Prime Time Wrestling is one of the last old school WWF bastions that I have yet to fully tackle. Growing up here in Canada, we never had Prime Time, and it reached rare and mythical status in my mind, as I’d see pictures and read results in various wrestling publications of all the strange and wacky feature matches. Some of these matches wound up on Coliseum Video, further whetting my appetite for this stuff.
Since first discovering file sharing on the internet, I’ve nabbed and watched the odd Prime Time episode here and there, eventually downloading a complete collection of the entire run of the show. I’ve tried to watch it in full and in order, but the show can certainly be a slog, especially in the 80s with a tedious parade of terribly slow and boring low-card house show matches and recycled squashes from the syndicate shows. The hilarious banter and interplay of Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby the Brain Heenan during its golden era is far better than the matches, and probably worth watching on it’s own, but I’ve never been able to fully commit or invest in watching the entirety of the series. Perhaps one day, but for now, I finally settled on digging into the wacky world of Prime Time’s exclusive matches.
It took me forever to decide where to begin with this project, and I finally settled on 1991. I can’t say I have a huge interest in watching the tedious MSG and Boston Garden jobber snorefests that dominate the early years of the show, and I truly want to watch the bizarre combinations that piqued my interest to begin with, so naturally I had to start with 1991 and work my way into 1992, which is where my interest really lies.
1) Power & Glory (w/ Slick) defeated Saba Simba & Paul Diamond at 5:14 when Roma pinned Diamond following the Power Plex (1/21/91 – Huntsville, AL; Von Braun Civic Center)
A true ‘what the fuck!’ match right out of the gate! So much to unpack in this extended squash! Why was Paul Diamond wrestling as a jobber when he was already wrestling as Kato? Were they short an extra guy? Equally funny is how they gave up on Saba Simba after a couple of months. He’d surprisingly make it to the Royal Rumble, but was turfed right after. Herc and Roma dominate Simba and Not-Kato, picking up their usual impressive win. P&G were such a fantastic team and started the year so hot before dropping off after Wrestlemania VII.
2) Greg Valentine defeated Buddy Rose via submission with the figure-4 at 3:35; during the bout, Jimmy Hart twice appeared ringside and was chased away by Valentine; after the match, and after Hart appeared a third time, Valentine stalked him backstage (1/21/91 – Huntsville, AL; Von Braun Civic Center)
PTW is rich with all of these low level characters like Playboy Buddy Rose, who barely made it to Superstars, yet were inexplicably featured in WWF Magazine and other publications. Seems like these low-level guys were mainly used to pad house show rosters, but yet were often featured characters on Prime Time. Rose seemed to be getting a minor push with the Blow-Away Diet gimmick and even gets a little promo time before this match. I remember WWF Mag even had Rose listed as a participant in the 1991 Royal Rumble, but he was gone from the company before then. Greg Valentine had just turned face, so the artificial cheering was cranked to the max, as you can clearly see no one reacting to the Hammer. There’s not much to this match, and all the focus is on Jimmy Hart constantly appearing at ringside to pester Valentine. Hammer quickly submits Rose then chases after Hart. Also interesting is that the Honky Tonk Man left the company at this time too, leading to Valentine feuding with Dino Bravo initially.
3) The Barbarian (w/ Bobby Heenan) pinned Saba Simba at 3:54 with a clothesline off the top (1/28/91 – Chattanooga, TN; UTC Arena)
HAHAHA! Man, so much to laugh at. First, the southerners in Chattanooga dancing along to the generic African rhythms of Saba Simba’s music, and then Simba himself, who is a total jabroni by this point. Wonder why they debuted him as this new character only to job him out so quickly? I was also chuckling at the fact that Simba and Barbarian wound up as partners in WCW a year and half later. Barbarian seems to be in many of these Prime Time feature matches and was getting a solid mid-card push throughout 91. He easily mows through Simba, who’s now out the door after his short run.
4) The Legion of Doom & Davey Boy Smith fought Hercules, Paul Roma, & the Warlord (w/ Slick) to a double disqualification at 7:15 when all six men began brawling in the ring (2/4/91 – Chattanooga, TN; UTC Arena)
I love how a lot of these matches ended up on Coliseum Videos, something I never knew at the time of renting them. I eventually needed to watch these Prime Times in full to truly appreciate the context of these matches. I’ve seen this six man tag a bunch of times on the 2nd Annual Battle of the Superstars tape, and it’s a fun power battle. LOD-P&G could have been a fantastic match at Mania VII if given time or Roma wasn’t hurt. It was a solid secondary feud throughout 91.
