(NWA) WWF Wrestling Challenge 5/26/92

[003]

WWF Wrestling Challenge 5/26/92

Taped on 22/5/92 at the Nassau Collisuem in Long Island New York

Commentators- Lord Alfred Hayes Sean Mooney and Jim Neidhart

Lord Alfred Hayes Sean Mooney and Jim Neidhart welcome everyone to the first wrestling challenge of the new generation here in WWF they talk about Bret Hart winning the WWF Title off Randy Savage and confirm an announcement will be made tomorrow on Superstars about what happens now to the IC title.
Mooney then announces that tonight will see the start of the King Of The Ring tournament which will start off as a 16 man first round which matches will take place this weekend on here and Superstars and the quater finals will happen on a Countdown to King Of The Ring which will air staight away before the King Of The Ring PPV on the Fox Network.

Mooney then says it's time to bang heads and British Bulldog music hits and the popular wresler from Manchester England makes his way to the ring.

King Of The Ring First Round Match

British Bulldog vs. Samu

Samu making his debut in the promotion here tonight he's a Samoan so this was truly an international bout here. Bulldog with the more experience in the ring though was able to dominate the match and won by hitting a running powerslam on Samu

Winner- British Bulldog by pinfall after 8:34 minutes of action
Postmatch Bulldog asks for the microphone and says that this is the start of a new generation and he aims to take the most of his chances and will win the King Of The Ring Tournament and prove that Britain produces the best wrestlers in the world.

Commercial Break

As we head back from the commercial break Brooklyn Brawler is already in the ring for the next match as the second Samoan wrestler of the evening makes his way to the ring, Howard Finkel announces his name is Fatu and he looks ready for action staring at the Brooklyn Brawler in a menacing way

King Of The Ring First Round Match

Fatu vs. Brooklyn Brawler

A Quick match here were Fatu is able to show his skills off and pins Brawler after just only 3:40 minutes of action by hitting a Samoan Drop onto Brawler

Winner- Fatu by Pinfall after 3:40 minutes of action

Postmatch the other Samoan Wrestler we saw earlier tonight Samu runs down to the ringside and join Fatu in attacking the Brawler referee Jack Doan struggles to stop the Samoans attack on Brawler until British Bulldog runs down and makes the save with the Samoan retreating through the crowd as the Bulldog checks on the Brawler

Commercial Break

As we head back from the commercial break Mean Gene Okalund is seen at WWF Event Center he reminds fans of the King Of The Ring PPV at the Boston Garden on June 24th, and that next weekend on June 2nd and June 3rd the WWF would be holding two live events in Burlington Vermont and Manchester New Hampshire he says that the WWF Champion would be at both these live events.

As we head back into the arena a unknown wrestler is standing in the ring he says his name is Razor Ramon and he likes being a bad guy the way only a Cuban can be he has come to the WWF to make a name for himself and tonight whoever I face will feel the power of Razor Ramon smacking them in the faceand he likes doing that because he's bad to the bone.

In another surprise tonight Marty Jannety makes his way down to ringside making his first apperance in the WWF in over 6 months to cheers of the fansin the arena

King Of The Ring First Round Match

Razor Ramon vs. Marty Jannety

Classic back and forth match here with Ramon trying to make his first impression on the WWF world whilst Jannety is re-introducing fans to his offence. Both men looked like they were on the verge of winning on several occasion but Ramon is able to overcome Jannety by hitting a DDT onto Jannetty after 13 minutes of action

Winner- Razor Ramon by Pinfall after 13:00 minutes of action

Postmatch Ramon spits at a fallen Jannetty lying on the ring mat as the fans boo the self proclaimed Bad Guy.

Commercial Break

Coming back from the commercial break Sean Mooney reminds fans that the final four first round King Of The Ring Matches happen tomorrow on Superstars and that Jack Tunney will address the IC title situation now that Bret Hart is the WWF Champion

King Of The Ring First Round MATCH

Marc Mero vs. Phil LaFon

Both guys making their WWF debuts in this match not much is known about both guys but the gentleman named Mero was able to gain and hold the upper hand for most of the match and won by hitting a moonsault off the top rope on to a prone LaFon in the middle of the ring.

