What the World Was Watching: WWF Superstars – January 9, 1993
By LScisco on 29th April 2024
Earlier in the day was the debut of WWF Mania on USA Network. A Saturday morning show hosted by radio disc jockey Todd Pettengill; it recapped a lot of action from the WWF’s other broadcasts but also featured exclusive matches in its early run to make up for some of those matches no longer appearing on Prime Time Wrestling.
Hacksaw Jim Duggan pins Repo Man after the three-point stance clothesline at 3:50:
After being a staple of the WWF’s booking for much of the late 1980s, Duggan had been less prominently featured since 1991. He spent much of the previous year in a tag team with old enemy Sergeant Slaughter and the duo went undefeated until they were stopped by WWF Tag Team Champions Money Incorporated in July. When Slaughter left the ring for a backstage position shortly after that, Duggan made less than one appearance a month for the rest of the year. The WWF did not job him out like El Matador but one could sense that Duggan fit less with the company’s youth movement and was not long for the promotion as 1993 began.
Repo Man was Barry Darsow, who had gotten a strong run in the 1980s as Demolition Smash. He successfully reinvented himself as an evil repo man who wore a Lone Ranger-like mask. After a few fun vignettes, he made his debut late in 1991 and was a fixture of a lot of the WWF’s television programming in 1992. However, he was on the losing end of all of his pay-per-view matches, dropping an eight-man tag team match at WrestleMania and going down to Crush at SummerSlam. He also lost a feud with the British Bulldog that had a rare television blowoff on Prime Time Wrestling in August. And by the end of the year Repo Man was slightly above Skinner in the heel pecking order, having lost feature matches to babyfaces like Max Moon, Tatanka, Bob Backlund, and Marty Jannetty.
Sean Mooney and Lord Alfred Hayes do commentary for this match, which took place on January 4 in Beaumont, Texas. Repo Man is treated like a jobber as Duggan dominates most of the action. The match moves slowly too, which makes both men look out of shape and behind the times. After catching Repo Man with an elbow on a blind charge, Duggan slams him and hits the three-point stance clothesline to win his first match of the year. After the match, Mooney says that Duggan wants to move up the singles ranks. Rating: ½*
Mania also featured an interview with Owen Hart, conducted by Ray Rougeau. Owen talks about wrestling his brothers in the Dungeon until Razor Ramon clotheslines him out of his chair. Ramon slams a trash can across Owen’s back and chokes him as he taunts him about whether his father taught him how to escape that hold. Afterward, Ramon does a promo about how WWF Champion Bret Hart is going to get a taste of what his brother got at The Royal Rumble. Bret rebuts that he is going to pound the daylights out of Ramon.
So now it was time for WWF Superstars, airing once again from Green Bay, Wisconsin with Vince McMahon, Randy Savage, and Jerry Lawler on commentary.
Opening Contest: Kamala (w/Harvey Wippleman & Kim Chee) beats Todd Becker after a splash at 1:40:
Kamala was brought in to bolster the WWF’s heel ranks shortly after WrestleMania VIII, which were decimated by the departures of Sid Justice and Jake Roberts. Although he had a strong run against Hulk Hogan in the 1980s, Kamala was not treated like the killer he once was. Instead, he was more of a goofy heel that could not correctly pin his opponents. He spent all of 1992 in a one-sided feud with the Undertaker that revolved around Kamala fearing his opponent. While the program helped elevate the Undertaker, it had the opposite effect on Kamala, who dropped a match by disqualification to the Dead Man at SummerSlam and lost a coffin match at Survivor Series. After Survivor Series the WWF began teasing a babyface turn for him because of abuse from his managers Wippleman and Kim Chee, who were growing tired of Kamala’s inability to heed their instructions and win matches against quality competition.
Becker, a Minneapolis, Minnesota talent, did enhancement work for the WWF in 1989 and 1992. The previous year he worked three matches, losing to Yokozuna, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, and Papa Shango. He also did enhancement work for the AWA in 1989 and 1990.
Kamala chops Becker down and gives him his finishing splash but remains confused about how to pin his opponent.
After the match, Wippleman and Kim Chee get into the ring and berate him, pushing him into the ropes several times. Slick runs out and tells the managers to get lost, leading to Kim Chee decking Slick. Kamala slaps his belly and tends to Slick, chopping Kim Chee over the top rope and chasing Wippleman to the locker room. This got a good reaction from the crowd so Kamala’s babyface turn is off to a good start.
The Steiner Brothers (1-0) defeat Butch Banks & Rock Werner when Scott pins Banks after a Frankensteiner at 3:14:
Werner was used for enhancement work by the WWF for the last two years, appearing in losing efforts in 1992 against the Beverly Brothers, the Mountie, and Money Incorporated. When not working for the WWF he wrestled for Wisconsin’s Nu-Age independent promotion.
