IMG Credit: WWE

Summerslam 1994
Date: August 29, 1994
Location: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 23,000
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler

This is the old review of the year and that’s an interesting choice. The show has a double main event of WWF World Champion Bret Hart defending against his brother Owen to continue their awesome feud, plus the wholly unawesome Undertaker vs. Fake Undertaker match. It’s the best of both worlds you see. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Randy Savage to welcome us to the show, held in the brand new United Center. Somehow, this is the only pay per view the company has ever run from the arena.

Jerry Lawler has some breaking news: Shawn Michaels and Diesel have become the new Tag Team Champions after defeating the Headshrinkers last night. What an odd time to do a title change, but 1994 was an odd time.

IRS/Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Headshrinkers

IRS and Bigelow have Ted DiBiase in their corner and this was originally going to be a title match. The Headshrinkers (Samu/Fatu) have Afa and Lou Albano with them, just to crank up the bizarre state of the show so far. Bigelow runs Fatu (not Samu Vince, though to be fair it’s a pretty easy mistake to make) over with a shoulder but eats the superkick for two. Fatu avoids a very early top rope headbutt and a double superkick puts Bigelow down again. Samu comes in, so Vince says Samu is now in, after saying Samu started.

Vince really wasn’t great at this whole thing. Samu starts cleaning house and ducks an IRS charge to send him outside. Back in and Bigelow low bridges Fatu to the floor but it’s a double clothesline for a double knockdown. The hot(ish) tag brings Samu back in for a BAAAACK body drop and a headbutt to Bigelow, which works because Samoans have hard heads. The middle rope headbutt gets two on IRS with Bigelow making a save. With Bigelow being knocked to the floor, the double Stroke sets up the Superfly Splash but Bigelow goes after Albano. That’s enough to draw Afa in for the DQ at 7:18.

Rating: D+. Pretty lame opener here with the lack of the titles taking away the little interest this match had. The Headshrinkers are good in their roles but Bigelow and IRS are a pretty generic team who don’t have much to do here. I’m still not sure what the point is in having the titles change early. Why not just do it the next night on Raw?

They brawl to the back.

And now, for your comedy of the show. The detectives from the Naked Gun movies are trying to find the Undertaker, complete with a bunch of puns and sight gags. Such gems include “we’re both on the case” as they stand on a briefcase.

Women’s Title: Bull Nakano vs. Alundra Blayze

Blayze is defending and Nakano has Luna Vachon in her corner. For those of you of a younger age, Nakano is a rather terrifying Japanese monster and Blayze’s archnemesis. We get the ceremonial flower presentation but Vachon throws hers at Blayze to really be a jerk. Nakano kicks her in the ribs instead of shaking hands but it’s too early for a powerbomb. A knee to the ribs cuts the champ off and Nakano throws her down by the hair.

We hit the chinlock (with Nakano’s back to the camera because she doesn’t know how to work) until Blayze makes the rope, which isn’t an escape you see that often. The yet to be named hurricanrana gives Blayze two but Nakano pulls her down into a Boston crab with both legs under one arm. With that broken up, Nakano puts on what would become Paige’s Scorpion Crosslock.

Since Blayze hasn’t been tortured enough yet, Nakano switches to a cross armbreaker. Back up and three straight running sleeper drops have Nakano in trouble but she powers out of a piledriver attempt. A powerbomb gets two on the champ as the pace has picked WAY up out of nowhere. Blayze avoids the guillotine legdrop though, kicks Vachon down and grabs the German suplex to retain at 8:17.

Rating: B. For 1994, this was some insane stuff in America, especially for a women’s match. Blayze really was good but Nakano was one of the best of the era. She was big, strong, could wrestle on the mat and had the submission skills to be that dominant. Unfortunately these two pretty much the entire division for a long time so it could only go so far.

Shawn Michaels and Diesel brag about winning the titles because the Heartbreak Hotel needed some more gold. Diesel says Razor Ramon isn’t taking one of his two titles tonight. Razor has had a bunch of chances and tonight isn’t going to change anything.

Intercontinental Title: Razor Ramon vs. Diesel

Razor is challenging and has NFL Hall of Famer Walter Payton in his corner to balance out Shawn. The white boots are a weird look for Razor. Shawn talks trash to Payton to start and Razor fires off the right hands, which look very good against someone Diesel’s size. Back in after a quick trip to the floor and Diesel gets in his own punches to take over. A sleeper slows Razor down even more and Diesel throws him outside.

Shawn goes for the turnbuckle pad but Payton chases him off, allowing Shawn to forearm Razor behind the referee’s back. I could watch Shawn outsmart people for days. Back in again and the referee stands in front of the exposed buckle but Shawn’s second distraction allows Razor to be whipped in. Diesel hits Snake Eyes onto an unexposed buckle as Lawler thinks the pad fell off the other one. A chinlock with a knee to the back keeps Razor in trouble and a big boot knocks his head off.

We hit the abdominal stretch, which at least looks more painful than a chinlock with a knee in the back. Diesel grabs the rope, making me wish we had Bobby Heenan there to explain why it’s more to avoid a hiptoss counter than to add more leverage. Razor gets out and sends Diesel ribs first into the exposed buckle, sending Lawler into hysterics as it should.

The middle rope bulldog (the Hall Buster) gets two and there’s a right hand to knock Shawn off the apron for a great over the top sell. A flying shoulder gives Diesel a breather so Shawn goes after the belt. Payton goes after him again and of course the referee yells, allowing Shawn to superkick Diesel by mistake. Shawn gets pulled outside and Razor finally crawls over for the pin to get the title back at 15:01.

Rating: B-. I’ve always had a mixed reaction to this one as the match itself is pretty good but Payton being out there was just a celebrity cameo that could have been anyone. Razor getting the title back was the right call as Shawn and Diesel are already having issues. They could have cut a few minutes out here, but what we got was still good enough and didn’t get sunk by the extra time.

Diesel yells at Shawn all the way to the back.

Savage talks about what we just saw.

Lex Luger and Tatanka are in the back. A fan poll has 54% saying that Luger sold out to Ted DiBiase and Tatanka is tired of hearing Luger deny it. We see a montage of DiBiase and Luger getting very close, but Luger still swears there’s nothing going on because DiBiase is lying. Tatanka is going to prove his story in the ring tonight.

Lex Luger vs. Tatanka

There’s no DiBiase to start. Feeling out process to start with Luger running him over but not following up. Tatanka’s armbar has no effect so Luger puts him down again, only to miss the jumping elbow (as always). That means we get more of Tatanka’s lame offense, including the top rope chop to the head. The second attempt gets punched out of the air and Luger starts in with the clotheslines. Cue DiBiase with a gym bag as Luger hits a powerslam. DiBiase pulls money out of the bag as Luger yells at him, allowing Tatanka to grab a rollup for the pin at 6:02.

Rating: D. This was all about the storyline instead of the wrestling and that’s not surprising. Neither Luger nor Tatanka were going to have a good match at this point so the story was the only way this was going to work. Tatanka was a fine midcard hand but if he had even a slightly better offense, he could have been a much bigger deal. There comes a point where you need the wrestling to back up the character and that just wasn’t the case for him.

Post match Luger kicks the money out of DiBiase’s hands so Tatanka jumps him from behind, revealing that he sold out. I’ve always liked that story, as bad as the match was. What I don’t like is how long this goes on, as Tatanka beats him up three different times, capped off by the Million Dollar Dream. We get the money in Luger’s mouth for a little old school touch.

Gorilla Monsoon is aghast at what we just saw. Agreed. That money must be filthy.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Mabel

This is going to be a disaster. During the entrances, Vince and Jerry debate the detectives’ skills and if Lawler has any rhythm. Mabel tosses away a wristlock attempt (Jarrett’s sell is quite good) and drops the big elbow when Jarrett tries a drop down. A clothesline puts Jarrett on the floor so he shoves the rapping Oscar. That’s not going to get him booed as Oscar isn’t very good. Back in and Jeff scores with some middle rope ax handles but Mabel crushes him in the corner.

The spinwheel kick (the one good thing that Mabel could do) gets two as Abe Knuckleball Schwartz (the Brooklyn Brawler as a baseball player) is on strike in the crowd. This adds nothing and isn’t funny or interesting, but it’s a thing that happens. Sounds like 1994 as a whole. They head outside with Oscar getting in a slap and Mabel splashing Jeff against the post. Back in and the middle rope splash misses, followed by a missed sitdown splash to give Jeff the pin at 5:57.

