Back for a third round of these bonkers exclusive WWF TV matches from various D shows in 1993! I LOVE THIS STUFF! And I cannot get enough of it! More and more of these oddball matches keep turning up on Youtube, and I’m gobbling them all down. There’s a lot of stuff that was not included in the original two Mania and All American sets I had, as well as other random greatness. PLUS I’ve been tracking down all of the various region exclusive TV matches from this era, of which there seemed to be a lot; French, German, Italian, etc. matches are all found with some hunting on YouTube. I watched all of this over Christmas break and couldn’t have been happier.
1) WWF Mania – 1/9/93: Jim Duggan pinned Repo Man at 3:49 with the running clothesline
It’s amazing how different the WWF felt year to year in the 90s. Like this match is such a 1992 hangover and it already feels out of place here at the beginning of 1993. After doing next to nothing for the last half of 92, Repo seems to get a mini lower mid-card push in early 93, with some feature matches on TV and his mini two week feud with Macho Man on Raw. Plus he gets repackaged in new tights and a new mask later in spring prior to his departure. This was nothing more than a simple squash for Duggan, who remains ridiculously over, despite sliding so low on the card. Duggan dominates and pins Repo clean with the 3pt stance to easily put this one away.
2) WWF Mania – 1/16/93: Yokozuna (w/ Mr. Fuji) pinned Jim Powers at 2:54 with the Bonzai Drop
Yes! A dark match from the very first Monday Night Raw broadcast! I love the historical significance and weirdness of this much more than the match itself. Powers actually gets an entrance, still using the jobber anthem Crank It Up! It’s weird how Powers was always presented as a “tough test” on shows like Prime Time, yet was an absolute jabroni on Superstars and Challenge. Nothing much to this one, as Powers bounces off Yoko a bunch of times, then eats a belly to belly and gets literally squashed by Yoko. But wow I loved this as a weird historical curiosity.
3) WWF Mania – 1/16/93: El Matador pinned Wild Bill Irwin with the flying forearm at 5:55
Now this is completely fucking weird and random! Reportedly this is a Bill Irwin tryout match that somehow made it to air. Unlike a regular jobber, Irwin is in full costume here, much like his classic NWA days. They put him over on commentary, and we get a surprisingly competitive match between him and El Matador. Irwin was definitely a good hand in the ring, but his pasty and doughy physique would have looked way out of place in 93. Irwin controls a portion of the match and Matador has to battle back. His flying forearm knocks Irwin only to the floor and it takes whatever the hell his finisher was called to end this one. Wow! Just loved the absolutely weirdness of this and it was a surprisingly good TV bout. And that’s the last we see of Irwin in the WWF for another three years.
4) WWF Superstars (European version): Mr. Perfect pinned Terrific Terry Taylor at 8:12 with the Perfect Plex
Man do I enjoy this late 92/early 93 Terrific Terry Taylor run. He feels so out of place in the WWF: plain gimmick, no music, and is treated like the lowest of the jobbers to the stars. Yet, he still wrestles.. errr… terrific matches. Him and Perfect have always had outstanding chemistry in the ring, and this is a fun hidden gem, along with a Raw match they had around this time. Taylor breaks out all kinds of cool shit, even a gut wrench powerbomb, and gets flustered cause he can’t put Mr. Perfect away. Finally Perfect finishes him off with the Perfect Plex to end a surprisingly competitive match! Bonus points added for the hilarious French commentary discussing the split between Kamala and Kimchee.
5) WWF Mania – 1/23/93: Virgil pinned Iron Mike Sharpe at 5:33 with the side Russian legsweep
Another Raw dark match, and I’m just loving these. The crowd is hilarious, booing Virgil and cheering for Mike Sharpe, not long before it was cool to do such a thing. This is far more competitive than it had any right to be, and was highly entertaining. Virgil didn’t look particularly great in this one, but it was fun to see Sharpe get in some actual offense for a change, much to the delight of the fans! Virgil survives and wins with a sloppy looking Russian legsweep. Virg takes a white pail around ringside after the match, supposedly collecting money for Headlock For Hunger.
