WWF Prime Time Wrestling – November 11th, 1991

November 11, 1991

The debut of the roundtable format is on this show.

This week, we have Legion of Doom vs. Nasty Boys, British Bulldog vs. IRS, Jim Neidhart vs. Ric Flair, and Randy Savage as guest on the “Funeral Parlor”

We see the new format with Vince moderating a discussion with Piper and Gorilla on one side while Heenan and Perfect are on the other. There is no studio audience.

The announcers talk about Sid Justice and bicker with the face side wanting Randy Savage reinstated as the heel side opposes.

Big Bully Busick w/ Harvey Whippleman vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan

This took place at the 10/21 “Superstars of Wrestling” tapings in Fort Wayne, IN. Busick stalls by ducking underneath the ropes. Whippleman then distracts Duggan and that allows Busick to attack from behind. Duggan catches Busick with a clothesline and hits another one before Busick rolls outside. Duggan starts up a “USA” chant as announcers Sean Mooney & Lord Alfred Hayes remind us to watch the Survivor Series. Busick returns and gets punched down. Duggan ducks his head for a back drop and gets kicked in the face as Busick now takes control. Busick chokes out Duggan against the ropes before grabbing a chinlock. Duggan fights back but misses a charge in the corner as that allows Busick to go back to the chinlock. The announcers talk about Whippleman as Busick brings the chinlock back to the middle of the ring. Duggan escapes and catches a charging Busick with a boot to the face. Busick bails then Duggan heads out and sends him into the timekeepers table. Duggan rolls Busick back inside and fires away in the corner. He then hits a slam and follows with the Three Point Stance and the win (6:20) 1/2*.

Thoughts: Busick really did job a lot after his debut. And for good reason since he was awful in the ring and the character was not getting over. Duggan continues to languish in the midcard but he is also a shell of his former self.

The Berzerker w/ Mr. Fuji vs. Eric Freedom

Another match from the 10/21 Superstars Tapings. Freedom looks a bit like Todd Pettengill. Berzerker beats down Freedom and does his chants before going over to Fuji. Freedom is now tied up in the ropes and gets booted in the face a few times and they did not look good at all. Berzerker then hits a falling slam and continues to destroy Freedom until tossing him outside for the count out win (3:02).

Thoughts: Another squash match win for The Berzerker as this is another gimmick failing to connect with the fans.

WWF Update segment from 11/9 Superstars that focused on The Mountie shocking Bret Hart with his cattle prod.

Ric Flair defeats Jim Neidhart from the 11/9 edition of “Superstars of Wrestling.”

Sgt. Slaughter at the Statue of Liberty promo airs. He still wants his country back.

Beverly Brothers defeat Mark Wilson & Dan Robbins from the 11/9 edition of “Superstars of Wrestling.”

Back in the studio, Vince asks the other hosts about Flair’s figure four. Heenan said if he puts it on Hulk Hogan, Flair will be the new champion. Gorilla says just because it worked on Neidhart does not mean it will work on Hogan and we get more bickering.

After the break, Vince plugs the Hogan Hotline as the announcers are still bickering.

Repo Man defeats Rock Werner from the 11/10 edition of “Wrestling Challenge.”

We are back in the studio as Vince talks about nutrition making a better athlete then introduces us to a clip of Gary Strydom giving El Matador tips at the gym.

Survivor Series Report airs.

In the studio, the guests talk about whether or not Neidhart will be able to compete at Survivor Series and his possible replacement, setting up Heenan with a cross-eyed joke at Duggan’s expense. They talk about other people dropping out as Piper said that is expected during the build up to the PPV. Vince then plugs the “Survivor Series Showdown” that takes place in two weeks. It will have Virgil defend the Million Dollar Title against Ted DiBiase and Big Bossman vs. Earthquake.

WWF Tag Team Title Match: Nasty Boys w/ Jimmy Hart vs. Legion of Doom (c)

This is also from the 10/21 Superstars tapings. Knobbs shoves Animal and ends up on his ass. Sags runs interference as Knobbs now fires away. Animal fights back then the match breaks down with Hawk hitting a double bulldog. The LoD celebrate in the ring then beat on Sags until Hawk hits his shoulder against the post and spills outside. Knobbs hits Hawk’s shoulder with the chair as the ref was distracted then the Nasty Boys use some illegal double-teaming on the outside. Hawk tries to fight back when he returns inside but gets outnumbered. The Nasty Boys cut off the ring until Hawk catches Knobbs with a powerslam. The Nasty Boys are still able to regain control for a bit until Knobbs comes off the middle rope as Hawk got his foot up. Animal tags in and runs wild as the fans approve. Sags breaks up a powerslam attempt then the match breaks down. Hart is up on the apron and tosses in his helmet to Knobbs. Sags holds up Animal but Animal escaped as Sags got dropped then the ref rings the bell for the DQ (7:31) **1/4. The LoD clear the ring after the match.

