The SmarK 24/7 Rant for Saturday Night’s Main Event – October 27 1992
– Another show I’ve never seen, because Fox didn’t debut in Edmonton until well into the 90s, believe it or not.
– Taped from Indiana State College, IN
– Your hosts are Vince McMahon & Bobby Heenan
WWF World tag team titles: Money Inc. v. Randy Savage & Ultimate Warrior
Big brawl to start and the, ahem, Ultimate Maniacs clean house and toss the champions twice. This gives Bobby a chance to work in a lame telestrator joke, and we’re back with Savage getting two on Dibiase. Necksnap and it’s over to the Warrior as the canned crowd noise is REALLY obnoxious here, like something from the early 80s. I mean, the crowd isn’t even MOVING and yet the sound is off the charts. Warrior suplexes Dibiase for two, but misses a shoulderblock and lands on the mat. IRS comes in with a sleeper to take advantage, which gives us a chance to hear from Razor Ramon and Ric Flair backstage, as they hype Survivor Series. So they’re using the tag champions to warm up the babyfaces for another team. That’s swell. Dibiase comes in and gets the Million Dollar Dream, but Savage breaks it up with a knee to the back. Warrior and Dibiase clothesline each other, but it’s hot tag Savage. And now at least the crowd is excited to see him for real. Clotheslines for Money Inc and he drops the big elbow on IRS, but Dibiase breaks it up and we’re BONZO GONZO. Warrior dumps Dibiase with a clothesline and IRS goes out from an atomic drop, and they’ve had enough tonight and walk out at 6:10. Somewhat unsurprisingly, Ramon and Flair and Perfect beat the crap out of the Maniacs on the way back to the dressing room. They might as well have put this together from a store bought kit. **
– A music video about Bret Hart follows, although obviously the original song has been replaced with ultra-generic country rock. Dare I ask what was supposed to be heard here?
Intercontinental title: Davey Boy Smith v. Shawn Michaels
Bulldog overpowers him to start, of course, so Shawn goes with the cheapshot, into a hiptoss and short-arm scissors. Hey, wonder what Bulldog will do to counter? And yes indeed, he powers Shawn up and drops him on the mat. Press slam follows and a clotheslines puts Shawn on the floor, as he’s just bumping all over the place in his big solo network debut. Back in, Shawn slugs away in the corner, but Bulldog wins a battle of reversals and gets the armbar. Shawn dumps him to escape and unties the turnbuckle, as we take a break. Back with Shawn going to the chinlock and Bulldog slamming out of it, but Shawn works on the back and goes to the abdominal stretch. Bulldog fights out and faceplants him, then sends him into the corner and out with a clothesline. Catapult into the corner is followed by a clothesline for two. Delayed suplex gets two. Finally the turnbuckle comes into play, however, as Shawn gets a desperation whip into the dreaded cold steel to slow Bulldog’s comeback. Another whip, but this time he eats the turnbuckle, and Bulldog goes to finish with a superplex…but his back gives out and Shawn pins him to win the title at 10:15. Clean as a sheet, as they say. Really liked this one, as the psychology was consistent, with Shawn working the back and then winning the title when Bulldog’s back gave way. ***1/4 That’s all I ask.
– Back to Ramon & Flair for more trash talk towards the good name of the Ultimate Maniacs.
WWF World title: Bret Hart v. Papa Shango
Bret gets a bodypress on Shango for two right away, and puts him on the floor with a clothesline. He follows with a pescado, and we take a break. Back with Bret missing a charge into the turnbuckle and Shango pounds him in the corner. Bret slugs back, but walks into a bearhug, forcing him to bite Shango’s head to escape. Shango pounds him down again and chokes him out, and it’s … no … it can’t be … the deadly VOODOO NECK PINCH OF DOOM! What a fiend. Bret elbows out, but walks into a clothesline, and it’s back to that nerve hold. Bret fights out and grabs a sleeper, but Shango rams him into the turnbuckles to break right away. Shango starts chanting, which Bobby clarifies is a bad thing for Bret, but instead he misses an elbow off the middle rope and Bret comes back. Russian legsweep gets two. Backdrop gets two. Clothesline off the middle rope gets two. Shango whips him into the corner, but misses a charge and the Sharpshooter ends it at 7:10. Bill Alfonso excitedly pushes Bret off Shango to break the hold in a weird deal, and Bret looks kind of pissed at him. Usual Bret match as they wanted to put him over huge on network TV. **1/4
– And we wrap it up with comments from Paul Bearer and Undertaker, as they prepare for Kamala in the casket match.
The Pulse
Well, this show tanked in the ratings compared to the NBC glory years, and the PPV was a gigantic flop, neither of which were terribly surprising because Vince was trying to put out a product that looked like the 80s glory days but with people who didn’t yet have the star power to draw money for him. A totally forgettable, throwaway show, although the Shawn title change is worth seeking out if you don’t have the DVD already.
Recommendation to avoid.
