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DrVenkman PhD

October 92 SNME

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Basically, this show is the last relevant SNME to air, but even by this time it was off NBC and not doing so hot. The show's gimmick was that all 3 titles in the company were on the line and YOU got to see it on free TV.

 

I remember as a kid, I thought FOR SURE NO WAY IT CAN'T HAPPEN that the Ultimate Maniacs were going to win the tag team titles. For some odd reason I keep thinking they wrestled The Nasty Boys, but it must be Money Inc. You have Bret Hart taking on Papa Shango in his gravest challenge yet (I guess...) and an absolute TV classic where Shawn Michaels takes his first big step to a great singles career while the British Bulldog gets fired as a a clean-up measure (don't worry Davey, you'll be back once Vince beats The Feds in the summer of '94!).

 

I look forward to watching this when I get home from work.

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If memory serves me right, The Ultimate Maniacs wrestled the Nasty Boys on the SummerSlam Showdown special prior to SummerSlam '92. The big deal was that Warrior & Savage were set to face one another, but had been forced to team up at this show.

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If memory serves me right, The Ultimate Maniacs wrestled the Nasty Boys on the SummerSlam Showdown special prior to SummerSlam '92. The big deal was that Warrior & Savage were set to face one another, but had been forced to team up at this show.

 

This time they were willing partners against Money Inc.

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Oh god, not this show. This was without a doubt one of the most traumatizing shows I ever saw and I even KNEW it was going to happen. Bear in mind this didn't air until early Nov. 1992. I went to my first WWF show the night after this SNME and it hadn't aired yet, so I was in shock that Michaels was now the IC champ. Bulldog was far and away my favorite wrestler at this point and when I saw this match on TV I was utterly despondent. I had no idea about the steroid stuff at that point.

 

This would be the show that started a near decade long hatred of Shawn Michaels. I didn't really warm up to him again until about 2002, when the Bulldog died and Shawn made his in ring comeback.

 

Ratings note: I looked it up and this show did a 6.1 broadcast rating, which was considered crap at that time. The 2006-07 SNME shows have done between 2.2 and 2.9!

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I was about 11 at the time of this show and didn't have any idea WWE did marathon tapings that would air a month or more later. I thought that they did tapings every week and that's what we saw on Superstars and Challenge.

 

Anyways, I had some friends that went to this taping (or maybe it was the taping cabbageboy went to the day after) and told me that Shawn Michaels was now the IC champion. I couldn't wrap my 11-year-old head around that because TV was still showing the British Bulldog as the champion. Over the years I started to enjoy that match, particularly the part the exposed turnbuckle played. The exposed turnbuckle was played up like death back then and it worked very well in the context of the match.

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Yeah, Alro there was a big TV taping at Louisville Gardens in late Oct. 1992. It was literally the next day after this SNME. Michaels defended the IC title against Virgil at that taping, which was actually a pretty good match (for a Virgil match anyway). Bulldog was playing out the string before being released and he beat The Berserker. At least I got to see Bulldog beat down the Berserker since that match was pulled from WM.

 

Would you believe I saw Nailz wrestle FOUR TIMES at that TV taping? He beat the Bossman in the opener of the show (non televised) by hitting him with the nightstick. He squashed two jobbers in TV matches. And then since Flair was ailing with the ear problem Nailz came back to face the Warrior in the (non televised) main event. Warrior beat him, but good grief the dude had wrestled four times, haha. I was saddened though since I worried that I'd never get to see Flair wrestle, but did see him at some house shows in 2002-04 and of course saw Flair's retirement match in person this year at WM.

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This is the equivalent of the old "I walked a mile in a foot of snow..." stories. Yes dammit, I had to watch 4 Nailz matches at my very first wrestling show. And I loved it dammit! The world title match on that show was Bret vs. Kamala, very early in Bret's first title reign.

 

Oh and since it was maybe the last big TV taping of 1992 they had the returns of Jannetty and Backlund on that show, so there were some pretty interesting things on it. I bet there were 35 matches in total, I loved it.

