Survivor Series 1997
Date: November 9, 1997
Location: Molson Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Attendance: 20,593
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We had to get here eventually. This is the show that changes everything in wrestling, as we officially enter into the new era. It’s also the last appearance by Bret Hart in the WWF for over 13 years, as this show has the most infamous ending to a match and a show in wrestling history. You young people often hear references to Montreal? Well this is the show they’re talking about. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is about the Iron Man Match, where Shawn won the title in overtime. Bret has since gone insane and claimed conspiracy after conspiracy against him, mainly led by Vince and Shawn. The main event tonight is Bret vs. Shawn II. By that I mean about Bret vs. Shawn VIII (It’s not even their first world title match at Survivor Series) but you get the point.

There’s a Karate Fighters (game at the time) flying around. I’m sure people who paid good money for their seats are THRILLED that they get to look at a blimp instead of being able to see the ring.

Team New Age Outlaws vs. Team Headbangers

New Age Outlaws, Godwinns

Headbangers, New Blackjacks

The Outlaws I’m sure you know, the Godwinns are evil here and are Henry and Phineas, the Headbangers are Mosh and Thrasher, and the Blackjacks are Barry Windham and Bradshaw. Windham (looking FAT here) starts with Phineas, the latter of which is immediately knocked to the floor with a shoulder block. This is when the Outlaws are a new team of jobbers who would soon shock the world and win the titles from the LOD.

Off to Bradshaw who looks skinny here by comparison to what he would become. Phineas gets a boot up in the corner as the evil ones take over. The Outlaws don’t want to come in so it’s off to Henry instead. Bradshaw gets two off a legsweep and puts on an abdominal stretch before falling back and rolling up Henry for the pin. Back to Windham to face Phineas, with Barry hitting a gutwrench suplex and a lariat for two. Phineas comes back with a clothesline of his own for the elimination and to tie it up at three.

Mosh comes in to take over on Phineas with a devastating armbar. It’s off to Billy who beats down Mosh and receives homophobic chants in his general nature. Or maybe it’s something in French. We get down to some basic wrestling and the fans go SILENT. Mosh tries a bulldog but Billy shoves him off and gets the pin for a quick elimination. It’s Thrasher/Bradshaw vs. Phineas/Outlaws.

Thrasher (trivia for you: Thrasher had a big hand in training Big Show) comes in and works on the arm but Phineas takes him down in return. The action in this match is really dull so far. Thrasher goes up and hits the Stage Dive (top rope seated senton) for the pin to make it 2-2. Off to Bradshaw vs. Road Dogg with the future JBL pounding away. A gutwrench powerbomb puts Dogg down but a Billy distraction lets Roadie get a school boy to pin Bradshaw.

Thrasher pounds on Dogg but walks into a pumphandle slam. He counters into a cover on the Dogg, but Billy comes off the top with a legdrop. Now when I say legdrop, I mean he literally is a foot away from Thrasher but gets the pin anyway. This looked so bad that even though I had seen it before, it still made my jaw drop. The Outlaws survive.

Rating: F-. The ending alone makes this a failure, but on top of that, the best worker in this match by far was Thrasher. Let that sink in for a minute. The Outlaws had only been the Outlaws for a month and a half or so at this point so no one cared about them, the Godwinns are as interesting as corporate accounting, the Blackjacks are the Blackjacks, and the Headbangers are barely interesting at all. This was a horrible match and an even worse choice for an opener.

Truth Commission vs. Disciples of Apocalypse

Jackyl, Interrogator, Sniper, Recon

Crush, 8-Ball, Skull, Chainz

The Truth Commission is based on a real South African thing, where there were a lot of crimes were committed during Apartheid and the government said “tell the truth that you committed/witnessed these crimes and say you’re sorry.” Amazingly enough it calmed a lot of people down and made the situation a lot better. That being said, I have NO idea why it’s used as a wrestling gimmick. In short, they’re a military themed group. That sums them up as simply as I can.

Jackyl is the leader and is more famous as Cyrus in ECW. Interrogator is Kurrgan and the real star of the team. Sniper is a French Canadian wrestler who means nothing at all and Recon is Bull Buchanan. Crush is Crush, 8-Ball and Skull are big twins and Chainz is Brian Lee from ECW. This really doesn’t scream interesting to me but this is during the Gang Warz period which didn’t ever do anything for me.

Interrogator and Chainz start things off after a brawl with Chainz hammering away but having no visible effect. A sidewalk slam eliminates Chainz in about a minute. Off to Recon vs. 8-Ball with Recon hitting a World’s Strongest Slam for no cover. Jackyl comes in for what might be the only match he ever wrestled in WWF. Apparently that’s almost true as he only had some Shotgun Saturday Night matches other than this. He’s much better as a manager anyway.

Jackyl drops a top rope knee which is immediately no sold. He chops away a bit but walks into a sidewalk slam for the pin to make it 3-3. Sniper jumps 8-Ball and hits some elbows for two as Jackyl is on commentary now. Off to Crush, the leader of the team, who stomps away on Sniper a bit. Recon comes back in to face Skull and they collide, sending Skull to the floor. 8-Ball comes in illegally and clotheslines Recon down for the pin.

Sniper comes in to beat on Skull but gets caught in a double spinebuster from the twins for two. Interrogator hits 8-Ball from the apron and Sniper hits a bulldog for the elimination, making it 2-2. If this match sounds like a total mess that is hard to follow, it’s because that’s being nice about what’s going on.

Off to Crush for a figure four headscissors on Recon. Skull (I’m picking the names arbitrarily. It makes absolutely no difference at all and JR has no idea which is which anyway) DDTs Sniper but walks into a sidewalk slam from Interrogator for the pin. It’s Crush vs. Sniper and Interrogator and Crush immediately powerslams Sniper down for the pin. Interrogator is in the ring before the pin hits and ANOTHER FREAKING SIDEWALK SLAM gives Interrogator the final pin and the victory.

Rating: F. In ten minutes, we had seven eliminations, FOUR of which were by the SAME FREAKING MOVE. This was another match where just like the first, there was no one out there that could carry things to make the match work in any way. It makes Interrogator looks good, but it barely accomplished that because of how bad the match was.

We’re about thirty five minutes into the show and it may be the worst thirty five minutes to open a show that I’ve ever seen.

Some fans pick the main event. It’s pretty much split.

Austin answers some questions from America Online.

We recap Team Canada vs. Team USA. Steve Blackman is in the match for the Americans now after running into the ring to save Vader on Monday so tonight is his debut.

Vader says his team doesn’t look the same but that’s because they’re Americans.

Team Canada (captained by an Englishman) says they’ll win.

Team USA vs. Team Canada

Vader, Steve Blackman, Marc Mero, Goldust

British Bulldog, Jim Neidhart, Doug Furnas, Phillip Lafon

If this is the best America can do, I need to learn to speak Canadian. Team America comes out to Angle’s music. Naturally the Americans are booed out of the building. The Canadians come out to Bret’s music to make sure the idea is hammered home. Furnas is from Oklahoma and Neidhart is from Nevada, but he had dual citizenship so it’s not as insane. I think Furnas has the long hair but I can never remember which is which.

Mero, wearing a hat, starts with Bulldog. Mero takes off the hat and Bulldog wipes himself with it, making him a hero in America. Bulldog knocks Mero to the floor and makes fun of Blackman’s martial arts in a funny bit. Vader comes in sans tag and works on Smith’s arm but jumps into a slam. Bulldog EASILY suplexes Vader and it’s off to Lafon. I was right about Furnas having the long hair. Good to know.

Back to Mero who hits a knee lift but gets his head kicked off by Lafon, followed by a clothesline for two. Off to Neidhart and then right back to Lafon. Blackman comes in and JR points out that Steve isn’t a wrestler. Lafon DDTs him for two and gets a crucifix for the same. Blackman fights off Team Canada on his own but gets caught on the floor in a fight with Furnas and Lafon, resulting in a countout elimination.

It’s Mero vs. Neidhart now with Jim missing a middle rope splash. Vader comes in and is immediately knocked down twice by Neidhart. Vader comes back with the running body attack and a splash for the pin. Lafon comes in again with some kicks to send Vader to the floor. Back in and Lafon is sent rolling to the corner and a big belly to belly puts him down. A middle rope splash is enough to put Lafon out, leaving Bulldog and Furnas vs. Vader, Mero and Goldust.

Furnas comes in to pound away but misses a dropkick, allowing the tag in to Mero. Has Goldie been in there yet? Mero pounds Furnas down and goes up for a moonsault press and it looks AWFUL, with Furnas going down like he was trying to powerslam Mero out of the air but Mero hitting the move like usual. Either way it gets two and it’s off to Bulldog because Furnas doesn’t seem to be sure what planet he’s on.

Mero escapes the Bulldog powerslam and blasts Smith with a right hand. Back to Furnas who fires off the rights and lefts. Furnas does the exact same thing, but Mero is a legitimate former amateur boxing champion so that’s not really a fair contest. Mero tries a rollup but gets reversed into one by Furnas who grabs a handful of tights to get us down to 2-2.

Vader pounds on Furnas as the King laments Sable having to leave with Mero. Furnas clotheslines Vader down and it’s off to Bulldog again. Goldust, who apparently has a broken hand, STILL doesn’t want to come in. Vader suplexes Furnas down but Furnas hits Vader low. When Vader gets another break from Bulldog, Goldie hides on the floor from a tag. Furnas suplexes Vader down but doesn’t tag. A Frankensteiner takes Vader down for two but Vader no sells it.

Vader slugs Goldust in the face and pulls him into the ring. This is when Goldust walked out on Marlena when she was pregnant because he didn’t want the responsibility or the lack of attention. Goldust walks out for a countout but Vader slams Furnas down and hits the Vader Bomb for the elimination. Vader turns around and is knocked silly with the ring bell from Bulldog for the final elimination.

Rating: C-. This was a better match by miles and miles than the first two, mainly due to people with actual talent being in there. On top of that, the people CARED about the match and it makes the match a lot better by result. The result was never in doubt given how worthless Team America was, but it was cool to see Vader getting to be like his old self, even for one night. The match still wasn’t great but after the first two matches tonight, this was a masterpiece by comparison.

Buy Austin’s shirt!

We recap Kane vs. Mankind, by talking about Undertaker. The idea here is that Undertaker kept saying Kane wasn’t alive, but Bearer insisted he was. Kane showed up at Badd Blood and cost Taker the first Cell match. Kane destroyed various people, including Dude Love. Dude left but was replaced by a certain Mankind. Mankind offered to stand up to the monster and tonight it’s Kane’s debut match. Mankind’s solution to Kane: hit him in the head with a pipe. I love it when things get basic like that.

Mankind promises to charge against a brick wall as many times as it takes until it goes down, and if he dies launching himself into that brick wall, so be it. If that’s what it takes to get to Paul Bearer, so be it.

Kane vs. Mankind

The brawl starts immediately on the floor with Kane throwing Mankind into the steps. Kane has the red lights ala Sin Cara during his matches at this point. With Mankind half dead in the ring, Kane does the corner fire deal and the match starts. Mankind fights up and a Cactus Clothesline puts both of them on the floor. Kane knocks him right back down and throws the steps at Mankind’s head to take him down one more time. Back in and Mankind charges into a big boot and Kane chokes away in the corner.

Kane sends it to the floor again and beats on Mankind some more, but Foley hot shots him onto the steps to slow the monster down. A chair to the head knocks Kane back into the ring and there’s a piledriver, but Mankind goes after Bearer instead of Kane. Kane sits up and chokeshoves Mankind off the apron and through the announce table. The Spanish one of course.

Kane loads up a chokeslam on the floor but Mankind kicks him low (which only works on Kane on occasion) and DDTs him on the concrete. The elbow off the apron hits Kane again but Kane sits up and slams Mankind off the top to the floor. Back in and Mankind literally pulls himself up to his feet and is immediately tombstoned for the pin.

Rating: C+. When you have a new guy you want to put over, you call Mick Foley. This is a match you have to think about to get why it worked. First and foremost, Kane is supposed to be a monster who has very little experience in the ring. Think of him like Jason from Friday the 13^th or something like that (Youtube Jerry Lawler vs. Jason. It’s EXACTLY what it sounds like and it actually exists) as someone who just wants carnage instead of wanting to be technical. These two beat the tar out of each other and it made Kane look unstoppable. That would continue for about five and a half months until the Dead Man came back.

Vince says the main event will happen tonight.

Team Legion of Doom vs. Nation of Domination

Legion of Doom, Ken Shamrock, Ahmed Johnson

Farrooq, The Rock, Kama Mustafa, D’Lo Brown

The LOD and company talk about being ready for war. The LOD are tag champions. Hawk and Brown start with D’Lo bouncing off Hawk. Hawk no sells a piledriver as is his custom and a neckbreaker puts Brown down. Off to Rocky who gets knocked around but someone hits Hawk in the back and the yet to be named Rock Bottom eliminates Bird Man.

Off to Ahmed who “hits” a jumping back elbow to take Rock down. Kama, a freaking monster who would become a pimp named Godfather, is in next and takes Johnson down with one shot. Farrooq is in next to work on Ahmed’s ribs and continue a feud that went on for like a year. Brown whips Ahmed with a belt which the referee somehow doesn’t hear. Farrooq loads up the Dominator but Johnson escapes (while falling down) and hits a Pearl River Plunge (Tiger Driver) for the elimination.

Brown comes in again and hits a quick Low Down for no cover. Johnson starts no selling and hits a sitout gordbuster. Farrooq is still at ringside. Rock comes in but walks into a spinebuster. Ahmed hits the ropes but Farrooq trips him up and holds the foot so Rocky can get the pin. It’s Animal/Shamrock vs. Brown/Rocky/Kama at the moment. Animal comes in to face Rocky but it’s quickly off to Shamrock. Ken is still somewhat new here so his style still looks fresh.

A big dropkick puts Rocky down and it’s off to Kama. After getting beaten around for a bit, Kama puts on a front facelock to slow things down. A double clothesline puts both guys down but not for long. Some LOUD noise freaks everyone out and JR and King don’t know what it was either. Anyway Animal gets two off a legdrop but gets kicked in the face for his efforts. Kama showboats a bit too much though and Animal dropkicks him in the back and gets a rollup for the pin.

Brown comes in and during the distraction, Rocky hits Shamrock low for two. D’Lo hooks a chinlock followed by a backbreaker, but his moonsault misses by about two feet. The Outlaws come out while wearing the stolen LOD shoulder pads, and we’ve got powder and a shoved referee. Animal gets counted out during this mess, leaving us with Brown/Rock vs. Shamrock.

JR talks about how many people Shamrock has made tap out. Jerry: “This is wrestling. You don’t win by making people tap out.” JR: “…….YEAH YOU DO!” Brown starts but it’s both Nation members in there at once. Shamrock runs them both over, suplexes Brown and gets the submission via ankle lock. Rock cracks Ken in the back with a chair shot but it only gets two. Rock hits his spinning DDT for two as does the People’s Elbow (not a thing yet). Ken comes back with a northern lights suplex and a standing hurricanrana. There’s the ankle lock and Rocky is done.

Rating: C. This was a little messy but it pushed Shamrock hard while the heat for Rocky was INSANE. The crowd hated him and Vince certainly took notice. Both of these guys would get huge pushes in the next year with Rock winning the title at next year’s Survivor Series. The LOD were in their very last run of note here and they didn’t go out well after that. Fun match here although not great from a technical standpoint at all.

We recap Austin vs. Owen. Austin was challenging for the IC Title at Summerslam when Owen piledrove him, legitimately hurting his neck (and in the long run saving the company because of what Austin had to evolve into) and paralyzing Austin for a few minutes. Austin amazingly enough finished the match and WON THE TITLE, which is remarkable when you think about it. He had to forfeit the title but tonight he’s going for it again.

Intercontinental Title: Steve Austin vs. Owen Hart

Owen is defending, having won the title in a tournament since Austin was hurt. Owen has Lafon, Furnas and Bulldog with him. Hart stalls forever on the floor while rocking an Owen 3:16 (I Just Broke Your Neck) shirt. Neidhart tries to sneak in on Austin but walks into a Stunner. The champion gets in a shot to start and tries a piledriver, much to the crowd’s delight. Owen wraps the knee around the post but gets kicked in the face.

The Hart Foundation leaves and Austin clotheslines Owen in the back on the floor. Hart puts Owen onto the broken Spanish Announce Table before choking away with a cord. Hart wants to be DQ’ed and rings the bell early. WOW that’s almost eerie. Back in and Austin stomps Owen in the corner, hits the Stunner and wins the title. It’s as quick as it sounds.

Rating: D+. This was barely four minutes long. I’d assume they were unsure about how long Austin could go out there and if that’s the case it’s more than understandable. Austin would again forfeit the title a month later because he wanted to go after the world title, which he would of course win at Wrestlemania.

Attitude. It’s here.

We recap Bret vs. Shawn. This is Bret’s chance to get his win back from Shawn at Wrestlemania 12. Bret was bitter at Shawn after a massive heel turn, so there’s some great hatred going on here. I’ll get to the big story of it and my thoughts at the end. Ironically enough Shawn cost Undertaker the title, giving it to Bret, at Summerslam.

WWF World Title: Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels

Shawn is European Champion coming into this for no particular reason other than he wanted Bulldog to not have the title anymore. Shawn wipes himself with the Canadian flag during his entrance to further make himself public enemy #1. We get the long tracking shot for Bret’s entrance which is always cool for some reason. Shawn jumps Bret to start but Bret snaps on him and beats Shawn right back down to the delight of the crowd.

A HARD clothesline puts Shawn on the floor and Bret is going off. I don’t think the bell rang yet. Bret takes it to the crowd and Shawn is reeling. Vince, Slaughter and a half dozen referees are at ringside now. JR talks about how this could be Bret’s last match if he loses. Shawn gets an American flag bandana and chokes him into the crowd. Remember the match hasn’t started yet. Bret backdrops Shawn over the barricade and back to ringside.

Shawn keeps trying to piledrive Bret on the concrete but Hart keeps escaping. They head back into the crowd with Bret in total control. They go to the entrance and Bret decks a referee. Back into the ring they go and the bell FINALLY rings as Bret chokes Shawn with a Fleur de Lis. Shawn comes back with the forearm and nipup as the fans chant that Shawn is gay.

Michaels chokes with the flag as Bret has a busted hand. Shawn stalls a lot because that’s the kind of guy he is. Back to the floor with Shawn pounding on Bret and spitting on the crowd. Shawn drops Bret face first on the steps and breaks a Canadian flag over his knee. Back in and Shawn hits a top rope ax handle and it’s off to a front facelock. Bret escapes in what has to be the loudest reaction to a broken front facelock of all time.

Shawn comes back and slams Bret down but Bret rolls through a cross body off the top for two. Bret puts on the Hartbreaker, the figure four around the post. Bret goes after the knee in almost perfect Ric Flair fashion, down to the cannonballs down to the knee and a Figure Four. Shawn finally turns it over and Bret gets a rope. A Russian legsweep gets two for Bret as does a snap suplex. Bret goes up but Shawn pulls the referee into the way so the shot hits Hebner instead. Shawn rakes Bret’s eyes, puts Bret in the Sharpshooter, and Hebner calls for the bell to give Shawn the title in the most infamous moment ever in wrestling.

Rating: B-. I’m only talking about the match here. The main thing to keep in mind about the famous ending is that there was about twenty minutes of brawling and of the actual match before the finish. I think that’s something people forget because of the famous part. The match we got was quite good, which isn’t really surprising given how familiar these two were with each other. It’s no masterpiece, but it felt like an epic encounter, which is what it needed to do.

Now we’ll get to the big white elephant in Montreal. I’ve not going to pretend like I have some big insight into what happened because I certainly don’t. Books have been written about what happened here and there’s no point in rehashing the whole thing all over again. In short, it was Bret’s last match, he didn’t want to lose the title in Canada, a screwy finish was agreed on, Vince changed the ending and screwed over Bret, Bret wasn’t seen in WWE for almost thirteen years.

After all the years since then, I think both parties were wrong, but Bret needed to get over himself. So what if he had to lose the title in Canada? I get that he couldn’t stand Shawn, but for someone who seems to pride himself on being oh so professional, it’s pretty lame to say he doesn’t want to lose the title in another country when he made it clear he was leaving.

Vince was in major trouble at this point and was under a lot of pressure. While I don’t think he believed Bret would trash the title on Raw, he had to be worried about something happening, like the title having no value if Bret never lost it, which is understandable. Did he go about the issue the right way? No, but it wasn’t a normal circumstance. Vince did what he thought was best and while it caused a ton of controversy, it was one of the few things he could do. There are a to of different ways you can look at it, and there isn’t a single right answer.

Overall Rating: D+. Main event aside, this was a pretty bad show overall. The first forty minutes are AWFUL, the next match is just ok, Kane vs. Mankind is decent, the next match is about building for the future, the match after that was basically a squash, and the main event was good but not great. When the best you can do is good but not great, you’ve got a problem. They’re pretty lucky that only the main event is remembered here, because the rest of the show sucked.

Ratings Comparison

Team New Age Outlaws vs. Team Headbangers

Original: D+

Redo: F-

Truth Commission vs. Disciples of Apocalypse

Original: F

Redo: F

Team Canada vs. Team USA

Original: B+

Redo: C-

Kane vs. Mankind

Original: C+

Redo: C+

Team Legion of Doom vs. Nation of Domination

Original: B

Redo: C

Steve Austin vs. Owen Hart

Original: C

Redo: D+

Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart

Original: B+

Redo: B-

Overall Rating

Original: B+

Redo: D+

Now there’s a major change, likely the biggest so far.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/11/06/history-of-survivor-series-count-up-1997-what-a-screwy-show/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Survivor Series 1996
Date: November 17, 1996
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Attendance: 18,647
Commentators: Jim Ross, Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler

I had three options for an older redo this year (this one, 1988 and 1992) but this one had the most Survivor Series matches plus Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart, which was more than enough to sway me over. This is an interesting time for the company as they’re just starting to get squashed by WCW but the future is here tonight. Let’s get to it.

