WWF May 1987-May 1993 Compilation Review
- Short and sweet: got this tape in a trade, some of it sucks, some of it doesn't. Coming up is a recap of all the random matches, since I don't feel like doing the two episodes of Wrestling Challenge on here.
- Tim Horner vs. "Ravishing" Rick Rude (w/ Bobby Heenan):
From the August 21st, 1989 episode of PrimeTime Wrestling, with Lord Alfred and Tony Schiavone on the call. We're Joined in Progress with Horner applying an armbar. Rude escapes and hammers on Horner in the corner. Irish whip, and Rude misses a charge. Horner applies a wristlock, but Rude rakes the eyes to escape and drops Horner throat first across the top rope. Rude takes Horner over with a suplex for a two count. Irish whip, and Horner blocks an arm drag with a back slide for a two count. Rude is up fast to drop Horner with a clothesline, and hurts the arm Horner has been working over in the process. Rude with a fist drop, but he decides to pose instead of going for a cover. Rude with a reverse chinlock applied. Irish whip again, and Horner slams Rude's face into the canvas. Inverted atomic drop and mounted punches in the corner by Horner. He takes Rude over with a monkey flip, and follows with a hip toss. Scoop slam and dropkick by Horner gets a two count. Irish whip, and this time Horner misses a dropkick. Rude picks Horner up and finishes him off quick with the Rude Awakening at the 3:37 mark (clipped, of course). *1/4 Not too bad of a match for what was shown, and it wasn't a complete squash like it would usually be on Superstars or Challenge.
- Koko B. Ware & BattleKat vs. The Orient Express (w/ Mr. Fuji):
From the October 29th, 1990 episode of PrimeTime Wrestling. Pretty unsual pairing of Koko and BattleKat, but this was PTW, so I should've expected goofy tag teams. Depending on the day of the week, BattleKat was either Bob Bradley or Brady Boone. Mooney and Hayes have fun at the expense of BattleKat's "awesome" entrance from the top rope. Jesus, when Sean Mooney and Lord Alfred Hayes are flipping you shit, you know you suck. Alfred notes that the Express have yet to be pinned, despite losing to Jim Duggan and Sgt. Slaughter at SUMMERSLAM, and probably other teams on Primetime Wrestling. BK (BattleKat) and Tanaka start the match with some mock karate poses. Weak blows by BK and some posing to follow. Tanaka with a standing side headlock, followed by a shoulder block. Crisscross sequence and BK nails Tanaka with a big chop. Irish whip to the corner, and BK does an ugly back flip back elbow. Snapmare by BK followed by a reverse crescent kick. Irish whip is reversed quite ugly, and Tanaka takes BK down with a reverse leg sweep. Sato tags in and runs right into an arm drag. Ware tags in for the first time and pounds on the arm. Ware takes a cheap shot at Tanaka then does a cart-wheel. Lockup into the corner, and Ware avoids a cheap shot. Blows to everyone and the crowd gets CLAPPY! Sato hammers away on Ware and quickly tags out to Tanaka, who is quickly put in his place by Koko and BK. Tanaka rakes the eyes of BK and chokes him in the corner. Sato with a snapmare, but misses an elbow drop. Ware is back in, but is quickly taken control of. Ware comes back with punches on Tanaka, and they fuck up another spot as Ware tries turning Tanaka into a Boston Crab. HE STOLE THE MODELS FINISHER! Sato breaks it by kicking Ware on the back of the head. Ware rolls up Tanaka for some man love, and gets the thr... no wait, the referee fucked up. Only a two count. Double teaming by the Express. Not much of note goes on for a while. Ware mounts a comeback with a misile dropkick to Tanaka, but that only gets a two count. Ware with an inside cradle, but Sato nails Koko with the cane of Fuji, and Tanaka rolls on top for the three count at 7:44. 1/2* Blech, that was an ugly match. These guys wrestled as if they were never in the ring before in their lives, with minimal training moves being fucked up, like whips to the ropes, hip tosses, and whatever Ware was doing when he tripped over Tanaka.
