WWF Superstars of Wrestling 2/16/1991
Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2024/06/wwf-superstars-of-wrestling-291991.html
Next week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2024/07/wwf-superstars-of-wrestling-2231991.html
Vince McMahon and Roddy Piper welcome us to the show and push tonight's tag team battle royale. Piper says it'll be tutti fruity, they'll be slipping and sliding and he'll hear them knocking but they can't come in.
Tito Santana vs Ted Oates
They trade wristlocks and they say Tito could be one of the only people to be all of the Wrestlemania's so far. Ted shoulders him over then Tito hiptosses him. Tito slams and dropkicks him.
Tito does an inset promo. He says he's ready for Wrestlemania and has wrestled in every one. He says he's ready to compete. Ted hits some shots in the corner then lariats Tito over. Ted back elbows Tito then snapmares him. Piper says he will be in Virgil's corner at Wrestlemania VII. Tito hits shots and back body drops Ted. Tito hits a flying forearm and wins.
Thoughts: It was a short but mostly even here. Ted had real basic offense but all of it looked good. I liked this one.
We see clips from Wrestling Challenge. Piper and Virgil are interviewed by Mean Gene on the stage. Piper says the P in his name stood for poverty and other things. He says there's a difference between being a friend and a fool. He says he hates bullies. They do an example and show Piper shining Virgil's shoes after he asked nicely. Piper says it's a pleasure to do it because he's his friend.
Piper makes him say to kiss his feet. Piper says to stick it in your nose. Piper tells him to slap him and he does. Piper then tells him to wipe his feet in mean fashion and Virgil says no. Piper then slaps him and tells him to do it again. Virgil says no again. Piper goes off on race and says he is a pure man. Virgil says he won't wipe his boots and Piper says now he gets the idea. Piper has him spell "man" and has him to talk to Ted. Virgil says you spell man, "V-I-R-G-I-L". Piper says guess who is coming to dinner to Ted.
Thoughts: Kind of juvenile and Sesame Street esque here but it was the 90's and it was marketed to kids. The point got across well enough.
The Mountie vs Sonny Blaze
Vince calls Mountie "Dudley Do-Right" and Piper says Mounties are used for "passive crowd control". Mountie dropkicks him to start then bangs SB's head off the buckles. Jimmy Hart and The Mountie do a promo. Mountie says when there's a problem that can't be solved, they call him. Hart says he always gets his man on the inset then says it live right after.
Mountie puts him in an iron claw. Mounted throws him down with a double chokeslam. Mountie trap holds him and taps him out.
Thoughts: It wasn't good. Mountie's offense looked weak and SB giving up to a trap hold was lame.
Mountie handcuffs SB after and shocks him with the shockstick.
WWF Event Center with Sean Mooney
Sean hypes up Wrestlemania VII and runs down the card. The British Bulldog does a promo. He says him and Warlord will be part of Mania. He says if Warlord thinks he can get a full-nelson his shoulders, then take your best shot. He says he will get the victory through the powerslam.
Rick Martel talks about the blindfold match with Jake Roberts. He says he doesn't like the match but he doesn't have fear. He says he has never been in blindness like Jake but says Jake will fear another night of it, like a kid who is afraid to touch fire after getting burned.
#1 Contenders Battle Royale
No intros here for any of the teams. This starts off before Fink can say their names. If one member of the team is eliminated, the entire team is eliminated. There's no real organization going on early with everyone splitting off.
The Rockers take double gorilla presses form Demolition and grab onto each other to escape. Crush takes a double superkick then Smash takes a double dropkick out. Demolition is eliminated but fights with Marty before he leaves. Bushwhacker Luke takes a kick from Tanaka and is sent out by Kato. The Bushwhackers are eliminated.
Knobbs is double teamed by The Rockers. Shawn tries to dropkicks Knobbs but gets Marty instead and eliminates him. The Rockers are eliminated. Hawk 2nd rope elbows Saggs. Hawk is pounded on by Roma and Tanaka then Roma nails Tanaka.
Piper calls Knobbs "Nags" and Kato eye rakes Hawk. Hawk back body drops Kato over the top to eliminate him then Animal gorilla presses Tanaka out onto Kato. The Orient Express are eliminated. Roma goes under the bottom rope, Animal follows and throws him back in.
The LOD are both double teamed. Herc rocket launchers Roma onto Animal. Animal catches him and throws him over the top to eliminate him. Hawk double clotheslines The Nasty Boys. Hawk goes up top for a doomsday device. Roma trips Hawk on the top and sends him out of the ring. The LOD are eliminated and The Nasty Boys win.
Thoughts: It was a shorter one here. We really only had two or three high spots in this one. They didn't make the most they could out of it but at least they set up a Power and Glory vs Legion of Doom feud here.
WWF Event Center
Sean Mooney says The Nasty Boys will get a shot at the tag titles at Wrestlemania VII. Mr. Perfect and Bobby Heenan do a promo. Heenan dares Boss to take care of Perfect. Perfect asks if Boss' plan is to wipe out The Family 1v1. Perfect says the dead end street starts here. He says they've had it with him and says he will be Perfect against him.
The Big Boss Man talks. He says Heenan is just another man and says the way to destroy him is to destroy every man in his family. He says the next man on his list is Mr. Perfect. He says it will come down to him and Perfect. He says he will always deal out hard times.
