[1991-06-22-WWF-Superstars] Update: The Natural Disasters

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

A clip of an Earthquake/Nasty Boys vs Bushwhackers/Tugboat match from the previous week's Superstars. Tugboat turns on the Bushwhackers and aligns with Earthquake. I didn't remember Earthquake being so pushed in 1991, but they have put a ton of heat on him. Tugboat is now Typhoon and they are now called The Natural Disasters.

[PeteF3]

This makes for three programs for Earthquake at one time: Jake, Andre, and now the Bushwhackers. How DiBiase-esque. JIMMY HART GOT TO THE TUGBOAT, as Vince sounds like he's about to break down. No one was ever going to confuse the Disasters with the Midnight Express but this was a nice shot in the arm for a career that had gone adrift. They're still pushing a Tugboat/Hulk friendship, which is a little surprising since they hadn't interacted once since the Royal Rumble. You'd think Tugboat would have been there for Hogan when he got torched by Slaughter or Hogan would have had support for Tugboat while he was descending into JTTS-dom.

[shoe]

A tag team of monster heels. Funny that the Nasty Boys are here since this pairing is going to see the Nasty Boys phased down in the pecking order .

[flyonthewall2983]

They were slowly pushing tension between Hogan and Tugboat for some reason. Tugboat eliminated Hogan in the April SNME battle royal (a pretty good one, actually. Not sure why it didn't make the cut here) as revenge for Hogan dumping him out in the Rumble.

[Kevin Ridge]

This makes for three programs for Earthquake at one time: Jake, Andre, and now the Bushwhackers. How DiBiase-esque. got torched by Slaughter or Hogan would have had support for Tugboat while he was descending into JTTS-dom.

Eric Embry doesn't see the big deal about this. Tugboat turns on the Bushwhackers and joins up with Earthquake. Can't blame the guy after being pushed aside by pal Hogan back in 1990 when he did so much to get Hogan to come back then. He is now Typhoon.

[soup23]

I have liked WWF booking a ton in 1991 because no matter how goofy it sounded, they have made it work. The argument that Jimmy Hart got to Tugboat here didnt do it for me and it seemed like Tug turned just because. I like the Natural Disasters as a team but this was a inauspicious start.

[garretta]

Did anyone else notice how quickly Vince brushed aside any Hogan connection to this turn when Savage brought it up? He was bound and determined that Sarge was the one and only man Hogan would feud with at this time, period.

 

Actually, throwing Hogan into this mix as Andre's avenger wouldn't have been a bad idea, considering his past with everyone else involved. It would have been an official "welcome back" to the face side for Andre, a chance for Hogan to finally pin Quake once and for all to end that feud, and a fresh opponent for Hogan (Typhoon) while he waited for Flair and Taker. Instead, he gets to take on a washed-up Sarge, a fat and lazy Sheik, and Adnan, who adds nothing to that trio either verbally or physically, while Typhoon does his big-money turn on the Bushwhackers. Let's hear it for WWF creative.

 

All of that said, I've heard some good things about the Disasters as a team, so I'm looking forward to seeing them in action. Not only are they pushing Quake hard, but they're positioning the Colonel as the number one manager now that Heenan's in the booth full-time. It'll be interesting to see how he meets the challenge when he's been a total cartoon for most of his run. I hope we see just a tinge more of the Memphis Jimmy going forward, but somehow I doubt we will.