- Live From Madison Square Garden in New York City, taped on April 25th, 1988, a few weeks removed from Wrestlemania IV. Once again, Gorilla Monsoon & Lord Alfred Hayes are on commentary duties and we quickly go into our first match of the evening.
- Brady Boone vs. Steve Lombardi:
Well this is definitely a weird opening match for Madison Square Garden. First time I've ever seen Pre-Brooklyn Brawler Lombardi. Lockup and Lombardi with a scoop slam. Monsoon mentions Pat Patterson has been "helping" Lombardi out. I hope everyone knows the story so I don't have to tell it myself. Lockup into the ropes and Lombardi with a series of shoulder thrusts to the midsection followed by forearms to the side of the face. Irish whip is reversed and Boone with an arm drag followed by a back drop, sending Lombardi outside the ring. Boone with a drop toe hold and he applies an armbar then turns it into a wristlock. Irish whip and Lombardi with a slam, but he misses an elbow drop. Boone with an arm drag and he goes back to the armbar. Lombardi reverses into a hammerlock, but Boone turns it into his own. Arm drag by Boone and he crucifix pins Lombardi for two. Boone works the arm and drops a leg across the extended elbow. More reversals and Boone leg trips Lombardi and works the wristlock some more. Lombardi works Boone over in the ropes and presses Boone up into the air. Lombardi with a clothesline sends Boone spilling over the top rope to the floor. Boone spends some time outside before being sling shot back inside. Lombardi chokes with his foot and does...nothing much else. Lombardi with a back breaker gets a two count. Small Package by Lombardi gets another two count, and he applies a reverse chinlock. This lasts long enough that I can type up the introduction sentence or two to put before the match. Boone fights free and slams Lombardi. Boone off the ropes and he splashes the knees of Lombardi, so he gets choked down s'more. Boone tries another come back with a victory roll type hold, but it only gets two. Both men trade blows in the corner until Lombardi rakes the eyes. Irish whip to the corner and Boone misses something on a charge and is dumped outside again. Back inside and Lombardi with a clothesline for a two count. Boone reverses a suplex with one of his own and both men are down. Off the ropes goes Boone and he connects with a forearm to the face. Spinning heel kick followed by running knee lift by Boone. Irish whip is reversed and Boone connects with a diving elbow. Boone pounds on Lombardi in the corner and rams him into the buckle ten times. Boone connects with a Dynamite Kid snap suplex and heads upstairs, but Lombardi suplexes him off. This match WON'T END! Irish whip to the corner and Boone gets the boot in Lombardis face. Boone goes upstairs again and goes for a moonsault, but Lombardi moves. A lock of missed charges and Boone with a german suplex for the pinfall at 14:56. * Way too long and boring to warrant a good rating. I don't see the point of giving two Jobbers 15 minutes, especially when neither was getting any form of push yet. (Boone got a little push earlier with Billy Jack Haynes, but that ended and Lombardi didn't become the Brawler for another year).
- Arm Wrestling Match:
Ken Patera vs. Dino Bravo:
Goody Goody Gumdrops. Ken Patera by now is a JTTS, and Dino Bravo is actually getting a slight push, but nothing major. Looks like Frenchy Martin isn't here. If you couldn't have gussed, Dino plays the delay game, breaking grips before the arm wrestling begins. Bravo should naturally win since Patera has almost no muscle while Bravo is roided up like he's Davey Boy Smith in 1991. If you couldn't guess whats next, the babyface wins, so Bravo complains Patera cheated so we get a second go. Patera ends up getting his ass handed to him and Bravo smalls him with the table. This piece of crap lasted about 10 minutes, which is really a waste of time. I'd rather see a match between the two, believe it or not. Obviously I don't rate Arm Wrestling contests, otherwise I'd be into another sport. Dino Bravo is announced as the winner because this was suppose to lead to an ACTUAL match, but Patera had to forfeit.
- Bret "Hitman" Hart vs. Bad News Brown:
This has a good chance to be entertaining, considering these two's history dating back to Stampede Wrestling. This is stemming off of the Wrestlemania IV Battle Royale, where Brown and Hart formed a pact to win, but Brown double crossed the Hitman (insert Montreal joke here) and dumped him out to win. Bret then destroyed Browns trophy, turning face in the process. This is the first of aborted singles pushes for the Hitman, and everyone knew Brown was going over because he was being pushed into the upper-midcard/main events by the summer. Brown attacks Hart before the bell with hard rights to the back of the head. Irish whip and Brown with an arm drag and some posing. Irish whip and Bret reverses with his own arm drag followed by a scoop slam. Irish whip and Hart with a back elbow sends Brown out, who teases leaving the ringside area. Brown catches Bret with a heel kick in the corner and rams Hart hard into the buckle. Irish whip to the corner and Bret comes out with a rake of the eyes and a series of roundhouse rights. Bret with an arm drag followed by a scoop slam and elbow drop. Brown charges and Bret dumps him over the top rope to the floor, where Brown again teases leaving. Bret with a sling shot back in on Brown and Brown wants a truce. Bret doesn't fall for it an scores with an atomic drop and a series of european uppercuts in the corner. Irish whip to the corner and Brown boots Bret hard in the face. Brown goes up top, but Bret recovers to slam BNB off. Bret with a stomp to the midsection followed by an inverted atomic drop. Bret with a leg drop and comes off the second rope with a forearm to the chest. Bret rakes the eyes of Bad News and goes for a back breaker but Brown thumbs him in the eye. Brown charges out of the corner with a stiff clothesline and connects with an elbow drop. Brown hammers on Hart with a series of rights and drops a knee across the throat. Brown chokes Hart on the top rope and sling shots him back to the center of the ring. Brown with a scoop slam followed by a running fist drop and some choking. Brown drags Hart to the edge of the apron and drops an elbow across the chest. Back outside the ring and Brown with a scoop slam onto the floor followed by ramming the back of Hart into the steel post. On the apron and Brown with forearms across the chest of Hart, who tumbles back into the ring. Irish whip to the corner and Bret takes it chest first hard. Irish whip to the corner is reversed and Brown takes the chest first bump. Bret to the second rope and comes off missing an elbow drop. Brown drives a fist to the chest of Hart several times and connects with a knife edge chop off an irish whip. Brown with a leg drop gets a two count for the first pin attempt of the match. Brown rakes the eyes of Hart and puts him down with a series of headbutts which gets a two count. Brown with a scoop slam and he jives to the corner and comes off the second rope missing a swan dive headbutt. I love camera angles where you don't know they miss until the person lands. Bret with a series of rights to the back of the head followed by a back drop. Bret with mounted punches on the fallen brown and connects with an elbow drop. Bret with a side back breaker for a two count. Bret throws Brown outside through the ropes and comes off the apron with a forearm to the back of the neck. Scoop slam by Hart on the outside and it appears he's having a bad hair day. Brown struggles to get back inside so Bret helps by connecting with a suplex from the apron to the middle of the ring. Hart with an elbow drop and he covers for a hot two count. Bret with a standing dropkick and stomps the midsection of Brown. Snapmare by Hart and he misses a snap elbow drop. Brown now in cotrol with roundhouse rights. Irish whip is reversed and Bret connects with a monkey flip for two. Irish whip and Hart with a boot to the midsection. Brawling in the ropes and Brown dumps Hart over and out of the ring. Brown tries a piledriver outside but Bret back drops free of it. Back into the ring they go and Hart connects with a jumping piledriver for two. The referee didn't count for some reason, and we get a Time Limit Draw at 18:35?! Bret doesn't care and bitch slaps Browns bald head like it was a hooker who owed him money. If not for the really crappy finish, I would've gone 4-star, but I'll settle for ***3/4. VERY VERY good, entertaining, with non stop action and ZERO REST HOLDS! These two really mesh well, and they were able to put on a good match that the crowd cared for. But that finish just sucked major ass.
- Bam Bam Bigelow vs. One Man Gang:
A Wrestlemania IV rematch, and boy did that match suck, with a horrible finish where Bigelow was counted out on THE APRON. Thats never a count-out, but for some reason it was. No managers for some reason are at ringside. Bigelow does some tumbling to avoid the fat of the Gang. My, we go froma 4-star potential match to THIS. Lockup in the corner and the fat man circle jerk around the ropes. Bigelow with a standing side headlock, and we get a shoulder block budging no one. Bigelow with another shoulder block and Bigelow connects with a series of headbutts to the side of the torso of Gang. Wristlock by Bigelow takes Gang down and drops a leg across the arm and applies an arm stretcher. This is already better than the WM IV Match. This hold lasts FOREVER, thus taking away the last comment IO made. Bigelow with a series of diving headbutts to the elbow of Gang and applies an armbar. Irish whip and Bigelow tries a sunset flip, but Gang is too fat and squashes Bigelow like a doughnut. Gang boots Bigelow in the head and chokes him on the bottom rope. Gang with some squashing in the corner to Bam Bam and this match past being good. Bigelow fights back with rights but Bigelow eats a thumb to the eye and the Gang chokes him in the corner. Irish whip and Gang connects with a clothesline. Vulcan nerve hold by Gang stalls for some time, and we some close ups of Gang making ugly faces but just straining. Bigelow with a series of elbows to the midsection and the two trade blows. Irish whip is reversed but Bigelow boots Gang in the face and nails a diving clothesline. Bigelow puts Gang down with a shoulder block, but goes to the well too many times and spills to the floor. Bigelow comes back by ramming Gangs head into the buckle like 40 times and we get a DISQUALIFICATION at 9:09 because Bigelow kept ramming Gang into the buckle. ARE THESE TWO ALLERGIC TO REALISTIC FINISHES?! Afterwards we get fat man cat fight. 1/2* Blech, started good but just dragged on and on and had a retarded finish....the SECOND in two shows between these guys. Afterwards Bigelow slams Gang and does some cartwheels.
WWF-World Championship Match:
"Macho Man" Randy Savage (w/ Elizabeth) (c) vs. "Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase (w/ Virgil):
Well this can erase the bad taste of the last match from my mouth, but WHY is the World Title Match in the middle of the show? No, they didn't have a title change since Dibiase never was a recognized World Champion. We finally get to see some managers. Save goes after Virgil when the match starts so Dibiase comes off the apron with a double axe-handle and hammers away at Savage on the outside. Dibiase rams Savage's face into the apron, so Savage returns the favor by sending Dibiase into the ring post. Savage rams Dibiase into the ring apron this time and they finally go inside the ring. Savage catches a boot from Dibiase and connects with an atomic drop, sending Dibiase over the top rope. Savage to the top rope, but Virgil is blocking the path to Dibiase. Savage drags Dibiase onto the apron and jerks his arm across the top rope. Savage heads back outside and rams the elbow of Dibiase into the steel post and tosses the M$M back inside. Stomp in the corner by Savage and he applies a wristlock. Irish whip and Savage with a shoulder block followed by a running elbow to the head and goes back to the wristlock. Dibiase rams Savage into the buckle and whips him across the ring but ends up hitting nothing but buckle on a charge. Savage stomps away at Dibiase and chokes him in the corner. Dibiase is able to use the tights for leverage, sending Savage out of the ring. Dibiase rams Savage into the security rail and tosses him back into the ring. Dibiase to the second rope and he connects with an elbow to the top of the head for a two count. Choking by Dibiase and he introduces Savage to the buckle. Irish whip and Dibiase connects with a clothesline for two. Savage mounts a comeback and connects with an elbow to the head but Dibiase boots him to the midsection and connects with a suplex for two. Savage is on his feet and applies a small package for two of his own. Dibiase stomps away at Savage and chokes ihm under the middle rope. Irish whip is reversed and Dibiase goes for a sunset flip, but Savage blocks and punches him in the face. Dibiase with a weak kick drops Savage and he tries another suplex, but Savage blocks and connects with his own. Dibiase comes off the second rope and connects with an elbow to the back of the head. Snapmare and Dibiase applies a reverse chinlock. Savage battles back to his feet but Dibiase takes him down with a yan of the hair. Savage is up again and rams Dibiase into the buckle to break the hold. Dibiase with a scoop slam and he goes to the second rope, and obviously misses the reverse elbow drop. Savage rams Dibiase to the buckle and whips him across the ring, connecting with a back elbow. Savage hot shots Dibiae across the top rope and goes to the top rope and connects with a double axe-handle. Savage misses a charge and we get a referee bump. Savage with a clothesline and he goes upstairs again but Virgil takes out the knee of Savage, causing him to spill onto the floor. Savage is out cold and is counted-out at 11:59, giving Dibiase the win, but obviously not the title. **3/4 Not as good as I anticipated, but still an enjoyable match with a hot crowd, unlike the WM IV Match. Savage chases off the bad guys with a chair, who thought they...er...Dibiase won the World Title. For some reason Savage celebrates keeping the title, despite losing the match. Only in Wrestling...
- Jose-Luis Rivera vs. Barry Horowitz:
I can't help but chuckle whenever Finkel announces Rivera. Rivera would go on to be a member of Los Conquistadors along with Jose Estrada Jr., but don't know if he became a member of The Shadows. Barry Horowitz would not win a match until 1995 apparently, but I think that's farfetch'd considering he's fighting a fellow jobber. Lockup and we have a jobber break. Horowitz with an irish whip but's reversed and Rivera with a back drop. Irish whip is reversed to the corner and Rivera with a series of arm drags and he applies a wristlock. Lockup and Rivera with a wristlock and turns it into a hammerlock. Irish whip and Rivera with another series of arm drags and applies an armbar. Irish whip again and Rivera with a dropkick followed by an arm drag into an armbar. Shit happens and Horowitz takes control by stomping Rivera in the head. Horowitz with a european uppercut and he rams Rivera into the buckle. Really boring match, so excuse me being lazy, since I don't like doing Jobber vs. Jobber. Horowitz with a gutwrench suplex gets a two count. 3/4 Nelson by Horowitz gets another two count and he moves onto a front facelock. Rivera fights free and back slides Horowitz for two. Horowitz rakes the eyes of Rivera across the top rope and snapmares him, followed by a japanese head scissors. Both men are back up and Rivera with a small package for two. Horowitz with a victory roll pin for a two count of his own. Irish whip and Horowitz catches Rivera with a back breaker. Rivera is up and slams Horowitz off the top rope. Irish whip and Rivera with a back drop followed by a suplex and knee drop for two. Standing dropkick by Rivera sends Horowitz out of the ring. Irish whip to the corner and Horowitz with an elbow to the midsection. Rivera with a double leg sweep and sling shots Horowitz into the corner. Irish whip and Rivera misses a dropkick. Horowitz connects with a russian leg sweep for three at 10:40. Horowitz wins! Horowitz wins! Horowitz wins! 3/4* Too boring, much like the opener. These JTTS' have no character, thus have no means of being able to have fans care about them. It would be like throwing me and someone else in a ring and be told to have a 10 minute match.
- WWF Womens Championship Match:
The Sensation Sherri (c) vs. Desiree Peterson:
It's the MSG Show From Hell! Two Jobber Clashes, an Arm Wrestling Match, and now a Womens Title Match! Oh well, at least three matches on this show has promise, and two already delivered. I'm begging for something short. Peterson is from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The neck strap of her wrestling gear broke, so she's risking losing her top (covers eyes). Lockup and Sherri gives her a clean break! That boosts it about a quarter-of-a-star. Handshake offering and Sherri pulls Peterson in, but she controls and connects with a cross body for two. Wristlock by Peterson and she connects with a leg drop across the arm and works an armbar. Sherri throws Peterson down by the hair and hides in the ropes. Sherri with a sledge to the back but Peterson fights back. Irish whip and Peterson with a back drop followed by a scoop slam for a one count. Peterson applies a wristlock and throws Sherri into the middle of the ring and applies an arm stretch. Cat Fight! Peterson with an overhead takeover into a pin, but Sherri kicks out. Sherri fights up and puts Peterson down with a slap to the chest. Sherri rams Petersons face into the canvas, so she comes back with a roll up for two. Irish whip and Peterson connects with a sloppy dropkick for two. Sherri wraps the arm of Desiree around the top rope and connects eith a shoylder block. Criss cross and Peterson with a reverse monkey flip followed by a scoop slam for two. Sloppy shoulder block and Sherri rams the head of Peterson to the buckle. Sherri dumps Peterson out of the ring and stalls for time. Irish whip inside and we get a double clothesline. Peterson tries a comeback but Sherri slams her face into the canvas by the hair to get the three count at 7:32. *1/2 I've seen worse tonight, but it felt a little too slow with the restholds considering the shortness of the match.
- The Ultimate Warrior vs. Hercules:
ANOTHER Wrestlemania ReMatch. Too bad it was a match no one wanted to see again. Warrior steals Hercules chain and swings it around like the idiot he is. Face-to-Face we go to see whos done more steroids leading up to this show. Shoving contest and Warrior poses. Lockup and we get a clean break. Lockup #2 and a Hercules shove-off doesn't really work. They go again and Hercules with an overhead wirstlock, but Warrior no sells and starts putting the pressure on Hercules, who in return throws Warrior down by the hair. Lockup and we get another battle of overhead wristlocks. I seriously hope they keep this one short....please! Hey, did I just see that Vladimir guy? After a shitload of stalling Hercules is dragged in and Warrior drops him with a chop. Irish whip is reversed and both men block the others punches and Warrior tosses Hercules down by the foot. NASTY chops by Warior pops the crowd. Irish whip to the corner and Hercules with a clothesline, but Warrior no-sells. Hercules tries whipping Warrior to the corner, but no go and Warrior connects with his own clothesline. Hercules uses the tights of Warrior to send him outside the ring. Hercules brings the pain to Warrior outside and controls him in a test-of-strength knuckle lock. Warruir morons up and pounds on Hercules in the corner, so Hercules with a MAJOR rake of the eyes. Jesus these two suck, no wonder Hercules hated working with Warrior. Hercules applies a bearhug and that kills another two years. Warrior breaks free but ends up down again on a clothesline and Hercules covers for two. Snapmare and Hercules with a jumping elbow drop for two. Irish whip and a double shoulder block has Warrior fall on top for a 2.998 count. Hercules floors Warrior with a clothesline and covers for two. Warrior catches Hercules off the ropes with a powerslam for a two count. Warrior starts to have a fit and hammers on Hercules with roundhouse rights. Irish whip and Warrior with a clothesline. Gorilla Press Slam by the Warrior is enough for three at 12:47. -* Who thought Warrior/Hercules going longer than 5 minutes was a good idea? Kinda ruins Warriors image having a long battle with a midcarder while he's been slaughtering jobbers in mere seconds.
- Howard Finkel hypes a card on May 27th back here in Madison Square Garden. He runs down how to get tickets etc. etc. On the card the Fabulous Rougeau Brothers battle The Young Stallions. Jim "The Anvil" Niedhart faces "The Rock" Don Muraco. I guess he didn't turn face yet (Niedhart). "Outlaw" Ron Bass squares off with The Junkyard Dog. And a match that was suppose to happen tonight, Canadas Strongest Man Dino Bravo faces Ken Patera. The One Man Gang will face Brutus "the Barber" Beefcake. In a Six-Man Tag Team Match, The Islanders & Bobby Heenan go against The British Bulldogs & Koko B. Ware in a Wrestlemania ReMatch. In a ReMatch from tonight, Randy Savage will defend against Ted Dibiase.
- WWF Tag Team Championship Match:
Demolition (c) (w/ Mr. Fuji) vs. Strike Force:
This is the final match of the show, and it has a chance to be good. This is Demolitions first title defense at Madison Square Garden. Final Wrestlemania ReMatch of the Night of course. All four men go at it in the ring. Martel kills Ax and they double team Smash. Double clotheslines around and Martel with a Boston Crab to Ax already! Santana prevents Smash from saving but it doesn't last forever and Smash sledges Martel to the back of the neck. Smash misses a snap elbow drop and Martel with a wristlock. Santana tags in and connects witha running elbow to the back of the head. Santana with a wristlock. Irish whip and Santana reverses an arm drag and keeps the hold on. Martel comes back in but is taken to the Champions corner where Ax hammers away on Martwl with powerful blows to the back. Martel comes back with a wristlock and drops a leg across the arm of Ax. Wristlock by Martel and Santana tags in for a double fist to the midsection and Santana rams his face into the canvas for a one count. Ax rakes the eyes of Santana and Smash comes in and walks into an arm drag. Martel tags back in and applies the wristlock. Irish whip and Ax clotheslines Martel to the back of the head. Double sledge to Martel by Demolition and Ax comes in with a reverse chinlock. Ax rams Martel into the boot of Smash and we get some double teaming. Smash with a back breaker for a two count. Double sledges to the back of Martel by Smash and Ax tags back in with a fist to the midsection. Scoop slam by Ax and he covers for a two count. Ax pounds on Martel some more with heavy blows and the crowd loves it. Ax dumps Martel outide the ring and Smash rams Martels back into the ring apron. Smash tags back in and whips Martel to the ropes. Martel comes off with a sunset flip but Ax makes the tag in and kicks Martel in the head. Front facelock and Smash tags in and rams Martel into the buckle. Martel comes back with a series of lefts and boots Smash in the face on a charge attempt. Santana gets the fake hot tag, allowing Ax to pummel Martel some more. Irish whip and Martel connects with a diving back elbow. Santana gets the REAL hot tag and whips Ax to the corner, connecting ith a clothesline. Smash takes a whooping and Santana goes back to Ax. Santana whips Smash into Ax and connects with the flying forearm. Pier Six Brawl as Santana goes for the figure four, but Fuji canes Santana in the throat and Smash covers for three at 7:29 to retain the Tag Titles. *** Action packed match with almost no resting. Much better than the WM IV match and featured a hot crowd. Too bad they didn't work this match instead of the slow boring match we got at the PPV.
