WWF Superstars of Wrestling – February 1st, 1992

February 1, 1992

From the Oceanfront Center in Daytona Beach, FL

Your hosts are Vince McMahon and Mr. Perfect

The show opens up with a clip from the WrestleMania VIII press conference that took place earlier in the week. Gene Okerlund is at the podium as we see the top fire contenders of the WWF World Heavyweight Table and President Jack Tunney at tables. Ric Flair, Bobby Heenan, and Mr. Perfect are shown smiling behind Okerlund. Flair takes the podium and tells the press he told everyone he would win the title then the camera shows the five contenders. Flair then proclaims he will leave WrestleMania VIII as the champion and takes off after that. Tunney is now at the podium and names off the contenders but after much consideration the person who will challenge Flair at WrestleMania will be Hulk Hogan. Sid stood up before Tunney named Hogan and was pissed when his name was not called. Hogan then asks Flair what will he do when his Hulkamaniacs run wild on him. The fact Hogan was selected should not be surprise since he has been on top for the past eight years but Sid did have a legitimate grip in that he was the Rumble match runner-up and unfairly eliminated by Hogan.

We then cut to the announcers as Perfect says they wanted to face Hogan. That’s why the kept voting him in on “Prime Time Wrestling.” Next, we get reactions from the other contenders. Savage is unhappy but wishes Hogan luck and wants him to “do the thing.” Sid then tells everyone to shut up and said he was the last man standing at the Rumble but Hogan eliminated him from outside of the ring. Sid said what Tunney did was bogus and wonders if he was not picked due to Hogan’s movie star status or because he is a newcomer. Again, there is legitimacy to Sid’s complaints. Sid then tells Hogan he could not beat Flair on his best day then Sid said he rules the world. They are playing up beef between Hogan and Sid, which makes since Hogan cost Sid the Rumble match by unfairly eliminating him. What does not make sense is making Sid the heel in this scenario. And on top of that the fan backlash towards Hogan has been heating up in the arenas and Sid was cheered after fairly eliminating Hogan from the Rumble. Certainly a tough sell. I thought Sid was tremendous here and came off like a superstar.

Kevin Katlin & Scott Colontonio vs. The Beverly Brothers w/ The Genius

The Genius recites another poem bashing the New Foundation. The Beverly Brothers beat on Colontonio to start. Jamison is at ringside and offers Genius some of his sandwich but Genius is disgusted. The New Foundation are shown in an insert promo saying they are poetry in motion then the Beverly Brothers put Katlin away with the Shaker Heights Spike (2:16).

Thoughts: Jamison is still sitting at ringside even after the Rumble. I have no idea why after the awful payoff to that angle. Anyway, they are still hyping up the Beverly Brothers/New Foundation feud.

Big Bossman vs. Terry Davis

Bossman drops Davis a few times as Perfect credits Bossman for being quick despite his size but Vince says he has agility no matter what size. Bossman then hits Davis with a big boot then declares the piece of trash is out as he puts Davis away with a sidewalk slam (1:22). After the match, Bossman cuffs Davis to the ropes.

Thoughts: No mention of the Bossman/IRS feud, which has been ice cold. Bossman is stuck in midcard purgatory at the moment.

Pat Tanaka vs. Tatanka

Vince tells us that Chris Chavis has now taken the Tatanka name. And Tanaka got his first name back as I guess having a “Tanaka” and a “Tatanka” on the roster would be too confusing. Vince says the red streak in Tatanka’s hair represents the blood of all Indian nations combined. Tatanka blocks a hip toss and hits one of his own. Tatanka chops Tanaka a few times but runs into a thrust kick in the corner. Tanaka chokes out Tatanka with the ropes then targets the back but Tatanka starts dancing then fires away. Tatanka hits more chops then hits a flying double chop for the win (2:01). Vince keeps calling this a great debut and could be heading to WrestleMania.

Thoughts: Tatanka had a decent enough look and did fine here. It does help to be in there with Tanaka, who is one of the best bump men of his generation.
Another ad for WrestleMania VIII that leads to a video past WrestleMania celebrity guests.

