What the World Was Watching: WWF Prime Time Wrestling – February 24, 1992

Vince McMahon moderates the panel, which features Gorilla Monsoon, Slick, Bobby Heenan, and Mr. Perfect. Perfect promises that WWF Champion Ric Flair is going to give Randy Savage a wrestling lesson at WrestleMania.

Opening Contest: El Matador (5-0) pins Hercules (1-2) after El Paso del Muerte at 6:02:

This match took place at the Superstars taping in Amarillo, Texas on January 28. There is a trading of near-falls early, with El Matador scoring from a body press off the ropes and Hercules doing so after a clothesline. Hercules works a long chinlock, taking the hold to the canvas and using the ropes for leverage to pin El Matador’s shoulders for a few near-falls. Hercules then decides to fly off the top rope and catches a boot from his downed opponent, allowing El Matador to hit a flying forearm, which Hercules breaks by putting his foot over the bottom rope. Hercules then tries a Flair pin, but the referee sees it and forces a break. When Hercules argues with the referee, El Matador spins him around into an inverted atomic drop and hits El Paso del Muerte, which Sean Mooney struggles to pronounce on commentary, to remain undefeated for the year. This was decent because El Matador dictated the pace. Rating: *½

Gene Okerlund’s Update segment recaps the WrestleMania double main event.

Papa Shango’s squash from Wrestling Challenge airs.

The Bushwhackers (1-2) defeat Skinner & the Brooklyn Brawler when Butch pins the Brawler after a small package reversal at 7:05:

Skinner’s pairing with the Brawler signals that he has reached the lowest depths on the heel side of the roster, providing a thin veneer of respectability on what would normally be a squash for the Kiwis. At least the Brawler decides to wear his shirt again. After killing time playing to the crowd both of the Bushwhackers end up in peril. Skinner plants Luke with the inverted DDT but the referee refuses to count until Butch makes the save, a spot that does not make sense. Then there is a fight over a small package sequence and Luke rolls Butch into the proper position to win. Much of the action was dreadful but the crowd was appreciative of the Bushwhackers comedy, so in that respect it was a success. Rating: ¼*

After the match, Skinner argues with the Brawler until the Bushwhackers attack them and force them to flee the ring.

Shawn Michaels’ squash from Wrestling Challenge airs.

The Berzerker (3-2) beats Don Richter via count out at 1:48:

In a few years “Don Richter” would have been fodder for the name of Earthquake’s manager. The Berzerker annihilates Richter with slams and a dive off the second rope, leading to the usual count out win. Despite the Berzerker’s efforts in the ring over the past year the crowd has no reason to care about him, a problem compounded by the Berzerker dropping some feature matches to this point in the year.

Panelists discuss footage of past WrestleMania moments.

Okerlund does the WrestleMania VIII Report.

Heenan predicts that Bret Hart will beat Roddy Piper for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania because Bret will not want to go back to Calgary to tell his father that he lost to a man in a skirt. Slick says it is a tough match to call, which Perfect slams, saying Slick only likes Piper because Piper “has a dream.”

Bret Hart (6-0-1) beats the Mountie (w/Jimmy Hart) (4-2) via disqualification after the Nasty Boys interfere at 4:26:

This match also took place in Amarillo, Texas. Before the bell, Jimmy Hart distracts the referee so that the Mountie can hit Bret with a chair and establish control of the bout. He takes too long to cover after a piledriver, though, and that allows Bret to kick him in the head during an Irish whip spot and go into the moves of doom. Bret decks Jimmy off the apron and locks in the Sharpshooter, leading to the Nasty Boys interfering for the disqualification. Despite the weak finish it was clearly established that Bret was better than the Mountie, giving him the victory in the feud between the two. Rating: *

After the bell, the Nasties effort to double team Bret is cut short by Roddy Piper making the save. When the heels head to the locker room, Bret picks Piper’s Intercontinental belt off the canvas and Piper gets in his face, grabbing the belt back.

A replay of the Randy Savage-Jake Roberts match from Saturday Night’s Main Event airs, along with Roberts’ attempted post-match attack that was thwarted by the Undertaker. After a commercial break, Heenan laments that Roberts was not able to end Savage’s career because then Ric Flair would not have to face Savage at WrestleMania.

Rick Martel (3-1-1) defeats the Texas Tornado (3-0) with a Flair pin at 8:34 shown:

This is a rather infamous match from the January 31 Madison Square Garden show where the Tornado is in no condition to compete, foreshadowing his arrest a week later for prescription drug fraud. Martel keeps things together by bumping for the Tornado’s hiptosses and arm drags but the crowd tires from a lack of consistent action. A Martel blind charge cues a series of Tornado clotheslines but when he tees off in the corner, Martel sweeps the Tornado’s legs and wins with the Flair pin. Like many of the Tornado’s feature matches this was a mess because there was no flow to it. It was just the Tornado throwing some blows and not selling well for Martel’s offense. Rating: ½*

After the match, the Tornado picks up Arrogance and chases Martel back to the locker room.

McMahon accuses Heenan and Perfect of playing mind games with Savage because they do not have any information that they could use against Savage before WrestleMania.

Ted DiBiase & Irwin R. Schyster (1-0) beat Omar Atlas & Terry Daniels when DiBiase makes Daniels submit to the Million Dollar Dream at 3:12:

Lord Alfred Hayes hypes DiBiase “and the IRS fellow” as a threat to the Legion of Doom as the WWF tries to build a backstory for them winning the tag titles even though they already have possession of them. DiBiase and IRS show good teamwork, winning after IRS plants Daniels with the Write Off and DiBiase applies the Million Dollar Dream. After the bell, DiBiase shoves $100 in Daniels mouth before taking it back.

Monsoon says that DiBiase and IRS have a good future in the ring. Heenan concurs and says that he does not care because he does not manage them. During the exchange, Perfect reads WBF Magazine.

The Hacksaw Jim Duggan & Sergeant Slaughter squash of the Beverly Brothers on Saturday Night’s Main Event is shown. For whatever reason the WWF tries to hide that this match is from that show and have Sean Mooney and Hayes do new commentary for it.

The panel discuss more WrestleMania moments.

The Nasty Boys (w/Jimmy Hart) (5-0) beat L.T. Jackson & Jimmy James when Jerry Sags pins James after the Trip to Nastyville at 1:35:

Jackson wrestled as Action Jackson and Mike Jackson on the independent circuit. He debuted in 1972, working in the Tennessee area for Nick Gulas’ NWA Mid-America and for Ron Fuller’s Continental Championship Wrestling. He did squashes during the 1980s for the USWA, World Class, and Bill Watts’ UWF. The WWF gave him a tryout as a regular prior to this squash making television but decided not to sign him.

Jackson never tags in as the Nasties brutalize James with the Pit Stop and their assisted corner avalanche to set up the Trip to Nastyville. Following the bell, the Nasties attack Jackson, beat him down, and toss him over the top rope. This is all in an attempt to rehabilitate the Nasties reputation after they lost so much to the Legion of Doom in the last quarter of 1991.

Tune in next week to see Jimmy Snuka face Shawn Michaels! And the Big Bossman faces the Warlord!

The Last Word: This week’s Prime Time had some awful matches. All that can be said about the episode is that there was some storyline development between Bret Hart and Roddy Piper as the animosity between them grows over the Intercontinental Championship.

Up Next: WWF Superstars for February 29!