Saba Simba vs. Greg "The Hammer" Valentine (w/ Jimmy Hart):
From the 12/28/90 event held at Madison Square Garden and rebroadcasted on the January 7th, 1991 episode of PrimeTime Wrestling. They slug away to start, with Simba in control. Irish whip, and Sama takes Valentine down with a clothesline. Grapple into the corner, and Hammer with a blow to the midsection, followed by stomping of the left leg. Valentine with elbows across the throat, then back into the ring with shots to the top of the head. Valentine tries for a slam, but decides to go for a drop toe hold since Simba is apparently too big to slam. Valentine with a series of knees to the small of the back, and more working on the left leg. He tries for the figure-four, but Simba kicks him off to escape. Simba is back up to no sell some punches and nails Valentine with some of his own. Irish whip, and Valentine catches Simba with his head down for an elbow. Valentine drops a forearm across the throat of Simba for a two count. Simba comes back with chops, then rams Valentine into all the top turnbuckles. Jumping headbutt by Simba, and that gives the chance for Valentine to tip forward like a tree. Irish whip to the corner is reversed, and Simba runs into a back elbow. Valentine with some chops in the corner, then he throws down the fat, blonde referee. Jimmy Hart comes in now, and accidentaly blasts Valentine with the guitar, and the bell is called at 5:10, most likely in favor of Saba Simba by Disqualification. Valentine has a little gash on his forhead from the blow, then threatens to beat up Jimmy Hart, but Jimmy runs away before it could happen. 1/2* Nothing much of a match, but the guitar shot was pretty cool, with Valentine prolonging his signature bump.
The Islanders vs. The Rougeau Brothers:
Haku & Tama vs. Jacques & Raymond)
From the April 26th, 1987 episode of Wrestling Challenge, and it's one of those awesome face-vs-face combinations that always ends in a No Contest. Haku and Rayond start out dancing around the ring. Lockup, and Haku with a go-behind waistlock. Raymond counters, so Haku elbows him in the mouth. Raymond with a side headlock, then comes off the ropes with a cross body for a two count. Jacques tags in to work the headlock now. Irish whip to escape, and a crisscross leads to a Haku sunset flip for a two count. Haku with a wristlock, and Tama tags in for the first time to continue the work. Irish whip, and Jacques lifts Tama up high with a monkey flip. Haku and Raymond both tag back in. Raymond with a wristlock, and Haku quickly reverses. Tama comes off the top rope with a double axehandle, and goes back to working on the arm. Irish whip, and the Islanders with a double chop. Irish whip is reversed, and Raymond catches Haku in a sleeper hold. Haku escspes easily, snapping Raymond over his head. Irish whip to the corner is reversed, and Raymond goes for the sleeper again. Tama breaks it with a top rope headbutt, despite the warnings of the referee. Tama tags in and continues beating down Raymond, making the Islanders the default heels, I guess. Tama with a side suplex, and followed by a double headbutt. Irish whip, and Raymond with another cross body press for a two count. Haku remains in control, however, and Tama tags in to slam Raymond face-first into the canvas for a two count. Jacques gets the mild tag to pound away on Tama. Irish whip, and Jacques nails a dropkick and knee drop across the chest. Scoop slam and Jacques covers for a two count. Irish whip, and Jacques catches Tama in the abdominal stretch. Haku breaks it, so in comes Raymond to talk smack. The two good guys argue, so it's a pier-six brawl! Everyone fights outside the ring, and it's a Double Count-Out at 6:08. * Not too good of a match, since these face/face combinations usually lead to boring arm work and a lame finish, and this is exactly what was delivered. Also the Islanders sucking didn't help the match much, either.
- The Rougeau Brothers vs. Demolition (w/ Mr. Fuji):
(Jacques & Raymond vs. Demolition Ax & Smash)
From the May 10th, 1987 episode of Wrestling Challenge. Weird PBP team of Gorilla Monsoon and OUTLAW RON BASS. Ax and Raymond lockup to start, with Ax taking control with punches. Scoop slam by Ax, but he misses an elbow drop. Wristlock applied by Raymond, and a dropkick/cross body combination to Ax and dropkick to Smash has Demolition in trouble. Jacques works on the arm of Ax, but gets a shot in the mouth. Smash tags in for some punishment, but gets caught in a wristlock. The Rougeaus trade off the hold until Jacques gets caught in the wrong corner. Ax with some pounding in the corner, followed by a snapmare and into a reverse chinlock. Smash tags back in to ram Jacques back into the corner and some more punching. The Rougeaus comeback and whip both Demolition into each other and sending both out of the ring with dropkicks. Everyone brawls outside of the ring until the bell rings for a double Count-Out at 2:31... WHAT THE HELL!? Demolition dump the Rougeaus out of the ring after the match. 1/2* Lame! No wonder both teams were doing everything at a super-fast-forward speed. That usually doesn't translate into having a good match.
- Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat vs. "The Natural" Butch Reed (w/ Slick):
From the next week on Wrestling Challenge. Steamboat is the Intercontinental Champion, but this is a Non-Title Match for reasons not explained. Weird, how this was supposed to be the title change a few weeks later on Superstars, but stuff happens, and we got 17 months of Honkytonk Man instead. Sadly, we get no "Jive Soul Bro" for Reed's entrance, so I'm guessing Piledriver: The Wrestling Album II wasn't released yet. Reed slams Steamboat off the top rope as he poses before the bell. Irish Whip, and Reed with a knee to the midsection. Reed hammers away on Steamboat in the ropes, then takes him back into the ring with a suplex. Reed chokes Steamboat with his ring jacket, then sends him into the corner. Irish whip, and Reed puts Steamboat down with a back elbow. Reed with a rake of the eyes, followed by a choke lift for a two count. Steamboat is dumped over the top rope, but manages to land on the apron. Irish whip, and Dragon comes back finally with some big chops. Reed ends that with a boot to the face and a clothesline. Reed with a series of knees to the back of the head for another two count. Scoop slam and elbow drop by Reed, but he decides not to cover. Steamboat escapes a press slam and takes Reed down with a back suplex. Dragon with a side headlock and a collision puts both men back down. Reed goes to the top rope, and Dragon obviously slams him off. Steamboat goes after Slick for no reason other than to be counted-out. the chase goes back into the ring, snd Steamboat goes back to beating on Reed. A cross body press causes both men to spill over the top rope, and we get ANOTHER double Count-Out finish, at 6:06. No wait... the Dragon beat the count in at 9.5, so Ricky Steamboat is the winner! *1/2 Nothing much to say here. Steamboat takes a good ass kicking as usual, but Reed's offense is too slow and plodding to make a match interesting.
- The Killer Bees, "Leaping" Lanny Poffo, Rick Hunter vs. One Man Gang, "The Natural" Butch Reed, The Bolsheviks (w/ Slick):
From the January 17th, 1988 episode of Wrestling Challenge. Woah, I wonder which team is going to win this... the stablemates, or a bunch of thrown together JTTS'. Six of these guys were in the first ever Royal Rumble the next week, and only 2 of them were anywhere near the midcard level. The Bolsheviks try singing the national anthem, but the Bees break it up with dropkicks. Blair pounds away on Zhukov and applies a wristlock. Irish whip, and Blair with a shoulder block, followed by a hip toss and scoop slam. Irish whip, and the Bolsheviks get bumped into each other. Brunzell tags in for a double back elbow on Zhukov. Brunzell with a wristlock, but Zhukov rakes the eyes and tags out to Volkoff. Volkoff with a slam attempt, but Brunzell counters with a rol-up for a two count. Volkoff applies a bearhug, and Brunzell quickly escapes with the bee ear smack. Poffo tags in now to work a headlock, and is quickly worked over by the Bolsheviks. Reed tags in to snapmare Lanny Poffo and nail a big fist drop. Irish whip, and Reed with a back elbow. Reed applies a front facelock, and Blair gets the false tag, and is knocked out of the ring for his troubles. Jobber Guy hits Reed a few times, but gets nailed with a high knee. Reed with a press slam into a back breaker, and the Gang finally tags in as the clean-up hitter. Gang nails the front-suplex for the victory at 3:08. Easy night for the Gang, I guess. * Not too bad for a squash match, with really quick action and the faces actually getting some offense in.
