What the World Was Watching: WWF Prime Time Wrestling – August 12, 1991

Jamison hears a radio announcement in Bobby Heenan’s dressing room that six “deranged lunatics” have escaped from the Stanford Sanitarium and have escaped on a yellow bus.

Sean Mooney, Lord Alfred Hayes, and Gene Okerlund are shown blowing up balloons for Randy Savage’s bachelor party. They are tired and complaining that Heenan, who organized the party, has not done any setup work. Gorilla Monsoon hauls Heenan onto the set, which has no audience. Koko B. Ware, the Bushwhackers, and Jamison show up, with the Bushwhackers bringing a long sub sandwich.

Opening Contest: Jimmy Snuka (8-3) pins the Brooklyn Brawler after the Superfly Splash at 2:47:

The fans are excited to see Snuka dismantle the Brawler, popping for the Superfly Splash. At this point he is just a special attraction in the midcard.

Slick shows up and reminds Randy Savage that it is not too late to call off the wedding since saying “I do” commits him to financial suicide. Sensational Sherri follows, saying that Heenan invited her. She tells fans that she has a present for Savage.

Roddy Piper arrives with a present, a case of “Budweasel” for Savage. He talks of finding some guests on a yellow bus and how he invited them to the party. These are the escaped people from the mental institution, with one dressed like Abraham Lincoln, another like Napoleon, and a woman dressed like Alice from Alice in Wonderland.

Paul Roma (w/Slick) (2-5) beats Tim Patterson after a splash from the top rope at 3:19:

Hayes puts over Roma’s dropkick as a match ender but when Roma blasts Patterson with it he chooses to pose rather than go for the pin. A few backbreakers set Patterson up for the finish, allowing Roma to break a two-match losing streak.

Randy Savage shows up for his party with a cigar. He yells about how it is time to party and busts some balloons.

Greg Valentine (14-5-1) beats the Black Knight via submission to the figure-four leglock at 3:17:

The funniest bit of the squash is when the Knight reverses a whip into the corner and yells to the crowd before trying a clothesline against the buckles. His blind charge eats boot and Valentine follows up with an elbow off the second rope. The figure-four follows as Valentine continues to build momentum toward a clash with Irwin R. Schyster at SummerSlam.

Heenan welcomes a belly dancer onto the set for Savage. Slick steals the segment by showing off some dance moves. Savage has Okerlund dance and Okerlund shows off his white man rhythm.

Okerlund does the SummerSlam Report, reminding fans that this Sunday there will be a “SummerSlam Spectacular” episode on USA Network.

The Barbarian (6-5-1) pins Jim Powers after a bit boot at 3:38:

The Barbarian’s stock has taken a big hit halfway through 1991, losing a house show feud to Bret Hart and having his tag team with Haku disbanded after WrestleMania VII. His lone bright spots are televised wins over Saba Simba and Jake Roberts. Powers gets a few token clotheslines at the end but the Barbarian catches Powers with a big boot when Powers tries to land a third blow, breaking a three-match losing streak.

The Bushwhackers freak out over a nature documentary as if they are watching a dirty film. An incredulous Monsoon cannot believe what they are up to.

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

Heenan is on a telephone, still trying to win the Hulk Hogan Hotline interactive game. He wins when the belly dancer knocks the telephone he is using off the table.

Marty Jannetty (1-0) defeats Kato (w/Mr. Fuji) (1-1) with a sunset flip at 7:27:

Shawn Michaels is absent from Jannetty’s corner for reasons that are not explained. The match is a paint by numbers affair, although the pace picks up nicely after a blind charge causes Jannetty to fly over the top rope. Kato avoids an elbow drop from the second rope and charges Jannetty when the Rocker gets off the canvas but Jannetty leaps over his opponent and wins with a sunset flip. Rating: **¼

A taped segment features Savage trying on lots of different tuxedoes for his wedding. He settles on a gold and white design.

Piper introduces a stripper named Autumn, who Monsoon lifts out of a cake. She dances and the camera pans away as she tosses her clothes to the wrestlers.

Irwin R. Schyster (10-0-1) wrestles the British Bulldog (25-2) to a double count at 9:38 shown:

Schyster tells fans that it would cost every American $10,000 to pay off the national debt so it is time for them to contribute their fair share. As per usual, IRS works over his opponent with rest holds like chinlocks and an abdominal stretch, sucking some of the momentum out of the match at various points when things look like they could kick up a notch. Near the end of the match, IRS goes to the top rope for some reason and the Bulldog throws him off to cue a comeback. IRS grabs the top rope to block the running powerslam and falls onto the Bulldog for a hot near-fall. Both end up on the floor and that results in a predictable feature match double count out. Rating: **

Monsoon tells Heenan that he needs to go down to the front desk because there is a security problem. Heenan says that it must be Autumn, who wants to do another dance.

Paul Bearer’s Funeral Parlor segment features the Undertaker as a guest. Both are angry at Jake Roberts for helping the Ultimate Warrior. The Undertaker tells Roberts that he can never understand the dark side that he and Bearer are on.

Heenan gets to the front desk, where he encounters Jake Roberts. Roberts is angry that his name is not on the guest list. He hypes how he is going to put the Ultimate Warrior through his final test this Thursday night.

After the commercial break, Savage says he does not like snakes so that is why he did not invite Roberts.

Non-Title Match: Mr. Perfect (Intercontinental Champion w/Coach) (16-3) defeats Mike Daniels via count out at 1:14:

This match is a demonstration of how injured Perfect is as he throws Daniels to the floor and tosses the jobber into the apron and then rolls in for a quick count out win. After the bell, Perfect gets on the house mic and promises to beat Bret Hart in the best match in WWF history.

Jamison tries to tell Mooney and Savage about where Roddy Piper’s guests are from but no one listens to him.

After the commercial break, sanitarium workers come to round up the escaped patients. Monsoon tells them that they have their work cut out for them because everyone at the party is crazy. The workers choose to eat the food rather than do their job.

The Legion of Doom (12-0) defeat Duane Gill & Barry Hardy when Hawk pins Gill after the Doomsday Device at 3:11:

Gill and Hardy were Larry Sharpe trainees. Hardy made his debut in 1987, while Gill debuted in 1990. They teamed on the independent circuit as the Lords of Darkness and at the time of this squash they were the tag team champions of the Maryland-based Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation.

Due to an injury suffered by Hawk, the Legion of Doom have not had a televised match since May 28, when they won a squash on Prime Time. Gill bumps like crazy for all of Hawk’s moves, later taking a powerslam from Animal and the Legion’s Doomsday Device.

Tune in next week for the “SummerSlam Spectacular” special to see WWF Champion Hulk Hogan defend his title against Sergeant Slaughter!

The Last Word: The bachelor party gimmick kept the show moving, although the mental institution angle did not amount to much. The wrestling was fine, with all the matches happening in their own bubble except for Mr. Perfect’s squash near the end. The most significant development on the show was Jake Roberts getting peeved that he was not invited, sowing the seeds for a future feud with Randy Savage. Overall, this was not a great episode of Prime Time but it was better than the last handful of shows.

Up Next: WWF Superstars for August 17!