WTWWW WWE — page 9

Todd Pettengill hosts the show from his living room, hyping the encore presentation for The Royal Rumlbe on Tuesday night.  Commentary for the matches is provided by Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon, who wrap up the matches from the Augusta, Maine taping.  The WWF did not redub it for events that happened at the pay-per-view for audiences that got Challenge on Sunday so Pettengill has to cover several times for Ross and Monsoon talking about the Rumble happening “tonight” when it took place a day earlier.

Opening Contest:  Shawn Michaels (w/Diesel) (3-0) pins Tony Roy with a small package at 1:34:

Michaels barely breaks a sweat in the squash, hitting a superkick and teasing a piledriver before doing a small package to mock the fans.

Pettengill is cryptic about Owen Hart’s actions at The Royal Rumble but his tone leads viewers to believe that Owen did something bad.

Vince McMahon and Ted DiBiase are commentating, live from Providence, Rhode Island.  This was DiBiase’s return to the WWF after leaving following SummerSlam ’93 and suffering a career-ending neck injury in All Japan Pro Wrestling.  According to thehistoryofwwe.com, a sellout crowd of 14,500 fans attended the event.  It drew a buyrate of 0.90 (200,000 buys), a massive decline from the 1.25 buyrate (300,000 buys) of the previous year’s event.  This was the lowest number of purchases for a Royal Rumble card since 1989 when that show drew 165,000 buys in a less accessible pay-per-view environment.

Vince McMahon and Stan Lane are commentating, concluding the taping in Lowell, Massachusetts.  This is the go-home show for The Royal Rumble, which will take place later in the evening.

Opening Contest:  Ludvig Borga (3-0) defeats Tim McNeany via submission to the torture rack at 2:18:

McNeany hits Borga from behind with a flying axe handle at the beginning of the match but Borga does not sell it and kills McNeany with a clothesline.  Tatanka appears in the split screen as Borga does a long vertical suplex, promising to inflict a lot of pain at The Royal Rumble.  Borga toys with McNeany some more before winning.  Unfortunately, Borga severely injured his ankle in a post-match brawl with Rick Steiner on Monday night at Madison Square Garden and would not make the pay-per-view.

Vince McMahon and Crush are commentating, taped from Richmond, Virginia.  Stan Lane will provide reports from Madison Square Garden where WWF Tag Team Champions Marty Jannetty & the 1-2-3 Kid are defending against the Quebecers.  Crush tells Randy Savage that he is in for a world of hurt tonight against Irwin R. Schyster.

Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon are in the booth, taped from Augusta, Maine.

Opening Non-Title Contest:  Razor Ramon (Intercontinental Champion) (1-0) pins Mike Bell after a super backdrop suplex at 1:35:

Bell throws some weak knees and Ramon responds with some hard chops.  Irwin R. Schyster does an insert promo about how Ramon should be nervous that he has not found his gold chains because he will lose more gold at The Royal Rumble.  Ramon does not need the Razor’s Edge to win, a testament to how he has other high impact offense that can do the trick.

WWF Mania had an exclusive match on Saturday morning.  The match was taped in Lowell, Massachusetts on December 14 and had Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon on commentary:

Owen Hart (1-0) beats Rick Martel after Bret Hart interferes at 4:53:

Martel was with the WWF for the first three months of 1993 and made the final four in the Royal Rumble but left for six months to handle his real estate interests.  He returned in September and received a small push to elevate him to Intercontinental title status.  Martel stunned viewers by wrestling Tatanka to a draw on Monday Night RAW and then reached the last two of a 20-man battle royal to crown a new Intercontinental champion.  However, he ended up losing the subsequent match for the vacant title to Razor Ramon.  He had a brief house show program against Ramon, failing to win the title, and filled television time for the rest of the year, arguing occasionally with fellow heel Adam Bomb over the actions of Bomb’s manager, Harvey Wippleman.

Owen does a nice gesture by giving his shades to a fan with Down syndrome in the front row.  After an exchange of moves, Martel tosses Owen over the top rope and Owen appears to hurt his knee.  Bret comes to ringside to provide encouragement as Martel opts to work the back rather than target Owen’s injury.  Martel kicks Bret late in the match so Bret trips Martel when he runs the ropes, providing an opening for Owen to small package the Model and avenge a defeat from last year on All American Wrestling.  Parts of the match were technically sound but they did not get enough time to develop anything.  Rating:  *½

WWF Tag Team Champions the Quebecers and Johnny Polo reiterate that Marty Jannetty & the 1-2-3 Kid will be a mere tune up tonight for The Royal Rumble.