Free For All: Team Bart Gunn vs. Team Billy Gunn

Bart Gunn, Aldo Montoya, Bob Holly, Jesse James

Billy Gunn, Salvatore Sincere, Justin Bradshaw, The Sultan

This would be the Kickoff Show today. I’ve actually never reviewed this and there’s a chance I’ve never even seen it before. The team names are pretty arbitrary as there’s little rhyme or reason for these pairings, save for maybe the brothers, meaning no one is really a captain. James (Road Dogg of course) is a country singer here and the REAL Double J as part of a stupid angle with the departed Jeff Jarrett. Ok so I might have With My Baby Tonight (his self-performed theme song) on my iPod. At least the angle wasn’t a total loss.

As the Sultan (Rikishi) and Aldo (Justin Credible as a Portuguese man with a jockstrap for a mask) start us off, JR mentions that Austin vs. Hart is a #1 contenders match, which really wasn’t mentioned very often on the actual pay per view. Montoya actually does some damage to Sultan by dropkicking him out to the floor but a cover results in him being launched off. A bad looking piledriver sets up the camel clutch and Montoya is eliminated in a hurry.

Holly comes in with a bulldog as we see Aldo walk up the ramp opposite the cameras (an MSG standard). Sultan grabs a chinlock and we take a break to come back with Sultan slamming Bart on the floor so Sincere (a flamboyant yet still generic Italian) can baseball slide him in the face. Back in and Bart grabs a side slam to get rid of Sincere and tie the match up.

Bradshaw (who JR says is going to be something special) comes in and kicks the freshly tagged Holly in the face. We go to a split screen to see Austin running Dok Hendrix out of his dressing room and come back to Bradshaw hitting the Clothesline From an Undisclosed Location to eliminate Holly.

Jesse immediate rolls Bradshaw up for the elimination (ignore Billy kicking Jesse and breaking up the pin at two while the referee keeps counting anyway), leaving us with Jesse and Bart vs. Billy and Sultan. A rollup gets rid of Sultan but the Fameasser (yet to be named) does the same to Jesse. We’re down to a battle of the Gunns and Bart gets tied up in the ropes for some trash talking. Billy calls him an SOB, meaning he isn’t likely to get a Christmas card from his own mother. Bart stands up for Mama Gunn and hits a running forearm for the pin.

Rating: C-. This is a good example of a match where you have to consider the purpose. They weren’t trying to settle any big score here or blow the roof off the place. This was about getting the fans warmed up before we got to the real show and the fast pace did that well enough. Billy vs. Bart wasn’t anything interesting but at least it was a little story to tie things together. Nothing good but it did its job well enough.

The opening video looks at the WWF taking over New York (including the Hall of Fame banquet at a hotel, which would be the last one for seven and a half years) before going into a look at the two major matches. You know you have a stacked card when you’re getting hyped over two matches that don’t even include Undertaker vs. Mankind or any of the show’s namesake matches.

Team Furnas and Lafon vs. Team Owen Hart/British Bulldog

Doug Furnas, Phillip Lafon, Henry Godwinn, Phineas Godwinn

Owen Hart, British Bulldog, Marty Jannetty, Leif Cassidy

This is Furnas and Lafon’s WWF debut as they were brought in to challenge Owen and Bulldog for the Tag Team Titles. Marty and Lafon (I can never remember which is Furnas and which is Lafon) start things off with a nice little acrobatics display, capped off by a hard shot to Marty’s jaw. Leif comes in instead as the announcers talk about slander. The slow pace continues and it’s off to Phineas for a headlock. JR: “You ever see Hilary Clinton do that?”

For some reason Leif thinks it’s a good idea to slap Phineas in the face and spit on him. Well to be fair, given all the sweat and liquid on his overalls, it’s not the worst idea in the world. Owen comes in to wake the crowd up and it’s time to pick Phineas apart. The heels start working Phineas over as JR wants a third referee out here.

Marty hits a good looking back elbow to the jaw as the announcers start talking about Bret, though at least they tie it in to Owen. Today that would go off on a tangent and turn into ripping on Byron Saxton. I mean, he deserves it but it’s still annoying. Marty goes up top so Phineas tries a superplex. JR: “Now how stupid was that?” Oh dang it I always forget how annoying heel JR is. Even heel Cole wasn’t this bad.

Henry comes in, kicks Marty in the gut, and Slop Drops him for the first elimination. Not that it means much as Owen rolls Henry up to tie the score five seconds later. Phineas cleans house (has a fit, whatever) but Bulldog makes a blind tag and powerslams him to go up 3-2. Furnas comes in to speed things WAY up (and turn up the quality as well), only to miss a dropkick, which JR calls one of the best in the business. Like I said, heel JR wasn’t the best.

Leif comes in to cover and the former powerlifter sends him flying on the kickout. The bad guys get smart with a blind tag and a springboard missile dropkick to wipe Furnas out in a great looking visual. JR goes into yet another rant about the referees not catching the heels cheating, which is a really weird complaint for a heel to have.

Cassidy misses a charge and Furnas brings in Lafon for a snappy looking reverse superplex to get us down to two on two. The lack of a reaction to Leif being eliminated really shouldn’t surprise anyone as he was just so out of place in this match. Owen comes in for a belly to belly and a middle rope elbow (both of those looked very smooth) for two. A low blow to Furnas has Vince freaking out but JR, the heel commentator here, lets it go right past him. Again: it was a bad character and you could sense he wasn’t a fan of the whole thing.

It’s back to Bulldog who is quickly sunset flipped for the elimination, which is a big deal as it means Furnas and Lafon can pin Owen and the Bulldog in a two on two match. Bulldog leaves Lafon with a parting gift of a chop block though and Owen follows it up with the Sharpshooter. Furnas is in for the save and hits that dropkick of his (basically a dropkick with a backflip), followed by a German suplex for the final pin.

Rating: B. This was more like it for the opener as they set up the next challengers for the Tag Team Titles, though the first part with the Godwinns really brings it down. It also doesn’t help that the crowd didn’t care for the most part, and can you really blame them? The good guys were people making their debuts and hog farmers. It’s good wrestling but not the brightest idea.

Paul Bearer insists he WILL NOT get into the cage and be hung above the ring. Mankind will crush Undertaker like the cockroaches he used to eat for dinner.

Undertaker vs. Mankind

Bearer is in an individual cage above the ring and if Undertaker wins, Bearer is his for five minutes. The entrance is an important one as Undertaker descends from the rafters and debuts the sleeveless leather attire that would become his signature look for the next several years. It marks the evolution of the original character to the newer, sleeker fighting machine that could hurt people at will.

It’s a brawl to start (duh) with Undertaker using a drop toehold (?!?!?) followed by a fireman’s carry into a cross armbreaker. Undertaker gets smart by working over Mankind’s hand, which JR thinks is illegal. Mankind takes it into the crowd and is quickly backdropped right back to ringside but pops up for a cannonball off the apron. There’s something to be said about someone launching their body at someone else.

Undertaker’s comeback is cut off by a Texas piledriver and the Mandible Claw goes on. Undertaker is smart enough to send Mankind straight outside for the save and both guys are spent from the physicality. A kick to the chest sends Mankind flying hard into the barricade for a sick sounding THUD. You just can’t fake that kind of brutality. Well you can but it’s easier to believe it’s real with Foley.

Old School is broken up so Undertaker opts to punch Mankind in the face multiple times. The chokeslam is countered with the Claw, only to be countered by a big chokeslam with the camera going wide for an awesome visual. Mankind is back up though (as always) and pulls out a spike to stab Undertaker a bit. Amazingly enough, Undertaker doesn’t care to be stabbed and Tombstones Mankind for the pin instead.

Rating: B. This was a BIG change of pace for Undertaker as he was moving faster and acting like a much more well rounded wrestler, which he would be for a long time. These two were solid together as always as they just beat the heck out of each other for long stretches of time and that’s always worth a watch. This is one of their lesser known matches but it’s certainly entertaining.

Post match the cage is lowered and Undertaker goes right for Bearer, only to have the Executioner run out for the save, allowing Bearer to escape. That would be Undertaker’s next match before he continued attempting to murder Bearer and Mankind.

Sunny comes out to replace Lawler on commentary. When you look at so many of the women who would come after her, Sunny really is remarkable. She looks great but she’s also dripping with charisma, which so few women (or men for that matter) have at this level.

Team Helmsley laughs off the idea of Team Marc Mero because they’re a man down due to Mark Henry being injured.

Team Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Team Marc Mero

Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Jerry Lawler, Goldust, Crush

Marc Mero, The Stalker, Rocky Maivia, Jake Roberts

There’s a lot to cover here. Helmsley is Intercontinental Champion, having stolen the title from Mero with the help of the now departed (to WCW) Mr. Perfect. The Stalker is Barry Windham who used to be a military themed guy but is now just Barry Windham with a big mustache. Roberts is Mark Henry’s replacement as Lawler and Roberts are feuding over Jake’s alcoholism.

Oh and it’s Rocky’s debut after weeks of videos talking about how amazing he is. The mind blowing part: they undersold what he would become. The commentary gets even more entertaining as Sunny goes nuts ripping on Sable, claiming to be all natural even down to her hair.

We hit the stall button to start with no contact for the first two minutes. After several tags, Goldust and Mero finally lock up as the announcers discuss Mr. Perfect without saying he’s gone. Marc’s armbars don’t go anywhere so it’s off to the Stalker as JR rips on Barry’s attire. Helmsley comes in and immediately runs from Mero, meaning we get Crush vs. Rocky for his in ring debut. Thankfully that lasts all of ten seconds before it’s off to Lawler for some great selling. Vince actually mentions the name Dwayne Johnson as Sunny suggests being able to take Rocky all the way to the top.

The heels start taking turns on Rocky until he backdrops Helmsley for a breather. Jake gets the hot tag to clean house despite looking a good bit out of shape and very pale. Lawler comes in and slowly hammers away while making alcohol jokes. The DDT scores out of nowhere and it’s 4-3 in a hurry. The mustache with the Windham attached suplexes Goldust for two but a shot from the apron sets up the Curtain Call to tie us up.

Both captains come in as the crowd stays mostly silent. Again though, is there any real reason to care? Crush isn’t interesting, Roberts looks awful and no one knows who Rocky is yet. Helmsley grabs an abdominal stretch and Goldust pulls on the arm, sending heel JR into his second frenzy in an hour.

The referee finally catches Helmsley cheating to break the hold and it’s a Merosault (moonsault pres) to get rid of Hunter. Crush comes in and gets dropkicked to the floor, only to avoid Mero’s slingshot dive. As we’re watching the replays, the announcers completely miss Crush giving Mero the heart punch (exactly what it sounds like) for the elimination. Jake gets the same thing and is eliminated ten seconds later.

So we’re down to Rocky, meaning we get a closeup of his ridiculous looking hair. To his credit, even Rock has said he looked ridiculous at this point. Rocky slugs both guys down and does that stupid arm flailing thing of his. A crossbody puts both guys down and Crush heart punches Goldust by mistake. Rocky hits a second crossbody to get rid of Crush and a shoulder breaker ends Goldust for the win. The pin gets a nice pop, though it might just be because the match is finally over.

Rating: D. They accomplished the goal of giving Rocky a good rub to start (hence why you have goons like Crush around to take a fall like this) but this was WAY too long. You could probably cut out five to ten minutes here and do just about the same thing. Windham was worthless (as he was for most of the time after 1990 or so) and there were way too many stretches of boring non-action dragging it down.

Now it’s time for the real main event as we recap Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin. I know Shawn vs. Sid is going on last but make no mistake about it: this was the most important and anticipated match of the night. Bret had been gone since losing the WWF World Title to Shawn at Wrestlemania XII and Austin has turned into a disrespectful rebel who doesn’t care about legacies or what anyone before him has done. You can see the fire in Austin’s eyes and Bret is the only one that can stop him. Or slow him down at least because there may be no stopping Austin anymore.

Austin says he’s ready and isn’t worried.

Bret says this is about respect, which he’ll receive from Austin no matter what.

Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart

The winner gets the title shot next month. Even Vince has to acknowledge the face pop Austin receives here in New York. Bret gets a great face reaction of his own but Austin really isn’t impressed with the pyro. JR thinks this might come down to a submission, which might be some great foreshadowing for Wrestlemania. He goes even further by saying Bret isn’t a clown or a trashman because he’s a wrestler. Uh, Doink and Droese were wrestlers to Jim. We’re still not ready to go as Vince possibly spoils the main event by saying the winner of this gets Sid.

Austin flips him off to start and we’re ready to go. Feeling out process to start as JR goes back to that submission idea. Vince: “How ironic would it be if Steve Austin put the Sharpshooter on Bret Hart and made him submit?” They trade wristlocks to start and you can see some extra fire in Bret for this match.

Bret takes him down and stays on the arm with a hammerlock until a hard elbow to the jaw puts him down. Austin keeps slugging away until Bret pulls him into another armbar. Bret: “ASK HIM!” Did Jericho get that from Bret? Steve comes right back with a hot shot and starts choking on the bottom rope.

We hit the chinlock and JR goes back to that submission idea again. That’s three times now and it’s really not adding anything new. Back up and it’s time for the slugout with Austin easily taking over as you would expect. Bret comes back with his usual offense but gets shoved chest first into the buckle, again as is his custom. Austin’s superplex is broken up though and Bret goes all the way to the top for the elbow.

They head outside with Austin driving the back into the post as the brawling continues to favor Austin while Bret wins the wrestling. Makes sense. Of course as soon as I say that, Bret throws him through (yes through) the barricade and Austin is suddenly reeling. Just because it’s required, they fight over the announcers’ table with Austin taking over (JR: “It seems that it always happens to the Spanish guys!”) and dropping an elbow onto Bret. The table actually doesn’t break though in a very rare sight.

Back in and we hit the abdominal stretch as Austin continues to know how to focus on a body part. The referee catches Austin holding the ropes (which doesn’t add leverage but helps block a hiptoss counter) so it’s time for a slugout, capped off by Bret hitting a Stun Gun for two. Austin is right back up with a top rope superplex but Bret does the lifting the legs spot (looked horrible here as they were both down for several seconds before going for it) for two.

The Stunner hits out of nowhere for two and JR makes a REALLY good save by saying Bret only kicked out because Austin rolled him away from the ropes. That protects the move, which is completely lost on today’s product. Austin grabs a Texas Cloverleaf, followed by a Bow and Arrow of all things. Unfortunately Austin makes the mistake of trying to mat wrestle with Bret and has to grab the ropes to avoid a Sharpshooter. Back up and Austin grabs the Million Dollar Dream but Bret walks the turnbuckle and flips back onto Austin for the surprise pin.

Rating: A+. Like this would get anything else. I know most people (including myself) say that the I Quit match made Austin a star but he’s not getting to that match without this one. Austin was always a great talent but this was the moment where you knew he was ready for the main event stage. Notice something important about the ending: Bret caught Austin for the pin rather than really decisively beating him. It shows that as great as Austin is, Bret was just that much better and used his experience to win.

Make no mistake about it though: this is a masterpiece and one of the best matches of all time. Unfortunately there was a rematch that is somehow even better and this is a bit forgotten as a result. I’ve heard people say they like this one better and I really can’t argue against that. It’s a must see match and an incredible lesson in giving someone the rub of their career.

JR: “I don’t think anyone, including Shawn Michaels or Sid, could have beaten Bret Hart in this ring on this night.” Vince: “I totally disagree with that.” No followup or anything and the tone was very heelish.

Sid says he’ll win.

Faarooq/Vader/Razor Ramon/Diesel vs. Flash Funk/Savio Vega/Yokozuna/???

Here’s another match with a bunch of notes. Faarooq debuts his traditional Nation look here, thankfully ditching the ridiculous blue gladiator gear. Flash Funk is also making his debut after years as the far better 2 Cold Scorpio. That would be fake Razor and Diesel (duh) with the former just looking horrible. Fake Diesel at least looks like the real thing if you look at him from the right angle. Again, the original idea here wasn’t bad: it’s the gimmicks that got them over instead of the people. Unfortunately that falls apart because Fake Razor looked horrible.

Jim Cornette (Vader’s manager) sits in on commentary and JR says he’s the same size as Yokozuna. Cornette sounds like he wants to cry when he sees Funk for the first time. JR: “I’ve never seen the yellow and red look so good here in the Garden.” The mystery partner is Jimmy Snuka, which gets a mild reaction from the MSG fans and a groan from the audience at home who already saw a legend return with Roberts earlier.

Vader slugs Funk down to start but is quickly sent outside for a moonsault to the floor. You can hear the ECW chants before they even start. Back in and Vader gets tired of this flying nonsense and powerbomb Funk in half. Yokozuna comes in for the embarrassing fat man offense as JR rips on the refereeing again. It’s off to Vega vs. Ramon as the crowd isn’t sure what to care about here.

JR and Cornette argue about whether JR could manage a Wendy’s. JR: “I could if you were in town.” Razor screws up the fall away slam and thankfully it’s off to Funk vs. Diesel so we can get something watchable. Vega comes back in and gets pummeled in the corner as this is already dragging horribly. Snuka get the tag to a pretty anemic pop and quickly runs into Diesel’s knee. In a big surprise, Snuka actually slams Vader. Not bad for a guy who hasn’t been around in forever.

Jimmy almost runs over for the tag back to Vega, who hits maybe 10% of a spinwheel kick on Diesel. Faarooq rams him into the post and the Jackknife ends Vega to hopefully start wrapping this up. The Superfly Splash ends Ramon less than a minute later and then the remaining six come in for the big brawl, resulting in a massive DQ and no winner.

Rating: F-. If there’s a worse Survivor Series match not involving four clowns, my therapy must be working because I’ve completely blocked it from my mind. This was HORRIBLE with eight people that the crowd wasn’t interested in seeing and a nothing ending that only made things worse. Absolutely terrible here as they couldn’t even have Vader survive to give him a bit of a rub?

We recap the main event which is basically Shawn fighting another monster but this time it’s someone he used to trust. Yeah this is hardly anything interesting and feels like a major letdown after Austin vs. Hart. Also, given how badly the ratings were doing around this time, there’s almost no way Shawn is keeping the title here.

WWF World Title: Shawn Michaels vs. Sid

Shawn gets a John Cena style pop as a sign of the times. Sid is challenging of course and pounds Shawn down early on with JR getting right to the point: Sid isn’t technically sound but he can hit you really hard, which is all he needs to do. Shawn speeds things up with some left jabs and a headlock takeover.

The threat of a powerbomb sends Shawn bailing to the outside and we have a breather. Back in and Shawn gets smart by going after the knee, including a Figure Four (actually done on the proper leg). The hold is turned over and Sid sends him shoulder first into the post to take over. Shawn goes right back to the knee and the fans boo him out of the Garden. Thankfully they catch on to the idea and Sid blasts Shawn to the floor with a clothesline.

Back in and Sid gets in a few kicks to the face, followed by a big backbreaker for two. We hit a cobra clutch of all things (Sid would use that occasionally and it always looked weird for someone his size) before a chokeslam drops the champ. Shawn hits his flying forearm and is loudly booed, though the nipup draws a high pitched pop.

Sid grabs a camera and hits Shawn’s manager Jose Lothario in the chest, followed by Sweet Chin Music to the giant. With Jose grabbing his chest, Shawn goes to check on him instead of retaining the title. Sid tries to throw Shawn back in and the referee gets bumped, allowing Sid to hit him with the camera. The powerbomb gives Sid the title (somehow the first title he ever won) to a BIG face pop.

Rating: B+. I don’t like the ending with the camera thing but it’s still a really well put together match. This was pretty much Ric Flair vs. Sid and since Shawn knows how to wrestle a Flair match as well as anyone ever (including Flair), there was almost no way this wasn’t going to work. They let Shawn walk Sid through the match and that was all they ever needed to do.

Shawn checks on Jose as Sid poses to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This is a hard one to grade as the Survivor Series matches were horrible but everything else ranges from very good to masterpiece. That’s more than enough to say this is a great show and worth checking out. If nothing else there are so many debuts and repackages here that it’s worth checking out for pure history. The MSG crowd helps provide so much energy and the show is just a lot of fun (save for the one horrible match, which only lasts about ten minutes). See this one at least once but watch Bret vs. Austin as many times as you can.

Ratings Comparison

Team Jesse James vs. Team Billy Gunn

Original: N/A

2012 Redo: N/A

2016 Redo: C-

Team Furnas and Lafon vs. Team Owen Hart/British Bulldog

Original: B-

2012 Redo: C+

2016 Redo: B

Undertaker vs. Mankind

Original: C+

2012 Redo: B

2016 Redo: B

Team Jerry Lawler vs. Team Jake Roberts

Original: D

2012 Redo: C+

2016 Redo: D

Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart

Original: A+

2012 Redo: A+

2016 Redo: A+

Team Vader vs. Team Yokozuna

Original: D-

2012 Redo: F

2016 Redo: F-

Shawn Michaels vs. Sycho Sid

Original: C-

2012 Redo: B

2016 Redo: B+

Overall Rating

Original: B-

2012 Redo: B+

2016 Redo: B

This was mostly the same as four years ago, save for me liking Rocky’s debut a lot more back then. That smile must have made me go weak in the knees.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/11/15/history-of-survivor-series-count-up-1996-bret-vs-austin-the-prequel-and-rock-debuts/

And the 2012 Redo:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2015/11/04/survivor-series-count-up-1996-thats-blue-chip-right-there/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Survivor Series 1995
Date: November 19, 1995
Location: USAir Arena, Landover, Maryland
Attendance: 14,500
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Mr. Perfect, Jim Ross

It’s time for the annual redo and I’m curious to see what we’re going to see here. We have some big stuff on the show, including Diesel defending the WWF Title against Bret Hart in a match whose result should be pretty clear after how badly Diesel’s last big title defense went. Let’s get to it.

Mr. Perfect gets a big intro to do commentary. That’s quite the different way to start things off, though it’s how Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura came out to open the first Survivor Series so points for likely unintentional tradition.