Rating: F. Oh what were you expecting here? Mabel was fat and useless while Jarrett wasn’t exactly someone who was going to carry anyone at this point, especially someone that big. This should have been on Raw at best and comes off as terrible filler here. Mainly because that’s what it was.

Vince introduces the detectives in the aisle, blowing their cover. Undertaker’s silhouette appears in the entrance but they don’t see him. Because they’re bad at their jobs you see.

We recap Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart. This started way back in 1993 when Owen was the only Hart eliminated at the Survivor Series, which he blamed on Bret. Owen and Bret then teamed up to try and win the Tag Team Titles, but Bret wouldn’t tag out when injured, leading to a referee stoppage.

They went on to have a classic at Wrestlemania X with Owen pinning Bret clean. Bret won the WWF World Title later in the night and the feud was on for the rest of the summer. Owen even won the King of the Ring (just like his brother the previous year) to earn another title shot. Tonight is the big blowoff inside a cage. This really was a great feud as you could see Owen’s point all along and it built up perfectly over time.

Earlier today, Owen and crony Jim Neidhart (Bret’s former partner) were in the cage and promised to destroy Bret once and for all tonight.

Bret is going to forget they’re family tonight because Owen will be crying a river of tears, just like he did when he was a baby.

The Hart Family, including Davey Boy Smith, is at ringside and Helen can’t believe this is happening. Stu hopes the best wrestler wins and sounds as only he can. Lawler accuses both of them of causing all of this and thinks Smith will turn on Bret again. Lawler: “Wouldn’t you love to be in there with Bret again tonight?” Smith: “Uh, not really.” Neidhart is behind Smith and says we’ll see Owen prove that he’s the better man once and for all. Bruce Hart spins around and says stay out of this.

Bret, recovering from strep throat, says his condition won’t change anything tonight. What we’re going to see tonight is barbaric and nothing like what they did when they were kids. Everyone wants things to end tonight and Bret is going to finish it to heal his family.

WWF World Title: Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart

Bret is defending in a cage with escape only to win. Owen goes right at him to start and hammers away during the entrances, followed by some hard right hands to the head. You can see Helen panicking over the whole thing and a DDT by Bret makes things even worse. It’s too early to escape though and Owen scores with some headbutts, followed by an enziguri to really rock Bret. He’s fine enough to suplex Owen off the cage and it’s a double knockdown.

Owen goes for the door so Bret bends him around the ropes for a save and drags him right back in. They’re setting up a good feel here with both of them going for the escape and being pulled back for more punishment. That ties in the idea of wanting to hurt each other but wanting to be the better man even more, which is really what this is all about. They both wind up on the top rope and slug it out with Owen knocking him down.

Instead of getting the easy climb out though, Owen comes back with a missile dropkick into a nipup. Both make some fast climbs up the cage but get pulled down for a crash each. A collision gives us another double knockdown as they’re taking their time building the drama, mainly because they’ve got the time to do so. It’s still too early for Owen to get out the door as Bret pulls him out, only to get pulled back down from the top for a hard crotching.

Bret is up fast enough for the headbutt between the legs but Owen pulls him down again. Owen gets closer to getting out than any other attempt yet, even getting his feet and legs out of the cage. Bret pulls him back in and sends Owen face first into the cage for a big knockdown. This time the climb is cut off by a belly to back superplex as the crashes and falls are getting bigger and bigger. A good piledriver plants Bret but he’s fine enough to catch a tired Owen again.

They both fall off the ropes this time for a breather until Bret catapults him face first into the cage. Owen has to literally dive over for a save and sends Bret into the cage, with the champ coming up holding his knee. The knee is fine enough to climb up and kick Owen away but he gets pulled back down by the arm.

Owen gets out again and you can feel the fans quiet down as he gets close. He’s pulled back in yet again and Bret kicks him down to the mat but it’s Owen’s turn for a last second save. Bret catches him in the corner and pulls Owen back down with a huge superplex (Bret always had a great one) and they’re both down again. Owen is up first with a Sharpshooter but Bret reverses into one of his own.

A little cranking has Owen down but, say it with me, he lunges over for the save by pulling Bret down hair first. They both climb and this time make it over the top, leaving them hanging on the side. Bret hits him in the ribs, causing Owen to slip and get tied up in the cage wall. That’s enough for Bret to drop down and retain at 32:18.

Rating: A+. I’ve had to say this about several Bret matches before but the wrestling isn’t the point here. This was all about telling a great story and that’s what we got. The thing to remember here is that they don’t hate each other but rather Owen wants to prove he’s better and Bret wants to shut Owen up. It explains why they weren’t trying to kill each other in what is usually a violent match. Instead, they were trying to win, which should be the case in most matches and especially one like this. Notice how the match ends: not with a big spot, but with Bret being one step better than Owen, which is the point of the feud.

It is slower paced and it does feel like they’re doing the same things over and over, but it’s a case of WHY they’re doing the same things over and over. They’re not trying to destroy each other and it really is about being the better man. Owen has gone off the deep end with trying to beat Bret, but it never felt like he wanted to hurt him. That might not make for the most exciting match, but it’s how things should have gone when you think about it.

Post match Neidhart jumps the barricade and clotheslines Davey, knocking him into his wife. Neidhart locks himself inside the cage and the double beatdown is on as Owen has completely snapped. The Hart Brothers storm the cage (always cool) but Owen keeps knocking them off. Davey finally punches Owen down (for a great bump) and gets in, sending Owen and Neidhart running as the rest of the brothers get inside as well.

In the back, Owen and Neidhart yell about how Owen should be the winner and Davey isn’t family. Owen: “Let’s go celebrate my victory!”

Survivor Series ad, making fun of football. Considering how meh that show was, I wouldn’t go that way.

We recap the Undertaker vs. Undertaker. Back in January, Undertaker was destroyed by about a dozen guys and put in a casket. Not to worry as he ascended out of the casket in one of the most ridiculous things you’ll ever see in wrestling. After being gone for several months (aside from some sightings, including by a young child in school), Ted DiBiase said he had seen Undertaker. Paul Bearer said no way but DiBiase brought him back, only to reveal that it was a fake Undertaker (played by Brian Adams, better known as Chainz). The lack of about three inches was a, ahem, dead giveaway.

With Undertaker succumbing to the power of money, Bearer went to the graveyard and said he had the real Undertaker again. After the lights went out one night on the King’s Court (Todd Pettengill: “Look at that brain surgeon Jerry Lawler.”), the real Undertaker said he was back and not with DiBiase. He would be around this coming Monday (at Summerslam) against whatever DiBiase had with him. This video gets well over five minutes as we need to get rid of the cage.

Undertaker vs. Undertaker

For the sake of simplicity, I’ll identify them by the colors of their gloves: gray for the fake one and purple for the real. DiBiase brings his man to the ring but Bearer comes out with just a casket. There’s nothing inside though and the casket is wheeled to the back. Instead Bearer opens the Urn to reveal a light….and here’s the real Undertaker. That certainly seems to be worth the wait for the fans.

Purple shrugs off some forearms to the back and leapfrogs (!) gray, who falls to the floor. Gray stalks Bearer and gets suplexed back inside for his troubles, only to be sent right back to the floor. A Stunner over the top staggers Purple but Old School just isn’t happening. The real Old School connects and now Lawler believes Bearer has the real thing.

Purple misses a charge and falls to the floor as Vince defends the silent crowd. More right hands from gray don’t have much effect but a good looking chokeslam gets….no cover. Gray goes with a Tombstone for no cover again as he spends too long pointing at DiBiase. Purple hits a Tombstone of his own, followed by a second for good measure. A third finally gives purple the pin at 9:10.

Rating: F. Well what was that supposed to be? The biggest problem here is the match was really, really bad with the Tombstone being the only thing worthwhile from the fake Undertaker. That leaves you with about eight minutes of lumbering forearms and right hands as the fans had no idea what to make of anything because there was nothing to get excited about. This would have been much easier to sit through if it didn’t come after twenty minutes of build and a great cage match. For the life of me I’m not sure how they thought this was going to work, but it failed miserably.

Gray gets put in the casket and purple poses before the Urn’s flashlight.

Savage wraps the show up but throws it to the detectives, who find a briefcase. “The case is closed.” That ends the show. Summerslam mind you, ends on a sight gag. I remember watching this live and my dad tried to explain the joke to me because at six years old, this went flying over my head. What a great way to end a show.

