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WWF @ Barcelona, Spain - April 24, 1993

by Scrooge McSuck

- The WWF's European Spring Tour of 1993 rages on! We've had stops in Paris, France on April 8th, courtesy of Canal+, Sheffield, England on April 11th courtesy SKY Sports (and Coliseum Video), and Milan, Italy on April 25th courtesy Tele+2. You'd think after three shows with mostly the same lineup, it would become a tired subject. HA! You don't know me, do you?!

- Presented on Tele5 from the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, with Hector Del Mar and Jose Luis (not Rivera) Ibanez calling the action (I'm assuming). Two matches that were featured for the live crowd but not featured on the actual telecast were the Undertaker defeating Yokozuna by Disqualification, and the Bushwhackers going over the Beverly Brothers in what was most certainly a five-star classic.

Virgil vs. “Terrific” Terry Taylor:

What a terrific choice for an opening match… that was sarcasm. Seriously, digging up Virgil and Terry Taylor to pad out the show? I don’t think either appeared on any of the other European Rampage (TV) shows. Taylor doesn’t even get a ring entrance. Poor guy. Lockup and Taylor with an arm drag. Virgil blocks another, takes Taylor over with his own, and sends the former Rooster out of the ring following a pair of dropkicks. Taylor goes for a handful of hair… and I don’t need to go any further with that. Taylor tries to punk Virgil out, then teases taking a walk. Virgil continues to control, primarily with headlocks. Whip to the ropes and Virgil with a body press for two. Taylor uses the tights to throw Virgil to the floor to finally get some offense in. Back inside, Taylor with a jaw buster and atomic drop for two. Barcelona, we have a chinlock. Virgil with a sunset flip, but Taylor remains in control. Virgil escapes another chinlock, but gets caught in a sleeper hold. Virgil’s rally pose is quite the comical site. It’s like he’s doing a poor man’s Undertaker “rise the urn” pose. Virgil with a flurry of rights and an atomic drop. Taylor meets the turnbuckle 10-times. That’s a spot that is missed. Virgil with his crummy side Russian leg sweep for two. Virgil with a second rope clothesline for two. Taylor misses a charge and Virgil takes him over with a crucifix for three at 12:31. *1/2 Taylor did his best to work the crowd, but the actual wrestling left a bit to be desired.

- Tatanka cuts a promo sucking up to the local fans.

Tatanka vs. Papa Shango:

Please be short, please be short… Tatanka was still undefeated, except for those handful of double count-out and Disqualification finishes he tended to do. Lockup into the corner and Shango with a sucker punch. He unloads with blows to the midsection, but Tatanka quickly turns it around and dishes out a series of chops. Whip to the corner and Tatanka follows in with a clothesline. Shango meets boot on a charge, and Tatanka sends him to the floor following three clotheslines. Shango wants a test of strength, then to the shock of nobody, boots Tatanka in the midsection. Shango with a slam, but a jumping elbow drop misses. Tatanka with a slam, but a dive from the top rope is interrupted with another blow to the midsection. Tatanka rallies, and they somehow blow a spot with Shango throwing him over the top rope. Tatanka pulls him out as well and keeps throwing chops. Back inside, Shango catches him off the ropes with a side slam for two. He sends Tatanka to the buckle, but its War Dance time! He lays into Shango with more chops and takes him down with a back drop for a two count. Whip is reversed and Tatanka rolls him up for three at 6:36. ¾* It was short and had a clean finish. That’s about it for the positives.

- Money Inc. are backstage to declare that the Steiner Brothers have no chance in beating them for the WWF Tag Team Championship.

WWF Tag Team Championship Match:
Money Inc. © vs. The Steiner Brothers:

(Ted Dibiase & I.R.S. vs. Rick & Scott Steiner)
This has a chance to be good. I’m sure I recapped this on the Coliseum Video “Global Warfare”, but let’s get a fresh perspective on it here. We join the match surprisingly in progress (damn commercial breaks!), with Scott Steiner coming off the ropes with a shoulder tackle. Dibiase with a knee to the midsection, I.R.S. tags in, and instantly misses an elbow drop. Rick tags in, and goes to work on the arm. Scott back in, and I.R.S. sends him to the buckle. Whip to the ropes and Irwin decides to take a breather. Scott gives chase and catches him by the tie. He hangs Irwin across the top rope, and covers for a delayed two count. Whip to the ropes, and this time Dibiase trips him up. I.R.S. with a knee, sending Scotty to the floor, where Dibiase greets him with introductions to the post and steel barrier. Dibiase with a double axehandle and jumping stomp to the face for two. Dibiase with choking and I.R.S. throws some cheap shots behind the back of the referee. Whip to the ropes and Dibiase with a clothesline for two. Scott sells a chinlock like he’s being murdered. He uses his own leverage to slam Dibiase’s face into the turnbuckle and break the hold. Rick with the hot tag, unloading with rights and lefts. He hits both opponents with clotheslines, plants Dibiase with a slam, and Scott knocks I.R.S. down with a dropkick. They try double teaming Rick, but Scott comes in with a clothesline from the second rope, and Rick covers for two. Whip is reversed, and Rick counters a leap frog with a powerslam. Scott with the Frankensteiner, but I.R.S. breaks the count with a tag belt shot, and it’s a cheap Disqualification at 6:02. **¾ Non-stop action, but the cheap finish was to be expected. Fun little tidbit: the Coliseum Video version shows the entire match… including the commercial break where the camera cuts to the crowd, away from the action, since nobody watching on TV was going to see it anyway. The commentary team of J.R., Bobby Heenan, and Randy Savage decided to rip on the camera work because of this, because reasons.

