WWF Wrestling Challenge – May 1st, 1994

May 1, 1994

From the Syracuse War Memorial in Syracuse, NY

Your hosts are Stan Lane and Ted DiBiase

We are shown Owen backstage. He is talking into the mirror as he wants his brother Bret Hart to watch what he does to Mo tonight.

This week’s featured match is Owen Hart vs. Mo. Also in action are the Steiner Brothers, The Quebecers, Kwang, 1-2-3 Kid, and Tatanka. Plus, an interview with Bret Hart and more.

Steiner Brothers vs. Duane Gill & Tony Alton

The Steiners look like they would rather be anywhere else in the world but here. Scott grounds Gill then acts aggressively before finally breaking the hold. Scott grounds him again then Gill rakes the eyes and hammers away until Scott catches him with a tilt-a-whirl slam. The announcers plug the WrestleMania Revenge tour as Rick now beats on Gill. The announcers now talk about Diesel being the new Intercontinental Champion as Scott is back in the match and eventually puts Gill away with the Steiner Screwdriver (2:48).

Thoughts: This was the final match on WWF TV for the Steiners as a team. They would leave the company and go to Japan as they were not making enough money to stay in the WWF.

WWF Live Event News segment to hype up the WrestleMania Revenge tour.

The deli worker tells us about The Undertaker sighting in the same segment we saw from the 4/25 edition of “Monday Night RAW.”

Major Yates vs. Kwang w/ Harvey Whippleman

Lane talks about Mr. Perfect failing to show up on the WrestleMania Revenge tour and believes he is scared of Lex Luger. Kwang chops Yates then takes him down with a hook kick before spitting his mist up in the air. Yates fights back and hits a dropkick then a pair of clotheslines but ends up eating a spinning heel kick and Kwang picks up the win (1:12). After the match we see Whippleman stomp Yates, who grabs the ankles, but Kwang makes the save. Kwang then holds up Yates for Whippleman but the 1-2-3 Kid runs out and ends up kicking Kwang out of the ring.

Thoughts: They set up a Kwang vs. Kid program here which makes sense due to the fact both guys use “martial arts” in their matches but also a bit strange considering that Kwang vs. Sparky Plugg has been advertised for the WrestleMania Revenge tour. The crowd was into Kid here.

We get a video hyping next week’s Heavenly Bodies vs. Bushwhackers match. Wow, what a featured bout.

1-2-3 Kid vs. Rich Myers

The announcers talk about a potential Kid vs. Kwang match as Kid grounds Myers on the mat. Myers surprises Kid with an arm drag but Kid comes back with a German suplex. Kid lands some kicks in the corner then hits a running leg drop. Kid then hits a belly-to-belly suplex then grounds Myers as the announcers hype up next week’s featured match. Kid eats boot on a charge in the corner but comes back with a spinning heel kick then sets up for a superplex and hits that for the win (2:51).

Thoughts: We get hype for a potential Kid vs. Kwang match while hype for next week’s featured match.

King of the Ring Report airs. I forgot to mention it on my “Superstars” report but Pettengill said all of the qualifying matches will air on Superstars & RAW, which goes to show you how the company views Challenge.

Mike Bell vs. Tatanka

Bell’s sneak attack failed as Tatanka hits him with a few chops. Tatanka uses a back drop then we hear from IRS in an insert promo sarcastically stating how it was sad watching Tatanka & Chief Jay Strongbow cry over the headdress but all Tatanka had to do was pay his taxes before plugging their matches on the WrestleMania Revenge tour. Bell fights back and uses a mat slam before stomping away. Bell gets a nearfall with an elbow drop then targets the back but Tatanka fires up. Tatanka now runs wild then puts Bell away with a Samoan drop, called the “Renegade Drop” by Lane (3:02).

Thoughts: More hype for the IRS/Tatanka feud that is featured as part of the WrestleMania Revenge tour.