Overall Rating: D+. It’s certainly not the worst show as there’s enough good stuff to carry it past horrible, but my goodness they didn’t do themselves any favors here. There’s a reason that 1994 was one of the worst years in company history and this show was a good example. With the fake main event being such a mess, they’re lucky to have an instant classic in the real main event to bail it out. It’s watchable, but be ready to fast forward a lot.

Ratings Comparison

IRS/Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Headshrinkers

Original: C+
2013 Redo: D+

2018 Redo: D+

Alundra Blayze vs. Bull Nakano

Original: D+

2013 Redo: C

2018 Redo: B

Razor Ramon vs. Diesel

Original: B-

2013 Redo: C+

2018 Redo: B-

Lex Luger vs. Tatanka

Original: C-

2013 Redo: D

2018 Redo: D

Jeff Jarrett vs. Mabel

Original: D-

2013 Redo: D-

2018 Redo: F

Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart

Original: A

2013 Redo: A+

2018 Redo: A+

Undertaker vs. Undertaker

Original: B

2013 Redo: F

2018 Redo: F

Overall Rating

Original: C-

2013 Redo: D+

2018 Redo: D+

I still don’t know how I got a B out of the main event before and I really liked the women’s match more this time around. Other than that, it’s about the same all around.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/07/28/history-of-summerslam-count-up-summerslam-1994-from-great-matches-to-leslie-nielsen/

And the 2013 Redo:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2013/07/30/summerslam-count-up-1994-the-last-great-cage-match/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 28, 1994
Location: Mid-Hudson Civic Center, Poughkeepsie, New York
Attendance: 2,500
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler

We’re past Survivor Series and that means we have a new WWF World Champion in the form of Diesel. Yes Diesel, who is now fighting on the side of good, and not Bob Backlund, who lost the title to Diesel three days after he won the title back. The fact that the match was eight seconds made it even more emphatic. The company is running on Diesel Power now and that means….well we’re not sure yet so let’s get to it.

Here’s last week’s show.

And Survivor Series.

We open with a stills package of Backlund winning the title. My favorite part of that remains British Bulldog being unconscious on the floor for the better part of twelve minutes and receiving no attention, including people walking over his unconscious body. Diesel dominated his Survivor Series match that night but got kicked in the face by Shawn Michaels, meaning the team was done (vacating the Tag Team Titles in the process). We see the full title change with Diesel winning the title. I remember seeing this at six years old and going nuts.

Owen Hart vs. John Paul

Owen is downright giddy after screwing Bret out of the title. Paul gets taken down by the shoulder as Bret calls in to discuss his shoulder injury. He should be back around the New Year due to some stretched tendons so the WE WANT BRET chants are going to be ignored for the time being. Owen gets in some more suplexes and an enziguri but Paul hits a good dropkick. And never mind as the Sharpshooter wraps him up in short order.

Rating: D. Just a squash here while Bret got to update his story. Owen wasn’t going to do much after the feud with Bret wrapped up but he needed to get a win of his own that actually mattered. Unfortunately it would take a long time to get there and that had a lot to do with Owen falling down the card in short order.

Owen throws the towel in on Paul for bad measure.

BUY THE ENCORE!

IRS vs. Adam Bomb

IRS has Ted DiBiase, who brings out his own druid. Apparently Undertaker STILL owes some taxes, which really is inexcusable. Bomb shrugs off the early right hands in the corner and grabs a headlock, because that’s what you expect from a power guy like him. IRS gets knocked outside and rammed into the apron as the announcers talk about Chuck Norris.

Back in and the slingshot clothesline (always looked good) drops IRS again, followed by a whip into the corner for the same. IRS gets in a toss to the floor of his own and it’s time to hit that chinlock. Bomb fights up and we take a very abrupt break. We come back with Bomb in more trouble and another chinlock going on. The comeback, consisting of some clotheslines, but the druid shoves Bomb off the top to give IRS an easy pin.

Rating: D+. I’ve always been a fan of Bomb so the match was a little more entertaining than it could have been otherwise. As it was though, the match was rather boring with no reason to be interested in anything they were doing. I’m also wondering why we’re building Undertaker vs. IRS but my goodness the possible explanations scare the heck out of me.

Lex Luger makes a post match save.

Stills of the casket match.

Bob Holly vs. Tony DeVito

Holly, mostly in black for a weird look, starts fast with the perfect dropkick. DeVito gets in a running corner clothesline for about the extent of his offense. The announcers talk about Holly’s actual racing career until he finishes with a top rope clothesline.

We get what I believe is the first Henry Godwinn vignette. Egads 1994 was a scary time. He’s the scariest hog of all and when he gets to the WWF, he’ll be in hog Heaven. You just know Vince wrote that line.

Lex Luger vs. Bert Centino

Luger works the arm to start and hits some hiptosses. An elbow drop doesn’t go as well but a running clothesline and the Rebel Rack end Bert in a hurry.

Here’s Diesel for his first interview as champion. He recaps Shawn messing things up because he wanted the spotlight after Diesel did all the work. Shawn better be glad he got away because if Diesel had gotten his hands on him, Shawn wouldn’t have survived. Then with Bret out injured, Diesel won the title at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Diesel recaps his entire day, including the cab ride from the airport.

About a hundred people told him win the title and HOW SWEET IT IS that he now has the gold. He respects Bob Backlund and the crossface chickenwing could be trouble, but Bob has to get it on. Oh yeah he’s corporate now, as that’s not something Diesel would have EVER said before winning the title.

As for Bret, Diesel doesn’t like how he lost the title and if someone hadn’t made Bret give up, Survivor Series would still be going on. Vince: “That would be true.” My goodness you can see the wheels turning for Montreal from here. Diesel would be glad to give Bret a title shot anytime anywhere. He declares the new generation to wrap it up on a pretty bad note.

Heavenly Bodies vs. Gary Scott/Buck Quartermaine

I’ve never been a fan of the Bodies but Cornette raves about them so maybe they’re worth another look. Del Ray gets hiptossed by Scott as Backlund joins commentary, praising the benefits of dictionaries. It’s off to Prichard for a knee drop but Buck is in for some dropkicks. Bob talks about mothers killing their children, which he wants to change. Well now that we’ve covered that issue, Prichard gets in a suplex on Buck to keep him in trouble. Backlund cites Sigmund Freud to explain his blackout after losing the title as Prichard hits the Doctor Bomb for no cover. A Trash Compactor ends Buck.

Rating: D+. I could see why the Bodies were considered a good team and it’s not like there’s anything to be gained off a match like this. Maybe I need to see some of their SMW stuff as that seems to be their heyday. This was mainly about Backlund though, which might explain why the Bodies didn’t work out so well around here.

Backlund doesn’t want to see the title loss (well duh) and promises to chicken wing Vince before he retires. I don’t think anything ever came of that but it’s a funny visual.

Overall Rating: D-. So Diesel is champion now and you can feel the darkness creeping in. They had to get away from Backlund as the top heel and Bret had gotten them about as far as he could, but turning Diesel away from what worked isn’t the best idea in the world. Then again not much on this show was a good idea and that’s a bad sign of things to come. Like Henry Godwinn for example.

Remember to check out my new forum at steelcageforums.com, follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the 2018 Updated Version of the History of the WWE Championship in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/01/26/new-book-kbs-history-of-the-wwe-championship-2018-updated-version/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 21, 1994
Location: Fernwood Resort, Bushkill, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 1,500
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jim Cornette

It’s the go home show for Survivor Series and that means more towel discussion. Actually it means Razor Ramon vs. Diesel, which should make for a good match as the Kliq always worked well together. Hopefully the Survivor Series matches get some more attention this week as they’ve been glossed over, albeit in favor of the bigger matches. Let’s get to it.

Here’s last week’s show

Razor Ramon vs. Diesel

Non-title. We waste no time….in not having the match take place as Diesel and the rest of the Teamsters jump Razor in the aisle. No match and we’re off to a stupid early break.

Tatanka vs. Chris Canyon

I love seeing future names appearing as nobodies. Tatanka starts fast with chops and a slam set up some jumping elbow drops. A release gutwrench suplex puts Canyon down again and we hear about a fan wanting a 24 hour Portuguese channel. Canyon gets in a spinning crossbody for two, followed by a crucifix for the same. Even Cornette is acknowledging some of these near falls. Tatanka scores with a backdrop and the top rope chop, followed by the Papoose To Go for the pin.