The opening video looks at Diesel vs. Bret Hart, which is all that matters on this show.

Underdogs vs. BodyDonnas

Underdogs: Barry Horowitz, Bob Holly, Hakushi, Marty Jannetty

BodyDonnas: 1-2-3 Kid, Skip, Tom Prichard, Rad Radford

And they wonder why things were falling apart at the moment. Sunny handles the BodyDonnas’ intros, though Radford is only a BodyDonna in training and Prichard isn’t Zip yet. The Kid is kind of on loan from Ted DiBiase, who paid off Jean Pierre LaFitte for the spot, and is here as well. Cue Razor Ramon to go after the Kid, who recently turned on him so things aren’t going so well for them. Marty and Prichard start things off with Marty being taken into and having to fight out of the corner in a hurry.

Tom accidentally knees Kid off the apron and Sunny needs to start the rally clap. Holly comes in with a hurricanrana on Radford (Perfect: “Now that was a good looking wrestling move.”) and it’s an armdrag into an armbar. It’s off to Hakushi (for a very positive reaction) but Radford plants him with a spinebuster. Kid comes in to a far more negative reaction and hits the quick legdrop before handing it off to Skip. The belly to back superplex is countered into a crossbody though and it’s off to Holly vs. Prichard. Granted the fans want Barry, but they seem happy to see Prichard missing a moonsault.

That’s enough for Holly to go up with the high crossbody to get rid of Prichard at 5:40. Skip is right back in with a rollup to pin Holly at 5:47 though and we’re tied up again. Hakushi comes back in and kicks away at Skip but the Vader Bomb hits knees. Skip’s super hurricanrana connects but he falls down as well, meaning it’s Kid coming in to kick away. You don’t do that with Hakushi though, as he fires off the strikes and hits a running headbutt for two (JR: “He almost knocked the price tag off the Kid!” Good line.).

The springboard splash misses though and we go split screen to watch an annoyed Ramon and company. It’s going to be made even worse when the Kid kicks Hakushi in the back of the head so Radford can get the pin (with tights) at 8:32. Barry comes in and gets beaten down because he’s Barry Horowitz and that’s all you should have expected. Some right hands stagger Kid but he hands it off to Radford for a gutwrench suplex.

For some reason Skip tells Radford not to pin him, which is only going to go badly. I mean not as badly as being named Skip but how much lower can you go? Radford stops for some pushups and of course Barry grabs a three quarter nelson (as so many people grab) for the pin at 11:50. That gives us the, ahem, epic Barry vs. Skip showdown (yes I do feel stupid writing that) but the Kid gets a blind tag and knees Barry down.

The running legdrop finishes Barry at 12:48 (yes off a legdrop, because Barry Horowitz), leaving us with Skip/Kid vs. Marry. That’s a main event in most flea markets in the country, especially if the person putting the show together wants to get creative. Or if Marty’s partner got lost and started talking to a nice moose. Skip misses a charge into the corner but is fine enough to elbow Jannetty down. They go up top and Marty goes huge with a super powerbomb (dang) for the pin at 15:22.

The Kid is right in there to kick Marty in the head over and over, but a Swanton misses to put them both down. Marty is back up with a dropkick for two….and here’s Sid, also part of DiBiase’s Corporation. The fans chant for Razor as the Rocker Dropper gives Marty two. That’s enough for DiBiase to get on the apron and offer a distraction though, meaning Sid can snap Marty’s throat across the top to give Kid the pin at 19:08.

Rating: D+. If this is their big opener, they’re in a lot more trouble than I thought. This was nothing to see whatsoever, with the wrestling being fine at best and the story being rather pathetic. We’re supposed to get excited about a team whose most successful member is Marty Jannetty with Barry Horowitz as captain? To start a pay per view? I know 1995 was bad but come on now. Not a good start here and I’m almost scared to see the rest.

Post match Sid and Kid celebrate in a somewhat funny bit.

Razor Ramon breaks a lot of stuff over Kid and company winning.

Camp Cornette and Dean Douglas aren’t happy with Razor being annoyed before tonight’s Wild Card match (a cool concept where the teams were fairly random, so of course they never did it again). Owen says Razor needs to get his priorities straight and Dean says they’re going to be fighting without a team member.

Team Aja Kong vs. Team Alundra Blayze

Aja Kong, Bertha Faye, Lioness Asuka, Tomoko Watanabe

Alundra Blayze, Chaparita Asari, Kyoko Inoue, Sakie Hasagawa

Yeah I think this might be better, as the women are making a short term visit from Japan to try and make the women’s division mean something. I mean it didn’t work, but it was worth a try. Kind of like Vince calling a match like this, but thankfully JR is in there to help carry things. Harvey Wippleman is here with Kong’s team and Blayze is Women’s Champion.

Asuka goes straight to a giant swing on Asari to start but it’s quickly off to Blayze, whose who into the ropes….doesn’t quite work as Asuka falls down. Odd visual but a slam works a bit better, seeing up the Sky Twister Press from Asari. The German suplex gets rid of Asuka at 1:43 so they’re starting fast.

Watanabe comes in to stomp away but Blayze sends her outside for the big dive from the top. Back in and Hasagawa rolls some butterfly suplexes but Watanabe is back with a top rope seated senton. Kong comes in and slugs Watanabe down but she snaps off a German suplex for a breather. A quick Saito suplex gets rid of Hasagawa at 3:59. Asari comes in and gets slammed, setting up a middle rope splash for the pin at 4:25.

That sets up the Blayze vs. Kong showdown but it’s off to Inoue after about five seconds of slug out. Kong quickly counters a sunset flip by sitting on Inoue’s chest for the pin at 5:04 and Blayze is on her own. Faye, one of the more disgusting ideas that WWE ever had (see, she’s fat and stupid but she’s strong so it works), comes in to stomp away but Blayze piledrives Watanabe (originally a powerbomb but Blayze couldn’t get her up) for the pin at 6:31.

Bertha comes in again to kick at Blayze’s leg but some heel miscommunication lets Blayze hit a German suplex to pin Faye at 7:12. Faye doesn’t seem to mind as she leaves Kong to headbutt Blayze. A superplex gives Kong two and some hip thrusts in the corner have Blayze in more trouble. She’s right back up to kick Kong down and a standing moonsault gets two. Blayze catches her on top but gets shoved down, setting up the spinning backfist for the pin at 10:03. Now play that Orient Express music!

Rating: C+. The action was WAY better but there’s only so much you can do with seven falls in ten minutes. The women’s division basically didn’t exist outside of Blayze, Faye and whomever else they brought in from Japan at this point, which is probably why the division was dead in a few months. This was a very fun change of pace, but there’s only so much you can do with this many time restraints.

The Bill Clinton impersonator is here and I’m still not sure why…until he thinks Bam Bam Bigelow is from the Flintstones. Yeah this is Vince show.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Goldust

Goldust has only been around for about a month and promises a great performance that will make you remember his name. After a quick stall to start, Goldust hammers away a bit and then bails to the floor to mess with Bigelow’s bald head. Back in and Bigelow hammers away to send Goldust outside again.

The fight is on with Goldust hitting the post but he’s fine enough to take it back inside and clothesline Bigelow to the floor. The front facelock goes on for a bit before Goldust throws him outside (again). Back in and Bigelow gets in a belly to back suplex but Goldust slaps on a reverse chinlock. That’s broken up with an electric chair but Goldust is right back up with the bulldog for the pin at 8:32.

Rating: D. It would take Goldust some time to really get the hang of things and we weren’t to that point yet. Goldust was more of a movie guy here instead of the weird guy he would become, which was what worked when he meshed it together with the movie stuff. The problem is his wrestling consisted of throwing Bigelow to the floor and then hitting a bulldog, which isn’t quite thrilling. This was it for Bigelow as well and he was eventually off to ECW.

Bob Backlund visits the Clinton impersonator and wants to know why he’s here.

We recap the Royals (Mabel) vs. the Dark Side (Undertaker). Mabel and Yokozuna crushed Undertaker’s face and now it’s time for revenge.

Royals vs. Dark Side

Royals: King Mabel, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Jerry Lawler, Isaac Yankem

Dark Side: Undertaker, Savio Vega, Henry Godwinn, Fatu

So it’s the Royals vs. the Bone Street Krew. This is Undertaker’s return after a month away due to the crushed face and he has a big skull mask on as a result. Fatu and Helmsley start things off with Fatu hitting a backdrop into a clothesline. A very early Pedigree attempt is cut off with a stare from Undertaker so it’s off to Godwinn to scare Lawler away. Yankem comes in to stomp Godwinn down but Henry is right back up with a clothesline. The jumping elbow gets two but Yankem hits a belly to back suplex.

Helmsley comes in for some uppercuts as we hear about how is still undefeated (dang that makes me feel so old). Godwinn gets in a rather delayed gorilla press and throws Helmsley into the corner for the tag off to Lawler. Vega comes in as well and Lawler starts bouncing off of him like a pinball. Lawler manages a kick to the face and celebrates so Vega knocks him down again. It’s off to Fatu to work on Lawler’s arm but a cheap shot from the apron cuts him off. Yankem gets in the jumping elbow but Mabel misses the charge in the corner, allowing Vega to hammer away.

A big Boss Man Slam cuts that off and Vega gets caught in the corner. Yankem comes back in and hits a dropkick (!), followed by a knee from Helmsley (, at best) for two. Vega manages a Rock Bottom to Helmsley but Lawler, fearing a bad case of death, cuts off the hot tag to Undertaker. The piledriver plants Vega….but he pops up and brings in Undertaker to start the destruction.

Lawler’s partners all run away and it’s the Tombstone for the first elimination at 12:20. Yankem tries to deck Undertaker but gets caught with the jumping clothesline, setting up the Tombstone for the pin at 12:43 (and they were never seen together again). Now it’s Helmsley coming in and being scared off by a single glare.

Helmsley tries to leave but gets sent back to the apron, where Undertaker chokeslams him back inside (good one too) for the pin at 13:36. That leaves Mabel on his own and he hits the belly to belly suplex. The legdrop, which crushed Undertaker’s face, connects….and Undertaker sits up. That’s enough for Mabel, who runs off for the countout at 14:25.

Rating: B-. It’s rare to have the first twelve minutes of a match be absolutely nothing but the last two and a half minutes completely save the match. Undertaker was a wrecking ball here and there was no one touching him. I’ve been watching wrestling for over thirty years and a ticked off Undertaker is the scariest thing that I have ever seen. I loved the Undertaker stuff here and I was getting excited watching it all over again. It’s a great ending and Undertaker can destroy Mabel once and for all before finally finding a great opponent. Like Mankind for instance.

Post match Undertaker chokeslams Mo to blow off some steam.

Bret Hart isn’t worried about British Bulldog next month because he’s ready to face Diesel and knows what’s coming. He feels like Wayne Gretzky, who has to find out if he still has this every year. Tonight, Diesel is finding out that he can’t hang with him.

Diesel is ready to face Bret because he doesn’t need to go long with Bret. He doesn’t get paid by the hour and it’s all power tonight.

Jim Cornette, now with the other team, says he’s been here all day and Ted DiBiase just wants to win. Shawn Michaels comes in to say he’s got this and Ahmed Johnson doesn’t say anything, thank goodness.

Team Shawn Michaels vs. Team Yokozuna

Shawn Michaels, Ahmed Johnson, British Bulldog, Sycho Sid

Yokozuna, Owen Hart, Razor Ramon, Dean Douglas

Ted DiBiase is with Sid and company while Jim Cornette is trying to figure out who he is supposed to help here. Shawn gets a great pop and it’s no shock that he was on the way to the main event. Commentary uses this chance to make jokes about the government balancing a budget because of course they do. Owen and Shawn start things up with Shawn sending him to the floor and giving Cornette a spank with the tennis racket. Back in and Owens hits a belly to belly to cut Shawn off and it’s Dean coming in to slug away.

Shawn takes him down anyway and hits the top rope ax handle, only to get punched in the face again. Dean’s Vader Bomb misses though and Shawn hits a moonsault press for two. Johnson comes in and gets triple teamed with Dean grabbing a chinlock. Back up and a powerslam plants Dean for no cover, even Ahmed poses over Dean after putting him down. Shawn comes back in and the threat of the superkick sends Dean bailing to the floor. Razor isn’t having that and punches Dean into the rollup for the pin at 7:28.

Owen charges in but gets drop toeholded so Shawn can tag Bulldog in. A spinwheel kick cuts Bulldog down and it’s quickly off to Shawn vs. Razor, which is treated as a big showdown. Eh fair enough after the two matches they had. Shawn ducks a clothesline and hits an elbow in the face but Razor hits a very quick Razor’s Edge. Johnson makes the save so Razor hits a running knee lift to put Shawn down. For some reason it puts Razor down as well so Shawn brings in Sid to hammer away in the corner.

Yokozuna comes in for a cheap shot but Sid doesn’t mind and stays on Razor’s back. A double clothesline puts both of them down so Sid goes up top, only to get slammed off the top. Razor gets in a few right hands (I’ve always liked those) but Sid hits a quick chokeslam. Shawn comes in to superkick Razor but hits Sid by mistake. He doesn’t seem to mind so Bulldog….legdrops Sid by mistake, allowing Razor to get the pin at 16:17.

Bulldog comes in to beat on Razor as Sid powerbombs Shawn, allowing Razor to get two. The fresh Owen gets the tag and stays on Shawn’s back before Yokozuna hammers Shawn down in the corner (Perfect: “Welcome back to Syracuse Shawn!”). We hit the nerve hold for a bit before Yoko and Owen hit a double headbutt. Owen misses the diving headbutt though and now the hot tag can bring in Ahmed to clean house. The Pearl River Plunge gets rid of Owen at 21:47.

Razor comes in to slug away at Ahmed (a match between those two could have been interesting) but Ahmed doesn’t know how to STAND IN ONE PLACE for the middle rope bulldog, meaning Razor has to settle for a regular bulldog instead. Likely frustrated by Ahmed being kind of awful, Razor punches Bulldog and Shawn but walks into a spinebuster. Cornette offers a distraction though and it’s the Razor’s Edge to Ahmed. Bulldog breaks that up but here are Sid and the Kid as Razor comes back with the fall away slam.

The distraction lets Bulldog hit the running powerslam for the pin, leaving us with Shawn/Bulldog/Johnson vs. Yokozuna. It’s Shawn getting pounded into the corner to start, which certainly pleases Cornette. Yokozuna drops the big leg but the Banzai Drop only hits mat. The falling tag brings in Ahmed for a slam (less of a slam than Lex Luger’s) but Bulldog makes the save. Shawn and Ahmed get rid of him and it’s the superkick into a screaming splash from Ahmed for the pin at 27:24.

Rating: C. I really liked the idea here and it’s something that could have been done again for years, but for some reason it was only a one off. That being said, the match certainly had some problems, including Johnson looking like he had no idea what he was doing half the time. The match also just kind of came and went without much of a flow. Cool concept, but only a decent execution.

Clinton hits on Sunny and easy jokes are made.

We recap Bret Hart vs. Diesel for the WWF Title. They have had two great matches before as Bret knows how to take the giant down but Diesel is good at the power stuff so it is time for the big showdown. Bret says one of their matches went to a no contest so it’s his title, which Diesel doesn’t see to agree with.

Commentary plays up the technical vs. power here and it makes a lot of sense.

WWF Title: Bret Hart vs. Diesel

Bret is challenging and anything goes. They both unhook turnbuckle pads to start and it’s Diesel hammering away in the corner. That’s enough to send Bret outside so Diesel drops him face first onto the barricade. Bret gets choked against said barricade but he kicks at the leg back inside. Diesel cuts that off with a right hand to the head and then whips him hard into the steps. A chair to the back drops Bret again as it’s one sided in the first few minutes.

The Jackknife is blocked and Bret starts biting to change things up. A choke on Diesel’s back has some more success and now it’s time to kick at the leg. There’s an elbow to the knee and Bret cranks on it for a bonus. Some cannonballs down onto the leg make it even worse and we hit the Figure Four. Diesel grabs a rope and Vince says it has to be broken, but Perfect accurately points out that it doesn’t because there’s no DQ threat to make Bret do anything.

Bret lets it go anyway but it’s way too early for the Sharpshooter. Diesel kicks him away and into the buckle so it’s a bunch of forearms to put Bret down. Unfortunately it puts him down in the corner, where he slides to the floor so Diesel can have his leg wrapped around the post. Bret gets creative by whipping out a cable and tying Diesel’s leg to the post, earning himself a boot to the face. It doesn’t seem to matter much though as Bret gets in a middle rope shot to the face.

The chair is brought in and is promptly kicked into Bret’s face but Diesel is still tied to the post. Bret unloads on him with the chair, including some shots to the knee. Diesel slams him off the top though and unties himself, setting up a big whip into the corner. Vince: “Bret should give up!” Well then tell someone to ring the bell Vince. Diesel can’t hit the running crotch attack so he jumps down onto his back instead.

Snake Eyes drops Bret again but he’s back with right hands to the face. Bret’s middle rope bulldog gets two and Diesel heads to the floor, where he misses the slingshot dive. Diesel knocks him hard off the apron and through the announcers’ table (I believe debuting the spot), leaving Bret mostly dead. Back in and Bret collapses when Diesel tries the Jackknife…and then small packages him for the pin and the title at 24:02. Diesel: “MOTHERF*****!”

Post match Diesel snaps and powerbombs Bret before hitting a referee.

Rating: B+. These two had some great chemistry together and that was on display again here. Bret could brawl when he needed to and he mixed that in with taking apart the knee to have a great match. It also helps when you have him in there to walk Diesel through everything, which is what makes their matches work so well. Diesel could be brought up to another level and there was no one who could do that better than Bret. It was WAY past time to change the title though and thank goodness they did it here.

We get the highlight package….and then go back to commentary for a recap of the heel turn and the sign off. That’s different.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a really weird show as I would have thought only the main event bailed everything out but the rest of the show is mostly good, with only the opener and Goldust vs. Bigelow being pretty bad. The show just doesn’t feel that important and it comes off more as a show that was good in spite of itself, which is rarely a good thing. The main event is good and Undertaker cleaning house is great, but nothing else stands out here in the slightest.

Ratings Comparison

BodyDonnas vs. Underdogs

Original: A-

2012 Redo: B

2020 Redo: D+

Team Bertha Faye vs. Team Alundra Blayze

Original: D

2012 Redo: Redo: C+

2020 Redo: C+

Goldust vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

Original: C

2012 Redo: F

2020 Redo: D

Dark Side vs. Royals

Original: B-

2012 Redo: D+

2020 Redo: B-

Team Shawn Michaels vs. Team Yokozuna

Original: C+

2012 Redo: C+

2020 Redo: C

Bret Hart vs. Diesel

Original: C+

2012 Redo: A

2020 Redo: B+

Overall Rating

Original: B-

2012 Redo: B

2020 Redo: C+

Where in the world was I on that first match???

Here’s the original if you are interested:

https://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2020/10/30/survivor-series-count-up-1995-original-bret-vs-the-giant/

And the 2012 redo:

https://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2015/11/03/survivor-series-count-up-1995-wild-card/

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

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

We’re rapidly approaching a new era in the WWF but we aren’t quite there yet. The main event tonight is Yokozuna vs. Undertaker in their second casket match of the year with Chuck Norris, yes that Chuck Norris, as the special outside enforcer. Other than that we’ve got Bret defending the title against the now insane Bob Backlund in a submission match. There are also two five on five Survivor Series matches and a four on four version as well. Let’s get to it.

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

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

Razor Ramon, 1-2-3 Kid, British Bulldog, Headshrinkers

Diesel and Shawn are tag champions but they’ve having issues. Owen and Neidhart are a semi-regular tag team. This version of the Headshrinkers is Fatu and Sione, more famous as Rikishi and the Barbarian. Razor is IC Champion. I didn’t know that for sure but it’s the mid 90s so I took a shot in the dark. Shawn keeps slipping in front of Diesel to steal the spotlight. That’ll become important later.

It takes awhile to decide who starts before we get Kid vs. Owen. This should be good. The fans chant 1-2-3 which sounds something like RVD. Before there’s any contact it’s off to Neidhart which won’t be as interesting. Neidhart hits a shoulder block to start but gets dropkicked down. Another shoulder gives the Anvil control though and it’s off to Jarrett. Things speed up a bit and Jarrett loses the advantage Neidhart got him.

Off to Sione, who is someone I’ve talked about before but I’ll do it again here. This guy continuously had work for nearly fifteen years, which is impressive when you consider how basic the main character he played was. The guy was always around though other than in the dying days of WCW. Anyway here he gets dropkicked in the back but powers out of the cover with ease.

Off to Owen who wants the Bulldog. Davey comes in to a big ovation and they trade insane counters to wristlocks. Owen gets catapulted into the good guy corner, which is actually the Bad Guy corner, but the Bad Guys are the good guys in the match if that makes sense. Bulldog gets kicked in the face by Hart and it’s off to Neidhart for a double clothesline. Then Bulldog hits a double clothesline on Hart and Anvil, followed by the delayed vertical on Neidhart.

Fatu hits a top rope headbutt for no cover. Instead he tries to take his own boot off because he’s used to wrestling barefoot. Jarrett comes in and is immediately powerslammed before it’s off to Razor. Jeff immediately bails and it’s Razor vs….Jarrett still. Double J takes Razor to the mat and MESSES WITH HIS HAIR! Oh he’s so EVIL! A big right hand by Razor staggers Jeff and a clothesline puts him on the floor. This is a very hot crowd so far.

Back in and Jarrett escapes an atomic drop and punches Razor in the face to get himself in even more trouble. Off to the Kid who Razor gives a fall away slam to send him straight into Jeff in a cool move. Jeff hooks an abdominal stretch with some cheating from Shawn. That eventually gets caught and the Kid hooks a stretch of his own which doesn’t last long. Off to Fatu vs. Owen but all of the Canadian offense results in Samoan dancing.