Final Thoughts: A Mixed bag here really. Only five of the matches featured Superstar vs. Superstar, all of which were either a Wrestlemania IV ReMatch or direct from a Wrestlemania IV Incident. The two Jobber vs. Jobber matches were kinda boring and a waste of a half hour, and the Womens match was blah. On the other hand though the three matches that I had an expectation came through with three very good matches which really cancels out all the bad. I wouldn't have minded seeing Hogan here, but Savage is a fair trade considering he was the World Champion. Thumbs Up, but beware of the evil Jobber matches!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
WWF @ Madison Square Garden - February 22nd, 1988
Live~! From Madison Square Garden in NEW YORK CITY BABY! Taped on February 22nd, 1988, barely two weeks removed from the infamous Andre/Hogan incident on The Main Event. Commentary duties from Gorilla Monsoon & Lord Alfred Hayes. Later on Bobby Heenan joins the team for commentary, which erases Hayes' suck, and adds some awesome. The Video Quality of the tape isn't too great, but it's decent enough for me to sit through for 2.5 hours, especially when I'm recording it for someone else, so I can't fast forward through the crap. (Damn!) The bell is really hard to hear for some reason, so excuse a few errors in Time.
- Opening Match:
The Rougeau Brothers vs. "King" Harley Race & Iron Mike Sharpe (w/ Bobby Heenan):
Unique pairing here. I think Sharpe is an 11th hour replacement for Hercules, or some other member of the Heenan Family. Jacques and Race lockup. Irish whip and Jacques with a dropkick, followed by a double dropkick. Arm drag to Race and Jacques with an armbar. Raymond in and he applies his own armbar. Race with a scoop slam, but Raymond hangs on with the hold. Race with an elbow to the face and Sharpe comes in and walks into a drop toe hold. Jacques tags in and sit down splashes the leg knee of Sharpe. Sharpe is seriously the loudest jobber I've ever heard. Raymond tags back in and they wish bone Canada's Greatest Athlete. Raymond with a modified ankle lock. I'd call it a spinning toe hold, but that requires use of the legs from the person applying the hold. The Rougeaus drag Sharpe to their own and Jacques comes in to go back to the toe hold. Race comes in and hammers Jacques with rights, but Sharpe sucks and the Rougeaus keep the pressure on. Raymond tags back in and we get another wish bone. Unique sit down splash across the chest of Sharpe for two and Raymond goes back to the ankle. Jacques comes in with a stomp to the chest and goes right back out. Sharpe takes the eyes and Race tags in to take control. Race connects with a clothesline followed by an elbow drop for two. Race with a piledriver and a knee across the eyes gets another two count. Sharpe tags back in and slaps Raymond across the chest and rams him to the buckle. Oops, thats Jacques, my bad. Race and Sharpe double team Jacques while Raymond comes in and accidentally distracts the referee. Race with a swinging neck breaker for a two count. Irish whip and Race connects with a clothesline. Sharpe is in again and back drops Jacques for two. Irish whip and Jacques with a sunset flip for two. Sharpe with a knee to the head and he chokes Jacques across the top rope. Snapmare by Sharpe and he applies a reverse chinlock. Race gets the tag in and hammers on Jacques with lefts and plants Jacques with a belly-to-belly suplex for two. Sharpe in and he slams Jacques hard, but misses an elbow drop. Raymond gets the hot tag and he hammers away on Sharpe. A Dropkick to both men and Raymond with a back drop to Sharpe. Irish whip and Raymond applies a sleeper hold. Race comes in to break it and pounds on Jacques. Double corner Irish whip is reversed and the heels collide. Clotheslines send Race out and the Rougeau Bomb puts Sharpe away at 9:26. **3/4 A Good wrestling match, although it was quite on the slow side.
- George "The Animal" Steele vs. Sika:
This one is NOT going to be pretty, I can tell you that. Sika is about 5 years past being useful, and George always sucked when it comes to actually wrestling. Sika prevents Steele from entering the ring several times. More punching by Sika keeps Steele from getting into the ring. Steele comes in and pounds away at Sika and bites his face, sending him outside. Sika drags Steele outside and rams him into a padded chair. More of keep the Animal out of the ring. Steele throws in one of the chairs...and takes more of them and tosses in two more. Sika misses a chair shot and hits himself, and Steele covers for three at 2:49. -* Really bad, but at least it was kept short. Steele afterwards steals Lord Alfreds headset...and ends up destroying it in a act of rage.
- Ken Patera vs. Demolition Ax (w/ Mr. Fuji):
Heenan joins the crew for Color Commentary....Thank God. This is probably the ONLY Singles Match of Bill Eadie as Ax that I have ever seen in the WWF. We find out that recently the Tag title Match for Wrestlemania IV has been set between Demolition and Strike Force. Lockup and we get a semi-clean break. Lockup #2 and Ax shoves Patera off. Lockup Part III and Patera hammers away on Ax and nails him with an elbow, sending Ax outside. Lockup and Patera with a wrist lock and elbows to where the shoulder meets the neck. Ax reverses with a hip toss, but Paters holds on and drives a series of knees into the elbow. Both men back to their feet and Patera re-applies the wrist lock. Patera puts Ax back down to the canvas and drives his knee into Ax's shoulder and turns it into a cross armbar. Patera lets go and chases after Fuji, so Ax sledges him from behind and rams Patera's face into the apron. Patera comes back and rams Ax's face into the steel post and then into the security railing. Patera to the top rope by a forearm across the back of the neck. Patera goes heel and starts to choke Ax. Irish whip to the corner and Patera meets the boots of Ax. Ax stomps away at the elbow of Patera that has some kind of cast on it. Fuji gets in a few cheap shots with his cane behind the referee's back. Irish whip and Ax with a back elbow, but misses a headbutt. Patera pounds away and whips Ax to the corner and nails him with a clothesline. Patera rams Ax into the turnbuckle ten times and puts him down with a clothesline. Patera signals for the end and actually applies the Full Nelson. Here comes Fuji to break it, but that doesn't work and Patera puts it back on. Smash comes out now, so Ax clotheslines Patera from behind and rolls him up at 7:27. *1/2 Decent Match, but it really had no good flow like the opening match. Double teaming occurs, but Junkyard Dog makes the save. Patera evil man he is, stomps on Mr. Fuji's derby hat.
- Junkyard Dog vs. Demolition Smash (w/ Mr. Fuji):
We obviously don't get any ring entrances since both men came out during and after the previous match. Both men have the previous competitors in their corners. This also doesn't have much promise to be good either. Lockup and Smash with a side headlock, but they quicky turn it into a slugfest, which Smash wins. Smash with a series of rights to the midsection, but an Irish whip is reversed and JYD with an arm drag followed by a headbutt. Patera threatens Smash, so Smash grabs a chair to back him off. Stick it to the conman! A Patera/Boss Man feud would've been a natural says I. Lockup and Smash with a series of rights in the corner followed by some chokes. JYD reverses an Irish whip to the corner and connects with a clothesline that missed by a mile. Irish whip again, but JYD misses a charge. Smash connects with his own clothesline and drops a series of forearms across the chest. Smash with a scoop slam to the Dog followed by an elbow drop for two. Smash with a modified chinlock, except JYD is almost facing him. Irish whip and we get a double clothesline spot. JYD with a headbutt, so Ax trips him up. Patera returns the favor to Smash, and JYD clotheslines Smash with his chain and covers for three at 3:44. 3/4* Could've been worse, but anything below 1-star isn't something to be proud of.
- Intermission Time! We have some promos, conducted by Craig DeGeorge. First up, "Canadas Strongest Man" Dino Bravo and his manager Frenchy Martin. They conduct a promo in French for most of it. Next up we get a Jake "The Snake" Roberts promo. Roberts, everyone should know, is the king of the promos. He runs down Bravo and his strategy and puts over his DDT as the deadliest move of all time. Now we get an interview with Bam Bam Bigelow, the 1988 answer to blue chipper, along with his manager Sir Oliver Humperdink. Whenever I read that name I think of the evil dude from the Princess Bride. Now we get Hacksaw Jim Duggan, king of suck. DeGeorge calls him "the Ho Man". So is that like an early version of The Godfather? Speaking of the Godfather, next up is the Doctor of Style Slick who has Butch Reed in the Main Event of the card. End of Intermission....Thank God
- Jake "The Snake" Roberts vs. Dino Bravo (w/ Frenchy Martin):
Imagine if THIS ended up being the Finals of the World Title Tournament at Wrestlemania IV! Blech, Jake Roberts rules, but I really dislike Bravo since he really really sucks, especially when he's really jakked up on the steroids. We are reminded of Bravo setting the bench press record at the first Royal Rumble, which was fairly NEW at the time, unlike in 1990 when it was still debated. Someone at ringside has an original sign: DDT BRAVO. Lockup and Bravo sends Roberts to the corner and celebrates. Lockup #2 and Roberts forces Bravo down on his face in a nice spot. Lockup and Roberts with a side headlock into an armbar, but Bravo reverses with an arm drag and celebrates again. Roberts with an armbar and he turns it into a wristlock. Bravo tries another counter but Roberts holds on and wrings the arm. Roberts puts Bravo in a hammerlock and knees the elbow for a ten count twice. Roberts re-applies the hammerlock as the crowd chants "D-D-T". Bravo with a yank of the hair several times, but Roberts holds and throws Bravo down by the hair himself, so Bravo has a fit. Lockup and Bravo with a wristlock. Roberts reverses so Bravo with a series of chops. Irish whip and Roberts with a running knee lift. DDT attempt is blocked and Bravo runs to the outside. Back inside the ring and Roberts goes back to work with a wristlock. Bravo with an elbow to the face followed by an irish whip, but Roberts holds onto the ropes to piss of Bravo. Bravo with a boot to the midsection followed by a series of left jabs puts Roberts down. Roberts blocks a slam and comes back with his own jabs, and Bravo drops next to the ominoius green bag, scaring him to the outside. Lockup and Bravo takes Roberts over to the corner and drives a forearm into the midsection of Roberts. Irish whip to the corner is blocked and Roberts comes out with rights and tries for the DDT again to no avail. Lots of stalling outside throughout the match here as we come close to the ten minute mark of the match. Roberts goes after Martin, but catches Bravo sneaking up on him and beats him back into the ring. Bravo catches Roberts coming in and floors him. Bravo with a jumping piledriver connects for a two count as Roberts gets his foot on the bottom rope. Bravo drags Roberts to the middle of the ring and applies a modified sleeper hold and turns it into a chinlock. Roberts waastes no time getting back up and reverses to a hammerlock, but Bravo elbows him in the face and drops an elbow across the back of the head. Bravo applies a head scissors and drives the face of Roberts into the canvas several times in a cute spot for a two count. Irish whip to the corner and Bravo sends him back the other way hard. Bravo chokes Roberts from under the bottom rope as Martins slapping the mat becomes annoying. Bravo drags Roberts out of the corner and drops a headbutt across the chest for two as Roberts grabs the bottom rope again, so Bravo applies the chinlock again. We are reaching the fifteen minute mark of the match...Whoops, I gave away the result. Bravo comes off the second rope with a double axe-handle for a two count, and AGAIN Roberts was able to get his foot on the ropes. Bravo runs out of things to do, so he re-applies the chinlock. Roberts starts to "Snake-Up", but Bravo keeps the hold on tight. Roberts goes down again and Bravo puts the pressure while on his stomache. Bravo with a jumping elbow drop gets another two count and he slaps back on the chinlock. Roberts is out, or so we think, so Bravo covers for two. Roberts comes back with a jaw-breaker and a series of left jabs from out of the corner. Irish whip and Roberts with a fist to the midsection followed by the short-arm clothesline. Roberts tries the DDT, but Jake is hooked by Martin and is tripped up. Roberts with more jabs puts Bravo back down. Irish whip is reversed and Roberts with a sunset flip for two and the bell sounds at 19:23 for a Time Limit Draw. Well...they were off by 37 seconds. After the match Roberts ties Bravo into the ropes and unleashes Damion on Frenchy. Bravo tries saving but is chased off. *** I can't believe I said that, but both men worked a very good mat-wrestling match. Sure, they did nothing flashy or anything, and Bravo generally stinks, but it went fine with some creative moments in between the rest-holds. Too bad we didn't get to see anyone eat the DDT :(.
- Bam Bam Bigelow (w/ Oliver Humperdink) vs. "Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase (w/ Virgil):
Another potential Wrestlemania IV Tournament Final, and one that COULD'VE actually happend if the chain of events before the event took place. That is if Bigelows push wasn't haulted, Honky Tonk Man didn't pull his shit at the Main Event, and Dibiase were to have won like originally planned. Dibiase cuts a pre-match promo and is #459 of 60969 in saying Hulkamania is dead from 1983-Current Time. Bigelow attacks from behind and rams Dibiase into all four top turnbuckles and connects with a delayed atomic drop, sending Dibiase over the top rope to the outside. Lockup and Bigelow rtakes the eyes. Dibiase with a series of chops in the ropes, but Bigelow is able to bounce back with a clothesline. Bigelow with a series of forearms followed by a shoulder block. Irish whip and Bigelow sends Dibiase out with a back elbow. Dibiase with a LOT of stalling so far...I hope we don't get another TLD. Lockup and Dibiase with a knee to the midsection and he pounds away at Bigelow in the corner. Bigelow fights back with elbows but a rake of the eyes stops him. Irish whip to the corner is reversed and Dibiase is put down with a shoulder block. Bigelow catches a boot of Dibiase and connects with another atomic drop. Irish whip to the corner is reversed but Dibiase runs into the boot of Triple B. Bigelow hammers on Dibiase and slams him hard. Virgil trips Bigelow up near the ropes, continuing the trend tonight. Dibiase rams Bigelows head into the canvas and begins to choke away. Irish whip and Dibiase with a clothesline, followed by some posing. Dibiase comes off the top rope with a single arm sledge and stomps the face of Bigelow. Irish whip and Bigelow is knocked over the top rope with a single punch. Back inside they go. Bigelow is put back down with a knee lift for a two count and Dibiase goes to the reverse chinlock. Bigelow fights to his feet and elbows Dibiase in the midsection, but Dibiase rakes the eyes and takes Bigelow back down. Bigelow's second attempt for a comeback is haulted for a few moments, but he ends up ramming Dibiases face into the turnbuckle about 12 times. Monsoon says Dibiase probably has an Excedrin Headache #35. Irish whip to the corner and Bigelow with a series of shoulder blocks. Bigelow with a scoop slam and he goes for the slingshot splash, but Virgil stops him. Outside they battle and Dibiase rams Bigelow into the post, and beats the count into the ring for the Count-Out Victory at 11:04. ** Nothing bad here, but I expected better from these two, especially when Bigelow was in his prime here. I hate cheap finishes like these, but at least it wasn't as weak as Bigelows WM IV loss.
- "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan vs. "Outlaw" Ron Bass:
This one is going to suck. Maybe if this were their pre-WWF Days, it would've been a cool brawl but this is under normal WWF Rules, so expect punch punch kick kick punch. Last match before we go to the "Main Event" of the show. Bass attacks in the corner and punchs Duggan down. Duggan avoids an elbow drop and slams Bass down. The 3-point stance clothesline is attempted but Bass runs. The two go ugly nose to nose and exchange blows. Duggan with an atomic drop followed by a clothesline sends Bass back out of the ring. Bass tosses a chair in, but Duggan catches it to a pop and he sits down on it to wait for Bass. Had to take a break to visit the vomit bowl, but I come back and they STILL are doing nothing with a big helping of nothing salad. Duggan with a wristlock and jerks the arm of Bass. Bass sends Duggan outside and he lands in the land of 1000 chairs. Bass rams Duggan into the security railing. Duggan, nasty man he is, has SLOBBER in his beard. Bass hammers on Duggan and connects with a piledriver for two. Irish whip and Duggan fucks up a sunset flip for a two count. Choking across the middle rope by Bass and this match is just DRAGGING. Irish whip and Bass with a clothesline and we get some more brawling. Abdominal stretch by Bass and he uses the ropes for leverage. Duggan with a hip toss but he misses an elbow drop. Duggan with a small package gets a two count. I noticed Heenan has left the area for this match, I guess because he got sick too. Duggan doesn't even bother to sell in a chinlock while the camera is panning his face. Duggan "Retards Up" and pummels Bass with a series of lefts and rights. Duggan with a shoulder block for a two count and he applies a chinlock. Duggan fucks up spilling to the outside and they brawl around the ring. Back inside and this match WON'T END! Nothing but punches for the last minute or so. Irish whip is reversed and Duggan connects with a clothesline. Bass does something to Duggan and covers for two. Bass chokes Duggan with his bull whip so Duggan grabs the 2x4 and whacks Bass with it in the head. WHERE IS THE DQ?! Outside Bass goes and Duggan follows, so we get a double count-out at 15:16. WHO GAVE THESE TWO FIFTEEN MINUTES?! -** Really Really REALLY Bad...90% of it was punching and kicking.
- In another Intermission Type session, The Fink runs down the card for Wrestlemania IV, which is only about five weeks away from when this show occured. Seemed like the whole card has been set except for the Ultimate Warrior vs. Hercules match, of course, it was a meaningless match, so either it wasn't announced yet, or no one cared to mention it on this show.
- Main Event Tag Team Match:
The Ultimate Warrior & "The Rock" Don Muraco vs. "The Natural" Butch Reed & King Kong Bundy (w/ Slick):
Well this is a fine "Main Event"...Midcarders runnin' wild! Warrior isn't really over yet, Muraco is a horrible babyface, Bundy is on his way out of the promotion, and Reed at this point was doing nothing, not liking it, and was on the verge of heading to the NWA where he became Hacksaw again and was no longer a blonde. At least we get to hear "Jive Soul Bro" play in Madison Square Garden. Muraco pulls a Warrior and runs to the ring like a moron too. Warrior and Bundy brawl while Muraco rams Reed to the buckle. Double bulldog sends the heels into each other and Muraco drops an elbow on Reed. Muraco sling shots Reed back into the ring and the good guys with a double clothes floors the Natural. Reed and Muraco OFFICIALLY start the match for their teams and lockup. Reed with a standing side headlock. Irish whip and Reed runs into the fist of Warrior. Muraco with an atomic drop to Reed and Warrior rams him into the buckle. Bundy tags in and he's Heenan-less it seems. While Slick rants outside the ring, Bundy accidentally is rammed into Reed, knocking him off the apron. Warrior tags in and works the arm of Bundy with a wristlock. Warrior switches it to an armbar (wow!) and well...thats all that is happening. Bundy hammers Warrior in the corner, but that lasts not too long and Warrior nails him with a clothesline. Muraco tags in and comes off the second rope with an elbow to the shoulder of Bundy. Reed tags back into the match and knees Muraco in the midsection. Muraco blocks going into the buckle and rams Reed into it ten times. Muraco with a knee drop gets a two count. The Rock (that sounds odd calling Muraco that) applies a wristlock as it seems the heels are really getting squashed. Reed hammers on Muraco in the corner, but is whipped to the corner. Reed catches Muraco with a boot to the face followed by a snapmare and applies a reverse chinlock. Muraco is sent to the buckle and Bundy tags in to pummel Muraco with his massive everything. Irish whip to the corner and Bundy with a snapmare and elbow drop for a two count. We reach the ten minute mark as Bundy applies a reverse chinlock. Reed gets the tag back in and nails a double axehandle to Muraco followed by a sloppy swinging neck breaker for two. Reed goes back to the move of the night, the reverse chinlock. Snapmare by Reed and he drops an elbow for two. Irish whip and Muraco with a boot to the face of Reed. Bundy tags in and chokes down Muraco. Reed comes back in and we get a double shoulder block spot, which really doesn't seem as effective as a clothesline. We get a false hot tag and Warrior beats the crap out of Reed. Muraco hammers on Bundy and the heels whip the faces into each other. Irish whip and Warrior with a cross body on Bundy who trips over Muraco and that gives Warrior & Muraco the win at 14:48. **1/4 Match picked up pretty nicely after the first five minutes, but for a MSG Main Event it definitely wasn't as good of a match that you could expect.