Rating: C-. Canyon looked good here and it’s no surprise that he turned into something down the road. He’s certainly not a top level talent but he’s able to go out there and do something, which is more than you get from most jobbers. Why it took him so long to get a major job is hard to say, but it was clear there was something there.

Adam Bomb vs. Jason Ahrendt

Jason was a jobber for the better part of ever. The powerful Bomb wrestles him down for some reason and gets in a suplex. We hit an armbar of all things as it’s time to talk about George Foreman winning the World Heavyweight Championship at 45 years old. Jason’s ax handles have no effect and the Atom Smasher is good for the fast pin.

Vince and Cornette play Raw on Sega Genesis. That’s a show concept if I’ve ever seen one.

We get a long and VERY detailed recap of Clowns R Us vs. the Royal Family, down to the introduction of all six minis. Yes, THIS needs a special feature.

It’s time for the King’s Court with Lawler having all three minis as his guests. Lawler makes the short jokes as only he can until Dink comes out with a water gun. As Jerry blames the other kings, the rest of the clowns come in with their own water guns to soak the kings. Sweet goodness I need to get away from this company.

IRS isn’t happy with Undertaker for cheating on his taxes and has found out quite a few things. This time around, he’s dug up a casket because the occupant’s grave has been repossessed. My goodness IRS and the Repo Man could have been a sweet low level team.

IRS vs. Matt Hardy

Speaking of low level names who became stars. IRS knocks him to the floor as the announcers talk about….hang on a second….Thanksgiving plans, polls about gaining weight over Thanksgiving and Mary Tyler Moore trying to free a lobster. Matt’s sunset flip is broken up and we hit the abdominal stretch. The Write Off (jumping clothesline) ends Hardy as the announcers talk about the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

This week’s Survivor Series Report starts with a shot at WCW (saying this won’t be another rasslin pay per view) before looking at the World Title match. We see clips of last week with Bret and Backlund letting each other out of their respective holds to play some mind games. On Superstars, Backlund went insane (again), shouting about how it’s going to be his again.

We move on to the casket match with a quick video and comments from Undertaker and Paul Bearer. After they say exactly what you would expect, it’s a look at the rest of the card to wrap things up. This was at least more complete than anything else and it’s nice to keep the title match here instead of all over the show.

Diesel vs. Razor Ramon

Non-title again. The other eight participants in the Survivor Series match are at ringside. Razor slugs away to start and knocks Jeff Jarrett off the apron as well. Diesel gets taken down in a hammerlock before bailing to the floor for a breather. With Cornette comparing Razor to Desi Arnaz, Diesel elbows him down as the pace slows a lot. Shawn Michaels gets in a few hair pulls from the floor and Diesel slams Razor hard into the mat. We hit the sleeper for a good while until Razor is sent outside as we take a break.

Back with Diesel heading outside to glare at the opposing team, allowing Razor to punch him in the jaw. The big sidewalk slam plants Razor for two and it’s off to the neck crank. Back up and Snake Eyes keeps Razor in trouble and there’s the running crotch attack on the ropes. Razor gets in a knee lift and more of those great right hands. Jarrett is dragged in and it’s time for the big brawl as the match is thrown out to end the show.

Rating: B-. These two work very well together as Razor is big enough to throw Diesel around while still looking impressive. Throw in the fact that they’re going to work hard against each other and it’s even better. The ending was obvious but in this case, that’s perfectly acceptable.

Overall Rating: C. Now that’s more like it. This wasn’t a great show or anything but it has me more interested in seeing the pay per view than I was before. I mean, not enough to watch it again or anything but at least things were good back in the day. The main event did focus on the Survivor Series matches and that’s where things needed to go here. I liked the show, even if some of the wrestling wasn’t great. It did what it needed to do though and that’s worth a pass.

I should probably redo Survivor Series but….egads no. Here’s the latest redo:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2015/11/02/survivor-series-count-up-1994-chuck-norris-and-the-mini-kings/

Remember to check out my new forum at steelcageforums.com, follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the 2018 Updated Version of the History of the WWE Championship in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/01/26/new-book-kbs-history-of-the-wwe-championship-2018-updated-version/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 14, 1994
Location: Fernwood Resort, Bushkill, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 1,500
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Ted DiBiase

We’ve had a big match announced for this week’s show as Bob Backlund is facing the 1-2-3 Kid. That’s an odd match but it sounds oddly interesting for some reason. Bret Hart, who will be defending the WWF World Title against Backlund at the upcoming Survivor Series, should be watching that one so let’s get to it.

For some reason the opening match isn’t included on the Network. Thank goodness for other options though.

Opening sequence.

1-2-3 Kid vs. Bob Backlund

Backlund goes straight for him at the bell, which really isn’t what you expect from him. In something a little more predictable, Kid fires off the kicks and grabs a short armscissors to keep Backlund down. Backlund of course does the power lift to put Kid on the top (because that’s his spot), meaning it’s time to start in on the arm.

Back from a very early break with Kid’s arm being sent into the buckle, only to reverse the Crossface Chickenwing into one of his own. Bob slips out but can’t get the real thing on, instead going with more standard arm work. Kid kicks away some more but misses a top rope splash. The Chickenwing goes on and Kid is done in a hurry.

Rating: C. That’s the kind of win that Backlund needs as it makes him look like he can beat someone smaller and faster. It makes him look like a killer and that’s the kind of thing he needs to do going into Survivor Series. The Kid isn’t going to lose anything by losing here so everything comes out fine.

Post match Bret comes in for the save but Backlund grabs the Chickenwing. He lets go immediately though and says it can be that easy. Bret charges him and slaps on the Sharpshooter in the aisle. He lets go as well, saying there won’t be any releasing at Survivor Series.

New Generation ad with an old lady babbling about Shawn Michaels cleaning up the streets. I have no idea how that makes me want to watch wrestling.

Mabel vs. The Blue Phantom

Mabel and Oscar rap about how they’re going to dominate at the Survivor Series with DiBiase telling Vince to sit down. The Phantom is all in black, making me think they have no idea how colors work. Mabel powers him into the corner to start and sends the Phantom flying with a hiptoss. The big elbow misses and Phantom kicks away in the corner, only to get caught with the Boss Man Slam for an easy pin.

We go to the Survivor Series Report with Todd Pettengill and unfortunately without his sweet shirt from last week. This week looks at the submission and casket match as there’s not much left to say on these things. We see a clip of the first casket match between Undertaker and Yokozuna, spliced in with Chuck Norris talking about how he won’t let it happen again. Tatanka promises to test Norris because he doesn’t like Texas. We hear about the Survivor Series matches to wrap things up.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Gary Sabaugh

The announcers start talking about Sonny Bono becoming a Congressman as it’s time to discuss the news, which was never funny and I never got the point. Jeff hiptosses him down and let’s hit that strutting. Choking on the ropes sets up the running crotch attack before it’s off to the leg. The Figure Four is good for the win.

Rating: D. I know Jarrett is now a Hall of Famer but that doesn’t make him the most interesting wrestler in the world. He wrestles such a simple style but he’s far from someone I’d want to see him wrestle. The country music stuff isn’t good either and it’s not getting any better with time.

IRS has no issues with stealing Undertaker’s headstone because EVERYONE, either living or dead, has to pay their taxes. Being six feet under is NOT a tax shelter.

It’s time for the King’s Court and after some general insults to the crowd, Lawler brings out Owen Hart as the guest. Owen has the towel for the submission match (the same one thrown in to cause Backlund to lose the title in 1983) and can’t wait to see Bret in the Crossface Chickenwing. He promises to never throw the towel in, meaning the only one going into the ring will be pink and black. They take their sweet time explaining the rules (they’re really not that hard) and Lawler thinks Backlund is still rightfully champion.

This brings out British Bulldog (Bret’s towel holder) to say Bret is champion today and will still be after Survivor Series. Owen wants Bulldog to let Bret be in pain for some time before throwing in the towel. They argue over whose hold is better and it just kind of ends after the rambling exchanges.

