WWF Superstars (February 10, 1996)

 

Original Airdate: February 10, 1996 (taped January 23)

From San Jose, California; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon, Jim Ross, and Mr. Perfect

Fatu v Ringmaster: Vince notes that Fatu has ‘unquestionably’ made a difference. Uh, I’m questioning it. Feeling out to start, with Ringmaster using holds, but Fatu using fists. Fatu tries a superkick, but Ringmaster ducks it, and clips Fatu’s leg. Ringmaster posts the knee next, and a pointed elbowdrop connects, as we get a split screen promo from Ringmaster and Ted DiBiase. I’m surprised production let him wear those sunglasses. Ringmaster with a kneedrop, as Vince notes that he’s ‘stone cold.’ If I didn’t know better, I’d praise the foreshadowing. Ringmaster works the leg, but Fatu fights him off, and goes upstairs, so Ted crotches him. That allows Ringmaster a vertical superplex, and the cobra clutch finishes at 7:12. Watching this, it’s hard to believe that Ringmaster was just two short years away from becoming one of the biggest stars in history. ½*

Dok Hendrix is in the studio for the In Your House Slam Jam

In Your House ad

Tatanka v Robert Thompson: It’s also weird to me that this is so much still the New Generation, and we’re only a year away from the shift to RAW is WAR, and Attitude. This period feels so far removed from that. Things really changed quickly back then. Tatanka with a Samoan drop at 1:46. DUD

1-2-3 Kid v Wayne Bradley: Busy taping for Ted DiBiase. Razor Ramon split screens in, and he’s openly calling the Crybaby match ‘stupid.’ I like this version of Ramon who gives zero fucks. Kid with a flying legdrop at 2:24. Kid worked much better as a babyface. DUD

Mankind vignette

Vince brings Shawn Michaels out, and he’s basically laughing off the Owen Hart match for In Your House. Shawn was great during this period, but this was decidedly not great, as Shawn did a bad job of getting the match over, and wasn’t particularly entertaining either

Owen Hart v Aldo Montoya: Owen pounds him into the corner to start, but Montoya blocks a cross corner whip, and a cross cross ends in Montoya landing a dropkick. Montoya with an armdrag into an armbar, but Owen forces a criss cross, and catches him with an awkward suplex. Looked like Owen was going for his overhead belly-to-belly there, but Montoya got his wires crossed. Hart with a corner whip and a backbreaker, followed by a few uppercuts into a chinlock. Aldo escapes, and hooks a schoolboy for two, but Hart throws a clothesline to cut him off. Turnbuckle smash, but Montoya reverses, and makes a comeback. Aldo with a flying bodypress for two, but a backdrop gets blocked, and Hart uses a leg-feed enzuigiri to put it away at 4:15. ¾*

Dok is back with another In Your House Slam Jam

Billionaire Ted’s Wrasslin’ War Room continues with Ted fielding questions from reporters, as this continues to devolve into bullshit snipes at the Time-Warner merger, instead of jokes about the actual WCW product. The most ironic thing is that if they somehow actually managed to stop the merger with this silly campaign, WCW likely wouldn’t have come under their thumb in 2001, and even might have continued on for years longer than they did

BUExperience: A pretty boring episode, truth be told.