wrestling / Video Reviews
Leighty’s Retro Review: WWF This Tuesday in Texas
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...-This show is just days after Survivor Series and WWF decided they wanted to try Tuesday out as a potential place for PPVs. Even with promoting the show like crazy during Survivor Series and giving us a Hogan/Taker rematch and Savage’s first match in 8 months in a blood feud against Jake Roberts, it bombed, and Vince didn’t try again for many many years. It’s a short show as it is kind of similar to the early In Your House shows. I didn’t watch it live as a kid as we didn’t buy PPV, so I listened through the scrambled lines. Let’s get to it!
-Announce Team: Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan
-Dec. 3, 1991
-Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, TX
-Attendance: 8000
-PPV Buys: 140,000
-Those buys were the lowest for a PPV until the dark days of 1995.
WWF Intercontinental Championship: Bret “The Hitman” Hart (c) vs. Skinner
-Skinner doesn’t even get a televised intro as he is already in the ring. Not a good sign! Bret goes outside to give a young lady his glasses and probably should have been counted out as the bell rang some time ago. Bret gets a quick take down and Skinner is annoyed. Another take down and Bret goes to work on the arm. Shoulder tackle from Bret and he gets an atomic drop and then an inverted one. Clothesline and Skinner bails to the floor. After a small break, Skinner is back in the ring and Bret gets a hammerlock and then back to an armbar. Skinner tries to escape, but Bret rolls with him to maintain the hold. Bret pulls him back to the middle of the ring and drops a leg on the arm. Skinner gets to the ropes to break and then stalls in the corner. Side headlock from Skinner, but Bret counters into a hammerlock. Skinner reverses to his own, but Bret catches him with an elbow and then a head-butt. He tastes hitting Skinner in the dick but stomps the chest instead. Skinner goes to the eyes and sends Bret shoulder first into the post. Skinner chokes Bret on the floor as there isn’t much happening with this one. Back in the ring Skinner gets an abdominal stretch and uses the ropes for leverage as Gorilla bitches about the lack of the leg being hooked. Skinner releases unless he wants to suffer the wrath of Gorilla and gets a shoulder breaker for two. Bret blocks a charge in the corner by getting his knee up, but misses an elbow from the middle ropes. Skinner spits in his cup and wants to use it, but the ref takes it away. That allows Skinner to grab his claw from the other corner and he decks Bret in the throat. This crowd is pissed! Skinner chokes on the ropes and then more choking as he steps on Bret’s throat. More choking from Skinner and then a thumb to the throat. The crowd is staying with this one as the start going crazy for Bret to make a comeback. Scorpion Death Drop/Slop Drop gets two! He heads to the second rope but takes way too long and Bret gets a boot up to block. Bret springs up as he was playing possum. Back elbow from Bret follows by a Side Russian Leg Sweep for two. Suplex for two! Backbreaker as we run through Bret’s offense. Second rope elbow finds the mark for two. Skinner gets a fluke roll-up for two, but Bret sends him to the floor on the kick-out. They battle out there and Skinner runs Bret into the apron. Suplex back into the ring, but Bret floats over. Skinner blocks a roll-up and heads up top. Bret is playing possum again and slams Skinner down. Sharpshooter finishes to a strong pop at 13:47.
Winner and Still WWF Intercontinental Champion: Bret Hart via submission at 13:47
-Too long for what it needed to be. Bret should have steamrolled him a bit more of give Bret someone else as his first PPV challenger. It was technically fine, but I want more out of a Bret Hart match. **
-Mooney is backstage with Jake and he cuts a calm and creepy promo.
-Gene is with Randy Savage and he is intense and out of his mind for revenge. Liz looks concerned and it could be because she is worried for Macho or she is worried about what Savage is capable of doing. Savage hears Jakes music playing and bails because SHIT IS ON!
