What the World Was Watching: WWF Wrestling Challenge – August 11, 1991

Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan, and Jim Neidhart are in the booth, concluding the taping in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Bret Hart’s squash from Prime Time Wrestling begins the broadcast.

Lord Alfred Hayes’ Special Report recaps Sid Justice’s interaction with Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior on Superstars two weeks ago. Hogan and the Warrior do a taped promo where the Warrior says he has a strong bond with Hogan due to the “Ultimate Challenge” a year ago. They promise to run over Sergeant Slaughter, Colonel Mustafa, and General Adnan at SummerSlam.

Handicap Match: Sergeant Slaughter (w/Colonel Mustafa & General Adnan) defeats Vern Siebert & Jeff Wheeler when Slaughter submit Wheeler to the Camel Clutch at 2:34:

In the split screen, Slaughter and his allies promise that they will not have flat feet at SummerSlam. Mustafa helps Slaughter get the jobbers off kilter before the bell, allowing Slaughter to slam and clothesline his opponents in turn. Slaughter submits each of them to the Camel Clutch, with the second submission winning him the match. After the bell, Mustafa gets in the ring so he can put Siebert in his own Camel Clutch.

The Rockers (14-1) beat Shane Croft & the Black Knight when Shawn Michaels press slams Marty Jannetty onto Croft at 2:01:

Michaels does not bother taking off his lime green hat for the start of the squash, although it falls off later following a dropkick. A superkick from Michaels lays Croft out for the Rockers press slam finish.

The Warlord (w/Slick) (17-2-2) beats Randy Thatcher via submission to the full nelson in 58 seconds:

It takes little time for the Warlord to trap Thatcher in the full nelson, giving the big man an eight-straight win.

The Natural Disasters (w/Jimmy Hart) (5-0) defeat Mike Russel & Hutch Thomas when Typhoon pins Russel after the Tidal Wave at 2:39:

The Bushwhackers and Andre the Giant do an insert promo about how Andre will help them put an end to the Natural Disasters at SummerSlam. The smaller jobbers cannot do anything against their bigger foes, who rub it in by walking on Russel’s chest. Earthquake avalanches Russel against the buckles, powerslams him, gives him an Earthquake Splash, and Typhoon finishes with the Tidal Wave splash.

A replay of the Jake Roberts-Ultimate Warrior segment from Superstars airs.

Gene Okerlund does the SummerSlam Report. Intercontinental Champion Mr. Perfect and Coach put over Perfect’s match with Bret Hart as the bout to watch. WWF Tag Team Champions the Nasty Boys and Jimmy Hart claim that they have the Legion of Doom right where they want them. The Legion rebut that there is nowhere for the Nasties to go at SummerSlam but down. Ted DiBiase and Sensational Sherri promise that no one will take the Million Dollar Championship Belt, while Virgil says that the only way to get even with DiBiase is to the take the Million Dollar Championship. The Mountie and Hart promise that the Bossman will be doing hard time after the Jailhouse Match. The Bossman rebuts that it is time for the Mountie to be treated like a criminal because that is what he is.

The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) (24-0) pins Ray Williams after the Tombstone at 1:22:

Bearer does an insert promo where he warns the Warrior to stop looking for the Undertaker’s power because it could turn deadly. The Undertaker has been sidelined for a few weeks by the Warrior’s interaction with Jake Roberts, so he is piling up jobber wins in the interim. After the bout, the Undertaker and Bearer stuff Williams into a body bag and the Undertaker stomps it.

Heenan shows off the NWA World Championship Belt, arguing that it is more prestigious than the WWF Championship. He repeats his talking points from Superstars as the show goes off the air.

Tune in next week to see Sid Justice in the Barber Shop!

The Last Word: This was another episode of Challenge that was a good cure for insomnia. There is nothing on these shows worth watching because all of the big angles are getting play on Superstars and, occasionally, Prime Time Wrestling. At least next week will see the return of the Barber Shop, something that has been missing during the latest round of tapings.

Here is a sample of the WWF’s house show results for early August, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:

Rockford, Illinois – Metro Centre – August 8, 1991 (2,200): Hercules pinned Koko B. Ware…Greg Valentine beat Colonel Mustafa via disqualification…Jim Neidhart (substituting for Jake Roberts) (w/Andre the Giant) pinned Earthquake after Andre interfered…The Big Bossman pinned the Mountie…The Texas Tornado wrestled the Warlord to a double count out…The British Bulldog beat Typhoon (substituting for Mr. Perfect) via disqualification…Sergeant Slaughter pinned Hacksaw Jim Duggan in a bootcamp match…The Bushwhackers defeated the Orient Express.

Albuquerque, New Mexico – Tingley Coliseum – August 10, 1991 (6,500): The Dragon beat Paul Roma…The Bushwhackers defeated the Orient Express…Jim Neidhart (substituting for Jake Roberts) (w/Andre the Giant) defeated Earthquake…The Texas Tornado beat the Warlord…Ted DiBiase defeated Virgil…The Ultimate Warrior beat the Undertaker.

Backstage News*: One of Vince McMahon’s next crusades is to eliminate steroids from the bodybuilding industry. He recently had a four-hour meeting with WBF stars about the topic. McMahon also met with WWF talent to urge them to stop using steroids because getting caught would be a public relations nightmare. Testing is supposed to start next month but an exact plan has yet to be revealed.

*Although people are already speculating that Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair is the WrestleMania VIII main event, Dave Meltzer is says such talk is premature because that would require the WWF draw out the program from September to April and there are too many things that could happen between those months that could lead to a change of plans.

*Genichiro Tenryu is happy with Flair going to the WWF because he hopes to book him for SWS.

*Barry Darsow will be repackaged as Repo Man, a gimmick that J.J. Dillon trademarked from a Florida wrestler named Ned Brady.

*In talent relations news, Downtown Bruno has been hired and will be called Harvey Wippleman.

*Backstage news provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for August 19.

Up Next: Prime Time Wrestling for August 12!