Souled Out 1997
Date: January 25, 1997
Location: Five Seasons Center, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Attendance: 5,120
Commentators: Eric Bischoff, Ted DiBiase

Here we have something different, as it’s an NWO pay per view. This was one of the bigger ideas that they had from WCW at this point and to say it go well would be a huge understatement. The main event is Hollywood Hogan defending the World Title against the Giant, which should be a layup of a match if there ever was one. Let’s get to it.

Also of note: this show was on a Saturday to make it feel different.

Finally of note: there are all kinds of segments throughout the show featuring the Miss NWO pageant. These, and pretty much everything else between the matches, are missing from the broadcast on the WCW YouTube channel, likely out of good taste. That cuts off nearly half an hour or so from the show.

We see a bunch of trucks, both equipment and garbage, driving to the show (with a Taco Bell sign in the background). For some reasons Syxx is running behind one of the trucks until the NWO eventually arrives at the arena. They promise to change the industry, as they’ve done multiple times.

The real opening video is the NWO bragging about how awesome they are and promising to take over.

Eric Bischoff is at a podium on the stage, sitting over a steep set of steps towards the ring, and we have a house band. At least it’s kind of different. Hollywood Hogan, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash pop up on the screen to welcome us to the show.

Commentary sits down and we’re finally ready to go.

Chris Jericho (WCW) vs. Masahiro Chono (NWO)

The ring announcer does a bunch of funny anecdotes for the entrances, with Jericho (no music, ala the rest of the WCW wrestlers tonight) being described as “from somewhere north of the border), while Chono (with music) gets praise and a full entrance. Jericho gets shoved away off a lockup and is accused of a hair pull. Chono knocks him to the floor as some WCW wrestlers (mainly tag teams and Arn Anderson) show up to watch from the crowd).

Back in and Jericho suplexes his way out of a test of strength but gets caught in a cobra clutch legsweep. Chono’s top rope shoulder drops Jericho again and they go outside so Chono can keep up the beating. They get back inside where Chono takes out the leg but Jericho manages an enziguri. Naturally Bischoff is there to explain what kind of a kick it is, because he absolutely cares.

Chono is right back on the leg but Jericho manages a jumping elbow to the face. A bridging German suplex gets a rather slow two but Chono atomic drops him down. It’s time for a table (rather thin one at that), which of course takes way too long, allowing Jericho to hit a dropkick. Chono puts a foot on the rope for the save so Jericho goes up top, where Chono kicks him off and through the table (with a good crunch sound). Back in and the Mafia Kick finishes for Chono at 11:10.

Rating: C+. Chono was a nice addition to the NWO to make it fee like a bigger deal internationally, though he only did so much in WCW. Jericho was starting to turn into a more reliable star at this point, which would get a heck of a lot better when he turned heel. For now though, he was a good hand and that’s a better role than the nothing he was doing earlier.

There are women here for the Miss NWO pageant. This means women sitting on motorcycles and we see various women who sent in resumes and photos.

We go to Jeff Katz, who asks the women various questions, which are of course rather suggestive. After two of them, it’s off to the next match.

Hugh Morrus (WCW) vs. Big Bubba Rogers (NWO)

This is a Mexican Death Match and Morrus has Jimmy Hart with him. Apparently DiBiase is the reason the WCW stars don’t have music, which does make sense. Bubba shoves him into the corner as we have no actual explanation of the rules. Morrus knocks him back down and gets yelled at by Nick Patrick (who is refereeing every match tonight), allowing Bubba to get in a low blow.

Bischoff calls it boxing skills but doesn’t seem thrilled when Morrus clotheslines Bubba over the top. Even Hart gets in a few kicks (Bischoff: “The human cartoon character.”) but Morrus’ charge is cut off by a chain to the face. Back up and Bubba whips him with a the chain (ow) so Morrus takes it away and knocks Bubba silly. The middle rope moonsault connects and Patrick starts to count, as apparently this is Last Man Standing.

The ten count takes forever of course so Morrus yells at Patrick, allowing Bubba to get back up. Morrus knocks Bubba down again for another slow count and Bubba is up to slug him down. This lets Bischoff talk about the card, which is cut off as Morrus gets up and hits a low blow of his own. Morrus takes him up the ramp but misses the moonsault off the steps (which would have been totally off anyway). Rather than do anything to him, Bubba gets on a motorcycle and runs Morrus over for the ten count at 9:05.

Rating: D+. This was slow and not that interesting, but what were you expecting from these two? Morrus was better as a brawler, but there was only so much you could do with such a punny name. Bubba was the same guy he had been for years, meaning he was completely fine but firmly stuck in the lower midcard. In addition, save for the ending, there was pretty much no need for this to be a death match.

Katz asks more suggestive questions and the women have pretty much nothing to say.

We look at the NWO website, which is as 1997 as you can get.

Jeff Jarrett (WCW) vs. Mr. Wallstreet (NWO)

It’s like Razor Ramon’s least interesting Intercontinental Title challengers fighting each other. Wallstreet bails to the ropes to start so Jarrett takes him into the corner, where Patrick breaks up a right hand. A hiptoss puts Wallstreet down and Jarrett’ high crossbody gets a slow two. Wallstreet gets faceplanted down and choked on the ropes…which sets up the running crotch attack, only for Patrick to shove Wallstreet out of the way.

Jarrett gets dropped throat first onto the barricade as we see Debra McMichael in the crowd and looking worried. A whip sends Jarrett over the barricade and since it’s a Wallstreet match, he just throws Jarrett back inside. The sleeper doesn’t last long as Debra is trying to get Steve McMichael to come help Jarrett. Another sleeper, this time from Jarrett, is broken up by Patrick and Wallstreet kicks him down to take over again.