Thoughts: The match was all action for the most part. The finish was a bit screwy but this really was a way to write off the feud between the teams.

We are in the studio with Heenan & Perfect laughing over the fact Sid is out for Survivor Series and has not been replaced. Heenan then says that if Savage wants to be reinstated he should grease Tunney’s palms.

Vince plugs the Savage/Elizabeth Hotline.

Undertaker defeats Texas Tornado from the 11/10 edition of “Wrestling Challenge.”

A discussion about “The Gravest Challenge” takes place with Perfect saying Undertaker will win because of his size and power and due to the fact Hogan has Flair on his mind. Actually, that was good analysis. Gorilla thinks Hogan’s reign might end at Survivor Series too but Piper thinks Hulkamania will prevail at the end.

Funeral Parlor with guest Randy Savage. This segment was exclusive to Prime Time. Bearer asks about Savage possibly being reinstated for the Survivor Series. Savage wants to repay Sid and take his spot so he can lead his team to victory. However, Tunney will not reinstate him as Savage tells us he wants this reinstation more than anything in his life. Savage also thinks Tunney wants him to beg for the reinstation and starts the process now because not being at the Survivor Series is a living hell. More of Savage begging to be reinstated.

Vince leads us to a replay from last week when the British Bulldog hit Slick with a running powerslam, leading to Warlord carrying Slick backstage. After that, Vince tells us that Slick has now seen the light and will become an evangelical preacher. This leads to some jokes from the panel but Vince says people can change as the others debate whether Slaughter and Slick have changed

IRS and Bulldog time limit draw from the 10/28 MSG show airs

The panel once again talks about Undertaker vs. Hogan at Survivor Series with Piper saying no one is giving Hogan credit. Piper is the one defending Hogan a lot on this show as the others believe Hulkamania’s future is in serious doubt.

The Rockers vs. Barry Horowitz & Mark Buenavera

This match also aired on the 11/16 edition of “Superstars of Wrestling.” Shawn’s hair looks a bit different on top. Its shorter and not as layered. Marty starts off by working over Horowitz. Shawn tags in and hits an elbow then tags right back out as he does not appear all that interested about being in the ring. Shawn now walks the apron while looking at the crowd as Marty stays in control. Marty looks for the tag but Shawn was on the opposite side of the ring talking to a girl. Horowitz sneaks up with a reverse rollup but Marty reverses that and gets the win (2:15). After the match, Shawn apologizes then covers Horowitz in mocking fashion before leaving with Marty.

Thoughts: Well, after last week when we saw a pissed off Shawn angrily glance over at his partner when Marty accidentally cost him the match, we see Shawn not paying attention to the match. Shawn also made a mockery of the finish in covering Horowitz before leaving with his partner as its even more clear a breakup is imminent.

Next week, we will see The Rockers vs. Beverly Brothers. Also, Bret Hart defends the IC Title against Skinner and Hulk Hogan as guest on the “Funeral Parlor.”

The show closes with Vince asking if Savage should be reinstated for Survivor Series. Faces says yes, heels say no. Vince then plugs the Survivor Series Showdown as the show ends.

Final Thoughts: I liked the new format as it was better than the modern day version of Tuesday Night Titans before. Although at the end it was not enough to save the show as ratings tanked by the Fall of ’92 and the show was scrapped altogether in favor of a new show. The panel format was something similar you would see to a pre-game panel and I thought it was actually ahead of its time. Mr. Perfect came off really well here I thought and Piper did a good job himself. Gorilla did not offer much though as Heenan provided his usual jokes, which after seven years are starting to become old hat. The action was forgettable but we did see a Tag Team title match and next week an Intercontinental Title match as the company wants to attract more viewers to go along with the newer, more wrestling based format.

Here is my schedule for the next several days:

Tuesday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 11/16/91

Wednesday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 11/17/91

Thursday: WWF Prime Time Wrestling 11/18/91

Friday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 11/23/91

Saturday: Mid-South Wrestling 10/6/83

Sunday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 11/24/91

Monday: WWF 1991 Survivor Series Showdown