WWF Superstars – July 23, 1994

July 23, 1994

From the Ocean City Convention Center in Ocean City, MD

Your hosts are Jim Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler

Before the opening montage, we see Shawn Michaels & Diesel hype up Ted DiBiase’s appearance on the “Heartbreak Hotel.” Shawn called Diesel and himself the “Peter Jennings and Tom Brokaw” of the WWF.

This week, Leslie Nielsen begins his investigation on The Undertaker. And the featured match of Jeff Jarrett vs. 1-2-3 Kid.

Jeff Jarrett vs. 1-2-3 Kid

Kid starts off with an arm drag then gets the crowd behind him. Kid uses another arm drag then works the arm as Jarrett complains about his hair being pulled. Jarrett breaks a side headlock with a back suplex then whips Kid into the corner. Jarrett stomps away and yells at Kid before hitting a slam. We get a clunky reversal sequence that ends with Kid applying a side headlock on the mat. The announcers hype up the DiBiase appearance on Heartbreak Hotel as Lawler once again insults Ross for being a hick. Jarrett hits Kid with a DDT then we go to break and return with Kid using a small package for a two count but Jarrett goes back on the attack. Jarrett misses a jumping attack and crotches himself on the ropes. Kid then pulls up on a dropkick and after that we get a mini slugfest ending with Kid getting a nearfall with a spin kick. Kid rolls outside after Jarrett ducked a crossbody attempt but was waiting for Jarrett and they fight until they’re both counted out (6:43) *3/4. After the match we see Jarrett cheap shot Kid then hits three piledrivers until Kid is rolled out to safety by a few officials. Jarrett taunts the crowd and gets booed while Kid tries to go after Jarrett but is too hurt to do so as Jarrett calls him a coward and demands him to get back and restart the match.

Thoughts: Disappointing match here with both guys having timing issues. The post-match antics were quite similar to their King of the Ring match but sadly the match itself was nowhere near as good. It looks like they are now moving Jarrett on from Doink and into a feud with Kid.

WWF Live Event News to hype up the Summer Sizzler tour matches.

Another video hyping The Undertaker vs. Undertaker match at SummerSlam.

Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart w/ Owen Hart vs. Rich Myers

Neidhart beats on Myers then slingshots him out of the ring. Owen yells about Bret as Neidhart mocks Myers before hammering away. Owen calls Bret a “freeloader” and how he will beat him at SummerSlam as Neidhart skies Myers with a back drop. Ross says that Bret will take on Bob Backlund for the title next week as Neidhart submits Myers with the Camel’s Clutch (2:14). Neidhart keeps the hold on after the match as Owen puts the glasses on Myers then snaps them off of his face.

Thoughts: The post-match stuff was so great as this was used to focus on the Bret/Owen feud. Also, we learned that Bret will give Backlund a title shot and that takes place next week.

We see a Bob Backlund workout video set to public access morning talk show music. It was amazing. We then see Backlund say he is going to walk out as champion next week.

We see Leslie Nielsen talk about being here to solve the mystery of The Undertaker. The lights go out then we hear DiBiase laugh as Nielsen asks for help. This was brief but Nielsen at least appeared to be trying instead of phoning it in so that is good.

Guest ring announcer is Frank Tobat. He is at least in his late 40’s.

Tatanka vs. Austin Steele

Tatanka works over Steele to start. He chops away as Ross wants to know why DiBiase was not with Luger for the Intercontinental Title match on RAW. Lawler talks about writing a song about Tatanka he might have Jarrett record as Steele now fights back. Tatanka fires up then hits the “Papoose to Go” as called by Ross for the win (2:35).

Thoughts: They did not specifically mention Tatanka’s recent claims about Luger but did discuss DiBiase not being in Luger’s corner on RAW. And they are now back to calling Tatanka’s finisher the Papoose to Go instead of the Renegade Drop.

We get a New Generation ad with a organized crime family at a sit-down dinner with the boss demanding “Monday Night RAW” be shown then has to watch it from a limo.

Heartbreak Hotel with guest Ted DiBiase. We hear DiBiase once again tell us how everyone has a price then introduces Lex Luger, saying he is the latest addition to the Corporation. Luger finally comes out but we also see Tatanka out there as well. Tatanka tells us he is here to set the record straight. Tatanka said he thought Luger was his friend and thought they both represented the same things but DiBiase cuts him off. DiBiase calls out Tatanka for being jealous that he cannot beat Luger and seems to want to set up a match. Luger cuts off DiBiase and says “no deal” then tells Tatanka there is no amount of money on earth to get him to sell out. Luger says he still considers Tatanka a friend but cannot stand to listen to who beats who or have his integrity questioned. He then leaves as Tatanka tells us he saw cash exchange between DiBiase and Luger then sarcastically mocks Luger for a bit. DiBiase assures us that Luger is in his corporation as the announcers remained confused. Another dumb segment on this feud. And Tatanka’s acting is terrible to the point you are convinced he is turning so you can’t even buy for a second that Luger has been bought off. Then again, the convoluted story would also lead you to believe that Luger would not be turning but still, bad acting isnt helping.

SummerSlam Report with Todd Pettengill. We learn that Razor Ramon vs. Diesel will take place for the Intercontinental Title.

Bam Bam Bigelow w/ Ted DiBiase vs. Tyrone Knox

Knox bounces off of Bigelow before getting tossed out of the ring. Bigelow heads out and hammers away then takes the action back in the ring and stays in control. Ross plugs the Pedro Morales vs. Adrian Adonis “Memory Lane” match on “All-American Wrestling” then does not believe Luger would be associated with DiBiase. Bigelow then hits a suplex before the Million Dollar Nightmare gets the win (2:14). DiBiase then laughs about the Million Dollar Corporation growing.

Thoughts: Just a backdrop for the announcers to talk about the Luger angle and plugging the Memory Lane match.

WWF Live Event News segment about the Summer Sizzler tour.

Hype video for next week’s Bret Hart vs. Bob Backlund match. The announcers then talk about that match to close out the show, with Lawler making fun of Backlund for being old. In reality, Backlund was only 3.5 months older than Lawler. Ross calls Backlund one of the finest conditioned athletes in the WWF.

Final Thoughts: The big news is the announcement of next week’s title match. And with Backlund getting hype videos out of nowhere the past couple of weeks expect him to get a push. Plus we saw Razor vs. Diesel will take place at SummerSlam for the Intercontinental Title. The rest of the show revolved around the crappy Luger/DiBiase/Tatanka angle and we had an underwhelming featured match as SummerSlam is just over one month away.