Rebooking The WWF: Week 3, 1994

Find out what happens this week in the WWF! Plus, there is a MSG special!

WWF RAW 1/17/1994 (Poughkeepsie, NY taped)
1. Jeff Jarrett Mike Sullivan in 2:35 following a jumping DDT.
2. Ric Flair Calls In: Vince McMahon’s phone next to him rings and he picks up before making sure that there will be sound so it will be broadcasted. It ends up being Ric Flair who greets McMahon with a “wooooo.” Flair talks to McMahon about Hulk Hogan saying he will be appearing at the Royal Rumble 1994. Flair says “Well, I guess the Nature Boy is going to have to get in a jet and strut his way to Providence, Rhode Island for some fun.” Flair hangs up while McMahon ponders the possibility of Flair showing up at the Royal Rumble!
3. WWF Intercontinental Champion Rick Martel defeated Dave Andrews in 3:24 with the Boston Crab.
4. Mr. Perfect/Lex Luger Confrontation: Jim Ross conducted a face to face confrontation between WWF World Champion Lex Luger and number one contender Mr. Perfect just six days away from their no disqualification match at the Royal Rumble. A table is set up in the middle of the ring along with two chairs. This has been set up to allow both men to get some last verbal jabs in. Luger starts off telling Perfect that everyone keeps on talking about his story. How he overcame Ric Flair and battled his way to another championship match. Luger brings Perfect back to reality that he hasn’t beaten Luger in a singles match. “We both know that at the end of the day, you can’t beat me one on one and I’ve proven that many times before.” Perfect chimed in talking about how no one believed that he would beat Ric Flair at SummerSlam and he did just that. Perfect wants Luger to think that he won’t win because he wants to shock the world one more time and win the WWF World Championship this Sunday! Luger grabs his championship and raises it right in front of Perfect’s face telling him “this is the closest you will ever get to my championship, and you are going to have to live with that.” Perfect tells Luger he better enjoy the last six days he has with that championship because the gold is going home with Mr. Perfect!
5. the Undertaker defeated Derek Newton in 2:32 following a tombstone pile driver.
6. Royal Rumble 1994 Report: Todd Pettengill promotes the Royal Rumble which is six days away.
7. Ron Simmons defeated Jerry Lawler in 8:57 following a spine buster. After the match, Crush and Yokozuna run down to ringside looking to attack Simmons. However, Randy Savage and Tatanka sprint to the ring and stand by Simmons’s side in the ring to prevent Camp Cornette from entering the ring!

Next week on RAW: The Year End Awards results will be revealed. Also, the fallout from the Royal Rumble will be an explosive one as Bret Hart will meet Crush in singles action. How will Bret Hart mental state of mind be after the Royal Rumble and will Crush have crushed the beloved Ron Simmons? Tune into RAW to see the fallout if your unable able to see the Royal Rumble live this Sunday night on pay per view!

World Wrestling Federation Madison Square Garden House Show
Date: 1/17/1994
From: New York, NY
Arena: Madison Square Garden
Attendance: 20,165
Announcers: Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan
Aired on MSG Network only

Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan welcome everyone to the broadcast. Monsoon hypes up the Royal Rumble which is only six days away. He notes that tonight we will see Mr. Perfect team with Randy Savage to take on WWF World Champion Lex Luger and Jerry Lawel! Also, Bret Hart takes on Diesel and in a Royal Rumble preview Ron Simmons takes on Crush plus much more! Heenan chimes in saying that Luger will take care of Perfect tonight and we will not have a title match at the Royal Rumble. They also mention that Undertaker vs. Bam-Bam Bigelow unsanctioned match taking place but that will not be aired on television but rather a future Coliseum Home Video release.

