What the World Was Watching: WWF Wrestling Challenge – July 7, 1991

Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan, and Jim Neidhart provide commentary, starting a new round of episodes from Fresno, California. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, this taping cycle took place on June 18.

Opening Non-Title Contest: Mr. Perfect (Intercontinental Champion w/Coach) (14-3) pins Larry Williams with the Perfectplex at 1:49:

Nursing a back injury, Perfect has not appeared on television since June 6. This is the first match where Coach is in Perfect’s corner. In the split screen, Coach puts over how everyone wants to be at Perfect’s side while Perfect puts over his amazing qualities. No mention is made of the feud with the British Bulldog, so that appears dead for all intents and purposes. Williams throws a dropkick, but it is a glancing blow and Perfect grounds him, taunts him, and finishes with the Perfectplex.

A replay of Randy Savage asking Elizabeth to marry him on Superstars airs.

The Dragon (10-0) pins Ed Moretti with a flying body press at 1:30:

Moretti started wrestling in 1978 and wrestled as Moondog Moretti in the Pacific Northwest and Vancouver. He made a house show appearance for the WWF when it visited Portland in 1990, losing to Black Bart.

The Dragon chops his way through Moretti, continuing his undefeated streak.

A new Skinner vignette sees him recap how to skin animals. He claims anyone can skin a dead animal but what makes him unique is that he can do it while they are alive after he breaks their back, insisting that he will be doing that to WWF superstars soon.

The Natural Disasters (w/Jimmy Hart) (1-0) defeat Matthew Burns & Scott Carlson when Earthquake pinned Burns after the Earthquake Splash at 2:21:

In the split screen, the Bushwhackers promise to stop the Natural Disasters bulldozer in its tracks, setting up the Disasters first feud in the tag division. After Carlson gets beaten down, Burns tags in and tries to be a house of fire against Earthquake but all of his punches to the gut are not sold. Typhoon wipes Burns out; splashes him; and then tags Earthquake, who ends the match with the Earthquake Splash.

Hacksaw Jim Duggan’s squash from Prime Time Wrestling is shown.

Irwin R. Schyster (6-0) beats Larry Ludden after the Write Off at 1:38:

Before the match, Schyster gets on the house mic and tells people to stop cheating on their taxes. He calls out Roddy Piper and says he is going to go after him specifically. In the split screen, Piper rebuts and says he takes criticism that he has more guts than brains as a compliment. Monsoon chides Schyster for his style of dress in the ring, arguing that he would grab Schyster by his tie the moment that the bell rang. Schyster works at an accelerated pace, flattening Ludden with a flying clothesline off the ropes and remaining undefeated after using the Write Off.

Lord Alfred Hayes’ Special Report recaps the current SummerSlam card.

Ted DiBiase (w/Sensational Sherri) (13-2-1) beats Billy Gatlin via submission to the Million Dollar Dream at 1:39:

DiBiase and Sherri do an insert promo about how the Million Dollar Belt sets the precedent for all the other belts in the WWF because of how much it is worth. After a running powerslam, DiBiase puts Gatlin on dream street with the Million Dollar Dream. After the bout, DiBiase shoves a $100 bill in Gatlin’s mouth, which Sherri quickly takes back. Monsoon argues that DiBiase should put the Million Dollar Belt on the line more often.

The Big Bossman (22-0-1) pins the Black Knight after the Bossman Slam at 1:51:

The Black Knight lost to the Bossman several weeks ago on Prime Time Wrestling and seeks revenge here. He comes up short, though, as the Bossman knocks him around with ease. After winning, the Bossman handcuffs the Knight to the middle rope and runs to the locker room.

Tune in next week to see Jake Roberts, the Rockers, Bret Hart, the Undertaker, and Sergeant Slaughter in action! Also, Virgil will be a guest on the Barber Shop!

The Last Word: The WWF is pivoting a few feuds going into SummerSlam as the Natural Disasters get paired with the Bushwhackers, who are coming off of winning a house show feud against Power & Glory. It also seems like Intercontinental Champion Mr. Perfect will get a new program after winning most of his matches against the British Bulldog off-screen. There are also hints that the Virgil-Ted DiBiase feud will shift to a battle over the Million Dollar Championship, as evidenced by DiBiase’s insert promo during his squash.