5) Shawn Michaels (w/ Marty Jannetty) pinned Demolition Crush (w/ Mr. Fuji) at 7:18 when Jannetty interfered and came off the top onto Crush, with Michaels falling on top for the win (2/18/91 – Savannah, GA; Civic Center)
This one’s from Supertape 4. It’s rare seeing a Demolition Crush singles match, and for good reason, he was the shits this early in his career. He was a big guy, but his physique was so doughy and he didn’t wrestle with any kind of power. It was all basic kick and punch and generic power stuff. Michaels bounces all over the place for Crush making this entertaining at least. And the finish is always great, as Marty Jannetty blatantly cheats by dropkicking Michaels onto Crush for the pin. It’s no wonder Demolition were jobbed out after this, Crush was just awful.
6) Ted Dibiase pinned Tugboat at 6:41 with a roll up after Tugboat hit the corner (2/25/91 – Savannah, GA; Civic Center)
Another match eventually released on Coliseum Video! Also from the second Battle of the Superstars. It’s hilarious to think about these guys feuding over the tag team titles a year later. Ted Dibiase was still being kept strong as he drifted between various mid-card feuds in 91. I think at this point he was feuding with both Virgil and Rowdy Roddy Piper, and still loosely feuding with the Texas Tornado, and was done with Dusty Rhodes. What a weird year for the Million $ Man. The match here was basic but decent, with Dibiase trying to avoid the size and power of Tugboat and wear him down. He needn’t have worried though, as Tugger was falling down the card fast before his heel turn. A simple missed charge in the corner lead to Dibiase covering him with a weak roll up. Always love to see Dibiase getting the victory.
7) Greg Valentine fought the Barbarian (w/ Bobby Heenan) to a double count-out at 6:35 when both men began brawling on the floor (3/4/91 – Orlando, FL; Arena)
I better get ready for a LOT of good guy Greg the Hammer Valentine because he’s all over these Prime Time exclusive matches coming up. He was barely hanging on in the mid-card, but I guess was enough of a name to still be in feature matches, a term which is used quite generously in describing some of these contests. Valentine was surprisingly over and him and the Barbarian were down to throw hands. Match quality was non-existent, but as a tough guy fight this was fun! They fight to a double countout, but nothing ever comes of this. They definitely needed to keep these two stalwarts of Prime Time feature matches looking strong lol.
8) The Warlord (w/ Slick) pinned Koko B. Ware with a running powerslam (3/4/91 – Ft. Myers, FL; Lee Civic Center)
Hahaha weird! I don’t remember too many Koko B Ware singles matches from 1991. This was joined in progress with the Warlord working over the Birdman. These two seemed to be paired together a lot in 89 and early 90. The Warlord was in the midst of his year-long feud with the British Bulldog and finishes off Koko with his own running powerslam. I enjoyed this match! I loved seeing Koko get in some offense and he was always mega over with the fans.
9) WWF IC Champion Mr. Perfect (w/ Bobby Heenan) pinned Jimmy Snuka with the Perfect Plex at 5:18 (3/4/91 – Ft. Myers, FL; Lee Civic Center)
Snuka, like Valentine, is rapidly on his way down – purely a jobber to the stars by this point. Absolutely nothing to this match, as Mr. Perfect easily dispatches Snuka. My mind was wandering to the venues they were taping their shows in. They were still filling bigger arenas like Orlando for Superstars tapings and running some of these smaller buildings which still looked good on TV. It’s amazing how cheap the TV product looked just two years later by mid 93.
10) Demolition (w/ Mr. Fuji) defeated Koko B. Ware & Tito Santana when Smash pinned Koko after Crush kicked Koko’s leg out from under him as he prepared to hit the Ghostbuster on Smash, with Smash then falling on top for the win (3/11/91 – Orlando, FL; Arena)
YES!!! This is exactly the kind of bonkers and batshit crazy nonsense I was hoping to see! AND it’s a great match! They should have just made Koko and Tito a permanent team – they work great together! This was a competitive match, which is no surprise considering how shitty the Smash and Crush version of Demolition had become. Crush was so damn useless! You’d think a guy like Crush should be able to easily put away Koko B Ware, but that’s not the case and the Birdman and Santana get in a ton of offense. In fact, it was looking like Koko was ready to win this, when Crush had to kick out his leg and Smash just collapsed on Ware for the win. LOL this was all kinds of great and awesome nonsense. Loved it!
11) Davey Boy Smith pinned Haku (w/ Bobby Heenan) at 7:48 with a crucifix (3/11/91 – Ft. Myers, FL; Lee Civic Center)
Great match! When motivated, Haku was a great worker, and he and the Bulldog made for great opponents. They wrestled a bunch in late 90 and early 91 and the matches were always a good mix of power and even some speed. Haku was a solid mid-card presence in early 91 before primarily heading to Japan for most of the year. It’s funny, as a kid, I thought Haku was super old, but he’s still so young here. This was a real good back and forth battle, with Smith winning with the classic crucifix. I really enjoyed this one.