6) WWF Superstars (European version): Tenryu pinned the Brooklyn Brawler with a powerbomb at 3:25
HAHAHAHA WHAT THE FUCK!? Turns out that Tenryu wrestled a couple other matches after his appearance in the 1993 Royal Rumble. Tenryu wrestles two squashes at the TV tapings right after the Rumble, but neither of these made it to air in North America, instead being shown on international broadcasts. WHY??? This is so weird! Would it not have made more sense to have Tenryu wrestle prior to the Rumble, so fans would at least have some idea who the fuck he is?! Tenryu comes down to the ring in a New Japan t-shirt to zero crowd reaction, looking to be 90 years old like always. The best part is hearing Mike McGuirk announce TENNNRUUUUU! Made me laugh out loud! The match itself is a clunky boring mess. The Brawler actually gets some offense, making Tenryu look like a loser. Tenryu hits his big move – the enziguri – which looks weak as hell, then finishes off the Brawler with a powerbomb, which is equally weak and soft looking. Wow this was so fucking weird to see!
7) WWF Superstars (European version): Tenryu pinned the White Shadow at 3:51 with a powerbomb
The second post Rumble appearance of Tenryu, this time wrestling the “mysterious” White Shadow. I’d say this is a better squash than the Brawler match, as Shadow seems more game to sell for Tenryu. He hits all the same stuff, like the cheap looking enziguri and finishes with an even softer looking powerbomb, where he carefully places the guy down on the mat. What a trip seeing these weird ass Tenryu matches!
8) WWF Superstars (European version): Kimchee defeated Buddy Wayne via submission with the Camel Clutch at 1:36
Most post Royal Rumble taping nonsense, this time featuring a KIMCHEE SQUASH MATCH!!! With French commentary featuring Raymond Rougeau!!! My mind was blown! So fucking weird!!! I really loved the way Steve Lombardi played the Kimchee character, and his mannerisms were so different than the Brawler’s. I just love everything about this nonsense. Kimchee wrestles with his fucking COAT on because he’s the fucking BEST. Kimchee wrestles a lot like when he was handling Kamala; pretty much bullying his opponent around the ring and smacking him down. The camel clutch was a great finish. Man this was AWESOME!
9) WWF Superstars (Italian version – 3/24/93): WWF IC Champion Shawn Michaels pinned Owen Hart with a roll over at 5:37 as Hart attempted a crossbody off the top; after the match, Sensational Sherri came ringside and took the title belt, with Michaels stalking her around the ring until Hart made the save and dropped Michaels with a piledriver; Sherri then took the title belt with her backstage
Woah, this match is AWESOME! The Coliseum Video banners are up and it’s on the video wall, but unfortunately this never made it to any of the tapes released in 93. Too bad, as it’s an action packed sprint, exclusively shown on the Italian version of Superstars. Owen’s still in the High Energy gear at this point, but he’d soon be in his sweet new blue rocket tights by the next set of TV tapings. It’s a crazy fast paced match as Owen and Michaels go full speed for the entirety of the match. Tons of counters and aerial offense, with Owen frustrating the IC champ. I just loved the pace of this, as they crammed a 10-15 minute match into 5, trimming away all the downtime and just going for broke. The Italian commentator is just loving this match, reacting huge for all the big spots, as well as putting over the Long Beach Arena lol. Michaels rolls through a bodypress to score the win, but things aren’t done there as Sherri comes down to take the IC title. Shawn goes to rough up Sherri, but Owen attacks from behind and lays him out with a piledriver. Wow! How did this not make it onto a Coliseum tape?!
10) WWF Superstars (Italian version): Crush defeated Razor Ramon via submission with the head vice at 8:02; prior to the match, Razor motioned to ring announcer Mike McGuirk to kiss him on the cheek, then threw his toothpick at her when she refused
From the same taping as the Michaels-Owen match, and once again the Coliseum banners are out for what ended up only being an Italian TV exclusive. So cool to see all these matches that could have been released on their own Coliseum tape. Stalling and a slow pace to start, but this ends up being a pretty good match. Razor bangs Crush’s head into the post a few times to gain control. Those looked to be some pretty hard post shots that Crush took. Razor wears him down, but Crush battles back and in huge surprise, actually gets the head vice on Razor, who submits clean. Wow! Considering Crush would be losing endlessly to Doink, it’s crazy to see him pick up a clean win over a guy who had just challenged for the title at the Rumble. Really entertaining as a historical curiosity.
11) WWF Mania – 2/27/93: Repo Man defeated Mike Starr via submission at 2:31 with a half crap (Repo’s debut in a new ring outfit and mask)
YES! So cool to FINALLY see the match where Repo Man debuts his new mask and costume. WWF Magazine ran a puzzling news blurb about Repo Man’s new look and gear, but he never showed up on any other show wearing it. It was a super weird mystery that bugged me for years until I eventually discovered that he wore it during two matches televised only on WWF Mania. It’s super weird, because Repo still made a few last Raw appearances after this, but without the new gear. Wonder why he only wore it on Mania? Repo had also gained a lot of weight back by this point and was wrestling a slower, brawling style. Still, so fucking cool to finally see this match after all these years!
