What the World Was Watching: WWF Wrestling Challenge – March 1, 1992

Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are in the both, wrapping up the tapings in Lubbock, Texas.

Opening Contest: Rick Martel (4-1-1) beats Louie Spicolli via submission to the Boston crab at 2:18:

Spicolli gets in a surprising amount of offense, trapping Martel in a sunset flip for a near-fall and coming within a hair of winning with an O’Connor roll. A stun gun allows Martel to reassert control and a quick beatdown paves the way for the Boston crab.

Lord Alfred Hayes’ Special Report recaps the tag team title change.

Tatanka (4-0) pins Barry Horowitz after the Samoan drop at 2:04:

Heenan yells for fans to hit the deck when Tatanka makes his entrance and then he and Monsoon argue over how Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster got control of the tag team titles. After a press slam Tatanka does an insert promo that puts over his gimmick and he finishes Horowitz off soon after.

Monsoon and Heenan narrate footage of past WrestleMania moments.

Sid Justice (w/Harvey Wippleman) (3-0) pins Ed Robinson after the powerbomb at 1:05:

Before the match, Wippleman says he will do Sid’s ring introductions from now on. Robinson does not go up well for a chokeslam but takes a long bump to the canvas from a powerbomb to redeem himself. After the squash, medics go to wheel Robinson out on a stretcher but Sid sits Robinson up and clotheslines him off it in a nice spot.

The British Bulldog (4-0) defeats B.A. Dalton after the running powerslam at 1:17:

The highlight of the squash is the Bulldog getting the big Dalton up for his finisher, which he sets up by mowing down Dalton with a clothesline.

A replay of Jake Roberts’ appearance on the Funeral Parlor on Superstars airs.

Gene Okerlund does the WrestleMania VIII Report.

A replay of the Nasty Boys’ squash from Prime Time Wrestling is shown.

Tune in next week to see Hacksaw Jim Duggan & Sergeant Slaughter, the Natural Disasters, and El Matador in action! Also, there will be a special interview with Jake Roberts as well as WWF Champion Ric Flair!

The Last Word: The only major event on the show was the introduction of Harvey Wippleman as Sid’s new manager. While the two were friends outside of the ring the pairing is not a good aesthetic because Wippleman looks too cartoonish relative to Sid’s more realistic, intense character. Also, Sid can do promos just fine on his own and does not need Wippleman to speak for him. And Wippleman managed a loser at the end of last year in Big Bully Busick and a perennial midcard act in the Warlord so associating him with Sid brings Sid down a few pegs.

And here is where the WWF’s house show circuit stood at the end of February, courtesy of thehistoryofwwe.com:

Normal, Illinois – Red Bird Arena – February 28, 1992 (4,300): Shawn Michaels beat Jim Powers (substituting for Jimmy Snuka)…Tatanka beat Skinner…Crush (substituting for the Texas Tornado) pinned the Berzerker…Owen Hart & Jim Brunzell (substituting for Jim Neidhart) defeated the Beverly Brothers…Bret Hart & the Bushwhackers (substituting for the Legion of Doom) beat the Mountie, Brian Knobbs & Shawn Michaels (substituting for Jerry Sags)…Irwin R. Schyster beat Virgil…Randy Savage defeated Jake Roberts in a steel cage match.

Boston, Massachusetts – The Boston Garden – February 29, 1992 (10,000; matinee): The Warlord pinned Chris Walker…Rick Martel wrestled the British Bulldog to a time-limit draw…El Matador pinned Ted DiBiase…The Natural Disasters beat Hacksaw Jim Duggan & Sergeant Slaughter via disqualification…J.W. Storm pinned Kato…The Big Bossman defeated Repo Man…Hulk Hogan & Roddy Piper defeated Ric Flair & Sid Justice (substituting for the Undertaker) when Hogan pinned Flair.

Springfield, Massachusetts – Springfield Civic Center – February 29, 1992 (4,500): J.W. Storm pinned Kato with a roll up at 10:00…The Warlord beat Chris Walker…Rick Martel pinned the Big Bossman after hitting the Bossman with his own nightstick…El Matador pinned Ted DiBiase after heel miscommunication from Jimmy Hart…The British Bulldog pinned the Repo Man at 7:00…The Natural Disasters beat Hacksaw Jim Duggan & Sergeant Slaughter via disqualification when Slaughter hit Typhoon with Duggan’s 2×4…Intercontinental Champion Roddy Piper defeated WWF Champion Ric Flair in a non-title steel cage match.

Backstage News*: Bill Eadie, who wrestled as Demolition Ax, has sued the WWF and Vince McMahon, arguing that he came up with the Demolition gimmick and should get a share of the profits from it.

*Despite public relations headwinds, the WWF’s house show business has been strong going into WrestleMania.

*In talent relations news, the WWF will be using Crush (Brian Adams) and Del Wilkes in full-time positions on the road in the coming weeks. Crush is being used to cover Kerry Von Erich’s bookings.

*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for March 9.

Up Next: Prime Time Wrestling for March 2!