Aldo Montoya vs. Brooklyn Brawler

This is Aldo’s debut and let’s talk about Celebrity Jeopardy! Aldo avoids an early elbow drop but gets pulled down by the hair. Instead it’s a dropkick to send Brawler outside, followed by the required dive. DiBiase reads an ad for an upcoming movie and Vince really doesn’t seem pleased. Brawler gets two off a backbreaker as Vince reads it all over again. A hurricanrana into some right hands have Brawler in trouble and a spinning high crossbody is good for the fast pin. I’m not sure I see the appeal here, but Paul Heyman certainly did….whatever it was.

Post match DiBiase offers Montoya a spot in the Million Dollar Corporation but gets shot down, both in Portuguese and English.

Alundra Blayze gives a quick plug for her upcoming title match in Tokyo.

Overall Rating: D. I’m interested in some of the team matches but this was almost all built around the World Title match. The problem with that is while it makes for a good match, it really doesn’t make for interesting TV. The fact that most of the talking is about throwing in a towel makes things even worse. Couple that with the Montoya stuff being even less interesting and this was a rough sit.

Remember to check out my new forum at steelcageforums.com, follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the 2018 Updated Version of the History of the WWE Championship in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/01/26/new-book-kbs-history-of-the-wwe-championship-2018-updated-version/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 7, 1994
Location: Fernwood Resort, Bushkill, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 1,500
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler

We’re coming up on Survivor Series 1994, which means it’s time to talk about the Harts. Bret and Owen have been feuding all year, including a heck of a cage match at Summerslam. Jim Neidhart interfered on Owen’s behalf but British Bulldog made the save, setting up something like a fever dream tag match here. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

For a historical note: this is the first time Lawler ever did commentary for the show.

Bret Hart/British Bulldog vs. Owen Hart/Jim Neidhart

You can’t say the Hart Family wasn’t extensive. It’s a brawl to start with the villains being sent into each other, followed by Bulldog pressing Owen over the top onto Neidhart. Bret launches Neidhart back in and we settle down a bit. My goodness it’s odd seeing Bret beating on Neidhart but 1994 was a strange time. A bearhug goes nowhere for Neidhart and it’s off to the Bulldog for the power struggle.

Bulldog shrugs off some double teaming and hits the delayed vertical on Owen. We hit the lamest armbar I’ve seen in a good while until Owen comes back with an enziguri. Serves Bulldog right for something so lazy. Vince goes over the towel colors in the upcoming submission match because that’s the kind of time these people have to kill. Neidhart comes in for a chinlock, followed by a double clothesline to drop Bulldog again.

That means another chinlock, again likely due to the high amount of time they have. Neidhart gets two off a gutwrench suplex and we take a break. Back with Bulldog grabbing a sunset flip for an ECW fast two. We hit the front facelock to keep Bulldog in trouble, only to have Owen draw Bret in so there can’t be a hot tag. I love spots like that and they’re always going to work.

It’s back to the chinlock (the Owen Edition this time), followed by the reverse version for good measure. Bulldog fights up and gets two off a backslide but Neidhart comes back in and pounds him in the corner. We take a second break and come back with a double knockdown to put Bulldog and Owen in trouble.

Just because we haven’t had enough of my favorite stuff yet, Bulldog makes the tag but Neidhart has the referee so it doesn’t count. Bulldog sends them into each other though and NOW the hot tag brings Bret in to clean house. We hit the Five Moves of Doom on Neidhart but Owen gets in a cheap shot from the apron. Owen’s top rope ax to Bret’s head gives Neidhart two more but Bulldog sends Owen into the steps. The Sharpshooter makes Neidhart give up.

Rating: B. Good, long tag match here with both teams getting to throw in a lot of offense. Bret winning makes the most sense and it’s good to have him beat Neidhart instead of Owen, which he’s done multiple times now. The upcoming title match with Backlund vs. Bret should be interesting but you can feel the big stuff coming.

Todd Pettengill has the Survivor Series Report (and an AWESOME Survivor Series shirt) and tells us the story of someone waiting too long to order the show and being arrested for stealing the VHS. The big story for the show is Chuck Norris acting as guest enforcer for the casket match. Chuck wants the toughest, meanest men in the world, which is why he’s showing up.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Tyron Knox

Tyron’s right hands have no effect and Bigelow clotheslines him down. Vince chuckles at the VINCE FOR SENATE sign in the crowd as Bigelow tosses Knox out of the corner. We hit the chinlock for a bit as the announcers talk about everything else other than this match. Bigelow grabs a front facelock as this is going longer than necessary. Now it’s a neck crank before Bigelow puts his hands on his hips, seemingly out of boredom. A dropkick and the enziguri ends Knox.

Rating: D-. Even more boring than your usual squash with Bigelow not exactly looking thrilled to be out there. Knox got in a bit more offense than your usual jobber but that just extended the match further than it needed to go. To be fair though, sometimes a squash isn’t going to work because you can only get so excited about something like this every given week.

And now for the historical moment: Vince announces that Randy Savage couldn’t come to terms on a new contract with the company and is gone. He does offer what sounds like a heartfelt thank you for everything Savage has done, including wishing him good luck. And that’s the last positive thing you would hear about Savage for a very long time.

It’s time for the King’s Court with guest the 1-2-3 Kid. Lawler says Kid is going out for Halloween wearing a white hat and fuzzy house slippers so he can be a Q-Tip. Kid is going to be in trouble next week when he faces Bob Backlund, but Kid isn’t worried about the crossface chickenwing. Cue Backlund but Kid kicks him to the floor without much effort. Bret comes out to make sure nothing else happens.

This Sunday on Action Zone: Bob Holly vs. Jerry Lawler! That’s not even a weak indy main event.

Doink the Clown vs. Pat Tanaka

Doink has Dink, Wink and Pink with him so Lawler gets covered in silly string. Tanaka’s name graphic doesn’t come up until a little bit into the match. Doink mocks the Crane Kick pose as the announcers talk about the upcoming Clowns R Us vs. Royal Family match, just to make my blood pressure go up. A clothesline has Tanaka in trouble but he grabs a dragon screw legwhip to take over. The leg work doesn’t go very far though as Doink gets in a belly to back suplex, followed by the Whoopee Cushion for the pin.

Rating: D. Doink wasn’t exactly thrilling at this point and the upcoming match would be one of the least entertaining matches the company would ever put together. As soon as the character started being geared towards children, he was dead in the water and everyone knew it. Tatanka should have been around more often as he was talented enough to fill a lower card roll around this point. But nah, just let him job to a clown instead.

Post match the mini clowns steal Jerry’s crown and return it with a jewel missing.

Back from a break with Lawler yelling at the mini Kings. The Clowns come out and snarling ensues.

Bret says he’ll be here when the 1-2-3 Kid faces Backlund last week. It’s the old generation vs. the new generation and the Kid is the best of the new. That’s some high praise but after their awesome title match, I’m not surprised.

Overall Rating: C+. It’s a one match show but that was a heck of a match. The Bret vs. Backlund stuff certainly isn’t for everyone but once they got into it, they had a classic at Survivor Series. The squash matches were really bad this week though and that dragged the rest of the show down. Check out the tag match though.

Remember to check out my new forum at steelcageforums.com, follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the 2018 Updated Version of the History of the WWE Championship in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/01/26/new-book-kbs-history-of-the-wwe-championship-2018-updated-version/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Royal Rumble 1994
Date: January 22, 1994
Location: Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island
Attendance: 14,500
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Ted DiBiase

Vince is on commentary here and gets to do his carnival barker stuff. The guy knows how to make a show sound exciting, I have to give him that. DiBiase comes out to do commentary with McMahon due to having to retire late in 1993 due to a bunch of injuries.

Tatanka vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

Tatanka gets in a shot to the head and tries a top rope sunset flip, only to have Bam Bam sit on him. When all else fails, sit on the other guy. Off to a bearhug for about two minutes before Bigelow drops him with a shoulder block. Tatanka starts his war path thing so Bam Bam decks him in the head with an enziguri to drop him. The moonsault misses though and Tatanka goes up again, this time hitting the cross body for the pin.

Rating: C+. Shockingly hot opener here and if you cut the bear hug in half or so, this is a really solid match. They stuck to the formula really well here and the match was good as a result. This is one of the nice surprises in wrestling: on paper this sounded horrible but it turned out to be a pretty nice match. Good opener.

Tag Titles: Bret Hart/Owen Hart vs. Quebecers

Intercontinental Title: IRS vs. Razor Ramon

Guess who is defending here. JR and Gorilla Monsoon do commentary for this match. IRS goes on a big rant about how evil the crowd here is for not paying their taxes, even though they have about three months left to file. Razor goes off on IRS to start, knocking him out to the floor. IRS comes back with some forearms but Razor punches him right back down to take over again.