12) All American – 3/21/93: Owen Hart pinned Skinner at 4:47 with an inside cradle when Skinner picked him up after hitting the reverse neckbreaker and failing to make the cover (3/7/93; Fayetteville, NC)
The long awaited Wrestlemania VIII rematch! This was taken from the same taping as March to Wrestlemania IX, and was the end of the line for Skinner. Despite his low ranking on the card, Owen still got a great pop from the crowd. Skinner seemed to be enjoying this one too, making this a highly entertaining TV match. Skinner even stops midway through to do a ridiculously goofy dance after knocking Owen to the canvas. The Rocket has to pull a small package out of nowhere to put Skinner away in a really cheap looking finish. Well at least he picked up a win!
13) All American – 4/4/93: Bob Backlund defeated Doink the Clown via disqualification at around the 5-minute mark when Doink attacked Backlund with his umbrella as Backlund attempted a cover
More fantastic weirdness! Gotta love the bonkers contrast in eras between Backlund and Doink. This match is as goofy as you’d expect, with some classic, old-timey wrestling thrown in for good measure. I just love how Backlund was booked against all the wacky freaks like Shango, Berzerker, Skinner, and Doink upon his return. The match ends in a cheap DQ as Doink attacks Backlund with his umbrella. Would have been really fun and interesting to give these pros 15 minutes and let them tear the house down ala Doink and Mr. Perfect’s KOTR qualifying series.
14) WWF Superstars (Italian version): WWF IC Champion Shawn Michaels pinned Typhoon at 5:09 with a clothesline from the middle turnbuckle after hitting him with the title belt as Typhoon tended to the referee, who had been knocked down moments earlier
This short TV match was pretty damn fun! Michaels was always excellent against larger opponents, and he bumps all around the ring for Typhoon’s big man offense. There’s a ton of fun bumps and great near falls, with Michaels looking completely outmatched. Michaels tries everything, but Typhoon is too powerful, so Michaels has to resort to cheating. The ref catches him with the title belt and Typhoon crushes him with a splash in the corner. Typhoon accidentally bumps the ref, allowing Michaels to clock him with the IC title and finish him off with the flying clothesline. Fun match!
15) WWF Superstars (European version): Owen Hart pinned Blake Beverly with a roll up at 6:33 after faking an injury; after the match, Blake brutally attacked Owen’s leg
Another hidden gem! This was a hard fought, action packed match, with a fantastic pace. Owen and Blake light into each other with some serious slaps and chops. There were some seriously great workers in the lower ranks of the WWF in 1993, who rarely saw any time on the A shows. And yet Owen is all over these D shows, consistently wrestling great TV matches for nothing. Owen and Blake bust out some solid near falls, with Owen eventually faking a knee injury and suckering Blake into a cradle for the surprising pin. Really fun match.
16) WWF Mania – 7/4/93: Tito Santana pinned Virgil at 5:33 with a roll up; after the bout, the two shook hands
LOL I love how much El Matador and Virgil we also get on these 93 D-shows. This is like a parody of a match Matt and I would have come up with in grade six. This is sadly joined in progress and I wonder how much more was cut from this? The commentary of Gorilla Monsoon and Jim Ross is tremendous on all these summer 93 matches, as they’re both complimentary to guys like Santana and Virgil, but also call out their mistakes. Tito drops Virgil with a sick looking back suplex that crumples his neck. I wonder if it knocked Virgil silly cause the last little bit of this match is super sloppy. Matador picks up the win with an absolutely awful looking small package. Terrible finish to an otherwise decent little match.
17) WWF Super Card: Kamala fought Bastion Booger to a double count-out at 4:59 when both men began brawling on the floor
This match was the shits… and I LOVED IT! Exactly the type of ridiculous 1993 nonsense I enjoy. And it’s a WWF Super Card exclusive, which was a Canadian D show that I remember watching on some random Sunday afternoons. It’s soooo weird seeing Kamala at the tail end of his WWF run. Kamala only has another couple TV appearances, and finishes off only with house shows into July. Gorilla Monsoon and Jim Ross rightfully shit all over this match, as there’s minimal effort and tons of stalling. It’s all slow punch/kick stuff. They “battle” to the floor and this ends in a really wimpy double countout. I could care less about the match quality, as seeing Kamala and Bastion Booger in the same ring together is just so fucking bizarre and tremendous!