- Big John Studd vs. Chris Duffy & Mitch Carey:
From the March 5th, 1989 episode of Wrestling Challenge. The Jobbers have color coordinated ring tights: black and purple. Secret alliance with the Foot Soldiers? Tune into Nitro to find out! The Jobber Connection tries slingshoting Studd into the ring, but he takes them out instead at the same time. Overhead firemans carry to Carey, followed by an oklahoma roll for a two count. Studd with an inset promo promising we'll have a winner at WrestleMania V between Jake Roberts and Andre The Giant. Studd with a double clothesline sends both guys out of the ring again. Studd whips Carey across the ring, and he does a poor-mans Flair flip out of the ring. Duffy goes to the top rope and is quickly slammed off. Studd with a hip toss and double-underhook suplex to Duffy. Carey is back in, and quickly taken down with a back elbow. Studd back drops Carey out of the ring once more, and slams Duffy. Studd finishes off Duffy with the bearhug at 2:36. DUD Basic squash match, but I've always enjoyed handicapped ones. Pointless comment, indeed.
- The British Bulldog vs. Repo Man:
From the May 3rd, 1992 episode of Wrestling Challenge. The only reason I remember this match specifically is because it was featured in (I believe) the July 1992 WWF Magazine (the one with Warrior on the cover). Lockup into the corner, and Repo hammers away because he's a mean one, Mr. Grinch. Irish whip to the corner is reversed, and Bulldog puts Repo down with a clothesline. Bulldog with a series of forearms, followed by a boot to the face, sending Repo out of the ring. Back into the ring, and Repo fails a cheap shot during a test-of-strength attempt. Bulldog with a single leg trip and series of elbows across the left knee. Bulldog with another takedown and work of the leg, but Repo cheats to take control. Irish whip is reversed, and Bulldog with another clothesline, followed by a back elbow. Bulldog tries the powerslam, but he wipes the referee out in the process. Repo grabs onto his tow-rope to escape, then uses the hook and chokes Bulldog down while the referee (Evil Danny Davis) is still selling. Repo decides to continue to dish out punishment, then throws Bulldog over the top rope, and hanging him in the process. Repo pounds away on Bulldog outside the ring, while Blackjack Lanza, J.J. Dillon, Tony Garea, and Rene Goulet run down to break it up. Call it a Sports Entertainment Finish at 4:30, since the referee finally woke up. Bulldog gets stretchered out to add effect to the beating. * Not much of a match, since it only lasted two minutes before the referee bump, but the beating and hanging of Davey Boy was pretty cool for the time, so brownie points to this match.
- The Nasty Boys vs. The Beverly Brothers:
(Brian Knobbs & Jerry Saggs vs. Blake & Beau Beverly)
Fast forward another year, to the April 18th, 1993 episode of Wrestling Challenge. Both teams were pretty much done in the WWF at this point, so everyone will be going through the motions. This era of Challenge has the PBP team of Jim Ross and Bobby Heenan, by the way. Saggs and Beau Beverly to start the match. Lockup into the corner, and Saggs give a violent clean break... well, that's an oxymoron, I guess. Lockup #2 into the corner again, and Beau with a cheap shot. Beau hammers away on Saggs in the corner. Irish whip and Saggs comes back with a hip toss and clothesline. Saggs with a wristlock applied, and Knobbs tags in for a clothesline of his own, followed by an elbow drop for a two count. Knobbs with the wristlock now, and Beau escapes with an eye poke. Blake tags in and quickly gets taken down with a hip toss and scoop slam. Knobbs with a big clothesline gives Blake to do the Marty Jannetty Sell™. Blake offers a handshake out of good sportsmanship, but Knobbs won't buy it. Knobbs with a hair-pull slam, and Saggs tags in to nail Blake with a back elbow. Saggs goes back to working over the arm with a wristlock. Blake tags it into the corner for the escape. Irish whip to the corner, and Blake misses a charge. The Nasties continue working over the left arm of Blake. Knobbs takes Blake over with the wristlock, then drops a leg across the arm. The heels FINALLY take over, as Beau boots Knobbs from behind and comes off the top rope with an axehandle as we take a commercial break. We come back with Blake stomping away at Knobbs in the corner. Irish whip across the ring, and Blake puts Knobbs down with a back elbow. Blake chokes Knobbs across the middle rope, and Beau tags in with a double axehandle across the back. Irish whip to the corner, and Knobbs does the Sean Waltman bump. Blake chokes Knobbs with the