Final Thoughts: Well, overall, the show wasn't that great. Big names like Hulk Hogan, Andre The Giant, Randy Savage, Honky Tonk Man, and Brutus Beefcake weren't present. Neither were the Tag Team Champions Strike Force. However, only two matches reached the point of suck, while everything else was either very good to at least entertaining enough to not need a dreaded press of the Fast Forward button. I'd call this a Thumbs Up Recommendation.
- Opening Match:
The Rougeau Brothers vs. "King" Harley Race & Iron Mike Sharpe (w/ Bobby Heenan):
Unique pairing here. I think Sharpe is an 11th hour replacement for Hercules, or some other member of the Heenan Family. Jacques and Race lockup. Irish whip and Jacques with a dropkick, followed by a double dropkick. Arm drag to Race and Jacques with an armbar. Raymond in and he applies his own armbar. Race with a scoop slam, but Raymond hangs on with the hold. Race with an elbow to the face and Sharpe comes in and walks into a drop toe hold. Jacques tags in and sit down splashes the leg knee of Sharpe. Sharpe is seriously the loudest jobber I've ever heard. Raymond tags back in and they wish bone Canada's Greatest Athlete. Raymond with a modified ankle lock. I'd call it a spinning toe hold, but that requires use of the legs from the person applying the hold. The Rougeaus drag Sharpe to their own and Jacques comes in to go back to the toe hold. Race comes in and hammers Jacques with rights, but Sharpe sucks and the Rougeaus keep the pressure on. Raymond tags back in and we get another wish bone. Unique sit down splash across the chest of Sharpe for two and Raymond goes back to the ankle. Jacques comes in with a stomp to the chest and goes right back out. Sharpe takes the eyes and Race tags in to take control. Race connects with a clothesline followed by an elbow drop for two. Race with a piledriver and a knee across the eyes gets another two count. Sharpe tags back in and slaps Raymond across the chest and rams him to the buckle. Oops, thats Jacques, my bad. Race and Sharpe double team Jacques while Raymond comes in and accidentally distracts the referee. Race with a swinging neck breaker for a two count. Irish whip and Race connects with a clothesline. Sharpe is in again and back drops Jacques for two. Irish whip and Jacques with a sunset flip for two. Sharpe with a knee to the head and he chokes Jacques across the top rope. Snapmare by Sharpe and he applies a reverse chinlock. Race gets the tag in and hammers on Jacques with lefts and plants Jacques with a belly-to-belly suplex for two. Sharpe in and he slams Jacques hard, but misses an elbow drop. Raymond gets the hot tag and he hammers away on Sharpe. A Dropkick to both men and Raymond with a back drop to Sharpe. Irish whip and Raymond applies a sleeper hold. Race comes in to break it and pounds on Jacques. Double corner Irish whip is reversed and the heels collide. Clotheslines send Race out and the Rougeau Bomb puts Sharpe away at 9:26. **3/4 A Good wrestling match, although it was quite on the slow side.
- George "The Animal" Steele vs. Sika:
This one is NOT going to be pretty, I can tell you that. Sika is about 5 years past being useful, and George always sucked when it comes to actually wrestling. Sika prevents Steele from entering the ring several times. More punching by Sika keeps Steele from getting into the ring. Steele comes in and pounds away at Sika and bites his face, sending him outside. Sika drags Steele outside and rams him into a padded chair. More of keep the Animal out of the ring. Steele throws in one of the chairs...and takes more of them and tosses in two more. Sika misses a chair shot and hits himself, and Steele covers for three at 2:49. -* Really bad, but at least it was kept short. Steele afterwards steals Lord Alfreds headset...and ends up destroying it in a act of rage.
- Ken Patera vs. Demolition Ax (w/ Mr. Fuji):
Heenan joins the crew for Color Commentary....Thank God. This is probably the ONLY Singles Match of Bill Eadie as Ax that I have ever seen in the WWF. We find out that recently the Tag title Match for Wrestlemania IV has been set between Demolition and Strike Force. Lockup and we get a semi-clean break. Lockup #2 and Ax shoves Patera off. Lockup Part III and Patera hammers away on Ax and nails him with an elbow, sending Ax outside. Lockup and Patera with a wrist lock and elbows to where the shoulder meets the neck. Ax reverses with a hip toss, but Paters holds on and drives a series of knees into the elbow. Both men back to their feet and Patera re-applies the wrist lock. Patera puts Ax back down to the canvas and drives his knee into Ax's shoulder and turns it into a cross armbar. Patera lets go and chases after Fuji, so Ax sledges him from behind and rams Patera's face into the apron. Patera comes back and rams Ax's face into the steel post and then into the security railing. Patera to the top rope by a forearm across the back of the neck. Patera goes heel and starts to choke Ax. Irish whip to the corner and Patera meets the boots of Ax. Ax stomps away at the elbow of Patera that has some kind of cast on it. Fuji gets in a few cheap shots with his cane behind the referee's back. Irish whip and Ax with a back elbow, but misses a headbutt. Patera pounds away and whips Ax to the corner and nails him with a clothesline. Patera rams Ax into the turnbuckle ten times and puts him down with a clothesline. Patera signals for the end and actually applies the Full Nelson. Here comes Fuji to break it, but that doesn't work and Patera puts it back on. Smash comes out now, so Ax clotheslines Patera from behind and rolls him up at 7:27. *1/2 Decent Match, but it really had no good flow like the opening match. Double teaming occurs, but Junkyard Dog makes the save. Patera evil man he is, stomps on Mr. Fuji's derby hat.
- Junkyard Dog vs. Demolition Smash (w/ Mr. Fuji):
We obviously don't get any ring entrances since both men came out during and after the previous match. Both men have the previous competitors in their corners. This also doesn't have much promise to be good either. Lockup and Smash with a side headlock, but they quicky turn it into a slugfest, which Smash wins. Smash with a series of rights to the midsection, but an Irish whip is reversed and JYD with an arm drag followed by a headbutt. Patera threatens Smash, so Smash grabs a chair to back him off. Stick it to the conman! A Patera/Boss Man feud would've been a natural says I. Lockup and Smash with a series of rights in the corner followed by some chokes. JYD reverses an Irish whip to the corner and connects with a clothesline that missed by a mile. Irish whip again, but JYD misses a charge. Smash connects with his own clothesline and drops a series of forearms across the chest. Smash with a scoop slam to the Dog followed by an elbow drop for two. Smash with a modified chinlock, except JYD is almost facing him. Irish whip and we get a double clothesline spot. JYD with a headbutt, so Ax trips him up. Patera returns the favor to Smash, and JYD clotheslines Smash with his chain and covers for three at 3:44. 3/4* Could've been worse, but anything below 1-star isn't something to be proud of.
- Intermission Time! We have some promos, conducted by Craig DeGeorge. First up, "Canadas Strongest Man" Dino Bravo and his manager Frenchy Martin. They conduct a promo in French for most of it. Next up we get a Jake "The Snake" Roberts promo. Roberts, everyone should know, is the king of the promos. He runs down Bravo and his strategy and puts over his DDT as the deadliest move of all time. Now we get an interview with Bam Bam Bigelow, the 1988 answer to blue chipper, along with his manager Sir Oliver Humperdink. Whenever I read that name I think of the evil dude from the Princess Bride. Now we get Hacksaw Jim Duggan, king of suck. DeGeorge calls him "the Ho Man". So is that like an early version of The Godfather? Speaking of the Godfather, next up is the Doctor of Style Slick who has Butch Reed in the Main Event of the card. End of Intermission....Thank God
- Jake "The Snake" Roberts vs. Dino Bravo (w/ Frenchy Martin):
Imagine if THIS ended up being the Finals of the World Title Tournament at Wrestlemania IV! Blech, Jake Roberts rules, but I really dislike Bravo since he really really sucks, especially when he's really jakked up on the steroids. We are reminded of Bravo setting the bench press record at the first Royal Rumble, which was fairly NEW at the time, unlike in 1990 when it was still debated. Someone at ringside has an original sign: DDT BRAVO. Lockup and Bravo sends Roberts to the corner and celebrates. Lockup #2 and Roberts forces Bravo down on his face in a nice spot. Lockup and Roberts with a side headlock into an armbar, but Bravo reverses with an arm drag and celebrates again. Roberts with an armbar and he turns it into a wristlock. Bravo tries another counter but Roberts holds on and wrings the arm. Roberts puts Bravo in a hammerlock and knees the elbow for a ten count twice. Roberts re-applies the hammerlock as the crowd chants "D-D-T". Bravo with a yank of the hair several times, but Roberts holds and throws Bravo down by the hair himself, so Bravo has a fit. Lockup and Bravo with a wristlock. Roberts reverses so Bravo with a series of chops. Irish whip and Roberts with a running knee lift. DDT attempt is blocked and Bravo runs to the outside. Back inside the ring and Roberts goes back to work with a wristlock. Bravo with an elbow to the face followed by an irish whip, but Roberts holds onto the ropes to piss of Bravo. Bravo with a boot to the midsection followed by a series of left jabs puts Roberts down. Roberts blocks a slam and comes back with his own jabs, and Bravo drops next to the ominoius green bag, scaring him to the outside. Lockup and Bravo takes Roberts over to the corner and drives a forearm into the midsection of Roberts. Irish whip to the corner is blocked and Roberts comes out with rights and tries for the DDT again to no avail. Lots of stalling outside throughout the match here as we come close to the ten minute mark of the match. Roberts goes after Martin, but catches Bravo sneaking up on him and beats him back into the ring. Bravo catches Roberts coming in and floors him. Bravo with a jumping piledriver connects for a two count as Roberts gets his foot on the bottom rope. Bravo drags Roberts to the middle of the ring and applies a modified sleeper hold and turns it into a chinlock. Roberts waastes no time getting back up and reverses to a hammerlock, but Bravo elbows him in the face and drops an elbow across the back of the head. Bravo applies a head scissors and drives the face of Roberts into the canvas several times in a cute spot for a two count. Irish whip to the corner and Bravo sends him back the other way hard. Bravo chokes Roberts from under the bottom rope as Martins slapping the mat becomes annoying. Bravo drags Roberts out of the corner and drops a headbutt across the chest for two as Roberts grabs the bottom rope again, so Bravo applies the chinlock again. We are reaching the fifteen minute mark of the match...Whoops, I gave away the result. Bravo comes off the second rope with a double axe-handle for a two count, and AGAIN Roberts was able to get his foot on the ropes. Bravo runs out of things to do, so he re-applies the chinlock. Roberts starts to "Snake-Up", but Bravo keeps the hold on tight. Roberts goes down again and Bravo puts the pressure while on his stomache. Bravo with a jumping elbow drop gets another two count and he slaps back on the chinlock. Roberts is out, or so we think, so Bravo covers for two. Roberts comes back with a jaw-breaker and a series of left jabs from out of the corner. Irish whip and Roberts with a fist to the midsection followed by the short-arm clothesline. Roberts tries the DDT, but Jake is hooked by Martin and is tripped up. Roberts with more jabs puts Bravo back down. Irish whip is reversed and Roberts with a sunset flip for two and the bell sounds at 19:23 for a Time Limit Draw. Well...they were off by 37 seconds. After the match Roberts ties Bravo into the ropes and unleashes Damion on Frenchy. Bravo tries saving but is chased off. *** I can't believe I said that, but both men worked a very good mat-wrestling match. Sure, they did nothing flashy or anything, and Bravo generally stinks, but it went fine with some creative moments in between the rest-holds. Too bad we didn't get to see anyone eat the DDT :(.
- Bam Bam Bigelow (w/ Oliver Humperdink) vs. "Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase (w/ Virgil):
Another potential Wrestlemania IV Tournament Final, and one that COULD'VE actually happend if the chain of events before the event took place. That is if Bigelows push wasn't haulted, Honky Tonk Man didn't pull his shit at the Main Event, and Dibiase were to have won like originally planned. Dibiase cuts a pre-match promo and is #459 of 60969 in saying Hulkamania is dead from 1983-Current Time. Bigelow attacks from behind and rams Dibiase into all four top turnbuckles and connects with a delayed atomic drop, sending Dibiase over the top rope to the outside. Lockup and Bigelow rtakes the eyes. Dibiase with a series of chops in the ropes, but Bigelow is able to bounce back with a clothesline. Bigelow with a series of forearms followed by a shoulder block. Irish whip and Bigelow sends Dibiase out with a back elbow. Dibiase with a LOT of stalling so far...I hope we don't get another TLD. Lockup and Dibiase with a knee to the midsection and he pounds away at Bigelow in the corner. Bigelow fights back with elbows but a rake of the eyes stops him. Irish whip to the corner is reversed and Dibiase is put down with a shoulder block. Bigelow catches a boot of Dibiase and connects with another atomic drop. Irish whip to the corner is reversed but Dibiase runs into the boot of Triple B. Bigelow hammers on Dibiase and slams him hard. Virgil trips Bigelow up near the ropes, continuing the trend tonight. Dibiase rams Bigelows head into the canvas and begins to choke away. Irish whip and Dibiase with a clothesline, followed by some posing. Dibiase comes off the top rope with a single arm sledge and stomps the face of Bigelow. Irish whip and Bigelow is knocked over the top rope with a single punch. Back inside they go. Bigelow is put back down with a knee lift for a two count and Dibiase goes to the reverse chinlock. Bigelow fights to his feet and elbows Dibiase in the midsection, but Dibiase rakes the eyes and takes Bigelow back down. Bigelow's second attempt for a comeback is haulted for a few moments, but he ends up ramming Dibiases face into the turnbuckle about 12 times. Monsoon says Dibiase probably has an Excedrin Headache #35. Irish whip to the corner and Bigelow with a series of shoulder blocks. Bigelow with a scoop slam and he goes for the slingshot splash, but Virgil stops him. Outside they battle and Dibiase rams Bigelow into the post, and beats the count into the ring for the Count-Out Victory at 11:04. ** Nothing bad here, but I expected better from these two, especially when Bigelow was in his prime here. I hate cheap finishes like these, but at least it wasn't as weak as Bigelows WM IV loss.
- "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan vs. "Outlaw" Ron Bass:
This one is going to suck. Maybe if this were their pre-WWF Days, it would've been a cool brawl but this is under normal WWF Rules, so expect punch punch kick kick punch. Last match before we go to the "Main Event" of the show. Bass attacks in the corner and punchs Duggan down. Duggan avoids an elbow drop and slams Bass down. The 3-point stance clothesline is attempted but Bass runs. The two go ugly nose to nose and exchange blows. Duggan with an atomic drop followed by a clothesline sends Bass back out of the ring. Bass tosses a chair in, but Duggan catches it to a pop and he sits down on it to wait for Bass. Had to take a break to visit the vomit bowl, but I come back and they STILL are doing nothing with a big helping of nothing salad. Duggan with a wristlock and jerks the arm of Bass. Bass sends Duggan outside and he lands in the land of 1000 chairs. Bass rams Duggan into the security railing. Duggan, nasty man he is, has SLOBBER in his beard. Bass hammers on Duggan and connects with a piledriver for two. Irish whip and Duggan fucks up a sunset flip for a two count. Choking across the middle rope by Bass and this match is just DRAGGING. Irish whip and Bass with a clothesline and we get some more brawling. Abdominal stretch by Bass and he uses the ropes for leverage. Duggan with a hip toss but he misses an elbow drop. Duggan with a small package gets a two count. I noticed Heenan has left the area for this match, I guess because he got sick too. Duggan doesn't even bother to sell in a chinlock while the camera is panning his face. Duggan "Retards Up" and pummels Bass with a series of lefts and rights. Duggan with a shoulder block for a two count and he applies a chinlock. Duggan fucks up spilling to the outside and they brawl around the ring. Back inside and this match WON'T END! Nothing but punches for the last minute or so. Irish whip is reversed and Duggan connects with a clothesline. Bass does something to Duggan and covers for two. Bass chokes Duggan with his bull whip so Duggan grabs the 2x4 and whacks Bass with it in the head. WHERE IS THE DQ?! Outside Bass goes and Duggan follows, so we get a double count-out at 15:16. WHO GAVE THESE TWO FIFTEEN MINUTES?! -** Really Really REALLY Bad...90% of it was punching and kicking.
- In another Intermission Type session, The Fink runs down the card for Wrestlemania IV, which is only about five weeks away from when this show occured. Seemed like the whole card has been set except for the Ultimate Warrior vs. Hercules match, of course, it was a meaningless match, so either it wasn't announced yet, or no one cared to mention it on this show.
- Main Event Tag Team Match:
The Ultimate Warrior & "The Rock" Don Muraco vs. "The Natural" Butch Reed & King Kong Bundy (w/ Slick):
Well this is a fine "Main Event"...Midcarders runnin' wild! Warrior isn't really over yet, Muraco is a horrible babyface, Bundy is on his way out of the promotion, and Reed at this point was doing nothing, not liking it, and was on the verge of heading to the NWA where he became Hacksaw again and was no longer a blonde. At least we get to hear "Jive Soul Bro" play in Madison Square Garden. Muraco pulls a Warrior and runs to the ring like a moron too. Warrior and Bundy brawl while Muraco rams Reed to the buckle. Double bulldog sends the heels into each other and Muraco drops an elbow on Reed. Muraco sling shots Reed back into the ring and the good guys with a double clothes floors the Natural. Reed and Muraco OFFICIALLY start the match for their teams and lockup. Reed with a standing side headlock. Irish whip and Reed runs into the fist of Warrior. Muraco with an atomic drop to Reed and Warrior rams him into the buckle. Bundy tags in and he's Heenan-less it seems. While Slick rants outside the ring, Bundy accidentally is rammed into Reed, knocking him off the apron. Warrior tags in and works the arm of Bundy with a wristlock. Warrior switches it to an armbar (wow!) and well...thats all that is happening. Bundy hammers Warrior in the corner, but that lasts not too long and Warrior nails him with a clothesline. Muraco tags in and comes off the second rope with an elbow to the shoulder of Bundy. Reed tags back into the match and knees Muraco in the midsection. Muraco blocks going into the buckle and rams Reed into it ten times. Muraco with a knee drop gets a two count. The Rock (that sounds odd calling Muraco that) applies a wristlock as it seems the heels are really getting squashed. Reed hammers on Muraco in the corner, but is whipped to the corner. Reed catches Muraco with a boot to the face followed by a snapmare and applies a reverse chinlock. Muraco is sent to the buckle and Bundy tags in to pummel Muraco with his massive everything. Irish whip to the corner and Bundy with a snapmare and elbow drop for a two count. We reach the ten minute mark as Bundy applies a reverse chinlock. Reed gets the tag back in and nails a double axehandle to Muraco followed by a sloppy swinging neck breaker for two. Reed goes back to the move of the night, the reverse chinlock. Snapmare by Reed and he drops an elbow for two. Irish whip and Muraco with a boot to the face of Reed. Bundy tags in and chokes down Muraco. Reed comes back in and we get a double shoulder block spot, which really doesn't seem as effective as a clothesline. We get a false hot tag and Warrior beats the crap out of Reed. Muraco hammers on Bundy and the heels whip the faces into each other. Irish whip and Warrior with a cross body on Bundy who trips over Muraco and that gives Warrior & Muraco the win at 14:48. **1/4 Match picked up pretty nicely after the first five minutes, but for a MSG Main Event it definitely wasn't as good of a match that you could expect.
Final Thoughts: Well, overall, the show wasn't that great. Big names like Hulk Hogan, Andre The Giant, Randy Savage, Honky Tonk Man, and Brutus Beefcake weren't present. Neither were the Tag Team Champions Strike Force. However, only two matches reached the point of suck, while everything else was either very good to at least entertaining enough to not need a dreaded press of the Fast Forward button. I'd call this a Thumbs Up Recommendation.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
WWF October-November 1995 Compilation
- Doink The Clown vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley:
And we right off the bat start with the creme de la crap. Helmsley would continue sucking for another two years, and the crowd just hates the Doink gimmick by now. Lockup and Helmsley with a side headlock. Danny Davis is still a referee here...yeah, I got nothing to say than notice who the referee is. Doink grabs the nose of Helmsley and slams him down. Doink with a head herk between the legs but Helmsley recovers and clotheslines Doink down and stomps a mudhole in him. Clips of Nitro and DDP is beating Johnny B. Badd down. Back to Raw and Helmsley whips Doink to the corner, but eats boot on the way. Doink with a side suplex but misses an elbow drop. Helmsley with a knee drop for a two count. Helmsley with a nice vertical suplex for another two count. Reverse chinlock by Helmsley. Irish whip and Doink surprises HHH with a small package for two. A Backslide by Doink gets another two. Irish whip to the corner is reversed but Doink misses a blind cross body press. Pedigree by Helmsley finishes this at 3:49. 3/4* Surprisingly short match.