We hit the chinlock for a bit until Jarrett fights up for a suplex. Jarrett starts in on the leg and grabs the Figure Four, with Patrick dragging him over to the ropes for the break. Jarrett’s abdominal stretch with a grab of the ropes is broken up by Patrick so Wallstreet grabs the same thing. That’s enough for Steve to come in and BLAST Wallstreet with the briefcase. A threat to Patrick makes him count the pin for Jarrett at 9:25.

Rating: D+. It’s a bad sign when the most interesting thing is a briefcase shot to the back, but that’s what you had here. This is a good (or I guess bad) example of two people who are technically sound but JUST SO FREAKING BORING. They’re both talented wrestlers but good grief they were just having a dry match with the one concept (the cheating referee) being used over and over. In other words, this belonged on a Nitro when they needed to fill time, not this pay per view.

More women, this time the senior division, who can’t hear the questions.

The band plays a song about the NWO.

Buff Bagwell (NWO) vs. Scotty Riggs (WCW)

The American Males…oh these two could never explode so we’ll say run into each other for not much of a reaction. Riggs jumps him before the bell, with Bischoff swearing fines will be levied. Bagwell gets knocked outside and Patrick has to calm Riggs down as we’re already in the stalling. Back in and Bagwell’s headlock doesn’t last long as Riggs is back with a dropkick, followed by the right hands on the mat. A belly to belly drops Bagwell, who comes up with a slap to the face’s face.

The first gear continues with an exchange of hiptoss attempts and Bagwell crashing out to the floor. Riggs adds a dive of his own but Bagwell fights back again because Riggs isn’t very good. As the PA announcer calls Riggs a loser, Bagwell brings him back inside to stomp away. A clothesline gets some twos, with Bagwell complaining about the speed of the count for a change.

Bagwell makes Riggs do the clap, followed by a powerbomb (not something you often see Bagwell do) for a rather delayed two. Bagwell’s tights come down to warrant some censoring and we hit the reverse chinlock, with Bagwell’s legs over Riggs’ arms for some reason. We pause for hip swiveling as Bagwell continues to prove that he’s no Rick Rude. The reverse chinlock goes on as this show somehow gets even duller. Even commentary points out that the fans are getting bored and Riggs reversing a suplex into a small package doesn’t help.

An enziguri puts Bagwell down but they hit stereo crossbodies, because a double down is EXACTLY what this needed. Bagwell’s neckbreaker is countered into a backslide for two and Riggs powerbombs him for the same. Commentary seems worried that Bagwell is having trouble beating Riggs, because, you know, IT’S SCOTTY RIGGS. Bagwell is taken up top but knocks him down, setting up “that new move”, which would become known as the Blockbuster. That and a grab of the tights is enough to end Riggs at 13:53.

Rating: D-. The Blockbuster alone is pretty much the only thing keeping this from being a failure, because WOW they could not have had a worse match if they tried. The thing is, the match isn’t even terrible, but good grief who is supposed to care about these two fighting? The American Males were a lower midcard team who had a fluke Tag Team Title reign. It’s proof that just throwing an NWO shirt on someone doesn’t make them more interesting and having someone feud with the NWO doesn’t make them a star. Terribly uninteresting stuff here on a show that is dying for a hot match.

Bagwell actually gets pyro after the match and dances with the contestants.

Katz does the same thing he’s done all night.

The NWO has a hotline. No Gene Okerlund though.

Diamond Dallas Page (WCW) vs. Scott Norton (NWO)

This is just after Page turned down the NWO, launching him into the biggest run of his career. Norton powers him down to start (as you might expect), with the PA guy calling Page a loser. A running shoulder doesn’t work for Page either so he takes a breather on the floor. Back in and Page grabs a headlock takeover for some needed grinding.

Back up and Page shrugs off some chops, allowing him to hit the Pancake (basically a Neutralizer), only to get blasted with a clothesline. We pause though as Sting pops up in the crowd but Norton ignores him to hit the shoulderbreaker, with Page rolling outside. Norton stays on the arm so Patrick asks Page if he wants to give up. Page say no, so Patrick says “it’s your shoulder”.

One heck of a crash on the floor has Page’s arm banged up even worse but he avoids a sitdown splash back inside. Page slugs away and hits a nice looking top rope clothesline for two, followed by the running tornado DDT. Cue the NWO lackeys, who want Page to join the team (again). Page puts on the shirt, pulls Norton into the Diamond Cutter, commentary freaks out, and Page runs for the countout at 9:49.

Rating: C-. The match itself wasn’t great, but what mattered here was Page looking like someone willing to stand up to the NWO. He looked clever and outsmarted the villains, which made Page stand out after months of WCW looking like idiots. That’s one of the reasons he became a star, along with his matches getting better. This wasn’t a classic, but after some of the other stuff on this show, it was glorious.

Katz interviews the women again, with one of them FINALLY getting the hint and getting suggestive herself. And that’s it.

Tag Team Titles: Steiner Brothers (WCW) vs. Outsiders (NWO)

The Steiners are challenging and this should pick things up a bit. Also, for the sake of simplicity, Scott Steiner is “Scott” and Scott Hall is “Hall”. The Outsiders are also the first NWO members to get the signature song rather than the B team song, which does fit. Scott and Hall start things off, with Scott backing him into the corner, earning the Hall spooky fingers (one of his greatest contributions to wrestling).

Hall is back with the driving shoulders so Scott fireman’s carries him down with ease. A pumphandle slam plants Hall and he gets tossed with an overhead belly to belly. Rick comes in to drop Nash and the Steiners hit their pose. Back in and Hall hammers away in the corner but gets slammed back out, with Bischoff actually going to regular commentary for a bit.