Opening Contest: Shawn Michaels defeated the Kamikaze Kid: These two put on quite the opening contest. Kid got in several top rope moves such as a cross body and a springboard spin kick but couldn’t put Michaels away. Michaels gained control with a gut wrench suplex and a delayed vertical suplex. Kid was able to crotch Michaels on the top rope as he tried an elbow drop to his a hurricanrana. Kid looked for a top rope moonsault but missed! As Kid got to his knees Michaels nailed him with a super kick to win the bout. (9:25, ***)

Second Contest: Owen Hart defeated IRS: This was the exact opposite to the opening contest as IRS controlled Owen with some mat wrestling to start the bout. Owen ducked under a dropkick to spin kick IRS for a near fall and began to get pick up the pace. Late in the match, Owen ducked under a clothesline to pin IRS with a crucifix pin. (6:56, *½)

Third Contest: Yokozuna defeated Tatanka: They exchanged right hands to open the bout until Yoko dropped Tatanka with a belly to belly suplex for a two count. Yoko kept control with several nerve holds and splashed Tatanka in the corner. Tatanka began to make his comeback with several over hand chops and knocked Yoko off his feet with a middle rope shoulder block. Late in the bout, Tatanka looked to hit the top rope chop but Cornette whacked him over the back with his tennis racket causing him to flip over and crash to the mat. Yoko got up and hit the Bonsai Drop to win the bout. (8:43, **)

Fourth Contest: Razor Ramon/WWF World Tag Team Champions Steiner Brothers defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion Rick Martel/Heavenly Bodies: All six men started off in the ring brawling until Ramon and the Steiner’s cleaned the heels out of the ring. Scott and Pritchard opened up the bout with Scott controlling Pritchard with his mat wrestling skill. Pritchard blocked a back drop attempt with a kick and whip lashed Scott to the mat to give the heels the advantaged. Pritchard tagged out following a swinging neck breaker and entered Martel who did some jumping jacks taunting the fans and Ramon. Martel worked on Scott’s back for a few moments by delivering a few back breakers. Scott avoided a clothesline and ended up connecting with a double under hook power bomb. Rick tagged in and cleaned house with several clotheslines. Martel crawled away and tagged in Del Ray who quickly ran into a over head belly to belly suplex. Late in the match, Ramon got tagged in and looked to hit the Razors Edge on Del Ray but Pritchard and Martel entered the ring causing the Steiner’s to enter to allow Ramon to hit the Razors Edge to give his team the win! (14:03, ***¼)
After the match, Ramon grabbed the WWF Intercontinental Championship and taunted Martel saying the gold will be his in six days!

Intermission: During the intermission, promos by Ron Simmons, Bret Hart and Lex Luger were aired. Simmons hyped up his Crush match coming up next. Hart hyped up his battle with Diesel while Luger promoted his tag match with Lawler against Perfect and Savage.

Fifth Contest: Crush defeated Ron Simmons: Simmons quickly went at Crush on the aisle way and they brawled around ringside for several moments before the bell was sounded. Crush rammed Simmons head first into the ring post and sent him shoulder first into the ring steps. Crush got into the ring believing that Simmons would be counted out. However, Simmons rolled in and shoulder tackled Crush when he turned around. Simmons nearly won with a snap power slam. Late in the match, Simmons was getting ready for another running shoulder tackle but Cornette grabbed his foot from the outside. This distracted Simmons and allowed Crush to knee Simmons in the back and put the Kona Vice on Simmons to win the match! (8:45, **¼)

Sixth Contest: Bret Hart defeated Diesel by disqualification: Diesel got the early advantage with a knee lift and quickly delivered a side slam for a two count in the early moments. Diesel worked on Hart with a bear hug and would send Hart into the ropes chest first and deliver several forearm shots. Diesel worked on Hart in the corner with knee lifts and looked for a running big boot but Hart moved out of the way causing Diesel to get his leg caught on the top rope and kicks away on Diesel’s left knee. Hart pulls Diesel out of the corner by connecting with a running bulldog for a two count. Hart continues with a side Russian leg sweep and a middle rope forearm shot. Hart tried for the Sharpshooter but Diesel kicked Hart away into a corner. Diesel gets up and choke slams Hart but isn’t able to put Hart away. Diesel signals for the Jackknife and gets Hart up but Hart punches Diesel on the head several times knocking Diesel down. Hart is able to go for the Sharpshooter and turns Diesel over. However, Shawn Michaels runs down and ends up super kicking Hart on the back of the head causing the DQ. (11:38, ***)
After the match, Diesel gets up and power bombs Hart. Michaels stands over Hart and trash talks the Hitman.

