WWF Mania (September 18, 1993)

 

Original Airdate: September 18, 1993 

Your Host is Todd Pettengill from the studio. Todd is immediately excited that he’s flying solo this week, before realizing that he has no idea what to do with Macho Man there

Tatanka v Damien Demento: From Superstars on September 11 (taped August 17) in White Plains New York. Can we count this as a star/star match? Tatanka slaps him at the bell, so Damien throws a punch, but Tatanka fights him off with a hiptoss and a bodyslam. Dropkick sends Demento to the outside, as Savage wishes Crush well on commentary. I love slow burn angles. Inside, Tatanka misses an elbowdrop, and even babyface the announcers are calling out how telegraphed that one was. Demento with a turnbuckle smash and a clothesline, and he hammers on Tatanka for a bit. Demento with a snapmare to set up an elbowdrop for two, and he works a chinlock, but Tatanka escapes, and uses a sunset flip for two. Bodypress follows for two, but Demento cuts him off with a DDT. Turnbuckle smash, but Tatanka no-sells, and goes on the warpath. Powerslam leads to a flying tomahawk chop at 4:48. This was fine for what it was, and what it needed to be. ¾*

After SummerSlam went off the air, Ludvig Borga stormed into the babyface dressing room to lay out a challenge to Lex Luger

WWF Tag Team Title Province of Quebec Rules Match: The Steiner Brothers v The Quebecers: From Monday Night RAW on September 13 in New York City. The rules stipulate that top rope moves are banned, throwing someone over the top rope is banned, piledrivers are banned, and titles can change hands by countout or disqualification. Wait, is Bill Watts from Quebec? Onto the action, Rick Steiner starts with Jacques, and a criss cross ends in Steiner powerslamming him. Clothesline nearly knocks Jacques over the top, but Jacques changes gears and goes out under the rope - a botch that nearly ended the match. Pierre meets him out there for a hug, and switches with him (sans tag, but the referee doesn't complain too loudly), but Rick powerslams him anyway. Tag to Scott Steiner, and he blocks a backdrop with a double-underhook powerbomb for two. Armbar, but Pierre powers up, so Scott dropkicks him, and slaps on a front-facelock. Cross corner charge backfires however, and Pierre blasts him with a 2nd rope clothesline for two. Splash gets two, but Pierre ends up getting backdropped, and Scott tags. Jacques makes another illegal switch, so Rick decides to piledrive him, but Scott talks his dum-dum brother out of it, and he settles for a clothesline instead. Tag back to Pierre (although, really, that's the first tag they've made), and Scott tags in as well to resume their war. Steiner controls with a mat-based side-headlock, but Pierre blocks a hiptoss, and clotheslines him - only to walk into an overhead suplex for two. Scott slaps on a half-crab, but Jacques runs in to break the hold, so Scott tags out, and Rick drops an elbow for two. Half-crab of his own, but Jacques breaks that up as well. Again, it only dazes the Steiner in question, and Rick tags - allowing Scott to come in and drop an elbow for two. Rick with a belly-to-belly suplex for two, as Johnny Polo joins us at ringside to watch. Rick goes to the top, but Scott reminds him about the DQ's, and Rick settles for a splash from the middle rope, but misses - in an awkward looking spot. Pierre tries a superplex off the middle rope, but Rick counters with a forward-suplex for two, and Pierre rolls out to the floor to regroup - Polo joining in on the huddle. Back in, a cheap shot from Pierre takes Scott Steiner down, and they cut the ring in half with tandem stuff. Pierre slams Jacques onto Scott for two. Stungun, and Pierre chokes him with the tag rope in the corner while Jacques distracts the referee. Legsweep/clothesline combo for two, and a bodyslam sets up a pump-splash by Pierre for two. Jumping backelbow gets Jacques two, but he telegraphs a backdrop and takes a foot to the face - Pierre just cutting off a tag. Bodyslam, and Jacques backdrops him onto Steiner, but Jacques ends up missing a cross corner charge, and gets DDT'd. Pierre runs in illegally to prevent the tag, and they dump Scott to the outside to tease a cheap shot from Polo (which doesn't happen somehow). Inside, Jacques whiplashes Scott to set up a 2nd rope legdrop from Pierre, and he slaps on a Boston crab. Pierre heads up for another legdrop while Jacques wrenches on the hold, but Rick gets sick of it, and comes in illegally - slamming Pierre off the middle rope. Scott adds a clothesline for both challengers, and finally gets the tag to brother Rick. He's a doghouse of fire, and a four-way brawl breaks out in short order - Scott catching Pierre with the Frankensteiner for two. In the chaos, Polo ends up on the apron, but Rick steals his hockey stick, and Scott ends up nailing Jacques with it for the DQ at 22:00 - giving us all heel champions in the WWF. Fantastic, old-school tag team wrestling here. Given plenty of time, and filled with neat double-teams, tag psychology, and a brilliant heat segment. *** ¾ 

Later on RAW, as Vince McMahon brings new tag champs The Quebecers, and their new official manager Johnny Polo out to gloat in an in-ring interview. The usual, but Vince bursts their bubble a bit by announcing that Pierre will face Scott Steiner the next week, and if Scott wins, the Steiner's get a rematch

Doink the Clown v Scott Despres: From Wrestling Challenge on September 12 (taped August 18) in Lowell Massachusetts. Doink with a dive at 3:05. DUD

From RAW, Doink throws a bucket of water on Bobby Heenan, as he starts a (completely unnecessary) babyface turn. I’m not saying they never could have turned him, but there was still so much more mileage left in the heel gimmick at this point

Randy Savage finds Paul Bearer in the bowels of the building, doing bowel things

BUExperience: Mania = good.