WWF Superstars (January 28, 1995)

 

Original Airdate: January 28, 1995 (taped January 10)

From Corpus Christi, Texas; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler

Men on a Mission v Sonny Trout and Greg Davis: Vince is very excited to recap the Mabel/King Kong Bundy showdown in the Royal Rumble match, but gets serious as he has to extend an apology to Lawrence Taylor for Bam Bam Bigelow’s behavior at the show. And you immediately know it’s an angle, because Lawler is making excuses, and deriding the thirty day suspension as ‘too strong.’ Mabel puts this away at 2:14. DUD

Todd Pettengill is in the studio for the Royal Rumble Report, and the focus is on Bam Bam/Lawrence Taylor. Well, it is the WrestleMania main event, gotta get a jump on it. Very little mention of who actually won the Rumble, it’s worth noting

Royal Rumble Encore Plus ad, which was their new gimmick in ‘95, where they reaired the show with Roddy Piper hosting, and additional interviews. It wasn’t my favorite gimmick

Hakushi v Ben Jordan: I’m wondering how many undermining jokes they’ll make about Hakushi’s tattoos this week. Hakushi with a handspring moonsault at 1:43, as Lawler starts rumors that Bret Hart is racist against Japanese people. That’s quite the direction. ¼*

Live Event News is a look at 1-2-3 Kid and Bob Holly winning the tag title tournament at the Rumble… before losing the belts to the Smoking Gunns the very next night. That segues into a look at the newest team in the WWF, the Blu Twins

Doink the Clown v Kwang: I don’t know about Bret, but Doink and Dink make some gestures here that could be construed as racist, but I don’t think we ever established where Kwang is supposed to be from, so maybe not. Doink with a bodypress for two, and a sunset flip gets him another two. Doink with a small package for two, and a dropkick is worth two. Doink is bringing it here. A criss cross sees Kwang try a superkick, but Doink ducks, and delivers a powerslam for the pin at 3:12. Solid enough, and you had to know Kwang was on the way out when he took such a clean pin. ¾*

Royal Rumble Encore Plus ad

Owen Hart v Shawn Dakota: We get a fan doing the ring announcing for this one. Meanwhile, Owen is still carrying around the towel from Survivor Series here. Owen with the Sharpshooter at 1:59. DUD

Man Mountain Rock vignette

Kama v Matt Hardy: This is Kama’s TV debut, and his look makes him look like a goof right off the bat. It’s a shame, the gimmick had potential, but the aesthetics are all wrong. Kama with a modified STF at 1:50. DUD

Royal Rumble Encore Plus ad

Royal Rumble Encore Plus ad. Yes, two in a row

Lex Luger v Ray Hudson: Lex has some kid as his flagbearer here, and I’m guessing they put a stop to that for insurance reasons, because holy shit, he’s swinging that pointy stick so wildly everyone's grandmothers just had collective strokes. Meanwhile, Hudson is dressed in all American gear as well, so I’m confused who we should cheer. Actually, no. I have a rule about cheering anyone with a mullet. Lex with the torture rack at 2:24. The idiot flagbearer kid looks legitimately confused by this. DUD

Live Event News is a look at the Million Dollar Corporation stealing Undertaker’s urn at the Rumble

Shawn Michaels is backstage, and promises WWF Champion Diesel as his guest for the Heartbreak Hotel next week. The dude just won the Rumble, and no one seems to care. No wonder he developed such a huge chip on his shoulder

BUExperience: This was okay, but surprisingly light on Shawn Michaels, all things considered.