Main Event: Mr. Perfect/Randy Savage defeated WWF World Champion Lex Luger/Jerry Lawler: Perfect and Lawler kicked off the match with Perfect hammering away on Lawler in a corner. Luger tried to get a shot in from the apron but Perfect back elbowed Luger to the floor. Perfect is distracted allowing Lawler to low blow Perfect and nearly win the bout with a roll up. Lawler works on Perfect with a few standing fist drops before tagging out to Luger. Luger clotheslines Perfect a few times followed by a delayed vertical supelx for another near fall. Perfect countered a pile driver attempt with a back drop and managed to hot tag Savage. Savage forearm strikes both Luger and Lawler until Luger stops Savage as he was pummeling Lawler in the corner. Luger attempted a back suplex but Savage landed on his feet and knee lifts Luger to the floor. Luger ends up tagging out to Lawler. Late in the match, Luger grabs his championship and heads to the back leaving Lawler all alone. Savage scoop slammed Lawler and leaps off the top to hit the elbow drop for the win. (10:31, **½)
After the match, Savage and Perfect celebrate the win while Luger looks on from the aisle way raising the championship up despite the loss.

Non-Televised Main Event: The Undertaker defeated Bam-Bam Bigelow in a unsanctioned match: They exchange blows to kick off the bout until Taker gets the upper hand and ends up sending Bigelow and himself over the top to the floor with a clothesline. On the floor, Taker drops Bigelow face first over the ring steps and tossed Bigelow into the guard railing a few times. Taker looked to splashed onto Bigelow against the railing but Bigelow moved out of the way. Bigelow sends Taker shoulder first into the ring post before grabbing a chair and whacking Taker over the back a few times. Bigelow looked to pile driver Taker onto the chair but Taker blocked it and back dropped Bigelow onto the chair on the floor! Taker grabs Bigelow by the throat looking for a choke slam on the floor but Bigelow kicked Taker in the groin to break free. Bigelow plants Taker with a DDT on the floor but isn’t able to get the win. Bigelow rolled Taker into the ring and went up top looking for and hitting a diving head butt. Bigelow continued to deliver a few falling head butts before going for the pin which only got him a two count. Bigelow argued with the referee as Taker slowly sat up. Bigelow continued to deliver a few shots but they had little affect as Taker got to his feet. Bigelow appeared to back off but ended up charging towards Taker only to be met with an uppercut. Bearer slides a chair into the ring as Taker sends Bigelow back first into a corner with such force that Bigelow quickly staggers out. Taker lifts Bigelow up and sets him up for the tombstone. Taker walks over to the chair and drives Bigelow down with a tombstone on the chair for the win! (15:43, ***¼)
After the match, Taker kneeled down and celebrated his win while Bearer held the urn. Bigelow was helped to the backstage area with several referees to close the show.

