WWF at Madison Square Garden (January 31, 1992)

Original Airdate: January 31, 1992

From New York, New York; Your Hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan

Opening Match: Kerry Von Erich v Rick Martel: Kerry is totally sleepwalking out there. They take turns playing to the crowd to start, and Rick gets the first takedown with an armdrag - which Kerry looks to have trouble properly taking. Rick with a few more takedowns, so Von Erich goes to the outside to try and kiss up to the fans, but Martel jumps him. Kerry eats the steps out there, and Rick rolls him in to hammer. Cross corner whip, but Von Erich reverses, and he uses a backdrop on the rebound. Pair of armdrags send Martel bailing for the outside, where he stalls. Kerry brings him in the hard way, and works a wristlock, until Martel fights free, but Kerry armdrags him to keep control. Back to the wristlock, but a corner charge runs into a boot, and Martel turns the tide. He stomps on the lower back of the Tornado, but his own corner charge meets a boot, and Kerry throws a series of clotheslines. Ten-punch count rattles Rick, so he goes for the cologne canister. Von Erich manages to knock it away from him, but Martel is ready with his backup plan: a leveraged pin at 8:57. Von Erich looked absolutely abysmal here, and he’d get arrested for forging a prescription for painkillers a week later, so clearly he was in rough shape at the time. DUD

Shawn Michaels v Jimmy Snuka: This version has the later version of Sexy Boy (with Shawn singing) dubbed over whatever was here originally (likely Rhapsody in Blue). Shawn tries a sneak attack, but Snuka dodges it, and cross corner whips him right out of the ring. Jimmy works a headlock on the way back in, but Shawn eventually reverses, so Snuka criss crosses, armdragging Michaels into an armbar. Michaels dumps him to the outside to escape, and he follows to ram Snuka’s back into the apron. Michaels with a jumping backelbow for two on the way back inside, so he works a chinlock. Snuka fights free, so Shawn throws a knee to keep control, and he pounds on the lower back. Michaels with a backbreaker, but Snuka blocks a 2nd rope axehandle, and the Superfly makes a comeback. 2nd rope bodypress gets him two, but a whip into the ropes backfires when Michaels rebounds with a high knee. That knocks Jimmy to the outside, so Shawn vertical suplexes him back in for two, as Gorilla tries to get ‘the Fly’ over as a nickname for Snuka. Shawn with a superkick and the Teardrop suplex to put it away at 12:03. Pretty dull, but Shawn’s brilliant execution was the highlight here. ¾*

Mountie v Sid Justice: Pretty huge babyface reaction for Sid here, despite him teasing a heel turn on TV by this point. Mountie grabs a microphone at the bell, and cuts a promo on Sid, which earns him a chokeslam. Mountie bails, but Sid chases, and pounds him out there. Justice with a clothesline on the way back in, but he telegraphs a backdrop, allowing Mountie a facebuster. Mountie unloads in the corner, but Sid decides he doesn’t feel like selling, so Mountie delivers a piledriver (which looks like something that shouldn’t be physically possible), but Sid no-sells that as well. Powerbomb finishes Mountie at 4:25. Sid may not have been a workrate master, but he had it in a way that very few before or since did. ½*

Warlord v Hercules: Hercules is looking like Jake Roberts’ long lost brother here. Warlord knocks him around early on, treating him like a jobber, as Hercules half heartedly goes along with it. Hercules calls for a test-of-strength, but takes a cheap shot before they lock horns, and Hercules works a knucklelock. Warlord decides to no-sell him, but misses a corner charge, and Hercules starts throwing clotheslines - until running into a big boot on his third go. That allows Warlord a running powerslam at 5:24. This was junk, with Hercules barely engaging in any meaningful way. Did Hercules ever cross paths with Von Erich during this period? Both guys were so checked out at this point that they should have rolled luggage down to the ring with them. DUD

The Nasty Boys v Sgt. Slaughter and Jim Duggan: Jerry Sags starts with Duggan, and he tries unloading in the corner, but Jim turns the tables on him. An atomic drop draws Brian Knobbs in, so Duggan gives him the same, and the babyfaces pinball Brian around a bit. The dust settles back on Sags and Duggan, and Jim works the arm a bit before passing to Sarge. Slaughter hits him with a backelbow, but a turnbuckle smash gets reversed, and Sags dumps him. Knobbs is ready to send Sarge into the steps out there, and the heels go to work, cutting the ring in half. Slaughter eventually just kind of just gets away and tags (without a big formal missed move, or failed double team, or whatever) and Roseanne Barr the door! Sarge gets Knobbs in a sleeper, but Sags saves, and it spills to the outside. Jim hits Knobbs with a chair out there while Sarge sends Sags into the post, and the Boys are counted out at 9:34. Certainly nothing special, but more engaging than I expected it to be. ¼*