- Bam Bam Bigelow interview, threatening to put a hurtin’ on the former WWF Champion, Bret “Hitman” Hart.

“El Matador” Tito Santana vs. Doink (The Clown):

Oh no, they’re in Barcelona and now Santana’s a Matador. I don’t like the chances of the undefeated Doink. Remember, Santana pinned the UNDERTAKER when they did a show in Barcelona (FOR TV) back in the Fall of 1991. The crowd seems into Santana unlike anyone else so far on this show. Doink offers a handshake, but Santana doesn’t trust the sincerity. They tease a lockup, but Doink decides to continue taunting the crowd. Doink with an axehandle to the back of the head. Whip to the ropes, Santana ducks a clothesline and connects with a dropkick. Doink tries hiding behind the referee to little luck. Santana with a headlock and shoulder tackle. Whip to the corner, Santana avoids a charge, and comes off the ropes with a clothesline. Santana with rights, an atomic drop, inverted atomic drop, and dropkick. Whip to the ropes, fist to the midsection, and the El Paso del Muerte finishes at 2:54! WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?! Tito Santana squashed Doink! Before it was the popular thing to do! ½* Not much of a match, but if you’re booked to face Tito Santana in Barcelona, you might as well bet against yourself.

Bret “Hitman” Hart vs. Bam Bam Bigelow:

Main Event of the evening. This was recycled for the Global Warfare cassette, as well as the first Bret Hart DVD released in 2005. Again, a fresh perspective for this one since I don’t remember the last time I watched it. Lockup, and Bigelow easily throws Bret aside. Bret grabs a headlock, but gets rattled with a hard shoulder tackle. Whip to the ropes, Bret ducks under a clothesline and connects with a dropkick. Bam Bam tries springing off the ropes to drop an elbow, but Bret rolls away and goes to work on the left arm. Bigelow rakes the eyes to escape and pounds away. Bret ducks under another clothesline and lands on top of Bigelow while attempting a press slam. Bret with more rights, followed by a diving elbow, sending Bam Bam to the floor. Bret tries a dive off the apron, but Bigelow catches him and rams the back into the post. Bigelow takes a breather before doing again, probably for fun. Bret teases a comeback, but takes a hard bump to the corner. Bigelow pounds on the back before grabbing a bear-hug. Bret slips out of the pressure, so Bigelow takes him down with a back suplex for a near fall. Bigelow with head-butts to the back. He lifts Bret up into an over-the-shoulder back breaker, but Bret slips free and counters with a back suplex of his own. Bigelow remains in control, connecting with a double under-hook into a back breaker. He heads to the top rope, but misses the diving head-butt. Bret with a flurry of rights and boots. Russian leg sweep gets two. Second rope clothesline (knocking Bigelow into a half-spin) gets two. Bulldog from the second rope connects, but a Sharpshooter attempt is easily kicked off. Bret hits the ropes and jumps into another bear-hug. He bites his way out and goes for the back suplex, but Bigelow shifts momentum and lands on top for a two count. Whip to the corner, Bret gets a boot up, and the victory roll gets the three count at 11:56. ***1/2 Satisfying main event with (mostly) non-stop action, smooth transitions, and a hot finishing sequence.

Final Thoughts: Only a five match card, and two of the matches delivered decent entertainment. I’m sure, had the broadcast been extended by half an hour to include the other matches, I’d be much more negative, based on prior results. As it is… it’s a fun waste of about an hour, excluding the commercial breaks (think a run-time like Saturday Night’s Main Event). Impossible to find, but the two best matches are featured on American releases, and can be found for cheap on various retail websites. If you’re THAT interested in seeing Virgil vs. Terry Taylor or El Matador pinning the undefeated Doink, then google search and hope for the best, because it’s not the easiest show to find.

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