12) The Undertaker (w/ Paul Bearer) pinned Jim Powers with the tombstone at 3:13 (3/11/91 – Ft. Myers, FL; Lee Civic Center)
Hahaha, hilariously they act like Jim Powers is a feature wrestler. Man, Prime Time was weird! This was even a somewhat competitive match, with Powers getting in far more offense then he had any right to. He takes it to the Undertaker pretty good. Paul Bearer had debuted just weeks earlier and the early versions of his character were so damn bizarre, with his strange facials and whatnot. Undertaker catches Powers with a cool jumping chokeslam and then uses a sloppy looking tombstone as he was still fine-tuning the character. More weirdness post match as Paul Bearer hands him a small baggie of dirt, which he dumps on Powers.
13) The Big Bossman fought Rick Martel to a double count-out at 7:46 when both men were brawling on the floor moments after the Mountie came to ringside and shocked Bossman with his cattle prod which knocked him to the floor (4/9/91 – Las Vegas, NV; Thomas & Mack Center)
Two great workers that I never fully appreciated at the time. I loved seeing this strange combination, with the Bossman laying in all his usual heavy offense on the Model, who does his best to cheat and stall. The Mountie saunters down to the ring and of course gets involved with the finish, zapping the Big Bossman and preventing his victory. This ends in a lame double countout. I’ve actually been surprised by the number of clean finishes so far.
14) Greg Valentine defeated the Genius via submission with the figure-4 at 4:33 (4/16/91 – Reno, NV; Lawlor Events Center)
Hahaha, this match was hilarious as no-nonsense Valentine was having none of the Genius’s antics. The Hammer takes the Genius apart and WINS clean by submission! Fantastic! I don’t remember the Genius wrestling much by this point, so it was neat to see him in a singles match for a change.
15) Col. Mustafa (w/ Gen. Adnan) defeated Jim Powers via submission with the Camel Clutch at 3:17 (4/16/91 – Las Vegas, NV; Thomas & Mack Center)
More Jim Powers greatness as he puts the recently debuted? returned? Colonel Mustafa to the absolute test. Why the FUCK did they bring back the useless and ancient Iron Sheik and repackage him as Colonel Mustafa?! I’ll never get this bizarre and baffling decision. It also seemed like he just randomly showed up one week without any explanation. Hilariously, Powers dominates the entire match as Mustafa is completely and utterly useless! Mustafa has to use his ancient early 80s style of cheating to take down Powers and lock him in the camel clutch for the win. Fucking ridiculous!
16) The Legion of Doom defeated the Barbarian & Haku when Road Warrior Animal pinned Haku following a double clothesline after Haku accidentally kicked his partner (4/16/91 – Las Vegas, NV; Thomas & Mack Center)
Woah! Here’s a cool rare gem! I’m surprised this never made it to a Coliseum Video. Unfortunately it’s joined in progress, but it seems like we get the bulk of this great power battle. The future Faces of Fear seemed to be getting a bit of a tag team push before Haku was sent overseas. I loved seeing them against the LOD, and Barbarian and Haku looked great as they worked over Hawk for the bulk of the match. There were some quality near falls, and the building erupts as Animal gets the hot tag and goes crazy leading to the LOD win. This was fantastic, what a great find!
17) Hercules & Paul Roma (w/ Slick) defeated Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty via count-out at 12:03 when the Rockers chased Slick around the ring after he prevented Michaels from coming off the top; after the match, Michaels & Jannetty sent their opponents and Slick out of the ring and kept Slick’s hat (4/23/91 – Omaha, NE; Civic Auditorium)
Really fun tag team match that eventually found its way on to the Wrestlefest 91 video. It’s joined in progress here, and I can’t remember if it’s shown in full on that tape. Regardless, it’s a fun tag team battle that I think was also a house show feud around this time. I love how the Rockers just could never beat Hercules and Roma, and it’s surprising that they take the loss by countount. They get the moral victory and beat up Slick and steal his hat to make the fans happy at least.
18) Kerry Von Erich defeated Haku (w/ Bobby Heenan) via disqualification at 4:24 when Heenan interfered when Von Erich had a sleeper hold applied (4/23/91 – Las Vegas, NV; Thomas & Mack Center)
All of the excitement of the Texas Tornado was rapidly dissipating. He was still over in the mid-card and made it to all four pay-per-views in 1991, but much like Valentine and Snuka, was also on the decline. His addictions and erratic behavior were rapidly catching up. In the YouTube comments, people were saying that the Tornado looks completely blasted in this match, with his goofy mannerisms and such. It’s so hard to tell with him. The match itself was as basic as it gets and ends in another lame DQ when Bobby Heenan jumps in to interfere.