Kato v Chris Walker: Walker looks like he was brought in specifically to fill whatever void Von Erich was leaving. They feel each other out to start, and Kato gets control with a bodyslam, allowing him to work a headlock. Criss cross ends on Chris using a hiptoss, and a bodyslam leads to a dropkick, so Kato bails. Inside, a criss cross ends in Walker getting clobbered (in what looked like a botch), and Kato adds a backbreaker for two. Walker manages a sunset flip for two, but Kato cuts him off with a bodyslam, and adds an elbowdrop. Kato with a vertical suplex for two, so he works a reverse chinlock, but misses another elbowdrop. That allows Walker to make a comeback, but he runs into a boot in the corner, and Kato hooks a somersault cradle for two. Cross corner whip, but Chris reverses, and throws a clothesline for two. Another one, but Kato sidesteps, and Walker goes over the top. Kato wastes time playing to the crowd, allowing Walker to get to the top rope, and he dives with a flying bodypress at 9:37. The leisurely banter between Monsoon and Heenan was the only redeeming quality of this match. ¼*

Bret Hart v Undertaker: Undertaker jumps him at the bell, and immediately starts choking in the corner. And lots of it, too. Cross corner charge misses, however, and Hart pops off an inverted atomic drop, then a pair of clotheslines. A running dropkick sends Undertaker over the top (in a hilarious spot, as 'Taker tries to do hit standard 'land on his feet' spot, but is out of position, and nearly takes out the announcers in the process!), and Bret dives after him with a plancha! A distraction by Paul Bearer quickly turns the tide back around, however, and Undertaker tosses the Hitman into the steps before bringing it back in. More choking immediately commences, so Hart tries a sunset flip, but Undertaker blocks, so Bret uses a turnbuckles smash, and unloads in the corner - only to have a cross corner whip reversed! Ropewalk forearm gets two, and a jumping clothesline is worth two. Nervehold, but Bret starts slugging, so Undertaker tries another ropewalk - only to get pulled off this time! Bret with an inverted atomic drop and a running clothesline to soften 'Taker up for a Russian legsweep for two. Snap suplex gets two, and a backbreaker sets up a 2nd rope pointed elbowdrop, but Undertaker sits up. Hart reroutes with a 2nd rope flying clothesline instead, but gets distracted by Paul Bearer on the apron, and the referee ends up getting bumped as Undertaker attacks. Bret sweeps him down for the Sharpshooter, but there's no referee. He lets off to go revive him, but that allows Undertaker to bash him with the urn for the pin at 12:27. This wasn't a very good match, but it was well booked, with plenty of hope spots from Hart at the right times to keep things moving. * ¼

Virgil v Repo Man: Repo attacks from behind, and works Virgil over, going right into the heat segment without Virgil even getting the usual babyface blitz going on. Repo tosses him over the top as the crowd sits on their hands, so Virgil hides underneath the ring, and sneaks up with a schoolboy for two. Atomic drop is followed by the inverted version, and a dropkick gets two. Clothesline gets two, so he tries working an armbar, but Repo gets him into the corner. Repo unloads, but a cross corner whip gets reversed, and Virgil hiptosses him. Armdrag leads to an armbar, but he telegraphs a backdrop, and Repo clobbers him. Repo with a punch for two, as Monsoon and Heenan stretch for anything interesting to talk about. They’re basically just making small talk at this point, but they have so much natural chemistry that even that generally works. Repo with a side suplex for two, as the announcers hype up Ric Flair defending the WWF Title against Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania. Repo with a headvice, as the announcers discuss Repo’s tattoo, which seems like a dangerous thing to call attention to. Virgil tries an inside cradle for two, but gets clobbered again, and Repo works a bodyscissors. He may not have changed the tattoo, but give him credit for working an entirely different moveset than he did as Smash. I never realized it was the same guy when I was a kid, that’s for sure. Repo dumps him over the top again for a trip to the post, but Virgil fights him off with a side suplex on the way back into the ring. He makes a comeback, but runs into an elbow while trying a corner charge, and Repo hooks the leg at 11:02. This was really lowkey (and pretty boring, if we’re being accurate), but both guys are competent workers, so it wasn’t bad. ¾*

Main Event: Randy Savage v Jake Roberts: Macho goes right at him with jabs, but Jake rakes the eyes, and tosses his ass over the top. That allows Roberts to stalks Elizabeth on the outside, but Randy attacks with a chair, and bashes him into the post for good measure. Savage with a flying axehandle on the way back in, but Jake knocks him out of the air with a gut-punch, and delivers a kneelift. Inverted atomic drop follows, and Jake pulls him to the outside to return the favor for earlier with a trip to the post. How generous! Back in, Jake pounds him in the corner, but Savage dodges a short-clothesline, and hits a backelbow to setup a flying axehandle. Corner charge hits knee, however, and Jake hits that short-clothesline on the second try. DDT, but Macho holds the ropes to block, and the Flying Elbowdrop finishes at 6:07. Like most of their series from this period, this had lots of intensity, but wasn't the best of matches. But then, I never especially cared for Jake's matches as a heel, as his move set was extremely limited, and much better suited to working babyface. Which is a shame, since his heel character was always tremendous, and infinitely more interesting than his work as a face. ¾*

BUExperience: This was pretty terrible, despite a few interesting pairings. 

DUD