Jake “The Snake” Roberts vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage
-Savage jumps Jake as he is making his way to the ring and that seems fair when you consider Jake had a COBRA BITING SAVAGE’S ARM only a few weeks ago. This crowd is electric as they want JAKE’S BLOOD! Savage runs Jake into the steps and mauls him in the corner once they get into the ring. Back elbow from Macho and he comes off the top with a double axe. Jake is done with this crazy person and tries to leave, but Macho is there and runs him back into the ring. Jake uses the ref to get in a shot and sends Macho to the floor so he can regroup. Jake follows and after eating a right hand, he sends Savage into the post. Savage is wearing a wrap on his arm to cover the snake bite. Savage sells the arm like a CHAMP as he staggers around the ring and takes a swing at the ref. Back in the ring, Savage lands a right and then another. The crowd is reacting to every strike in this match. Jake goes to the eyes and gets a sweet looking inverted atomic drop. Now Jakes goes to work on the bad arm as he drops the knee a few times and then rips off the bandage. We see a “blood stain” on the bandage in a nice little touch. Hammerlock, but Savage lands a desperation elbow. Jake sets too early on a backdrop and gets kicked in the chest, but can’t follow up. Short clothesline misses and the ref nearly gets bumped off a reversal in the corner. Jake hits the clothesline this time and the crowd is PISSED! Jake plays to them and calls for the DDT which gets him booed out of the building. Savage runs Jake into the corner to block the DDT and comes off the top with the Flying Elbow for the pin at 6:26 to a massive pop.
Winner: “Macho Man” Randy Savage via pin at 6:26
-This was the short but worked well as the first battle in the war. Savage was out for blood and got the win, but the story is what happened after the match. Jake needed to get some comeuppance here as he wrecked the wedding and had a COBRA BITE SAVAGE’S ARM, but it was too soon to blow things of for good. ***
-We aren’t done yet as Macho wants more. The crowd also wants more! Savage grabs a chair but gets stopped by an official. Macho goes to old reliable and gets the ring bell in a nice callback. The ref stops him and that lets Jake hit a DDT out of nowhere! They get up about the same time, but Jake hits another DDT. Jake fakes leaving and then a smile rolls across his face. He grabs a bug from under the ring as the crowd freaks out knowing what’s coming. Here comes Miss Elizabeth and she covers Savage’s body. Jake slaps Randy in the face as Liz begs for him to leave Randy alone. Jake is such a dick here and Liz is selling this for everything she is worth. Jake continues to taunt Randy and Liz and then hits another DDT while Liz is rocked to watch. You dick! I can bet Orton was watching this when he had to DDT Steph in front of HHH. Jake wants to hear Liz beg as he asks, “do you love him, Elizabeth?” Man this is amazing! Where is anyone else to help Savage here? “If you want to save his ass, you better start begging now.” Liz actually slaps at Jake in a rare moment of her trying to get physical. Bobby and Gorilla just lay out and let what’s happening in the ring speak for itself. Shit gets real as Jake grabs Liz by the hair and the gasp from the crowd is audible. JAKE SLAPS LIZ AND I AM SHOCKED NOBODY RUSHED THE RING. This is Texas! Man, that’s still heavy to watch over 30 years later. I mean it was a safe slap, but wow was that insane for the time. Liz was untouchable and to have that happen was more than shocking. Gorilla wants Jake barred forever for hitting Liz. Bobby: “That’s not my decision.” I think Savage might be a little upset when he realizes what happens. Liz is in tears and Savage is carried out with help and seems to be apologizing to her. There will never be a relationship in wrestling that carries the weight and had me as invested as that of Randy and Liz.
-Gene is backstage with Jake and Gene is sickened by Jake’s actions. Jake cuts one hell of a promo as he was turned on by putting his hands on Elizabeth. “It felt so good, I should have to pay for that.” He wants Randy to bring Liz back next time so he can touch her again. “I can cultivate her into something even I would want.” Gene throws him out and yells, “get the hell out of here.”