Irwin R. Schyster vs. Bob Smedley

IRS hopes the fans New Year’s Resolutions are not cheating on their taxes. IRS beats on Smedley then the announcers talk about Flair vs. Hogan at WrestleMania VIII. IRS now uses an abdominal stretch then soon after that uses the Write Off for the win (1:41).

Thoughts: With the announcers talking about Flair and Hogan instead of the Bossman/IRS feud its clear the latter is wrapping up early.

Sean Mooney is in the Event Center hyping up the February 29th Boston Garden show but also tells us that “Saturday Night’s Main Event” will return next week on the Fox Network.

We now see a vignette for Papa Shango. He is in a dark room with candles and skulls everywhere. Shango’s face as a skull painted on it too. Shango tells us that the time has come and its a time of blood. He then laughs as flames shoot off in the background. Shango is in fact Charles Wright, who would later go on to greater fame as The Godfather. Wright said he got into the WWF when Chief Jay Strongbow, at the recommendation of The Undertaker, called him up and proposed the Shango gimmick. This particular vignette had some cool visual stuff in the background but did feel hokey and while looking the part, Wright did not come off as being scary.

El Matador vs. Bob Morgan

I have no idea where the hell they got Morgan from. Matador works him down as Vince talks about “WBF Magazine” and shows us a photo of Matador training with Gary Strydom. Morgan is not capable of doing anything as Vince lets Perfect take over on commentary after being insulted over not knowing the names off moves. Perfect quits play-by-play after a few seconds then Matador hits the El Paso de la Muerte for the win (2:06).

Thoughts: Morgan is one of the worst jobbers I’ve seen. No mention of the Matador/DiBiase feud here.

Funeral Parlor with guest Sensational Sherri. She is twirling around and smiling. Bearer asks her about looking so happy and alive. Sherri says she is on cloud nine and has found the man of her dreams. This man has long blond hair, a body that would make Greek Gods envious, and has the most wrestling ability. Sherri then says this man makes her blood run hot then said this man is Shawn Michaels. Sherri says Shawn never needed Marty Jannetty and now Shawn has all the time to accept her love. Bearer asks Sherri about Ted DiBiase as Sherri said her “Teddy Bear” has left the door open to return and only wants what makes her happy and what makes her happy is sharing her wealth with Shawn. There was a rumor that Shawn & DiBiase would team up as a result of this and I guess you could make sense of that but the whole part of Shawn breaking up with Marty was to prove he could be a singles star so it would have been a bad decision, IMO.

Legion of Doom defeats Pete Sanchez & Jim Cooper in a match first shown on the 1/27 edition of “Prime Time Wrestling.”

Vince plugs the WWF Merchandise Catalog

The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer vs. Mickey Jay

Jay is in the fact the former WCW referee. Undertaker boots down Jay as Vince talks about Undertaker being scary. Undertaker drops Jay after a lifting choke then hits a flying clothesline before the tombstone gets him the win (1:47).

Thoughts: Dominating win for The Undertaker who is now in search of a feud.

Next week in action are Virgil, Jake Roberts, Marty Jannetty, and the debut of Papa Shango. Plus, more WrestleMania VIII matches announced and the “Funeral Parlor” with guest Ric Flair.

Final Thoughts: Lots of stuff happening this week. First, the big news of Hogan vs. Flair for the title at WrestleMania. That news also pissed off Sid Justice. Also, we saw that Sherri is in love with Shawn Michaels as that seems to be a new pairing. And we saw the debut of Tatanka and vignette of Papa Shango, who will be debuting next week. Plus, Saturday Night’s Main Event is returning and on a new network. With the WrestleMania main event set we can now expect more of the card to be announced in the coming weeks.

Here is my schedule for the next several days:

Saturday: Mid-South Wrestling 11/10/83, 11/17/83

Sunday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 2/2/92

Monday: WWF Prime Time Wrestling 2/3/92

Tuesday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 2/8/92

Wednesday: WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event 2/8/92

Thursday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 2/9/92

Friday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 2/15/92