Another Duke “The Dumpster” Droese vignette. He is emptying trash into the back of the truck and tells Jeff Jarrett and Yokozuna that he is coming soon. These are still terrible but at least shorter and slightly less corny.

“The Rocket” Owen Hart vs. Mo w/ Oscar

The announcers debate as to whether or not Owen can beat Bret for the World Heavyweight Title. Lane also says he understands Mabel will be seeing some singles competition in the coming weeks. Owen shoves Mo after a break against the ropes then retreats after slapping Mo across the face. The crowd chants “we want Bret” as both men are now trading hammerlocks. Mo wins that battle and now works the arm on the mat. Mo stays on the arm for a bit until Owen cheap shots him after a break in the corner. Owen rakes Mo’s face along the top rope then hits a spinning heel kick. Owen now uses a modified Camel’s Clutch as the crowd still chants for Bret. Mo shoves Owen away to avoid a Sharpshooter then hits a back drop. Spinebuster gets two. Small package gets two. Owen then sidesteps a charge and sends Mo outside where Mo’s knee hits the guardrail. Mo struggles to get up as he clutches his knee then keeps falling down as Owen taunts him to get up. The referee is out and rules Mo unable to continue as Owen wins the match (5:54) *1/2. Owen then yells at Mo to get back inside then decides to head out and stomp his knee. Owen rolls Mo inside then softens up the knee a bit before using the Sharpshooter. Mo is screaming in pain as several referees come out to get Owen to stop. Oscar is in the ring and standing around like a moron then Owen finally breaks the hold and yells for Bret into the camera.

Thoughts: The match formula itself was basic enough to make it so Mo wasn’t a complete detriment to the match. I did like the post-match stuff with Owen acting like a complete dick in brutalizing Mo’s knee. This ending was not only designed to get heat on Owen but also have Mo’s injury as a way to give Mabel a singles push. This would be Mo’s last televised match until November.

An ad for King of the Ring airs.

Johnny Polo welcomes Bret Hart to the interview platform. Polo asks Bret about the WrestleMania Revenge tour as the camera goes split screen as we see Owen’s reaction to the interview as he is backstage. Bret says Owen is a great wrestler. Bret also says after losing to Owen it made him stronger and maybe cut him some slack at WrestleMania X. Bret then tells Owen he will be stepping into the ring with the best there is, best there was, and best there ever will be. Polo then asks how it feels when Owen says that line with conviction. However, Bret says not to fall for imitations then says no one does it better than himself. The key part here was Bret saying Owen was a cheap imitation, which will no doubt piss off Owen to no end.

We see a clip from backstage from the break where Bret and Owen had a confrontation that was broken up by several officials. Owen got in Bret’s face and was shoved a few times as a result.

The Quebecers w/ Johnny Polo vs. A.C. Conner & Gus Kantarakis

Again, we have the future D-Lo Brown but this time actually in a match. The announcers hype up The Quebecers vs. Headshrinkers on RAW for the Tag Team Titles as Pierre beats on Kantarakis. We see Kantarakis fight back then tag out but Pierre hits a double clothesline. Capt. Lou Albano is shown in an insert promo hyping up the Tag Team Title match and feels good about his team winning. Conner falls on top of Jacques after the latter attempted a slam but Jacques fights back. The Quebecers then put Conner away with an assisted senton as Lane claims no one has kicked out of that move.

Thoughts: More hype for the Tag Team Title match on RAW. They are no trying to say no one has ever kicked out of the assisted senton before as a way to make it more effective when the Headshrinkers presumably kick out of the move.

Another Live Event News segment to hype the WrestleMania Revenge tour.

Next week in action are Earthquake, Bam Bam Bigelow, Doink the Clown, and the featured match of The Bushwhackers vs. Heavenly Bodies.

The show closes with a replay of Bret shoving Owen a few times backstage.

Final Thoughts: The big news here was the Bret/Owen confrontation backstage. Also, Owen injured Mo’s knee and we get another featured match for next week albeit with teams quite low on the depth chart. The King of the Ring PPV hype will start to intensify in the coming weeks.