WWF Superstars – July 17th, 1993

July 17, 1993

From the Huntington Civic Center in Huntington, WV

Your hosts are Vince McMahon, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, and Jerry “The King” Lawler

This week, we have Steiner Brothers vs. Money Inc. for the Tag Team Titles. Also in action are Adam Bomb, Tatanka, and Mr. Hughes.

Tatanka vs. Brian Costello

Vince tells us that Crush is watching Superstars from home in Hawaii then asks Savage about Crush being injured after Yokozuna hit four Bonzai splashes. Vince also says the preliminary report is Crush has a “collapsed chest cavity.” Tatanka back drops Costello after an Irish whip sequence then takes him over the top rope with a clothesline. Tatanka uses a flying chop off of the apron then takes the action back inside as the announcers talk about headwear then Tatanka uses a Samoan drop for the win (2:42). Vince then plugs the 8/7 show in Westchester, NY that features Tatanka.

Thoughts: We learn that Crush is now home with a “collapsed chest cavity” and just minimal talk of the Tatanka/Bigelow feud.

WWF Update with Gorilla Monsoon. We learn that Lex Luger wants us fans to talk and send letters to WWF President Jack Tunney to give him a shot at the title. Gorilla then says Tunney will make a ruling next week as Gorilla then tells us about Luger touring for his “Call to Action” campaign. Gorilla also tells us about Luger chartering a bus to tour the country and has named it the “Lex Express” and that it might even stop to our towns and cities. And this is the first mention of the Lex Express tour on WWF TV. And right off the bat you can tell how invested the company is in trying to make this work and catch fire with fans. However, the fact that just the day prior to the “Stars & Stripes Challenge” we saw Luger on TV as The Narcissist and its like they just want to pretend that character never happened and cheer Luger for being ultra patriotic.

Adam Bomb w/ Johnny Polo vs. Rich Myers

Polo is carrying a pool cue to the ring. The announcers talk about the Luger tour as Bomb beats down Myers. Vince says Myers is a second generation wrestler and that his dad, Jim Myers, is unquestionably one of the all-time greats. Jim Myers is of course George the Animal Steele. Bomb stays in control as Lawler says he has a special guest this Monday on the “King’s Court” (which we were told last week on RAW would be Tiny Tim) then puts Myers away with the Atom Smasher (2:42).

Thoughts: Again, the Bomb & Polo pairing is not drawing any heat so there matches are just thrown out there when the announcers talk about the major angles in the company.

After a face-to-face segment, we cut to the announcers as Lawler and Savage hype up their match at the 8/12 Madison Square Garden show.

WWF Tag Team Title Match: Money Inc vs. Steiner Brothers (c)

Scott and IRS start things off. They go back-and-forth trading holds then IRS knocks Scott down with an enziguiri. DiBiase tags but Scott takes him in the corner before tagging out. Rick works a side headlock then catches DiBiase with a belly-to-belly suplex right before the break. We return with the Steiners using quick tags while working the arm of DiBiase. IRS tags in but the Steiners work over his arm too. IRS bails to avoid a clothesline but Scott pulls him back in with his tie then uses it for a neck snap but the ref is distracted by DiBiase and by the time he turns around and counts IRS kicks out at one. DiBiase grabs Scott’s leg to allow IRS to attack from behind as Money Inc. is now in control of the match for the first time. Scott tries to make the tag but is neutralized by Money Inc. DiBiase gets two with a suplex then we go to break. The match returns as Scott hits a suplex with both men now down on the mat. Scott then takes IRS over with a sunset flip and gets two as DiBiase was distracting the referee. IRS now uses a chinlock then both men collide but Scott makes the tag as Rick runs wild. Scott is back in now and uses the Frankensteiner on DiBiase but the ref was ordering Rick back on the apron then IRS whacks Scott with his briefcase and DiBiase covers for the win. However, another official comes in to say that Money Inc. has been disqualified as the Steiners retain (14:05 shown) **.

Thoughts: Really just a basic match with a screwy finish but we will learn why this happened really soon. Even still, they did not need a slow-paced match taking up twenty minutes of TV time for this ending.

SummerSlam Report with Gene Okerlund. We learn that Giant Gonzalez vs. Undertaker will wrestle in a “Rest in Peace” match then Okerlund tells us Boni Blackstone is with Money Inc. Odd that Undertaker would be wrestling Gonzalez, who has not been on TV or even mentioned since Mr. Hughes stole the Undertaker’s urn.

Boni and Money Inc. are in the ring. DiBiase says they were the titles were robbed from them to begin with and the Steiners whined for a rematch. Boni calls them out for using a briefcase to win the match as IRS says its convenient that a ref was watching there match as DiBiase says no other sport has a referee come out to reverse a decision. Money Inc. then challenges for a rematch next week. And now there match finish makes sense as we get a rematch for next week.

Mr. Hughes w/ Harvey Whippleman vs. Sonny Rogers

Vince tells us that the Steiners have accepted the challenge for a rematch. We see another wreath delivered to ringside that contains a card. Hughes beats down Rogers and follows with a clothesline. The announcers talk about the Hughes/Undertaker feud as Hughes takes Rogers down with a big boot then uses a sidewalk slam for the win (1:45). After the match, Hughes tears up the card after reading the message then destroys the wreath.

Thoughts: The Undertaker is now playing mind games with Hughes & Whippleman as he tries to regain his urn.

Next week, we will get a decision from Jack Tunney as to whether or not Luger will get a title shot. Vince says that next week we will see some new stars plus the Tag Team Title match.

Final Thoughts: The big news is that Luger is now going to tour the country as part of his “call to action” campaign. Also, we saw a long match for the Tag Titles to set up another match for next week and will learn if Tunney decides to give Luger a shot at Yokozuna’s World Heavyweight Title as the build to SummerSlam is starting to heat up.