WWF Wrestling Challenge – December 9th ,1990

December 9, 1990

From the Onondaga War Memorial in Syracuse, NY

Your hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan

In action this week are the Hart Foundation, Tugboat, The Undertaker, Power & Glory, and Saba Simba.

Hart Foundation vs. Barry Hardy & Paul Perez

The Hart Foundation work over Hardy as we hear from Power & Glory with Slick, who are not impressed with The Hart Foundation as they promise to take their belts. Heenan says that Power & Glory have the edge because its the 90’s as the Hart Foundation put Perez away with the Hart Attack (3:14).

Thoughts: They are pushing the Power & Glory vs. Hart Foundation feud as the new, exciting team of the decade versus a less exciting and staler act.

WWF Special Report with Lord Alfred Hayes. The same Royal Rumble news we saw on “Superstars of Wrestling.”

Rick Sampson vs. Kane the Undertaker w/ Brother Love

Kane catches Sampson with a chokeslam then slams him down before dropping an elbow. We hear from Brother Love & Kane the Undertaker in an insert promo as Kane promises to put another soul to rest. Heenan puts over Kane’s agility and presence then Kane hits a tombstone for the win (1:55).

Thoughts: They cut to young kids in the crowd being fearful of Kane as they are trying to add a mystique to his character. The handling of his character has been great right off the bat.

Saba Simba vs. Bob Bradley

Heenan is on commentary ordering five dozen red roses for the Big Bossman’s mother then plugs Mr. Perfect being on the cover of “WWF Magazine.” Bradley lands some shots in the corner then chokes him out. Simba reverses an Irish whip and runs wild until he catches Bradley in an airplane spin for the win (1:30).

Thoughts: Simba was a flop so they used this to talk about Heenan’s feud with Bossman.

Power & Glory vs. Chris Hawn & Mike Pocari

Power & Glory beat down Hawn to start. We see the Hart Foundation in an insert promo as Neidhart flips out over what they said earlier but Bret calms him down and says that Power & Glory are not taking the belts. Gorilla says you need excitability to be successful in tag team wrestling as Heenan names The Rockers and Power & Glory as teams who fit that bill. Power & Glory stay in control then put Pocari away with the Power Plex (3:36).

Thoughts: More talk of the Power & Glory being the team of the future while the Hart Foundation are a stale act.

“Superfly” Jimmy Snuka vs. Duane Gill

Snuka beats on Gill as Heenan makes fun of him for being illiterate. Snuka chops down Gill after an Irish whip sequence then stays in control until he hits the Superfly Splash for the win (3:17).

Thoughts: Heenan kept making jokes about Snuka, who is just a name from the past at this point.

Gene Okerlund welcomes Macho King Randy Savage to the interview platform. We see a clip of Savage attacking the Ultimate Warrior from “Main Event” then Savage says it felt great. Savage also claimed to feel Warrior’s spirit ooze right out of him then promises us two things: he will strip the World Heavyweight Title from Warrior’s waist and strip him of his dignity. A fine promo from Savage as he vows to reclaim the World Heavyweight Title.

Boris Zhukov vs. Tugboat

Zhukov attacks Tugboat from behind then hammers away. Tugboat fights back and hits an avalanche and soon after that hits a splash for the win (1:44).

Thoughts: They’ve given up on Tugboat’s push for the most part. He’s still teaming with Hogan at house shows but they are not building him up on commentary.

The Orient Express w/ Mr. Fuji vs. Ron Cumberledge & Mario Mancini

We see that there is a new member of the Orient Express named Kato, who replaces Sato. It is Paul Diamond under a mask. The Orient Express beat on Cumberledge to start. Mancini tags in as The Orient Express hit a few cool double-team moves before they get the win with a super kick/bridging German suplex combo (2:34).

Thoughts: The former Badd Company is reunited now. Right off the bat you noticed the chemistry too as Tanaka & Sato never did any moves together while he did a few crisp moves with Kato in this match.

In action next week are Earthquake, The Bushwhackers, Rick Martel, and the Big Bossman. Plus, an interview with Sgt. Slaughter and clips from the Intercontinental Title match. Heenan also tells us to remember the name “The Undertaker.”

Final Thoughts: We saw Orient Express debut their new member, The Undertaker’s first match on syndicated TV, and Savage cut a good promo too making this a bit more memorable than your typical episode of Challenge. The build for the Rumble continues.

Here is my tentative schedule for the next several days:

Friday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 12/15/90

Saturday: Mid-South Wrestling 5/12/83

Sunday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 12/16/90

Monday: WWF Prime-Time Wrestling 12/17/90

Tuesday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 12/22/90

Wednesday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 12/23/90

Thursday: WWF Madison Square Garden 12/28/90