WTWWW WWE — page 17

WWF Mania featured a clash of King of the Ring tournament participants.  It was taped at the Manhattan Center in New York City on May 31.

Mr. Hughes (11-0) wrestles Tatanka (21-0) to a double disqualification at 6:12:

Hughes imposes a methodical pace on the match, scoring near-falls from basic strikes.  The action picks up when Tatanka makes his comeback, getting a two count from a flying chop.  He struggles to slam Hughes and after an elbow drop misses there is an exchange of strikes.  The referee tries to stop it and gets pushed aside by Hughes.  However, the referee decides to disqualify both men instead of Hughes so that both men can avoid taking a loss.  After the bell, Hughes wins the exchange and plants Tatanka with the sidewalk slam.  Rating:  *

Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan, and Randy Savage are broadcasting tonight’s episode, live from the Manhattan Center in New York City.

Shawn Michaels, who regained the Intercontinental Championship the previous night at a house show in Albany, New York is announced as the new titleholder by ring announcer Bill Dunn.  Michaels comes to the ring with his bodyguard and he gloats to the announce team about how he is back on top of the world.  Michaels’ yet-to-be named bodyguard was Kevin Nash, who had been working for the last three years for WCW under different gimmicks.  According to Nash, he heard that Michaels was looking for a bodyguard from Rick Steiner and was able to get out of his WCW contract by telling Barry Windham that his wife was about to leave him if he did not leave the wrestling business so when he asked Ole Anderson, the release was immediately signed.  Nash then took the release and faxed it to the WWF from WCW’s office, securing quick employment.

All American Wrestling had a new exclusive match that was taped in Sydney, Nova Scotia on May 25:

Razor Ramon (15-2) wrestles Crush (17-2-1) to a double count out at 9:41 shown:

Most of the match is spent in holds as Crush works a long full nelson and Ramon throws in an abdominal stretch and half Boston Crab using the ropes.  It has an uneasy flow but features some unique moments as Crush does an impressive gorilla press slam and traps his opponent in the head vice but Ramon has a smart counter by making himself small and kicking Crush in the face.  Ramon does an impressive Razor’s Edge but Crush kicks out, becoming the only man to ever do so.  A thrust kick sends Ramon to the floor and both men fight out there, preventing the other from re-entering the ring, and getting counted out.  So once again Crush goes against a name wrestler and cannot get a win.  It is a problem when his biggest wins this year have been against Damien Demento, Terry Taylor, and Blake Beverly.  Rating:  *¼

After the match, Crush leads the crowd in a “1, 2, 3” chant.

WWF Mania’s exclusive match was taped in Halifax, Nova Scotia on May 24:

El Matador (7-2-1) beats Fatu (w/Afa) (0-1) via disqualification when Samu interferes at 5:15:

Since Fatu has gotten a few singles matches it is a sign that the WWF sees him as the big star of the Headshrinkers team.  El Matador is becoming a Saturday morning warrior, appearing more on Mania than any other wrestler to this point.  He dominates most of the action, only making a mistake when he drives Fatu’s head into the canvas and Fatu immediately bounces up and lays him out with a thrust kick.  After El Matador hits El Paso del Muerte, Samu runs in and a disqualification results.  Rating:  *½

The Headshrinkers double team El Matador after the bell, paying no mind to WWF officials who try to put a stop to the slaughter.  Left to his own devices, El Matador finds enough strength to avoid a double clothesline and clears the ring with a clothesline off the ropes.

Hacksaw Jim Duggan dedicates this episode to members of the United States military.

Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan, and Randy Savage are doing commentary, live from the Manhattan Center in New York City.  According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the show drew a crowd of 750 fans, the lowest for a RAW episode to date.

All American Wrestling had an exclusive match, taped from the Manhattan Center on May 10.

Bam Bam Bigelow (23-1) wrestles Bob Backlund (13-2) to a time-limit draw at 8:52 shown:

Backlund has had goodwill from the Manhattan Center crowd at past tapings but not this one as there are multiple, loud chants for the Beast from the East.  The former WWF champion finds it hard to counter Bigelow’s size, failing to slam him three times.  Bigelow works the back to set up a Canadian backbreaker, which Backlund escapes.  When he plants Bigelow with a back suplex the bell rings because the time limit expires.  This was telling a good story but had an abrupt, unsatisfying ending that ruined it.  Backlund did not even get to make a comeback.  Rating:  *½

Jim Ross and Bobby Heenan are calling today’s action, taped from Portland, Maine.  Heenan tries to make sense of there being two Doinks on RAW but fails.

WWF Mania had an exclusive match, taped in Worcester, Massachusetts on May 4.

Mr. Hughes (w/Harvey Wippleman) (8-0) pins Owen Hart (3-1) after the sidewalk slam at 4:43:

Owen has not been on television since losing to Bam Bam Bigelow on Superstars on April 17.  He suffered a knee injury in that match but was only sidelined for a month.  Owen is treated like Jim Powers as Hughes stands like a brick wall for most of what he tries to do.  A blind charge by Hughes gives Owen a small window of opportunity but his spinning heel kick off the ropes only gets one and then he runs into a sidewalk slam.  Rating:  ¾*

Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan, and Randy Savage are commentating, taped from the Manhattan Center in New York City.