Winner- Marc Mero after 6:23 minutes of action

Wrestling Challenge goes off the air as Marc Mero is standing tall in the ring knowing that he's now advances to final eight of the King Of The Ring Tournament which will air on a countdown special straight before the PPV on Fox.

[Deleted]

This wasn't very good. Quick read, although there's nothing wrong with that per say, but the format just didn't work for me over all. The use of Johnny B. Badd as Marc Mero is rather shocking. When Vince signed Mero in 1995/'96 he was under the impression he was getting the Johnny B. Badd character, but when he found out that Turner owned it he was greatly disappointed. This is the only reason why the Johnny B. Badd character ended in WCW. Here in the fantasy world we don't have to worry about who owns the rights to what, and the JBB character would fit PERFECTLY here in the WWF.

If LaFon is only enhancement that's a shame, his team with Furnas was top notch IRL. Easily one of my all time favorite teams.

Gene OKERLUND not Okalund BTW.

Razor winning with a DDT? What's the deal with that? At this point Hall had firmly established the Razor's Edge not just in the WWF but prior to his arrival in WCW as the Diamond Studd (Diamond Death Drop).

When is the KOTR happening BTW? And it's airing on a countdown special as opposed to PPV I'm confused.

You're taking on quite a lot with two TV shows, PPVs, multiple house shows, I will say that.

The Good? I didn't see any here to be honest, I've seen your work elsewhere and you're far better than this. Perhaps it's BECAUSE your taking on so much here? Perhaps your rushing these shows to get to the next shows? I don't know but I expected a lot more from the WWF that's for sure.

[003]

Okay the King Of The Ring PPV will be held on June 24th with the qauter final matches airing on a countdown special on Fox before the PPV and the semi final and final airing live on the PPV.

The reason I went with Marc Mero over Johnny B Badd is purely down to the fact I want to establish the Bad Guy nickname for Razor Ramon and did not want two guys using similar names/nicknames on the roster.

Reworking my format is on my to do list from my WCFL days and hopefully once I get the ground work out establishing the WWF out of the way I will move onto reworking the format.

You may be more happy soon with what I do will LaFon but that I can say about that for now

I can't really disagree with anything your saying Drew all I can say is that I really hate writing the first few shows of any promotion I take on I really feel it takes me a while to get into the swing of writing.

[Chief]

Nothing particularly BAD about this show but also nothing noteworthy.

Besides the KOTR Tournament, I didn't really see anything happen or get developed. IF this is your 'B' show, it might've been better for us if you started with your 'A' show.

I do like the International feel you are trying to convey. I think Ramon/Jannetty would've made a much better main event then Mero/LaFon.

I don't mind Mero being Mero but if he was Johnny B. Badd, there would be a ready made feud there with Razor Ramon over who is the true Bad Guy in the WWF.

I think an appearance by Bret Hart would've strengthened this show. Again I'm saying this as a first time viewer.

I do like the hook to watch Superstars to find out what's happening with the Intercontinental Title. Maybe it'll go to the KOTR winner?

Also, you never specified what the KOTR winner wins and you've never given us a reason as to why we should get emotionally invested into it. Since it didn't debut until 1993 to the masses, there is a little bit of info lost on the viewers.

Bulldog vs. Samu was a really fun little stiff match. I really enjoyed it. However I am not salivating over the thought of the Samoans vs. Bulldog and Brawler.

I agree with Drew that Ramon should've used the Razors Edge here. This is his debut and that move would have gotten him over huge. It's nasty and it looks awesome.

One last note about the Mero/Badd situation - Being flamboyant Johnny B. Badd gives Mero an already made character, gives him an already made personality. Marc Mero being himself is a hard sell because he's kind've boring. Now you could give him the JBB gimmick just under the Marc Mero name. "Marvelous" Marc Mero would work. Just a thought.

An ok show. I just want you to give me something more. Give me something to get excited about with Superstars.

[appstorm]

I look forward to your plans for LaFon. Good win by The Bulldog but no stuff with The Brawler please. Fatu and Ramon will do well in the tourney. Looking forward to see how your WWF stamp progresses.

[cdw]

Good show, I liked all the matches. I would of liked to see Bret Hart though. Good first show.