Vince McMahon and Randy Savage are in the booth, live from Richmond, Virginia.  This is the first RAW that has taken place outside of the Northeast.  Savage has a cool RAW ring jacket.

Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon are commentating, starting a new taping cycle from Augusta, Maine.  According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping took place on December 15.

Opening Contest:  Ludvig Borga (1-0) defeats J.S. Storm via submission to the torture rack at 2:02:

Storm appeared in a couple of matches in 1993, losing to Rick Martel and the Undertaker.

The jobber is ready for Borga’s attack before the bell but he is unable to adequately defend himself.  One must applaud the attempt, though.  In the split screen, Tatanka warns Borga that he will feel a lot of pain at The Royal Rumble.  Storm flips on his back after taking a clothesline and after that Borga finishes him off.

Vince McMahon and Stan Lane commentate, starting a new taping in Lowell, Massachusetts.  According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the taping took place on December 14 and drew a sellout crowd of 2,500 fans.

WWF President Jack Tunney announces that Lex Luger will be allowed to compete in the Royal Rumble.  To appease Yokozuna’s camp, though, Genichiro Tenryu and the Great Kabuki will also be given spots in the match.  The WWF could not provide any hype for Tenryu and Kabuki besides that?

Opening Non-Title Handicap Contest:  Yokozuna (WWF Champion w/Jim Cornette & Mr. Fuji) defeats Scott Taylor & Bert Centeno when he pins both after a Banzai Drop at 3:01:

Taylor began his wrestling career while attending high school in Portland, Maine in 1989.  He started doing WWF enhancement work after he was recommended by fellow WWF enhancement worker Phil Apollo in 1991.  Taylor appeared in 15 matches in 1993, often programmed against heels.  Those matches got him comfortable in front of larger audiences and he would break out in the Attitude Era as Scotty 2 Hotty.

Mr. Fuji does an insert promo, saying that Crush, Tenryu, and Kabuki will prevent Luger from winning the Royal Rumble.  This handicap match must be under tornado rules because Taylor and Centeno remain in the ring throughout.  They stagger Yokozuna with a double dropkick but the WWF champion avoids a second one.  After going through his big moves, Yokozuna slams Centeno on top of Taylor near the corner and Banzai Drops both men for an impressive-looking pin.

Vince McMahon and Johnny Polo are doing commentary, taped from Poughkeepsie, New York.  This episode was part of a taping on December 13.  Polo is part of a series of guest commentators that have been used since Bobby Heenan left the WWF after the December 6 episode.

Opening Non-Title Contest:  Yokozuna (WWF Champion w/Mr. Fuji) pins Dan Dubiel after the Banzai Drop at 3:52:

Yokozuna became the WWF’s biggest heel, literally and figuratively, in 1993.  He won the Royal Rumble and defeated Bret Hart to win the WWF Championship at WrestleMania IX.  Although Hulk Hogan beat him minutes later, Yokozuna avenged that defeated at The King of the Ring, beating Hogan with his own leg drop.  After the win, Yokozuna defended the title at house shows against Hart, with the two drawing the largest WWF house show crowd of the year to Anaheim, California on August 21 for a steel cage match.  He was plugged into a feud with Lex Luger, who turned babyface after body slamming him aboard the U.S.S. Intrepid on July 4, but retained after losing via count out at SummerSlam.  Since Luger could only receive that title shot, Yokozuna feuded with the Undertaker throughout the fall in a cycle of house show matches that drew good crowds.  The feud became prominent on television at Survivor Series when the Undertaker recovered from Yokozuna’s big moves in the All Americans-Foreign Fanatics elimination match and the two eliminated themselves fighting outside of the ring.  That led to the two being booked to face off in a casket match at The Royal Rumble, a stipulation that Paul Bearer allegedly sneaked into the fine print underneath the nose of Yokozuna’s American spokesperson, Jim Cornette.

Dubiel was trained by longtime WWF enhancement talent Mike Sharpe, entering the business in 1991.  He started doing WWF enhancement matches in 1992 and was featured 12 times.  One likely unintentional booking choice was for him to face Shawn Michaels on television before and after Michaels was suspended.

Polo says that Yokozuna is “dope,” having to explain to McMahon what the terms means.  The champion ignores the crowd’s “USA” chants, throwing more slaps and kicks than doing actual moves.  Dubiel takes a hard Banzai Drop at the end as Yokozuna comes down with his full weight.  There is a rumor that Dubiel disrespected Fuji backstage and Yokozuna took it out on him in the ring.  After Yokozuna does the move, he sits on Dubiel’s chest for a prolonged period and referee Jack Doan tries to get Yokozuna to get up but Yokozuna does not heed his commands.  Dubiel seems to be in pain or at least discomfort as he is verbally telling Doan something with Yokozuna on his chest.

Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon are the commentary team, taped from Springfield, Massachusetts.  This was the last episode of a taping that drew 4,000 fans to Springfield, Massachusetts on November 30.

Tatanka pins Tony DeVito after a flying chop at 2:48:

Tatanka was one of the WWF’s strongest midcard acts in 1993, appearing in more matches than any other wrestler.  Arriving in 1992, he was prominently featured as a Native American athlete.  Tatanka won a feud with Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels, beating the champion in a non-title match and six-man tag team match, but he failed to win the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania IX.  Instead of being given more title matches, Tatanka was put in a long feud with Bam Bam Bigelow that never had a singles blowoff, although Tatanka teamed with the Smoking Gunns to beat Bigelow and the Headshrinkers at SummerSlam.  A big part of Tatanka’s gimmick was a long televised unbeaten streak which got up to 84 matches until it was ended by Ludvig Borga in October.  That loss resulted in a kayfabed injury that kept Tatanka out of Survivor Series and he began 1994 seeking revenge against Borga.

DeVito was a David Schultz trainee that was entering his fourth year in the wrestling business.  He had been doing WWF squash matches since 1992 and appeared in 15 matches in 1993.  He was often paired with Mike Bell in losing efforts to the Smoking Gunns, Money Incorporated, and the Steiner Brothers.  DeVito would achieve his greatest fame in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) later in the decade as a member of Da Baldies.

Monsoon decides to put over some of DeVito’s amateur wrestling abilities so that Tatanka beating him looks better.  DeVito shows off some of that ability by taking Tatanka to the mat with a fireman’s carry.  However, Tatanka goes on the warpath after getting taken to the buckle and wins with a flying chop.

Introduction

1993 was a rough year for the World Wresting Federation (WWF).  It marked a permanent break from its Hulkamania past as owner Vince McMahon decided it was time to move on from the 1980s star, dismissing him after a tour of Europe following King of the Ring.  Hogan was followed by other longtime talent that was crucial to the 1980s boom like Brutus Beefcake, Tito Santana, the Big Bossman, Gene Okerlund, and Bobby Heenan.  The decision to get rid of Hogan, the most famous star in professional wrestling, was a risky move.  First, Hogan was doing some television and film projects that caught the eye of executives that worked with media mogul Ted Turner, who would love for Hogan to wrestle for his World Championship Wrestling (WCW) promotion.  And second, even though Hogan was starting to see diminishing box office returns in the early 1990s the WWF lacked a star who could draw like he did.  In 1993 McMahon experimented with Bret Hart as champion, only to cut that off prematurely in favor of Hogan’s return at WrestleMania IX.  When Hogan’s Hollywood aspirations limited his house show appearances, McMahon went back to a formula that worked a decade before, putting the title on a foreign heel named Yokozuna.  Unwilling to give Hart another shot at the top, McMahon believed he could transform former WCW Champion Lex Luger into the next Hogan.  He turned Luger babyface at a special event aboard the U.S.S. Intrepid in New York on July 4 and sent him across the country on a bus tour before SummerSlam.  However, McMahon believed Luger was not over enough to warrant getting the title so he had him win via a weak count out at that pay-per-view, a move that many in wrestling thought cut Luger’s momentum off at the knees.  The poor booking of Luger, accompanied by louder fan reactions for Hart and the Undertaker, undermined some of the WWF’s long-term plans going into 1994 as they were hoping fans would want to see Luger finally dethrone Yokozuna and capture the WWF Championship.

Without Hogan the WWF’s house show business was terrible in 1992.  1993 saw a few points of recovery as fans came to watch Yokozuna battle the Undertaker and Hart fight Yokozuna and Jerry Lawler.  But the WWF had to lean on consolidating its house shows for a while, eliminating a “B” circuit and forcing some talent to take independent dates to make up for lost payoffs.  Other elements of house show business was hurt by the WWF losing syndication in St. Louis and Minneapolis.  Without WWF Superstars or Wrestling Challenge to promote house shows in those markets the WWF retreated to its traditional territory in the Northeast.  It would still do some house shows outside of that area, visiting Chicago, Los Angeles, and mid-sized Midwestern towns, but it drew best in New York.  At the very least, the WWF staunched the bleeding.  Its occasional tours of Europe, which continued to draw well, also provided some much-needed revenue.

Vince McMahon and WWF Tag Team Champions the Quebecers are in the booth for the last WWF broadcast of the year.  They are taped from Poughkeepsie, New York.

