WWF Mania (June 5, 1993)

 

Original Airdate: June 5, 1993 

Your Host is Todd Pettengill in the studio

Tito Santana v Fatu: From Halifax Nova Scotia Canada on May 24. I love both guys, but Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon make for an odd couple. Fatu works a wristlock right away, but Tito reverses, and into a hammerlock. Fatu gets the ropes, and pops him with an elbow on the break, then throws a headbutt. Clothesline, but Tito ducks, and rebounds with a bodypress for two, then throws a pair of dropkicks to send Fatu to the outside. Back in, Fatu tries to ground things, but Santana dropkicks him out of the ring again. Inside, Santana makes the mistake of trying to go for the head, and Fatu superkicks him. That’s enough to turn the tide, and Fatu uses a clothesline, then a backbreaker. He goes to the middle for a headbutt drop, but Tito dodges, and unloads with right hands. Into the ropes for a backdrop, and a bodyslam follows. Santana uses a kneelift, and the jumping forearm looks to finish, but Samu comes in for the DQ at 4:50. We’re right at the tail end of Santana’s run here, and while it didn’t necessarily make sense to keep him around in a feature role any longer, he could still work, and probably should have hung around as a house show JTTS guy for a few more years. He was only forty at this point, but having been in the promotion almost nonstop for ten years made him feel ancient. ¾*

Todd hurt his knee during the break, and uses a Hulk Hogan bandana to wrap some ice up for it. Signs of the times for the Hulkster

Jim Duggan v LA Gore: From the May 30 Wrestling Challenge (taped May 5) in Portland Maine. Ross and Bobby Heenan are also something of an off pairing. Ross, in general, was a difficult fit in the WWF - which is especially interesting, considering he eventually became the voice of the promotion. It’s not that he was bad at this point (actually the exact opposite), but his presentation style and ultra straight man positioning made it a tough sell. Duggan with the three-point stance at 2:27. DUD

Todd takes a call from his mother, who screams at him about King of the Ring

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Marty Jannetty v Bam Bam Bigelow: From Monday Night RAW on May 31 in New York City. Marty has Sherri with him, and Bigelow has Luna Vachon, and they rekindle their catfight from a couple of weeks back before the bell. Bigelow uses the distraction to attack Jannetty, and Marty does a 360 sell off of a shoulderblock. Criss cross allows Marty to chop him, and a flying tomahawk version gets two, but Bigelow bops him with a headbutt. Backdrop, but Marty impressively lands on his feet - only to get caught in a bearhug as he tries to capitalize. Bigelow dumps him into the corner, but it backfires when Jannetty comes off the top with a knee, and follows with a headscissors takedown. Victory roll, but Bigelow drops back in an electric chair to counter, and he grounds the champ with a chinlock. Bigelow with a standing dropkick and an avalanche for two, but Marty catches him with a 2nd rope clothesline for two. Jumping backelbow and a facebuster for two, followed by a superkick and a dropkick for two. Bigelow rakes the eyes and bodyslams the champion, and a butterfly backbreaker gets up a splash, but Sherri distracts him, allowing Marty to dive with a backelbow to knock Bigelow through the ropes. He follows with a baseball slide and a flying bodypress, but ends up getting rammed into the post as he tries to climb back in. Bigelow follows, but Sherri distracts him again, and Jannetty retains via countout at 11:05. Afterwards, Bigelow squashes him with a senton splash, but Sherri is not done, and wants Luna. Luna is game (when is she not?), but Bam Bam would rather smack Sherri around himself - and does, until Tatanka saves. Not exactly a vote of confidence there for Marty, but they were pushing Bigelow a bit at this point, and didn't really have long-term plans for Jannetty. Good, well paced, David-and-Goliath match, though. ** ¾ 

Gene Okerlund is in the studio for the King of the Ring Report. Gene is already giving Hulk Hogan an out, noting that he’s been very fatigued from his movie schedule 

Yokozuna v Tony Roy: From Superstars on May 29 (taped May 4) in Worcester Massachusetts. Vince encourages us all to watch Yokozuna disrobe, so we can properly assess his ‘girth.’ Sherri trying to bring Luna to her knees and make her scream her name, Yokozuna’s girth… did the Attitude Era just begin? Yokozuna with the Banzai Drop at 1:40. DUD

Todd hypes the Smack ‘Em Whack ‘Em Coliseum Video by noting that there will be many fat jokes about Yokozuna on the tape

King of the Ring ad

King of the Ring ad. Yes, two in a row. Though, at least they were different 

The Steiner Brothers v Mike Bell and Tony DeVito: From the May 29 Superstars. The Steiner’s look moody tonight, God help these jobbers. Meanwhile, Lawler continues hitting the mark on his endless load of dad jokes. The Brothers with the elevated flying bulldog combo at 3:02. ¼*

BUExperience: Gosh, Todd must have been insufferable as a child. But, I enjoyed him when I was a child. So, I guess it’s something of a fair trade.