Rick’s crossbody is pulled out of the air with a fall away slam (ok that was nice) for two and we hit the armbar. That’s broken up so Scott comes in, with Hall immediately chokeslamming him. It’s off to Nash for the first time and you know that means things are going to slow down. Rick fights out and gets in his powerslam for a slow two as commentary ignores the match to talk about Hogan. As usual.

A running big boot knocks Rick outside, where Hall hits the clothesline to drop him again. Back in and we hit a variety of choking until Hall clotheslines him from the apron. Nash misses an elbow but Hall is right back in to hammer away. Rick gets dropped face first onto the apron as this is just so slow. Both Outsiders hit side slams, with Nash’s getting two. The running crotch attack hits the back of Rick’s neck but Scott goes over to deck an interfering Hall.

Back in and Nash spits at Scott, which distracts Patrick enough so that Rick can get in a low blow. Scott comes in to clean house, including a Saito suplex to Nash (even Bischoff is impressed). The super DDT is loaded up but Nash makes the save, allowing Hall to Outsider’s Edge Scott. The ref is bumped though and Rick hits the top rope bulldog. There’s no Patrick, so WCW referee Randy Anderson jumps the barricade and counts the pin on Hall at 14:41.

Rating: D+. The ending picked things up a bit, but this was a lot of Rick getting beaten up and there was pretty much nothing else to see here. On the good end, it was nice to see something that actually felt important. Having a title match on the show did help, even if the screwy ending has all the signs of something not counting.

Commentary complains about the title change. And no, of course it didn’t count and the Outsiders got the titles back on Nitro.

US Title: Eddie Guerrero (WCW) vs. Syxx (NWO)

Guerrero is defending in a ladder match after Syxx stole the physical belt. Guerrero jumps him while the belt is being raised, which makes the annoyed commentators even angrier. Syxx kicks him in the face and strikes away in the ropes but gets knocked outside. The big dive connects for Guerrero, which has DiBiase worried (which has me wondering how a DiBiase vs. Guerrero match could have gone).

Back in and Syxx cuts off a charge in the corner, allowing a middle rope spinwheel kick to drop Guerrero. Syxx knocks him into the corner for the Bronco Buster as Bischoff says Syxx is a REAL karate guy, unlike those Hollywood actors. Back up and Guerrero flips over him for a dropkick as Bischoff keeps talking about martial arts. Syxx suplexes him to the floor in a nasty crash, thankfully getting Bischoff’s attention for a bit.

A running flip dive to the floor takes Guerrero down again and it’s time for the first ladder. Syxx hits him with the ladder and goes up, only for Guerrero to teeter totter the ladder into his face. That sets up a slingshot…uh, stomp to the ribs, but it keeps Syxx down. Guerrero gets whipped hard into the ladder in the corner and Syxx drops him with a suplex, meaning it’s time to climb. The ladder being in the corner makes it a bit of a waste of time but Syxx knocks him off and goes up again.

That takes too long as well, allowing Guerrero to dropkick him onto the top for a crotching. Guerrero goes up but Syxx climbs up and jumps up for a dropkick (Bischoff: “Inverted jump side kick!” Yeah it might have been a one legged kick but it looked enough like a dropkick.) for the big crash back down. Guerrero gets knocked off the top again, only to crash into the ladder and send Syxx down as well. They both go up this time and the belt is pulled down, with Guerrero hitting him in the head to get the win (Patrick’s over the top freaking out helps) at 13:51.

Rating: B. Easily the match of the night here, which helps when you have two incredibly talented stars getting to go out there and showcase themselves. It started slowly but then turned into the two of them doing the big spots that make these matches work. If nothing else, it was nice to see WCW getting a win that actually lasted, as the NWO dominated so much of the show in the early going. Good match here, with Guerrero getting to prove how great he can be. Again.

Guerrero goes through the crowd to celebrate, with Bischoff saying he’s going to get the Tag Team Titles back, plus have a new belt made for Syxx.

We actually meet the finalists of the Miss NWO pageant, with each getting to walk around a bit, plus a bio graphic. This goes on for a good while, because we had some energy going with a good match and that has to be stopped cold. Bischoff gets to pick the winner and is happy with the idea that the women all paid for their own travel and they all have their own motorcycles. He thinks it’s a tie, so he asks them a question with the best answer winning. Granted we don’t actually hear the question or the answer, but a woman who kisses him gets the win. And yes she’s the oldest to complete the gag.

WCW World Title: The Giant (WCW) vs. Hollywood Hogan (NWO)

The Giant is challenging after winning World War III and getting mad at Hogan for saying he wouldn’t get the title shot, meaning he was off the team. The main thing I remember about this build is a promo of Giant holding a match and saying that like Hogan, it gave people some light and warmth for a bit, but just like Hogan, it was getting blown out. Anyway Hogan comes out with some Dallas Cowboys, because he’s a huge star, but they wanted to save a bunch of money on the Miss NWO pageant, because it’s a bit of a confusing story.

Hogan punches him, the PA voice says “the biggest icon in wrestling”, and they circle each other a bit. The chops put Hogan on the floor and the chase is on, but Hogan catches him coming in to hammer away (he’s being more aggressive than usual here). Back up and they hit a double clothesline to put both of them down and Giant is up first. Giant kicks away in the corner before doing the same thing on the floor. Hogan slugs away back inside and tries….a running small package? I think it was supposed to be a crossbody but Hogan couldn’t get up so it just looked bad instead.

Hogan gets knocked outside and fires off some powder, with Patrick not really caring, to take over again. Some choking with a belt has Giant in more trouble but he’s able to come back with a backbreaker. For some reason the Giant goes up top but misses an elbow to give Hogan two. We hit the chinlock for a bit, followed by the slam and legdrop. Rather than covering though, Hogan poses and Giant pops up, leaving commentary freaking out.

