WWF UK Rampage ’92

April 19, 1992

From the Sheffield Arena in Sheffield, England

Your hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan

Tatanka vs. Skinner

Heenan is tanked. I mean, its very noticeable when they show the announcers at the beginning of the show. Skinner toys with Tatanka to start. Tatanka grabs a side headlock then gets two off of a sunset flip. Tatanka works a side headlock on the mat then takes Skinner over with a hip toss after an Irish whip sequence. Tatanka hits a pair of clotheslines then goes back to the side headlock as the announcers run down the rest of the card. Skinner catches Tatanka with a knee smash but Tatanka gets a school boy for two. Skinner bails and heads halfway up the aisle then returns and gets trapped in an armbar. Tatanka chants while Heenan cracks more ethnic jokes but Skinner sends him into the corner then gauges his face. Skinner works the leg for a long time then comes off the top and ends up eating boot. Tatanka hobbles around then dances as he hits a few chops before hitting a backbreaker and a flying chop before the Samoan Drop gets the win (11:53) **.

Thoughts: The match itself was basic but both guys worked hard, especially Tatanka. He really has been giving it his all since debuting. I don’t think anyone bought Skinner as having a chance to win.

Sean Mooney interviews the Legion of Doom. They run down their opponents, Col. Mustafa & Dino Bravo. Talk about a pair that can beat three of a kind.

Col. Mustafa & Dino Bravo vs. Legion of Doom

In my view, the WWF committed International Terrorism by subjecting the UK to a team of Mustafa & Bravo. Gorilla shits all over these stiffs, saying their combined IQ would not equal that of an eggplant. Mustafa & Bravo try to jump LoD before the bell but that fails. Mustafa & Bravo bump around like lumps of shit then regroup on the outside. The announcers talk about Paul Ellering making the LoD more dangerous as Bravo bounces off of Animal a few times before he is clotheslined. Animal works the arm then Hawk tags in but misses a charge and hits his shoulder into the post. Bravo heads out and drops Hawk on the guardrail before rolling him back inside. Mustafa lands a few shots and hits a gutwrench suplex before using an abdominal stretch. Hawk reverses a suplex but Bravo tags in and prevents a tag. We get a double clothesline spot as the crowd chants for LoD. Both men tag out then Animal runs wild and after that Hawk puts Mustafa away with a flying clothesline (4:37) DUD.

Thoughts: I was expecting even worse given Mustafa & Bravo were a team. Lord knows why you would have these two bump around for someone when they can barely move. Both guys were gassed at the end and if it went any longer it would have been all-time bad. This was Bravo’s last WWF appearance.

Mooney is now with Sid Justice & Sean Mooney. Sid says he knows The Undertaker fears facing him and is next on the list to be finished. Sid then said he knows Undertaker cannot read because someone speaks for him as Sid promises to make sure he does not get up then says that he rules the world.

Lord Alfred Hayes is with Undertaker & Bearer. They tell Sid that his gift is a tombstone as Undertaker tells him to rest in peace.

Sid Justice w/ Harvey Whippleman vs. The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer

Sid attacks Undertaker before the bell. However, Undertaker fights back and hits a slam. Sid rolls away from an elbow drop and kicks Undertaker onto the apron. Undertaker gets knocked to the floor to lands on his feet then he hits s slingshot neckbreaker. Undertaker lands a few throat thrusts before using the rope-walk attack. Undertaker hits a flying clothesline then picks Sid up for a tombstone but gets distracted by Whippleman. Sid attacks from behind but misses a clothesline then hits a chokeslam after both men grabbed each other by the neck. Sid hits a side slam then attacks Undertaker in the corner. Sid tells Undertaker to get up then sends him back down with an axe handle. Undertaker fights back then catches Sid with a clothesline. Sid rolls outside and Undertaker follows but gets rammed into the steel post. Sid rolls back inside but Undertaker, who did not leave his feet, but takes too long getting back in and ends up being counted out (5:15) *. After the match, Sid hits Undertaker with a chair then uses a neckbreaker. Sid taunts the crowd but Undertaker sits up and hits the tombstone.

Thoughts: Not much to this as they wanted both guys protected and gave us a lame finish as a result.

Mooney is with Shawn Michaels & Sensational Sherri. Shawn says he is the sexiest man on earth and promises to take the WWF World Heavyweight Title away from Randy Savage.