tag rope as the referee is distracted, and the Beverlies nail the leap-frog splash move that Benjamin & Haas used to do. Blake tags back in and applies a bearhug, which doesn't look too painful. Knobbs escapes with rights, but he fails at a slam because his back is in pain. Blake tries a suplex now, and Knobbs blocks that and takes Blake over with his own. Beau tags back in and sends Knobbs out of the ring to eat some ring post. Blake adds insult to injury by slamming Knobbs across the security railing. Knobbs is finally rolled back into the ring, and Beau covers for a two count. Beau stomps away on Knobbs while Saggs gets a "Nasty" chant going. Blake comes back in, and Knobbs quickly snaps his head back WITH INTENSITY! Saggs finally gets the hot tag and cleans Beau's clock. PIT STOP! PIT STOP! PIT STOP! Saggs nails a charge to the corner and mounts Beau for some punching. The Beverlies try a double whatever, but Saggs nails both with DDT's! Saggs covers Blake, but Beau breaks the cover. Knobbs is thrown out of the ring, but heel miscommunication allows Saggs to roll Beau up for the three count at 10:07! The Beverly Brothers go back to double teaming Saggs, but Knobbs is back in to scare them off. **1/2 I can't believe it either. This was about 50 times better than I was expecting it to be. The Nasty Boys actually did stuff other than sloppy punches, and the Bev' Brothers heat-segment on Knobbs was fairly entertaining. All around a good match that had minimal down time. I think the world is coming to an end now.
- Mr. Perfect vs. Blake Beverly:
From the next week of Wrestling Challenge. Beau Beverly is surprisingly absent, but this was a couple of weeks/months before Beau was fired/quit, leaving Blake to play a JTTS singles wrestler until August. Jim Ross reminds us Mr. Perfect is facing Doink in a KOTR Qualifying Match next week. Blake attacks from behind, choking Perfect with his own towel (Bobby: You live by the towel, you die by the towel). Blake then throws Perfect with the towel wrapped around his neck. Beverly pounds away on Perfect, but gets put down with a shoulder block. Irish whip is reversed, and Perfect sends Beverly flying with a clothesline. Back into the ring, and Perfect grabs a headlock. Irish whip, and a running dropkick sends Beverly out of the ring again. Out comes Beau Beverly, who runs in and quickly gets back dropped and thrown out. Perfect pulls Blake back into the ring with a handful of hair, then slams him face-first into the canvas. Snapmare and float-over neck snap by Perfect. Beau is back up on the apron, giving Blake a chance to sneak attack. Blake slams Perfect across the top rope as we see Beau leave. Easy pay day for Beau. Reverse Neckbreaker by Blake, but he doesn't cover. Irish whip, and Perfect comes off with a body press for a two count. Blake takes Perfect over with a snapmare and follows with an elbow drop. Blake goes for a suplex, but Perfect blocks and takes Blake over with his own. Blake continues pounding away on Perfect for a while, but the Perfect-Plex comes out of nowhere, and Mr. Perfect picks up the win at 5:32. * Nothing too good here, but I've seen worse. The match could've done with a minute or so shaved off, since Blake really shouldn't stand a chance against Perfect.
- "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan vs. The Honkytonk Man (w/ Jimmy Hart):
From the February 24th, 1990 episode of Superstars, with McMahon and Jesse Ventura on commentary. I hope this match is short, because it's going to suck otherwise. Duggan does a lot of "Ho-ing" and scares HTM out of the ring with his 2x4. Lots of stalling, and then we get a chase around the ring. They get back into the ring, and Duggan pounds away. Irish whip to the corner, and Duggan takes Honky over with a hip toss. The tape craps out for a moment, so I guess God is telling me not to watch this. Honky comes back by cheating, but Duggan still can't bother to sell. Duggan applies a wristlock and works over the left arm of Honky. Honky comes back with elbows to the midsection, but that doesn't last long. Duggan with some punches, followed by the clothesline. He goes for the BIG clothesline, but Jimmy pulls the leg and Honky sends Duggan out with a high knee. Valentine runs down now to beat on Duggan, but that doesn't go to well. Honky grabs the guitar now, but Duggan fights that off too! It's a big brawl and double Count-Out at 3:34. Rhythm & Blues double team Duggan more, but he manages to grab his 2x4 to scare them off. For good measure, he then smashes the guitar into a million pieces with the 2x4. DUD Match sucked, but at least it was kept reasonably short.
