WWF Wrestling Challenge – July 11th, 1993

July 11, 1993

From the Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, OH

Your hosts are Jim Ross and Bobby Heenan

Adam Bomb w/ Johnny Polo vs. Bob Clancy

Ross says we will find out what happened at the “Stars & Stripes Challenge” and will see Tatanka & Smoking Gunns vs. Bam Bam Bigelow & Headshrinkers later on in the show. Bomb beats on Clancy then tosses him across of the ring. Polo repeats “total destruction” as Ross plugs the personality profile about Bomb in “WWF Magazine.” Bomb tosses Clancy outside then slams him on the floor as Polo laughs. Bomb now says “total destruction” as Polo shoots an imaginary arrow with the bow he brought to the ring. Back inside, Bomb hits a back suplex then after that uses the atom Smasher for the win (2:47).

Thoughts: Really just a backdrop for the announcers to hype up what happened during the Stars & Stripes Challenge. This Bomb & Polo pairing is not getting over and it doesn’t even make any sense to be honest. You have some goof who came from money managing a radioactive guy from Three Mile Island. That alone is not going to draw any heat.

WWF Special Report with Lord Alfred Hayes. He tells us that the first match announced for SummerSlam is Bret Hart vs. Jerry Lawler and we hear the same promo from Bret we saw on this week’s “SummerSlam Report.”

Dave Kiner vs. “The Rocket” Owen Hart

Heenan rags on Owen by saying the only reason his parents stayed married is because no one wanted custody of him then said the women in Columbus are all bigger than Yokozuna and jokes there must be a bowling banquet in town. Owen works a hammerlock to start then follows with a dropkick as the announcers talk about Bret vs. Lawler at SummerSlam. We now see Lawler in an insert telling Ross to ask Owen if he will be his guest on next week’s “King’s Court” and wants to find out if he is a coward just like his father and brother. Owen stays in control and mainly works the arm before using a missile dropkick then a Northern Lights suplex for the win (3:25). Ross says after the break we will see if Owen accepts Lawler’s challenge.

Thoughts: The announcers hyped up the Bret/Lawler match at SummerSlam and we saw that Lawler now wants to interview Owen on his King’s Court segment for next week. Heenan was funny here.

A video package narrated by Gene Okerlund to hype up next week’s Marty Jannetty vs. Mr. Hughes match.

We now get the video package on the “Stars & Stripes Challenge,” which is now narrated by Vince McMahon. And Vince just does a tremendous job getting this over.

Bastion Booger vs. Marc Hargrove

The same old lady from last week is now yelling at Booger as Heenan once again refers to her as Sensational Sherri. The fans in the front row and holding their noses to show us how bad Booger smells. Hargrove bounces off of Booger as Heenan says Booger is so ugly he could win Miss Columbus, OH. Booger dances after hitting a leg drop then tosses Hargrove outside and heads out to avalanche him against the post. We now see Owen in an insert promo telling Ross he accepts the “Burger King’s” offer and is looking forward to appearing. Booger then catches Hargrove with a powerslam before using a sit-down splash for the win (2:43).

Thoughts: The big news here is that Owen has accepted Lawler’s offer and will appear next week as a guest on the King’s Court. Booger has already been established as a lower card gimmick after trading wins with Virgil.

An ad for SummerSlam airs.

The Headshrinkers w/ Afa & Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Smoking Gunns & Tatanka

Billy and Samu start off the match a couple of minutes after the bell rings. Heenan also said that he saw Luna Vachon in the building earlier. Billy takes down Samu with a flurry of offense then works the arm. Bart is in now and works over Fatu as Afa is getting pissed. Bigelow cheap shots Tatanka from the apron then tags in and stomps away. Tatanka fights back and staggers Bigelow with a dropkick then gets a nearfall with a crossbody right before break. We return with Luna now at ringside making odd facial expressions as Afa yells. Tatanka hits Bigelow with a jumping DDT then heads up top but whiffs on a crossbody. Bigelow now works a chinlock but Tatanka escapes and ducks an enziguiri before hitting a dropkick of his own before tagging out. Bart gets a bit of offense on Fatu but is beaten down then the Headshrinkers pancake Bart before choking him out on the mat. Samu low bridges Bart then sends him into the steps a few times. Bigelow now tags in and beats down Bart. Samu tags and we go to another break but this time we return with Bart trying to fight back but he gets caught with a powerslam. Samu chokes out Bart on the mat as Ross says there is not much time left. Bigelow tags but Bart uses a dropkick then makes the tag as Ross says we will see the finish of the match next week if it does not end before the show goes off air. Billy runs wild and goes nuts for about 30 seconds then the show does in fact go off air (17:55 shown) **1/2.

Thoughts: The action was good but the commercial breaks killed the flow. I will say the Gunns, especially Billy, looked good here. Anyway, the did show the rest of the match next week but after seeing it there was no reason not to have the finish happen on the show. Its not like this was some match with stakes that would leave us in suspense.

Final Thoughts: The show also had the Stars & Stripes Challenge fallout plus it set up for a segment next week with Owen now involved in the Bret/Lawler feud. The featured match was really long and we will see the conclusion of that next week too as the product now can focus on SummerSlam.

Here is my schedule for the next several days:

Friday: WWF Monday Night RAW 7/12/93

Saturday: WWF Superstars 7/17/93

Sunday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 7/18/93

Monday: WWF Monday Night RAW 7/19/93

Tuesday: WWF Superstars 7/24/93, WWF Wrestling Challenge 7/25/93

Wednesday: WWF Monday Night RAW 7/26/93

Thursday: WWF Superstars 7/31/93, WWF Wrestling Challenge 8/1/93