There’s the chokeslam so Patrick says he’s up at two, despite Hogan not moving. They then do the same thing two more times in a row so Giant chokeslams Patrick. Bischoff runs to the ring with a guitar (sure) as Giant chokeslams the NWO goons. Hogan is back up with the guitar to Giant’s back and the Outsiders are here too. The fans want Sting but get the big beatdown and spray painting as we’ll say it’s thrown out at 11:00.

Rating: D-. Hogan was actually a bit energetic to start but the running small package (not something I thought I’d say, especially for this match) and everything else was rather terrible. That’s including the ending, which was basically “oh well, here’s the NWO to end the NWO show with the NWO referee and the NWO ring and EVERYTHING NWO.” Hogan and Giant could have a passable match and they came close at times here, but never mind as it was the standard ending, as always.

The NWO celebrates. A lot. For a long time. Too long really. The show ends.

Overall Rating: F. And that’s where the NWO stopped being cool. The problem here should be pretty clear: the NWO worked, but you need ANYTHING else. This was over two and a half hours of “the NWO cheats, the matches are terrible, the NWO stands tall”. You had Guerrero retaining but not getting a pin, the Steiners getting the most obvious Dusty Finish title change and Hogan doing the same thing in another main event.

The NWO standing tall and dominating everything often came at the end of Nitro, but that came at the end of a show featuring a bunch of different matches and things going on. Instead, we had it going on all night with the NWO making fun of everyone and one dull match after another. The wrestling here made you realize how useless the non-top members of the team really are. Bagwell, Wallstreet and Rogers were having one uninteresting, unimportant match after another and it made me wonder when something good was going to happen.

The problem is that something never came, as it was all about the NWO. It’s the biggest story in WCW, but there had to be something else to carry the show. Otherwise, you realize that it’s just a bunch of people filling in time until Hogan, the Outsiders and Syxx can get out there and do something that actually matters. Instead we had Riggs vs. Bagwell for thirteen minutes to kill some of our brain cells. This was horrible, but even worse it was just boring, and that’s not even counting the unfunny pageant stuff. All time disaster of a show here and the NWO would be around for a LONG time to come.

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

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

Superstars
Date: February 13, 1993
Location: San Jose State Event Center, San Jose, California
Attendance: 5,000
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Randy Savage, Jerry Lawler

So this show has taken a bit of a hit as a thing called Monday Night Raw debuted about a month ago. Superstars is still a big enough deal though and it should be interesting to see how things go in its new era. We’re also done with the Royal Rumble and it’s all about that Yokozuna train. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Commentary hypes up the main event of Tatanka vs. Shawn Michaels and the rest of the show.

Shawn Michaels vs. Tatanka

Michaels’ Intercontinental Title isn’t on the line and he debuts the self sung version of Sexy Boy to make this historic. Feeling out process to start as Lawler complains about how much Vince and Savage talk, saying if talent was measured by how much you talk, they would both be World Champions. Oddly true, though Vince pointing out that Savage is a two time WWF Champion is kind of a perfect comeback.

Tatanka chops away and hits a clothesline to send Michaels outside early on. Back in and Michaels gets in a few shots to take over, only to charge into an atomic drop (and yes Michaels even flips off of that). Michaels is able to throw him over the top though and it’s time to hammer away back inside. Some elbows connect and Tatanka is in trouble as we take a break.

We come back with Tatanka fighting out of a chinlock but getting dropkicked right in the face. Another chinlock is broken up as well so Michaels rams him into the buckle, meaning it’s time for the War Dance. Michaels gets smart by raking the eyes but the superkick misses, as does the teardrop suplex. Instead, Tatanka hits the End Of The Trail for the pin at 10:05.

Rating: C+. And there’s your Wrestlemania title match. This was a simple way to show that Tatanka can beat Michaels and that means the title is in jeopardy. At the same time Tatanka remains undefeated, which is going to make things all the better when they get to the title match. Smart booking here, even with the champion losing.

We look at Jim Duggan knocking Yokozuna down but getting wrecked as a result. Yokozuna even sat on the American flag, with Duggan underneath him.

Mr. Fuji is rather proud of Yokozuna’s squashification.

Commentary talks about Duggan’s injuries, with Lawler saying Duggan disgraced America.

Steiner Brothers vs. Alan Burke/Larry Sampson

Scott throws Sampson down without much effort to start and then does it again. Eh let’s make it a third time, with this one off a pumphandle slam. Rick comes in to take over on Burke’s arm, followed by a butterfly powerbomb from Scott. The Steiner Bulldog finishes at 2:21.

It’s off to the Event Center, with the Berzerker saying he’s never cared too much about titles, but now he cares about titles. Like say the WWF Title and the Intercontinental Title and wrestlers who don’t have titles in the first place. Elsewhere, Slick is very happy over the success he has had with Kamala. There is still evil standing in their way though, like Kim Chee and Harvey Wippleman.

Lex Luger vs. Larry Ludden

This is Luger’s in-ring debut. Naturally we get the mirror treatment, with Vince wanting him to get to the wrestling (after signing him to do bodybuilding). The bell rings and Luger poses even more…and the bell rings again. Anyway Luger shoves him down to start, followed by a suplex with a bit of a nasty landing. The powerslam and forearm finish Ludden at 1:27. And yeah Luger still doesn’t have much outside of the muscles, which sums up his time in the WWF.

Wrestlemania IX Report, featuring two new matches: Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzalez (with the graphic doing a great job of having Gonzalez look that much bigger) and Crush vs. Doink (with the graphic having Crush almost in the middle and Doink looking like he’s being shoved out).