Ramon hits a bunch of basic stuff like atomic drops and clotheslines for some two counts, but IRS ducks under a clothesline to send Razor out to the floor. Back in and IRS goes up but jumps into a boot. For one of the only times I can EVER remember this happening, IRS avoids the foot and drops an elbow for two instead. WHY IS THAT SO HARD FOR PEOPLE TO DO???

Or maybe another referee comes out to explain the interference and the match is restarted. Razor hits the Edge to retain.

Bearer and Undertaker are making a coffin for Yoko.

We recap the world title match, which is Yoko being scared of Taker and Taker being one of the last hopes to stop the monster. Apparently the contract was signed before Yoko and company knew it was a casket match. Taker I believe debuted his popping out of the casket spot in this feud.

WWF World Title: The Undertaker vs. Yokozuna

AND HE GETS UP. Diesel comes out and they get Taker in the coffin but he fights ALL OF THEM OFF. Yoko steals the Urn and hits Taker in the head with it before opening the Urn. Green smoke comes out of it and Taker now is powerless. Everyone hits a bunch of moves on him as this goes on WAY too long. After ALL THAT, Taker is put in the coffin and Yoko retains the title.

BUT IT GETS WORSE!

Then, to REALLY hammer home the point, the image on the screen starts to rise up through the top of the screen (which should be the top of the casket, meaning it should be ramming into the people that put him in the freaking casket) and A FREAKING BODY RISES OUT OF THE TOP OF THE SCREEN. AS IN A TANGIBLE BODY (which might have been played by Marty Jannetty).

The usual Rumble interviews eat up some time.

Royal Rumble

Mabel is #16 and dang there are some big guys in there. He goes right for Diesel in a terrifying preview of Summerslam 95. Mabel cleans house until Sparky Plugg (Bob Holly as a racecar driver and debuting here as a replacement for the 1-2-3 Kid) is #17. Shawn Michaels is #18 and stares down Diesel to start. Everyone gets on Diesel and Shawn gives the final push to eliminate him. Diesel gets a VERY audible ovation and chant as he leaves.

For your big face pop of the match (other than Diesel): Bret Hart is #27 and limping very badly. Today, people would have a bandage on the knee and charge to the ring because modern wrestling is stupid. Fatu is #28 and DEAR FREAKING GOODNESS THROW SOMEONE OUT ALREADY! A bunch of guys team up and FINALLY throw Crush out as Marty Jannetty is #29. Naturally he goes right for Shawn and punches Shawn to the apron.

Ratings Comparison

Tatanka vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

Original: B

Redo: C+

Quebecers vs. Bret Hart/Owen Hart

Original: A+

Redo: B-

Razor Ramon vs. IRS

Original: C+

Redo: D+

Yokozuna vs. Undertaker

Original: F

Redo: F

Royal Rumble

Original: B

Redo: C+

Overall Rating

Original: B

Redo: C-

DANG I liked this show a lot better on the first viewing.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/01/13/royal-rumble-count-up-1994/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Survivor Series 1994
Date: November 23, 1994
Location: Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 10,000
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Gorilla Monsoon

We open with a clip from earlier today of the team captains giving their teams pep talks.

Gorilla and Vince are dressed as cowboys. Gorilla looks like he could almost pull the look off but Vince looks like a schnook.

Teamsters vs. Bad Guys

Teamsters: Diesel, Shawn Michaels, Owen Hart, Jim Neidhart, Jeff Jarrett

Bad Guys: Razor Ramon, 1-2-3 Kid, British Bulldog, Headshrinkers

Rating: C. This was all angle and not much wrestling. This was the big face turn for Diesel which would result in the World Title very soon after this. It was a face turn that made sense too as he was tired of Shawn telling him what to do and getting hurt as a result, so he gave up and went after Shawn. Ticked off giants are very fun, so the first few months of Diesel Power were fun stuff. It was the other eight or nine months that stopped being fun.

Royal Family vs. Clowns R Us

Royal Family: Jerry Lawler, Queasy, Sleazy, Cheesy

Clowns R Us: Doink, Dink, Wink, Pink

Jerry says he won the match and not the other ones. They celebrate anyway and Lawler keeps yelling, so they turn on him and the clowns join in for a six on one beatdown. The big payoff is Doink hitting Lawler with a pie. This ran nearly TWENTY MINUTES out of a two hour and forty minute show.

WWF World Title: Bob Backlund vs. Bret Hart

Million Dollar Team vs. Guts And Glory

Million Dollar Team: Tatanka, King King Bundy, Bam Bam Bigelow, Heavenly Bodies

Guts and Glory: Lex Luger, Adam Bomb, Mabel, Smoking Gunns

A group beatdown on Lex follows the match. The Gunns and Bomb make the save.

Yokozuna vs. Undertaker

Ratings Comparison

Teamsters vs. Bad Guys

Original: C-

Redo: C

Royal Family vs. Clowns R Us

Original: G (as in below an F)

Redo: S

Bob Backlund vs. Bret Hart

Original: A

Redo: A

Million Dollar Team vs. Guts and Glory

Original: C-

Redo: C

Undertaker vs. Yokozuna

Original: D+

Redo: D

Overall Rating

Original: C-

Redo: C-

That’s probably as close as any of these second looks are going to go.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/11/13/history-of-survivor-series-count-up-mr-bob-backlund-and-chuck-norris/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/10/02/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-the-intercontinental-title-updated-version/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Summerslam 1994
Date: August 29, 1994
Location: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 23,000
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler

We open with highlights of the WWF softball team (that exists?) playing in a charity game against the Chicago media. Shawn of course plays without a shirt on. The video goes on for like five minutes with Monsoon doing commentary through every inning. Randy Savage, a former professional baseball player, hit a three run home run. The WWF won 9-7.

On to the actual wrestling tonight with Macho Man as Master of Ceremonies again. As Savage is posing in the ring, Lawler tells us that Diesel (currently Intercontinental Champion) and Shawn won the tag titles from the Headshrinkers last night in Indianapolis.

Headshrinkers vs. Bam Bam Bigelow/I.R.S.

The Million Dollar Team takes over on Fatu but a double clothesline puts he and Bigelow down. A double tag brings in Samu to face IRS as things break down a bit. A middle rope headbutt gets two on IRS and Bigelow is clotheslined out to the floor. IRS takes a double Stroke and Fatu adds the top rope splash but DiBiase has the referee. Bigelow goes after Albano which draws in Afa for the DQ.

Everyone brawls up the aisle.

We now get to the white elephant of the show: Leslie Nielsen and his partner from the Naked Gun movies is here to solve the mystery of the Undertaker. See, Undertaker had disappeared after the Royal Rumble but had vowed to return. DiBiase had a fake Undertaker doing his bidding but the real one was supposed to return tonight.

Nakano, the challenger, is a Japanese monster and has Luna Vachon in her corner. A quick clothesline and a hair drag put Blayze down as Nakano looks strong early. We hit a chinlock less than two minutes in but Blayze gets her feet on the ropes. A spin kick puts Nakano down for a few seconds but she comes back with a choke to take over again. Off to a modified Boston Crab as Nakano is destroying the champion so far.

Rating: C. This was an interesting match but it was hard to get into at times. Nakano was a monster who destroyed Blayze for about eight minutes and then Alundra got a quick suplex for the pin in fifteen seconds. Bull would win the title in a few months in Japan in a near masterpiece.

Shawn and Diesel brag about winning the tag titles but say Diesel will have no problem with Razor Ramon tonight. This is right around the time where the Kliq had taken over backstage and were basically running the company, hence them dominating the title scene.

Intercontinental Title: Diesel vs. Razor Ramon

The extra big man puts the big man in a sleeper but Razor comes out of it with a belly to back suplex. Diesel comes right back by launching Razor out to the floor, allowing Shawn to untie a buckle pad. Payton finally goes after Shawn but the distraction lets Shawn clothesline Razor down. Back in again and the champion hits his elbows and knee lifts in the corner but the referee stands in front of the exposed buckle. The referee looks at Shawn like an idiot, allowing Diesel to whip Ramon into the buckle for two.