- WWF-Tag Team Championship Match:
The Smoking Gunns (c) vs. PG-13:
If my mind isn't playing tricks on me, J.C Ice & Wolfie D are the members of PG-13. Wolfie most recently has participated in NWA as Slash of the New Church. I have no clue why PG-13 are even on RAW. Billy starts the match with Wolfie with a lockup into the corner. Billy blocks a hip toss and scores with one of his own. Criss cross and Billy with a roundhouse right to both men. Wolfie with a side headlock and Vince says they are from the USWA. Criss cross again and Wolfie runs into Ice. Bart tags in to face JC Ice who cartwheels into a stiff clothesline. Irish whip and Bart with a back body drop, but Ice lands on his feet and mocks Akeem. Bart with clotheslines to everyone and Bart press slams Ice onto Wolfie D. Lockup and Bart with an armbar on Wolfie. Billy in with a side headlock and a arm drag reversal leads to JC Ice tripping Billy up and Wolfie sending him to the outside. Back in the ring and Wolfie tags in with a snapmare and reverse chinlock to Billy Gunn. Gunn fights free but JC puts him back down and double teaming on Billy by PG-13. Irish whip and a double back elbow to Billy followed by a double elbow drop for two. Irish whip and Billy slingshots JC Ice into Wolfie D. Bart in with a series of clotheslines and slams followed by a dropkick to Wolfie. Billy tags in and comes off the top rope woith the side winder leg drop for three at 4:59. * OK Match, but just a bland match overall.
- #1 Contenders Steel Cage Match:
Bret "Hitman" Hart vs. Issac Yankem D.D.S:
Winner here faces the winner of the World Title Match at IYH 4 at Survivor Series in November. There's a small shark cage at ringside for Jerry Lawler to be placed in if he attempts to interfere in this match. Yankem is better known today as Kane. Lockup and Yankem hammers Hart in the corner with brutal forearm blows. Yankem rams Bret into the turnbuckle and whips him across the ring. A charge to the corner misses and Hart with blows to the midsection followed by an inverted atomic drop and clothesline. Hart with a headbutt to the midsection and rams Yankem to the corner. Scoop slam by Hart followed by an elbow drop. Hart attempts escaping the cage but Yankem pulls him back down and hammers away on the back. Yankem rams Harts face into the canvas and drops an elbow across the chest. Yankem attempts an escape now but Hart knocks him off with kidney blows. Hart tries for the second time but Yankem pulls him back down by using the tights. Yankem sends Bret face first into the steel bars of the cage and kicks him in the back of the head for good measure. Yankem makes his second attempt but Bret holds onto the leg and yanks him down on his face (ouch). Hart chokes Yankem with his foot and stomps away at the kidney area of Yankem. Bret attempts escaping through the door, but the referee can't unlock it, allowing Yankem to nail a clothesline to the back of the neck, and ramming Bret into the cage at the same time. Yankem hammers away as we find out Lawler is hiding another padlock in his crown. Bret pummels Yankem as we go to commercial. We come back as Yankem boots Bret in the face and goes to climb out again. Bret is back on his feet and pulls Yankem down again and comes off the top rope with a clothesline. (over on Nitro, Flair is fighting Anderson/Pillman) Bret applies the sharpshooter, probably hoping to take Yankems legs out of it. Bret is almost out but Lawler climbs up the outside and knocks Hart back inside. Lawler is now dragged into the cage at ringside...eventually while both men are out of it inside the ring. Bret helps the cause by knocking Lawler off the cage with a series of roundhouse rights and a boot to the face. Yankem crotches Bret on the top of the cage as we see Lawler being raised above the ring. Bret hammers away on Yankem from the second rope and boots him in the face a few times. Bret is tripped up and crotched across the top rope now. Yankem stomps a mudhole in Bret and chokes him in the corner with his foot. Yankem tries a piledriver but Bret escapes wih a back body drop and goes climbing again. Bret is almost out but Yankem has Bret by the hair and pulls him back over. Brawling on the top rope and Yankem with a slam from the top rope. Yankem goes over the cage again, but Bret is back up and they continue brawling at the top. Bret bites Yankem off the top rope and once again lands on the top rope as we cut to Lawler having a nose bleed. Commercial break again and we come back with Bret and Yankem trading blows in the corner. Bret blocks being rammed into the cage and sends Yankem in for a taste and unloads on him in the corner with rights. Side suplex by Hart and he goes to escape again. Yankem is back to his feet and is able to drag Bret in by the hair again. Yankem drags Hart into the middle rope and connects with the DDS (aka DDT). Bret again prevents Yankem from escaping the cage and crotches him on the top rope. Yanekm is served some turnbuckle and Hart mounted punches in the corner. Irish whip is reversed and Bret takes the monster corner bump. Lawler drops Yankem the key to the padlock and he actually gets it off. Bret rolls Yankem up for no reason and continues pummeling him. Running bulldog headlock out of the corner by Hart followed by a back breaker. Bret goes to the second rope and connects with an elbow drop. Hart climbs the cage and finally is able to escape for the win and the #1 Contenders slot at 15:06. ** Not one of the best cage matches ever, but it was good enough for regular television. Back then, this usually meant Bulldog would win the title at IYH, but thankfully someone had enough brains not to do that.
- 20 Man Battle Royale for #1 Contendership to Intercontinental Title:
(Participants: Bam Bam Bigelow, Barry Horowitz, Aldo Montoya, Rad Radford, Skip, Hakushi, 1-2-3 Kid, Owen Hart, Duke Droese, King Kong Bundy, Savio Vega, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Kama, Henry Godwinn, Fatu, Bob Holly, Jean Pierre-Lafitte, Marty Jannetty, Psycho Sid, Issac Yankem DDS)
I'm not gonna bother with the PBP until it's down to a few men, unless something interesting happens. The first thing that comes to mind is WHY is King Kong Bundy in this? He hasn't been on TV since June, and wouldn't be on TV again afterwards. We find out why, because Bundy is dumped by about eight people at 0:14. Not much happens for a little while, but Skip dumps Aldo Montoya at 1:31 as I say that. Bob Holly is dumped out by Psycho Sid at 3:53. Duke Droese is Sid's next victim bia a big boot to the face at 4:28. Hakushi is dumped out next via Skip at 5:01 after a meaningless double teaming with Horowitz. Fatu is gone seconds later via...someone. Terrible camera angle so I couldn't see, but Kama is the closest to him. Instant Replay confirms that guess. Horowitz dumps a charging Skip out of the ring at 5:57. We come back from Commercial and half the ring is empty. So let's catch up on the Elimiantions: Henry Godwinn by multiple people, Horowitz apparently by Kama, Rad Radford by Bam Bam Bigelow, and Kama by Bigelow as well. The 1-2-3 Kid and Hunter Hearst Helmsley are also eliminated, but replays weren't shown for them. Sid is able to back dorp Yankem out of the ring at 7:00 to a nice face pop. Jannetty runs into a Sid big boot while Bigelow hammers away on Lafitte in the corner. Owen fireman carries Jannetty to the corner, but Jannetty slides out and rolls him up for no reason. Sid chokes Bigelow across the top rope while Owen takes Jannetty to the corner. Bigelow with a shoulder block eliminates Sid at 8:13. Savio Vega bounces off the ropes and connects with a heel kick to Lafitte. Jannetty rams Owen to the buckle while Savio connects with a reverse crescent kick to Lafitte in the corner. Commercial Break and Bam Bam Bigelow has been eliminated by a Jean Pierre Lafitte clothesline. Owen is almost gone by Vega, but is able to hold onto the ropes. Lafitte pounds on Savio in the corner as Jannetty has a sleeper applied on Owen. Owen tries the firemans carry again but Jannetty bounces off the top rope with a clothesline takedown. Another attempt and Jannetty is able to block. Jannetty with mounted punches in the corner. At the same time Savio connects with a DDT on JPL. Both faces almost dump the heels, but everyone is still safe. Owen with a series of blows to the leg of Savio but Savio is able to connect with an enziguri. JPL comes back and dumps Savio over, but he hangs onto the bottom rope. Irish whip by Owen and Savio ducks a heel kick and nails his own. Savio with a headbutt to Jannettyand tosses him ove,r but jannetty holds on and pulls Savio over with his legs at 12:16. Lafitte is also out by Jannetty at 12:24 and it's down to two. Irish whip and Owen flair flips into the ropes. Jannetty dumps him onto the apron again with a clothesline, but Owen holds on. Jannetty with a series of rights, with Owen teasing falling off, but able to hold onto the top and middle ropes. Owen is able to slide back in under the bottom rope after dropping Jannetty neck first across the top rope. Enziguri by Owen connects and he tries the firemans carry again, but Jannetty is now 3 for 3 in blocking it with takeovers. Jannetty with a go behind but Owen takes the momentum to put Jannetty out THROUGH the ropes. Jannetty goes after Cornette, so Bulldog comes to ringside and hand Jannetty his ass on a silver platter. Owen hammers Jannetty in the ring and puts him down with a shoulder block. Jannetty wityh a shoulder block, but Owen side steps a charge and dumps Jannetty out at 15:43 to earn a shot at the Intercontinental Title next week. Sadly, I don't have it. *** This was a very good Battle Royale once it came down to a few men, but the first half was just bleh.
- WWF-Womens Championship Match:
Bertha Faye (c) (w/ Harvey Wippleman) vs. Alundra Blayze:
And the wave of Womens wrestling comes back, as the next tape features several women matches. At least though it's made up of good workers. I always had the theory, the uglier the chick, the better the wrestler. Too bad everyone in WWE doesn't follow that and thus the Women Division sucks. Faye attacks and knocks Alundra down with her fat. Press slam by Bertha and she drops a big leg across the throat of Blayze for one. Headbutt connects and Bertha rakes Alundras eyes across the top rope. Squashing in the corner and Blayze takes her down with a sunset flip for two. Bertha back up with a clothesline and sits down on Alundra for two. Bertha attempts a tiger suplex but opts to toss Alundra down by the hair instead. Snapmare out of the corner and Faye with a series of blows to the back. Commercial and we come back to Bertha breaking out of a boston crab. Irish whip to the corner and Blayze flair flips out and rams Bertha to the buckle several times and comes off the top rope with a monkey flip. Whip to the buckle and Blayze with an arm drag followed by a missile dropkick for two. Irish whip and Blayze with a spinning heel kick and rake of the eyes for a two count. Blayze hammers away on Faye and scores with several kicks to the legs. Irish whip and Blayze with a take down by the hair for another two count. Blayze with a snapmare and sits across the neck of Faye. Faye back drops out of a powerbomb attempt from Blayze. Scoop slam and heads upstairs, but Alundra hurricanrana's her off. Bertha and Wippleman collide on the apron and Blayze wins the match and title with a german suplex at 6:40. ** Pretty good womens match, and mucho better than their Summerslam encounter.
- Bret "Hitman" Hart vs. Psycho Sid (w/ Million Dollar Coporation):
Hart has members from the Saskatchewan Rough Riders from the CFL with him to counter the Corporation. Taped from an episode of Superstars, and this would actually main event a PPV a year later. Lockup and Sid shoves Bret across the ring. Lockup and repeat. Lockup #3 and Sid backs Bret into the corner and unloads with a series of rights to the midsection. Big boot to the face in the corner connects, but misses a second attempt. Hart hammers away with a series of blows to the midsection and a headbutt. A charging clothesline sends Sid outside, and the football players toss Sid back in, and Bret sends him back out. Sid is tossed back in again and Bret attempts the sharpshooter, but Sid grabs the ropes. Bret yanks him back to the middle of the ring and connects with a headbutt to the midsection. Bret with a headbutt, and Dibiase is able to trip him next to the ropes. Sid with a super high elevation leg drop and some slapping around. Back to the corner and Sid kicks Bret in the mouth. Irish whip to the corner and Bret sells it like death as usual. Sid continues to pummel Bret and boots him to the back of the head. Sid scoops Bret up and applies a bearhug followed by a clothesline. Sid with a snapmare and applies a reverse chinlock. Skip is with Dibiase for some reason and one of the CFL guys tackles him back into 1993. Back to action and Sid puts Hart down with a shoulder block. Sid tosses Bret outside and Dibiase's guys & Skip stomp on him like a cockroach. Back inside and Sid chokes Bret across the second rope. Back from commercial and Sid with choking in the corner. Bret is able to connect with a boot to the midsection followed by a second rope clothesline. Headbutt and a series of rights to the midsection. Russian leg sweep by Hart and he connects with an elbow drop for two. Bret with a small package for another two count and he goes for a cross body. Sid catches him, but Bret takes him down with extra momentum. Sid sends Bret outside and it's all out war between the cornermen. Bret's...somewhere, but sneaks back into the ring and school boys Sid for three at 8:22 after a little help from some crazy looking guy. *1/2 Best match you can hope to get out of Sid in a meaningless eight minute match.
- Marty Jannetty vs. The British Bulldog (w/ Jim Cornette):
The match is stemming off the interference of the Battle Royale and Jannetty's sneak attack of Bulldog on the RAW on Halloween, where Vince is dressed up in an OLD school Prison outfit. Bulldog with a standing side headlock followed by a shoulder block. Lockup and Jannetty with a side headlock followed by a poke to the eyes and a wristlock. Irish whip and Jannetty connects with an enziguri for two after a long criss cross sequence. Jannetty with an armbar and takes a shot at Cornette at ringside. Irish whip and Bulldog with a press slam across the top rope. Irish whip and Bulldog with a back body drop. Bulldog with the delayed vertical suplex and some hair pulling followed by a reverse chinlock. Jannetty fights free but runs into a knee lift. Bulldog with a headbutt and covers for two, and quickly goes into the chinlock. Jannetty fights free and catches Bulldog with a crucifix for two. Bulldog up quick and puts Jannetty down with a clothesline followed by a leg drop for two. Bulldog hammers on Jannetty and whips him to the corner. Commercial Break and we come back to another Bulldog chinlock. Criss cross sequence and a double shoulder block puts both men down. Another chinlock drops the match rating now. Jannetty is dumped outside where Cornette cheap shots him. Jannetty with a shoulder thrust through the middle ropes, but Bulldog blocks a sunset flip. Another chinlock and Jannetty again fights back in the corner. Jannetty misses SOMETHING in the corner and gets hung up by the leg. Bulldog with a snapmare and applies ANOTHER chinlock. Irish whip to the corner but Bulldog runs into a forearm. Jannetty with a sunset bulldog off the second rope and connects with a diving back elbow. Irish whip and Jannetty rams Bulldogs face into the turnbuckle. Jannetty goes upstairs for the fist drop, but Bulldog moves. Jannetty catches him with a DDT, but only for a two count. Irish whip to the corner, but he posts himself. Bulldog scoops Jannetty up and plants him with the powerslam to pick up the victory at 9:23. *1/2 A little too slow, with way too many rest-holds from Davey Boy. I expected better, but I forgot DBS hasn't been that good of a worker since the Bulldogs days.
- Bret "Hitman" Hart & Hakushi vs. Jerry "The King" Lawler & Issac Yankem D.D.S:
Well, if not for Lawler completely sucking the WWF, and Yankem being a mediocre wrestler, I won't expect any miracles here. Horowitz (dressed like he's the lost cast member from Revenge of the Nerds) is at ringside for the good guys. Hart & Yankem lockup and go to the corner, and Yankem pounds Hart with a series of forearms to the back of the head. Irish whip to the corner and Yankem comes in, missing the charge. Bret with a wrist lock and hammers away on the shoulder. Irish whip and Yankem catches Bret with a bearhug. Bret bites his way free and applies the wristlock. Hakushi tags in and comes off the top rope with a headbutt to the arm. Hakushi with a wristlock and jerks the arm. Yankem with a series of elbows in the corner. Hakushi reverses an irish whip and connects with the spring board elbow in the corner. Hakushi hammers Yankem in the corner and Bret actually hammers him behind the referees back. Hakushi with an early bronco buster and Bret tags in with a series of stomps to the chest. Inverted atomic drop and Hart with a clothesline. Headbutt to the midsection and Hart covers for two. Hart with an armbar and comes back with a cross body press for two. Bret with a sunset flip for another two count. Hakushi back in applies a wristlock. Irish whip and Yankem blocks the springboard elbow with a clothesline to the back of the head. Hakushi is dumped on the apron, but springboards off the top rope with a missile dropkick to Yankem followed by a plancha, but Yankem catches him and rams Hakushis back into the ring post. Yankem rams Hakushis back into the side of the ring as the referee is distracted with Hart. Irish whip and Yankem with a back breaker for a two count. Lawler finally tags in and hammers away on Hakushi, and connects with a piledriver. Lawler connects with a second piledriver, and Yankem comes in to choke him behind the referee's back. Yankem tags in again and whips Hakushi across the ring to the buckle. Commercial and we come back with Yankem putting Hakushi in a bearhug. Irish whip is reversed and Hakushi catches a big boot and sweeps the leg from under Yankem. Yankem blocks a dropkick and applies a boston crab, but Bret breaks it. Lawler in with a series of fist drops and goes upstairs. Hakushi catches him coming off with a chop to the throat and both men tag. Hart hammers away on Yankem and connects with a bulldog headlock. Lawler takes a beating now and it's a double noggin knocker. Irish whip and Hart with a fist to Yankems midsection followed by a russian leg sweep. To the second rope and Hart with an elbow drop. Hart applies the sharpshooter, and all hell breaks loose. Lawler comes in with a chair, so Horowitz takes it away from him. The referee sees the chair and DQ's Bret & Hakushi at 10:38. **1/4 Fun tag match but I hate screwy finishes like this.
- Henry O. Godwinn vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley:
Match never happens, as Helmsley sneak attacks Godwinn outside the ring. Godwinn came back in the ring to chase him around and grabs the slop bucket, and slops himself, causing Helmsley to run away from the disgusting pig. Oh well, WWF wasted 5:00 of television footage, so it's all good to them I guess.
- Ahmed Johnson vs. James Steel:
Squash City time. Johnson is making his in ring WWF Debut here, as he appeared a week or so earlier and slammed the 8000 pound Yokozuna. Lockup and Johnson with a handshake offer, but no deal. Cocky Cracker. Lockup, and a break in the corner. Steel hammers Ahmed and nails a weak clothesline. Ahmed no sells and kills Steel with a clothesline. Armbar is reversed with another clothesline. Irish whip and Ahmed with a NASTY spinebuster. Pearl River Plunge by Ahmed finishes this at 2:26. DUD
- Non-Title; Special Referee Match:
Razor Ramon (IC Champ) vs. Psycho Sid:
The 1-2-3 Kid is the special referee, and has been having problems with Ramon for the last few months. We get clips of Superstars the past weekend, where Razor Ramon got him and The Kid DQ'ed in another tag team title shot against the Smoking Gunns. I smell trouble. Lockup and Sid hammers away with blows to the midsection. Sid with some choking and an Irish whip. Ramon ducks a clothesline and connects with a series of roundhouse rights, sending Sid over the top rope to the floor. Irish whip and Sid connects with a big boot to the kisser. Sid with a stomp to the chest and covers for a two count. Sid with a super chokeslam and some posing. Sid continues to punish Ramon with chokes across the second rope, and Dibiase gets in a cheap shot. Sid stomps away at the chest and pounds the back of Ramon with axhandles. Ramon comes back with rights but Sid makes him eat the canvas. Razor catches Sid with a boot, but Sid is able to back drop Ramon out of the ring on a Razor's Edge attempt. Back inside the ring Sid with more forearms to the back followed by a back suplex for two. Long reverse chinlock spot by Sid, and Ramon finally comes back up with an eletric chair drop. Ramon catches Sid with a top rope bulldog for a two count. Razor's Edfe attempt, but The kid pulls Sid out of it. sid with a powerbomb to Ramon and The Kid with a SUPER FAST COUNT at 9:47 gives Sid the win! 1/2* Pretty bad match, but a half star for the finish. Dibiase stuffs a canadian $5 bill down Ramons throat, and The kid retrieves it and stuffs it in his pocket.