WWF World Heavyweight Title Match: Shawn Michaels w/ Sensational Sherri vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage (c) w/ Elizabeth

Shawn and Savage fight over a lockup then end up in the corner. Shawn misses a leg dive then eats boot on a charge in the corner. Shawn bumps around like a madman for Savage then rolls outside but Savage chases him back inside then tosses a chair into the ring. Shawn skins-the-cat but Savage clotheslines him outside then flies out with a double axe handle. Sherri grabs Elizabeth and that distracts Savage enough to allow Shawn time for a sneak attack. Gorilla says that Sherri outweighs Elizabeth by 100 lbs as Sherri taunts Savage. Back inside, Shawn gets two with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Shawn hammers away in the corner but Savage catches a kick and slingshots Shawn into the post as both men are down. Shawn is dumped outside and Savage flies out with another double axe handle as Sherri is pissed. Shawn takes a great bump after being whipped into the post then Savage rolls Shawn back inside for another double axe handle that gets two. Savage comes off the top again but Shawn punches him then Shawn reverses a hip toss and hits a clothesline as both men are down. Shawn covers for two then Savage rolls outside. Shawn heads out and sends Savage into the post then Sherri punches Savage in the throat. The action heads back inside but only briefly as Shawn tosses Savage out once again as Sherri lands a kick and taunts the crowd. Shawn drops Savage after a few punches then covers for two. Shawn cuts off a comeback with an eye rake but ducks his head for a back drop and gets kicked in the face. Shawn avoids a charge as the ref is knocked outside by Savage then Savage drops Shawn across the rope. Savage hits a slam then climbs up top and hits the flying elbow drop but the ref is still out. Sherri comes in and starts kicking Savage then runs away. Savage pulls the ref inside and covers but only gets two. Sherri yells at Savage and gets spat on then Sherri hangs over the ropes but Elizabeth runs down and flips her over. Sherri rolls outside as Savage hits a crossbody off the top for two. Sherri climbs back up on the apron and gets yanked off, taking a nasty bump in the process. Shawn comes off the top with a sunset flip for two then Savage jumps over Shawn and hits another crossbody for the win (16:58) ***3/4. After the match, Shawn attacks Savage and holds him up for Sherri as she comes off the top with her boots but Savage escaped and Shawn gets hit. Savage then uses a double noggin-knocker to clear the win and celebrates with Elizabeth.

Thoughts: A lot of people seemed to like the Munich match more but I thought this was better. The pace was faster and Sherri was even more out of her mind in this match. They sure gave Shawn some credibility on this tour by putting him in World Title matches.

The Bushwhackers are on the interview platform with Mooney. They talk about loving England and that you have to get up early for the good sheep. After that they bite Mooney in the ass and lick his head. Quite the interview.

Lord Alfred is backstage with The Mountie & Jimmy Hart. They talk about Virgil’s broken nose as Mountie says the UK is just a tiny piece of his jurisdiction. After that, Virgil tells us his nose is all set but that he has the protector just in case as he promises to shut up The Mountie.

The Mountie w/ Jimmy Hart vs. Virgil

Virgil wears the face mask anyway. He starts off by hammering away on The Mountie and stays in control for a minute. Mountie bails and hugs Hart but Virgil runs out and tosses him back inside. Virgil then tears off The Mountie’s shirt and uses that to whip him then forces Mountie to shine his shoes. Mountie lures in Virgil after playing possum then smashes Virgil in the face with the face protector. Mountie stays in control as Heenan makes bad jokes and references about Robin Hood. Mountie taunts the crowd then punishes Virgil in the corner. Mountie then grabs the mic and proclaims that he is the mountie but Virgil attacks from behind. Virgil hits a pair of dropkicks that get two and runs wild until Hart trips up Virgil and that allows Mountie to grab the cattle prod and shock Virgil behind the ref’s back and that gets the win (8:57) *.

Thoughts: They did standard house show stuff for the most part but the actual work was lousy if you ask me. The Mountie’s act is wearing thin and Virgil has been downplayed significantly since losing the Million Dollar Title.

Mooney interviews Rick Martel about his Intercontinental Title match against Bret Hart. He tries to get heel heat by making fun of the crowd’s lack of fashion. Lord Alfred then interviews Bret, who vows to retain the belt.