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WWF @ Louisville, KY - Louisville Gardens - October 28, 1992 (4,500; sell out)

Wrestling Challenge taping:

In a segment which was only televised on USWA TV in Feb. 1993, Howard Finkel attempted to introduce Kamala but was yelled at by Harvey Whippleman, with Kamala chopping Finkel and splashing him twice; Finkel was then taken from ringside on a stretcher and twice fell off it

Nailz defeated the Big Bossman

Herman the German defeated Louie Spicolli

Jim Powers defeated Brian Lee

Razor Ramon defeated Mark Morgan

The Berzerker pinned John Paul

Papa Shango defeated Jim Powers

Jeff Jarrett defeated Rick Martel (sub. for the Mountie)

Davey Boy Smith defeated Barry Horowitz

Davey Boy Smith defeated the Berzerker

Terry Taylor defeated Jim Brunzell

Razor Ramon defeated Randy Savage via count-out

Crush defeated Kevin Krueger via submission with the head vice

Marty Jannetty defeated Spike Jones

Rick Martel defeated Gary Jackson

WWF World Champion Bret Hart pinned Kamala (w/ Harvey Wippleman & Kimchee) with a roll up at 8:50 after the challenger accidentally knocked Kimchee off the ring apron; after the bout, Wippleman & Kimchee held Hart down for Kamala to splash the champion but Hart pulled Wippleman into the splash and then clotheslined Kamala to the floor (Smack'em Whack'em)

The Ultimate Warrior pinned Nailz (sub. for Ric Flair)

Prime Time Wrestling - 11/30/92: Tatanka defeated Papa Shango via disqualification at 5:54 after Shango attempted to use his voodoo stick to shoot Tatanka in the face with

Prime Time Wrestling - 11/30/92: WWF IC Champion Shawn Michaels pinned Virgil at 7:09 with the side suplex after the challenger hit the corner knee-first (Bashed in the USA, Wrestlefest 93)

Prime Time Wrestling - 11/30/92: Yokozuna (w/ Mr. Fuji) pinned Mitch Bishop with the Bonzai Drop

Prime Time Wrestling - 12/7/92: Bob Backlund pinned Repo Man at 5:20 with a roll up into a bridge

Prime Time Wrestling - 12/14/92: Lance Cassidy pinned Skinner at 5:29 with a clothesline off the top

11/22/92 - included an opening segment showing footage from the previous Monday's Prime Time Wrestling of Randy Savage choosing Mr. Perfect to be his new partner at the Survivor Series, replacing the Ultimate Warrior, with Gene Okerlund then interviewing both men to discuss the match; featured a 'Special Report' segment focusing on new WWF IC Champion Shawn Michaels; included footage of the Undertaker and Paul Bearer in their workshop, showing the completed casket to be used for Kamala at the Survivor Series, with Okerlund then interviewing Kamala, Harvey Whippleman, and Kimchee about the match; featured the announcement High Energy vs. the Headshrinkers and Yokozuna vs. Virgil would take place at the Survivor Series:

Jerry Saggs pinned Beau Beverly (w/ the Genius) at 4:39 with the flying elbowsmash; after the bout, Saggs attacked the Genius and gave him the pit stop in the ring

The Berzerker (w/ Mr. Fuji) pinned John Paul at 2:46 after picking his opponent up and dropping him to the mat; during the bout, Doink the Clown was shown in the audience

Bob Backlund pinned Brian Costello at 2:44 with a three-quarter nelson

Nailz defeated Gary Jackson via submission at 2:25 with a choke

Tatanka pinned Tom Stone at 2:38 with the Samoan Drop

11/22/92:

Bob Backlund pinned Brian Costello at 2:44 with a three-quarter nelson

Nailz defeated Gary Jackson via submission

Tatanka defeated Tom Stone

Jerry Saggs pinned Beau Beverly (w/ the Genius) at 4:39 with the flying elbowsmash; after the bout, Saggs attacked the Genius and gave him the pit stop in the ring