[Grape Ape]

Please give us Johnny B.!

I didn't have a real problem with the overall show though I feel I came in on the middle of something with the King of Ring tournament without any explanation and if this was your secondary show, why not spice it up with info on your secondary title?

If you're doing a ton of shows, don't burn yourself out.

[wrestlingsickness]

THE GOOD

Love your choice of commentary team here! While a Gene Okerlund hosted Event Center will take some getting used to, I always felt that Sean Mooney and Lord Alfred Hayes were an underrated announcing duo, and throwing in Jim Neidhart as the third wheel immediately took me back to the 1991 Challenge shows of my youth. It’s different, but it works!

I’m a big fan of your WWF backstory, with Bret Hart winning the Heavyweight Title while still IC Champ a la WMVI. Becoming a double title holder like that, on top of beating one of the all time greats in Randy Savage, really sells the Hitman as a more than credible champion. You’ve honestly got me wondering what you’re going to do to crown a new IC Champ, since the ongoing KOTR stuff will make next to impossible to have another tournament go on simultaneously. We’ll have to wait until Superstars to find out for sure, but knowing Jack Tunney’s track record for official rulings he’ll probably award the title to Hulk Hogan “after careful consideration.”

The KOTR is the perfect vehicle to show off the talents of Davey Boy Smith! 1992 is his breakout year as a singles competitor, and a tournament like this is just the way for him to show off his ability and cement him as a star. The British Bulldog has to be considered one of the top seeds in this tourney, and with the proper booking he could easily win the whole thing and become a superstar!

THE BAD

I have to agree with Drew. The format of this show was very hard to follow. The lack of paragraph breaks, the frequent misspellings, and the run on sentences were all over the place and made what should have been a quick and easy read very time consuming.

Having the SST wrestle in back to back singles matches was a bad call. You would have been much better off putting another KOTR match between Samu and Fatu’s match or even saving Fatu’s tourney match for Superstars. Having two SST matches in a row wore out their welcome for me, and Bulldog being able to chase off both Samoans singlehandedly made what should be one of your top heel tag teams look extremely weak.

Speaking of Davey Boy, as much as I loved what you did with him, his post match promo praising the superiority of the British wrestler probably would have garnered a heel reaction from your New York audience. It kind of reminded me of how the Thrillseekers debuted in SMW by putting over their Canadian heritage, which is the exact opposite way to get fan support in Kentucky. If you want Bulldog to be a face, just remember...faces don’t brag.

Marc Mero/Phil Lafon should not have been the Main Event. Both men were making their WWF debuts here, and as such they have no marquee value to the fans watching at home. Razor/Jannetty would have been the better choice, since Marty was making his big return and Razor was at least making a hyped debut. Plus a thirteen minute match makes for a better Main Event than a six and a half minute match. One match isn’t enough to judge whether Lafon will end up a preliminary wrestler, so his single loss here didn’t worry me much. What did worry me was that you had Mero busting out a moonsault when he won’t be using high flying moves in his repertoire for at least a few more years. In 1992, Mero was just wrapping up his rookie year and was using a freaking punch for a finisher (“I’ll knock you on your booty with the Tootie Fruity!”). That’s how limited his moveset was at this point. Am I saying you should have him knocking out people with one punch? No, but you shouldn’t have him doing TKO’s and Shooting Stars, either.

THE WHY

Why would you want to throw away Razor Ramon/Marty Jannetty in the first round of KOTR? With these guys ability and name value, this could have easily taken place in the semi-final or even final round with the proper build up. Save the great in ring/marquee matches for when you’ll need them, on the PPV portion of the tournament.

While we’re on the subject, why is KOTR airing on PPV in the first place? Shouldn’t PPVs be reserved for league wide events? I could have sworn that territories putting on their own independent PPVs was one of the arguments that led to the formation of this board in the first place. KOTR could just as easily take place on one of the quarterly three hour Prime Time Wrestling episodes (or Raw, since you cancelled PTW), or an NBC special like SNME or the Main Event. Airing this on PPV seems absolutely unnecessary.

With all of the hype Bret Hart’s Heavyweight Title victory received throughout the show, why didn’t we get to see an interview from the new champion?