The Warlord (w/ Harvey Wippleman) vs. The British Bulldog
-Warlord gets “currently in the ring,” treatment. Big Meaty Men Slapping Meat Match! Gorilla notes Warlord looks bigger than ever. I will leave that one alone. Bulldog ducks a clothesline and hits two of them and sends Warlord to the floor where he lands on his feet. Bulldog slings out with a cross-body, but Warlord catches him and runs him back first into the post. Bulldog blocks from the apron and runs Warlord’s head into the top buckle. Missile dropkick from Bulldog. He ties Warlord in the ropes and Bulldog pounds away with right hands. Bulldog charges, but Harvey help Warlord get free and Bulldog goes bouncing off the ropes. High backdrop from Warlord! He whips Bulldog hard into the corner and hooks a bear-hug. This crowd is pretty hot for this match as well. Bulldog fights his way out, but Warlord drops him again with a suplex and poses to a pissed off crowd. He walks over Bulldog’s chest as this is already the best Warlord match I’ve ever seen. He slugs Bulldog down and drops a knee for a two count. Warlord sets too early on a backdrop, but Bulldog tries a piledriver. Warlord backdrops out, but Bulldog tries a sunset flip. Warlord kneels down for two, but poses and Davey finishes the sunset flip for two as they are working here. Warlord drops Bulldog again and gets more boos from the crowd. Full Nelson from The Warlord as Gorilla complains about his fingers being in the hair. Heenan’s starts yelling for someone to ring the bell and I assume Vince was taking notes. The hand drop twice, but Bulldog has life and powers up, but can’t break and starts to fade again. Warlord just drops the hold as he was losing his grip. He runs Bulldog in to the corner but runs into a boot in the opposite corner. Bulldog off the second ropes with a clothesline. Vertical Suplex and he makes sure to hold Warlord in a cool display of power. Only gets two as Warlord kicks out with power. Nice! Warlord fights out of a powerslam attempt and gets a two count. Crucifix from Bulldog gets the win at 12:45.
Winner: The British Bulldog via pin at 12:45
-What got into these two? Specifically, what got into Warlord here? My man was out there working and this was a fun power match. The Full Nelson might have gone a little long but that’s a minor quibble. Props to both men. ***
-Mooney is backstage with Randy Savage, who immediately tells him to shut up. He is nearly in tears and is furious as he blames himself for what happened to Elizabeth. He actually punches himself in the face and tells Jake he is going to get him and there won’t be any stopping him. He didn’t even get a piece of Jake and he starts blaming himself again as he doubles over in grief and cuts some of the promo while laying on the ground. He punches himself again and shoves Mooney away. We can hear Savage screaming off camera. This was amazing and you could feel every bit of emotion from Savage. Jake and Savage were great together, and this is just the start of Savage’s resurgence after being away for 18 months.
”The Million Dollar Man” Ted Dibiase (w/ Sensational Sherri) and The Repo Man vs. Virgil and “El Matador” Tito Santana
-Dibiase had hired Repo Man to repossess The Million Dollar Title and in the process helped him win it back from Virgil. Heenan does a great job of recapping how it went down, though he puts his slant on it, which annoys Gorilla. Slow start to this one so Gorilla hypes up the Main Event which is next. Heenan volunteers to be at ringside if Tunney is too busy. We finally go with Repo and Tito starting us out. Tito works the arm to start and takes Repo to the mat. Tito sticks and moves and Repo staggers into a right hand from Virgil on the apron. They each block a hiptoss until Tito gets the last one and sends Repo to the floor. Repo rushes back in and misses a clotheline and Tito drops him with one. Dibiase in and the crowd is into it now as they want Virgil in the match. Shows you how invested they are in the Ted/Virgil feud as it’s been over 10 months since Virgil decked Ted at The Rumble. Sunset flip from Virgil gets two and he follows with an atomic drop that Ted takes a wacky bump off to the floor. Tito sends him back into the ring and Virgil clotheslines him back to the floor where Tito sends him back in again. Cute! Ted finally lands a shot and tags back to Repo. He slugs Virgil down and chokes on the ropes. Repo pulls the ref away and Dibiase uses the tag rope to choke as the crowd screams at the cheating. Always works! Ted back in with a clothesline and he pulls Tito back into the ring so more cheating can occur. Again, just so simple and always works! Suplex fro Dibiase gets two. Ted sets too early on a backdrop and Virgil gets a swinging neckbreaker. The crowd is begging for the tag and it’s made just before Repo can pull Virgil away. Tito run wild with a series of dropkicks to Repo. Flying Jalapeno connects, but another try is blocked by Sherri as she grabs the leg. Heenan clarifies that he tripped on a tortilla. Dibiase sends Tito into the stairs as Heenan lets us know that Tito with be a mat on Dibiase’s door. I see what he did there. I bet an unknown Marshal Mathers was watching at home and was inspired by that word play. Back in the ring, Tito forces Virgil back enough to make the tag, but Repo pulled the ref away. Classic! Then we get more cheating as the ref forces Virgil back to his corner. Tito knocks Repo down as this crowd is rocking with them. Hot tag to Virgil now and clotheslines for everyone. Side Russian Leg Sweep gets two as Repo breaks the count. Everyone in the ring and Sherri goes to hit Virgil with her shoe, but decks Ted Dibiase. Hogan was watching in the back and got an idea for the off chance he showed up in WCW and needed a way to book some finishes in 1996. Virgil goes after Sherri, but gets caught with a knee in the back from Repo and Dibiase falls on top for the pin at 11:30.
