WWF Superstars (August 20, 1994)

Original Airdate: August 20, 1994 (taped August 2)

From Wheeling, West Virginia; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler

Razor Ramon and Walter Payton promise to check Shawn Michaels into the Heartbreak Hotel. Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s where he already lives. Are they not watching these shows?

Diesel v Kevin Krueger: The WWF Intercontinental title is not on the line. Diesel casually squashes Kevin, and delivers the powerbomb at 1:37. Diesel was definitely looking like a star during this period, and it’s not surprising that they pushed him to the moon. And it might have worked, too, if they let him continue to be a badass as a babyface, as opposed to cutting his balls off. DUD

Earlier this week, Vince caught up with Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart, inside a steel cage. Owen is still bitter over Bret Hart’s alleged bullying when he was a kid, and he’s going to return the favor at SummerSlam. Great promo, and setting them in darkness is a great touch. And then they paid of off with an incredible match, to boot

WWF New Generation ad

Thurman Sparky Plugg v George Anderson: Jerry seems to find new reasons to call Vince a coward with each segment, which is an odd new trend. Plugg with a flying bodypress at 2:01. DUD

Live Event News chronicles the Diesel/Shawn Michaels/Razor Ramon feud

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Adam Bomb and The Smoking Gunns v Kwang and Well Dunn: Bart Gunn starts with Steven Dunn, and Dunn takes a cheap shot, and pounds him into the corner. He tries a headscissors, but Bart drops him to block, and delivers a pair of dropkicks, ahead of an armdrag into an armbar. Tag to Billy Gunn for a slingshot clothesline that gets two, and he goes for a wristlock, but Dunn goes to the eyes. Tag to Timothy Well, so Billy rolls him up, but Kwang catches a bling tag, and blasts Billy with a spinheel kick. Kwang hammers him, but Billy fires back with a bodypress for two, so Kwang chop thrusts him in the throat. Back to Dunn for a jumping axehandle for two, but Billy pulls out a small package for two, before getting clobbered again. The heels work Billy over, until Dunn tries a flying bodypress, but Billy throws a dropkick to block. That looked ugly. No matter, Bomb gets the hot tag, and Dunn takes a sidewalk slam. Adam goes up with a flying clothesline for two, which draws the heels in, and Roseanne Barr the door! Harvey Wippleman with a distraction, but it backfires, and Dunn takes a pumphandle-slam at 4:39. This was actually not bad at all, with everyone working hard, and keeping a good pace. * ¾ 

Leslie Nielsen is still looking for that Undertaker fella

Irwin R Schyster and Bam Bam Bigelow v Tom Stone and Sonny Rogers: It’s kind of too bad that they decided to throw the tag belts to Shawn and Diesel instead of giving IRS and Bam Bam a shot with them, because that could have been okay. I’m not saying it would have made any difference to overall business (in fact, I’m going to outright say it wouldn’t have made a lick of difference), but it would have been nice to see them team more regularly. And speaking of the belts, WWF Tag Team Champions The Headshrinkers split screen in to hype SummerSlam. Bam Bam with a legdrop at 1:55. ¼*

Paul Bearer is in a cemetery, digging up graves in the middle of the night. You know, as people do

Todd Pettengill is in the studio for the SummerSlam Report

Tatanka v Todd Becker: We get a kid doing the ring announcing, and that child’s life was just made by the fact that he got his name announced by Howard Finkel. Seriously, I don’t know what became of him, he might have become CEO of a large company for all I know, but shit, this has got to be the high point. Tatanka attacks before the bell, in a nice bit of heelish foreshadowing. He also split screens in with a promo over on his own match, which is kind of heelish as well. Tatanka with a Samoan drop at 1:18. DUD

Live Event News takes a look at WWF Women’s Champion Alundra Blayze’s challenge from Bull Nakano and Luna Vachon at SummerSlam

We close with a video package tribute to the recently deceased Joey Marella 

BUExperience: Nothing too exciting this week, just kind of cruising towards SummerSlam.