19) Jake Roberts pinned Demolition Smash (w/ Mr. Fuji) with the DDT at 6:25 (5/14/91 – Cedar Rapids, IA; Five Seasons Center)
Woah! Now here’s another weird ass match! Demolition was done after Wrestlemania VII and Smash went on job duty for a few months before disappearing off TV and resurfacing as Repo Man later in the year. So bizarre to see him in a singles match with Jake Roberts, and it was actually a good TV match. Smash does the basics working Jake over and fans are just dying to see him hit the DDT. When he finally does, the place explodes and he gets the clean win over Smash.
20) Greg Valentine defeated WWF IC Champion Mr. Perfect (w/ Bobby Heenan) via disqualification at 8:54 after Perfect used Jimmy Hart’s megaphone as a weapon when Hart & Heenan kept distracting the referee (5/14/91 – Cedar Rapids, IA; Five Seasons Center)
Really hard fought battle between two top vets. Mr. Perfect was either in legit pain or doing a masterful sell job, as his back seemed to be bothering him all match. Valentine was relentless and in control through most of it, really going to work on Perfect’s back. I loved Jimmy Hart and Bobby Heenan colluding on the outside and it almost lead to Perfect stealing the win, but the ref catches him using the megaphone and awards the match to the Hammer by DQ. Really enjoyed this one!
21) Earthquake & WWF Tag Team Champions the Nasty Boys (w/ Jimmy Hart) defeated Jim Duggan & the Bushwhackers via disqualification at 7:02 when Duggan used his 2×4 as a weapon (5/21/91; Green Bay, WI; Brown County Arena)
This seemed to be joined in progress and was a stupidly entertaining six man tag. I used to hate the seemingly endless Bushwhackers-Nasty Boys matches, but I’ve really come around to enjoying this nonsense. Duggan and the Whackers were always so fun together. Workrate is nonexistent, but who cares, this was a hoot, and the baddies win by DQ after Duggan blatantly uses the 2×4!
22) Sgt. Slaughter (w/ Gen. Adnan & Col. Mustafa) pinned Tugboat at around the 6-minute mark after using a helmet as a weapon that Mustafa threw into the ring when Adnan distracted the referee (6/3/91 – Rockford, IL; Metro Centre)
Oh this was bad, truly brutal. Tugboat had become nothing more than a comedy jobber in the months leading up to his heel turn and arguably, so was Slaughter after Wrestlemania VII, endlessly losing in cartoon battles to Hulk Hogan. At least it was kind of interesting seeing him in the ring against someone other than Hogan, Warrior or Duggan. But this stunk! And Slaughter needed the help of Adnan and Mustafa to win by cheating. Fucking terrible!
23) Sgt. Slaughter (w/ Gen. Adnan & Col. Mustafa) defeated Greg Valentine via submission with the Camel Clutch after Adnan hit Valentine with Slaughter’s helmet while Mustafa distracted the referee (6/10/91 – Tucson, AZ; Convention Center)
Fucking hell! More of the same Sgt Slaughter awfulness! Again, it was sort of cool to see him against the king of Prime Timer feature matches – Greg Valentine – but the match was atrocious, with nearly the same crappy finish as the Tugboat match. How in the fuck did they get another PPV main event out of Slaughter? The guy was done by this point. This was awful, but points to Valentine for giving it some effort as always.
24) Hacksaw Jim Duggan fought the Warlord (w/ Slick) to a double count-out at 5:11 (6/10/91 – Tempe, AZ; ASU)
Woah! A fantastically weird match! Hacksaw didn’t really do anything of note through much of 1991, missing both Wrestlemania and SummerSlam, yet remained strongly over in the mid-card. Duggan was a deceptively big guy and matched up well against the Warlord. Duggan was all over him during the majority of this quick match, punching and clotheslining his way through the Warlord. After a short wear down break by the Warlord, they tumble to the floor and fight to a lame double countout. Duggan looked great here and even gets to corner Slick at the end, whipping the crowd into a frenzy. Super basic, but some great big man brawling!
25) Davey Boy Smith pinned Paul Roma (w/ Slick) at 6:27 after reversing a suplex attempt into a small package (6/17/91 – Tucson, AZ; Convention Center)
Another unique pairing to cap off the first round 91 PTW matches. I would have loved to have seen the Bulldog and Hercules square off in a power battle, but it was Roma here to do the job as per usual. I don’t think Hercules ever ate a pin while part of Power & Glory. The writing seemed to be on the wall for the team by summer, but had Roma stuck around, maybe they would have got a renewed push in early 92 when there was a dearth of tag teams? The Bulldog has looked good in all these 91 matches so far, and its interesting that they chose Bret Hart to go over Mr. Perfect at SummerSlam, as the Bulldog seemed to be primed for a huge win. This was a solid match with a surprise finish as the Bulldog doesn’t win soundly with the running powerslam. A good way to end the first set of these matches! There’s still a ton more to go.
the RepoDan Wrestling Institution 