WWF Superstars 1/22/1994
1. WWF World Tag Team Champions Steiner Brothers defeated Barry Horowitz/John Jackson in 3:39 when Rick pinned Jackson following a top rope bulldog.
2. Chris Benoit/Owen Hart Confrontation: Jim Ross conducted an interview with Chris Benoit who made it clear that he is disappointed with how his WWF career has started out. He believes that he hasn’t been ruthless enough and that he has been letting up. Ross brings up Owen Hart who accidentally hit Benoit with Cornette’s tennis racket. Benoit doesn’t know what Hart’s problem is because he should know that Benoit never asks for help and doesn’t need it. Owen comes out to the podium and tells Benoit that he was just having his back. Benoit doesn’t care saying that Owen didn’t do a good job by hitting him with a tennis racket. Benoit believes that Owen is threatened by him and doesn’t want Benoit to succeed in the WWF. Owen disagrees with that statement saying it was simply a mistake. Benoit notes how he tried to help the Hart’s at the Survivor Series and he gets repaid by being hit with a tennis racket. Benoit goes on to say that he is the greatest wrestler to ever come out of the Hart House and Owen knows that! Before Owen can comment back, Johnny Polo and the Quebecers come out. Polo pokes fun at them and their issues saying that he hasn’t seen a family have so many problems. Polo says that the Quebecers are people who stick together. As he says that, the Quebecers go into attack mode beating down Benoit and Owen until they battle back and both men dropkick the Quebecers off the podium causing Polo to run away. Benoit gets up and shoves Owen getting in his face while Ross tries to calm things down to end the segment.
3. Crush defeated Dom Hooper in 2:11 with the Kona Vice.
4. IRS Interview: Vince McMahon interviewed IRS regarding his attack on Jim Neidhart last week. IRS has his briefcase which has a dent due to hitting Neidhart so hard in the face. IRS tells McMahon that he had to collect what Neidhart didn’t pay to the IRS. He says that he broke Neidhart’s face and that he will continue to collect from people who don’t pay.
5. Randy Savage defeated Jeremy Jones in 3:45 following a top rope elbow drop.
6. Royal Rumble 1994 Report: Todd Pettengill promotes the Royal Rumble which is only six days away.
7 Scott Norton defeated Mabel in 3:22 in an over the top rope challenge match. After the match, Jeff Jarrett enters the ring and reacts like he just won the Super Bowl by jumping into Norton’s arms.

Next week on Superstars: Chris Benoit and Owen Hart will team up despite their apparent tension to take on the Quebecers in tag team action.

WWF Wrestling Challenge 1/23/1994
1. Razor Ramon defeated Hank Fredrick in 2:52 following the Razors Edge. During the bout, Rick Martel called in saying that later in the day Razor Ramon will not take the WWF Intercontinental Championship from him. Martel knows he is better than Ramon and he will walk out with the championship.
2. Bret Hart Interview: Vince McMahon conducted a sit down interview with Bret Hart. McMahon talks about Hart having a really rough past few months. Hart says that losing the WWF World Championship at SummerSlam was a tough pill to swallow and notes how he was never given a chance to regain the gold. He says that having wrestled Luger at the event, he believes that given the opportunity he could beat him to win back the championship and everything will fall back into place. Hart believes that the Royal Rumble is the biggest event of his life. He has to beat the loud mouth Shawn Michaels in order to get to DiBiase at WrestleMania to reclaim the home that DiBiase purchased and made his family into his personal servants. That is his main focus. However, he also can have the chance to main event WrestleMania if he wins the Royal Rumble match. He believes that he will do just that and that at WrestleMania X, he will reclaim the Hart House, reclaim the WWF World Championship and prove without a shadow of doubt that he is the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be!
3. IRS defeated Mark Starr in 2:49 following a lariat. After the match, IRS whacks Starr over the back with his briefcase.
4. Owen Hart defeated Luke Moore in 2:18 following a missile dropkick.
5. Royal Rumble 1994 Report: Todd Pettengill promotes the Royal Rumble which is only six days away.
6. Shawn Michaels/Diesel defeated the Kamikaze Kid/Marty Jannetty in 10:17 when Michaels pinned Jannetty following a super kick. After the match, Michaels cuts a brief promo with Jim Ross saying that at the Royal Rumble, he will ruin Bret Hart’s chances of reclaiming the house, championship and he will be regarded as the best ever!

Next week on Wrestling Challenge: Ludvig Borga, Doink the Clown, Ron Simmons and Tatanka will be in action. Plus, the Nasty Boys have demanded they are given interview time as they have a lot on their minds!