WWF House Show 6/22/1992

Written by: Bob Colling

World Wrestling Federation House Show
Date: 6/22/1992
From: Providence, RI

Opening Contest: The Brooklyn Brawler vs. Virgil: Virgil takes Brawler over with a hip toss and sends Brawler to the floor with a dropkick. The fans seem to be quite pumped up, but I’d imagine that is for the show in general and not to see Virgil. Brawler pokes Virgil in the eyes and avoids a cross body as Virgil goes flying over the top to the floor. Brawler sends Virgil into the ring post shoulder first to maintain control. Brawler stomps Virgil in the lower midsection area and keeps his offense very basic. Brawler cuts off Virgil on a comeback attempt and delivers a scoop slam. Brawler cuts Virgil off with a quick clothesline and continues to have control of the bout. Virgil delivers a rather bad looking neck breaker and tries to get a second wind. Virgil dropkicks Brawler and delivers a side Russian leg sweep for the win. (*. At least the crowd was fired up for the show because these two just aren’t good workers and was way too basic. Virgil looked to be very motivated and I appreciated the effort on his part.)

Second Contest: Kerry Von Erich vs. Nailz: Early on, Nailz works over Von Erich by choking him and sends Kerry over the top with a clothesline. Von Erich pulls Nailz to the floor and they trade several blows before getting back into the ring. Von Erich gets a near fall after a cross body. They lockup and remain in that move for quite some time. They roll to the floor and again go the brawling route. Von Erich puts the claw on Nailz but Nailz breaks the hold with a nightstick shot to the throat to cause a DQ. (DUD. All sorts of bad between these two. Nailz is one of the most awkward wrestlers who literally has zero ability to wrestle.)

Third Contest: Double Trouble vs. The Bushwhackers: Anyone who has been following my reviews knows how much I can’t stand the Bushwhackers and Double Trouble isn’t even a prominent tag team, hell I don’t even know if they have wrestled on television before. If they have, it’s been as jobbers. The match follows the same old routine for Butch and Luke. They deliver a battery ram to one of the guys and they get the win.

Fourth Contest: WWF World Tag Team Champions Money Inc. vs. The Natural Disasters: It’s a rematch from WrestleMania where the champs took a walk and retained their straps. Typhoon and Earthquake go to the floor and grab the champs. Typhoon works overs DiBiase to legally start the match and runs over both guys with clotheslines. All four men are in the ring with the Disasters sending the champs into each other. Earthquake and Typhoon splash both guys in the corner for the early domination. Earthquake misses a second attempt and goes over the top to the floor. Typhoon scoop slams IRS but gets tripped by DiBiase. IRS has his briefcase and hits Typhoon from behind but the referee was distracted. Typhoon gets worked over by the heels while Quake remains on the apron not able to get involved. Typhoon gets rammed back first into the corner by the champs. IRS misses a shoulder charge in the corner and Typhoon tries to make the tag but is pulled away. DiBiase keeps control of Typhoon with a front face lock but Typhoon inches closer to Quake and get the tag but IRS distracts the referee to keep advantage. IRS attempts a vertical suplex but Typhoon counters with one of his own.

Typhoon makes the tag and Quake enters to a good pop. Quake hammers away on DiBiase and drops Ted with an elbow and atomic drops IRS to the floor. Quake drops an elbow and signals for the end. Quake goes for the sit down splash but DiBiase is pulled to the floor. Money Inc. pull the same count-out routine as they did at Mania and leave the match, but retain their titles. (*1/2. Some decent action as the champs did the best they could to work over Typhoon and keep the match interesting. The crowd was responsive to what was going on, as well.)