Snake Eyes onto a covered buckle puts Ramon down again and an elbow to the back gets two. We hit the chinlock with a knee in the back and a comeback attempt is countered by a boot to the face. Diesel hooks an abdominal stretch but eventually gets caught holding the top rope. Razor puts on an abdominal stretch of his own, only to be hiptossed down onto his bad back. Snake Eyes onto the exposed buckle is countered into a rollup for two and Razor starts coming back with right hands.

The middle rope bulldog gets two on Diesel as the fans are getting louder and louder. The Jackknife is countered but Diesel suplexes him down before Razor can follow up. Shawn tries to bring in the belt but gets caught in a tug of war with Payton. The referee yells at Payton so Shawn tries a superkick but of course hits the champion. Payton pulls Shawn out and Ramon pins the out cold Diesel for the title.

Diesel rants about Shawn screwing up and blames him for the loss.

Lex Luger vs. Tatanka

Jeff Jarrett vs. Mabel

Rating: D-. This was very dull as Jarrett had nothing to work with at all. Mabel was just so huge that it was almost impossible for anyone to do anything against him. Unfortunately for us Mabel would be pushed down our throats the next year, somehow main eventing the 1995 edition of the show. The match sucked.

The detectives are in the aisle, Undertaker pops up behind them, neither sees him, more PPV time is wasted.

WWF World Title: Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart

The champion makes another save before climbing up to the top of the cage, straddling the top of it. Owen pulls him back in and they continue slugging it out on the top rope. Bret rams him into the cage wall but loses his balance in the process, putting both guys back down. Jim Neidhart and Davey Boy Smith, both brothers in law of the two in the ring, are watching in the crowd.

Owen is up first but Bret makes about his 49^th save of the match. Bret rams him face first into the steel and goes up again but Owen reaches through the bars to bring him back in. Back in again and Owen plants the champion with a piledriver but Bret still makes a save. Owen throws Bret down off the cage but Owen falls as well. Bret crawls for the door and gets the upper half of his body out, only to be pulled back in again by his younger brother. The drama on these near escapes is getting higher and higher.

Post match Neidhart jumps Davey Boy, throws Bret back in and locks himself in with them. A huge beatdown of Bret ensues as the Hart Brothers try to get in the cage. Davey Boy FINALLY gets in and the other brothers follow to save Bret.

In the back Owen says Neidhart is his real family. A series of great tag matches followed.

We recap the Undertaker disappearing at the Royal Rumble. 9 guys beat him up and locked him in a casket but his “spirit” levitated out of the casket, swearing to return. We get a bunch of people saying they had seen Undertaker in delis and coffee shops but DiBiase said he would bring Undertaker back.

Undertaker vs. Undertaker

Real misses a charge and falls to the floor where Fake sends him into the steps. Back in and Real wins a slugout but walks into a good chokeslam for no cover. Fake Tombstones him down but takes too long to cover, allowing for the sit up. A second Tombstone is countered into the Real one, followed by two more for the pin.

Ratings Comparison

IRS/Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Headshrinkers

Original: C+

Redo: D+

Alundra Blayze vs. Bull Nakano

Original: D+

Redo: C

Razor Ramon vs. Diesel

Original: B-

Redo: C+

Lex Luger vs. Tatanka

Original: C-

Redo: D

Jeff Jarrett vs. Mabel

Original: D-

Redo: D-

Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart

Original: A

Redo: A+

Undertaker vs. Undertaker

Original: B

Redo: F

Overall Rating

Original: C-

Redo: D+

…http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/07/28/history-of-summerslam-count-up-summerslam-1994-from-great-matches-to-leslie-nielsen/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|kfeke|var|u0026u|referrer|triyk||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Night Raw
Date: April 25, 1994
Location: Memorial Auditorium, Utica, New York
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Randy Savage

It has to be better than last week, almost by definition. That being said, the big draw for the week is Nikolai Volkoff as the guest on the King’s Court. I’m really scared of what this show might do to my psyche and I survived the entirety of Nitro and Thunder. At least this one is just an hour long so let’s get to it.

Vince immediately plugs Volkoff’s appearance and we’re already in the downward spiral.

Opening sequence.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Razor Ramon

Non-title but if Jarrett wins, he’s going to be on a country music talk show. Vince makes sure to get in Hee Haw jokes but I’m more interested in Ramon’s powder blue boots. Jeff takes him down and swats at Razor’s head to start but is quickly tossed outside with the fall away slam. Razor follows him outside and gets sent into the steps as we see Volkoff sitting in the crowd (not mentioned by commentary).

Jeff gets two off an elbow to the jaw and there’s the middle rope fist drop for the same. We hit the chinlock as the announcers switch over to boxing. Back from a break with Razor’s sunset flip getting two and Savage needing a shower. It’s off to a sleeper for the required two arm drops. Savage: “I HAVE NEVER SEEN THIS BEFORE!”

Razor’s belly to back suplex gets two but gets sent outside….and here’s Shawn Michaels. Shawn doesn’t do anything but Razor hits him in the jaw anyway. Well to be fair he’s a bad guy. Razor makes his latest comeback and clotheslines Jeff to the floor but stops to pull Shawn inside. The beating is on, only to have Diesel come in for the DQ.

Rating: C+. The match wasn’t even all that great but it’s already made the show better than anything else they had going on in recent weeks. Jarrett certainly isn’t the most interesting wrestler in the world but at least he’s capable of having a good match if you give him the right opponent. He and Razor always had good chemistry too so the match was certainly watchable.

Diesel destroys Razor post match, including hitting the Jackknife and standing on his chest. Shawn does the same and drops the title on Ramon. Diesel would win the title on Sunday’s TV show.

Shawn says Diesel is the real champion. Diesel says the opportunity was there and he seized it.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Tony DeVito

The announcers talk about Jimmy Carter’s daughter and Prince Charles’ dog. Vince: “I don’t get the connection.” DeVito hits a shoulder but gets dropkicked down. Out of current news to discuss/mock, Vince gets a call from Jack Tunny, who officially makes the Quebecers vs. the Headshrinkers for the titles next week. Bigelow finishes with the enziguri.

The Quebecers will face the Headshrinkers but they’re NOT happy with it.

The Mayor of Stamford, Connecticut thanks the company for a fundraiser they held recently. Did we mention Vince was dealing with the steroids trial around this time? No connection of course but just though I’d throw that out there.

Heavenly Bodies vs. John Paul/Jason Headings

Paul gets thrown around to start so it’s off to the long haired Headings, who takes a quick Veg-O-Matic for two. We hear about Mr. Perfect no showing a match in Cincinnati and an indefinite suspension as a result. Translation: he’s left the company, as would the Steiners and the Quebecers around this time. Del Ray takes Headings down and gyrates his (own) hips, which Vince calls disgusting. Prichard suplexes Del Ray into a moonsault for two as Vince talks about National Secretaries Week. Del Ray’s moonsault press finishes Jason.

Rating: D+. I couldn’t stand the Bodies back in the day but they’ve grown on me in repeat viewings. They were a solid, slower paced team and that’s where Cornette was perfect as the manager. Good little squash here with Del Ray’s high flying helping move things along quite well.

It’s King’s Court time with Lawler bringing up Volkoff, who is $8 shy of having thirty cents. Lawler mocks the hideous brown suit as you can see a lot of empty seats in the upper deck. That’s a bad sign when the building only holds about 5,700. Lawler makes jokes about Volkoff’s poverty but Volkoff says he’ll tell the truth. He’s just come from Europe but now he’s home in the United States. He’s made some bad investments and has lost a lot of money, though he’ll still fight Lawler anytime. Volkoff is looking for a job and is willing to work for any honest man. We’re actually to the point where a former evil foreign goon is the sympathetic face? There was NO ONE else available for this story?

1-2-3 Kid vs. Duane Gill

The announcers AGAIN talk about the Wrestlemania Revenge house show tour as Kid gets hammered in the corner to start. Kid gets in a top rope clothesline and a spinning kick to the jaw to take over. Gill takes him back down and grabs a chinlock as Vince gets on Savage for failing at reading an ad for a movie. Kid fights up and finishes with the spinwheel kick.

Rating: D+. At least Kid’s offense is entertaining enough to make these things a bit more bearable. Gill was one of those career jobbers until he somehow wound up winning the Light Heavyweight Title because you never can guess how things are going to go in wrestling. Nothing to see here of course but I’m still trying to get my head around Volkoff being a face, even for a short bit of time.