The Texas Tornado vs Darryl Woodworth
Kerry slaps and pushes him. Kerry knocks him out of the ring. DW hits some knees to the gut. Kerry hits punches and discus punches him. Kerry then picks up the win.
Thoughts: It wasn't good. Kerry looked off-balance here and it was over before it really got going.
The Brother Love Show
The Undertaker is the guest and is already on stage. Love says Taker requires love 24 hours a day. Love says he's a little too busy to give him the love he deserves. He then introduces "Brother Bearer", who will guide the career of The Undertaker.
Love asks Bearer what his first name is and he says, "Paul". Love says what better name to guide the career of The Undertaker with than Paul Bearer. Love says he has a vision. He says he sees Savage beating Warrior and ending his career. He says as the casket goes into the ground, Paul says may Warrior rest in peace.
Thoughts: Brother Love and The Undertaker weren't exactly the most natural combo and Taker making the switch wasn't that surprising. Love sure struck at the plate on that deal though, giving away one of the best wrestlers ever. Paul didn't wear white powder make-up here and looked really different but he fit Taker a lot better.
The Wrestlemania Report
Gene says we are five weeks away from Mania. They officially announce Virgil vs Ted Dibiase and The Hart Foundation vs The Nasty Boys for the tag titles.
Sgt. Slaughter said he proved to Hulk that he does what he wants to do. He says he's the new leader here. He says if Hulk doesn't have it all in the ring, he will become Sarge's POW. He says they may call him "The Immortal Slime" when he is done with him. Adnan talks in his language. Sarge says they will destroy The Hulkster and that's an order.
Hulk Hogan does a promo. Hulk says the only thing more dangerous than nerve gas going up in your sinuses is the power of Hulkamania. He says Sarge didn't realize the mission he was on when he hit him with a chair. He said the chair shot from Sarge affected him as much as a scud missile in the sea. Hulk says men and women are putting their lives on the line in the Persian Gulf. He says his Hulkster's don't understand that Sarge is being protected by the same people who are fighting against Saddam. He says Sarge will fall victim to the rule book when he plays by no rules.
We see rare clips from Madison Square Garden. Jimmy Hart nails Greg Valentine with a guitar on accident and this sets up Greg Valentine vs Earthquake at Wrestlemania VII (Greg already had basically turned face by Royal Rumble 1991 though). Texas Tornado fights Dino Bravo at Wrestlemania VII.
The Macho King Randy Savage and Sensational Sherri do a promo. Sherri has no make-up on and just normal clothes and Macho does not have his crown on. Macho says the big Macho King in the sky is smiling at The Macho King. He says he's too hot to handle and too cold to hold. He says he will take Warrior's career in Los Angeles and there's nothing Warrior can do about it.
The Ultimate Warrior does a promo. Warrior tells Macho that now is not to the time for Macho to look for the missing pieces of The Kingdom of Madness. Warrior says one of the pieces is missing and that's the piece of crystal in his skull. Warrior said he told the doctors to sew it in. He says the crystal shows the memories of what Macho was and will be. He says Mania is real life and no video game. He says he will pull the plug and end his career.
Thoughts: This was a good promo by Warrior but if Macho is now just Macho Man and not Macho King, they didn't explain it anywhere.
Gene says Regis Philbin and George Steinbrenner will be at Mania.
We see Mean Gene at Toys R' Us in front of WWF toys. He says we can great WWF merchandise there and shows off various items. He says will get free autographs with various purchases. The Legion of Doom walk in. Gene says words like Perfect, Sensational, Weasel and Crush and The LOD get up in his face. Hawk then says what a rush and Gene says he will see us at Toys R Us.
Rick Martel vs Tommy Landell
Jake Roberts does an inset promo. Jake says he has dealt with a blindfold and says Rick is looking for sympathy from the devil. Jake says to turn out the lights as the party is over.
Rick backs up Tom in the corner and hits knees and various shots. Rick goes up and over then hiptosses him. Rick slams him and poses. Ric hits Tom in the gut then gutwrench suplexes him. Ric backbreakers him then taps him out with a boston crab.
Thoughts: It was a quick one with Rick having good looking offense. I liked Jake's promo here.
Rick Martel goes to spray Tom with Arrogance and someone in a mask and a vest beats up Martel. This was Brutus Beefcake and he'll do this for a few more weeks before it stops.
We get a video of someone blowing fire with dragon sounds and red smoke. That's Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat.
WWF Event Center
Sean Mooney talks about Mania. Jimmy Hart and Dino Bravo do a promo. Dino says when the pressure is on, he's at his best. He tells Texas Tornado to fight for his life and come prepared as the winds will blow in his favor. Greg Valentine does a promo. He says this is the 7th Mania for him. He says he faces Earthquake. He says he's in the greatest shape of his career and will take out Earthquake.
Vince runs down next week's card with Virgil vs Haku. Vince says we could get insight as to what happens at Mania. Piper says his buddy Virgil will fight Haku and says he will be in his corner. He says "Guess whose coming to dinner?" to Ted.
Overall thoughts: This was one of the better shows lately as we got a tag team battle royale, a short but decent Tito match and 3 new characters in Paul Bearer, Ricky Steamboat and Brutus Beefcake's Man with No Name gimmick. Brother Love also officially relinquished his managerial duties of The Undertaker over to Paul Bearer. It wasn't great or anything but I liked it and Paul Bearer's entrance in the WWF would end up being an important part of WWF lore.
