WWF Superstars (January 15, 1994)

Original Airdate: January 15, 1994 (taped December 14, 1993)

From Lowell, Massachusetts; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon and Stan Lane

Lex Luger v Bastion Booger: I started watching around this period, and I don’t remember ‘the American Original’ as a nickname for Lex at all, but man, they’re pushing hard on it. Booger with a slam for two right away, and a legdrop gets him another two. Booger with some turnbuckle smashes, but an avalanche misses, and Lex makes a brief comeback, but his back gives out when he tries a bodyslam. That allows Booger to hammer him, and Bastion delivers a bodyslam of his own to set up a splash for two. A second splash misses, however, and Lex capitalizes with a 2nd rope axehandle, but gets toppled for two while trying the bodyslam again. Booger clotheslines him out of the ring for an avalanche against the post, but Lex catches a second wind, and suddenly makes a comeback out of nowhere. The bodyslam works, as does the jumping forearm at 3:50. Thankfully they didn’t draw this one out too much. ¾*

Gorilla Monsoon is in the control center for Update, talking about Marty Jannetty and 1-2-3 Kid winning the tag title this past Monday night on RAW. Unfortunately, that means that the Hart brothers will no longer be getting a shot at the gold at the Royal Rumble, which Bret reacts to in good spirits, but Owen is not quite so congratulatory. You know, I love that Harts/Quebecers match, and I’d hate to imagine a world without it, but part of me really wishes they just ran Jannetty and Kid against the Harts, because it probably would have been even better. Bret also announces that he’s done as a singles wrestler, and he’s going back to the tag ranks with Owen full time going forward. I love all the diversions, it feels like he’s completely out of the world title picture this point, and you’d never think he was gearing up for another reign. Like, the breakup with Owen is obviously coming, but how they coupled it with another title run was excellently executed 

The Headshrinkers v Tony DeVito and JS Storm: Speaking of interesting pivots, who would have guessed these two would win the tag title within a short while of this? Between the Harts, Steiner Brothers, Marty/Kid, and the Quebecers, it felt like they had tons of top teams, and then all four of those were no longer in play by summer. Men on a Mission getting the WrestleMania shot feels even more out of left field, I don’t think they’ve even won a non-squash match on TV. Samu with the flying splash at 1:47, which may be the only time I’ve ever seen him deliver it. ¼*

Jim Ross is in the studio for Face to Face with guests Bam Bam Bigelow, Luna Vachon, Doink the Clown, and Dink. Not much here, as they talk about the Rumble match more than actually building up the issue between them

Tatanka v Barry Horowitz: We get the guest ring announcer deal here, and I definitely had that same Razor Ramon t-shirt back in the day. Ludvig Borga split screens in to hype up his showdown with Tatanka at the Rumble, and Tatanka puts this away with a Samoan drop at 2:28. “As far as Tatanka’s concerned, that’s Ludvig Borga in there,” exclaims Vince. Well that’s good, because I think that’s about as close as he’s going to get. DUD

Ross is back with another Face to Face with guests WWF Champion Yokozuna, Mr. Fuji, and Jim Cornette, who react to Undertaker unveiling the completed casket in his workshop. Having the Kamala casket from 1992 in the background is a nice touch

Virgil v Derek Domino: It’s WrestleMania season, why’s Virgil getting featured? Vince hypes the Royal Rumble Hotline, and the big selling point is that you’ll be able to find out who the next man out will be literal seconds before the viewing audience does. So, make sure you call for the entire sixty minute duration at two bucks a minute. It’s worth it! Virgil with a cobra clutch at 1:33. This was not an impressive squash. DUD

Raymond Rougeau is in the heel locker room trying to get an interview with Shawn Michaels, but all the other heels take exception, and throw their two cents in as well. This was a different and efficient way of getting a bunch of pre-Rumble sound bites in

Todd Pettengill is in the studio with the Royal Rumble Report, and apparently if you don’t call to order the Rumble, your mom will have an impromptu strap match with you. Talk about the hard sell. They’re really pushing hard on the possibility of tag partners having to fight, so no wonder Vince was apparently furious with the Steiners for not playing along

Irwin R Schyster v Tony Roy: Razor Ramon split screens in, and I get that he’s a street thug, and street thugs don’t call the cops, but if the gold chains mean that much to him, maybe he should consider getting them involved? Like, he has evidence on national TV and everything, pretty sure they’ll be able to help him out. IRS with the jumping clothesline at 1:13. DUD

Ross is back with another Face to Face, this time with Crush and Randy Savage. Why did they get rid of the split screen interview concept that the segment is named for? It was so much more engaging than doing two individual promos

Undertaker v Duane Gill: Super quick squash here, with a chokeslam finishing at 0:54. This was so lowkey that he didn’t even bother with the tombstone. I kind of expected him to wheel the casket out to give this segment a bit more pop, but nope. DUD

BUExperience: This wasn’t the strongest episode, but it was generally alright.