Crush vs. White Shadow

This is Crush’s return after being injured by Doink. Crush wastes no time in gorilla pressing Shadow, who is knocked outside with ease. Back in and a belly to belly suplex sets up the head vice to give Crush the win at 1:31. Standard decimation.

We get a sitdown interview with Brutus Beefcake, who lost all kinds of things before his parasailing accident, including his mother to cancer. Vince McMahon recaps the accident and how bad things got and the two things that kept Beefcake going: God and Hulk Hogan (I knew that line was coming and it was still terrible). Beefcake is getting back in the ring this week on Raw against Ted DiBiase, who isn’t worried about the match at all, with Money Inc. being ready to injure Beefcake again. Beefcake isn’t worried because he has Hogan on his side. Oh and that God guy too.

Giant Gonzalez vs. Louis Spicolli/Scott Bazo/Dan Farren

Harvey Wippleman is here too. The three of them try to find a way out of this on the floor until Gonzalez grabs Spicolli from the floor and pulls him over the top. The chokeslam (with more choke than slam) plants Spicolli and the other two run, leaving Spicolli to roll outside. That’s enough to give Gonzalez the countout win 1:20.

We go back to the Event Center, with Tito Santana talking about being given the advice to stay in the ball game. I’m not a matador expert, but I don’t think it involves playing ball. Elsewhere, Papa Shango is creepy and talks to his skull about pain. Finally Bob Backlund, already sounding like Mr. Backlund, wants to stand up for children.

Earthquake and Bam Bam Bigelow have a quick argument to set up their match next week.

Overall Rating: C. The opening match was decent enough but this was a show helped to set up one of the weakest Wrestlemanias on record. Yokozuna as the unstoppable monster is good, but having him crush America and having the Canadian WWF Champion be the big target is a bit odd. Not a bad show, but you could see the lack of star power and it was going to take time to overcome that issue.

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

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

WrestleFest 1994
Commentators: Stan Lane, Gorilla Monsoon, Johnny Polo
Host: Randy Savage

This is another entry in a series of Coliseum Videos with a bunch of allegedly awesome matches from the time period. That isn’t the most likely situation, as these things are absolutely hit and miss, though the matches teased could be much worse. Hopefully it’s on the good end here so let’s get to it.

The opening sequence likely previews what we’ll be seeing.

Randy Savage is our host and is going to give us fashion tips. Oh this could be fun.

From January 12, 1994 in Florence, South Carolina (though it also might be January 11, 1994 in Fayetteville, North Carolina as sources vary).

Rick Martel vs. Randy Savage

Savage backs him up to start but Martel does the same, including a slap to the face. That doesn’t seem to be the best idea against a noted psycho like Savage, who chases him to the floor. Back in and Martel does some jumping jacks, followed by even more on the outside. Martel has to jump over him back inside so Savage starts slugging him in the face. That’s enough for Martel to bail out to the floor for a bit, followed by a headlock so Savage can grind away.

An atomic drop can’t even get Martel out of trouble and he eventually sends Savage outside to quite the reaction. A suplex drops Savage for two and we’re off to the reverse chinlock to stay on the back. Savage is back up and knocks him outside for a top rope ax handle out to the floor for two back inside. Martel manages to whip him into the corner but the charge hits the post. The top rope elbow gives Savage the pin at 9:19.

Rating: C+. The more I watch Martel, the more impressed I am with him. He really was that good in the ring and if he had something to freshen him up a bit, he could have gone even further. Savage was just about done in the WWF ring at this point and that’s a shame, as he was still more than acceptable.

Randy Savage doesn’t think much of IRS’ fashion sense. Eh the tie works.

From January 12, 1994 in Florence, South Carolina (it’s definitely a different arena than Savage vs. Martel, so I’m assuming that was in Fayetteville).

Tag Team Titles: Marty Jannetty/1-2-3 Kid vs. Headshrinkers

Jannetty and the Kid are in a rare defense (as they only held the titles for seven days). After a minute plus of stalling from the Headshrinkers, Jannetty gets knocked away a few times but grabs an armbar to some more success. Kid comes in to stay on the arm but gets knocked down just as fast. Fatu hits a heck of a powerslam for two but Kid gets in a dropkick to send him outside.

The quick dive connects and it’s back to Jannetty, who faceplants Samu to no effect. A nice superkick works better but it’s Fatu coming back in with the big clothesline to take over. The Kid gets drawn in, allowing Fatu to choke away in the corner. Jannetty gets sent hard into the corner, which draws Kid in again, meaning Jannetty is sent into the steps. Samu goes face first into the steps, which he shrugs off for a superkick to Jannetty instead.

Three straight backbreakers give Fatu two, with Monsoon getting ALL OVER HIM for the lazy cover. Fatu tries to block a sunset flip but punches the mat by mistake, allowing the much needed tag to the Kid. An anklescissors out of the corner sends Fatu outside and a double dropkick does the same to Fatu. The moonsault press drops Fatu but he’s up before one. Instead Kid sends him into the ropes, with Samu’s neck getting tied up. Afa comes in with a Samoan drop to the Kid, to give Fatu the pin and the titles at 10:17. And never mind as here’s another referee to say what happened so we’ll call it a DQ to retain the titles instead.

Rating: B. They were rolling by the end here as the Kid and Jannetty were a great choice for the underdogs. At the same time, there was no way they were going to be long term champions so the idea of the Headshrinkers taking the titles here was realistic. Seeing Afa get physical was weird enough, and it came at the end of a good match.

Randy Savage likes his own gear and praises Men On A Mission. Well maybe he’s not worth listening to after all.

