WWF All American Wrestling (August 28, 1994)

Original Airdate: August 28, 1994

Your Hosts are Vince McMahon and Ted DiBiase in the studio

Jeff Jarrett v Duke Droese: From the August 27 1994 episode of Superstars (taped August 2) in Wheeling West Virginia. Jarrett attacks during the entrances, as apparently his mood is not matching of his shockingly muted gear. Jeff goes to work with a dropkick and a 2nd rope axehandle, but Duke blocks a second dive with a bearhug into a bodyslam. Droese throws a clothesline next, and a snapmare sets up an elbowdrop, but Jarrett dodges. Jeff tries capitalizing with a cross corner whip, but Duke reverses, and hammers on him with some right hands. Avalanche, but Jeff sidesteps, and hooks a leveraged pin at 2:02. Well, that was certainly quick for a star/star match. Oh, but here comes Oscar, literally rapping to the referee about the cheating. Hey, points for that! The official restarts the bout, but Jarrett goes to the outside to beat up Oscar instead of continuing. Jeff walks out, but Mabel cuts him off in the aisle. Jeff bails into the crowd to get away from him, however, and Duke wins by countout at 3:47 (4:13 total). This was too short to be anything in the ring, but at least they’re giving the meaningless Jarrett/Mabel match something of an angle to build it. ¼*

Pat Patterson v Bob Orton: This is the Memory Lane match of the week, from Philadelphia Pennsylvania on September 18 1982. We’re joined in progress with Bob in control, and a kneedrop gets him a two count. Wild to think that this was less than twelve years in the past, it seems like a different world. Orton tries a superplex, but Patterson blocks, so Bob tries a headbutt drop, but Patterson dodges. They run the ropes for a collision, and Orton ends up on his back, while Pat ends up on the outside. Patterson beats the count to the apron, so Bob tries knocking him back off, but Pat counters with a slingshot sunset flip at 2:08 shown of 9:23. Too much cut out of this to properly evaluate.

Yesterday on Superstars, Shawn Michaels and WWF Intercontinental Champion Diesel host the Heartbreak Hotel, with guests Ted DiBiase and his Undertaker, and Ted is confident that his Undertaker is the real Undertaker, and he’s not at all concerned at whatever ‘ghoul’ Paul Bearer is bringing to SummerSlam. But then the lights start to flicker, Paul appears on the video wall, and we hear the familiar voice of the real Undertaker

Diesel v Typhoon: From Sunday Night Slam in Youngstown Ohio on August 21 1994 (taped August 1). Really? Typhoon? This late in 1994? Well, it’s non-title, at least. They fight over a lockup to start, with Diesel controls with forearms in the corner, but gets bodyslammed and splashed for two. Diesel fires back with a shoulderblock and an elbowdrop for two, then slaps on a headvise. Typhoon escapes, so he bootchokes him in the corner, but a big boot misses, and Typhoon backelbows him. Avalanche, but Typhoon blocks with a big boot, and dives at him with a clothesline to retain at 8:00. Would have been worth it had he finished with the Jackknife. Typhoon was such a non-contender by this point, that I honestly forgot he was even in the promotion. Not sure why he was getting TV time, but I guess they figured he had something of a rub to give. DUD

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Tatanka v Reno Riggins: From the August 28 episode of Wrestling Challenge (taped August 3) in Cincinnati Ohio. Kind of weird that they’re showing a match that airs in the same days episode of Challenge. Usually they were pretty good at showing stuff from the previous week. Tatanka shows some real aggression here, doing some nice foreshadowing of the heel turn, and a flying tomahawk chop finishes at 2:57. ¼*

Irwin R Schyster and Bam Bam Bigelow v John Paul and Keven Kruger: Also from the August 28 episode of Wrestling Challenge. I’ll say it again: IRS and Bigelow would have made good heel tag champions. They just happened to land in the wrong place at the wrong time. Irwin with a jumping clothesline at 2:45. DUD

The Bottom Line, with Roddy Piper. Shot like Gordon Willis if Gordon Willis smoked a lot of crack while shooting stuff

BUExperience: Not a great episode, but I enjoyed Vince’s chemistry with DiBiase far better than Todd Pettengill’s.