WWF SNME #31 11/14/1992

Written By: Matt Peddycord

WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event #31
November 14, 1992
Terra Haute, IN
Hullman Center
(Taped on 10/27/92)

The current WWF Champs were as follows:
World Champion: Bret Hart (10/12/1992)
Intercontinental Champion: Davey Boy Smith (8/29/1992)
World Tag Team Champions: Money Inc. (10/13/1992)

This would be the final episode of SNME for thirteen years until it’s brought back in ’06 all unnecessary-like.

Your hosts are Vince McMahon & Bobby Heenan!

WWF World Tag Team Champions Money Inc. (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. Ultimate Warrior & Randy Savage

Since SummerSlam, Warrior and Savage have become good pals and deemed themselves the Ultimate [ego] Maniacs. I mean, could Vince be trying to refurbish an old friendship angle or something? Were we going to see Warrior try to put the moves on Liz? Surely not. The Maniacs storm the ring and clear it of the evil money lovers to start. During the Brain Scan, (which is the same as Madden using that pen on Monday Night Football) Heenan uses it to draw a caricature of Ross Perot, whom he calls an idiot! Whoa, WWF! Don’t push your political agendas on me now! Once all that settles down, Savage atomic drops DiBiase into Warrior for a punch. Savage hits the running hotshot and tags in Warrior. DiBiase goes to the eyes, but ducks low off a whip and takes a suplex instead for two. Warrior goes for the running shoulderblock, but DiBiase avoids and sends Warrior to the mat. Tag to IRS, he applies the sleeper. Meanwhile, Flair, Razor and Perfect look on from the dressing room. They all have a little something to say to the camera about the Maniacs not surviving at Survivor Series. Back to the match, DiBiase has Warrior in the MILLION DOLLAR DREAM. Savage breaks it up with a high knee. Double-clothesline follows and that sets up a HOT TAG TO SAVAGE! He hits the MACHO ELBOW DROP on IRS and a pier-six brawl erupts until the champs take their belts and go home. (6:11) The Maniacs go after Money Inc, but then they get ambushed by Flair and company to make it five-on-two. I must say, that was fun. **

Bret Hart music video set to Tom Petty, “Makin’ Some Noise”. If you haven’t seen this show, but you’ve seen WrestleMania 9, then you’ve seen this. It’s pretty cool. The video, not the song.

WWF Intercontinental Champion Davey Boy Smith vs. Shawn Michaels

It’s put up or shut up for Shawn, as he’s been chasing the IC belt for nearly six months now. DBS overpowers Shawn early using his steroid power to withstand tie-ups and shoulderblocks. Shawn outsmarts Bulldog because let’s face it; steroids don’t do much for your brains. Shawn slides underneath him and then pops Bulldog in the face. Bulldog puts on the brakes off a hiptoss, so Shawn flips off his head and gets that hiptoss anyway to set up a short-arm scissors. Davey Boy tries to lift HBK out of it and hurts his back on the first try, but lifts and slams him down on the second try. Press slam follows and Shawn is out on the floor because man does his back hurt. Back in, Shawn cheapshots Davey Boy in the corner. Davey spins out of a couple catapult attempts and then hooks an armbar. Shawn goes to the eyes to escape that, but then gets run down with a shoulderblock. He’s still able to sidestep a charge to send DBS crashing out on the floor. While the ref is counting, Shawn goes over and unties a top turnbuckle pad. Once Bulldog’s back in, Shawn stomps on the back and then hooks an abdominal stretch. DBS hiptosses out, but misses an elbow drop for two. Shawn goes back to the ab stretch, but Davey hiptosses out AGAIN and this time, connects with the elbow drop. He whips Shawn into the corner for his patented corner flip. DBS delivers a catapult and then drills him with a clothesline, but hesitates the pin and only gets two. Delayed suplex gets another two. DBS goes for a cross-corner whip into the exposed turnbuckle, but Shawn reverses it and sends Davey Boy into it instead. Both men are down. Now Shawn goes for a cross-corner whip, but Bulldog reverses and sends Shawn in all the way up to the top rope. DBS wants a superplex, but his back gives out and Shawn falls on top for the 1-2-3! (10:25) Like a gentleman, Shawn puts the turnbuckle pad back where it belongs. History is made, and Shawn earns his first televised title win. Of course I’m alluding to the crazy Rockers tag title win two years earlier. Great match, by the way, and Davey Boy Smith’s last match in the WWF for two years. He would debut in WCW at Superbrawl. ***½

In the back , Gene Okerlund hangs with Flair, Ramon and Perfect. Flair gets all excited about whoever wins the WWF title match at Survivor Series, gets to meet him. Woo. Perfect mentions the Ultimate Maniacs is a perfect name for Savage and Warrior. Razor goes into bad Scarface impression mode and says he’s down with fighting in the streets. Sounds like disorderly conduct to me. For a second there, I thought I was watching WCW!

WWF World Champion Bret Hart vs. Papa Shango

Long before he became a member of the radical Islamic group known as the Nation of Domination or after that when he turned into a fun-loving pimp or after that when he joined the FCC-parody group known as Right to Censor, Charles Wright practiced voodoo and cast spells on WWF superstars. He even cast a spell on Bret to lose at SummerSlam. All you got to say is, look what happened. Now Bret wants revenge on this guy so he’ll leave him the crap alone with all that voodoo mumbo jumbo. In case you haven’t seen him, he looks like a poor man’s version of the Boogeyman. Shango pounds away to start and then Bret takes over with a monkey flip. Crossbody gets two, and atomic drop/clothesline combo puts Shango out on the floor. Bret follows him out with a pescado as we go to commercial. When we come back, they’re in the ring and Shango is reversing a corner whip on Bret for the chest-first bump. Shango pounds away and then grabs the nerve hold. Bret elbows out, but then runs into a clothesline. Back to the nerve hold. Bret elbows out again and attempts a sunset flip. Shango stands strong, but misses the punch. He charges at Bret and runs into a boot. Bret grabs a sleeper, but Shango drives him head-first into the buckle. Shango hits a pair of elbow drops, but misses a flying one and Bret comes back with the Russian legsweep. Cover, 1-2-NO! Back drop gets two, and he follows that up with a flying clothesline for another near-fall. Shango goes for what would later be known as the HOOOO TRAIN, but Bret moves out of the way and hooks the SHARPSHOOTER for the submission. (7:13) Surprisingly fun match. **½

It’s time for another edition of the Funeral Parlor with Paul Bearer! Tonight’s guest is the Undertaker. He’s taken a sabbatical to build a special casket (actually, he was injured) just for Kamala, says Bearer. OHHHH YESS!!! Taker comes out of a coffin on the stage and tells Kamala that he will rest in peace.

Now let’s head over to Gene Okerlund. He’s ready to interview the champ, but Shawn walks in with his new IC belt and gloats about beating the guy who beat Bret. They get into a tiny little shoving match.

Back to Vince and Bobby: Bobby is on the phone and has a tasty rumor that Warrior and Savage won’t be coming to the ring together at Survivor Series and that one of them will have a new partner! Man, Heenan has some great sources!

Final Thoughts: That was just crazy fun. Bret and Shawn is set up nicely for Survivor Series with Shawn defeating the guy who beat Bret as the focal point of the match. Of course, the other main event with the Maniacs vs. Flair/Razor is changed because well, Warrior is a maniac. Nevertheless, Survivor Series is still going to rock and I’m excited about it. Thumbs up for this last show. It was a great run.