From April 28, 1994 in Springfield, Massachusetts, Men On A Mission and Oscar do the WrestleFest 94 Rap. Yes this was a thing and it goes on for a good while.

Randy Savage says black is a good color for Undertaker, but even if it wasn’t, he wouldn’t want Undertaker mad.

From September 28, 1993 in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Undertaker vs. Adam Bomb

Bomb chokes away in the corner to start and sends him outside, where Undertaker is sent into the apron. A hard whip sends Undertaker knees first into the steps but he’s able to slug away back inside. Bomb’s boot to the face doesn’t do much good as it’s a chokeslam to finish him off at 2:42. This was absolutely nothing.

Post match Undertaker chokeslams Johnny Polo for a bonus.

Savage doesn’t like Jeff Jarrett’s clothes either. This stuff isn’t exactly thrilling. Can we get something a bit better to pick up the pace a bit?

From January 12, 1994 in Florence, South Carolina.

Steiner Brothers vs. Bret Hart/Owen Hart

Oh. Ok. Bret and Scott start things off with Bret getting in a fireman’s carry. Scott gets taken over to the rope and it’s back to a standoff. A leg sweep puts Bret down and Scott can grind away at a headlock, followed by a hard shoulder to send Bret outside. Back in and Bret gets two off a rollup before working on an armbar. Owen comes in to go to the mat with Rick, followed by a heck of a spinwheel kick for two on Scott.

That doesn’t work for Scott, who muscles him up with a tiger bomb, with Bret having to make a save. Bret comes in to face Rick, who takes him down by the arm and commences cranking. A slam can’t get Bret out of trouble but a knee to the ribs breaks it up, allowing Bret to miss an elbow. Rick is right back on the armbar, with Bret finally fighting up to hit a dropkick.

A DDT and legdrop keep Rick in trouble, setting up the sleeper. Rick eventually falls forward into the ropes for the break, which earns him a suplex from Bret. With Rick down, Bret goes up but dives into a raised boot. The top rope bulldog gives Rick two (Monsoon doesn’t like the lack of leg hooking) and it’s back to Scott, who avoids a charge to send Bret into the post. Back up and Bret suplexes him over the top and out onto the floor for one heck of a crash.

Owen gives Scott a slam and hits a top rope headbutt to the back for a painful looking crash. The abdominal stretch goes on (Monsoon: “This is not going to work.”) and indeed Scott powers out rather quickly. Instead it’s a belly to belly suplex to give Owen two and it’s back to Bret for the Russian legsweep. Owen comes back in and Bret kicks Scott in the back from the apron, only for Owen to miss a charge. Rick’s tilt-a-whirl backbreaker gets two and something like a Tombstone powerslam connects for the same.

Scott comes back in for a dragon suplex and the STEINER SCREWDRIVER (that will never be anything less than awesome). Bret has to make the save as Owen is DONE, with Scott sending Owen outside but Owen catapults Scott outside as well. Back in and the diving tag brings Bret in to pick up the pace, with a running clothesline getting two on Scott.

Both Harts try the Sharpshooter with Rick making a save but the Steiner Bulldog is countered into a victory roll to give Owen two. Rick and Bret are both knocked to the floor so Scott drops a top rope ax handle to put Bret down again. That’s enough for the double countout at 24:57.

Rating: A-. Sweet goodness what a match, as you had four incredibly talented wrestlers in there and they all knew exactly what they were doing. The Harts were able to do their thing despite only having so much experience as a team. At the same time, the Steiners were one of the best teams in the world at this point and it was always fun to see them. Definitely check this out if you haven’t before, as it’s the only time it ever happened.

Post match the brawl stays on with referees having to break it up. Owen wants to keep going and Scott gets the mic, saying they’re here to win. The Harts get back in and the fight is on again, with referees and agents not being able to do much to stop them. Monsoon: “Is that Pat Patterson? Holy mackerel did he get fat!” It’s finally broken up but Bret grabs the mic to say they aren’t going anywhere and it’s on again. Eventually things calm down and everyone hugs as this is over thirty minutes from start to end, or nearly a quarter of the tape. That’s hardly a complaint for once.

Savage wonders where Yokozuna gets his gear made but thank Heavens for spandex.

From October 19, 1993 in Glens Falls, New York.

WWF Title: Yokozuna vs. Mr. Perfect

Yokozuna, with Mr. Fuji, is defending and misses a charge to start, allowing Perfect to hammer away. A crossbody literally bounces off of Yokozuna but he misses an elbow. Perfect dropkicks him outside, where Yokozuna staggers into the post in a funny bit. Yokozuna starts to get back in so Perfect uses the rope for a low blow to stagger him again. The dropkick misses though and it’s time to start the slow chops.

Naturally the nerve hold goes on (with Yokozuna’s back to the camera, which doesn’t make much of a difference) until Perfect is knocked outside in a heap. Back in and Perfect manages a ram into the buckle but Yokozuna fights back, with Fuji demanding MORE PUNISHMENT. Perfect avoids a splash in the corner and Perfect strikes away, allowing a middle rope clothesline to finally drop Yokozuna. Fuji grabs the foot though and Yokozuna hits the splash in the corner. The Banzai Drop retains the title at 7:49.

Rating: B-. They kept it moving out there as the worst thing you could do with Yokozuna was have him out there too long. He was the textbook example of someone who was better in shorter doses and Perfect knew how to get the most out of their limited time. It was a nice match, as Perfect mixed things up a bit rather than just doing the standard punches.

Savage counts his hats (with some issues) and praises Bam Bam Bigelow and Luna Vachon’s fashion abilities.

From September 1, 1993 in Saginaw, Michigan.