18) Wrestling Spotlight – 7/24/93: The Headshrinkers (w/ Afa) defeated Jim Duggan & Kamala at 7:15 when Samu pinned Duggan following a double thrust kick
HOLY SHIT THIS IS SO FUCKING BONKERS! This is pure candy for my brain, making me feel like I was 12 years old all over again. I absolutely LOVE the total bizareness of this match. It’s so unbelievably weird and random, like a match you’d throw together with your Hasbros. Duggan is hilarious at the beginning, assuring Kamala that he’s got this, then getting the crowd chanting USA and Hoooooo! The Headshrinkers and Afa are acting goofy all through the match, mimicking Kamala’s belly slaps and doing all sorts of weird shit. They end up working over Kamala for the heat portion of the match, with Duggan getting the crowd to chant USA for his Ugandan partner. Hot tag Duggan who cleans house and Kamala joins in the brawl, accidentally chopping Duggan in the throat. The Shrinkers take out Kamala then double kick Duggan to score the win. Duggan tries to teach Kamala the error of his ways after the match. What a hilarious fucking tag team Duggan and Kamala would have been had they stuck around!
19) Wrestling Spotlight – 7/31/93: Blake Beverly pinned Virgil at 6:16 whem the momentum of a crossbody by Virgil put Blake on top for the win
Yes! I’m such a huge fan of “Give No Fucks” Blake Beverly from summer 93. He’s shaved the mustache and is wrestling a far more aggressive style. The WWF really should have considered repackaging some of these guys considering how limp the roster gets by the end of the year. Beverly is just fucking great, slapping Virgil down and kicking the shit out of him. Virgil makes a shitty comeback and hits his shitty Russian legsweep finisher (seriously… that’s your fucking finisher?!) and Blake kicks out! Blake goes on to WIN THE MATCH! How insane is a Blake Beverly win from summer 93?! Just bananas!
20) Wrestling Spotlight – 8/7/93: Mr. Perfect pinned Bastion Booger by countering an attempt at the sit-down splash into a sunset flip
The version of this match I found was from a Portuguese broadcast! So weird! The commentator keeps calling Mr. Perfect “perfect”, as in to perfect a craft. Sounds so weird. Bastion Booger is an unbelievably awful wrestler, which I suppose was his gimmick. Still Mr. “Perfect” takes all kinds of cartoon bumps for Booger’s shitty offense. Like most of these matches, the best part is just seeing these totally oddball, random pairings that you never knew happened. Booger squashes Perfect with his sit down splash, but Perfect hooks his arms with his legs and rolls him up to win.
21) Wrestling Spotlight – 8/21/93: Marty Jannetty pinned Papa Shango at 5:30 with a roll up
The Marty Jannetty comeback tour continues! Hard to believe Papa Shango was still around this late into summer, as he was part of a mass overhaul of the roster before the fall. Much like so many of the other guys in these D show matches, Shango is a total JTTS by this point and this match is all kinds of weak. Gotta love the kids in the front row telling Marty to get up after he crashes and burns jumping over the top. Shango’s offense just looks terrible in this match, which was ultimately the downfall of the character. Marty wins with the cheapest fucking rollup imaginable and keeps Shango down for the three count.
22) WWF Superstars (German version – 11/22/93): WWF IC Champion Razor Ramon defeated IRS via count-out after tying IRS to the ringpost with his own tie at 7:27
YAWN! Oh man this was boring. This feud was boring and this match was like every other Razor-IRS match. Half the match is stalling and rest holds. The German commentary at least made it somewhat more entertaining, but this dragged on forever. Razor won with the same clever finish used a lot on their lengthy house show run, by tying IRS’s tie to the ringpost and rolling back in to win by countdown. Not exactly a victory oozing in machismo. Interestingly, the Coliseum Video banners and video screen were up, but this never ended up on any tapes either.
23) WWF Mania – 12/19/93:Bam Bam Bigelow & the Headshrinkers defeated the 1-2-3 Kid & the Smoking Gunns
Another hidden gem! This almost rematch from SummerSlam is FANTASTIC! It felt like a TV match from today’s era with so much reckless abandon from the 123 Kid. He starts out with Bigelow and takes some crazy huge bumps. Bigelow is also game to bump for the Kid, who even catches him with a senton to the floor. The Headshrinkers work over Billy Gunn for a while, but with the short TV time, the pace never slows. Big tag and things go crazy at the end. Bigelow catches Kid in a powerslam to win this one. Damn, what a great match!
And there’s EVEN MORE matches from 1993 that I need to track down! But first I have to decide on going forward with 1994 nonsense, or backwards into 1992. Tough choice, but most likely it will be 92!
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