A blind tag is made to Diesel and it’s a clothesline and a Jackknife to take out Fatu. Kid runs in and hits a dropkick but a top rope sunset flip is easily countered into a chokebomb. Jackknife finishes Kid a second later. Here’s Sione to pound away but he can only stagger the big man. ANOTHER Jackknife makes it 5-2. Diesel put out three guys in 70 seconds. Bulldog comes in and pounds away but a big boot puts Smith on the floor where he brawls with Owen to a countout.

So it’s Ramon vs. all five guys and he starts with Diesel. A discus punch puts Diesel down as does a middle rope bulldog. Diesel gets a clothesline in to take Razor down and Shawn screams for a Jackknife. The future Outsiders slug it out but Diesel drops him on the buckle in a snake eyes. Ramon comes back with a slam and calls for the Edge but Diesel easily backdrops him down. A big boot puts Razor down and there’s the Jackknife.

NOW Shawn wants in but he asks Diesel to hold Razor. Those of you paying attention should know what’s coming, and there it is as Shawn superkicks Diesel by mistake. Apparently this has happened a few times before and Diesel is MAD. Diesel destroys the rest of his team and stalks Shawn up the aisle. Ramon is the only one left in the ring and somehow the countout eliminates EVERYONE on the Teamsters to make Razor the sole survivor.

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 incredibly 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.

Shawn leaves in the back and says Diesel is nothing without him. Diesel is on his way to Shawn’s car. Shawn speeds away, which would actually dissolve the team and vacate the tag titles in the process.

Royal Family vs. Clowns R Us

Jerry Lawler, Queasy, Sleazy, Cheesy

Doink, Dink, Wink, Pink

We’ve got midgets. Great. In case you can’t tell, they’re three small Lawlers and three small clowns. Lawler tells the fans to NOT chant Burger King at him, because he’s a master at baiting a crowd you know. The big guys start and guess what the fans are chanting. Here’s the first ten minutes of the match: Lawler and Doink do something, Jerry takes over, the small clowns interfere and Lawler gets mad and loses the advantage.

Lawler tries an enziguri but Doink ducks to send Jerry hiding in his corner. Jerry yells at his partners and the Clowns are all laying on the ropes. Jerry gets Doink down and has the small Lawlers run over him. They make faces at the clowns then run back over Doink and crash in a pile. Keep I mind that these other kings have facial and chest hair. Jerry yells at them again and it’s back to the big guys fighting some more.

The small clowns all come in and cover Jerry with Doink counting. Lawler is all ticked off so they do the EXACT SAME SEQUENCE with Jerry counting Doink’s shoulders. Jerry can’t catch Cheesy when Doink kicks him off so Cheesy gets a two count on Lawler with Dink counting. Doink puts a Burger King crown on Lawler to make him even madder. Dink gets on Doink’s shoulders and (this isn’t a typo) Jerry gets on Sleazy’s shoulders which goes as well as you would expect it to.

The big guys have a test of strength and it turns into a big crisscross between the little guys. Lawler gets a non-existent foreign object to take over but it’s time for a chase scene! Jerry reverses a cross body and rolls up Doink with a handful of tights to eliminate the big guy. Lawler isn’t allowed to be in the ring with one of the smaller guys so the match is in essence over already.

It’s Queasy vs. Dink to start the second half of the match and Dink gets his arm bitten. Queasy gets his tights bitten as does Lawler. Now it’s Cheesy vs. Wink with Wink pulling on the beard. Lawler blocks a monkey flip and Cheesy pins Wink off a rollup. A minute later, Lawler drops Cheesy on Pink from six feet in the air for the pin and it’s Dink vs. all four of them. Pink hides under the ring instead of leaving as Dink beats up all three little guys. A top rope cross body looks to pin Cheesy but Lawler makes the save. Sleazy gets the easy pin to win it.

Rating: S. As in stupider, which I now am having watched this. Last year’s show at least had full sized people in there having these matches and it only ran ten minutes. This ran SIXTEEN MINUTES and wasted Jerry freaking Lawler on it. I’ll take ANYTHING after this and like it more than this.

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.

We get clips of Alundra Blayze vs. Bull Nakano in Tokyo with Nakano winning the Women’s Title in front of 45,000 people. I’ve never seen it but I’ve heard that match was awesome. Nakano comes in and speaks some Japanese. Todd (Petingill, this generation’s Josh Matthews/Matt Striker) does the stupid thing where he speaks loudly because all foreigners are deaf apparently.

WWF World Title: Bob Backlund vs. Bret Hart

Bret is defending and this is a submission match. This is a special kind of submission match though as both guys have seconds and you have to throw in the towel to end the match. Bret has British Bulldog and Backlund has Owen Hart. Backlund was making a comeback in his 40s and was a plucky face before going completely insane and claiming that he was still champion from when his reign ended in 1983 because his manager threw in the towel and he never gave up. Bret and Owen’s parents are in the crowd. Remember that.

Backlund charges at Bret but gets hipblocked down a few times. Bret headbutts him to the floor and elbowed upon return. Hart hits something like an elevated bulldog (think Orton’s hanging DDT) to take over on the mat. Off to a chinlock which evolves into a headlock. Gorilla talks about how Bulldog beat Bret for the IC Title in 92 to try to draw in some tension. Backlund tries to take him to the mat but Bret puts the headlock back on. Bob tries to get the chickenwing on but Bret suplexes him down.

Sharpshooter doesn’t work so Bret goes with a front facelock instead. Off to an abdominal stretch by the Hitman but Bob escapes and goes after the left arm. The chickenwing is escaped again (Backlund’s finisher is a Cross Face Chicken Wing) so Bob bends the arm around the ropes. Off to an armbar on the mat but Bret nips up. Backlund drills Bret to the floor but Hart gets the advantage out there.

Back in and Backlund puts the arm on as the fans all chant LET’S GO BRET. The armbar stays on for a good while (as in like five minutes) before Bret escapes with an atomic drop. He can’t get the Sharpshooter but he settles for the Figure Four. This hold stays on for awhile also and Bob gives up but Owen has to throw in the towel. Backlund tells Owen to throw it in but Owen won’t do it.

Backlund finally turns it over and Owen tells Bulldog to throw it in. Bret reverses it back but Backlund gets to a rope. Bret stays on the leg but can’t get the Sharpshooter. Backlund grabs a piledriver out of nowhere and momentum shifts again. Bob goes for the Chicken Wing but Bret gets to the ropes. We’re about twenty minutes into this and it feels like about half of that. The fans are WAY behind Bret here still too which is a good sign.

Back to the arm but Backlund misses a charge and goes shoulder first into the post. Bret blocks another piledriver attempt but hooks a sleeper, which is broken pretty fast because it’s not really a submission move. They hit head to head and both guys go down. For a guy who was about 45 at this point, Backlund has looked great. Now Bret piledrives Bob and hits a bulldog to take over.

The Five Moves Of Doom culminate with the Sharpshooter but Owen runs in to deck his brother and break up the hold. Now we get to the turning point of the match as Davey charges at Owen but misses and rams his own head into the steps. He’s out cold and there’s no one to throw in Bret’s towel. Owen panics and the distraction lets Backlund put on the full Chicken Wing even though Bret had his hand on the rope at the beginning of the hold and a rope break was used earlier in the match but I digress.

Backlund has the hold on in the middle of the ring as Owen begins to get concerned about Bret. He says he’s sorry and Backlund takes Bret down to the mat with the hold. Smith still hasn’t moved and Bret is trying to fight up. Bret gets to his feet but can’t get the rope as Backlund pulls him down and puts on the bodyscissors along with the hold. Owen starts crying which Vince declares the TRUE Owen.

Vince says you can lose if you say you quit, which goes against what we saw earlier with Backlund but it’s the WWF so you can’t count on continuity. We go split screen to look at Bret’s parents as Bret has been in this hold for over four minutes. Owen goes over to plead to his mom (not Stu because Stu is smarter than this) as Bret is in agony. Bret taps but that doesn’t mean anything yet. The hold has now been on for six straight minutes and the fans are still behind Bret. The maniacal look on Bob’s face is great.

Owen begs his mom for help again and opens the barricade to bring his parents to ringside. Stu still doesn’t seem to buy anything Owen is saying. Owen picks up Bret’s towel and says for Helen to throw it in but Stu says no way. Owen gets the fans to cheer for Helen to throw in the towel and after nine and a half minutes in the hold, Helen takes the towel from Stu and throws it in, giving Backlund the title and STUNNING the fans. Owen throws his arms in the air and celebrates, sprinting to the back in triumph, because it was a SWERVE.

Rating: A. This match definitely isn’t for everyone, but if you’re a fan of old school matches and psychology, you’re going to love this match. The whole thing is a massive story with the execution being done perfectly (or with excellence if you like plays on catchphrases). Bret and Backlund are both master technicians so the in ring stuff is as close to flawless as you’re going to get. The stuff with Owen is great too and the whole match is almost perfect. It runs about thirty five minutes though and if you’re not a fan of mat stuff and building to a big finish, you’re going to hate this.

One other thing: I’d like to point out that Davey Boy Smith has been out cold for almost eleven minutes now, hasn’t moved an inch, and is likely clinically dead yet hasn’t received any attention at all. Owen stepped over him about four times in the whole sequence.

Backlund’s face as he’s awarded the title is amazing as he looks somewhat retarded which pointing at himself. This is one of those moments where you look at the card on paper and say “well of course Bret retains. There’s no way they would make Backlund champion.” And then they DID and it was a legit shock. Backlund looks maniacal and the image of a plain guy in blue trunks being champion is kind of awesome as he’s all dangerous while looking nuts.

Owen celebrates in the back and cuts a great evil promo talking about how he’s the real king now and Bret is a nobody. This was the culmination of an incredible feud that ran for like a year.

Million Dollar Team vs. Guts And Glory

Tatanka, King King Bundy, Bam Bam Bigelow, Heavenly Bodies

Lex Luger, Adam Bomb, Mabel, Smoking Gunns

This is DiBiase’s team (DiBiase had hurt his neck and had to retire) vs. Luger in a continuation of a long feud. DiBiase had said that Luger had sold out and Tatanka, Luger’s friend, believed DiBiase. This led to a match at Summerslam where it turned out that TATANKA had been bought off in a swerve I liked a lot. This is Luger’s chance for revenge again.

Luger and Tatanka start things off, much to Tatanka’s surprise. Tatanka takes over to start and chops away but the ones to the chest don’t work on Luger. Does no one watch the NWA around here? Lex no sells a suplex and pounds away with all his usual stuff. A clothesline puts Tatanka on the floor so here’s Del Ray to be beaten up too. Mabel and Bundy come in but it’s just a staredown as it’s back to the starters. Now it’s officially Mabel vs. Prichard (the Bodies are Tom Prichard and Jimmy Del Ray) with the big man missing an elbow. Prichard pounds away but a middle rope cross body (Mabel weighs 500lbs) kills him dead.

It’s 5-4 now and Del Ray comes in for some dropkicks which have no effect. A Boss Man Slam takes Jimmy down so it’s off to Bundy vs. Mabel. They collide a few times until Mabel runs him over. Off to Bigelow who gets beaten down and Mabel goes up, only to get slammed down in a cool visual. Bigelow goes up for a sunset flip but Mabel sits on his chest for no cover. A Cactus Clothesline sends them both to the floor and Mabel can’t beat the count back in to tie things up.

Off to Billy Gunn vs. Del Ray which goes nowhere so here’s Bomb vs. Bigelow. This takes about 30 seconds with Bomb hitting a slingshot clothesline but getting hit in the head by Bundy. A moonsault takes Bomb out and it’s 4-3. Luger comes in immediately and tries a rollup but it just gets two. Off to Del Ray who hits a fast superkick to take Lex down. After some right hands from Jimmy, a running forearm smash catches him in the head and Luger ties it up.

It’s Tatanka/Bigelow/Bundy vs. Luger/Smoking Gunns. It’s Bart vs. Tatanka before Billy comes in for a double Russian legsweep for two. The Gunns pound away on Tatanka for a little while with Bart and his mullet of death hitting a monkey flip for two. The Sidewinder (side slam from Bart with a legdrop from Billy) gets two and it’s back to Bart, who like an IDIOT, tries a crucifix on a guy whose finisher is a Samoan Drop. Later Bart and it’s 3-2.

Billy vs. Tatanka goes nowhere so it’s back to Luger. Billy comes in and hip tosses Tatanka for two and an elbow drop gets the same. Luger and Gunn take turns on Tatanka’s arm until Billy gets caught in a powerslam. Off to Bundy who hits a splash and elbow to get us down to Luger vs. Bigelow, Bundy and Tatanka. It’s Luger vs. King Kong now but Lex goes after Tatanka because he’s A FREAKING MORON.

Luger gets caught in the evil corner and we play the numbers game for awhile. Luger hits a forearm to Tatanka but only gets two. A sunset flip almost gets a pin on Tatanka but a tag was made on the way down to bring in Bigelow. Bundy drops an elbow for two and Lex is in trouble. Bigelow drops a headbutt for a VERY fast two. DiBiase talks trash as it’s off to Bundy for more fat man offense.

Bundy drops an elbow for two as we’re reenacting the main event of the first Survivor Series, complete with two of the original people in it. Back to Tatanka who gets two off a powerslam and drops a bunch of elbows. In a stupid looking yet still good ending, Luger gets a fast small package for the pin on Tatanka, then lays down on the mat so Bundy can splash him for the final elimination. That looked stupid.

Rating: C. This wasn’t that bad actually and the ending was a nice surprise. There was no reason to have Luger come back here and having him lose was the right move. The feud didn’t really go anywhere after this and was more or less the ending of it. Luger’s collapse after Summerslam 1993 is a sight to see given how hot he was during the summer after his face turn.

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

Backlund has a press conference and says he’s going to homogenize and synchronize the fans. It’s time for Sports Education and he’s been champion for sixteen years now. I love this character, which is a shame because he would lose the title to Diesel less than a week later in eight seconds.

Here’s Chuck Norris to be guest referee for the main event.

Quick recap before we get to casket match. This is a rematch of a casket match at the Royal Rumble (don’t get me started on that mess) where about ten guys came out to help Yokozuna beat Undertaker. Norris is here to stop interference.

Yokozuna vs. Undertaker

This is a casket match where you have to throw your opponent in the casket and close it to win. Druids bring out the casket of course. Yoko is so fat here it’s unreal. Taker does the throat slit from across the ring and Yoko falls down. A Yoko splash in the corner is no sold but the fat man stops before he gets thrown to the casket. Yoko winds up on top of the casket to further freak him out.

They fight to the floor with Taker in control. Back inside Old School staggers Yoko but he catches Taker in a Samoan Drop. Taker doesn’t sell it but the move did hit. A headbutt puts Taker down but he won’t go in the casket. Back in and Taker misses an elbow but sits up anyway. A Rock Bottom puts Taker down and Yoko drops a leg while he’s sitting up to keep the dead man (as in Undertaker, not the legitimately dead Yokozuna) down.

Taker gets put in the casket but he blocks it from being closed. They both wind up in the box and slug it out but Mr. Fuji pulls Taker’s hair to break things up. Cornette (Yoko’s other manager) gets drilled as well and we head back inside. Yoko sends him back to the floor and rams him into the steps (from inside the ring, which is kind of impressive). Back inside and they slug it out with Taker slamming Yoko’s head into the mat.

Taker channels his inner Kane and hits a top rope clothesline to put Yokozuna down. As he’s rolling the fat man over, here’s King Kong Bundy to glare at Norris. Bigelow comes out as well but nothing comes of it. Nothing comes of it on their end at least as IRS comes in and beats up Undertaker, which would also set up the Undertaker vs. DiBiase’s Corporation feud for 1995. Taker gets put in the casket but by the time Yoko gets there, Taker blocks the lid from closing. Jeff Jarrett comes out to challenge Norris and gets kicked in the chest. Taker hits a DDT and a big boot to send Yokozuna into the casket for the win.

Rating: D. This was really dull stuff and the ending was never in doubt. Once Yokozuna got this fat he was just worthless. This was the last we would see of him until Wrestlemania where he came back EVEN BIGGER. Norris didn’t really add much here but the fans liked him and that’s all that really matters. Thankfully this feud ended here.

Overall Rating: C-. This isn’t a terrible show but there are some bad parts to it. The interesting thing is that in a lot of parts, this is a sequel of last year’s show. Last year we heard rumblings of Shawn being the REAL Intercontinental Champion and he was facing Razor here, Taker vs. Yoko is a direct continuation, and Bret vs. Owen started at the 93 show and it’s almost over here (they would interact at the Rumble and have one big blowoff match after that). Anyway, this isn’t bad but a lot of people would be bored by the title match, which is understandable. Not a great show but it’s watchable, except for the clowns.

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/

Survivor Series 1993
Date: November 24, 1993
Location: Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 15,509
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan

This is a show that I remember watching a lot as a kid but I think my tape ran out about halfway through it. Stupid VHS. Anyway, the main event tonight is a battle for AMERICA with a bunch of foreigners (like from that far off nation of Hawaii) against a bunch of Americans. Other than that we have Bret’s team vs. Shawn’s team. No really. We’re mostly back to the team vs. team formula this year. Let’s get to it.

I remember watching this when I was a kid and I always liked the theme of going through the skeleton of a building. It looks cool.

Vince and Bobby talk a little bit about the concept and we’re ready to go.

Team IRS vs. Team Razor Ramon

IRS, Adam Bomb, Diesel, Rick Martel

Razor Ramon, 1-2-3 Kid, Marty Jannetty, Mr. Perfect

IRS and Ramon are feuding over Razor’s IC Title, Martel was the guy Ramon beat for the title, Diesel and Adam Bomb are just there to fill in spots, Jannetty and Kid are a semi-regular tag team and Perfect….isn’t here. Ramon talks about Perfect leaving (his back messed up again and he just kind of left for five months) but he’s got a treat for us. He’s got a surprise partner and it’s……RANDY SAVAGE! Heenan LOSES IT and the crowd does too. This is when Savage wanted to murder Crush, who is in the main event tonight.

Heenan apparently called Perfect no showing this and Vince says Heenan was right for once. Bobby: “FOR ONCE???” Oh yes Bobby is feeling it tonight. Ramon and Martel start things off with Rick working on the arm. They fight for the arm and hit the mat for a bit before popping back up. Razor slaps him in the face and rolls through a cross body for two. Martel gets caught in the fallaway slam (BIG pop for that) for two.

Razor hits a pair of atomic drops and a clothesline for two. Off to Adam Bomb who shoves Ramon into the corner with ease. They collide and Razor is knocked down in something which shouldn’t surprise anyone. They have a test of strength with Bomb controlling again before Ramon fights up and suplexes Bomb down.

Martel tries to save but elbows Bomb by mistake. Harvey Whippleman (Bomb’s manager) gets up on the apron and is knocked down, causing a big fight between IRS’ team. Ramon’s team, somehow thinking coherently given how many drugs must be in them, actually uses common sense and lets them fight. We get things settled down and it’s the Kid vs. Bomb. Kid tries a sunset flip and Bomb (about 6’8 and 300lbs) is like boy please.

Off to Diesel who throws Kid around even harder. Who thought it was a good idea to put the Kid in there against the biggest and strongest opponents? A gutwrench powerbomb from Diesel leaves Kid laying and a big boot does the same. Kid finally hits a spin kick and it’s off to Savage who destroys the entire team, including sending Bomb into Diesel. A slam puts Diesel down and the flying elbow makes it 4-3. Write that down as you may never see Nash do another clean job.

Martel charges in and rams Savage face first into the buckle. Since it’s 1993, Martel’s offense has almost no effect and Savage takes over. Off to IRS who has a bit better luck as he takes Savage into the corner but gets cross bodied for two. Back to Ramon who works on the arm but as he hits the ropes, Martel hits Razor in the back to slow the Bad Guy (Razor’s nickname) down.

Bomb comes back in to power Razor around a bit but it’s quickly back to Martel. Make that IRS who works on Razor’s back. We hit the chinlock and the heels switch a few times without tagging. Off to Macho Man again who knees IRS into the corner. A slam looks to set up the Elbow but here comes Crush. Savage sees him and immediately goes after him but is sent back into the ring and rolled up by IRS for the pin and elimination.

Savage chases Crush into the back and looks for him in the locker rooms as the match is still going on. Savage doesn’t find him so we’ll continue this game later. We come back to the ring to see Adam Bomb choking away on Jannetty and stomping him in the corner. Martel hooks an abdominal stretch for a few seconds but a corner charge hits the post and it’s back to Ramon.

Razor pounds away on IRS and hits a chokeslam followed by the Razor’s Edge for the pin and the 3-2 advantage. Everything breaks down and as Razor loads up the Edge on Martel, IRS hits him in the ribs with his briefcase. Ramon rolls to the floor and gets counted out to tie things up again. So it’s Jannetty/1-2-3 Kid vs. Martel/Bomb. The Kid gets sent to the floor and slammed down by Bomb who hits a slingshot clothesline to take the Kid down back inside.

Off to Martel as the Kid is in a lot of trouble. Martel drops some knees on the back for two as Vince says the Kid has a lot of heart. Heenan: “THEN KICK HIM IN THE HEART!” Martel jumps into a right hand to the ribs and there’s the tag to Jannetty who cleans house. Back to the Kid way too soon for a double back elbow and a sunset flip to eliminate Martel. Kid immediately tags in Jannetty who sunset flips Bomb for the pin ten seconds after Martel was eliminated. REALLY hot ending here.

Rating: B. I really liked this match as it was fast paced and a ton of fun. If you cut about five minutes from this, it’s a classic. Having Jannetty and the Kid be the survivors was a very nice surprise and it gave the fans something to cheer for. Really liked this one and it puts the show off on the right foot.

Shawn is in the back with the IC Title. There are two of them at this point as Shawn was suspended while champion but he kept the belt. That gives us two belts which is a problem. Maybe we should put them above the ring and make the guys climb a ladder to get them while having one of the best matches ever. Anyway tonight it’s Shawn and his Knights (that’ll make sense later) vs. the Hart Family.

