 ECW, or of various promotions in 1995, check out my Amazon author page to purchase e-books or paperback copies!