Winners: Ted Dibiase and The Repo Man via pin at 11:30
-This is a low key hidden gem that exceeded all expectations. They had a red-hot crowd and knew how to work the classic tag formula and take the crowd on a ride. The ending was kind of weak, but everything up to it was wonderful. ***3/4
-Gene is back with Hulk Hogan and we see the much talked about Tombstone on the chair again. Hogan cutting a promo on Undertaker just sounds weird for some reason. Fun fact, Sting and Taker are the only two men to beat Hogan for a World Title on 2 different occasions.
WWF Championship: The Undertaker (c) (w/ Paul Bearer) vs. Hulk Hogan
-This crowd is more a Hogan crowd than the one a few days ago in Detroit for Survivor Series. Taker and Bearer jump Hogan to start and technically it could have been a DQ as Bearer land a kick after the bell rang. Hogan goes to the eyes and punches away in the corner as we see Tunney sitting at ringside. Atomic Drop and Taker just sits up. Clothesline and Taker staggers. He goes for a slam, but Taker clubs him in the back. Another go and Hogan gets the slam this time and then decks Bearer. Clothesline sends Taker to the floor, but he lands on his feet. This is already a hotter start than the previous match. Hogan fires off right hands that knocks Taker off the apron. He pull Hogan to the floor and starts landing his own strikes as we get a loud “Hogan,” chant. Taker chokes and rolls the eyes in the back of his head. More choking back in the ring as that is most of Taker’s offense at this point because that’s how the character was booked. To the corner for more choking. The crowd starts another Hogan chant. Taker climbs the ropes to continue the choke, but that lets Hogan bring him out of the corner. Hogan charges, but Taker gets the knees up. Rope Walk by Taker as Monsoon notes it is a patented move. I guess you could call it vintage! Not to spoil anything, but more choking from Taker. They head to the floor and Hogan fires off right hands, but a whip is reversed and Hogan goes into the post. Taker changes things up a bit as he goes to a claw hold and Gorilla tells the ref to watch for smothering. Credit to this crowd as they are staying hot for this slow and methodical offense from Taker. Hogan has to lift the shoulder a few times as the claw gets a few two counts. Hogan keeps the arm up and the crowd is rocking as he fights to his feet. Hogan kicks his way out and goes to the eyes. Taker fucks up running the ropes as he either tripped or got stuck. No clue what happened there. He hits the leaping clothesline a few seconds later as I assume that was supposed to happen before he slipped as a way to cut off that Hogan flurry. Taker up top again, but Hogan pulls him down this time. The crowd is going crazy now as Ric Flair heads down to the ring. Hulk Up and a clothesline sends Taker back to the floor. Hogan grabs a chair and decks Flair, which sends him into Tunney, knocking him down. Back in the ring Hogan hits a running elbow and fires off right hands again. Chops from Hogan, but Taker goes to the eyes. Flair is back up while Tunney is down. Hogan to the eyes and Taker to the eyes. Flair has a chair on the apron and Taker accidentally gets sent into it. Big Boot! Taker hits him in the throat from his back and now Bearer accidentally hit Taker with the urn. Hogan throws ashes in Taker’s face and gets a roll-up for the pin at 13:10. It should be noted that Flair had Tunney up so he could see Hogan using the ashes, which would become important later.
Winner and New WWF Champion: Hulk Hogan via pin at 13:10
-The crowd heat for this one was off the charts and I found this match better than the one they had at Survivor Series. Taker was still limited but that was kind of by design of the character. He certainly wasn’t ready to be World Champion here and there is a reason it took another 5 years before he got The Championship again. They wanted to experiment with a new PPV idea and also find a way to get the Title off Hogan and to SPOILERS…..Flair as the goal at this point I believe was still Flair vs. Hogan at Mania. As noted this was more energetic and enjoyable to me than the Survivor Series Match. **
-Heenan is losing his mind on commentary and is nearly in tears. Gorilla notes the ref’s decision is final, which is what Tunney ruled when Taker won the Title at Survivor Series. Hogan’s normal celebration is shortened as we rush off the air.
-Thanks for reading!
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