Doink the Clown comes out for the next match and crawls underneath the ring. The broadcast goes to Lord Alfred Hayes outside, who is with Doink. Doink talks about pulling off an illusion and squirts Hayes with water from the flower in his jacket.

All American Wrestling had a new feature match:

Doink the Clown (14-2-2) defeats Virgil (6-4) after an elbow to the back of the head at 5:17:

This match took place in Portland, Maine on May 5.  Virgil tries to beat Doink with technical wrestling, a bad decision as Doink works over his adversary’s left leg.  Virgil does not get much of a comeback as Doink blinds him with something spread out of the flower of his jacket after Virgil lands some mounted corner punches and a sloppy elbow to the back of the head puts him down for the count.  This ended Virgil’s three-match win streak.  And Virgil’s sloppiness in the ring was becoming a liability for him as the WWF brought in new workers that looked smoother.  Rating:  *

WWF Mania featured an original match.

Tatanka (17-0) beats Terry Taylor (2-2) after the Papoose to Go at 5:55 shown:

This match was filmed at the Manhattan Center on May 10.  It is joined in progress after a commercial break.  The Wizard reveals on commentary that Tatanka will face Lex Luger in the King of the Ring Tournament.  Tatanka’s hand drops three times during a chinlock spot and a confused Tim White almost calls for the bell.  Surprisingly, the Manhattan Center crowd lets that slide and White opts to have the match continue when Tatanka gets back on script of holding his own hand up and fights out.  Tatanka does his usual comeback, which Taylor cuts off with a swinging neckbreaker for a close two.  He argues with White after that – and who can blame him – but that results in him turning around and eating the Papoose to Go to lose the last televised match of his run.  Taylor was moving into more of a broadcasting and backstage role by this point but he deserved better in this run.  Rating:  **

Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan, and Randy Savage are doing commentary, live from the Manhattan Center in New York City.  According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the show drew a crowd of 1,000 fans.

Footage of Randy Savage and the Smoking Gunns making an appearance at the Special Olympics airs.

After showing footage of last week’s fight between Mr. Perfect and Shawn Michaels outside of the Manhattan Center, Lord Alfred Hayes tells viewers that he saw someone come to the show in disguise and fans will be surprised when they find out who it is.

All American Wrestling featured an exclusive match on Sunday afternoon.

Crush (14-2) beats Blake Beverly (0-2) via submission to the head vice at 5:50:

This is another match from the Worcester, Massachusetts Superstars taping on May 4.  Blake has shaved off his goatee, making him look ten years younger.  The match is a way to give Crush a somewhat competitive win before he faces Shawn Michaels in a King of the Ring qualifying match next week.  Blake does some token back work but after Crush powers out of a Boston Crab the Beverly Brother fails to stop any of Crush’s momentum and is submitted by a head vice.  Rating:  *½

WWF Mania featured the debut of a new act.

The Smoking Gunns defeat Damien Demento & the Brooklyn Brawler when Bart pins the Brawler after a sunset flip off the top rope at 6:45:

The Gunns billed as brothers Billy and Bart.  Billy was Monty Sopp, who was trained by Jerry Gray and Ron and Don Harris, making his debut in 1989.  Bart was Michael Polchlopek, starting his career in 1991 after receiving training from Blackjack Mulligan and Boris Malenko.  Sopp and Polchlopek began teaming in 1992, working for the Tampa-based International Championship Wrestling Alliance as the Long Riders and winning the company’s Tag Team titles twice.

This bout took place at the recent Monday Night RAW.  The crowd likes the gimmick, cheering when the Gunns fire off some pistols as part of their entrance.  The heels dominate much of the contest, a curious choice to debut a new team because normally the new act gets showcased.  All four parties put forth good effort but there is nothing devastating in the heels’ arsenal that makes it seem like the Gunns are on the verge of losing.  When Billy gets a hot tag he plants the Brawler with a DDT and Bart flies off the top rope at with a sunset flip to give the team its first win.  Rating:  *½

Footage shows Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels showing up to the Manhattan Center at 7:02 p.m.  Michaels talks to Lord Alfred Hayes about facing Hacksaw Jim Duggan tonight until Mr. Perfect accosts him.  The two fight and Perfect wins, throwing Michaels into the door of the car that he arrived in and slamming him on the car’s hood.  That gets a good reaction from an assembled crowd of onlookers.  The car actually belonged to Howard Finkel and Perfect destroying it in the attack was a rib.

Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan, and Randy Savage call the action, live from New York City.  According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the show drew a sellout crowd of 1,200.

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Jim Ross and Bobby Heenan are in the booth, still broadcasting from Phoenix, Arizona.