In the split screen, the Steiners tell the Beverly Brothers that they are not going to like their New Year’s resolution at The Royal Rumble. The Steiners get reactions for dismantling their opponents with creative moves as Scott plants Werner with a super Samoan drop and Rick delivers a super overhead belly-to-belly suplex to Banks. For a finish, Scott uses the Frankensteiner, which gets a big pop. After this squash, it is tough to see how the Beverlys stand a chance at The Royal Rumble.
Ray Rougeau tries to talk to the clown in the audience but the clown is uncooperative.
Bobby Heenan does a taped bit where he says that he has heard Mr. Perfect asking around about who Narcissus is. Heenan argues that Narcissus is so perfect he comes from another galaxy and puts over his physical attributes.
Lance Cassidy pins George Petrovsky after a bulldog at 2:53:
Cassidy was Steve Armstrong, given a cowboy gimmick that McMahon was always fond of throwing on new talent. He arrived in the WWF in October 1992 and won a handful of squashes. His biggest win was against Skinner on the December 14 edition of Prime Time Wrestling. In a crowded babyface scene, Cassidy did not stand out on the mic and one would think his ceiling was the midcard if he was lucky.
Petrovsky gets close to an equal share of offense, which does not do a lot to enhance Cassidy’s status. However, he never musters a big power move to keep the cowboy down. Cassidy knocks Petrovsky off his feet with a few dropkicks and after whipping his opponent chest-first into the corner, he finishes with a bulldog. This would be Cassidy’s last televised appearance as he quit the company several days before due to the hectic travel schedule and his low position on the card.
Buy the new WWF Magazine with Mr. Perfect on the cover!
Ray Rougeau interviews the clown, who has his arm in a sling. The clown says that his name is Doink and he loves taking smiles away from children. When Rougeau questions how Doink’s jokes happen at other people’s expense, Doink says he does not care and squirts water in Rougeau’s eyes with a flower.
The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) defeats Scott Zappa after the Tombstone at 2:46:
Since his debut at the 1990 Survivor Series, the Undertaker had been the WWF’s best character as a man who appeared dead and was impervious to pain. He started 1992 as a heel, aligned with Jake Roberts in Roberts’ feud with Randy Savage, but crowd reactions forced the WWF to pivot and shortly after The Royal Rumble, the Undertaker turned babyface, preventing a Roberts sneak attack with a chair on Savage and Elizabeth after Roberts lost to Savage on Saturday Night’s Main Event. The Undertaker beat Roberts at WrestleMania and destroyed the Berzerker and Kamala in later feuds. It appeared that a new program with Nailz would begin after Survivor Series but Nailz was fired at this television taping so the Undertaker was currently engaged in a house show feud with Papa Shango.
Zappa was a brad Rheingans and Animal trainee. He did one enhancement match for the WWF the previous year against Crush.
Savage announces that the Undertaker will face Damien Demento on Monday Night RAW. Since the Undertaker was in the Royal Rumble many considered him to be a favorite to win since he had an undefeated singles campaign the previous year. The Undertaker moves slowly in deconstructing his opponent, giving the Tombstone some English by jumping when delivering the move. After the match, the Undertaker and Bearer stuff Zappa in a body bag. Lawler also uses the Royal Magistrator to draw Papa Shango on the urn, saying that the urn may contain a genie with Shango’s power.
Gene Okerlund does The Royal Rumble Report. A new match added to the card is Shawn Michaels defending the Intercontinental Championship against Marty Jannetty. Sensational Sherri will also appear but it is unclear whose corner she will be in. Michaels argues that Jannetty does not deserve a title shot and Sherri will reunite with him. Jannetty rebuts that the pay-per-view will be his day as he will take the title and that Sherri will be with him because Michaels does not know Sherri as well as he thinks he does. New names in the Rumble include Genichiro Tenryu, El Matador, Typhoon, the Headshrinkers, and Hacksaw Jim Duggan. In Rumble promos, Mr. Perfect says no one in the Rumble is as good as him, Yokozuna and Mr. Fuji argue that no one can move him, and Duggan does his oft-repeated Rumble bit about how it is his type of match because he loves to hit people.
Bam Bam Bigelow (1-0) pins Red Tyler after the flying headbutt at 2:25:
The Big Bossman does an insert promo about how he is going to cut Bigelow down to size at The Royal Rumble. Bigelow talks trash to Tyler as he beats him down and uses a jackhammer suplex. Later in his run, Bigelow got away from that move but he should have kept it as it was a nice setup for the flying headbutt.
Tune in next week to see Yokozuna, the Nasty Boys, Crush, and Razor Ramon in action! Also, there will be a special interview with Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels!
The Last Word: This was a good show that contained a healthy amount of Royal Rumble build and progressed new stories. The Steiner Brothers have looked amazing through two squash matches and Bam Bam Bigelow is a strong heel that the company was in desperate need of a year earlier. Kamala’s turn was well received but it will be tough for him to find traction in a crowded babyface hierarchy.
Up Next: Wrestling Challenge for January 10!
And if you would like to read a compiled breakdown of 1990-1992 WWF, 1993 ECW, or of various promotions in 1995, check out my Amazon author page to purchase e-books or paperback copies!