We go to a Hart Family interview earlier with Family Feud (game show) host Ray Combs. They all say that Shawn is in trouble for going after Stu recently and it’s going to be a massive Hart Attack. Back to Shawn who says he’s not ready for the Harts and he makes fun of all five of them, including Stu. Shawn is really clicking as the insanely arrogant heel by this point.

Jannetty and Kid celebrate with Ramon. Savage is off chasing Crush.

Ray Combs talks about the Hart Family being at ringside. Pay attention because it’s amazing enough to have them all in the same place without suing or trying to kill each other. Helen is there too. Combs gets in some jokes about Shawn which aren’t really funny but this is filler stuff anyway. Vince of course laughs like there’s no tomorrow. While Combs bombs out there, here’s the idea of this feud.

Bret and Jerry Lawler had been feuding for months and it was building up to this show with Bret’s family coming to help him against the King and his Knights. Then some chick said Lawler raped her and Lawler had to be pulled from this show (the girl later admitted she made it up and Lawler wasn’t in trouble), so Shawn, the guy Bret had feuded with last year, was brought in as a replacement. It was likely the best option they had but it was completely out of place after the months of build they had set up.

Hart Family vs. Shawn Michaels/Knights

Bret Hart, Keith Hart, Bruce Hart, Owen Hart

Shawn Michaels, Blue Knight, Black Knight, Red Knight

The Blue Knight is Greg Valentine, the Red Knight is Barry Horowitz and the Black Knight is Jeff Gaylord (indy guy who never meant anything on a national stage). Stu Hart is here with his sons as if there was somehow any doubt as to who was getting destroyed here. Ray Combs sits in on commentary and while he’s not incredibly funny, he sounds like he’s having a blast out there and is enjoying himself which is all I ask for from a celebrity. Heenan vs. Combs on commentary is a good back and forth jab fest if nothing else.

Shawn and Owen start but Shawn wants Keith, who along with Bruce haven’t wrestled in years. Keith speeds things up and Shawn gets sent into the interfering Red Knight. Shawn tries to throw Keith into the corner but Keith takes out Red and Blue. An armdrag takes Shawn down and it’s off to Keith for an armbar. Shawn’s suplex attempt is countered into a small package and it’s back to the armbar.

Michaels slams Keith down and it’s off to the Red Knight vs. Owen. Owen fires off some shots to the arm and it’s off to the Black Knight. That goes nowhere at all so it’s off to Blue vs. Bret. Bret hits some atomic drops and a clothesline for two. Back to Keith who continues the armbar marathon and it’s Bruce time again. Back to Shawn with a backbreaker and some elbows to the back.

Red comes in and suplexes Bruce down for two. Back to Black (who is not Kane as has been mentioned before) who is the biggest of the Knights and gets rolled up for two. It’s back to Shawn who gets rammed into the corner before the Red Knight pokes Bruce in the head. Bruce hits a clothesline and it’s off to Bret vs. Black. An O’Connor Roll and small package both get two for Bret and he takes over. The backbreaker and middle rope elbow get two and it’s off to Owen.

A spinwheel kick puts Black down and everything breaks down. Shawn and all three Knights get sent into each other in the middle of the ring and a missile dropkick from Owen pins Black. Off to the Red Knight and Owen works over the leg. Back to Bret and they make a wish on Red’s legs. Keith comes in again and the leg work continues. I’ve been watching this show for years and for the life of me I can’t stop confusing Bruce and Keith.

Red tries a knee lift and hurts his own knee in the process. Some fans chant boring and they’re right in doing so. Back to Bruce who pops Red in the face. The Hitman comes in and we get another wishbone split. Red sends Keith into the buckle to escape a figure four attempt but misses a knee drop instead of tagging. Keith puts on a Figure Four but Shawn makes the save and it’s off to Blue.

Those boring chants are getting a little bit louder. Blue works over Keith’s arm and it’s off to Shawn with a top rope double ax to the arm. The shoulder gets sent into the buckle and Shawn cranks on the bad arm. Back to Red whose leg seems fine now. Rey cranks on the arm around the post which results in more double teaming. Heenan has been ripping the Harts apart the entire match, including a nice jab here: “None of them look alike.” Keep in mind this is as Keith is having his arm destroyed.

Blue stays on the arm including a legdrop on it and a hammerlock slam. Off to Shawn who misses a Rocket Launcher. Off to Bret, prompting Shawn to tag out to Red. Red immediately gets caught in a spinebuster and the Sharpshooter to make it 4-2. Blue comes in to clothesline Bret and both he and Keith are now hurt. Bret is thrown back in and suplexed down for two.

Blue drops a very Greg Valentine elbow and Heenan says he knows who the Blue Knight is. Vince: “Who is that?” Bobby: “The guy in the ring that just dropped an elbow on Bret Hart.” I love you Bobby Heenan. Back to Shawn for a chinlock to kill even more time. I’m not sure how much there is of it left as this has been going long already. Blue comes in for another two off another elbow as Bobby lays into Helen Hart.

Bret hits a middle rope clothesline and he makes the tag to Owen. The crowd just does not care here and the lack of any reaction is kind of sad. A middle rope elbow gets two on Blue and Bruce and Shawn come in at the same time. Shawn goes to the floor and goes after Stu, only to get BLASTED IN THE FACE. Bobby: “I’ve always liked Stu.” A missile dropkick puts Blue down but Shawn’s saving elbow hits Blue as well. Shawn is sent to the floor and the Sharpshooter eliminates Blue.

It’s 4-1 and Shawn is drinking water. All four of the Harts hammer on Shawn and it’s Bruce who gets two off an elbow drop. Bruce charges into a boot and Shawn chokes away a bit. The superkick puts Bruce down but that’s still not a finisher and only gets two. Bruce gets in a boot and makes the tag to Bret to a small reaction. Bret hits a slingshot to the buckle for two. Shawn gets in a kick and it’s off to Owen.

Now here’s where it gets interesting: Bret is trying to get it together on the apron and Owen is rammed into Bret, knocking him off the apron and into the barricade. Owen is distracted and pinned. All of the brothers and Stu go to check on Bret and Owen FREAKS, storming to the back and shouting WHAT ABOUT ME! This would start the feud of the year in 1994.

Bruce comes in and drops an elbow on Shawn for two. Bret is still getting up after the crash he took into the barricade. Bruce and Shawn hit head to head twice in a row to really stretch this thing out. Keith comes in with an abdominal stretch (including the toe around the ankle) but Shawn hip tosses out of it with ease. Back to Bret who pounds away and Shawn gets crotched on the top rope. Bret picks the leg but Shawn escapes the Sharpshooter and walks out for the countout.

Rating: D. This was…….long. At the end of the day it ran 30 minutes when it should have been about 15. The only thing that mattered here was Owen and the future angle vs. Bret. Shawn being in there didn’t help much, but it needed to be Jerry Lawler and without him this didn’t mean anything of note. Not a good match and the length hurt it a lot. They were against things they couldn’t really help here and that’s what brought it down a lot.

Owen comes back and gets in Bret’s face during the celebration. Stu tries to calm Owen down but Owen rants about getting no recognition and celebrates in the ring on his own. Helen loses it as well.

Gorilla and JR are going to do commentary on the next match as Heenan and Vince are going to do Radio WWF, which didn’t last long. During the change over, Gorilla threatens to kill Heenan which was his trademark at this point.

We recap the Foreign Fanatics vs. the All Americans. Ludvig Borga hit Tatanka with a chair and pinned him with one finger, breaking his two year undefeated streak. Tatanka got beaten up by Yokozuna. This led to the Steiners and Luger picking a new partner in the Undertaker. This led to an awesome moment with Taker opening his coat and having an American Flag inside of it (with 13 stars for some reason). Luger then beat up Quebecer Pierre for no apparent reason. The Fanatics added the EVIL FOREIGN Hawaiian Crush. This must be the intermission.

Here’s Jim Cornette to introduce his team for a very out there match.

Smokey Mountain Wrestling Tag Titles: Heavenly Bodies vs. Rock N Roll Express

This is part of an agreement the companies had at the time which didn’t quite work that well. The Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) are the champions and they’re defending against the Bodies (Tom Prichard and Jimmy Del Ray). It’s a brawl to start with the Express being sent to the floor. Gibson is pulled back in but Morton pulls both of the Bodies out to the floor. Ricky follows that up with a suicide dive to take both of them out at the same time.

Things slow down and we start with Gibson vs. Del Ray. Things are going to go very fast in this match and that’s exactly how it starts with Gibson flipping out of the corner and hitting a headscissor takeover before bringing in Morton. Prichard comes in and gets booed louder than all of the Knights in the previous match combined. Morton can’t quite get above Prichard on a leapfrog and he ducks a Del Ray superkick which takes Prichard down instead.

Both Bodies get monkey flipped out of the corner and we get the always dumb looking rowboat spot, which is where all four of the heels’ legs are rotated around by the good guys. Gibson works on Prichard’s leg and the Express take out Del Ray in the corner before Morton works on Prichard’s leg as well. Tom finally gets in a shot and it’s off to Del Ray who is immediately armdragged down.

In a nice move, Gibson blocks the buckle before Morton’s back hits it to prevent the Bodies from getting the advantage. It’s all Express other than the first fifteen seconds or so. The Bodies have a quick huddle on the floor and the fans are bored. It’s Prichard vs. Morton now with the heels taking over for the first time since the beginning. Off to Del Ray who is suplexed down onto Morton for two.

Back to Prichard for some more choking. There wasn’t a tag but that’s why the Bodies are heels. Del Ray hits an Asai Moonsault to the floor and it’s back to Prichard in the ring who hits a powerslam for two. Off to a chinlock as this match is turning into an old school tag match of the NWA style. A Trash Compactor (a kind of spinebuster/guillotine legdrop combo) gets two but Del Ray’s powerbomb is countered into a rana for two.

Ricky hooks a small package for another two and Del Ray hits a moonsault press on Morton for ANOTHER two. This is why it’s called Playing Ricky Morton people. The guy was a master at it. A double DDT puts the Bodies down and Morton rolls over to make the tag to Gibson.

Now we get to the point of the match: Prichard throws Morton over the top, which is a DQ in SMW, but this is in the WWF. Gibson gets confused and decked for his confusion as Morton gets beaten down even more. There’s the double dropkick to Prichard but it only gets two. Del Ray comes off the top with a tennis racket (Cornette signature) shot to Gibson for the pin and the title.

Rating: B-. This was a strange match as from a technical standpoint it was quite good and in SMW it would have been the main event of a big show, but we’re not in SMW. We’re in the WWF here and these people don’t mean anything. There’s a deep history here of a ton of matches with various gimmicks to them, making this a huge feud. The problem is all we’re told is they’ve been feuding for years. It’s the same issue you have with Japanese wrestlers: just being told how great they are doesn’t mean anything to most fans. We need to see these things, not be told about them.

Team Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Four Doinks

Bam Bam Bigelow, Bastion Booger, Headshrinkers

Bushwhackers, Men on a Mission

Ok. I can get through this. Four years ago I stopped watching this midway through but I’m going to get through it this time. The Doinks are all dressed like a clown and their identities were secret until they were unveiled here. Luke comes out on a scooter, Butch has a wagon, the Men on a Mission come out on foot. Mabel needs the exercise so that’s a good idea. Notice that there’s no actual Doink in the match and the fans aren’t going to be pleased here.

A LOUD We Want Doink chant starts up and Bastion and Luke start things off. Booger is a VERY fat guy in a too small singlet in case you’re not familiar with him. Luke bites him on the ample singlet before stomping on Bastion’s foot. Afa bites Butch’s balloon and it’s off to Samu. Then he bites a water balloon and gets rolled up by Luke for the pin. Fatu (Rikishi) comes in and Luke hurts his own head off a headbutt attempt.

Booger comes in and drops a leg on Luke and it’s off to Bigelow with a headbutt to the ribs. Booger comes back in and sits on Luke before stopping for a banana. Another drop by Bastion misses and the Battering Ram puts him down. Mabel drops a leg on Bastion and it’s 4-2. Fatu comes in to offer meat to Luke and takes over, but here’s Mo on a scooter for a ride around the ring. Bigelow comes in and destroys the scooter and Fatu hits the top rope splash….and stops for a banana.

Butch comes in with a bucket of something….scratch that as there’s nothing in it, but Fatu slips on a banana peel as he jumps from it and Butch rolls him up for the pin. Bigelow is all that’s left and he gets to fight Mabel. Bam Bam can’t do anything to the power of fat but Mabel misses a splash. The other Doinks come in and get beaten up also but Butch throws something on Luna. Mabel splashes Bigelow and a dog pile (which is allowed) gets the pin.

Rating: Awe. I am in awe. We had falls from a water balloon, a banana peel and a bucket of something being thrown on Luna. There’s nothing else I can say about that and I’m not going to try.

As Bigelow is leaving, Doink (whose actor has recently changed) pops up on screen to laugh at Bam Bam. The next step in this feud: a midget named Dink of course.

The Doinks, including the real Doink, celebrate in the back. Why the REAL Doink couldn’t be in the arena isn’t answered.

The Foreign Fanatics are in the back and Cornette talks about their battle plan. He talks about how they look at the All Americans as one man. You can take a man out by taking out his heart, his mind and his soul. The Steiners are the heart, but if you take it out, he has no will to fight. The Undertaker is the mind, but if you take it out, the man is confused. Luger is the soul, but if you take it out, you’ve defeated him completely. I’ve always liked that.

Before the match, we get a history lesson about Boston. No seriously, this happens. Thankfully it turns into some promos from the All Americans.

Foreign Fanatics vs. All Americans

Yokozuna, Crush, Ludvig Borga, Jacques

Lex Luger, Undertaker, Steiner Brothers

The Quebecers are the tag champions and have Johnny Raven Polo as their manager. Yoko is world champion. Jacques and Scott start things off and Jacques offers a handshake. Scott says screw you in classic Freakzilla style. Scott hits a quick belly to belly for two and it’s off to Rick. Jacques brings in Yoko and things slow down almost immediately. Rick hits a clothesline and a shoulder to knock Yoko out to the floor but it doesn’t do much good.

Off to Borga who died in the last year or so. Rick gets knocked to the floor but comes back in off the top with a shoulder for no cover. Borga misses an elbow and Rick goes up again, coming off with a cross body. Borga rolls through it and Rick isn’t moving at all, giving Borga an easy pin. Rick finally starts moving and holds his leg, so I’m thinking that’s a legit injury. Rick can’t stand up on the floor.

Scott comes in next and gets to fight Jacques. Rick eventually limps off on his own power which is a good sign at least. Scott hits a great gorilla press but Crush catches a falling Jacques and I guess that’s a tag. Steiner wants nothing to do with a test of strength so Crush pounds on him a bit. A butterfly powerbomb puts Crush down and apparently Savage is back in the building. Crush kicks Scott down and here’s Macho.

Crush throws Scott down to the floor over the top but he won’t go after Savage. Randy gets sent to the back and the dull match continues as Scott may have hurt his knee on that fall. The knee gets targeted now with Crush firing away some kicks and Savage is coming back AGAIN. Scott dropkicks Crush to the floor and Crush goes after Savage for long enough to draw a countout.

Jacques goes after the injured Scott now with a rear chinlock followed by an elbow to the jaw for two. Scott somehow hits a gorilla press on Jacques and there’s the tag to Lex. He slams Jacques down and drops a middle rope elbow for the elimination. It’s now Lex, Taker and Scott vs. Borga and Yoko. Borga comes in to face the still limping Scott. Taker hasn’t been in the match yet.

Borga pounds on the ribs and whips Scott in the corner so he can clothesline Steiner down. Borga goes up top but gets suplexed back down for two. Yoko comes in and pounds away, but Scott gets in some offense. He tries the freaking Frankensteiner which goes about as well as you would expect it to, resulting in a legdrop from Yoko eliminating Scott to get us down to two on two.

Luger comes in as we’re almost 20 minutes in with no Taker at all yet. Borga, a Finn, waves the Japanese flag. Yoko misses a splash and Lex pounds away, only to get clotheslined down with ease. Off to Borga who runs Luger over again and kicks him in the ribs. Back to Yoko who misses a charge, and it’s FINALLY off to Taker.

Taker hits his running DDT and sits up but a Borga distraction lets Yoko suplex Taker down. There’s the situp and another after a clothesline. A legdrop keeps Taker down and there’s the Banzai, but Yoko goes for another, and Taker moves. A clothesline puts Yoko on the floor and they brawl to a double countout. See you at the Rumble boys. Taker was legally in the match for less than two minutes and forty seconds.

So it’s Lex vs. Borga now and as Taker and Yoko brawl on the floor. Ludvig has taken over and drops a leg on Lex. A side slam puts Lex down for two and Borga gets more two’s off various other power moves. He isn’t covering well though so he isn’t ready to pin Luger yet. A suplex puts Borga down and they clothesline each other. With Cornette distracting the referee, Borga hits Lex with Fuji’s salt bucket for two. Lex gets fired up and hits a powerslam and the loaded forearm for the final pin.

Rating: D+. This didn’t work either. Taker was the main draw of the match and he wasn’t even in there for a tenth of the match. Yoko vs. Taker would go on to screw up two PPVs and Lex would never get the title, basically making the second half of 1993 totally pointless. This match didn’t work at all, and a lot of that is due to the heel lineup. Unless there was an injury or something, I don’t get why Pierre was taken out.

Santa comes out to celebrate with Luger just like last year.

Overall Rating: D. Let’s take a look at this card: great opener, WAY too long second match with the wrong main heel, a match from another company, the banana peel/water balloon match, and the main event with an evil foreign Hawaiian (insert your own lame Obama joke here). This show comes off as very long and dull, with most of the matches being completely uninteresting. It was uninteresting back in the day too, as this show got the lowest buyrate in the history of the Survivor Series up to this point. Next year would be another head scratching show.

Ratings Comparison

Team Razor Ramon vs. Team IRS

Original: B

Redo: B

Hart Family vs. Team Shawn Michaels

Original: D+

Redo: D

Rock N Roll Express vs. Heavenly Bodies

Original: B

Redo: B-

Four Doinks vs. Team Bam Bam Bigelow

Original: N/A

Redo: Awe

All-Americans vs. Foreign Fanatics

Original: C-

Redo: D+

Overall Rating:

Original: C+

Redo: D

It was almost the same until the overall rating. I don’t get how it jumps up that high off just a few better grades.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/11/12/history-of-survivor-series-count-up-1993-usa-usa-usa/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Survivor Series 1992
Date: November 25, 1992
Location: Richfield Coliseum, Richfield, Ohio
Attendance: 17,500
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan

This was one of the Redo’s picked for Survivor Series and in a way, that is rather odd. In this case, there is very little Survivor Seriesing going on, with just one elimination match, which happens to be a tag team edition. Other than that, we have a huge tag match as Randy Savage and Mr. Perfect face Razor Ramon and Ric Flair, plus Bret Hart defending the WWE Title against Shawn Michaels. Let’s get to it.

Vince and Bobby run down the card. Bobby is NOT happy about Mr. Perfect joining forces with Randy Savage.

High Energy vs. Headshrinkers

Afa is here with the Headshrinkers. Samu shoves Hart down without much trouble to start but misses a crossbody. Hart’s crossbody and dropkick work far better and it’s off to Ware to work on the arm. For some reason Ware tries ramming their heads together, which works as well as you would expect. Afa gets in a cheap shot from the floor and Fatu runs Ware over with a hard clotheslines as the fans are not pleased.

The nerve hold (you knew that one was coming) goes on and another clothesline drops Ware again. Ware tries to fight up and is casually superkicked right back down (Fatu always had a good superkick). Back up and Ware avoids a charge, with Samu going head first into the post. That’s enough for the tag off to Hart to pick the pace way up. A high crossbody gets two on Fatu but Samu plants him with a powerslam. Fatu’s Superfly Splash finishes Hart at 7:40.

Rating: C+. I’ve always been a Headshrinkers fan and this was a good example of why. They did some things rather well (Fatu’s superkick and splash looked awesome) but they are a team where what you see is what you get. While High Energy was out there flying around and doing what they could, the Headshrinkers were out there to hit you hard and do their second generation Wild Samoan stuff. It worked back in the day and it worked again here in a nice opener.

Nailz, with that still weird deep voice, has been looking forward to hurting the Big Boss Man for a long time. Tonight, he gets the chance, with Boss Man unable to handcuff him to a steel bunk bed. Boss Man and his feel guards know what kind of a good climber he is! He committed no crime but tonight he’s ready to do horrible things to Boss Man with that nightstick. How Sean Mooney doesn’t crack up at all of this is unclear.

Big Boss Man doesn’t buy Nailz saying he’s an innocent man because he’s seen the file. His job is to make sure Nails serves hard time…and then he literally runs off to the ring.

Big Boss Man vs. Nailz

Nightstick on a pole match with Boss Man charging to the ring as Nailz is already climbing. Boss Man slugs away but gets whipped hard into the corner. Nailz hammers away but it’s too early for him to get the stick. Back up and Boss Man goes simple by punching him in the face, only to get slammed off when going for the stick. The chinlock goes on (Heenan: “RIP IT OFF!”) but Boss Man fights out, only to miss a splash.

Boss Man knocks him down again and they both get a breather. They get up for a double clothesline and they’re both down again. That’s enough for Boss Man to get the stick and deck Nailz in the face but he shrugs it off. A right hand makes Boss Man drop the stick and Nailz gets in a few shots of his own. Not that it matters as the Boss Man Slam is enough to pin Nailz at 5:40.

Rating: D+. The nightstick doesn’t make much of a difference if it doesn’t make an impact and that was the case here. They traded nightstick shots and barely hurt each other so there wasn’t much of a point. Other than that, it was a slow brawl without anything important. Lame stuff here as Boss Man was rapidly running out of steam.