Opening King of the Ring Qualifying Contest:  Hacksaw Jim Duggan (8-0) pins Papa Shango (6-3-1) after the three-point stance clothesline at 4:39:

This is not a good match as Duggan and Shango primarily slug on each other and Shango works a long chinlock in the middle.  When Shango misses an avalanche, Duggan blasts him with his finisher to advance.  Rating:  ½*

For Blog football fans I’ve created three leagues on Yahoo! for the upcoming college and NFL seasons.  If you’d like to join here is the info for each league.  If you wish to join I’d recommend using your Blog name for the pick set so its easier to track.  The two pick’em leagues use confidence points and are based on the spread.

College Pick’em
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NFL Pick’em
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WWF Mania featured the cancelled match of WrestleMania IX.  Here is a breakdown of that encounter:

Bam Bam Bigelow (19-1) beats Kamala (13-1-1) after a schoolboy roll up at 3:51:

This bout took place at the Superstars taping in Worcester, Massachusetts on May 4.  Bigelow’s bumping carries the encounter.  After crotching Bigelow on the top rope, Kamala splashes his back but he still has not learned how to pin someone.  It no longer helps that Slick appears to have given up on him.  When Kamala questions referee Danny Davis about why he never counted the pin, Bigelow rolls him up and escapes with a win.  Rating:  *

For Blog football fans I’ve created three leagues on Yahoo! for the upcoming college and NFL seasons.  If you’d like to join here is the info for each league.  If you wish to join I’d recommend using your Blog name for the pick set so its easier to track.  The two pick’em leagues use confidence points and are based on the spread.

College Pick’em
Group ID:  4327
Password:  WWF1993

NFL Pick’em
Group ID:  16214
Password:  WWF1993

NFL Survival Football
Group ID:  10409
Password:  WWF1993

Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan, and Randy Savage are doing commentary, taped from the Manhattan Center in New York City.

Opening Contest for the Intercontinental Championship:  Hacksaw Jim Duggan (7-0) defeats Shawn Michaels (Champion) (11-2) via count out at 11:05 shown:

The WWF has pushed a narrative for the past week that Duggan has never had a title match before, even though he got several Intercontinental title matches in the 1980s, faced Sergeant Slaughter in 1991 for the WWF Championship and teamed with Slaughter to challenge Money Incorporated for the Tag Team titles last year.  Michaels does a Memphis-like stall routine for the first four minutes, angry that the crowd will not stop chanting “USA!” or that he is gay.  After a commercial break the action gets going as Michaels stun guns Duggan to seize control.  Unfortunately, Michaels uses a lot of rest holds to prolong his portion of the match.  Duggan reverses a take to the buckle to trigger his comeback and the three-point stance clothesline sends Michaels out of the ring.  Michaels tries to leave but Duggan brings him back.  That leads to Michaels getting into a brief spat with Paul from New Jersey, who proposed to his girlfriend last week, and Duggan clotheslines Michaels over the guardrail.  After that, Michaels opts to run for it and gets counted out.  The match was at its best when Michaels was selling for Duggan.  Rating:  *½

For Blog football fans I’ve created three leagues on Yahoo! for the upcoming college and NFL seasons.  If you’d like to join here is the info for each league.  If you wish to join I’d recommend using your Blog name for the pick set so its easier to track.  The two pick’em leagues use confidence points and are based on the spread.

College Pick’em
Group ID:  4327
Password:  WWF1993

NFL Pick’em
Group ID:  16214
Password:  WWF1993

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Jim Ross and Bobby Heenan are in the booth, taped from Phoenix, Arizona.

Opening Contest:  Hacksaw Jim Duggan (6-0) beats Al Burke after the three-point stance clothesline at 2:49:

Duggan works the crowd into a loud “USA!” chant as he simultaneously screams about Yokozuna.  He is in a foul mood, whipping Burke into the timekeeper’s table.  Duggan has an Intercontinental title shot against Shawn Michaels tomorrow night on Monday Night RAW so this match builds him for that encounter.

For Blog football fans I’ve created three leagues on Yahoo! for the upcoming college and NFL seasons.  If you’d like to join here is the info for each league.  If you wish to join I’d recommend using your Blog name for the pick set so its easier to track.  The two pick’em leagues use confidence points and are based on the spread.

College Pick’em
Group ID:  4327
Password:  WWF1993

NFL Pick’em
Group ID:  16214
Password:  WWF1993

NFL Survival Football
Group ID:  10409
Password:  WWF1993

Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler, and Randy Savage are doing commentary, taped from Tucson, Arizona.

Ray Rougeau interviews the Undertaker and Paul Bearer.  Bearer puts over the Undertaker as the most powerful entity in the WWF.  He warns Giant Gonzalez that he is headed for him.  The Undertaker adds that he will draw power from the souls of the dead and the living to destroy him.

For Blog football fans I’ve created three leagues on Yahoo! for the upcoming college and NFL seasons.  If you’d like to join here is the info for each league.  If you wish to join I’d recommend using your Blog name for the pick set so its easier to track.  The two pick’em leagues use confidence points and are based on the spread.

College Pick’em
Group ID:  4327
Password:  WWF1993

NFL Pick’em
Group ID:  16214
Password:  WWF1993

NFL Survival Football
Group ID:  10409
Password:  WWF1993

Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan, and Randy Savage handle commentary, live from the Manhattan Center in New York City.  According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping drew 1,000 fans.