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: “The Model” Rick Martel vs. Bret Hart (c)

Martel slaps Bret then runs away as he is playing the chickenshit tonight. Bret then catches a celebrating Martel with a clothesline and hits another once as Martel bails. Back inside, Martel breaks up a wrist lock with a clothesline then works a front facelock. Bret fights back and attacks the leg of Martel as Gorilla teases Heenan about not having any friends. Bret stays to work on the leg but gets whacked trying to ram it off of the post. Martel picks up Bret and rams him into the post before rolling him inside where he whips him into the corner. Gorilla tells us to expect a huge reaction for the British Bulldog in his match tonight then Martel ducks his head and gets decked as both men are down. Bret fires away after hitting an inverted atomic drop then gets a nearfall with a Russian leg sweep. Bret hits a suplex but after that Martel dumps him outside. Martel tries to suplex Bret back into the ring but Bret floats over. Martel blocks a reverse rollup and acts cocky but Bret catches him with a small package and gets the win (13:02) **1/4.

Thoughts: The work was solid but the pace really slow and the finish made Bret, the champion, seem lucky more than anything else.

Mooney is with Jim Duggan, who runs down Repo Man to hype up this epic encounter.

Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs. Repo Man

Duggan pumps up the crowd then tosses Repo Man down then follows up with a few clotheslines until Repo Man bails. Repo Man returns and is hit with an atomic drop then heads outside again after another clothesline. Repo Man snaps Duggan’s neck off of the top rope then removes the top turnbuckle pad and rams Duggan’s head off of the exposed steel. Repo Man fires away and uses a leg drop for a two count before applying a reverse chinlock. The crowd loudly chants USA then Duggan escapes and blocks a turnbuckle smash before sending Repo Man into the exposed steel. Duggan paces around then runs wild until he knocks Repo Man through the ropes with the Three Point Stance. Duggan is about to duck out but Repo Man decks him with his grappling hook for the DQ (7:14) DUD. After the match, Repo Man chokes out Duggan then stalks him until Duggan grabs the 2×4 and chases him off. Duggan then quiets the crowd so he can lead them in a “USA” chant.

Thoughts: The European crowds loved Duggan but this match was terrible. Duggan appears to be struggling physically though and relying even more on shtick to get through his matches.

Mooney is with Savage & Elizabeth. Savage talks about a successful European tour then calls Elizabeth and himself the first family of the WWF and that they are okay. Mooney then brings up British Bulldog as a possible #1 contender then Savage calls out Flair and says its the first time the champion calls out the challenger. Elizabeth says she has loved it in Europe and cannot wait to come back. Well, this was Elizabeth’s last appearance in the WWF.

Lord Alfred is with the British Bulldog. We get a lot of pro-England talk by Bulldog then he runs down IRS with a truly shitty promo.

IRS w/ Jimmy Hart vs. British Bulldog

Before the match, IRS tells the crowd they are in the “tax cheating capital” of Europe. Bulldog receives a great reaction from the fans. Bulldog overpowers IRS to start then gets the crowd to chant louder. They trade hip tosses until Bulldog hits a clothesline as IRS ducks out for a breather. Bulldog heads out for a double noggin-knocker then has IRS roll back outside after an Irish whip sequence. Back inside, Bulldog works an armbar on the mat. IRS dumps Bulldog outside then heads out and kicks him in the ribs. IRS takes Bulldog back into the ring and applies an abdominal stretch. Bulldog escapes and uses a school boy for two but IRS comes back with a clothesline. IRS hits a flying clothesline then uses a chinlock and occasionally puts his feet on the ropes for leverage. IRS tosses Bulldog back outside as Heenan alerts us that Shawn Michaels has left the building. Bulldog slingshots in with a sunset flip that gets two but IRS goes back to work. Bulldog is tossed outside again but Bulldog brings IRS back into the ring with a delayed vertical suplex after IRS rolled him back inside. Bulldog tries a splash but IRS got his knees up as both men are down. Bulldog fights back and drops IRS with a headbutt then stands on IRS’s tie. Bulldog beats on IRS in the corner but IRS sends him into the turnbuckle. Hart distracts the ref so IRS can grab his briefcase but Bulldog blocks the attack. IRS tries a float over in the corner but Bulldog catches him over his shoulder then the ref stops Hart from holding onto IRS and Bulldog hits the running powerslam for the win (12:48) *1/2.

Thoughts: The match was boring and they had a better one at MSG but the goal was to send the crowd home happy and that was achieved. Bulldog comes off like a huge star in Europe.

Final Thoughts: This concluded the successful tour of Europe. The HBK/Savage match is worth seeking out but there is nothing else you need to see. This is available on the WWE Network if you are curious.