Ric Flair and Razor Ramon aren’t happy with Mr. Perfect turning on them to join Mr. Savage as Ultimate Warrior’s replacement. We see a clip of Savage picking Perfect and Bobby Heenan running his mouth to make Perfect switch sides. Heenan begging for mercy and for Perfect to reconsider is such a Heenan thing for him to do. Flair and Ramon swear vengeance on the now crazy Perfect.

Heenan goes on a great rant against Perfect as only he could.

Rick Martel vs. Tatanka

This is during Martel’s kind of sailing captain phase and he has some of Tatanka’s feathers to make this personal. Tatanka gets driven into the corner to start but he reverses and chops away. Some dropkicks have Martel on the floor, followed by an atomic drop to put him outside again. Back in and Martel grabs a hot shot (Heenan approves) to take over.

The front facelock goes on as we hear about Sgt. Slaughter being Jack Tunney’s official rule enforcer. Tatanka suplexes his way out of a front facelock but Martel puts it right back on. Cue Doink The Clown as Martel knocks Tatanka back down and grabs the same front facelock. Tatanka fights up and hits a clothesline before avoiding a charge to send Martel shoulder first into the post.

The arm cranking goes on as the fans are just silent here. An armdrag into an armbar cuts off the energy again as this just keeps going. Martel fights up and sends him to the floor, only to get punched out of the air back inside. Tatanka starts the comeback and hits the top rope chop to the head. The Papoose To Go finally finishes Martel at 11:07.

Rating: D+. This is a good example of a match that wasn’t awful, but instead really boring. Tatanka and Martel could probably have a good match that runs about seven minutes but there is nothing you can get out of that many front facelocks and then Tatanka working the arm late in the match. Not a terrible match, but it took me a long time to get through it as it was just that dull.

Mr. Perfect and Randy Savage know that Ric Flair hates them being a team. Perfect is ready to take out Flair and Razor Ramon, because Bobby Heenan knows Perfect can beat both of them. Savage says if the villains were mad before, they’re going to be even madder in a little while.

Ric Flair/Razor Ramon vs. Mr. Perfect/Randy Savage

Heenan is of course incredible here with his rants about what is coming to Perfect. Ramon and Perfect get things going with Ramon hitting a running shoulder. That doesn’t work for Perfect, who is back with a slap but Perfect bails from the threat of a double team. Flair comes in and is quickly taken down by Perfect, who chops away in the corner. There’s the Flair Flip to the apron, where Savage knocks him to the floor for a bonus.

It’s off to Savage for a top rope ax handle to the ribs, leaving a Flair fan (in robe) losing it in the crowd. Savage slugs away on Flair and the interfering Ramon, setting up that signature running clothesline on Flair. A cheap shot slows Savage down though and it’s Ramon coming in to slug away. Ramon can’t get anywhere with Savage’s leg so he goes with the choking instead.

Flair slugs away in the corner and it’s right back to Ramon for the abdominal stretch. With that broken up, Flair tosses Savage over the top for a crash, setting up the running knee. Ramon grabs a kind of weak half crab….and Perfect is walking up the aisle. He sees Savage bleeding on the screen though and that’s enough to draw him back, much to Heenan’s annoyance.

With order restored, Flair gets two off a chop but Savage manages a desperation backslide for the same. Ramon comes right back in and grabs a chokeslam for two more on Savage. There’s a clothesline to put him down again but for some reason Flair goes up, earning a slam off the bottom rope for an extra big crash. The double tag (diving on Savage’s end) brings in Perfect to face Ramon as everything breaks down.

Flair chairs Savage in the head with a chair on the floor and Perfect is whipped into the referee. Another referee comes out as Perfect flips out of a Razor’s Edge and grabs the PerfectPlex. The new referee counts two as Flair makes the save so it’s PerfectPlex to him as well. The first referee counts two with Ramon making a save, meaning the villains are finally DQ’d at 16:30.

Rating: B-. It was one of the featured matches on the show but it was only so interesting. The biggest problem here is that the heat on Savage was rather long and then the ending felt like it was designed to set something else down the line. Flair and Perfect would keep going but Savage and Ramon were pretty much done, making this a preview for something that didn’t happen.

Post match the beatdown is on until Savage makes the save with a chair. Perfect gets the chair and clean house (Heenan: “SOMEBODY GET DOWN THERE AND STOP HIM!”). The announcement of the DQ gives us a classic THAT’S NOT FAIR TO FLAIR! Respect is shown.

Flair and Ramon swear vengeance.

Yokozuna vs. Virgil

Yokozuna does his sumo stomps in the corner and knocks Virgil down without much trouble. Some dropkicks work for Virgil but he tries an O’Connor roll to limited avail. A superkick cuts Virgil down and Yokozuna slowly pounds away. Virgil’s comeback attempt is cut off by a side slam and the big legdrop makes it worse. The splash in the corner sets up the Banzai Drop to finish Virgil at 3:44.

Rating: C. Pretty much a total squash here and that’s all it needed to be. This version of Yokozuna was rather mobile and someone who felt like different kind of monster. It makes sense to put him out here to wreck a loser like Virgil and he looked rather dominant. Good stuff here, and the push is clearly coming.

Mr. Perfect has turkeys for Ric Flair and Razor Ramon. Bobby Heenan gets a little chicken.

Natural Disasters/Nasty Boys vs. Money Inc./Beverly Brothers

The villains have the Genius/Jimmy Hart in their corner and if one person is eliminated, their partner is as well. Typhoon backs Blake into the corner and then shoves him into the corner without much effort. An over the shoulder backbreaker has Blake in more trouble and Earthquake comes in for a bearhug. A powerslam puts Blake down again and Knobbs runs him over to make it worse.

It’s off to Sags, who finally gets caught in the wrong corner so Beau can come in for a change. Sags hits a pumphandle slam (Vince: “What a wrestling maneuver!”) but Beau grabs a butterfly suplex. DiBiase comes in for a change but gets suplexed down in a hurry. IRS comes in and elbows Sags down so Beau can drop an elbow for two. The chinlock goes on but Sags fights up for a double knockdown. The tag brings Earthquake back in to wreck everything, setting up the Earthquake to Beau for the elimination at 9:26.

Earthquake runs DiBiase over and it’s Typhoon coming in for a headbutt. A missed charge actually lets Money Inc. manage a double belly to back suplex, followed by a wishbone snap. The chinlock goes on for a bit, followed by DiBiase’s middle rope ax handle. DiBiase’s middle rope dive into a raised boot lands on a raised boot and it’s back to Typhoon to clean house. The big splash hits IRS but DiBiase makes the save, allowing IRS to drop an elbow for the pin at 15:55. Then Sags rolls IRS up for the pin at 16:03.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t exactly good but rather long with almost nothing worth seeing. There was a story o Hart losing Money Inc. and the Disasters as teams while the Nasty Boys wanted the Tag Team Titles but that wasn’t exactly thrilling here. This felt like lip service to having the Survivor Series concept and if that’s the best they’ve got, they might as well have just skipped it this year (which they seemed to want to do).

Randy Savage, Mr. Perfect and Tatanka are on the Superstar Line.

Heenan rants about Perfect again.

We recap Kamala beating up Undertaker at Summerslam, only to have Undertaker do the situp and scare him away. Undertaker wanted revenge and Kamala was terrified of a casket, so he built a really big casket. It was a simpler time.

Undertaker vs. Kamala

Coffin match (win by pin/submission, loser goes into the casket) with Paul Bearer, Kim Chee and Harvey Wippleman here as well. Undertaker chases him to the floor to start but Kamala chops away back inside. That’s fine with Undertaker, who strikes right back and hits Old School. Well not that old at this point.

Some shots to the face stagger Undertaker though and Kamala sends him outside for a ram into the steps. A chair to the back staggers Undertaker again but some chops don’t do much back inside. Three slams in a row set up a series of splashes but lets bring the Urn in. Kamala freaks out so Undertaker gets up and hits him in the head with it for the win at 5:28.

Rating: C-. Another not so great match as Kamala just wasn’t that interesting in the ring. It also doesn’t help that there was almost no way to imagine Kamala beating Undertaker, who was a major star and far out of Kamala’s league. The match was a way to wrap things up for Undertaker, who needed a new monster to slay. Much like the previous match, this was a way to get something (or someone) on the show and that didn’t make it interesting.

Post match Kamala nails the coffin shut and wheels it out.

Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels says he beat the British Bulldog for the title and since the Bulldog beat Bret Hart for the title, Michaels can beat Bret tonight.

Bret Hart says he’s ready to beat Shawn and add him to a list of recently defeated challengers (Berzerker! Rick Martel! VIRGIL!). We hear about how Bret rose through the ranks to get here and he isn’t ready to lose just yet, even to a great wrestler like Shawn.

WWF Title: Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart

Only Bret is defending. After the handing off of the sunglasses to a kid, Bret takes Shawn into the corner. They go to the mat with Bret easily taking control and sending Shawn bailing to the rope. Back up and Bret takes over on the arm, including some armbarring. We’ll make that some hammerlocking with some knees to the arm but Shawn is back up with a hammerlock of his own.

That’s reversed with a toss out to the floor, followed by another armbar back inside. Shawn slugs his way out of trouble, only to get clotheslined down for two. The armbar goes on again but Shawn drops him across the top to get a breather. Shawn sends him shoulder first into the post and hits a DDT onto the arm. We hit the chinlock for a good while, setting up a backbreaker into another chinlock.

Bret fights up and gets a neckbreaker but Shawn takes him right back down. Now it’s a front facelock to keep Bret down, though this time he’s back up with some shoulders in the corner. The bulldog out of the corner sets up the missed middle rope elbow and we’re back to the front facelock. Bret is up again and manages a belly to back suplex before sending him head first into the post.

There’s the backdrop (you know Bret can call that one) into the Russian legsweep for two, followed by the middle rope elbow for the same. A high impact superplex gives Bret a rather delayed near fall and they’re getting tired. The referee gets crushed in the corner…but is right back up. Shawn sends Bret outside and manages a posting, followed by his own backdrop for his own two back inside.

The superkick (not yet the finisher, or even named) doesn’t even warrant a cover so the teardrop suplex (almost an Angle Slam) gives Shawn two. Bret gets in a shot though and gets Shawn tied up in the ropes, only to miss a charge and crash hard. Shawn goes up but dives right into the Sharpshooter to retain Bret’s title at 26:39.

Rating: B. I’ve seen this match a few times now and while it is good, it really needed to be about eight minutes shorter. There is a lot of time spent just sitting there in either the armbar or the chinlock, which can get rather tedious. It got better near the end and Bret is a beatable enough champion to make this work, but it went longer than it needed to and that brought things down a bit.

And then Santa Claus comes out to celebrate with Bret to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. The two big matches are good enough and they get more time than almost anything else on the show, but the biggest problem here is nothing really feels major. Bret vs. Shawn feels more like a really enhanced midcard match while the big tag match is….I’m not sure what it is but it didn’t feel important enough to be the featured match. It’s clear that the WWF is in a transitional period here and it’s really not clicking yet. Not an awful show, but nothing you need to see save for maybe some historical curiosity.

 

Ratings Comparison

Headshrinkers vs. High Energy

Original: C+

2012 Redo: C+

2023 Redo: C+

Big Boss Man vs. Nailz

Original: D+

2012 Redo: D

2023 Redo: D+

Tatanka vs. Rick Martel

Original: C-

2012 Redo: D

2023 Redo: D+

Randy Savage/Mr. Perfect vs. Razor Ramon/Ric Flair

Original: B

2012 Redo: B-

2023 Redo: B-

Yokozuna vs. Virgil

Original: C
2012 Redo: C-

2023 Redo: C

Nasty Boys/Natural Disasters vs. Money Inc./Beverly Brothers

Original: D

2012 Redo: C

2023 Redo: C-

Undertaker vs. Kamala

Original: C+

2012 Redo: F

2023 Redo: C-

Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels:

Original: A-

2012 Redo: A

2023 Redo: B

Overall Rating:

Original: C+

2012 Redo: B-

2023 Redo: C

Yeah Bret vs. Shawn just isn’t that great.

UK Rampage 1992
Date: April 19, 1992
Location: Sheffield Arena, Sheffield, England
Attendance: 8,000
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan

So here we have what sounds like a Coliseum Video but instead is a full show, which was broadcast on Sky over in England. It’s basically a big house show that is presented as a pay per view, which means the card could be all over the place. If nothing else, the WWF Title match is pretty well known so let’s get to it.

The opening video is as generic as you can get, showing some people on the show.

Commentary welcomes us to the show.

Tatanka vs. Skinner

Oh yeah it’s going to be one of those shows. They circle each other for a long time to start until Tatanka grabs a headlock. A sunset flip gets one and it’s right back to the headlock, allowing Heenan to try to pronounce Tatanka. Back up and a clothesline gives Tatanka two, followed by a chop to send Skinner bailing up the aisle.

They get back inside and Tatanka starts in on the arm but Skinner takes him down to work on the leg. Said leg is stretches a good bit until Skinner wraps it around the post. A suplex brings Tatanka down but he gets a boot up to knock Skinner out of the air. The middle rope chop sets up the Papoose To Go to finish Skinner off at 11:53.

Rating: C-. This was a slow match and while it was technically fine, it wasn’t exactly interesting. Tatanka is a popular enough star and a good opening match guy, but there wasn’t much to see here. Then again it’s just the opener of a European special event so it’s only going to be so much.

The Legion Of Doom is ready for anyone including….Colonel Mustafa and Dino Bravo? Oh yeah this is a weird kind of show.

Legion Of Doom vs. Colonel Mustafa/Dino Bravo

Dark haired Bravo always looks weird. The villains are whipped into each other to start and a double clothesline sends Bravo outside. Back in and Animal’s exchange of shoulders with Bravo goes nowhere but Hawk’s flying shoulder takes Bravo down as I try to figure out why this is supposed to be hard for the LOD.

Hawk goes shoulder first into the post as Heenan talks about meeting a woman named Martha at a French restaurant but she wouldn’t pick up the check. They get back in and Mustafa grabs a gutwrench suplex but Animal breaks up an abdominal stretch. A double clothesline allows Hawk to get over for the tag to Animal, meaning house is quickly cleaned. The top rope clothesline finishes Mustafa at 4:30.

Rating: D. What else could you have been expecting here? Bravo and Mustafa might as well have been a pair of jobbers but they actually got in a bit of offense. Unfortunately that’s not what should have been done here, as it should have been total destruction. Also, they really didn’t have a better option than this? No one was available?

Sid Justice talks about how Undertaker doesn’t do much reading (….ok). Justice has recently read a book called The Night Of The Juggler where the victim looks into the eyes of his killer and knows it’s over. That’s what’s waiting for the Undertaker.

Paul Bearer and Undertaker have come across the great sea to deliver a present: a tombstone.

Sid Justice vs. Undertaker

Harvey Wippleman and Paul Bearer are here too. Justice jumps him to start but Undertaker fights out and slugs away. Old School connects as does a flying clothesline, but Sid is right back with the chokeslam (which the camera mostly misses). A side slam drops Undertaker again and Sid hammers away, only for Undertaker to come back with a clothesline. They fight to the floor and I don’t see this ending well. Undertaker gets posted and a rather fast countout gives Sid the win at 5:17.

Rating: D+. Sweet goodness they really can’t have a good match together. What are you supposed to do when the camera doesn’t see Sid’s big move and the match is barely five minutes long with a countout? These two never worked well together and it was on full display again here, even if it wasn’t entirely their fault this time.

Post match Sid hits him with a chair and grabs a neckbreaker (more a hair takedown). Undertaker shrugs those off and Tombstones him. So Sid can take it after the match but not do a job on a show like this?

Shawn Michaels, with Sherri, is ready to win the WWF Title.

WWF Title: Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Savage

Savage, with Elizabeth (to oppose Sherri), is defending after winning the title at Wrestlemania two weeks ago. Savage knocks him down to start and gets a knee up to stop a charge in the corner. Michaels sends him outside and Savage tosses in a chair as Heenan complains about Wrestlemania. Back in and Michaels tries skinning the cat but gets clotheslined outside again. Savage drops the top rope ax handle and we’re clipped (this match was on the Randy Savage Mixtape on the same YouTube channel with no clip so I have no idea what’s up with this) to Michaels sending him into the barricade.

A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker drops Savage for two and Michaels whips him into the corner to keep him in trouble. Savage fights back with a catapult into the post and a clothesline, followed by a top rope ax handle for two. He tries it again but gets punched out of the air, allowing Michaels to hit his own clothesline for a delayed two. The yet to be a big deal superkick gets two and the top rope fist drop sends Savage outside.

Even Sherri gets in a shot of her own before Savage is thrown back inside, where Michaels tosses him right back outside. Back in again and Michaels fires off the left hands but Savage kicks him in the face. The referee gets bumped, leaving Savage to hit his neck snap across the top. The top rope elbow connects for no count so Sherri comes in to kick at Savage. Monsoon: “GET UP AND PUNCH HER IN THE MOUTH RANDY!”

The referee is back up for a very delayed two and Sherri is on the ropes, which is enough for Elizabeth to come back down and shove her over the top. A high crossbody gives Savage two so Sheri gets on the apron again, with Elizabeth pulling her down this time. Savage misses a charge into the corner and gets sunset flipped down for two. A spinning high crossbody gives Savage the pin at 15:25 (the match usually runs about 16:20 so the cut clipped out nearly a minute).

Rating: B. This has been on a bunch of home video releases and it’s included for a reason. These two had great chemistry together and it was nice to see Savage getting a chance to actually get in the ring during his second title reign. You could see Michaels becoming a bigger star every day at this point and there is a reason he was given this kind of spot against a star like Savage. It worked well, especially with something different than the usual Savage formula of the big elbow.

Post match Sherri hits Michaels by mistake and a double noggin knocker sends the villains outside. Savage and Elizabeth get to pose together.

Here are the Bushwhackers for a chat, with Bobby Heenan saying they remind him of Eddie The Eagle (famously not great British skiier). This includes going around ringside and walking through the crowd, which feels quite a bit like filler. They finally get to the stage and love the people and country of England. Oh and the sheep are nice too. We have talks of rabbits and Sean Mooney is given a hat.

Jimmy Hart and the Mountie insist that they would NEVER take advantage of Virgil’s broken nose. The Mountie is not impressed with London, as he saw a cop who looked like Virgil sleeping on the job.

Virgil is happy to have his nose guard and is ready to fight Mountie. He floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee.

Virgil vs. The Mountie

Jimmy Hart is here with the Mountie. The bell rings and Virgil bails to the floor to avoid the shock stick. Back in and Virgil starts punching away and sends Mountie face first into the buckle over and over. They head outside with Virgil hammering away again before taking Mountie’s shirt back inside.

Mountie fights up and slugs away, including a shot with the shirt. A bulldog lets Mountie put his shirt back on and he mixes it up a bit with a half nelson/hammerlock combination. We pause for Mountie to grab the mic and shout his name, which is enough for Virgil to make a comeback. Hart trips Virgil and Mountie uses the distraction to get in a shot with the shock stick for the win at 8:55.

Rating: D. This was pretty terrible, as it was just a bunch of waiting around and doing basic stuff, with the shirt getting far too much attention. Virgil and Mountie weren’t exactly thrilling stars in the first place, but then they had a boring match. Not good, too long and dull, which makes for a rough combination.

Rick Martel doesn’t like English fashion and is ready to teach Bret Hart a thing or two about what it means to be a wrestling technician.

Bret Hart says this is about wrestling instead of fashion. How astute of him.

Intercontinental Title: Bret Hart vs. Rick Martel

Hart is defending. Feeling out process to start and they lock up against the ropes, with Martel slapping him in the face. Martel slugs away but his O’Connor roll attempt is blocked. Hart clotheslines him to the floor, only to get front facelocked back inside. That’s broken up and Hart starts on the leg, including cranking away on the mat. This allows Monsoon to tell a story about a cab driver being offered FIFTY TIMES the value of his ticket but turning it down. Heenan: “And that’s why he’s driving a cab.”

A spinning toehold keeps Martel down as Monsoon uses big words to describe the leg. Heenan: “Keep it simple for the humanoids! He kicked him in the thigh!” Martel fights up but gets caught in a shinbreaker, with the leg being wrapped around the post. A quick ram into the post gets Martel out of trouble and he drops some elbows on the back. Hart fights up with the Five Moves Of Doom but gets sent crashing out to the floor. Back in and Hart can’t get an O’Connor roll, but he can get a small package to retain at 13:03.

Rating: B-. Of course these two worked well together as they’re both talented veterans and Hart was rapidly becoming one of the more important stars in the company. That’s a great sign for his future and putting him out there with a great hand like Martel made sense. It’s one of those formulas that pretty much guarantees success, which is why Hart was featured so often.

Jim Duggan thanks the fans for chanting USA because it makes the hair on his neck stand up. As for Repo Man, he’s ready for a fight instead of a match.

Repo Man vs. Jim Duggan

They stall a bunch to start, with Duggan calling for a few USA chants. Duggan trips him down and shrugs off some right hands. A few clotheslines have Repo in trouble and he gets sent outside, somehow managing to sneak up on Duggan. Back in and Duggan’s right hands set up an atomic drop to send Repo right back outside. Another cheap shot lets Repo take the turnbuckle pad off and Duggan is sent face first into the steel.

Heenan isn’t sure that will make a difference so Repo chokes on the rope. Duggan is sent into a regular buckle and the chinlock goes on. That’s broken up and Duggan misses a charge into the exposed buckle. Duggan sends him face first into the exposed steel as well so Repo grabs the steel hook and knocks Duggan silly for the DQ at 7:14.

Rating: D-. Sweet goodness what is up with the lame finishes on this show? Again, you really can’t have the Repo Man take a pin here? It just feels so ridiculous to see them do such a boring match and then finish with that kind of weak DQ. Nothing to see here, as has been the case too many times here.

Post match Repo chokes away and ties him in the ropes until the referee cuts off a big hook shot. Duggan gets the 2×4 and hides before chasing Repo off, meaning we get one more USA chant.

Randy Savage insists he and Miss Elizabeth are doing well and says they should have a second and third honeymoon over here. Savage is ready for all contenders, from the British Bulldog to Ric Flair.