Opening Contest:  Lex Luger (25-0-1) defeats Barry Horowitz after a superplex at 4:26:

The champions are doing a gimmick tonight where Jacques speaks English but Pierre only speaks French, angering McMahon who wants to keep the broadcast in English.  Horowitz gets to go toe-to-toe with Luger, a curious way to book a main event talent.  He throws a lot of forearms until Luger comes out of a corner with a clothesline and wins with a superplex.  Rating:  ½*

All American Wrestling featured the finals of the six-woman tournament that was held to crown the WWF Women’s Champion.  It was filmed in Poughkeepsie, New York on December 13, making one wonder why the WWF chose not to air it as part of the live broadcast that night.  Vince McMahon and Stan Lane are the commentators.

Vince McMahon and Stan Lane are commentating the last Superstars of the year, which aired on Christmas Day.  They are taped from Utica, New York.

Bret and Owen Hart appear on the video board, having resolved their differences.  They are going to be a tag team going forward and will face the Quebecers for the Tag Team Championship at The Royal Rumble.

Opening Contest:  Shawn Michaels (28-5-2) pins Phil Apollo after a reverse flying fist drop at 2:59:

Michaels talks trash to Apollo as he works a hammerlock.  McMahon relays that Michaels is not happy that Irwin R. Schyster is getting an Intercontinental title shot at The Royal Rumble.  After doing a superkick, Michaels hops on the top rope and does a weird fist drop variation where he twists his body in mid-air like he is doing a reverse flying body press.

Tatanka warns Ludvig Borga that he is coming to achieve his revenge.

Vince McMahon and Shawn Michaels commentate, taped from White Plains, New York.  This show was taped at the same time as the November 29 and December 6 episodes instead of being taped in Poughkeepsie, the location of last week’s live episode.

Opening Contest:  Jeff Jarrett (1-0) defeats P.J. Walker (1-10) after a DDT off the ropes at 4:08:

McMahon acknowledges that Jarrett’s gear does not match his gimmick but sells it as Jarrett trying to stand out.  Jarrett’s tights are bright white tonight instead of the neon colors he used on Superstars.  Before the match, Jarrett gets on the microphone and puts over his greatness.  Jarrett struts around a lot, using basic offense to win.  After the DDT off the ropes, Jarrett holds the tights to guarantee victory.  And he gets back on the microphone to tell fans not to forget his name.

All American Wrestling had a Vince McMahon interview with WWF President Jack Tunney where Tunney said he had not yet made a decision about Lex Luger’s Royal Rumble status.  There was also a feature match for the first time in more than a month, which was filmed in Utica, New York on December 1.  Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon provided commentary for it:

The Headshrinkers & Bam Bam Bigelow (w/Luna Vachon & Afa) defeat the Smoking Gunns & the 1-2-3 Kid when Bigelow pins the Kid after a powerslam at 6:12 shown:

Bigelow loves teaming with the Headshrinkers as this is the fourth time he has joined them for battle this year.  The heels dominate 95% of the match, although there is a hot finish at the end when Bart gives a hot tag to the Kid, who gets a near-fall from a missile dropkick to Bigelow.  Bigelow and the Kid are left when the ring clears out and the Kid manages to reverse a Samoan drop attempt by Bigelow into a facebuster.  However, when he flies off the top rope Bigelow catches him with a powerslam and the Kid cannot kick out.  Rating:  **½

Vince McMahon and Stan Lane are in the booth, beginning the last Superstars taping of the year in Utica, New York.  According to thehistoryofwwe.com, 4,500 fans attended the show, which took place on December 1.

McMahon announces that Bret and Owen Hart will be in the Royal Rumble, with another seven names in that match to be revealed later today.  Lex Luger has been prohibited entry for the moment, though, due to a protest from Yokozuna and his team.

Vince McMahon and Jim Cornette are commentating, live from Poughkeepsie, New York.  Due to the WWF’s taping schedule, this is the last live RAW telecast of 1993.

Opening Contest:  Randy Savage (2-1) beats Fatu (w/Afa) (0-2) after the flying elbow drop at 5:51:

Savage’s program against Crush is an opportunity to show McMahon that he still has something left in the tank as an in-ring competitor.  However, he does not help his cause by falling back into his formula of getting beaten up for most of the match until he knocks Fatu off the top rope, does a flying axe handle to the floor, and wins with the flying elbow drop.  Rating:  *½

Gorilla Monsoon replaces Bobby Heenan as color commentator on Wrestling Challenge, joining Jim Ross to call the action.  They are wrapping up the messy taping in Carbondale, Pennsylvania.