Final Thoughts: Overall, not a bad tape at all, thanks to a few good Hart matches and several other free TV clashes that weren't too shabby. The PPV kind of ruins everything, but who in their right mind would've paid for THAT show? Minus the PPV, a good three hours to kill, but the last thirty minutes can easily be avoided.
And we right off the bat start with the creme de la crap. Helmsley would continue sucking for another two years, and the crowd just hates the Doink gimmick by now. Lockup and Helmsley with a side headlock. Danny Davis is still a referee here...yeah, I got nothing to say than notice who the referee is. Doink grabs the nose of Helmsley and slams him down. Doink with a head herk between the legs but Helmsley recovers and clotheslines Doink down and stomps a mudhole in him. Clips of Nitro and DDP is beating Johnny B. Badd down. Back to Raw and Helmsley whips Doink to the corner, but eats boot on the way. Doink with a side suplex but misses an elbow drop. Helmsley with a knee drop for a two count. Helmsley with a nice vertical suplex for another two count. Reverse chinlock by Helmsley. Irish whip and Doink surprises HHH with a small package for two. A Backslide by Doink gets another two. Irish whip to the corner is reversed but Doink misses a blind cross body press. Pedigree by Helmsley finishes this at 3:49. 3/4* Surprisingly short match.
- WWF-Tag Team Championship Match:
The Smoking Gunns (c) vs. PG-13:
If my mind isn't playing tricks on me, J.C Ice & Wolfie D are the members of PG-13. Wolfie most recently has participated in NWA as Slash of the New Church. I have no clue why PG-13 are even on RAW. Billy starts the match with Wolfie with a lockup into the corner. Billy blocks a hip toss and scores with one of his own. Criss cross and Billy with a roundhouse right to both men. Wolfie with a side headlock and Vince says they are from the USWA. Criss cross again and Wolfie runs into Ice. Bart tags in to face JC Ice who cartwheels into a stiff clothesline. Irish whip and Bart with a back body drop, but Ice lands on his feet and mocks Akeem. Bart with clotheslines to everyone and Bart press slams Ice onto Wolfie D. Lockup and Bart with an armbar on Wolfie. Billy in with a side headlock and a arm drag reversal leads to JC Ice tripping Billy up and Wolfie sending him to the outside. Back in the ring and Wolfie tags in with a snapmare and reverse chinlock to Billy Gunn. Gunn fights free but JC puts him back down and double teaming on Billy by PG-13. Irish whip and a double back elbow to Billy followed by a double elbow drop for two. Irish whip and Billy slingshots JC Ice into Wolfie D. Bart in with a series of clotheslines and slams followed by a dropkick to Wolfie. Billy tags in and comes off the top rope woith the side winder leg drop for three at 4:59. * OK Match, but just a bland match overall.
- #1 Contenders Steel Cage Match:
Bret "Hitman" Hart vs. Issac Yankem D.D.S:
Winner here faces the winner of the World Title Match at IYH 4 at Survivor Series in November. There's a small shark cage at ringside for Jerry Lawler to be placed in if he attempts to interfere in this match. Yankem is better known today as Kane. Lockup and Yankem hammers Hart in the corner with brutal forearm blows. Yankem rams Bret into the turnbuckle and whips him across the ring. A charge to the corner misses and Hart with blows to the midsection followed by an inverted atomic drop and clothesline. Hart with a headbutt to the midsection and rams Yankem to the corner. Scoop slam by Hart followed by an elbow drop. Hart attempts escaping the cage but Yankem pulls him back down and hammers away on the back. Yankem rams Harts face into the canvas and drops an elbow across the chest. Yankem attempts an escape now but Hart knocks him off with kidney blows. Hart tries for the second time but Yankem pulls him back down by using the tights. Yankem sends Bret face first into the steel bars of the cage and kicks him in the back of the head for good measure. Yankem makes his second attempt but Bret holds onto the leg and yanks him down on his face (ouch). Hart chokes Yankem with his foot and stomps away at the kidney area of Yankem. Bret attempts escaping through the door, but the referee can't unlock it, allowing Yankem to nail a clothesline to the back of the neck, and ramming Bret into the cage at the same time. Yankem hammers away as we find out Lawler is hiding another padlock in his crown. Bret pummels Yankem as we go to commercial. We come back as Yankem boots Bret in the face and goes to climb out again. Bret is back on his feet and pulls Yankem down again and comes off the top rope with a clothesline. (over on Nitro, Flair is fighting Anderson/Pillman) Bret applies the sharpshooter, probably hoping to take Yankems legs out of it. Bret is almost out but Lawler climbs up the outside and knocks Hart back inside. Lawler is now dragged into the cage at ringside...eventually while both men are out of it inside the ring. Bret helps the cause by knocking Lawler off the cage with a series of roundhouse rights and a boot to the face. Yankem crotches Bret on the top of the cage as we see Lawler being raised above the ring. Bret hammers away on Yankem from the second rope and boots him in the face a few times. Bret is tripped up and crotched across the top rope now. Yankem stomps a mudhole in Bret and chokes him in the corner with his foot. Yankem tries a piledriver but Bret escapes wih a back body drop and goes climbing again. Bret is almost out but Yankem has Bret by the hair and pulls him back over. Brawling on the top rope and Yankem with a slam from the top rope. Yankem goes over the cage again, but Bret is back up and they continue brawling at the top. Bret bites Yankem off the top rope and once again lands on the top rope as we cut to Lawler having a nose bleed. Commercial break again and we come back with Bret and Yankem trading blows in the corner. Bret blocks being rammed into the cage and sends Yankem in for a taste and unloads on him in the corner with rights. Side suplex by Hart and he goes to escape again. Yankem is back to his feet and is able to drag Bret in by the hair again. Yankem drags Hart into the middle rope and connects with the DDS (aka DDT). Bret again prevents Yankem from escaping the cage and crotches him on the top rope. Yanekm is served some turnbuckle and Hart mounted punches in the corner. Irish whip is reversed and Bret takes the monster corner bump. Lawler drops Yankem the key to the padlock and he actually gets it off. Bret rolls Yankem up for no reason and continues pummeling him. Running bulldog headlock out of the corner by Hart followed by a back breaker. Bret goes to the second rope and connects with an elbow drop. Hart climbs the cage and finally is able to escape for the win and the #1 Contenders slot at 15:06. ** Not one of the best cage matches ever, but it was good enough for regular television. Back then, this usually meant Bulldog would win the title at IYH, but thankfully someone had enough brains not to do that.
- 20 Man Battle Royale for #1 Contendership to Intercontinental Title:
(Participants: Bam Bam Bigelow, Barry Horowitz, Aldo Montoya, Rad Radford, Skip, Hakushi, 1-2-3 Kid, Owen Hart, Duke Droese, King Kong Bundy, Savio Vega, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Kama, Henry Godwinn, Fatu, Bob Holly, Jean Pierre-Lafitte, Marty Jannetty, Psycho Sid, Issac Yankem DDS)
I'm not gonna bother with the PBP until it's down to a few men, unless something interesting happens. The first thing that comes to mind is WHY is King Kong Bundy in this? He hasn't been on TV since June, and wouldn't be on TV again afterwards. We find out why, because Bundy is dumped by about eight people at 0:14. Not much happens for a little while, but Skip dumps Aldo Montoya at 1:31 as I say that. Bob Holly is dumped out by Psycho Sid at 3:53. Duke Droese is Sid's next victim bia a big boot to the face at 4:28. Hakushi is dumped out next via Skip at 5:01 after a meaningless double teaming with Horowitz. Fatu is gone seconds later via...someone. Terrible camera angle so I couldn't see, but Kama is the closest to him. Instant Replay confirms that guess. Horowitz dumps a charging Skip out of the ring at 5:57. We come back from Commercial and half the ring is empty. So let's catch up on the Elimiantions: Henry Godwinn by multiple people, Horowitz apparently by Kama, Rad Radford by Bam Bam Bigelow, and Kama by Bigelow as well. The 1-2-3 Kid and Hunter Hearst Helmsley are also eliminated, but replays weren't shown for them. Sid is able to back dorp Yankem out of the ring at 7:00 to a nice face pop. Jannetty runs into a Sid big boot while Bigelow hammers away on Lafitte in the corner. Owen fireman carries Jannetty to the corner, but Jannetty slides out and rolls him up for no reason. Sid chokes Bigelow across the top rope while Owen takes Jannetty to the corner. Bigelow with a shoulder block eliminates Sid at 8:13. Savio Vega bounces off the ropes and connects with a heel kick to Lafitte. Jannetty rams Owen to the buckle while Savio connects with a reverse crescent kick to Lafitte in the corner. Commercial Break and Bam Bam Bigelow has been eliminated by a Jean Pierre Lafitte clothesline. Owen is almost gone by Vega, but is able to hold onto the ropes. Lafitte pounds on Savio in the corner as Jannetty has a sleeper applied on Owen. Owen tries the firemans carry again but Jannetty bounces off the top rope with a clothesline takedown. Another attempt and Jannetty is able to block. Jannetty with mounted punches in the corner. At the same time Savio connects with a DDT on JPL. Both faces almost dump the heels, but everyone is still safe. Owen with a series of blows to the leg of Savio but Savio is able to connect with an enziguri. JPL comes back and dumps Savio over, but he hangs onto the bottom rope. Irish whip by Owen and Savio ducks a heel kick and nails his own. Savio with a headbutt to Jannettyand tosses him ove,r but jannetty holds on and pulls Savio over with his legs at 12:16. Lafitte is also out by Jannetty at 12:24 and it's down to two. Irish whip and Owen flair flips into the ropes. Jannetty dumps him onto the apron again with a clothesline, but Owen holds on. Jannetty with a series of rights, with Owen teasing falling off, but able to hold onto the top and middle ropes. Owen is able to slide back in under the bottom rope after dropping Jannetty neck first across the top rope. Enziguri by Owen connects and he tries the firemans carry again, but Jannetty is now 3 for 3 in blocking it with takeovers. Jannetty with a go behind but Owen takes the momentum to put Jannetty out THROUGH the ropes. Jannetty goes after Cornette, so Bulldog comes to ringside and hand Jannetty his ass on a silver platter. Owen hammers Jannetty in the ring and puts him down with a shoulder block. Jannetty wityh a shoulder block, but Owen side steps a charge and dumps Jannetty out at 15:43 to earn a shot at the Intercontinental Title next week. Sadly, I don't have it. *** This was a very good Battle Royale once it came down to a few men, but the first half was just bleh.
- WWF-Womens Championship Match:
Bertha Faye (c) (w/ Harvey Wippleman) vs. Alundra Blayze:
And the wave of Womens wrestling comes back, as the next tape features several women matches. At least though it's made up of good workers. I always had the theory, the uglier the chick, the better the wrestler. Too bad everyone in WWE doesn't follow that and thus the Women Division sucks. Faye attacks and knocks Alundra down with her fat. Press slam by Bertha and she drops a big leg across the throat of Blayze for one. Headbutt connects and Bertha rakes Alundras eyes across the top rope. Squashing in the corner and Blayze takes her down with a sunset flip for two. Bertha back up with a clothesline and sits down on Alundra for two. Bertha attempts a tiger suplex but opts to toss Alundra down by the hair instead. Snapmare out of the corner and Faye with a series of blows to the back. Commercial and we come back to Bertha breaking out of a boston crab. Irish whip to the corner and Blayze flair flips out and rams Bertha to the buckle several times and comes off the top rope with a monkey flip. Whip to the buckle and Blayze with an arm drag followed by a missile dropkick for two. Irish whip and Blayze with a spinning heel kick and rake of the eyes for a two count. Blayze hammers away on Faye and scores with several kicks to the legs. Irish whip and Blayze with a take down by the hair for another two count. Blayze with a snapmare and sits across the neck of Faye. Faye back drops out of a powerbomb attempt from Blayze. Scoop slam and heads upstairs, but Alundra hurricanrana's her off. Bertha and Wippleman collide on the apron and Blayze wins the match and title with a german suplex at 6:40. ** Pretty good womens match, and mucho better than their Summerslam encounter.
- Bret "Hitman" Hart vs. Psycho Sid (w/ Million Dollar Coporation):
Hart has members from the Saskatchewan Rough Riders from the CFL with him to counter the Corporation. Taped from an episode of Superstars, and this would actually main event a PPV a year later. Lockup and Sid shoves Bret across the ring. Lockup and repeat. Lockup #3 and Sid backs Bret into the corner and unloads with a series of rights to the midsection. Big boot to the face in the corner connects, but misses a second attempt. Hart hammers away with a series of blows to the midsection and a headbutt. A charging clothesline sends Sid outside, and the football players toss Sid back in, and Bret sends him back out. Sid is tossed back in again and Bret attempts the sharpshooter, but Sid grabs the ropes. Bret yanks him back to the middle of the ring and connects with a headbutt to the midsection. Bret with a headbutt, and Dibiase is able to trip him next to the ropes. Sid with a super high elevation leg drop and some slapping around. Back to the corner and Sid kicks Bret in the mouth. Irish whip to the corner and Bret sells it like death as usual. Sid continues to pummel Bret and boots him to the back of the head. Sid scoops Bret up and applies a bearhug followed by a clothesline. Sid with a snapmare and applies a reverse chinlock. Skip is with Dibiase for some reason and one of the CFL guys tackles him back into 1993. Back to action and Sid puts Hart down with a shoulder block. Sid tosses Bret outside and Dibiase's guys & Skip stomp on him like a cockroach. Back inside and Sid chokes Bret across the second rope. Back from commercial and Sid with choking in the corner. Bret is able to connect with a boot to the midsection followed by a second rope clothesline. Headbutt and a series of rights to the midsection. Russian leg sweep by Hart and he connects with an elbow drop for two. Bret with a small package for another two count and he goes for a cross body. Sid catches him, but Bret takes him down with extra momentum. Sid sends Bret outside and it's all out war between the cornermen. Bret's...somewhere, but sneaks back into the ring and school boys Sid for three at 8:22 after a little help from some crazy looking guy. *1/2 Best match you can hope to get out of Sid in a meaningless eight minute match.
- Marty Jannetty vs. The British Bulldog (w/ Jim Cornette):
The match is stemming off the interference of the Battle Royale and Jannetty's sneak attack of Bulldog on the RAW on Halloween, where Vince is dressed up in an OLD school Prison outfit. Bulldog with a standing side headlock followed by a shoulder block. Lockup and Jannetty with a side headlock followed by a poke to the eyes and a wristlock. Irish whip and Jannetty connects with an enziguri for two after a long criss cross sequence. Jannetty with an armbar and takes a shot at Cornette at ringside. Irish whip and Bulldog with a press slam across the top rope. Irish whip and Bulldog with a back body drop. Bulldog with the delayed vertical suplex and some hair pulling followed by a reverse chinlock. Jannetty fights free but runs into a knee lift. Bulldog with a headbutt and covers for two, and quickly goes into the chinlock. Jannetty fights free and catches Bulldog with a crucifix for two. Bulldog up quick and puts Jannetty down with a clothesline followed by a leg drop for two. Bulldog hammers on Jannetty and whips him to the corner. Commercial Break and we come back to another Bulldog chinlock. Criss cross sequence and a double shoulder block puts both men down. Another chinlock drops the match rating now. Jannetty is dumped outside where Cornette cheap shots him. Jannetty with a shoulder thrust through the middle ropes, but Bulldog blocks a sunset flip. Another chinlock and Jannetty again fights back in the corner. Jannetty misses SOMETHING in the corner and gets hung up by the leg. Bulldog with a snapmare and applies ANOTHER chinlock. Irish whip to the corner but Bulldog runs into a forearm. Jannetty with a sunset bulldog off the second rope and connects with a diving back elbow. Irish whip and Jannetty rams Bulldogs face into the turnbuckle. Jannetty goes upstairs for the fist drop, but Bulldog moves. Jannetty catches him with a DDT, but only for a two count. Irish whip to the corner, but he posts himself. Bulldog scoops Jannetty up and plants him with the powerslam to pick up the victory at 9:23. *1/2 A little too slow, with way too many rest-holds from Davey Boy. I expected better, but I forgot DBS hasn't been that good of a worker since the Bulldogs days.
- Bret "Hitman" Hart & Hakushi vs. Jerry "The King" Lawler & Issac Yankem D.D.S:
Well, if not for Lawler completely sucking the WWF, and Yankem being a mediocre wrestler, I won't expect any miracles here. Horowitz (dressed like he's the lost cast member from Revenge of the Nerds) is at ringside for the good guys. Hart & Yankem lockup and go to the corner, and Yankem pounds Hart with a series of forearms to the back of the head. Irish whip to the corner and Yankem comes in, missing the charge. Bret with a wrist lock and hammers away on the shoulder. Irish whip and Yankem catches Bret with a bearhug. Bret bites his way free and applies the wristlock. Hakushi tags in and comes off the top rope with a headbutt to the arm. Hakushi with a wristlock and jerks the arm. Yankem with a series of elbows in the corner. Hakushi reverses an irish whip and connects with the spring board elbow in the corner. Hakushi hammers Yankem in the corner and Bret actually hammers him behind the referees back. Hakushi with an early bronco buster and Bret tags in with a series of stomps to the chest. Inverted atomic drop and Hart with a clothesline. Headbutt to the midsection and Hart covers for two. Hart with an armbar and comes back with a cross body press for two. Bret with a sunset flip for another two count. Hakushi back in applies a wristlock. Irish whip and Yankem blocks the springboard elbow with a clothesline to the back of the head. Hakushi is dumped on the apron, but springboards off the top rope with a missile dropkick to Yankem followed by a plancha, but Yankem catches him and rams Hakushis back into the ring post. Yankem rams Hakushis back into the side of the ring as the referee is distracted with Hart. Irish whip and Yankem with a back breaker for a two count. Lawler finally tags in and hammers away on Hakushi, and connects with a piledriver. Lawler connects with a second piledriver, and Yankem comes in to choke him behind the referee's back. Yankem tags in again and whips Hakushi across the ring to the buckle. Commercial and we come back with Yankem putting Hakushi in a bearhug. Irish whip is reversed and Hakushi catches a big boot and sweeps the leg from under Yankem. Yankem blocks a dropkick and applies a boston crab, but Bret breaks it. Lawler in with a series of fist drops and goes upstairs. Hakushi catches him coming off with a chop to the throat and both men tag. Hart hammers away on Yankem and connects with a bulldog headlock. Lawler takes a beating now and it's a double noggin knocker. Irish whip and Hart with a fist to Yankems midsection followed by a russian leg sweep. To the second rope and Hart with an elbow drop. Hart applies the sharpshooter, and all hell breaks loose. Lawler comes in with a chair, so Horowitz takes it away from him. The referee sees the chair and DQ's Bret & Hakushi at 10:38. **1/4 Fun tag match but I hate screwy finishes like this.
- Henry O. Godwinn vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley:
Match never happens, as Helmsley sneak attacks Godwinn outside the ring. Godwinn came back in the ring to chase him around and grabs the slop bucket, and slops himself, causing Helmsley to run away from the disgusting pig. Oh well, WWF wasted 5:00 of television footage, so it's all good to them I guess.
- Ahmed Johnson vs. James Steel:
Squash City time. Johnson is making his in ring WWF Debut here, as he appeared a week or so earlier and slammed the 8000 pound Yokozuna. Lockup and Johnson with a handshake offer, but no deal. Cocky Cracker. Lockup, and a break in the corner. Steel hammers Ahmed and nails a weak clothesline. Ahmed no sells and kills Steel with a clothesline. Armbar is reversed with another clothesline. Irish whip and Ahmed with a NASTY spinebuster. Pearl River Plunge by Ahmed finishes this at 2:26. DUD
- Non-Title; Special Referee Match:
Razor Ramon (IC Champ) vs. Psycho Sid:
The 1-2-3 Kid is the special referee, and has been having problems with Ramon for the last few months. We get clips of Superstars the past weekend, where Razor Ramon got him and The Kid DQ'ed in another tag team title shot against the Smoking Gunns. I smell trouble. Lockup and Sid hammers away with blows to the midsection. Sid with some choking and an Irish whip. Ramon ducks a clothesline and connects with a series of roundhouse rights, sending Sid over the top rope to the floor. Irish whip and Sid connects with a big boot to the kisser. Sid with a stomp to the chest and covers for a two count. Sid with a super chokeslam and some posing. Sid continues to punish Ramon with chokes across the second rope, and Dibiase gets in a cheap shot. Sid stomps away at the chest and pounds the back of Ramon with axhandles. Ramon comes back with rights but Sid makes him eat the canvas. Razor catches Sid with a boot, but Sid is able to back drop Ramon out of the ring on a Razor's Edge attempt. Back inside the ring Sid with more forearms to the back followed by a back suplex for two. Long reverse chinlock spot by Sid, and Ramon finally comes back up with an eletric chair drop. Ramon catches Sid with a top rope bulldog for a two count. Razor's Edfe attempt, but The kid pulls Sid out of it. sid with a powerbomb to Ramon and The Kid with a SUPER FAST COUNT at 9:47 gives Sid the win! 1/2* Pretty bad match, but a half star for the finish. Dibiase stuffs a canadian $5 bill down Ramons throat, and The kid retrieves it and stuffs it in his pocket.