Bobby Heenan has an empty coffee pot, which he says is the trophy British Bulldog won in a battle royal in London.

The British Bulldog promises to make IRS pay in the ring.

British Bulldog vs. IRS

IRS has Jimmy Hart with him. Bulldog’s reaction is as strong as you would expect and that’s why he’s in the main event. Bulldog grabs a headlock and shoves him away before a rather hard shoulder drops IRS again. We pause a bit for the fans to cheer the Bulldog, with even Heenan having to acknowledge the reception.

A clothesline sends IRS outside so he comes back in, runs the ropes, and bails to the floor again. Bulldog works on the arm but gets sent outside, with IRS kicking him in the ribs a few times to take over. Back in again and Bulldog gets two off a rollup but IRS drops him with the flying clothesline. The chinlock goes on for a good while, with Bulldog being sent outside.

This lets Heenan announce that Shawn Michaels HAS LEFT THE BUILDING. As usual, Monsoon doesn’t care, though he is more interested in Bulldog getting two off a sunset flip. The delayed vertical suplex has IRS in more trouble but he manages another cheap shot. Hart’s distraction tries to let IRS get the briefcase but Bulldog blocks it without much trouble. The running powerslam finishes IRS off at 12:45.

Rating: C. This wasn’t much of a match but there was no way it could end with anything but the Bulldog hitting a powerslam for the win. He was the crowd’s ultimate hero and that’s about as much of a layup as you can get. The match means nothing and isn’t even that good, but it’s all it needed to be.

Bulldog celebrates for a long time to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Yes a show from the early 90s is carried by Bret and Shawn (and Savage). I’m as shocked as you are, even if it’s exactly what happened at a lot of shows around this time. It doesn’t help that the show was full of nothing matches with terrible endings, but I guess the fans were supposed to just be happy to see the wrestling live. Which did work so who needs effort?

 

 

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WWF In Paris
Date: October 13, 1989
Location: Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Paris, France
Commentators: George Eddy, Thierry Gilard

The name kind of speaks for itself as the company is across the pond. That means we should be in for some interesting match selections, as house shows alone can be all over the place but international house shows can be downright bizarre. Believe it or not, Hulk Hogan is headlining, as tended to be his custom. Let’s get to it.

The ring announcer welcomes us to the show.

Honky Tonk Man vs. Bret Hart

Jimmy Hart is here with Honky Tonk Man and there are ring girls carrying signs with the wrestlers’ names in a unique change. Hart chases Honky Tonk Man outside to start and Jimmy grabs the mic to complain about the booing. The villains are already trying to walk but change their mind, with Honky Tonk Man coming back for a lockup instead. Hart hammers away to take over and Honky Tonk Man needs a second break.

Back in and an armdrag into an armbar lets Hart start in on the arm. Honky Tonk Man gets up and tries a boot to the ribs, which is easily blocked so they can go back to the armbar. Hart is sent to the apron, where he is fine enough to come back with a sunset flip for two. That means we’re already back in the armbar as Hart certainly has a theme here. Perhaps due to the experience he has of being stuck in the hold, Honky Tonk Man fights up for some shots to the face but Hart cuts that off again.

Jimmy trips Hart though and Honky Tonk Man gets in a cheap shot to actually take over. A back elbow sets up some elbow drops to keep Hart down, but he’s right back up with an elbow of his own. Jimmy tries to interfere and even goes up top, which is broken up just as fast. Hart knocks Honky Tonk Man to the floor…and apparently it’s a DQ win for Hart at 9:56 shown. Apparently about five minutes was clipped, which was either at the beginning or very well done in the middle.

Rating: C. This wasn’t bad as Hart’s singles run continues to get teased. Putting Honky Tonky Man out there was a fine way to go as he’s a heat machine who can make anyone look good. It was never going to be a classic exchange of technical skills, but I’ll take Hart getting to show what he can do pretty much anytime.

Post match Honky Tonk Man talks about how the fans want to hear him sing so get the Canadian grease ball out of here. Hart comes back in and gets jumped with Honky Tonk Man stomping away but Hart is back with the required atomic drop to clear. That’s enough for Honky Tonk Man to bail out, as you might have expected.

Jim Duggan vs. Dino Bravo

Jimmy Hart is here with Bravo and Duggan is the King here. Bravo poses a bunch to start and of course Duggan knows exactly how to play to the crowd to respond to that. With that broken up, Duggan fires off the clotheslines and Bravo is knocked outside for the breather. Back in and Duggan wins a slugout with an atomic drop so Bravo is right back on the floor.

This time Duggan sends Hart into Bravo and poses a lot (as he was known to do, because he’s rather awesome that way). Back in and Bravo elbows him in the back of the head and it’s time to choke on the rope, as Bravo has something stuck to his chest and it’s bugging me. Duggan is sent head first into the buckle and we hit the chinlock.

The comeback is cut off and the chinlock goes on again before Bravo sends him crashing outside. Back in and an atomic drop puts Duggan down again but Bravo misses an elbow. The right hands in the corner have Bravo back in trouble but the referee gets bumped. In this match??? Hart tries to bring in the megaphone and of course hits Bravo by mistake. The three point clothesline finishes for Duggan at 8:32.

Rating: D+. Yeah this was about as boring as you would expect, with both guys doing their thing and neither being much to see. Duggan was playing to the crowd rather well as expected, though that doesn’t make for a good match. Throw in the ending being a bit messier than it needed to be and this wasn’t exactly worth seeing.

Post match Hart comes in for a distraction and Bravo hits Duggan with the megaphone.

Rockers vs. Fabulous Rougeau Brothers

Believe it or not, Jimmy Hart is here with the Rougeaus. Michaels starts with Ray but gets distracted by Jacques, allowing Ray to jump him from behind. Jacques comes in to start on the arm but gets faceplanted for his efforts. It’s off to Marty for an elbow to the face and a middle rope right hand gets two. Jacques does a really fast scamper over to the corner for the tag to Ray and we’re clipped to Marty dropping an elbow on Ray’s back.

Michaels comes in to work on the leg and changes with Jannetty behind the referee’s back, with the fans approving. Jacques’ protest gets nowhere and I have a feeling that’s going to be brought up again later. The Rockers change places again so Jacques tries to break it up, leaving Ray to get wishboned before Jannetty works on the leg some more.

Jacques goes on what sounds like a VERY non-PG rant to the referee, who goes over to yell at Michaels. Since Jacques is over there listening, there’s no one for Ray to tag so Jannetty drags him back to the middle in a funny bit. The Rockers change behind the referee’s back again and Jacques is appealing to the fans for honesty. Michaels insists that he tagged and Earl Hebner of course goes with it, because he and Michaels are such great friends forever.

Jacques finally grabs Michaels’ hair from the apron so Ray can get in a knee to the back and send him hard into the corner. Some choking from the apron has Michaels in more trouble and it’s off to Jacques for an assisted gutbuster. Jacques’ always good looking jumping back elbow drops Michaels again and a double clothesline connects as well. Michaels is sent outside this time, leaving the Rougeaus to have a much needed hug. Back in and Jacques pulls the hair to stay on the back before Ray grabs a front facelock.

Jannetty tries to make a save and the Rougeaus trade places, just like the Rockers did earlier. The referee does at least yell at them before counting two on Michaels. The front facelock goes on again and Michaels fights up for the tag, with the referee not seeing it as they’re hitting all of the high points here. Jacques accidentally knees Ray (Hart panics) and Jannetty gets to come in to clean house.

Jacques’s sunset flip is blocked with a right hand and Ray’s distraction means the backslide gets a VERY delayed two. Ray trips Jannetty from the floor and Jacques hits the piledriver, only for Michaels to come in for one of his own. That leaves Ray to celebrate at the sound of the count as Jannetty pins Jacques at 14:44.

Rating: B. This is a great definition of a fun match as you had both teams doing exactly what they should have done throughout. The fans were into the whole thing because not only is it an easy story, but it was also done rather well, which helps a lot. Rather good stuff here from two teams who know exactly what they’re doing with the theme of behind the referee’s back throughout.

WWF Title: Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage

Hogan is defending and brings out Miss Elizabeth while Savage has Sherri. Savage throws in a chair before coming in to grab a headlock. A shoulder sends Savage bailing out to the floor and it’s time for some stalling, with Savage grabbing the mic to promise to win the title. He even dedicates the win to Sherri, the most beautiful woman in the world.

Savage starts getting back in but Sherri comes in for a back rake, allowing Savage to hit the ax handle. The double stomping is on but Hogan fights them off without much trouble and we’re clipped to Hogan hammering away on the floor. Back in and Hogan hammers away, with the fans counting along in French in a nice moment. Some choking brings Sherri up to the apron and Hogan is really not impressed, even threatening her with a right hand. Savage gets in a cheap shot so Sherri can scratch away some more, followed by the top rope ax handle back inside.

We hit the sleeper to make Hogan writhe around on the mat a bit, followed by the required comeback. We’re clipped to Savage snapping his throat across the top rope and hitting a top rope ax handle with…something for a cheap shot. The cover triggers the Hulk Up, with Hogan holding Savage for Elizabeth. Sherri is kicked away and Elizabeth…seemingly slaps Savage, as the camera misses it. Either way, Hogan drops the leg to retain at 8:35 shown (of about 12:00).

Rating: C+. For the life of me I have no idea why they would clip this, as they not only have the full match but released it on the Vault earlier this year. Either way, it was about as standard of a Hogan vs. Savage match as you could get, which shouldn’t be a surprise as they probably did it about 1,472 times. The big deal here was Elizabeth with the slap which of course didn’t make air because the WWF could have some screwy camera work. It was fine for a main event though, as you probably expected.

Post match Sherri is sent into Savage and Hogan celebrates with Elizabeth to wrap things up, complete with pyro, confetti and balloons. Dang Paris treated this as a big deal.

Overall Rating: C+. The whole thing runs less than an hour so there is only so much to get interested in, but they hit a lot of the high points for this era. It’s a four match show (with two dark matches) and the tag match is worth a look if you have time. This is the kind of random things that I love to see released and it was awesome to see it here, as close to full as you could. Nothing worth going out of your way to see, but for about fifty seven minutes, it could have been a lot worse.

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Bashed In The USA
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Lord Alfred Hayes, Jim Ross, Randy Savage, Bobby Heenan
Host: Mr. Perfect

I’ve seen this tape before but it’s been such a long time that it’s worth another look now that the Vault has put it up. This is from 1993 so it’s not the greatest time in the company’s history but there should be some decent stuff in there. If nothing else, Bret and Shawn should be around to save things. Let’s get to it.

Out host is Mr. Perfect, who is looking for the perfect…stamp. Geez how bad were the ideas they rejected?

From December 14, 1992 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Razor Ramon vs. Big Boss Man

Ramon offers ring announcer Mike McGuirk a kiss before the match but she doesn’t seem interested. They stall a lot to start with Ramon wanting the nightstick gone (fair) and then promising to throw Boss Man out. Boss Man responds by SNAPPING THE TOOTHPICK but Ramon bails to the floor. After over two minutes of stalling, Boss Man wants to head outside as well, meaning it’s time for some stretching on the barricade.

Ramon invites Boss Man back inside so Boss Man shakes the ropes for a low blow, which I guess counts as contact? They finally lock up after over three minutes and they roll around the ropes. Ramon shoves him so Boss Man is back with a good right hand. Ramon’s headlock and shoulder don’t get him very far so Boss Man invites him to try it again.

We go to the test of strength, with Boss Man going down to a knee and Ramon kicks him in the ribs for daring to try a comeback. Boss Man fights up and hits the uppercut before elbowing him into a rollup for two. Some right hands in the corner have Ramon in more trouble but he grabs the nightstick. The big swing misses but Ramon gets a boot up in the corner. A rollup with feet on the ropes gives Ramon the cheap pin at 7:45.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t very good, as it was a bunch of stalling and then some very basic stuff. Boss Man was mostly done as a big deal at this point and wouldn’t even be around the company that much longer. Ramon on the other hand was brand new so giving him a win helped. Just maybe make it a bit better on the way there next time.

Mr. Perfect doesn’t think much of Ramon and we see a clip from Survivor Series 1992 of Perfect cleaning house with a chair.

From June 3, 1992 in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada.

Rick Martel/Money Inc. vs. Tatanka/High Energy

Jimmy Hart is here with Martel and company. Owen armdrags DiBiase down to start as commentary buries someone named Marty Applebaum, who apparently works for Coliseum Video. This isn’t the first time they’ve mocked him so we have a running joke, and it’s a long run as well as this goes on for a good while. DiBiase armdrags Owen right back and mocks him a bit but gets dropkicked, with everything breaking down and the villains getting cleaned out.

Back in and Martel turns his back on Owen, who brings Tatanka in to take him apart. The middle rope chop to the head sends Martel to the floor and it’s off to Ware for a dropkick to IRS. Monsoon buries him too by saying Ware has put on about 25lbs. A shot from behind puts Ware down but he’s up and over to Tatanka for the tag. DiBiase gets a boot up in the corner, though commentary would rather talk about French fries. Martel comes in for kicking and choking and it’s back to IRS with a middle rope fist to the head.

DiBiase gets in a snapmare into a chinlock as Hayes talks about which partner Tatanka should tag (he picks Hart). Tatanka fights up for a sunset flip but gets caught in the front facelock. Naturally he gets over to Ware but the referee doesn’t see the tag, meaning IRS can choke in the corner (Hayes approves, like the evil Englishman he is). Tatanka finally suplexes his way to freedom and the tag brings in Hart to clean hammer away. Everything breaks down and DiBiase trips Ware, who gets pinned by IRS at 12:13, despite neither of them being legal (which Monsoon does point out).

Rating: C. This was long and fairly dull, but I can go for a six man where they get some people out there and let them do their thing for a bit. Martel and Tatanka were in the middle of a fairly dull feud but at least the other match was fairly fresh. The ending left a good bit to be desired though, as it wasn’t hard to keep track of who was legal. Unless you’re a Hebner, but why would you ever trust one of them?

Mr. Perfect finally gets some help with the stamp and throws us to a profile on Shawn Michaels. The store employee not even turning her head when Perfect stops to talk to the camera is rather funny.

Shawn Michaels can’t believe he was asked to get his amazing career down to three matches but he’s the Wrestler of the 90s so it’s easy enough.

From January 26, 1993 in Fresno, California.

Intercontinental Title: Shawn Michaels vs. Kamala

Michaels is defending and Slick is here with Kamala. Some belly slapping has Michaels dodging as there are A LOT of empty seats opposite the camera. Michaels slides between the legs as we’re still waiting on the first contact. The offer of a handshake lets Michaels get in a right hand but a whip out of the corner gets him nowhere. Instead Kamala chops him out to the floor and takes a quick lap, with Slick telling him to stay in the ring, which Hayes DOES NOT like.

Back in and Michaels’ cheap shot doesn’t work so Kamala grabs a bearhug into a choke. That’s broken up and Michaels gets in a shot off the top for a knockdown. Kamala is right back with a superkick and the chops before just dumping him over the top. Michaels throws Slick down and just walks out, with Kamala following for the double countout at 4:30.

Rating: C-. They didn’t have much time here and it wasn’t exactly worth seeing. Michaels was an all time in-ring star but there is only so much that even he can do in a four minute match against Kamala with so much of the time being wasted. As usual, I don’t get the point in having matches in a profile go like this but that’s the Coliseum Video way.

Post match Kamala drags Michaels back to the ring and gives him a splash.

Michaels mocks Kamala and is ready for his next match, even if it’s against an odd opponent.

From December 14, 1992 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Intercontinental Title: Shawn Michaels vs. Skinner

Michaels is defending again in a rare heel vs. heel match. We get a slow start as Michaels has to take his entrance gear off, with Skinner sending him straight into the corner. A slam drops Michaels and a heck of a right hand puts him on the floor. Back in and Skinner knocks him down again, followed by a swinging neckbreaker.

Commentary tries to figure out if Skinner would rather have the title or Michaels stuffed on his mantle. A shoulder breaker gets two and they go outside, where Skinner misses a charge into the post. Back in and Michaels tries to jump over him but gets punched in the face. Some hard headbutts and a faceplant have Michaels in more trouble. Skinner throws him over the top but Michaels slides back in for the superkick to retain at 4:40.

Rating: C+. Skinner was oddly impressive as a de facto face here, as he beat Michaels up until a quick ending. This was better than I was expecting, even with the heel vs. heel setup. I’m not sure how far Skinner could have gone, but he was shockingly good in this kind of a role.

Michaels says it’s time to face off against a real human being.

From October 28, 1992 in Louisville, Kentucky.

Intercontinental Title: Shawn Michaels vs. Virgil

Michaels is defending and takes him down without much trouble as Heenan worries about Michaels chewing gun during the match. Some slaps to the back of the head annoy Virgil so much that he hits a dropkick for two. That’s cut off in a hurry and Michaels knocks him down again, setting up a quick chinlock.

Virgil gets back up so Michaels drops him with a clothesline, followed by a not great looking suplex. Michaels charges into a boot in the corner and gets clotheslined in the back of his head, allowing Virgil to start the snap jabs. A middle rope clothesline gives Virgil two but he misses a knee in the corner. The teardrop suplex retains the title at 7:10.

Rating: C. I know Virgil had a bit of a following around this time but my goodness he’s just so generic. There’s nothing to him that makes him stand out in any way and his big move here was a middle rope clothesline. Michaels never felt in danger and it was nice to see him get a win, but it would have been better with a higher level opponent.

Michaels brags about his success and goes to answer the door because his chicks are here.

Mr. Perfect knows a lot about stamps.

From May 18, 1992 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Battle Royal

Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Sgt. Slaughter, Tatanka, El Matador, Virgil, Texas Tornado, Barry Horowitz, Jim Powers, Repo Man, Kato, Skinner, Dale Wolfe, Brooklyn Brawler, Brian Costello, Reno Riggins, Barry Hardy, Duane Gill, Chuck Casey, Tom Stone, Crush, Colonel Mustafa, Burt Spears, George Anderson, Ron Cumberledge, Mark Spears, Ted DiBiase, IRS, Jerry Sags, Brian Knobbs, Beau Beverly, Blake Beverly, Hawk, Animal, Owen Hart, Koko B. Ware, Earthquake, Typhoon

I missed some of the jobbers’ names and I can’t imagine that matters whatsoever. They start fairly slowly as there is only so much room to maneuver out there right now. A bunch of people get together to doss Earthquake and Typhoon early on, which does at least give us some extra room. Naturally Hart and Michaels get into it, as they are eternally required to do. Cumberledge is out (Savage: “I was going to say the unknown soldier.”) and another jobber who isn’t worthy of commentary’s attention is out too.

Someone else (“Another young man.”) is tossed and Hawk actually goes up for some right hands, because he’s not all there. You can see a lot of people just standing around waiting on something to do because there is only so much room and stuff going on. Hawk and Sags are both knocked out and brawl on the floor before their partners are out as well. The ring is slowly starting to clear out but there are still a bunch of people.

Two more jobbers are out and at least now there is something of a space in the middle where some action can take place. More jobbers, Repo Man and Tornado are out and it’s time for some people to rake backs. Crush goes after both Beverlys as Michaels and Hart go out at the same time. Mustafa tosses Horowitz and IRS gets rid of Slaughter. Powers is out and the bizarre team of DiBiase and Kato get rid of Crush.

Brawler is out too and Tatanka gently puts Mustafa out. Ware is backdropped out (thank goodness he’s wearing parachute pants) and Stone is out (as he was somehow still in). Kato, DiBiase and Virgil (the last two together) are out in a row. Stone is out again (ok then) and we’re down to Tatanka, Blake, Beau and IRS. Tatanka tries to fight all of them but IRS dumps Beau. Tatanka gets rid of IRS and then chops Blake out for the win at 13:17.

Rating: C-. Pretty bleh battle royal here but they ran this forty man version all over the place. It’s still cool to see as it has a lot of the midcard, plus a wide variety of jobbers. There’s nothing in the way of action though and nothing was really built up, save for maybe the Beverlys hanging in there. Nothing much to see here, but the concept is cool.

Perfect rips up a $2 million stamp because it’s not in perfect condition.

Bret Hart does a lot of art. This is pretty well known and he’s rather talented. He draws (mainly in caricature/cartoon style) the Undertaker, Paul Bearer, Yokozuna, Mr. Fuji, Money Inc. and Hulk Hogan while talking about how everyone has a gift. Nice little feature here.

From June 1, 1992 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Intercontinental Title: Rick Martel vs. Bret Hart

Hart is defending. Believe it or not they go technical to start, with neither being able to get an advantage. The headlock takeover into the headscissors sequence doesn’t go anywhere so Martel cartwheels away. Hart goes for the arm but Martel cartwheels away again, only to get clotheslined outside by an apparent gymnastics hater.

Back in and Martel gets in a few shots of his own to take over, only to miss a charge into the post. Hart works on the arm and gets two off a backslide before going back to the arm, as he is known to do. Martel gets out, misses an elbow, and gets armbarred again. That’s broken up as well and Martel knocks him down but the chinlock doesn’t last long. A sunset flip gives Hart two but Martel gives him a gutwrench suplex.

Another suplexes is broken up so Hart hits an atomic drop (you know the funny sell is included) and follows up with a clothesline. The Russian legsweep gets two but the referee gets bumped, allowing Martel to use the atomizer. The Boston crab goes on but here is Shawn Michaels to deck Hart for the DQ at 10:13.

Rating: C+. The ending actually makes sense, as Michaels was mildly obsessed with the idea of taking the title from Hart. Therefore, he didn’t want Martel to take the title, even if it meant screwing over a fellow heel. At the same time, this sets up Michaels vs. Martel in their bizarrely interesting No Punches To The Face match at Summerslam.

From June 30, 1992 in Binghamton, New York.

Beverly Brothers vs. Natural Disasters

The Genius is here with the Brothers. The Brothers jump them to start but the Disasters actually do a do-see-do to avoid a crash into each other. Stereo splashes in the corner crush the Brothers and Earthquake splashes Typhoon into them. Earthquake and Blake fight to the floor but the distraction lets Beau hit Typhoon with Genius’ scroll.