Intercontinental Title: Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon

Michaels, with Diesel, is defending and talks a lot of trash to start, earning himself a toothpick to the face. Ramon isn’t having any of Michaels standing around and throws him into the corner, only for Michaels to get in a ram to the buckle. A middle rope spinning sunset flip is broken up and Ramon punches him outside to quite the positive reception. Back in and Michaels’ attempt at a dropkick is catapulted outside as Michaels gets to keep up the crazy bumping.

Ramon misses a charge into the buckle back inside though and a top rope clothesline takes him down. Diesel almost gets caught interfering and Michaels uses the distraction to get in a cheap shot. Michaels hammers away with the ax handles to the back, plus a knee drop to said back for two. The chinlock goes on to keep Ramon in trouble as the fans are staying right in there with him.

Ramon fights up and hits a quick chokeslam to leave them both down for a breather. The very delayed cover gives Ramon two and he knocks Michaels outside again. That’s enough for Michaels and Diesel to try the walk out so the referee does the “you leave and you lose the title” deal, making Michaels come back to the ring. One heck of a backdrop gives Ramon two but the belly to back superplex is broken up.

Ramon rolls through a spinning high crossbody for two more and there’s the fall away slam for…three, with Michaels’ foot on the rope. Another referee comes in to point it out (second time on the tape) so we’re continuing (at least it’s a bit different). Michaels hits a superkick for two but Ramon is back with the Razor’s Edge, only for Diesel to pull Michaels out for the DQ at 13:07.

Rating: B. These two could have a good match in their sleep as they always had incredible chemistry. It was another rather awesome match between the two of them, even with the slightly repetitive ending. It’s still a shame that Ramon never got a chance to do something bigger than the Intercontinental Title in the WWF, as he had more than enough fan support to give it a chance.

Post match Diesel’s distraction doesn’t work as Michaels’ cheap shot completely misses. Ramon uses the belt to knock Michaels silly.

From April 26, 1994 in Burlington, Vermont.

It’s the King’s Court with Jerry Lawler saying he begged and prayed for this guest to be on his show. This guest has had to sign a contract guaranteeing that there will be no physical contact. First though, Lawler announces that it’s Bret Hart, but he has something to say about Hart before he comes out. Lawler calls Hart out as a coward from a long line of cowards and mocks Hart’s parents. Hart’s mother Helen is the only woman he knows that has an autographed copy of the Bible. When Cain murdered Able, she was on the jury!

We hear about Bret’s issues with Owen before Lawler talks about how Bret was an ugly baby. Now it’s time for Bret to join Lawler in the ring, with Lawler mocking him for getting to stand next to the real king. Bret talks about agreeing to no violence…and then drops Lawler with a right hand. The beating is on and Lawler is sent flying. Bret even puts on the crown for a bonus. This was pretty long, but Bret messing with Lawler was always worth a look.

From February 22, 1994 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Diesel vs. Bret Hart

Shawn Michaels is here with Diesel, who slowly hammers away to start. Diesel sends him hard into the corner and gets in the boot choke as Polo and Monsoon argue over who should win (those two had some great chemistry together). Hart starts in on the leg and cranks away on the mat as Monsoon goes on a rant about Michaels chewing gum. Monsoon: “You could choke on it! Here I’ve got some gum. Do you want some?”

A spinning toehold keeps Diesel in trouble until he powers his way to freedom. Diesel sends him outside for a cheap shot from Michaels, sending Monsoon into another rant. The side slam (Polo: “Side something. Side order of fries. I’m getting hungry Gorilla.”) gets two off a very weak cover, sending Monsoon…oh you know by this point. Diesel grabs a bearhug, sending Polo into an explanation of his knowledge of Greco-Roman wrestling, which involves owning a Greek diner frequented by Romans.

Hart fights up and manages a knockdown as it’s already time for the comeback. The Five Moves Of Doom are on with Hart going after the leg, only to have Michaels get on the apron. That’s cut off and Hart gets the Sharpshooter but here is Owen Hart to knock Bret out. Diesel gets the pin at 10:39, sending Polo into a hilarious victory celebration for picking the right result.

Rating: B-. Diesel was still figuring out the singles stuff here so this wasn’t close to the stuff they would wind up doing later. The good thing is that Bret was able to walk him through it, even if it might not have been his most inspired effort. At usual though, Monsoon and Polo were the highlight here, as they were often hilarious together.

Savage praises Bret for being a future Hall Of Famer and the pink and black are the best colors he has, has ever had and ever will have. Savage knows that sounded goofy but you get the idea to wrap it up.

Join the WWF Fan Club! I would have at this point if I had seen that ad.

Overall Rating: B+. When Randy Savage is in one of the weaker matches, you know you’ve got something good. This was one of the better Coliseum Videos I remember seeing, with the Harts vs. Steiners match absolutely stealing the show (which the WWF had to know would happen). I had a great time with this and it’s a surprise effort from a bleak time in the company’s history.

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

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

Iconic Tag Teams Earliest Appearances Collection
Commentators: Gordon Solie, Keith Hart, Jim Ross, Mr. Perfect, Vince McMahon, Jim Ross, Michael Hayes, Dean Hill, Jim Cornette, Byron Saxton, Kevin Patrick, Bruno Sammartino, Al Snow

This is part of Tag Team Week on the WWE Vault and in this case it’s a look back at when some famous tag teams first got together. I’m going to assume there is an unseen asterisk that says “on television in a big promotion” but I’ll take what I can get. This has the potential to be rather interesting so let’s get to it.

From a Smackdown dark match, September 16, 2003.

Paul London/Spanky vs. Albert/Sean O’Haire

What a random heel team. Albert shoves Spanky (Brian Kendrick) down to start and unloads on him in the corner. Spanky gets in some right hands of his own but O’Haire comes in for a chop. It’s off to London to strike away but Albert cuts him off, including the catapult into the bottom rope for two.