The WWF revisited Madison Square Garden to start the month of July. Here are the results of that card and others, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:

New York City, New York – Madison Square Garden – July 1, 1991 (8,800): Dino Bravo pinned Shane Douglas with a sidewalk slam at 5:32…The Dragon beat Paul Roma with a flying body press at 11:05…The Berzerker pinned Jimmy Snuka after a stun gun at 7:16…WWF Tag Team Champions the Nasty Boys beat the Hart Foundation via disqualification when Bret Hart was caught hitting the champions with Jimmy Hart’s motorcycle helmet at 13:46…The Warlord pinned Greg Valentine with a powerslam at 10:19…Jake Roberts (w/Andre the Giant) beat Earthquake (w/Jimmy Hart) with the DDT after Andre distracted Earthquake at 10:30. After the match, Earthquake knocked Roberts to the floor and grabbed a chair to face off with Andre until Roberts chased Earthquake to the locker room with Lucifer…Haku & the Barbarian bear Mr. Fuji (substituting for Pat Tanaka) & Kato when Haku pinned Kato with an elbow drop after Bobby Heenan interfered at 7:32. After the match, Fuji threw salt into Haku, the Barbarian, and Heenan’s eyes…The Ultimate Warrior beat the Undertaker in a body bag match after hitting the Undertaker with the urn at 9:29.

West Palm Beach, Florida – The West Palm Beach Auditorium – July 1, 1991 (5,000): Koko B. Ware pinned the Genius…The British Bulldog beat Typhoon (substituting for Mr. Perfect) via count out…The Mountie beat the Big Bossman…Hacksaw Jim Duggan defeated Colonel Mustafa…Roddy Piper & Virgil defeated Ted DiBiase & Irwin R. Schyster via disqualification…WWF Champion Hulk Hogan beat Sergeant Slaughter via submission to the Camel Clutch in a Desert Storm match.

Des Moines, Iowa – Veterans Memorial Auditorium – July 5, 1991 (6,500): The Berzerker pinned Jim Powers…The British Bulldog beat Typhoon (substituting for Mr. Perfect) via count out…The Bushwhackers beat Paul Roma & the Brooklyn Brawler (substituting for Hercules)…Jake Roberts (w/Andre the Giant) beat Earthquake…The Dragon defeated Colonel Mustafa…The Warlord defeated Jim Brunzell (substituting for the Texas Tornado) via submission to the full nelson…The Ultimate Warrior bear the Undertaker via disqualification after the Undertaker used the urn as a weapon.

Anaheim, California – The Anaheim Convention Center – July 6, 1991 (7,500): Jimmy Snuka beat Louie Spicolli…Shawn Michaels wrestled Brian Knobbs to a double disqualification…Ted DiBiase beat Virgil after Sensational Sherri interfered…The Mountie pinned the Big Bossman after using the shock stick as a weapon…Bret Hart defeated Paul Roma…Bret Hart won an 18-man battle royal, last eliminating Sergeant Slaughter after Hulk Hogan countered interference from General Adnan. Other participants in the match included Hogan, Adnan, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Animal, Snuka, the Rockers, Koko B. Ware, Greg Valentine, the Nasty Boys, Colonel Mustafa, Irwin R. Schyster, Typhoon, and Power & Glory.

Backstage News*: To blunt the impact of the George Zahorian trial, the WWF is going to have Hulk Hogan appear on the Arsenio Hall Show to publicly apologize for using steroids. Journalist Phil Mushnick in a New York Times column attacked the WWF over steroids and its television partners like NBC for being culpable in its behavior.

*The WWF is preparing another overhaul of Prime Time Wrestling. Vince McMahon is unlikely to be the host again until the format changes.

*In talent relations news, the WWF is now in a position to sign WCW and NWA World Champion Ric Flair after he was fired on July 1. WCW wanted to sign Flair to a new contract well below his existing $750,000 salary as part of cost-cutting moves, although Dave Meltzer reports that the company also recently offered Randy Savage $500,000. The NWA announced that Flair was still their world champion regardless of what WCW does with the title, opening the possibility of Flair coming in with the NWA’s endorsements as an outsider to challenge Hogan, thereby setting up a possible WrestleMania program that Flair has wanted to do for more than a year.

*Backstage news provided courtesy of Dave Melzer’s Wrestling Observer for July 15.

Up Next: Prime Time Wrestling for July 8!