A double clothesline out of the corner gets Typhoon out of trouble but Beau manages to snapmare him down. The chinlock doesn’t last long and it’s off to Earthquake to clean house. The powerslam and elbow get two on Blake, with Beau making the save. Everything breaks down and Typhoon beats up the Genius, leaving Earthquake to get double teamed on the floor. Beau dives back in to beat the count at 7:13.

Rating: D+. This is one of those matches that isn’t interesting or important and then they have a bad finish on top of it. The Beverly Brothers were as mediocre of a team as you could get and they’re beating the Natural Disasters? I’m not sure I get this one but that is how Coliseum Video matches tended to go.

Mr. Perfect is still not pleased with the stamp selection but throws us to our main event.

From March 8, 1993 in San Antonio, Texas.

Undertaker vs. Yokozuna

Paul Bearer and Yokozuna are here too. They stare each other down for a good while before Yokozuna’s right hands don’t do much. Instead Undertaker hits a running DDT but a clothesline puts him on the floor. Undertaker goes after Fuji but gets sent into the steps for his efforts. Back in and Yokozuna crushes him in the corner before dropping the big leg. The belly to belly suplex gets two so Yokozuna gets the salt bucket for the DQ at 4:08.

Rating: D-. What in the world was that? They stalled a lot at the beginning and then the match itself barely breaks four minutes. I have no idea what they were thinking here as it’s more a match that annoys the fans than anything else. If you don’t want either of them taking a pin, just don’t put the match together in the first place.

Post match the beatdown is on but the Banzai Drop misses. Undertaker fights back and Yokozuna walks away.

Perfect shows his perfect stamp and it’s…a picture of him. Well of course it is.

Overall Rating: D+. I for one am shocked that the best matches on a tape from 1993 involved Bret and Shawn. What I am rather shocked about though is the fact that Skinner had the match of the tape for a good stretch. This was a pretty rough collection with absolutely nothing worth seeing. It’s definitely not a great era for the company and if this is the best they could offer, you could see why.

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Best Of Sid
Commentators: Jim Ross, Bob Caudle, Gordon Solie, Dusty Rhodes, Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan, Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler,

Sid is next up on the list of stars getting a collection on the WWE Vault and that can make for quite the offering. Usually these Best Of’s are more of a chronological look at someone’s career, which can go rather well. Sid might not be the most polished wrestler, but his charisma can take him a very long way. Let’s get to it.

From Halloween Havoc 1989.

Skyscrapers vs. Road Warriors

The Skyscrapers (with Teddy Long) are Sid and Dan Spivey and the Warriors have Paul Ellering to keep things even. Hawk and Sid have a staredown to start and yeah the fans are way into this. Spivey knocks Animal up against the ropes to start but a clothesline sends Spivey over the top. Hawk comes in to trade shoulders with Spivey, who is more than happy to oblige.

A flying shoulder sends Spivey crashing out to the floor and now it’s off to Sid, who is knocked into the corner as well. Animal is in to shoulder Sid and it’s back to Hawk for the test of strength. Sid actually takes over and starts hammering away, with Sid knocking him down and nipping up. A helicopter slam drops Hawk again and Spivey kicks him out to the floor. That means Sid can drop Hawk onto the barricade, followed by a big boot to the….hip?

Back in and Spivey and Hawk trade suplexes as JR goes on and on about Spivey’s football career. Hawk finally clotheslines his way out of trouble and it’s back to Animal for one heck of a flying shoulder. Sid and Animal get in a fight and the fans are VERY appreciative. Everything breaks down and the managers get into it, with Long throwing in his metal key (it was a thing), which Spivey uses on Hawk for the DQ at 11:39.

Rating: B-. Yeah this worked as it’s exactly what they advertised. This was about four big power guys beating the fire out of each other until the ending when the ending was designed to protect both of them. In this case that makes enough sense and it was a fun trip to get there, which I’ll definitely take.

Post match the brawl stays on, with Hawk hitting the top rope clothesline (that always looked awesome) and stealing the key to clean house.

From Clash Of The Champions IX.

Skyscrapers vs. Steiner Brothers

Oh this should work. Naturally Rick is in the crowd eating popcorn with the fans. The Steiners clear the ring to start and hit their pose, with the Skyscrapers chilling on the floor. We settle down to Spivey tombstoning Rick, who pops back up to take over. Scott comes in for the Frankensteiner and a flipping fall away slam to Sid, because that’s something a human can do.

Back up and Sid misses a heck of a charge into the corner, allowing Scott to start in on the arm. Spivey is back in with a clothesline and a tilt-a-whirl slam, followed by a heck of a big boot. Scott gets up and brings in Rick for the house cleaning as everything breaks down. Cue Doom to go after the Steiners, which is enough for the DQ at 6:08.

Rating: B-. Yeah I could have gone for a lot more of this, as they were beating each other up, with Scott getting to come in there and do his stuff to make him look like a phenom. The Steiners were on another planet in this era and when you gave them a team of big guys to throw around, there was very little that was more entertaining.

Post match the brawl stays on, with Woman (Doom’s manager and the Steiners’ former manager) hits Rick with a shoe. Cue an unnamed giant (later named Nitron, who would be better known for his acting career, as Sabretooth in the original X-Men movies). The Road Warriors run in for the save and it’s a huge brawl.

From WrestleWar 1991.

Sid Vicious/Ric Flair/Barry Windham/Larry Zbyszko vs. Sting/Brian Pillman/Steiner Brothers

It’s WARGAMES. In case you’re somehow unfamiliar, each team sends in a man for the first five minutes. When that is done, there will be a coin toss (the heels will win) and the winning team gets to send in its second man for a two minute advantage. When that time is up, the losing team sends in its second man to even things up for two minutes. Entrances alternate until all eight are in and then it’s first submission only to win.

Windham and Pillman (with a bad shoulder) start things off, with Pillman having to break away from his team to get in first. Pillman clotheslines him down and grabs the top of the cage for a dropkick before stomping away. A head fake lets Pillman hit a missile dropkick and he rakes Windham into the cage. Windham is already busted open and some jawbreakers stagger him even more. Pillman throws him into the other cage as Windham is gushing blood.

Pillman goes after the legs and keeps striking away, setting up a backdrop (which barely works as the ceiling is REALLY low. The first period ends and the villains win the coin toss (of course) so it’s Flair coming in to make it 2-1. Flair goes after Pillman and sends him into the cage and Windham does it as well, with the shoulder taking a beating. A nasty tumble sends Pillman into the other cage and they go after his shoulder until Sting is in to tie it up (the fans go NUTS, as expected).

Sting hits those big bulldogs but Windham crotches Pillman on the top. Flair’s chops have no effect and Sting goes after him in the corner, with the Stinger Splash connecting. Zbyszko (subbing for an injured Arn Anderson, who is at ringside) is in to get the advantage back so Sting dives over two sets of ropes to clothesline him down. Pillman Figure Fours Windham but Flair and Zbyzsko fight back, with Flair kicking Pillman in the shoulder for the break.

Rick comes in and hammers on Flair and Windham to start cleaning house. Flair goes into the cage and gets his head rubbed to draw some blood (the blading was about as obvious as you could get). The villains take over again but Scott Steiner is in to complete the field, meaning it’s officially first submission wins. Sting gets the Scorpion on Flair, which is broken up, so we get the quadruple Figure Four on the bad guys.

Those are broken up so Sting gorilla presses Flair into the roof. The brawling continues and Sid loads up a powerbomb, but Pillman’s feet hit the top of the cage so Sid DROPS HIM ON HIT HEAD (called the shoulder but it was his head). Sid hits another powerbomb and El Gigante comes out to save Pillman (by ripping the door off) so the referee calls it at 21:50.

Rating: A. I know 1992 gets all of the praise (and rightfully so) but DANG this was an outstanding match, as you could feel the hatred and violence between the two sides. It felt like people wanting to get in there and destroy each other and it made for an instant classic. Also of note: once the field was complete, the match was over in about seven minutes. You don’t need the end of WarGames to take half an hour. WWE could learn a lot from this.

From Wrestlemania VIII.

Sid Justice vs. Hulk Hogan

Harvey Wippleman is here with Sid, who jumps Hogan while Real American is still going. Hogan fights back, knocks him to the floor and tears the shirt for an absolutely awesome entrance, all before the bell. Back in and we officially start with Sid knocking him down but Hogan is right there with the right hands to the floor. Sid teases walking out but comes back in to ask for a test of strength. Hogan obliges and is put on his knees until he fights up with a clothesline.

Sid is right back with a chokeslam and stops to yell at the camera, which has Monsoon rather annoyed. Some forearms to the back have Hogan in more trouble and Sid hits him in the back with Wippleman’s doctor bag. The nerve hold goes on and Hogan fights up, which has Heenan annoyed all over again. Sid is right back up with the powerbomb for two, as it’s Hulk Up time. The legdrop connects for two, with Wippleman coming in for the DQ at 12:28.

Rating: C. Yeah it’s really just an ok Hogan match at best, especially with the screwy finish. There’s only so much they could have done here, as Hogan wasn’t going to lose in his alleged retirement match. They did show some good chemistry though, as Hogan knows how to fight a monster like no one else.

Post match Hogan throws Wippleman at Sid as Papa Shango runs in (COMPLETELY missing his cue, as he was supposed to come in and break up the legdrop for the DQ, with Wippleman having to improvise). The beatdown is on….and the ULTIMATE WARRIOR returns for the save.

From Clash Of The Champions XXIII.

Sid Vicious/Vader/Rick Rude vs. Sting/Dustin Rhodes/British Bulldog

The villains have Harley Race and Colonel Robert Parker in their corner. Sting grabs a rather aggressive headlock on Rude to start but Rude powers out. The top wristlock doesn’t work so Sting gorilla presses Rude and throws him at Sid and Vader, who catch him in the air. They throw Rude back at Sting but miss, allowing Rhodes to come in and hammer away.

Vader comes in and gets knocked onto Rude, leaving Bulldog to come in instead. Sid tries his luck and gets punched around the corner, with Sting using the middle rope for a low blow. It’s back to Rhodes who hammers Vader down in the corner, followed by a rather impressive suplex. Rhodes takes too long going up and misses an elbow, allowing Vader to knock him silly with a clothesline.

Rude comes back in for the gordbuster and a rather arrogant cover. Another suplex is blocked but Sid comes back in with a clothesline for two. It’s back to Vader to unload in the corner, only to dive into the powerslam (as tends to be his nature). Rude’s Tombstone is reversed but the referee doesn’t see the tag off to Sting. Bulldog and Sting aren’t having that and come in anyway as the brawl is on. In the melee, Race slips Rude a briefcase, which knocks Rhodes out for the pin at 10:59.

Rating: B. Of course Rhodes was going to take the fall here given who all was in there, but it was a pretty fun match to see these guys beat each other up for a bit. Vader was getting to smash through people and most of the people got to be their usual impressive selves. This was good stuff with the talent involved making that pretty much expected.

Post match Sid and Vader hit a powerbomb on Bulldog but Sting gets the briefcase and cleans house.

From Survivor Series 1996.

WWF Title: Sycho Sid vs. Shawn Michaels

Sid is challenging and the fans in Madison Square Garden just go nuts for him. Michaels has Jose Lothario with him. Sid gets right to the point by slugging away and knocking Michaels into the corner. Back up and Michaels grabs a headlock takeover and grinds away a bit as things slow back down (odd for Michaels but so is Sid).

For some reason Michaels tries a slugout, which doesn’t exactly work very well. Instead Michaels slips out of a gorilla press but ducks down, meaning he has to escape the powerbomb attempt. With the stand up not working, Michaels chop blocks the leg and goes Perfect with a Robinsdale Crunch. Michaels grabs the Figure Four, followed by some drops down onto the knee. Sid kicks him away though and, after shoving a camera away, runs Michaels over without much trouble.

Michaels goes right back to the knee but gets clotheslined out to the floor. A big drop onto the barricade has Michaels in trouble and Sid is limping a bit, even as the fans cheer him like never before. Back in and Sid hits a big backdrop, followed by a whip over the corner but Michaels manages to snap the throat across the top. Sid knocks him into the corner again but Michaels slugs away, setting up a slam. Michaels dives into a raised boot though and we’re off to a cobra clutch.

That sets up the chokeslam but Michaels reverses the powerbomb into a small package for two. With nothing else working, Sid grabs a camera and hits Lothario. Michaels gets in the superkick but makes the mistake of going to check on Lothario rather than covering. Back in and a middle rope crossbody hits the referee so Michaels checks on Lothario again. That’s enough of a delay for Sid to hit Michaels with the camera, followed by the powerbomb for the pin and the title at 20:02.

Rating: C+. This was a fairly slow match with the action not being great, but the crowd reaction here was fascinating. The fans were just not having it with Michaels and they let him know, with Sid getting some very strong reactions. It made for a pretty amazing spectacle and taking the title off of Michaels so he can get it back in his hometown is a pretty simple move.

Post match Lothario is stretchered out and Michaels staggers after him.

From In Your House XII: It’s Time (nice touch by the Vault as commentary was hyping this match up at the end of the Survivor Series match and they transitioned right into it).

WWF Title: Sycho Sid vs. Bret Hart

Sid is defending and Shawn Michaels is on commentary. Hart jumps him during the entrance to start fast and gets clotheslined down for his efforts, allowing Sid to stomp away. Hart fights back and slugs away, managing to knock Sid down this time. Michaels keeps right on both of them as he doesn’t like either guy and doesn’t sound thrilled to be there either.

They head outside again, with Sid getting in a few shots of his own, only for Hart to score with a headbutt back inside. Sid dumps him over the top for a big crash to the floor but can’t hit a powerbomb out there. Instead Hart picks him up for a ram into the post and takes him back inside for a backbreaker. Some elbows stay on the bad back and we hit the reverse chinlock. With that broken up, Hart chokes away in the corner and then takes a turnbuckle pad off (odd to see from him).

A belly to back suplex gets two on Sid and the middle rope elbow to the back gets the same. Hart goes up and gets slammed back down to give Sid a needed breather. Sid kicks away a Sharpshooter attempt…and here is Steve Austin to take out Hart’s knee. Back in and Hart begs away in the corner, which doesn’t work as Sid pounds him down without much trouble.

Hart fights back but misses a charge into the exposed buckle and a chokeslam gives Sid two. A Cactus Clothesline puts them both on the floor, where Hart and Michaels get into it again (shocking I know). Back in and Michaels gets on the apron, with Hart being whipped into him for the crash. The powerbomb retains the title at 17:05.

Rating: B-. This was another example of Hart being able to make anything work, as he knew how to have a good match with someone like Sid. The Michaels stuff was fine as well, as he was the other third of the main event scene around this time. Sid got to do his power stuff and that was always going to work for him.

From the 1997 Royal Rumble.

WWF Title: Sycho Sid vs. Shawn Michaels

Michaels, in his hometown and with Jose Lothario, is defending (and has the flu so this might not go well). Thankfully we get at least one more instance of the SID pyro, which is one of the coolest ever. Sid shoves him down a few times to start but Michaels picks up the pace with a running crossbody, allowing him to slam Sid’s head into the mat. They go outside with Sid sending him into the apron, followed by a powerbomb to pull Michaels out of the air back inside.

The camel clutch goes on early, followed by Sid taking him outside for some rams into the post. Back in and we hit the regular chinlock, followed by the back as they keep having to find ways to let Michaels rest. Michaels breaks out but dives into a bearhug, with Sid even kneeling down this time. The big leg sets up a chinlock with a knee in Michaels’ back but he gets up and manages a slam.

There’s the flying forearm and the top rope elbow connects. The superkick is blocked though and Michaels is backdropped over the top for a big crash. The powerbomb plants Michaels on the floor and Sid grabs Lothario. That’s broken up but the referee is bumped inside. Sid’s chokeslam gets no count so another referee comes in for the rather delayed two. The other referee gets punched down so Michaels grabs the camera (ala Survivor Series) to knock Sid down for a VERY delayed near fall. The superkick gives Michaels the title back at 13:48.

Rating: D+. Yeah there wasn’t much that could be done here, as Michaels was barely able to function (for once, not his fault). That meant a lot of laying around in holds until the finish, which was the only way it could have gone. Sometimes it’s ok to set up an obvious finish and then go there, which is exactly what they did here.

From Monday Night Raw, February 17, 1997.

WWF Title: Sycho Sid vs. Bret Hart

Sid is challenging after Hart won the title last night. We’ve tried to do the match twice but Steve Austin has jumped Hart both times. Hart stomps away in the corner to start but Sid just unloads with shots to the ribs. The big whip into the corner has Hart’s back/ribs in more trouble and things slow down. Sid clotheslines him down and stomps away but Hart manages a quick backbreaker.

JR incorrectly says that Sid isn’t 6’9 on the mat before Hart hits the middle rope elbow. Sid gets his own two off a backbreaker and it’s time to choke on the ropes. Hart is able to get up and kick the leg out before jumping down onto it in the Ric Flair starter package. The Figure Four around the post has Sid in more trouble and we take a break.

We come back with Hart working on the leg in the corner until Sid drops him with a clothesline. The big legdrop gets two and a middle rope version crushes Hart for the same. A rake to the eyes breaks up the chokeslam attempt but Sid avoids a charge to send him crashing into the ropes. The powerbomb attempt is broken up and Sid is sent outside, followed by the Sharpshooter back inside. Sid tries to power out and gets quite the assist from Steve Austin, who comes in to crack Hart with a chair. The powerbomb gives Sid the pin and the title at 11:55 (the first time the title had ever been won on Raw).

Rating: C+. It wasn’t quite as good as their pay per view match but Austin screwing Hart over will never get old. Having Hart lose the title the night after he won it played into his conspiracy deal perfectly well as things were starting to get bad for him in a hurry. At the same time, Sid gets the title back and is likely headed to Wrestlemania, which is a fine way to go as he’s been around the title scene for months now.

Post match Sid celebrates until Undertaker comes out for the staredown to set up Wrestlemania.

From Wrestlemania XIII.

WWF Title: Sycho Sid vs. Undertaker

Sid is defending and Shawn Michaels is on commentary. The bell rings and they stare each other down..and Bret Hart is here. Michaels mocks Hart for not being happy about not being in the main event. Hart yells at Michaels for faking an injury (eh, exaggerating but not exactly faking), blames Undertaker for ending their friendship by slamming a cage door in his face, and saying that the title belongs to him.

Sid responds with a powerbomb and tells Hart to get out of here. Hart is carried out and the bell rings again, with Undertaker hammering him to start. A boot in the corner staggers Sid and a Stinger Splash of all things connects for Undertaker. Old School connects but Sid doesn’t actually go down, allowing him to grab Undertaker in a bearhug. That stays on for a good while and they go to the floor, with Undertaker being dropped onto the announcers’ table.

Sid rams him into the post for two back inside and we hit the camel clutch. This lets Michaels get in a great bit of psychology that so many people miss: Sid is going to stick with power because it’s what makes things work. Why would he make it more complicated than that? A powerslam gives Sid two and the slow beating continues. They head outside with Undertaker sending him into the steps for a needed breather but Sid pounds him back down. This allows commentary to point out that oh yeah this is no holds barred.

The chinlock goes on again but Undertaker fights up and hits a powerslam. Undertaker grabs a nerve hold for a bit, followed by a clothesline for two. Back up and they both hit big boots to put them both down. Michaels: “Sid can lay there all day and walk out with the championship belt.” Well not if he lays there while Undertaker covers him. Sid is back up with a middle rope ax handle and a middle rope punch to the face. Undertaker catches him up top and slams him off, setting up the always great top rope clothesline.

Lawler gets in an interesting line by suggesting that they’re both scared the other can kick out of the finisher. That’s an interesting thought but Undertaker tries the Tombstone, which Sid reverses into one of his own for two. They go outside where Hart pops up again with a chair shot to Sid’s back. An awkward looking chokeslam gets two on Sid and he avoids the jumping clothesline. The powerbomb is loaded up but Hart comes in AGAIN. This time it’s something like a Stunner over the top to send Sid into the Tombstone to give Undertaker the title at 21:23.

Rating: D+. I’ve seen this match a bunch of times and it’s not overly good. They had similar styles and it didn’t make for the most thrilling match. The best part is probably Michaels burying Hart on commentary, which never gets old. It didn’t help that this was coming after the all time classic of Hart vs. Austin, but I get why you want to close Wrestlemania with the title change.

Post match Undertaker poses for a good while, with JR getting in the awesome line of “the WWF Title lives in the Dark Side!”.

From ECW Guilty As Charged 1999.

Judge Jeff Jones isn’t happy with Kronus for attacking him so he is sentencing him to pain. Guess who is providing said pain.

Sid Vicious vs. Kronus

Kronus hammers on Sid to start and that goes very badly. Sid chokeslams him over the top and through a table, followed by some chair shots to the back. The fans demand and receive a powerbomb and Kronus is done at 1:31. To say the fans lose their minds is an understatement as Sid is as over as free beer in a frat house. Sid’s bizarre charisma and power style were tailor made for a short run in ECW and I’m not surprise in the slightest that the fans went that nuts. Nothing match of course, but Sid in ECW is a great thing to see, as it couldn’t have gone much better.

The fact that we’re skipping multiple WCW World Titles in the late 90s is rather telling of how bad things were back then.

Overall Rating: B-. After he passed away, someone said that Sid was the person who looked most like a wrestler and….yeah I can see it. If you look at him, “professional wrestler” probably comes to mind. He was big, he was scary, he was in good shape and he felt just a bit off. It was an odd charisma that always worked and it’s a big reason why he became such a star.

No the matches weren’t very good a lot of the time, but that’s kind of the point. Sid worked because he fit the mold of a wrestler and that’s hard to break. There’s a reason he had two Wrestlemania matches and both of them were the main event (a feat which will likely never be duplicated): he worked very well in short runs, which is what made his career such a success.

 

 

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