Final Thoughts: Overall, not a bad tape at all, thanks to a few good Hart matches and several other free TV clashes that weren't too shabby. The PPV kind of ruins everything, but who in their right mind would've paid for THAT show? Minus the PPV, a good three hours to kill, but the last thirty minutes can easily be avoided.
WWF August-October 1995 Compilation
[Editor's Note: This review is from way back in April of 2004, as are a lot of the upcoming posts. Hopefully I can find the earlier versions of these reviews, as well]
- Razor Ramon vs. The British Bulldog (w/ Jim Cornette):
I'm pretty sure this is Bulldogs first match as a heel...EVER, in World Wrestling Federation. From the Monday Night Raw the week after Summerslam. I feel bad for Ramon, as the odds are pretty much 4:1 that he's jobbing here. Clips of Ramon picking a fight with Dean Douglas at Summerslam, so thats probably a feud in the coming months. Bulldog has a buzz cut now that he's a heel, and I still miss the dreadlock style he had going from 1990-92. McMahon already says Bulldog is scheduled to face Bam Bam Bigelow at the upcoming In Your House, which is a bad sign for the opponent in this match. To coincide with the Monday Night Wars, I'd usually flip between shows, so I'll ignore them unless it's something cool. Ramon tosses his toothpick in Cornettes face. We cut to clips of SABU in WCW fighting Alex Wright. That didn't last long. Back to Raw and Ramon applies an armbar with some shoulder blocks. Bulldog reverses momentarily and actually kips up free. Irish whip and Ramon with a roundhouse right followed by a clothesline sending Bulldog out of the ring. Cornette gives Bulldog advice outside the ring while I cut back to Nitro. Lockup and Ramon jerks the arm some more. Hammerlock into a go-behind and the crowd is D-E-A-D. Ramon slaps Bulldog around while the PBP has crapped out. Irish whip reversed and Bulldog sends Ramon to the buckle. Bulldog with the delayed vertical suplex and mouths off to the crowd. Bulldog hammers away at the kidneys of Ramon with forearms. Ramon catches Bulldog with another hard right, but Bulldog comes back slamming Ramons head into the canvas, followed by a clothesline for two. Bulldog with a military bench slam on Ramon and he poses some more. Commercial and Bulldog covers Ramon for two. Ramon blocks the snake eyes and falls on top of Bulldog for two. Bulldog with a scoop slam and heads to the third floor, but Ramon recovers to slam him off. Ramon with a nasty discuss punch a la The Von Erichs and nails the fall-away slam for two! Ramon hammers away at Bulldog and whips him into the referee. Razors Edge connects! Dean Douglas runs out and nails Ramon with and elbow across the back of the head of Ramon. The 1-2-3 Kid comes out but Douglas suplexes him across the top rope and knocks him off the apron, with cheers from me. Bulldog with the running powerslam and the Kid now nails a splash, but Bulldog moves and he hits Ramon instead! Bulldog clothesline The Kid out of his boots, and the referee calls for the DQ on Ramon at 7:09, giving The Bulldog the win. ** match was down the middle decent, but forgetable. Bulldog press slams The Kid across the top rope and continues to beat down Ramon. After a commercial, we have a confrontation between Ramon/Kid in the middle of the ring, setting up a match between the two! Next week on Monday Night Raw!
- WWF-Intercontinental Championship Match:
Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Psycho Sid (w/ Ted Dibiase):
The possible long waited blow-off from the Sid attack on Michaels back on the 4/3/95 Monday Night Raw. Glad to see Michaels finally shaved the stupid beard. Michaels gets creeped out by a ladder backstage in a nice comedy spot. Bischoff I heard gave away the result of this match on Nitro (Raw was taped the week earlier of course), but I won't say what until after the match. Lockup and Sid misses a cheap shot. Michaels hammers Sid and tries a sunset flip. Sid blocks but misses a fist drop. Michaels with a dropkick followed by a diving clothesline. Michaels with rights and Sid takes a hike. Back in the ring and Michaels with a side headlock. Sid whips free and a shoulder block sends Sid nowhere. Michaels is dumped over the top but he skins the cat and dropkicks Sid out of the ring. Sid with a headlock back in the ring followed by a modified spine buster. Sid hammers away on Michaels in the corner and applies a choke. Whip to the corner and Michaels gets stuck across the top rope. Sid plants a kic, sending Michaels on the apron, and follows with a clothesline to knock him off. Sid follows and press slams him across the ring apron. Dibiase lays in a few blows behind the referees back. On Nitro clips of Hogan vs. Luger, which happened to be Lugers first match I think. Commercial and Sid has a bear hug applied. Michaels breaks free but walks into a boot. Headlock takeover by Sid but Michaels breaks again. Sid catches Michaels with a sweet chokeslam, but he stalls for a pin. Sid picks Michaelss off the ground for a Powerbomb, but Michaels back drops Sid off him and lands a few blows to the midsection. Michaels continues the beating and nails the diving forearm! Michaels hammers away at Sid and stomps the face. Michaels to the top rope and he connects with a cross body press for two! Sid catches Michaels with a boot to the mid section, but is caught with THREE SWEET CHIN MUSICS and thats more than enough for the three count at 7:21. **1/4 Decent contest again, but Sid/HBK was never great, but good. On Nitro anyway, Bischoff gave away the ending by saying "Michaels pinned the big man after three kicks". Or something along those lines.
- Razor Ramon vs. 1-2-3 Kid:
We get clips of the "Upset" from May 17th, 1993 when a jobber known as "The Kid" got a fluke win over Razor Ramon on Monday Night Raw. Kid attacks Ramon before the bell with some kicks and a spping heel kick sending Ramon outside. Kid off the ropes and he jumps into the arms of Ramon, which results in a SECOND ROPE fallaway slam. Ramon covers for two and slaps The Kid hard across the chest. Trash talk from Ramon and he hurls The Kid across the ring. Ramon stomps away at the Kid and nails a discuss punch sending him to the outside. Back in the ring and Ramon with a series of shoulder blocks. Irish whip is reversed but Ramon still chokeslams The Kid for two. Ramon charges but is tossed out of the ring. The Kid nails a plancha dropkick (!) on Ramon and nails a spinning heel kick in the ring for one. Irish whip and The Kid with a sleeper hold! Commercial and Ramon is down and almost out. Ramon Cubans-Up and turns it into a high angle back suplex for a delayed two count! Ramon controls a fist fight and nails The Kid with a vicious clothesline in the corner. Double headbutt puts both men AND The referee down. Ramon is the only person left in the ring, so Dean Douglas comes out with a splash across the back of Ramon. Everyone is back in the ring and The Kid covers for a long three count at 7:07. **1/2 The trend continues, and The Kid wins with a little help. Heel turn maybe? We'll find out.
- The Report Card time. Douglas gives the 1-2-3 Kid a "D" for "Dumb" because he thinks he defeated Ramon by himself. Ramon gets a grade for "E", which stands for elevate. For his own performance he get's an "A" for "!". For this sunday night, he gives him an "N", which stands for No Brainer.
- Bob "Spark Plugg" Holly & Savio Vega vs. Kama & Tatanka (w/ Ted Dibiase):
Damn, why is Tatanka still around? He should be gone by June after King Of The Ring. Commercial and we clip to Savio nailing Tatanka with a series of dropkicks as well as to Tatanka. Kama tags in as does Holly. Kama with a boot to the midsection, but Holly comes back with rights and a series of arm drags into an armbar. Kama reverses, so Holly reverses back and hammers on the elbow. Savio tags in and boots Kama to the midsection. Kama with a big forearm and Tatanka comes in with roundhouse rights. Irish whip is reversed but Tatanka ducks the heel kick and goes outside the ring. Kama with a series of martial arts kicks to Vega, so Holly comes to save, but the official holds him back. Tatanka back in and the heels with a double suplex. Tatanka with a scoop slam followed by a jumping elbow drop. More double teaming in the corner and Kama tags back in with some more karate kicks. Kama taunts Holly again and....gasp...more heel beatings for Jobbio. Savio with chops to Tatanka, so Tatanka rakes the eyes. Double clothesline puts both men down. Both men tag and Holly with a dropkick followed by a running knee lift. Holly goes to the top and nails a missile dropkick for two! Savio hammers Tatanka while Holly mounts Kama in the corner. Holly goes upstairs again but Kama botches the cross body into a powerslam, and it looks like Kama just reversed it. Pinfall at 5:36. ** Again, decent, but nothing special. I wonder why Savio's team lost, since the WWF still was high on the Carribean "superstar" who use to be a Ninja.
- WWF-Tag Team Championship Match:
Owen Hart & Yokozuna (c) (w/ Fuji & Cornette) vs. Men On A Mission:
Well this pairing makes no sense. The Fat Guys stare each other down...but Mo is forced to sit out of it. Owen and Mo actually have history. Owen slaps Mo and the trade blows. Mo with a knee lift and axe-handles followed by a back elbow. Mo whips Owen to the corner but eats boot. Owen with a clothesline and whips Mo to the corner. Mo catches Owen with a powerslam and tags in Barney The Dinosaur. Owen gets thrown around by Mabel but avoids a splash in the corner. Owen mounts him for shots, but is shoved down. Owen plays the face now and takes a double team beating. Mo tags back in and Owen kicks kicked in the back by Mabel on the apron. Mo continues pounding Owens back and whips him to the corner. Mabel chokes Owen in his corner and Mo helps him while the referee is distracted by Yokozuna. Irish whip and Owen nails blocks a sunset flip, but its reversed for two. Crowd cheers for Owen to make a tag oddly. Irish whip and Owen dumps Mo out of the ring to a pop, and Yokozuna tagging in gets more! Owen with a axe-handle off the top rope on Mo and rams him into the steel steps! Mabel accidentally feeds Mo to Yokozuna and the crowd aproves of the Tag Champs. Yokozuna with a NASTY chop in the corner and a series of rights putting Mo down. Yoko & Owen play the heels now and do a double beat-down. Owen with a woo and that gets cheered. Yoko puts Mo down and rams him into Owens boot. Commercial and both Owen and Mo are down. Both fat men get tagged in and trade fat blows. Mabel wth a diving clothesline puts Yoko down and Owen runs into a clothesline. Mabel press slams Owen onto Yokozuna and they double clothesline Yokozuna. Mo back in and he hammers Yoko. Irish whip is reversed and Owen plants a boot into Mos kidneys. Missile dropkick by Owen for two. Hang-mans neck breaker by Owen. Owen gets buckled on the top rope by Mo and he nails a super-plex for two! Yoko sends Mabel out of the ring to a face pop and Owen drop toe holds Mo so Yokozuna can land a leg drop for the three count at 9:03. *3/4 Actually a decent match, as Owen carried everyone in this, and worked a good match, playing both heel and face. Yokozuna seemed to be in the match as well.
- Marty Jannetty vs. Skip (w/ Sunny):
This is Jannetty's return after a extra long absence. I'm probably wrong, but this is the first we've seen of Jannetty since the spring of 1994. Jannetty has always been my favorite lower-card wrestlers, and I was glad to see him back in WWF. Lockup and Skip with a headlock. Cris cross and Jannetty with a series of arm drags followed by a dropkick to send Skip out of the ring into Sunnys arms. Lucky Bastard. Skip heads back in the ring and everyone, even the men join in a Marty chant. Lockyp and Skip rakes the eyes. Skip hammers Jannetty in the corner and whips him to the corner. Another criss cross leads to a back drop by Jannetty sending Skip running again. Jannetty follows now and hammers Skip, and hugs Sunny. Jannetty rams Skip into theapron and seems to have a stoner fit in the ring. Lockup Part III and Jannetty with a hammerlock and single leg takedown. Jannetty locks in the chicken-wing for a moment and Skip fights up. Criss cross and Sunny trips up Jannetty. Skip with a gut-wrench powerbomb and he coonects with a snap suplex. Dean Douglas takes notes from the aisle as Skip hammers away on Jannetty. Skip with a scoop slam followed by a leg drop. Commercial and Skip nails a clothesline with vintage Jannetty 360 spin over-sell. Skip with a snapmare followed by another leg drop for two. Skip hammers on Jannetty in the corner with rights. Whip to the corner leads to Jannetty catching Skip with a release german suplex for two! Irish whip by Skip and Jannetty catches him with a powerbomb! Jannetty pounds on Skip and puts him down with a roundhouse right. Irish whip and Jannetty with a diving back elbow. Irish whip again and Jannetty with a running knee lift for two! Irish whip is reversed and Jannetty with a cross body press for another two. Jannetty back drops Skip to the outside and suplexes Skip back in the ring, but Skip falls on top for TWO! Irish whip and Jannetty nails the Rocker Dropper!!! big pop for that one. Jannetty to the top rope and he nails the dreaded fist drop for three at 7:39. Crowd still loves him, and not the bad way. **1/4 These two would have a better match a few weeks later, as Jannetty's ring rust looked noticable here, and he never took his tank top off, meaning he must have lost some of his upper-body definition.
- WWF-Tag Team Championship Match:
Owen Hart & Yokozuna (c) (w/ Fuji & Cornette) vs. The Smoking Gunns:
Owen & Yokozuna have lost and regained the Tag Titles in a 24 hour span as they lost the titles the night before, but due to a contract loophole, were rewarded back the championships, to be defended here. We come back from commercial and Owen and Bart do a criss cross. Bart with a drop toe hold followed by an arm drag into a armbar. Billy tags in and works the arm over as well. Owen elbows Billy in the face and hammers him in the corner. Billy reverses a whip to the corner and nails a stiff right. Irish whip and Owen with a drop toe hold, and Yokozuna tags in. Lockup and Billy with a side headlock. Irish whip and Yoko with a shoulder block. Irish whip and Billy with a series of dropkicks followed by a bulldog headlock! Armbar by Billy G. is short lived and he gets caught with a samoan drop. Billy rolls out of the ring where Owen stomps a mudhole in him. Yokozuna chokes away at Billy and tags back in Owen. Owen with a reverse chinlock. Criss cross and Billy with a sunset flip for two. Owen catches him with the enziguri and drops a leg as we got to a commercial. We're back and Owen with a swinging neck breaker followed by a cross body press, which is reversed for two. Yokozuna in again and they wish bone Gunn. Double teaming in the heel corner and Yoko chokes him down. Snapmare by Yokozuna and he applies the nerve hold of rest-hold fame. Billy breaks out eventually but runs into a back elbow. Yokozuna misses the elbow drop that also misses and both men are down. Owen tags in to prevent a tag, but Bart gets it anyway and unloads on Owen with rights. Clothesline connects followed by a back drop. IRish whip to the corner and Bart with a military press slam for two. Billy dives in to hammer on Yokozuna and the Gunns whip Owen into Yokozuna. Side Winder connects and Bart covers but no ref. Yokozuna goes for a splash but lands on Owen by mistake! Billy takes Yoko out and Bart covers again, and we have NEW Tag Team Champions at 10:09. * Doesn't touch Wrestlemania XI match in quality, but the Gunns finally got the gold back after a long road of nothing to do. Diesel & Shawn Michaels (Dubbed Two Dudes With Attitudes) come out to celebrate with the new champions.
- The Undertaker (w/ Paul Bearer) vs. British Bulldog (w/ Jim Cornette):
Here's an original match. Fun notes: The Undertakers only Title defenses during the week of Novemeber 28th through december 3rd of 1991 around the country were against the British Bulldog. Bulldog apparently is the #1 Contender for the World Title and will face Diesel at In Your House 4. Rumors were Bulldog was given multiple main event slots following his heel turn to spite Lex Luger, who jumped to WCW without notice. Later Luger admited his contract had expired so he was free to go, and no one caught the error. Undertaker chases Bulldog around the ring to start and Bulldog hammers way back in the ring. Irish whip and Undertaker snaps Bulldog back to the canvas. Whip to the corner and Taker with a choke. Bullodg rakes the eyes and whips Taker to the ropes. Taker ducks a clothesline and nails his diving clothesline. Armbar by the dead man and he goes old school, but Cornette shakes the ropes and Bulldog throws him off the top rope. Zombie-sit up and Taker catches Bulldog with a big boot. Scoop slam by Taker and he misses the elbow drop. Bulldog with a clothesline sends Taker to the outside, where he conviniently chokes Cornette. Bulldog with a chop block to Taker and he whips him into the steel steps. Commercial and we come back to Bulldog dropping a few knees to Takers leg. We see Waylon Mercy in the crowd, although he dissapeared about a week later. Bulldog with a half boston crab but Taker powers out and pounds the Bulldog. Bulldog whips Taker to the corner but Taker blocks a powerslam attempt with a back suplex. Odd seeing Taker sell a leg injury. Both men trade shots with Undertaker winning. Irish whip to the corner and the rope walk clothesline works this time. Irish whip and Bulldog catches Undertaker with a piledriver...only for two! Zombie-up time so Bulldog with a suplex for two again, and another Zombie situp. Irish whip and Taker with a big ol' chokeslam! Here comes Mabel for the DQ at 7:29 and he plants Taker with a belly to belly suplex. Running powerslam by Bulldog followed by a Mabel leg drop. Michaels and Diesel come out to make the save, and are for some reason dressed to wrestle even though this was the final match. As for the match, pretty slow but as a Taker mark I'll say 1/2* so I don't have to give out a dud rating.
- Shawn Michaels, Diesel, The Undertaker vs. Owen Hart, British Bulldog, Yokozuna:
Major Six-Man tag team match on Monday Night Raw. As the norm for how retarded Raw for a few months, they go to a commercial and come back with the match already started. Michaels with an armbar on Owen and they criss cross a bit. Michaels with a few rights followed by a somewhat odd arm drag takedown into an armbar. Reversal sequence and Owen with a shoulder block. Criss cross part deux and Michaels with a monkey flip and clothesline sending Owen outside. Hip toss to Bulldog and Diesel with a cheap shot. Owen tastes buckle and everyone brawls. Yokozuna is whipped into Bulldog & Owen, knocking both of them down, and Diesel & Undertaker send Yokozuna out with a double big boot! Hot sequence. Outside the ring Yokozuna accidentally bumps the ring post. Diesel whips Bulldog to the corner and nails a clothesline. Diesel with a series of rights sends Bulldog outside where Undertakert chokes him and sends him back in the ring. Yokozuna tags in so Diesel hammers him and nails a flying clothesline. Armbar and Undertaker tags in to go OLD SCHOOL! Boot to the midsection and Taker runs into a samoan drop. Cornette celebrates so Undertaker sits up. Irish whip and Taker with a HIGH angle DDT. Mercy watches from a distance again and Michaels tags in with a double axe-handle. Armbar by Michaels and a criss cross leads to Yoko nailing what today is a Rock Bottom! Owen tags in to cover for two. Owen with a back breaker and he stomps away at Shawn's kidneys. Bulldog tags in and they nail a double elbow. Military press slam by Bulldog and he eventually throws down Michaels for two. Seeing Fuji wave a BRITISH flag is somewhat odd. Bulldog jerks Michaelss off the ground via the hair and covers for two as Michaels gets his foot on the ropes. Michaels is sent to the buckle and the heels double and triple team. Back from commercial and Owen has an abdominal stretch applied. Dean Douglas comes to ringside. Michaels hip tosses Owen off and back slides him for two. Owen quickly nails a lunging clothesline and tags in Yoko for the wishbone. Yokozuna with a big roundhouse right and Bulldog tags in for a double headbutt for two. Bulldog with the WAY DELAYED vertical suplex and he covers for two again. Owen back in again for a double headbutt followed by a snapmare into a reverse chinlock. Michaels fights out but runs into a spinning heel kick by Owen for two! Michaels with a surprise roll up on Owen for two and Owen goes back to work with a gut-wrench suplex. Owen goes to the top rope and misses a splash. Both men make tags and Diesel hammers away on Davey Boy. Irish whip and Diesel with a side walk slam. Clothesline to Yoko and a big boot to Owen. Owen with a cheap shot to the back and Bulldog with a running powerslam for TWO as Undertaker breaks the fall. Yokozuna with a leg drop on Diesel and Bulldog covers for THREE!! at 11:46. **1/2 Decent but nothing special. Undertaker cleans house until Super-Mabel attacks and in one of the MOST RETARDED ANGLES OF ALL TIME, Yokozuna & Mabel drop multiple leg drops on Undertaker, which...CRUSHED HIS FACE, forcing him out of action until Survivor Series and come back wearing a goofy mask. Douglas prevents a save by hammering on Michaels outside the ring and suplexing him across the steel steps.