SOME SUGGESTIONS

Try writing your shows on a Word Document first, then copy and paste it onto the Board. The spelling and grammar checks should catch most of your mistakes. And while you’re at it, take your time before posting your finished product. Save your document and proof read it a day or two later. With your show out of mind, you’ll be going back to it fresh and that will make some of your mistakes easier to notice. I get the feeling that most of the format issues were a result of you rushing to try to get a show up and submitting your very first draft. To that I say, don’t worry about posting it fast. Worry about posting it right.

Go read my review of Mr. Impact’s first WCW Saturday Night show, specifically where it pertains to budgeting time for a television broadcast. Your schedule breakdown is exactly like his, with four segments and three commercials, and that’s just not enough to fill a one hour program. Everything I said there in that regard pertains to your format as well, so give it a read when you have the time.

IN CLOSING

There were a few bright spots on this edition of Challenge, but it was overshadowed by a whole lot of bad stuff. Unlike Mr. Impact’s WCW, I didn’t feel any sense of excitement or enthusiasm from your writing. It felt very paint by numbers and lacked any real emotion, and that only served to make a bad show even worse. Since this is merely one of your syndicated shows and we still have Superstars, Raw, house shows, and PPVs to look forward, I’m willing to let this subpar effort slide in the hopes that you’ll bring your A-game to your A-shows. But if this is the best work you can possibly give us, then you really need to step up your game...and soon.

[somethingsavage]

I'm pretty much just posting to say I read the show. ALL my criticisms & comments were already touched on by Drew, Ape, Chief, and Sickness. The only issue I was going to bring up was the weakness of the promos & interviews. That makes your WWF a hard sell for me, because it's a land of over-the-top gimmicks and characters. The backbone & strength of your booking strategy should hinge on that stuff.

Bulldog talking about how British wrestlers are superior? In New York? Yuck. You practically turned your baby face worker heel right there, bub. Razor Ramon sounded entirely out of character. His dialogue went from being actual spoken words to narration & back again. A few times, I believe. It was just all over the place. A total mess to read & comprehend.

Give us Johnny B. Badd, or at least that type of presentation with Mero. He's a mighty colorful character that could & should thrive in the WWF environment. The landscape here is custom-made for acts like that. Plus, as already mentioned, it lends you a ready-made rivalry between Ramon and Mero. Why pass on that kind of freebie?

Give us the Razor's Edge over the DDT. Give us the Shooting Star Press over the DDT. And yeah. Marty/Razor should have gone on as the main event. I know all these things were already mentioned, but I'm just briefly tossing my thoughts out there as well.

I can understand if you're holding off on some things - like the debut for those meaningful & significant finishers that I just referenced - but you're also rushing a lot of things. The King of the Ring would benefit greatly from a more thorough explanation. What's the prize?

Bret Hart should have been given a stage or platform of some sort here. Just having him show up on the stage for an interview would have felt like a big moment, coming right off his milestone title win. Heck, at the very least, you could have advertised his appearance on the next episode of TV or whatever. ANYTHING, really. Instead, you spent a bit too much time promoting Tunney's announcement & other stuff.

But really. What's more likely to draw viewers? Promotion & hype the Hitman? Or Jack Tunney? Simple stuff, but it's being overlooked here - early & often. You're better than this, man. I genuinely hope you embrace the criticism, take it all in, absorb it, and make a rebound. You're definitely capable of it.

[Chief]

Just something I wanted to mention about Bret Hart not being on the show.

Hulk Hogan could get away with pretty much never wrestling or appearing live on the weekend shows because of his charisma and how the WWF presented him. They could throw him out on a pre-taped interview and his charisma and look and the shit about Hulkamania and the largest pythons in the world and say your prayers and that would get him over.

Bret Hart, on the other hand, can't be presented like that. His interviews aren't to that point and his look isn't enough to get by. His ring work is fantastic and he IS one of the best wrestlers in the world right now. You can afford to throw him on TV 2-3 times a month and let his ring work speak for him. Let that show why he is WWF Champion and why he is one of the best in the world. And for that matter, why this WWF is different from the Hogan WWF.

Just my two cents.