11/29/92:

WWF Tag Team Champions Ted Dibiase & IRS defeated Rock Warner & George Anderson

Lance Cassidy pinned the Brooklyn Brawler at 3:08 with a clothesline off the top

Damien Demento defeated Jim Brunzell

Max Moon defeated WT Jones

Yokozuna defeated Buck Zumhoff

12/6/92:

Crush defeated Brian Costello via submission with the head vice at 2:56

The Headshrinkers defeated Dan Robbins & John Larz via submission

Virgil pinned Mike Kramer at 1:53 with a reverse Russian leg sweep

Marty Jannetty pinned Louie Spicolli at 2:51

Rick Martel defeated Gary Jackson

 

 

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I don't even remember some of that stuff, but wow I recognize a lot of those jobbers in retrospect. That was the first show I ever went to and I had a blast. The next show I saw was a 1993 house show in March and it had like 9 matches or something, I was disappointed since I had seen 35 or so!

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I don't even remember some of that stuff, but wow I recognize a lot of those jobbers in retrospect. That was the first show I ever went to and I had a blast. The next show I saw was a 1993 house show in March and it had like 9 matches or something, I was disappointed since I had seen 35 or so!

 

If that house show had Bret Hart defending against Bam Bam Bigelow, I was there, too. That was also the last WWE house show I went to until 2003.

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Yeah that was the show with Bret and Bigelow. It also had Tatanka vs. Giant Gonzalez on it. It was a memorable night for me on a couple of levels: 1. My mom, my friend, and I were sitting next to some really scary rednecks. 2. My friend Chris brought his tape of The Chronic with him and that was the first time I had heard it.

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Watching the sequence of this, I probably lied. I was the one that could have sworn the IC Title match was the last match. I'll pop in my DVD now and get to the bottom of this.

 

EDIT: I did lie. I have no reason as to why I believed the IC title match was last. Wow.

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It also had Tatanka vs. Giant Gonzalez on it.

 

Was Giant Gonzalez really working for the company three months before his debut at the Rumble?

 

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cabbageboy was referring to a house show he went to in March '93.

 

Okay. I was confused there for a moment. Nobody could keep a secret that big

 

* slightly covers mouth and giggles *

 

for that long...

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Yeah I do think I might have seen Yoko's debut at that Oct. 1992 TV taping though. Did he wrestle for the WWF before that point? I saw Gonzalez at the March 93 house show, where he lost to Tatanka by DQ.

 

As far as this SNME, I almost thought the IC match was FIRST on the show since I had forgotten the tag title match. I remembered Bret's match being last. This is actually a very good show, taking my heartbreak as a 13 year old out of the equation. The wrestling style back then was just so much crisper and entertaining to watch.

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This was a great show. I'm so glad I got a couple of it on tape still. The crowd wents nuts for the Ultimate Warrior and Shawn Michaels winning the IC title was a shock back then.

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I don't recall seeing Yokozuna until that Gardens show on Oct. 28, so was Yoko maybe just working dark matches until that point? Cause I'm pretty sure his squash match on the show I went to later aired on USA.

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I can't remember when Yoko debuted although his PPV debut would be at Survivor Series that year, beating Virgil.

 

Interesting fact about the Michaels title victory...that was only the second title change in the history of Saturday Night's Main Event. During the six-year NBC run, the only title change was Arn and Tully beating Demolition for the tag team titles.

 

Watched SNME last night. It's an interesting time capsule show. With Michaels IC title victory and Bret's World title victory a month earlier, it was really the start of the Hart/Michaels era. Savage would be phased out after Survivor Series and Flair would be gone the day after the Royal Rumble. Ramon was starting to get his push. This era of the WWF might not of had the ratings of the 80s era but the wrestling was far superior.

 

Interesting trend for the Warrior. This being his last televised match, it ends in a beatdown by the heels. His last apperance in the WWF came on Raw in 1996. He beat Owen Hart by DQ only to be beat down by the heels once more.

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