- "Making A Difference" Fatu vs. Skip (w/ Sunny):
This I think is the final match on this tape. Lockup and Skip with a knee lift followed by a series of rights. Headlock by Skip and a criss cross leads to Skip acting goofy. Lockup and Fatu with an armbar. Skip reverses and rakes the eyes. Hard rights by Skip and he slams his head into the buckle. Fatu gets jiggy and hammers way on Skip. Fatu goes after Sunny outside the ring and Skip is caught in sneak attack attempt. Back in the ring and Fatu whips him to the corner only to miss a charge and posting himself. Back suplex by Skip followed by a scoop slam. Skip to the second rope with a fist drop, and he sells hurting his hand on Fatus head. Irish whip and Fatu catches Skip with a roundhouse right. Irish wip and Skip with an enziguri for two. Snapmare by Skip and he applies a reverse chinlock. Skip goes to the top rope for a headbutt, but Fatu no sells it and makes the Superman comeback. Back breaker by Fatu and he goes for the finish, but Skip gets up and rams his head into the post. Skip does his best to suplex Fatu on the top rope, but Fatu shoves him down and nails the Samoan Big Splash for three at 5:49. 3/4* Nothing match here, but it had its charms. Fatu mocks Skip with jumping jacks and the crowd approves. Lots of jumping back to Nitro which had a kick-ass Arn Anderson vs. Ric Flair steel cage match.
Final Thoughts: An OK tape without the Summerslam matches, but otherwise, nothing really great here. Even Shawn Michaels had trouble carrying people this time. Thankfully though, the next tape marks the end of the road for Diesels failed championship reign, as well as a BUS LOAD of crapola including the debut of the Bizarre one. Time to get some Budweiser to sooth the pain of that tape.
- Razor Ramon vs. The British Bulldog (w/ Jim Cornette):
I'm pretty sure this is Bulldogs first match as a heel...EVER, in World Wrestling Federation. From the Monday Night Raw the week after Summerslam. I feel bad for Ramon, as the odds are pretty much 4:1 that he's jobbing here. Clips of Ramon picking a fight with Dean Douglas at Summerslam, so thats probably a feud in the coming months. Bulldog has a buzz cut now that he's a heel, and I still miss the dreadlock style he had going from 1990-92. McMahon already says Bulldog is scheduled to face Bam Bam Bigelow at the upcoming In Your House, which is a bad sign for the opponent in this match. To coincide with the Monday Night Wars, I'd usually flip between shows, so I'll ignore them unless it's something cool. Ramon tosses his toothpick in Cornettes face. We cut to clips of SABU in WCW fighting Alex Wright. That didn't last long. Back to Raw and Ramon applies an armbar with some shoulder blocks. Bulldog reverses momentarily and actually kips up free. Irish whip and Ramon with a roundhouse right followed by a clothesline sending Bulldog out of the ring. Cornette gives Bulldog advice outside the ring while I cut back to Nitro. Lockup and Ramon jerks the arm some more. Hammerlock into a go-behind and the crowd is D-E-A-D. Ramon slaps Bulldog around while the PBP has crapped out. Irish whip reversed and Bulldog sends Ramon to the buckle. Bulldog with the delayed vertical suplex and mouths off to the crowd. Bulldog hammers away at the kidneys of Ramon with forearms. Ramon catches Bulldog with another hard right, but Bulldog comes back slamming Ramons head into the canvas, followed by a clothesline for two. Bulldog with a military bench slam on Ramon and he poses some more. Commercial and Bulldog covers Ramon for two. Ramon blocks the snake eyes and falls on top of Bulldog for two. Bulldog with a scoop slam and heads to the third floor, but Ramon recovers to slam him off. Ramon with a nasty discuss punch a la The Von Erichs and nails the fall-away slam for two! Ramon hammers away at Bulldog and whips him into the referee. Razors Edge connects! Dean Douglas runs out and nails Ramon with and elbow across the back of the head of Ramon. The 1-2-3 Kid comes out but Douglas suplexes him across the top rope and knocks him off the apron, with cheers from me. Bulldog with the running powerslam and the Kid now nails a splash, but Bulldog moves and he hits Ramon instead! Bulldog clothesline The Kid out of his boots, and the referee calls for the DQ on Ramon at 7:09, giving The Bulldog the win. ** match was down the middle decent, but forgetable. Bulldog press slams The Kid across the top rope and continues to beat down Ramon. After a commercial, we have a confrontation between Ramon/Kid in the middle of the ring, setting up a match between the two! Next week on Monday Night Raw!
- WWF-Intercontinental Championship Match:
Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Psycho Sid (w/ Ted Dibiase):
The possible long waited blow-off from the Sid attack on Michaels back on the 4/3/95 Monday Night Raw. Glad to see Michaels finally shaved the stupid beard. Michaels gets creeped out by a ladder backstage in a nice comedy spot. Bischoff I heard gave away the result of this match on Nitro (Raw was taped the week earlier of course), but I won't say what until after the match. Lockup and Sid misses a cheap shot. Michaels hammers Sid and tries a sunset flip. Sid blocks but misses a fist drop. Michaels with a dropkick followed by a diving clothesline. Michaels with rights and Sid takes a hike. Back in the ring and Michaels with a side headlock. Sid whips free and a shoulder block sends Sid nowhere. Michaels is dumped over the top but he skins the cat and dropkicks Sid out of the ring. Sid with a headlock back in the ring followed by a modified spine buster. Sid hammers away on Michaels in the corner and applies a choke. Whip to the corner and Michaels gets stuck across the top rope. Sid plants a kic, sending Michaels on the apron, and follows with a clothesline to knock him off. Sid follows and press slams him across the ring apron. Dibiase lays in a few blows behind the referees back. On Nitro clips of Hogan vs. Luger, which happened to be Lugers first match I think. Commercial and Sid has a bear hug applied. Michaels breaks free but walks into a boot. Headlock takeover by Sid but Michaels breaks again. Sid catches Michaels with a sweet chokeslam, but he stalls for a pin. Sid picks Michaelss off the ground for a Powerbomb, but Michaels back drops Sid off him and lands a few blows to the midsection. Michaels continues the beating and nails the diving forearm! Michaels hammers away at Sid and stomps the face. Michaels to the top rope and he connects with a cross body press for two! Sid catches Michaels with a boot to the mid section, but is caught with THREE SWEET CHIN MUSICS and thats more than enough for the three count at 7:21. **1/4 Decent contest again, but Sid/HBK was never great, but good. On Nitro anyway, Bischoff gave away the ending by saying "Michaels pinned the big man after three kicks". Or something along those lines.
- Razor Ramon vs. 1-2-3 Kid:
We get clips of the "Upset" from May 17th, 1993 when a jobber known as "The Kid" got a fluke win over Razor Ramon on Monday Night Raw. Kid attacks Ramon before the bell with some kicks and a spping heel kick sending Ramon outside. Kid off the ropes and he jumps into the arms of Ramon, which results in a SECOND ROPE fallaway slam. Ramon covers for two and slaps The Kid hard across the chest. Trash talk from Ramon and he hurls The Kid across the ring. Ramon stomps away at the Kid and nails a discuss punch sending him to the outside. Back in the ring and Ramon with a series of shoulder blocks. Irish whip is reversed but Ramon still chokeslams The Kid for two. Ramon charges but is tossed out of the ring. The Kid nails a plancha dropkick (!) on Ramon and nails a spinning heel kick in the ring for one. Irish whip and The Kid with a sleeper hold! Commercial and Ramon is down and almost out. Ramon Cubans-Up and turns it into a high angle back suplex for a delayed two count! Ramon controls a fist fight and nails The Kid with a vicious clothesline in the corner. Double headbutt puts both men AND The referee down. Ramon is the only person left in the ring, so Dean Douglas comes out with a splash across the back of Ramon. Everyone is back in the ring and The Kid covers for a long three count at 7:07. **1/2 The trend continues, and The Kid wins with a little help. Heel turn maybe? We'll find out.
- The Report Card time. Douglas gives the 1-2-3 Kid a "D" for "Dumb" because he thinks he defeated Ramon by himself. Ramon gets a grade for "E", which stands for elevate. For his own performance he get's an "A" for "!". For this sunday night, he gives him an "N", which stands for No Brainer.
- Bob "Spark Plugg" Holly & Savio Vega vs. Kama & Tatanka (w/ Ted Dibiase):
Damn, why is Tatanka still around? He should be gone by June after King Of The Ring. Commercial and we clip to Savio nailing Tatanka with a series of dropkicks as well as to Tatanka. Kama tags in as does Holly. Kama with a boot to the midsection, but Holly comes back with rights and a series of arm drags into an armbar. Kama reverses, so Holly reverses back and hammers on the elbow. Savio tags in and boots Kama to the midsection. Kama with a big forearm and Tatanka comes in with roundhouse rights. Irish whip is reversed but Tatanka ducks the heel kick and goes outside the ring. Kama with a series of martial arts kicks to Vega, so Holly comes to save, but the official holds him back. Tatanka back in and the heels with a double suplex. Tatanka with a scoop slam followed by a jumping elbow drop. More double teaming in the corner and Kama tags back in with some more karate kicks. Kama taunts Holly again and....gasp...more heel beatings for Jobbio. Savio with chops to Tatanka, so Tatanka rakes the eyes. Double clothesline puts both men down. Both men tag and Holly with a dropkick followed by a running knee lift. Holly goes to the top and nails a missile dropkick for two! Savio hammers Tatanka while Holly mounts Kama in the corner. Holly goes upstairs again but Kama botches the cross body into a powerslam, and it looks like Kama just reversed it. Pinfall at 5:36. ** Again, decent, but nothing special. I wonder why Savio's team lost, since the WWF still was high on the Carribean "superstar" who use to be a Ninja.
- WWF-Tag Team Championship Match:
Owen Hart & Yokozuna (c) (w/ Fuji & Cornette) vs. Men On A Mission:
Well this pairing makes no sense. The Fat Guys stare each other down...but Mo is forced to sit out of it. Owen and Mo actually have history. Owen slaps Mo and the trade blows. Mo with a knee lift and axe-handles followed by a back elbow. Mo whips Owen to the corner but eats boot. Owen with a clothesline and whips Mo to the corner. Mo catches Owen with a powerslam and tags in Barney The Dinosaur. Owen gets thrown around by Mabel but avoids a splash in the corner. Owen mounts him for shots, but is shoved down. Owen plays the face now and takes a double team beating. Mo tags back in and Owen kicks kicked in the back by Mabel on the apron. Mo continues pounding Owens back and whips him to the corner. Mabel chokes Owen in his corner and Mo helps him while the referee is distracted by Yokozuna. Irish whip and Owen nails blocks a sunset flip, but its reversed for two. Crowd cheers for Owen to make a tag oddly. Irish whip and Owen dumps Mo out of the ring to a pop, and Yokozuna tagging in gets more! Owen with a axe-handle off the top rope on Mo and rams him into the steel steps! Mabel accidentally feeds Mo to Yokozuna and the crowd aproves of the Tag Champs. Yokozuna with a NASTY chop in the corner and a series of rights putting Mo down. Yoko & Owen play the heels now and do a double beat-down. Owen with a woo and that gets cheered. Yoko puts Mo down and rams him into Owens boot. Commercial and both Owen and Mo are down. Both fat men get tagged in and trade fat blows. Mabel wth a diving clothesline puts Yoko down and Owen runs into a clothesline. Mabel press slams Owen onto Yokozuna and they double clothesline Yokozuna. Mo back in and he hammers Yoko. Irish whip is reversed and Owen plants a boot into Mos kidneys. Missile dropkick by Owen for two. Hang-mans neck breaker by Owen. Owen gets buckled on the top rope by Mo and he nails a super-plex for two! Yoko sends Mabel out of the ring to a face pop and Owen drop toe holds Mo so Yokozuna can land a leg drop for the three count at 9:03. *3/4 Actually a decent match, as Owen carried everyone in this, and worked a good match, playing both heel and face. Yokozuna seemed to be in the match as well.
- Marty Jannetty vs. Skip (w/ Sunny):
This is Jannetty's return after a extra long absence. I'm probably wrong, but this is the first we've seen of Jannetty since the spring of 1994. Jannetty has always been my favorite lower-card wrestlers, and I was glad to see him back in WWF. Lockup and Skip with a headlock. Cris cross and Jannetty with a series of arm drags followed by a dropkick to send Skip out of the ring into Sunnys arms. Lucky Bastard. Skip heads back in the ring and everyone, even the men join in a Marty chant. Lockyp and Skip rakes the eyes. Skip hammers Jannetty in the corner and whips him to the corner. Another criss cross leads to a back drop by Jannetty sending Skip running again. Jannetty follows now and hammers Skip, and hugs Sunny. Jannetty rams Skip into theapron and seems to have a stoner fit in the ring. Lockup Part III and Jannetty with a hammerlock and single leg takedown. Jannetty locks in the chicken-wing for a moment and Skip fights up. Criss cross and Sunny trips up Jannetty. Skip with a gut-wrench powerbomb and he coonects with a snap suplex. Dean Douglas takes notes from the aisle as Skip hammers away on Jannetty. Skip with a scoop slam followed by a leg drop. Commercial and Skip nails a clothesline with vintage Jannetty 360 spin over-sell. Skip with a snapmare followed by another leg drop for two. Skip hammers on Jannetty in the corner with rights. Whip to the corner leads to Jannetty catching Skip with a release german suplex for two! Irish whip by Skip and Jannetty catches him with a powerbomb! Jannetty pounds on Skip and puts him down with a roundhouse right. Irish whip and Jannetty with a diving back elbow. Irish whip again and Jannetty with a running knee lift for two! Irish whip is reversed and Jannetty with a cross body press for another two. Jannetty back drops Skip to the outside and suplexes Skip back in the ring, but Skip falls on top for TWO! Irish whip and Jannetty nails the Rocker Dropper!!! big pop for that one. Jannetty to the top rope and he nails the dreaded fist drop for three at 7:39. Crowd still loves him, and not the bad way. **1/4 These two would have a better match a few weeks later, as Jannetty's ring rust looked noticable here, and he never took his tank top off, meaning he must have lost some of his upper-body definition.
- WWF-Tag Team Championship Match:
Owen Hart & Yokozuna (c) (w/ Fuji & Cornette) vs. The Smoking Gunns:
Owen & Yokozuna have lost and regained the Tag Titles in a 24 hour span as they lost the titles the night before, but due to a contract loophole, were rewarded back the championships, to be defended here. We come back from commercial and Owen and Bart do a criss cross. Bart with a drop toe hold followed by an arm drag into a armbar. Billy tags in and works the arm over as well. Owen elbows Billy in the face and hammers him in the corner. Billy reverses a whip to the corner and nails a stiff right. Irish whip and Owen with a drop toe hold, and Yokozuna tags in. Lockup and Billy with a side headlock. Irish whip and Yoko with a shoulder block. Irish whip and Billy with a series of dropkicks followed by a bulldog headlock! Armbar by Billy G. is short lived and he gets caught with a samoan drop. Billy rolls out of the ring where Owen stomps a mudhole in him. Yokozuna chokes away at Billy and tags back in Owen. Owen with a reverse chinlock. Criss cross and Billy with a sunset flip for two. Owen catches him with the enziguri and drops a leg as we got to a commercial. We're back and Owen with a swinging neck breaker followed by a cross body press, which is reversed for two. Yokozuna in again and they wish bone Gunn. Double teaming in the heel corner and Yoko chokes him down. Snapmare by Yokozuna and he applies the nerve hold of rest-hold fame. Billy breaks out eventually but runs into a back elbow. Yokozuna misses the elbow drop that also misses and both men are down. Owen tags in to prevent a tag, but Bart gets it anyway and unloads on Owen with rights. Clothesline connects followed by a back drop. IRish whip to the corner and Bart with a military press slam for two. Billy dives in to hammer on Yokozuna and the Gunns whip Owen into Yokozuna. Side Winder connects and Bart covers but no ref. Yokozuna goes for a splash but lands on Owen by mistake! Billy takes Yoko out and Bart covers again, and we have NEW Tag Team Champions at 10:09. * Doesn't touch Wrestlemania XI match in quality, but the Gunns finally got the gold back after a long road of nothing to do. Diesel & Shawn Michaels (Dubbed Two Dudes With Attitudes) come out to celebrate with the new champions.
- The Undertaker (w/ Paul Bearer) vs. British Bulldog (w/ Jim Cornette):
Here's an original match. Fun notes: The Undertakers only Title defenses during the week of Novemeber 28th through december 3rd of 1991 around the country were against the British Bulldog. Bulldog apparently is the #1 Contender for the World Title and will face Diesel at In Your House 4. Rumors were Bulldog was given multiple main event slots following his heel turn to spite Lex Luger, who jumped to WCW without notice. Later Luger admited his contract had expired so he was free to go, and no one caught the error. Undertaker chases Bulldog around the ring to start and Bulldog hammers way back in the ring. Irish whip and Undertaker snaps Bulldog back to the canvas. Whip to the corner and Taker with a choke. Bullodg rakes the eyes and whips Taker to the ropes. Taker ducks a clothesline and nails his diving clothesline. Armbar by the dead man and he goes old school, but Cornette shakes the ropes and Bulldog throws him off the top rope. Zombie-sit up and Taker catches Bulldog with a big boot. Scoop slam by Taker and he misses the elbow drop. Bulldog with a clothesline sends Taker to the outside, where he conviniently chokes Cornette. Bulldog with a chop block to Taker and he whips him into the steel steps. Commercial and we come back to Bulldog dropping a few knees to Takers leg. We see Waylon Mercy in the crowd, although he dissapeared about a week later. Bulldog with a half boston crab but Taker powers out and pounds the Bulldog. Bulldog whips Taker to the corner but Taker blocks a powerslam attempt with a back suplex. Odd seeing Taker sell a leg injury. Both men trade shots with Undertaker winning. Irish whip to the corner and the rope walk clothesline works this time. Irish whip and Bulldog catches Undertaker with a piledriver...only for two! Zombie-up time so Bulldog with a suplex for two again, and another Zombie situp. Irish whip and Taker with a big ol' chokeslam! Here comes Mabel for the DQ at 7:29 and he plants Taker with a belly to belly suplex. Running powerslam by Bulldog followed by a Mabel leg drop. Michaels and Diesel come out to make the save, and are for some reason dressed to wrestle even though this was the final match. As for the match, pretty slow but as a Taker mark I'll say 1/2* so I don't have to give out a dud rating.
- Shawn Michaels, Diesel, The Undertaker vs. Owen Hart, British Bulldog, Yokozuna:
Major Six-Man tag team match on Monday Night Raw. As the norm for how retarded Raw for a few months, they go to a commercial and come back with the match already started. Michaels with an armbar on Owen and they criss cross a bit. Michaels with a few rights followed by a somewhat odd arm drag takedown into an armbar. Reversal sequence and Owen with a shoulder block. Criss cross part deux and Michaels with a monkey flip and clothesline sending Owen outside. Hip toss to Bulldog and Diesel with a cheap shot. Owen tastes buckle and everyone brawls. Yokozuna is whipped into Bulldog & Owen, knocking both of them down, and Diesel & Undertaker send Yokozuna out with a double big boot! Hot sequence. Outside the ring Yokozuna accidentally bumps the ring post. Diesel whips Bulldog to the corner and nails a clothesline. Diesel with a series of rights sends Bulldog outside where Undertakert chokes him and sends him back in the ring. Yokozuna tags in so Diesel hammers him and nails a flying clothesline. Armbar and Undertaker tags in to go OLD SCHOOL! Boot to the midsection and Taker runs into a samoan drop. Cornette celebrates so Undertaker sits up. Irish whip and Taker with a HIGH angle DDT. Mercy watches from a distance again and Michaels tags in with a double axe-handle. Armbar by Michaels and a criss cross leads to Yoko nailing what today is a Rock Bottom! Owen tags in to cover for two. Owen with a back breaker and he stomps away at Shawn's kidneys. Bulldog tags in and they nail a double elbow. Military press slam by Bulldog and he eventually throws down Michaels for two. Seeing Fuji wave a BRITISH flag is somewhat odd. Bulldog jerks Michaelss off the ground via the hair and covers for two as Michaels gets his foot on the ropes. Michaels is sent to the buckle and the heels double and triple team. Back from commercial and Owen has an abdominal stretch applied. Dean Douglas comes to ringside. Michaels hip tosses Owen off and back slides him for two. Owen quickly nails a lunging clothesline and tags in Yoko for the wishbone. Yokozuna with a big roundhouse right and Bulldog tags in for a double headbutt for two. Bulldog with the WAY DELAYED vertical suplex and he covers for two again. Owen back in again for a double headbutt followed by a snapmare into a reverse chinlock. Michaels fights out but runs into a spinning heel kick by Owen for two! Michaels with a surprise roll up on Owen for two and Owen goes back to work with a gut-wrench suplex. Owen goes to the top rope and misses a splash. Both men make tags and Diesel hammers away on Davey Boy. Irish whip and Diesel with a side walk slam. Clothesline to Yoko and a big boot to Owen. Owen with a cheap shot to the back and Bulldog with a running powerslam for TWO as Undertaker breaks the fall. Yokozuna with a leg drop on Diesel and Bulldog covers for THREE!! at 11:46. **1/2 Decent but nothing special. Undertaker cleans house until Super-Mabel attacks and in one of the MOST RETARDED ANGLES OF ALL TIME, Yokozuna & Mabel drop multiple leg drops on Undertaker, which...CRUSHED HIS FACE, forcing him out of action until Survivor Series and come back wearing a goofy mask. Douglas prevents a save by hammering on Michaels outside the ring and suplexing him across the steel steps.
