WWF Superstars of Wrestling – September 28th, 1991

September 28, 1991

From the Ottawa Civic Center in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Your hosts are Vince McMahon and Roddy Piper. We learn that WWF President Jack Tunney has placed Randy Savage on 90 day probation.

In action this week are Ric Flair, Bret Hart, The Rockers, and Natural Disasters. Plus, Jake Roberts on the “Funeral Parlor” and more!

Bret “The Hitman” Hart vs. Brooklyn Brawler

Vince reminds Piper that he is not allowed to put his hands on anyone due to his broadcast contract, much like Savage. Piper says Savage is on his way here as Bret takes control of the match. Bret is shown in an insert promo saying he will not duck any competition while the Intercontinental Champion. Bret hits a leg sweep then puts Brawler away with the Sharpshooter (2:27).

Thoughts: The main focus here was establishing that announcers are in breach of their contracts if they get physical. They also gave Bret the generic babyface theme of fighting champion. At least he is over.

WWF Update with Gene Okerlund. We are shown a clip of Sgt. Slaughter losing at SummerSlam then see a video of Okerlund interviewing Slaughter outside at an undisclosed location as he is in hiding. Slaughter said he got exactly what he deserved at SummerSlam then talks about not caring about who he associated with to become WWF Champion and even stopped caring about his family and friends while turning his back on his country. Slaughter now says he knows what its like to be in hell because he lost his self-respect, family, friends, and more importantly he lost his country. Slaughter does not blame his family and friends for not wanting to speak with him and that he deserved what he got but the one thing he wants back and that is his country. The interview ends with Slaughter almost in tears. Going the sympathy route to turn Slaughter babyface because of how he got beat at SummerSlam seems like a big stretch to me. The freeze frame stuff at the end was a bit much but to sell this type of angle you have to go overboard I suppose.

Duane Gill & Barry Hardy vs. The Rockers

Vince asks Piper about the Slaughter interview as Piper still thinks he deserves what he got while Vince asks Piper if he ever did anything wrong in his life. This really was a weird angle. Marty works over Hardy to start. The Rockers clear the ring with stereo super kicks as Shawn is still wearing his hat and not looking all that thrilled to be honest. Vince talks about “Suburban Commando” opening in theaters this week as Shawn finally takes off his hat and beats on Gill. Vince now alerts us that Savage will not be here this week then Shawn press slams Marty on top of Gill for the win (2:39).

Thoughts: Not much focus on The Rockers at all but really just a backdrop for announcers to talk about other angles. Speaking of The Rockers, things were not good between them at this time and would get a lot worse in the coming weeks. Both on and off screen.

Another clip of what happened to Savage and Elizabeth at their wedding reception.

Funeral Parlor with guest Jake Roberts, who comes out holding the cobra with a black glove. Jake talks about doing what he wants and says his cobra will be in his corner at all times and has to wear a glove for protection. Jake then addresses Sid Justice and asks him who the hell he thinks he is because he’ll get bitten like the rest and what will protect him from the cobra. This segment established Jake’s black glove and the fact he has now ditched Lucifer for a cobra.

A plug for the Hulk Hogan Hot Ticket PPV.

The Warlord w/ Slick vs. Sonny Blaze

Warlord shoves Blaze into the corner then flexes. Warlord now catches Blaze with a clothesline then uses a gutwrench suplex and the full nelson for the win (2:22).

Thoughts: Another TV win for Warlord to get him over as an IC Title challenger.

We get another vignette of Tito Santana taking his next step in becoming El Matador. He is being taught how to use the cape and the dangers of the bull horns.

Joe Milano & Martin Roy vs. The Natural Disasters w/ Jimmy Hart

The Legion of Doom are shown in an insert promo saying that they are “naturally disturbed” while calling out the Natural Disasters. Savage now joins the booth as the Disasters beat on their opponents. Vince reminds Savage and even Piper of the rules in that they are not allowed to make physical contact then the match breaks down before Roy is put away with a double splash combo as Savage is upset to learn he just missed Jake Roberts (3:01).

Thoughts: I like how Savage arrived shortly after Jake came out and was pissed off he missed him. Again, Vince stressed that announcers cannot get physical. We also got standard hype for the new Tag Team Title feud.

Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs. Brian Donahue

Donahue tries to work the arm but gets punched in the face. Savage says he would like to be in the ring as Duggan fires away. Duggan stays in control then hits the Three Point Stance for the win (1:41).

Thoughts: The only interesting there here was on commentary when Savage said he wanted to wrestle again. Duggan continues to be phased down the card.

We are shown a clip from the film “Suburban Commando.”

Mark Thomas is out in the ring to face Ric Flair. Vince warns Piper to control himself. Flair comes out and shows off the NWA World Heavyweight Title belt then looks over at Piper then heads up from behind him and gives a shove. Flair shoves him a few more times then slaps him off the back of the head. Piper turns around and Flair gets in his face. Flair then cheap shots Piper with his title belt. Flair grabs a chair then continues to attack Piper as several officials are trying to break this up. Vince leaves the booth after Savage and is accidentally hit in the back with a chair by a dazed Piper. Flair stands over Piper and taunts him then leaves while holding up his belt as we go to commercial. We return with a slo-mo replay of Flair hitting Piper and Vince getting hit without any commentary as the show ends with Vince being carted off in a stretcher as the crowd chants for Piper. Really a tremendous angle. Flair had some strong heel heat and the whole show storyline of stressing how announcers could not get physical was brilliant as Savage had to stand there and watch, knowing he could not blow any chance to get revenge on Jake. It also allowed Flair to torment Piper to begin with. It really heated up the Flair/Piper feud that has been brewing as well. And watching Vince get carted off to end the show really sold the chaos of the incident. This type of segment was rarely seen on WWF TV at this point.

Final Thoughts: The end of the show was fantastic. Really a must-see angle. The Slaughter interview was a stretch but Savage returning and saying he wants to wrestle was huge as the company has some strong TV angles going on at the top of the card.