Fifth Contest: Repo Man vs. The British Bulldog: Repo runs around the ring but enters to work over Bulldog with several strikes in the corner. Bulldog runs over Repo with a clothesline and yanks on the arm a few times, but Repo pokes him in the eye to get the control back in his favor. Bulldog lands on the apron on an attempted toss and returns to poke Repo in the eye. Bulldog attempts a sunset flip but only gets a near fall. Bulldog blocks a kick and holds Repo’s leg and teases a low blow but instead just trips Repo and continues to tease a low blow, which Repo is begging to not happen. Repo gets the advantage with a few strikes and strikes the throat area of Bulldog. Repo pulls off the top turnbuckle pad and sends Bulldog shoulder first into it. Repo sends Bulldog into the exposed corner a second time. Bulldog attempts a press slam but his shoulder is weak. Bulldog comes off the middle rope to deliver a clothesline and sends Repo into the exposed corner three times. Bulldog hits a running power slam but Repo gets his foot on the ropes. Repo attempts to use his hook but is knocked down by Bulldog. The referee has his back turned and Bulldog uses the hook on Repo for the win. (*. Any chance of taking Repo seriously has been killed off. The angle they shot on Superstars to create the feud could have gotten Repo some respect, but he is a comedy act and nothing more. Bulldog did the best he could here but it was just rather boring.)

Sixth Contest: WWF Intercontinental Champion Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels: Hart sends Michaels to the floor through the middle rope and Michaels is none to happy about it. Hart hammers away on Michaels and works on the left arm with a knee drop. Michaels backs Bret into a corner and delivers a few strikes but Hart comes back with a clothesline for a two count. Hart catches Michaels on a leapfrog attempt and catapults Shawn into the corner hitting the ring post it appears and Hart nearly wins on a quick cover attempt. Michaels hangs onto the ropes and Hart crashes to the canvas. Michaels works over Hart with some basic chokes and distracts the referee so that Sherri Martel can choke Hart as well. Michaels drops Hart throat first across the top rope and Hart is struggling to get to his feet. Michaels cuts off Bret’s comeback attempt with a back elbow and maintains control of the match. Hart nearly wins with an inside cradle but can’t follow up with any offense. Hart misses a wild punch and Michaels puts a sleeper on Hart briefly. Hart boots Michaels in the corner and hits a middle rope clothesline. Hart atomic drops Michaels and works over Shawn in the corner. Shawn gets crotched on the top rope and Bret delivers a clothesline to the back of the head for a two count. Hart delivers a back breaker and a middle rope forearm drop for a near fall. They trade a couple of rollups and Michaels accidentally knee lifts Sherri off the apron. Hart takes advantage with a rollup for the win. (*1/2. I’d expect a lot better from these two. It seemed like they didn’t have a whole lot of time, which is a trend on the show. A really basic and uneventful match, but at least there was a clean finish, I suppose.)

Main Event: Papa Shango vs. Ultimate Warrior: Warrior sends Shango over the top to the floor and plays to the crowd with his music still playing. Warrior goes to the floor and delivers a clothesline to Shango a few times. Warrior leaps off the top to double axe handle Shango in the ring and sends Papa into the corner. Warrior follows up with a clothesline but misses a splash in the corner. Shango gets some offense in with a clothesline and scoop slam followed by a side slam. Papa puts a nerve hold on Warrior to slow the match down. Shango yanks Warrior down but Warrior is already getting a second wind. Shango shoulder blocks Warrior but gets sent over the top again. Shango grabs his stick and seems to put a spell on Warrior, and Warrior crashes to the mat holding his gut in agony. Shango works over Warrior with several strikes in the corner. Warrior fights out of the corner and runs over Shango with a clothesline. Warrior continues to hold his midsection in pain and Shango delivers a few elbow drops. Shango has Warrior up for a shoulder breaker and hits it! Papa takes a moment before going for the cover and Warrior kicks out at two. Warrior begins to get a second wind with Shango not being able to hurt Warrior. Warrior runs over Shango with a series of clotheslines and plays to the crowd. Warrior hits a leaping shoulder block and a big splash for the win. (*. Yeah, the whole curse thing is really corny and I find it humorous they played it up on the house shows. A pretty boring and predictable main event as expected. Warrior has one of the least impactful comebacks I’ve ever seen, by the way.)

Final Thoughts:
Well, the Rhode Island crowd was energetic for a show that would put most people to sleep. Not one match was all that appealing as I was disappointed with the Hart/Michaels, the main draw of the show for me, personally.

Thanks for reading.