- "Making A Difference" Fatu vs. Skip (w/ Sunny):
This I think is the final match on this tape. Lockup and Skip with a knee lift followed by a series of rights. Headlock by Skip and a criss cross leads to Skip acting goofy. Lockup and Fatu with an armbar. Skip reverses and rakes the eyes. Hard rights by Skip and he slams his head into the buckle. Fatu gets jiggy and hammers way on Skip. Fatu goes after Sunny outside the ring and Skip is caught in sneak attack attempt. Back in the ring and Fatu whips him to the corner only to miss a charge and posting himself. Back suplex by Skip followed by a scoop slam. Skip to the second rope with a fist drop, and he sells hurting his hand on Fatus head. Irish whip and Fatu catches Skip with a roundhouse right. Irish wip and Skip with an enziguri for two. Snapmare by Skip and he applies a reverse chinlock. Skip goes to the top rope for a headbutt, but Fatu no sells it and makes the Superman comeback. Back breaker by Fatu and he goes for the finish, but Skip gets up and rams his head into the post. Skip does his best to suplex Fatu on the top rope, but Fatu shoves him down and nails the Samoan Big Splash for three at 5:49. 3/4* Nothing match here, but it had its charms. Fatu mocks Skip with jumping jacks and the crowd approves. Lots of jumping back to Nitro which had a kick-ass Arn Anderson vs. Ric Flair steel cage match.
Final Thoughts: An OK tape without the Summerslam matches, but otherwise, nothing really great here. Even Shawn Michaels had trouble carrying people this time. Thankfully though, the next tape marks the end of the road for Diesels failed championship reign, as well as a BUS LOAD of crapola including the debut of the Bizarre one. Time to get some Budweiser to sooth the pain of that tape.
Old Reviews
If I'm feeling it, I'll be posting as many of my reviews onto this blog as I can, as way to have them all in one place. No, I don't keep them saved on my computer. :P
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
So long, Pat-No-Bat-...
It took a little while longer than I hoped, but Pat Burrell has finally been given the proverbial pink slip from he Tampa Bay Rays, for being a complete waste of $16 million for the last year+. Maybe he can go back to the National League and sign 3-day contracts with whoever is playing the Mets next, or something.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Once upon a time...
Went to books a million and picked up "Fractured Fairy Tales", a written collection of the shorts featured on the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. I love goofy shit like this.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Celebrate good times
Tomorrow's my first day off in nearly two weeks. Don't plan on doing anything but lay around and be lazy.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Zelda: Ocarina of Time still rules...
Popped it into the Wii (Gamecube disc of the Collector's Edition) and forgot just how awesome this game was. Yes, the N64 graphics look really dated, but that doesn't destroy the gameplay value Ocarina has. I'm still out of sync with using all the Gamecube controls for it, though, since it's vastly different from the old N64 controls.
The blog returns... again
Since I'm constantly bored with other sites and just like to post the most random of crap, I figured I'd do it here, where no one is reading... usually.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Scrooge's SMS/Sega Genesis Flashback:
Part three in the on-going no-life having topics of making short evaluations and comments about old video games I barely play anymore. This time, it’s a joint-production for the original Sega Master System and Sega Genesis, since I only have about five games for the former.
Sega Master System:
1. Double Dragon:
The classic arcade beat-em-up. You control one of two “brothers” with goofy names, fighting an evil gang that kidnapped your girlfriend. Why not just call the Cops? I’d assume it would be a lot easier. The shortest game of the series, with only about 6 levels to over-come. Outside of bashing people with Kung-Fu, you can also pick up weapons dropped, including daggers and a whip. S&M! Pretty good game overall, but much better with a second player, since the difficulty was a bit too much.
2. Penguin Land
Basically a puzzle game. You must guide a Penguin and it’s egg down the screen, avoiding vultures, grizzly bears, and various other traps that can destroy your egg. You keep doing this for 60 levels or so. You can also create your own level and attempt to beat it, which is always fun. Just make sure not to set up a booby trap that is impossible to get by. I don’t think a sequel was ever made, and don’t think it was ever converted to the Nintendo Entertainment System, either.
3. Rocky
Yes, THAT Rocky. The guy who beat up black people and foreigners to be the best in the World. I picked this up for $5 at a Mom & Pop rental store I used to frequent a few years back. VERY Short game, though. You train, then fight Apollo Creed, train, fight Clubber Lang, train, and finally fight Ivan Drago. Each fight requires a different strategy. With Creed, you can just go in and bash him up. Lang is weak to body blows, and Drago is impossible to beat. I always get KO’ed by the 7th Round.
4. Walter Payton Football
Your typical football game for the time frame. The color scheme is all wrong for every team, no players are given names, and the view is from high above, and everyone looks like a spider rushing up and down the field. The only worthwhile part of the game is the fact it’s guy Walter Payton on the cover. Everything else is bust. See also: NFL for NES.
5. Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap
Probably the greatest game in the “history” of the Sega Master System. You control “Wonder Boy”, who is on the verge of destroying The Mekka Dragon. Before the Dragon dies, he “curses” Hu-Man (yes, I’m serious), turning him into Lizard Man. From there, you tansform into Mouse-Man, Piranna-Man, Lion-Man, and Hawk-Man en route to breaking the curse of the Vampire Dragon, hidden high above in the skies. Almost like the Legend of Zelda, except in side scrolling form. You must roam the land through various areas, some only attainable by certain characters (underwater is best suited for Pirrana Man, Mouse-Man can climb through small openings, etyc.) collecting armor, weapons, and money along the way.
Sega Genesis:
1. Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition
I’m sure everyone is familiar with the Street Fighter II game… and if you aren’t, where the fuck have you been since 1992? For those who DON’T know, you control one of various characters from around the world in an ultimate competition to see who’s the greatest fighter in the world. Selectable characters in the original game are Ryu (pronunciation varies, from “Roo”, to “Ree-oo”, but not “Rye-U”), Ken Masters, E. Honda, Dhalsim, Guile, Chun-Li, Blanka, and Zangief, with the bosses being M. Bison, Balrog, Vega, and Sagat (pronounced Sa-GOT, not as in Bob Sagat). In this version of many many many others, you can play as everyone, for those who dreamed of being one of the big bad bosses.
2. Mortal Kombat 3:
An apparent improvement over Mortal Kombat II, featuring a whole batch of new characters and bosses. However, I remember this game being a bit harder than the first and second, with a much faster engine and tougher A1, and a marked difficulty in pulling off a Fatality. You’re only given about 3-seconds to pull one off, or your opponent just dies without any fun. Some may recognize MK3 for the characters it introduced in the 2nd MK Movie, including a NEW Sub-Zero, Noob Saibot, a female version of Kintaro and Goro, and Kitana’s mother. Stick with MKII, it’s hell-a fun compared to it’s sequels that follow the same engine on the SNES/Genesis systems.
3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters
A much different version from the Super NES and (bastardized) NES version. Instead of just a round-robbin of fights, this actually tries to make a storyline around it. You select one of the TMNT or their friends, and battle it out en route to a series of boss battles, one being a Triceraton, most famous for their involvement in the original TMNT Comics. Way too tough of a game, and the bosses are even harder, if that’s even possible to say. Stick with the Super NES version, which features random involvements of Chrome Dome, Armageddon, and the Rat King.
4. Sonic The Hedgehog:
The original from a long line of video games in the series. You control Sonic, who is a Hedgehog (no shit). Your mission is to save the world and all your friends from the Evil Dr. Robotnik and his cohorts of machines and morons. Known for the rapid speed of Sonic and the distinctive levels, but also the most difficult of the series. The game would be improved upon with a much more friendly difficult setting, plus the eventual debuts of side-kick Tails and the other Hedgehog, Knuckles.
5. Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster’s Hidden Treasure
For a children’s television show transferred into video games, the TT series released several successful and entertaining video games, and by this point, was breaking off from traditional games by releasing ACME All-Stars and Wacky Sports Challenge. Anyway, this game is this game, and it follows the same formula as Mario games. Enter a stage at a certain location, beat it, go to the next, beat the boss, then go to the next level with a whole batch of stages. It’s better than it sounds, and includes all the Tiny Toon Characters we all know and love. Your mission, is of course, to stop the evil Montana Max from taking over Acme Acres.
6. Eternal Champions:
Never played it, don’t remember buying it, so let’s go to the next game. According to the morons at GameFAQs.com, it’s a pretty good game, but going by the illustration and the manual, it looks like a Street Fighter rip-off to me.
7. Super Battleship:
The Classic Naval Combat Game, so says the box art. We all know how the game works. You and an opponent set up five ships, including a Destroyer, Submarine, and of course, Battleship, then take turns blindly trying to make a hit. The first person to sink the other person’s ships wins. That’s how this video game works. You take turns hitting, and so on and so forth.
8. Jurassic Park:
Another game I bought for like $5, but I think I’ve only played it once. I think you have the option of controlling a human character or a Raptor, which is a unique feature. The graphics are solid, and so is the music. Don’t rmemeber much else, but it sounds like another good game I haven’t bothered to try and sit through.
And now it’s time for the SPORTS GAMES!
9. World Series Baseball – I think this is the 1994 Roster. I remember only playing seasons with the Florida Marlins and New York Yankees, but eventually the save feature suddenly shut down, so the game is worthless now. Most notable about the game is the monotone announcer, who sounds like an even more robotic version of Vin Scully. “Lea-ding off… num-ber for-ty-two. He is… 1 for 4… for the game.”
10. World Seris Baseball 1996 – Same style of the game as the previous with improved graphics and roster changes. I think there’s a bug in the system. If you used Andy Pettitte and through a certain pitch to the same location, you can never get touched. I actually threw a perfect game with 27 K’s with that strategy.
11. Triple Play ’96 – Same rosters, but much more difficult to control, and hitting home runs is a bitch.
12. NFL Football ’94 Starring Joe Montana – The graphics are big and bold, but there’s another bug in this game. When rushing, if you can break away, you can never be touched. For reference, I rushed for a Touchdown with Rodney Hampton, but before scoring, I just kept running back and forth for 14-MINUTES, not getting touched, using evasive moves to avoid the defense. REALLY lame. The passing in the game is hella’ hard, but it doesn’t matter.
13. NFL Madden ’95 – Your typical Madden game. The key entertainment is simulating through a season and the playoffs. For fun reference, in the HUNDREDS of seasons I’ve done, the Cleveland Browns have never finished with a winning record, and of course never made the playoffs.
14. NBA Live ’97 – Entertaining game with the rosters from the 1996-97 Off-Season. You can adjust the rosters to your liking, which wasn’t a normal part of video games back then. You either had to settle with your team or never play it period. I think I once beat a team 130-40, so you can guess how tough the A1 is.
15. NHL Hockey – No season is given, but the Tampa Bay Lightning aren’t included, so draw your own conclusion. The Devils also have green in their jerseys still. You can play a season or Playoff run, among other things. Fun game, but the NHL games got much better by 1994-95.
16. FIFA International Soccer – Traditional soccer game. Tough against the REAL teams like Argentina or Brazil, a cake-walk against the second rate teams. I always played as Italy or the United States, so I don’t know how hard it was to win with the even crappier teams than the USA.
Games missing from collection: Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic & Knuckles, Altered Beast for SMS. I also didn’t comment on the two built-in games for the SMS.
Sega Master System:
1. Double Dragon:
The classic arcade beat-em-up. You control one of two “brothers” with goofy names, fighting an evil gang that kidnapped your girlfriend. Why not just call the Cops? I’d assume it would be a lot easier. The shortest game of the series, with only about 6 levels to over-come. Outside of bashing people with Kung-Fu, you can also pick up weapons dropped, including daggers and a whip. S&M! Pretty good game overall, but much better with a second player, since the difficulty was a bit too much.
2. Penguin Land
Basically a puzzle game. You must guide a Penguin and it’s egg down the screen, avoiding vultures, grizzly bears, and various other traps that can destroy your egg. You keep doing this for 60 levels or so. You can also create your own level and attempt to beat it, which is always fun. Just make sure not to set up a booby trap that is impossible to get by. I don’t think a sequel was ever made, and don’t think it was ever converted to the Nintendo Entertainment System, either.
3. Rocky
Yes, THAT Rocky. The guy who beat up black people and foreigners to be the best in the World. I picked this up for $5 at a Mom & Pop rental store I used to frequent a few years back. VERY Short game, though. You train, then fight Apollo Creed, train, fight Clubber Lang, train, and finally fight Ivan Drago. Each fight requires a different strategy. With Creed, you can just go in and bash him up. Lang is weak to body blows, and Drago is impossible to beat. I always get KO’ed by the 7th Round.
4. Walter Payton Football
Your typical football game for the time frame. The color scheme is all wrong for every team, no players are given names, and the view is from high above, and everyone looks like a spider rushing up and down the field. The only worthwhile part of the game is the fact it’s guy Walter Payton on the cover. Everything else is bust. See also: NFL for NES.
5. Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap
Probably the greatest game in the “history” of the Sega Master System. You control “Wonder Boy”, who is on the verge of destroying The Mekka Dragon. Before the Dragon dies, he “curses” Hu-Man (yes, I’m serious), turning him into Lizard Man. From there, you tansform into Mouse-Man, Piranna-Man, Lion-Man, and Hawk-Man en route to breaking the curse of the Vampire Dragon, hidden high above in the skies. Almost like the Legend of Zelda, except in side scrolling form. You must roam the land through various areas, some only attainable by certain characters (underwater is best suited for Pirrana Man, Mouse-Man can climb through small openings, etyc.) collecting armor, weapons, and money along the way.
Sega Genesis:
1. Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition
I’m sure everyone is familiar with the Street Fighter II game… and if you aren’t, where the fuck have you been since 1992? For those who DON’T know, you control one of various characters from around the world in an ultimate competition to see who’s the greatest fighter in the world. Selectable characters in the original game are Ryu (pronunciation varies, from “Roo”, to “Ree-oo”, but not “Rye-U”), Ken Masters, E. Honda, Dhalsim, Guile, Chun-Li, Blanka, and Zangief, with the bosses being M. Bison, Balrog, Vega, and Sagat (pronounced Sa-GOT, not as in Bob Sagat). In this version of many many many others, you can play as everyone, for those who dreamed of being one of the big bad bosses.
2. Mortal Kombat 3:
An apparent improvement over Mortal Kombat II, featuring a whole batch of new characters and bosses. However, I remember this game being a bit harder than the first and second, with a much faster engine and tougher A1, and a marked difficulty in pulling off a Fatality. You’re only given about 3-seconds to pull one off, or your opponent just dies without any fun. Some may recognize MK3 for the characters it introduced in the 2nd MK Movie, including a NEW Sub-Zero, Noob Saibot, a female version of Kintaro and Goro, and Kitana’s mother. Stick with MKII, it’s hell-a fun compared to it’s sequels that follow the same engine on the SNES/Genesis systems.
3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters
A much different version from the Super NES and (bastardized) NES version. Instead of just a round-robbin of fights, this actually tries to make a storyline around it. You select one of the TMNT or their friends, and battle it out en route to a series of boss battles, one being a Triceraton, most famous for their involvement in the original TMNT Comics. Way too tough of a game, and the bosses are even harder, if that’s even possible to say. Stick with the Super NES version, which features random involvements of Chrome Dome, Armageddon, and the Rat King.
4. Sonic The Hedgehog:
The original from a long line of video games in the series. You control Sonic, who is a Hedgehog (no shit). Your mission is to save the world and all your friends from the Evil Dr. Robotnik and his cohorts of machines and morons. Known for the rapid speed of Sonic and the distinctive levels, but also the most difficult of the series. The game would be improved upon with a much more friendly difficult setting, plus the eventual debuts of side-kick Tails and the other Hedgehog, Knuckles.
5. Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster’s Hidden Treasure
For a children’s television show transferred into video games, the TT series released several successful and entertaining video games, and by this point, was breaking off from traditional games by releasing ACME All-Stars and Wacky Sports Challenge. Anyway, this game is this game, and it follows the same formula as Mario games. Enter a stage at a certain location, beat it, go to the next, beat the boss, then go to the next level with a whole batch of stages. It’s better than it sounds, and includes all the Tiny Toon Characters we all know and love. Your mission, is of course, to stop the evil Montana Max from taking over Acme Acres.
6. Eternal Champions:
Never played it, don’t remember buying it, so let’s go to the next game. According to the morons at GameFAQs.com, it’s a pretty good game, but going by the illustration and the manual, it looks like a Street Fighter rip-off to me.
7. Super Battleship:
The Classic Naval Combat Game, so says the box art. We all know how the game works. You and an opponent set up five ships, including a Destroyer, Submarine, and of course, Battleship, then take turns blindly trying to make a hit. The first person to sink the other person’s ships wins. That’s how this video game works. You take turns hitting, and so on and so forth.
8. Jurassic Park:
Another game I bought for like $5, but I think I’ve only played it once. I think you have the option of controlling a human character or a Raptor, which is a unique feature. The graphics are solid, and so is the music. Don’t rmemeber much else, but it sounds like another good game I haven’t bothered to try and sit through.
And now it’s time for the SPORTS GAMES!
9. World Series Baseball – I think this is the 1994 Roster. I remember only playing seasons with the Florida Marlins and New York Yankees, but eventually the save feature suddenly shut down, so the game is worthless now. Most notable about the game is the monotone announcer, who sounds like an even more robotic version of Vin Scully. “Lea-ding off… num-ber for-ty-two. He is… 1 for 4… for the game.”
10. World Seris Baseball 1996 – Same style of the game as the previous with improved graphics and roster changes. I think there’s a bug in the system. If you used Andy Pettitte and through a certain pitch to the same location, you can never get touched. I actually threw a perfect game with 27 K’s with that strategy.
11. Triple Play ’96 – Same rosters, but much more difficult to control, and hitting home runs is a bitch.
12. NFL Football ’94 Starring Joe Montana – The graphics are big and bold, but there’s another bug in this game. When rushing, if you can break away, you can never be touched. For reference, I rushed for a Touchdown with Rodney Hampton, but before scoring, I just kept running back and forth for 14-MINUTES, not getting touched, using evasive moves to avoid the defense. REALLY lame. The passing in the game is hella’ hard, but it doesn’t matter.
13. NFL Madden ’95 – Your typical Madden game. The key entertainment is simulating through a season and the playoffs. For fun reference, in the HUNDREDS of seasons I’ve done, the Cleveland Browns have never finished with a winning record, and of course never made the playoffs.
14. NBA Live ’97 – Entertaining game with the rosters from the 1996-97 Off-Season. You can adjust the rosters to your liking, which wasn’t a normal part of video games back then. You either had to settle with your team or never play it period. I think I once beat a team 130-40, so you can guess how tough the A1 is.
15. NHL Hockey – No season is given, but the Tampa Bay Lightning aren’t included, so draw your own conclusion. The Devils also have green in their jerseys still. You can play a season or Playoff run, among other things. Fun game, but the NHL games got much better by 1994-95.
16. FIFA International Soccer – Traditional soccer game. Tough against the REAL teams like Argentina or Brazil, a cake-walk against the second rate teams. I always played as Italy or the United States, so I don’t know how hard it was to win with the even crappier teams than the USA.
Games missing from collection: Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic & Knuckles, Altered Beast for SMS. I also didn’t comment on the two built-in games for the SMS.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)