Tatanka vs. the Repo Man
We continue on through the year of 1992 as we are now on the cusp of the last PPV of the year with Survivor Series, and this year feels very different as the show currently only has one classic Survivor elimination match as there were some big feuds going in that didn’t merit those type of matches. One of the feuds going into the show was between Tatanka and Rick Martel which has been brewing since Wrestlemania, but for some reason they didn’t fight at Summerslam as Martel was put into the brief feud with Shawn Michaels and Tanaka was left out in the cold. After that show, the feud was heated back up and now they were set to face at Survivor Series though Tatanka first has to face Repo Man here as Repo Man was clearly slowing down by this point and he wasn’t even set to be at Survivor Series. So on paper, this looked like it was going to be a showcase for Tatanka though there was always a chance that the match could end up being a bit surprising.
As mentioned, the feud between Tatanka and Martel continued after Wrestlemania as on the 5/2 Superstars, Martel confronted Tatanka after a match and sprayed him in the eyes with Arrogance before taking Tatanka’s sacred eagle feathers which he would attach to his hat. The two would cut promos on each other on TV as Martel taunted Tatanka and they would also work the house shows, and Repo Man would spend the year feuding with the British Bulldog which ended on the 11/4 Superstars and then this match was announced. Again, this seemed like it was just going to be a showcase for Tatanka as he had a match at Survivor Series while Repo Man did not and we would see how the match ends up going.
Tatanka gets a good pop from the crowd while Repo Man had tepid heat as a heel, and this was an interesting match to have as the opener to the show. The two men lock up to start with Tatanka backing Repo Man into the corner and he gives a clean break, and they lock up again with Repo Man backing Tatanka into the corner and he gives a clean break as well. Repo Man gets a kick in and he pounds on Tatanka who ducks a shot and he blocks a hiptoss attempt, and he hits a hiptoss on Repo Man before hitting a pair of standing dropkicks as Repo Man rolls out to the apron to regroup. He returns to the ring and they lock up with Tatanka working on the arm as he takes Repo Man to the mat and hits a legdrop on the arm, and he continues to work the arm and he takes Repo Man to the mat again as he continues to work the arm. Repo Man fights to his feet and whips Tatanka off only for Tatanka to knock him down and he hits a sloppy high crossbody, and he hits an armdrag on Repo Man and goes back to the arm as Repo Man fights to his feet and gets a knee in. Tatanka attempts a sunset flip and avoids a shot from Repo Man as he hooks a rollup for a two count, and he goes back to the arm and takes Repo Man to the mat as he hits another legdrop onto the arm. He continues to work the arm as Repo Man backs Tatanka into the corner and gives a clean break only for Tatanka to block a shot and he pounds on Repo Man, and Repo Man reverses a whip into the other corner and Tatanka leaps to the middle rope only to miss a reverse crossbody. Repo Man stomps on Tatanka and pounds on him before working on the arm as Tatanka fights to his feet, but Repo Man yanks Tatanka to the mat by his hair and continues to work the arm as he pounds on him. Tatanka fights to his feet and pounds on Repo Man before ducking a back elbow only to miss an elbow, and Repo Man goes up to the middle rope only for Tatanka to nail him coming in and he pounds on Repo Man before knocking him down. He hits a clothesline on Repo Man and does the war dance as he hits a pair of chops and a slam on Repo Man, and Tatanka goes up top and hits a chop on Repo Man for a two count as Repo Man reverses a whip and Tatanka ducks a shot only for Repo Man to block a rollup attempt. Repo man stalks Tatanka only for Tatanka to duck a shot as he hoists Repo Man up and hits the Popoose-to-Go which gets the three and he wins the match.
The match itself was decent as both men worked hard and put on a pretty basic match for the time they got. As I mentioned, this was pretty much just a showcase for Tatanka going into Survivor Series as Repo Man was clearly not a threat on any level to hand Tatanka his first loss, and he did get some shots in though for the most part Tatanka dominated the 8 minutes. Considering that Martel was not wrestling, it was wise to have Tatanka look strong going into that match and Repo Man was a fine choice to have here to put Tatanka over. The crowd was into the match and popped for Tatanka when he won. Tatanka gets the win over Repo Man and both men move on.
Final Grade: *1/2