- WWF Tag Team Championship Match:
The Nasty Boys © (w/ Jimmy Hart) vs. The Rockers:
(Brian Knobbs & Jerry Saggs vs. Marty Jannetty & Shawn Michaels)
From the May 4th, 1991 episode of Superstars, with McMahon, Roddy Piper and Randy Savage (recently "retired") now pulling the duties of commentary. Will the Nasty Boys streak of good matches reach two? We'll find out soon... Jannetty and Knobbs to start the match. Lockup into the corner, and Knobbs with a clean break. Okay, clean for 5 seconds, as he pounds away on Jannetty. Irish whip across the ring, and Knobbs runs into a boot. Jannetty with a second rope bulldog, and Michaels clears Saggs from the ring. Jannetty applies a wristlock, and Knobbs quickly escapes with an eye rake. Irish whip, and Jannetty rolls Knobbs up. Saggs gets the blind tag, and Jannetty puts him down with a reverse crescent kick, followed by a snapmare for a two count. Jannetty applies a wristlock, and Michaels tags in and comes off the top with a diving shoulder tackle. Dropkick to Knobbs, but Saggs is able to avoid one himself. Inset interview from the Legion of Doom while Saggs punches Michaels. Knobbs tags in to whip Michaels across the ring, and nails a clothesline for a two count. Saggs tags in, and Michaels quickly comes back to crotch Saggs on the ring post. Knobbs makes sure to nail Michaels, in case he tries tagging out. Back into the ring, and Knobbs doesn't do much. Knobbs with a running powerslam, but Jannetty interrupts the elbow drop by knocking Knobbs out of the ring and dumping Saggs off the top rope. Jannetty with the hot tag, and he's a house of fire! Heel miscommunication happens, but it only gets a two count. Hell breaks loose, and the Nasties bring the motorcycle helmet in, drawing a Disqualification at 4:26, and giving the Rockers the cheap victory. *1/4 Bleh... match started off good, but the Nasty Boys sure did drag this baby down to being a pretty boring match. The finish wasn't much of a surprise at the time, since we were getting a LOD/Nasty Boys feud, and the Rockers were doing nothing.
- Nailz vs. Scott Zappa:
From the October 24th, 1992 episode of Superstars, with McMahon and Mr. Perfect on commentary. The match never actually happens, as Nailz clears the ring of his opponent, and then cuts the absolute worst (and most boring) promo in the history of wrestling. Remember the Stevie character on Malcolm in the Middle? That's the exact pacing of Nailz talking. This segment eats up a good 4 or 5 minutes as he makes threats at the Boss Man, while showing ZERO emotion in anything he says, as if he were reading this off a cue card... and to make things more twisted, out comes The Undertaker, who's scheduled for a match. They have a stare-down, but Commisioner Slaughter breaks it up, depsite the chants of "Let Them Fight." I'm pretty sure that shot of the two of them made the cover of the January 1993 issue of WWF Magazine.
- WWF World Championship Match:
Bret "Hitman" Hart © vs. Virgil:
From the November 21st, 1992 episode of Superstars, and another team of PBP men: Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan, who's subbing for Mr. Perfect, because he's training for his match at Survivor Series. Bret has the "fighting champion" character going, by defending against such notable contenders like the Berzerker (post-push), Papa Shango (post-push), the Mountie (post-push), and now Virgil (JTTS). What if Virgil wins the World Title? Does he defend against Yokozuna at Survivor Series? Does Bret Hart challenge Michaels for the IC Title instead?! SO MANY POSSIBILITIES! Both men exchange a ghetto handshake before the match, because Bret is a brutha' deep inside. Virgil with a waistlock takedown, and Bret quickly makes it to the ropes. HIGH FIVE! Lockup, and Virgil takes Bret over with a side headlock. Irish whip to escape, and Virgil comes off the ropes with a cross body for a two count. Virgil goes back to the side headlock, and takes Hart over with it again. Hart counters with a head scissors, then takes Virgil over with his own headlock. Irish whip to escape, and Bret comes off the ropes with a clothesline. Bret with a stomp to the midsection, followed by an elbow drop. Scoop slam by Hart, then starts hammering away on Virgil in the corner with European uppercuts. Irish whip to the corner, and Virgil catches Bret coming in and drives a series of elbows to the midsection. Virgil takes Hart out of the corner with a monkey flip for a two count. Irish whip to the corner is reversed, and Virgil misses a cross body. Hart goes for the end, and the Sharpshooter ends Virgils night at 4:06. After the match, Bret helps Virgil up and they share a manly hug, but not Savage/Warrior levels of manly. ** Good, if not spectacular T.V. match. Too short to mean anything, but it's pretty much you could expect out of Virgil, since no one ever confused him as a great wrestler.
- Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Jerry Fox:
From the November 28th, 1992 episode of Superstars, and Bigelow's first match in the WWF since the summer of 1988. Also, he's a heel now, for those who don't remember much. Bigelow shoves Fox into the corner and chokes away. Irish whip to the corner, and Bigelow with an avalanche. Bigelow takes Fox over with a suplex and follows up with an enziguri. McMahon calls Bigelow a newcomer to the WWF. Irish whip, and Bigelow nails a clothesline, allowing Fox to do the Jannetty-sell. Bigelow with an inset promo, contradicting McMahon's comments. Bigelow with a dropkick, then goes back to doing a front facelock. Gut-wrench suplex by Bigelow, and he finishes the jobber off with the top rope diving headbutt at 1:57. 1/4* Nothing much since it was a squash match, but Bigelow showing off why he was a good big man wrestler always makes me happy.
- Marty Jannetty vs. Dwayne Gill:
From the December 12th, 1992 episode of Superstars, and we've got Jerry Lawler in the broadcast booth now. Not an important squash, but the post-match shenanigans is what I wanted to see. Lockup to start, and Jannetty wth a headlock, and into a hammerlock. Single leg trip and Jannetty goes into a front facelock. We see a weird looking clown in the aisle, as Gill turns the hold into a hammerlock. Jannetty counters with a flip over and monkey flips Gill into the ropes. Head scissors takeover by Jannetty as we get an inset Shawn Michaels Promo, who seems to not remember who Sherri is. Awesome! Totally awesome! Back to the action... Jannetty whip Gill to the corner and mounts him for some punches. The clown is still wandering around the ring. Gill gets his token jobber offense until he misses a charge. Jannetty with some field goal kicks, and Jannetty is apparently on the IcoPRO workout. Jannetty does nothing much of note until finishing Gill off with the top rope fist drop at 3:00. After the match, Jannetty and the clown meet up in the aisle, and the clown throws a bucket of water on Jannetty, to the delight of himself, Bobby Heenan, and Jerry Lawler. OK, it was pretty funny, so me too. DUD.
Virgil vs. The Giant Gonzalez (w/ Harvey Wippleman):
From the weekend of WrestleMania IX episode of SuperStars, with Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan on commentary. Watching the Gonzalez wrestle is like a car wreck. You know it's awful to look at, but you just watch anyway, to see how bad it could be. Virgil dances around the ring, avoiding Gonzalez' advances... damn, that sounded gay. Gonzalez chokes Virgil back into the corner. Virgil climbs the ropes for a test-of-strength, and after a long time, Gonzalez finally brings him back down to the canvas. Gonzalez with a series of blows on Virgil, who looks like a midget in comparison. Irish whip, and Virgil comes back with a dropkick. Gonzalez no sells, then swats away a second attempt. Gonzalez floors Virgil with a clothesline, then chokeslams him (as best as he can) for the three count at 2:53. Yup, that was the entire match. Afterwards, Gonzalez chokeslams Virgil again for good measure. DUD At least it was short, and it gave Monsoon a chance to work in the "do something ref, even if it's wrong!" line.
Final Thoughts: Not a whole lot of interesting stuff here. As always with free TV "feature matches" they were either dog shit or random midcarders going at it for a few minutes. Nothing really major in terms of angle development either, other than Valentine's face turn or Repo Man hanging Bulldog. Either way, nothing to recommend tracking down, unless you want to see a good Nasty Boys match, and we all know those are few and far between.