A guy at a deli saw Undertaker buying cheese. Apparently he likes pickles too. And they wonder why they were in peril at this point.

Owen Hart vs. Rich Myers

Owen trips him down to start and slaps him in the face as you can see at least four empty seats in the first five rows. A gutwrench suplex plants Myers as we hit the WE WANT BRET chants. The beating continues until Owen avoids a dropkick and grabs the Sharpshooter for the submission.

Rating: D. Another boring squash but that’s just what you have to expect at this point. Owen was on a roll at this point though and the WE WANT BRET chants at least show that they have a hot angle. Unfortunately it would be FOUR MONTHS before their title match with almost nothing of note in between from the two of them.

Johnny Polo and Lou Albano argue some more. Johnny: “WHAT ARE YOU A CAPTAIN OF ANYWAY???” Savage has had enough and grabs Polo so Albano can nail him to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. The opener helps this a lot but it’s very clear that the extra pay per views in 1995 helped a lot. There’s just NOTHING between Wrestlemania and King of the Ring and even that was a pretty lame show. Owen vs. Bret will be good but we’ll all be dead of old age by the time we get there. Bad show, but not as bad as the rest of the terrible month.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/05/19/history-of-saturday-nights-main-event-and-clash-of-the-champions-now-in-paperback-plus-price-drops/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|dtnfz|var|u0026u|referrer|aynbd||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Night Raw
Date: April 18, 1994
Location: Memorial Auditorium, Utica, New York
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Randy Savage

Save us Bret. Like please, SAVE US. The shows have gotten even more boring than they’ve been in the months leading up to this, which I wouldn’t have believed to be possible. Thank goodness Bret is back tonight and hopefully he can turn things around a bit. As long as Men on a Mission isn’t wrestling, we should be ok. Let’s get to it.

We open with a clip of Lawler falling off the throne last week.

Opening sequence.

Savage wants a title shot against Bret. Why didn’t he get one at some point actually?

Bret Hart vs. Kwang

Non-title. Kwang wastes no time in jumping Bret during the entrances and scores off some early kicks. If nothing else we get the highly amusing idea of Vince trying to call the various kicks in a moment that would make Eric Bischoff cry. Bret easily takes him down and works on the arm, only to be sent hard out to the floor. A weak forearm from the apron drops Bret again as Vince says Kwang could be ranked in contention for the title if he wins here. I’ll take that over “getting into the title hunt”.

Back from a break with Bret still in trouble via a nerve hold as Owen Hart calls in. The power of his brother’s voice lets Bret get in a crossbody, only to have Kwang choke him on the ropes again. Bret avoids a spinwheel kick as Owen brags about beating Bret at Wrestlemania (as he should). The Five Moves of Doom set up the Sharpshooter to make Kwang quit. Savage: “THIS IS HISTORY!”

Rating: D. What were you expecting here? When a guy isn’t even good enough to guarantee a spot in the title hunt by beating the champ, it might be time to find a better career. Like as a Caribbean legend with a high level of success strap matches. Bret vs. Owen is clearly the big match coming up and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Doink and Dink were at a charity hockey game. There’s nothing wrong with that.

Jeff Jarrett vs. P.J. Walker

The announcers talk about current events to avoid having to talk about how bad this match could be. Jeff takes him down to start and runs his mouth about wanting respect. Well I guess Jarrett is higher up in the ranks than Kwang. Savage STILL wants a shot at Bret and again I want to know why that never went anywhere, even as a one off house show match. We hit the abdominal stretch and let’s talk about a book written by Bill Clinton’s mother. Jarrett keeps things slow with a slingshot suplex and middle rope fist drop (Where’s Lawler when you need him?). A DDT ends Walker.

Rating: D. It’s slightly better than the opener, mainly due to a lack of Caribbean martial arts. Jarrett was ridiculously boring though and that’s not made any better by Vince ripping on Clinton for some issues with beauty queens. I’ll spare you the Trump joke/reference for now and get away from this match as fast as I can.

Lou Albano wants a title shot for the Headshrinkers next week.

Steiner Brothers vs. Barry Hardy/Mike Khoury

Scott throws Khoury around with ease before it’s off to Barry, who eats a t-bone suplex of his own. A hard kick to the ribs makes things even worse as the Steiners are seeming a bit stiffer than usual. Rick sends Barry ribs first into the corner as Savage implies he’d date Christie Brinkley. He has good taste if nothing else.

Scott ties Barry in the Tree of Woe and chokes as Vince points out that the Steiners are being more aggressive than usual. More Clinton sex jokes follow and Rick busts out a belly to belly superplex. A middle rope Angle Slam plants Barry and it’s the FREAKING STEINER SCREWDRIVER (completely ignored by the announcers) to end Khoury.

Rating: D+. I could watch that Screwdriver all day as it’s one of the best looking finishers of all time. On top of that, I could go for more of these aggressive Steiner Brothers but unfortunately they were on their way out of the promotion due to wanting to work more in Japan. At least we get one more good squash before they leave in a month or so and that’s never a bad thing.

Duke Droese, the wrestling garbageman, is coming. Duke: “I don’t take trash from anyone. Well yeah I do.” And that’s all you need to know about Duke Droese.

It’s time for the King’s Court with guest Women’s Champion Alundra Blayze so Lawler gets in some ugly jokes before she comes out. There’s no title belt to start but Blayze does have a gift for Lawler: a Burger King crown labeled Lawler is a Loser. Hard hitting indeed. Blayze makes jokes about last week’s fall, which is getting more mileage than Wrestlemania at this point.

We hear about this being a ripoff of Piper’s Pit (well duh) and Blayze thinks Piper should be getting royalties. Lawler goes into a rant about Piper wearing a dress and manages to spit on Blayze. He gets to the point of asking about the belt, which Blayze turns into a question about Lawler wearing women’s clothes.

Lawler brings out Luna Vachon, with Lawler suggesting that Luna stole the title. If she did, Blayze didn’t seem too mad about it until Vachon came out here. Luna says she didn’t steal the title but if she was champion, she would keep her belt with her. Blayze accuses Luna of stealing the title so she can feel like a champion and challenges her to a fight. Of course she leaves before Luna can do anything, making this a rather awkward segment.

Blayze was REALLY bad on the mic here but it’s fairly clear that she didn’t get to talk very much. It would take her a long time to get better on that and while she was never great, she would be passable and that’s about all you need to be, especially when women’s wrestling wasn’t a big deal during her era.

Earthquake vs. Mike Bell

Vince AGAIN pushes the house show tour, including speculation of Earthquake vs. Yokozuna. Earthquake sends him outside to start and Bell actually gets in some right hands on the way back in. A dropkick (topsy turvy according to Savage) puts Bell down though and it’s time for the squashilization to begin. Earthquake gets in a second dropkick and grabs a belly to belly as I think you get the idea from here. The big leg sets up the Earthquake for the easy pin.

Rating: D. I always forget that Earthquake was a moderately big deal in 1994 and how odd it always seems. That’s quite odd as he was a Tag Team Champion as late as fall 1992 so this is hardly the biggest stretch in the world. If nothing else though, I get why he left to be a main event jobber in WCW instead of losing to Yokozuna over and over.

We look at IRS attacking Tatanka and Chief Jay Strongbow over Tatanka’s headdress. You have to pay those gift taxes you see.

IRS vs. Major Yates

Yates, who unfortunately isn’t a military guy, gets sent into the buckle to start as the IRWIN chants get going. We hit an early abdominal stretch, followed by a seated half nelson of all things. A sunset flip gives Yates two (Savage: “MAJOR YATES IS COOL!”) but the Penalty (STF) puts him away with no effort.

Rating: D-. For the love of all things good and holy END THIS SHOW ALREADY! If nothing else let me have some shorter squashes so I don’t have to come up with something to talk about every single time. These things are somehow getting worse and that makes for a very long set of matches.

Johnny Polo is NOT worried about fighting the Headshrinkers and he’s not heading to Toronto to beg Jack Tunney to not make the match.

Lawler promises Nikolai Volkoff as his guest next week. That’s your draw here people.

Overall Rating: F. Thank goodness it’s over. This was one of the worst episodes the show has ever done as it was just so BORING. The squashes were all longer than they needed to be and Bret was clearly not all that interested in doing anything of note. Terrible show here and I’ll take anything else at this point.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/05/19/history-of-saturday-nights-main-event-and-clash-of-the-champions-now-in-paperback-plus-price-drops/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6