What the World Was Watching: WWF Superstars – 09.22.96

Todd Pettengill voices a short tribute to Sapphire, who passed away the previous week.

The new introduction to the show, which is now taking place on Sunday mornings on USA Network, is low key, interspersing highlights of moves in black and white as a generic rock beat plays.

Pettengill is live at the CoreStates Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which will be the site of tonight’s In Your House 10: Mind Games pay-per-view. The ring has not been set up yet. The advantage of having the show on a Sunday is that the WWF can use it to hype a pay-per-view taking place later in the evening with live reporting like this.

Jim Ross and Mr. Perfect are the announce team as the Kevin Kelly experiment as a lead play-by-play guy has been shelved. The matches are still from Columbus, Ohio, ending the taping cycle there. As noted before, the commentary was done live to add more spontaneity. Ross immediately demonstrates this by talking about an upset of the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team the previous evening.

Opening Contest: Vader (w/Jim Cornette) (14-2) pins Savio Vega (9-8-2) after the powerbomb at 4:56 shown:

Vader has gotten the better of Savio several times this year, throwing him out of the Royal Rumble, defeating him in his Monday Night RAW debut, and then beating Savio in a six-man tag team match. Savio puts up a better fight than he has in previous encounters, dazing Vader with some strikes and a spinning heel kick in the corner for a near-fall. Vader waits too long after a commercial break to do the Vader Bomb and Savio back suplexes him off the second rope. He avoids a butt splash and scores another near-fall from a body press off the ropes. But soon he runs into Vader’s massive frame and Vader finishes with the powerbomb to keep the feud over that move going with Sid. Rating: **

Pettengill has various WWF action figures stuffed in his suit because if you buy the pay-per-view and send in a copy of your bill then fans can get a free Jakks action figure mailed to them.

A lengthy video package recaps the Undertaker-Goldust feud. After, Goldust and Marlena quote Each Dawn I Die, promising to kill off the Undertaker tonight at In Your House. The Undertaker rebuts that he will end the shining light of Goldust’s career.

Mark Henry steps out to look at the empty CoreStates Center and Pettengill says he wants to get an interview with him later.

The Stalker (1-0) defeats the Goon (2-1) after a superplex at 4:28:

The Goon has not been seen since the August 10 edition of Superstars. Ross says that there is a chance that Razor Ramon and Diesel could appear at In Your House this evening. Pettengill talks to WWF President Gorilla Monsoon in the split screen. Monsoon repeats that Ramon and Diesel are not coming in and that Ross is a “fountain of misinformation.” Ross vehemently denies those claims. The best part of the match is the Goon missing a running knee in the corner and flying over the top rope. There is a bad sequence where the Stalker goes for a piledriver and cannot figure out how he wants to do it, eventually going for a pulled variety. Most of the bout is full of punches and kicks as Barry Windham is not bringing much to the table in his third run with the WWF. Rating: ½*

Pettengill interviews Mark Henry, who says that he is not nervous but is more anxious to fight Jerry Lawler. Lawler comes into the picture and throws some McDonald’s hot coffee on Henry, running away after saying that he is going to get him tonight.

Crush (w/Clarence Mason) (4-0) pins David Haskins after the heart punch at 2:17:

Any chances Haskins has to win are wiped out in the first 20 seconds when Crush blasts him with a clothesline and Haskins does a spinning sell for the move. After a big boot, Crush does the heart punch to remain unbeaten. Mason puts his business card in Haskins tight afterwards.

Pettengill tries to talk with WWF Champion Shawn Michaels but Paul Bearer comes by and tells him that today will be the day of his funeral. Michaels tells Bearer that after he beats Mankind there will be nothing left to protect Bearer from the Undertaker. Bearer’s voice when he talks about embalming “the sexy boy” is funny. Suddenly, Mankind rams a casket into Michaels, who goes through a door. He is not fazed, though, climbing on top of the casket to exchange blows with Mankind until officials separate them.

Owen Hart & the British Bulldog (w/Jim Cornette) (3-2) defeat Bob Holly & Alex Porteau (1-0) when Owen submits Porteau to the Sharpshooter at 3:29:

If Holly and Porteau become a permanent team what is their name? Pug and Plugg? The downside of Superstars on a Sunday is that it would make fans wonder why Owen and the Bulldog are wrestling on the same day they have a Tag Team title shot. Porteau gets a good run of offense in the beginning of the match, unlike what happened on Monday Night RAW. WWF Tag Team Champions the Smoking Gunns are shown scouting the match backstage. After Holly spends a quick period in peril, Porteau gets a hot tag and he is stopped by a knee in the back by the Bulldog. As the referee keeps Holly from getting in the ring, the Bulldog comes in and gives Porteau the running powerslam and then Owen locks in the Sharpshooter, ending a quick tag team match. The heels barely got any offense in, which was a surprising way to lay out the match since Owen and the Bulldog are supposed to be one of the top teams in the division. Rating: *½

The Gunns race into the ring after it ends, fighting with Owen and the Bulldog until referees separate them.

Marc Mero (w/Sable) (18-6) pins Lou Marconi after the Wild Thing at 1:48:

Faarooq and Sunny do a split screen promo about how pain awaits Mero in the finals of the Intercontinental Championship Tournament on Monday night. Mero stays on his feet for much of the squash as Ross puts over his chances to beat Faarooq. The Wild Thing is a great move for Mero to incorporate as it gives him the unique finisher he lacked in the early months of his WWF run.

The Sultan, Bob Backlund, and the Iron Sheik are interviewed after the bout. Backlund puts over a Sultan appearance on next week’s program. The Sheik says the Sultan will be a threat to Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker.

Pettengill’s hype of In Your House is interrupted by Brian Pillman, who teases getting the program taken off the air by saying some banned words. Pillman is angry that Bret Hart called him a liar on Monday after he allegedly gave him his word that he would appear on tonight’s pay-per-view. Pillman tells Bret to check his manhood as he watches the show tonight.

Call 1-900-737-4WWF to get post-match interviews during tonight’s In Your House!

Pettengill goes through the In Your House card until Pillman interrupts, wanting to talk more about Bret Hart. Shawn Michaels tells him to get lost because he wants some interview time and Pillman retreats. Michaels says he will adjust his style to beat Mankind this evening.

The Last Word: The new version of Superstars had a good mix of pay-per-view hype and original matches and the live reporting from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania gave the show an importance that it has not had for a while. It will be interesting to see what the WWF does next week when there is no pay-per-view happening. At the very least, switching Kevin Kelly out for Jim Ross on play-by-play helped the commentary quality.

The WWF did run a house show the night before In Your House in Baltimore, Maryland. Here was the result of that show, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:

Baltimore, Maryland – Baltimore Arena – September 21, 1996 (4,016): Justin Bradshaw pinned Aldo Montoya…Mark Henry beat Jerry Lawler via count out…The Stalker pinned Hunter Hearst Helmsley after a superplex…The Godwinns beat the New Rockers…Faarooq pinned Marc Mero after the inverted powerslam…WWF Tag Team Champions the Smoking Gunns beat Owen Hart & the British Bulldog…Sid pinned Goldust after the powerbomb…WWF Champion Shawn Michaels beat Vader after Sweet Chin Music. Afterward, Mankind attacked Michaels and applied the Mandible Claw…The Undertaker pinned Mankind after the Tombstone.

Up Next: In Your House 10: Mind Games!

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!