What the World Was Watching: WWF Wrestling Challenge – December 22, 1991

Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are in the booth, calling the last episode of the taping cycle in Springfield, Massachusetts. Monsoon gives Heenan a big Christmas gift. Heenan thinks it is a big watch but runs away screaming when he thinks it is a bomb.

Opening Contest: Virgil (22-1) beats the Brooklyn Brawler (1-17) after the Million Dollar Dream at 3:08:

Monsoon offers that he would be shocked to see the Brawler at The Royal Rumble. Heenan returns to commentary, angry that the gift Monsoon gave him was a giant alarm clock. Monsoon replies that he thought it was a thoughtful gift because Heenan is on the road a lot. In the split screen, Repo Man repeats his line that he is out to take Virgil’s career. The Brawler keeps getting up quickly to feed more of Virgil’s offense, resulting in fans thinking that Virgil’s swinging neckbreaker and Russian leg sweep have no torque on them. Finally, the Million Dollar Dream vanquish the Brawler.

Lord Alfred Hayes’ Special Report offers more Rumble promos. The Nasty Boys argue that the Rumble will be a “nasty tumble” for the other twenty-eight competitors. In a nice bit of continuity, Brian Knobbs puts over his third-place finish in last year’s event. El Matador says that he plans to be the new champion, Hacksaw Jim Duggan screams that his board is polished and ready to knock people out, and Jake Roberts says that Randy Savage has no chance because he is going to take him out. Hayes tells fans that there are rumors that Sid Justice may also enter the Rumble and more will be known about that next week.

The Beverly Brothers (w/the Genius) (17-0-1) defeat Tony Diamond & Bill Pierce when Beau pins Pierce after the Shaker Heights Spike at 2:44:

The Beverlys have a generic rock anthem as a theme song, but it does not fit their gimmick. The Genius does an insert promo about how the Beverlys are going to lead the New Foundation toward humiliation. That is a curious bit since the Beverlys are booked to face the Bushwhackers, and not the Foundation, at The Royal Rumble. Hearing Monsoon rag on the Genius is the best part of the match. The Beverlys have some nice moves, but their gimmick is not clicking.

Skinner (11-3-1) pins Ross Greenberg after the inverted DDT at 3:16:

Greenberg manages to knock Skinner out of the ring but that just makes the Everglades native upset and he gets back in and tosses Greenberg over the top rope. When he follows up, he spits on Jamison, who is in the crowd. Greenberg sunset flips in for a one count but cannot follow up. Skinner plants his opponent with a Pedigree but opts to end things with the inverted DDT instead.

The New Foundation (3-0) defeat the Executioners when Owen Hart pins both opponents after a Rocket Launcher at 3:07:

Monsoon is not a fan of the Executioners masks, arguing that it is Christmas season and Halloween ended months ago. Heenan is impressed by the New Foundation, arguing that they might be better than the Hart Foundation. Owen wrestles most of the match, which is a good call. In a funny commentary bit, Heenan makes a terrible joke about how his date a costume party was Little Bo Beep, prompting Monsoon to question if Heenan went as the sheep. Heenan briefly breaks character to laugh with Monsoon at that jab, admitting the joke was terrible. The finish for the squash is great as Jim Neidhart slams both Executioners and launches Owen off the top rope to pin both of them.

Gene Okerlund interviews the Mountie and Jimmy Hart. Monsoon cracks a joke that the Mountie is “walking differently” after spending a night in jail after SummerSlam. Hart says that he knows members of his stable did not vote for Intercontinental Champion Bret Hart for Wrestler of the Year. The Mountie puts over his chances of winning Bret’s title, promoting himself as “The Excellence of Electrocution.”

Jimmy Snuka (12-4) pins Brian Donahue after a diving headbutt off the top rope at 2:59:

Snuka has had an uneventful 1991, doing little of note other than losing to the Undertaker at WrestleMania. Monsoon and Heenan prefer to break down the chances of various participants in the Royal Rumble so far, leading to a Snuka insert promo where he wishes fans a good Christmas holiday. Monsoon is slap happy on this show, mimicking some of Snuka’s words back at him. Instead of doing the Superfly Splash, Snuka prefers to knock Donahue down with a headbutt off the top rope.

Rumble promo time! Ted DiBiase and Sensational Sherri laugh about how they lived up to their promise of taking the Million Dollar Championship Belt back from Virgil. Skinner says fans are looking at the winner when they look at him, Repo Man does not care about how he has to go through twenty-nine other men to repossess “the world’s biggest prize,” and Roddy Piper puts over how he is a dreamer and will realize one of them by winning the Rumble and taking the WWF Championship.

The Nasty Boys (w/Jimmy Hart) (24-5) defeat Jason Hedding & Glen Ruth when Jerry Sags pins Hedding after the Trip to Nastyville at 3:05:

In the split screen, the Nasties and Hart say that they want to rip people’s faces off and nasticize Santa for their Christmas wish. Heenan discusses how he has a Christmas wish of being the financial advisor to the WWF Champion because having the title leads to making more money. The Nasties roll through their usual offense, putting away Hedding with the Trip to Nastyville.

Tune in next week to see El Matador, Irwin R. Schyster, Sergeant Slaughter & Hacksaw Jim Duggan, and Ric Flair will be in action! Also, Jake Roberts will be a guest on the Barber Shop!

The Last Word: Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan were on fire throughout this broadcast, helping this show stick out from the B and C-level squashes that usually populate it. The announcement of Sid Justice possibly being the Royal Rumble is big news since he has been off television with an injury for more than a month.

Up Next: Prime Time Wrestling for December 23!