O’Haire plants him in the corner for two and the slow beating ensues. London manages a double knockdown with O’Haire though and it’s Spanky coming in to pick up the pace. Albert charges into a boot in the corner and Spanky hits a tornado DDT for two. London and O’Haire go outside, leaving Spanky to reverse the Baldo Bomb into a bulldog. O’Haire interrupts though and Albert’s over the shoulder backbreaker finishes Spanky at 7:49.

Rating: C+. That’s quite the interesting tryout, as rather than getting a win over the makeshift team, London and Spanky lose in their first time out. I’m not sure the point of that as it’s not like the masses were going to see it, but you could see the chemistry already coming together. A fast paced young team is something that works almost every time and London/Spanky did it very well.

From Georgia Championship Wrestling TV, June 11, 1983.

Road Warriors vs. Randy Barber/Joe Young

And yes, this actually is their first time teaming together (at least on television). They’re also in matching leather hats and vests, with Paul Ellering wearing a snazzy top hat. The Warriors are also the National Tag Team Champions, winning the titles in a tournament that didn’t actually happen. Hawk drives Barber into the corner and it’s off to Animal to drop a leg. Young comes in and gets forearmed in the corner, followed by a double clothesline. A slingshot splash finishes for Hawk at 2:05. Total squash, as it should have been.

From a WWE house show, October 4, 2014.

Kofi Kingston/Xavier Woods vs. Stardust/Goldust

I’m not sure if Goldust and Stardust’s Raw Tag Team Titles are on the line here or not but Big E. is here with the not yet New Day. Actually Stardust clarifies that this is NOT a title match, which is some nice attention to detail. After confirming that we are in Trenton, New Jersey and arguing about whether or not the town is awful, we’re ready to go with Kingston and Stardust starting tings off.

They fight over a top wristlock and then trade some flips, with Stardust stopping to dance. Kingston sticks the landing on a monkey flip and sends Stardust into the corner for the tag off to Woods. The Honor Roll gets two and it’s time to work on Stardust’s arm. Kingston’s high crossbody gets two but Stardust takes him up against the ropes for a shot from Goldust. Kingston is right back with a jumping back elbow and Woods gets two off a middle rope clothesline as the fans are only somewhat into this.

They fight to the floor for something we can’t see (single stationary camera and all that) and come back inside for Goldust’s chinlock on Woods. That doesn’t last long so it’s the snap powerslam so Stardust can come back in to stomp away. Another chinlock goes on and for a bit longer this time, though Woods is able to shove off the ensuing bulldog attempt. Kingston comes back in to clean house and everything breaks down. The referee tries to get Woods out, leaving a springboard spinning kick to the head Hart Attack to drop Kingston for two. Woods is back up for UpUpDownDown to pin Goldust at 10:43.

Rating: C+. Much like London and Spanky, you could see the foundations from the start here, though they had a long way to go with the details. What mattered the most was Kingston and Woods (with Big E. of course) working well together. They had the athleticism and natural chemistry and those are the kinds of things that are either there or not from the start.

From Stampede Wrestling, July 11, 1983.

Dynamite Kid/Davey Boy Smith vs. Cuban Assassin/Ciclon Negro

As tends to be the case, we’re joined in progress with a brawl on the floor before Assassin takes Kid (bleeding from an attack by Bad News Allen earlier in the night) inside. Smith, who was jumped earlier as well, tries to make a save but gets tossed as well. We settle down to Negro hammering on Kid up against the ropes but he accidentally elbows Assassin. The tag brings Smith back in to clean house, including letting Negro hit Assassin AGAIN.

A dropkick takes Assassin down, followed by a headscissors and headlock takeover at the same time (a big spot in 1983). The villains finally get it together and send Smith into the corner, which lasts all of a few seconds before it’s back to the rather bloody Kid. Some flips and clotheslines have Negro down but he manages a knee to the ribs to cut Kid off. Negro runs into Assassin for the third time in less than five minutes, allowing Kid to drop a knee for the pin at 5:45.

Rating: C. I wasn’t feeling this one as much as it came off more like the villains screwing up more than Kid and Smith winning. They idea of Kid and Smith being in trouble and having to overcome adversity was fine, but it didn’t feel like they were better. The Assassin and Negro seemed to run out of ideas rather quickly and that only helped the good guys so much.

From Superstars, June 1, 1996.

New Rockers vs. Hardy Boyz

The entrances let commentary plug the Ultimate Warrior’s comic book and you can hear Vince hating it. Cassidy and Matt start things off with Cassidy easily taking him down. Jeff is pulled in and the Hardys are sent outside, setting up some dives and….I guess dancing from the Rockers. Commentary isn’t sure what is wrong with Jannetty and that is an essay question we don’t have time to answer.

Jeff’s bandanna is pulled over his eyes to keep up the beating. Cassidy gets in a nasty spinning belly to belly and a double elbow drops Jeff for two. The Rockers get Jeff up for a kind of Alley Oop/top rope bulldog combination (which doesn’t really work for the most part) for the pin at 3:41.

Rating: C+. Total destruction and it’s bizarre to see, but the Hardys would wind up being fine while the New Rockers are a punch line. The Rockers were little more than a running joke and they weren’t going to be a big deal, but they were still decent enough in the ring. This was more of a case of the Hardys being a detail, but you have to start somewhere.

From the Global Wrestling Federation, April 17, 1992.

Ebony Experience vs. Brute Force

This might be interesting as you might not know which is the important team. In this case it would be the Experience, who would show up in WCW the next year as Harlem Heat. If you’ve never heard of Global….well just be lucky actually, as it was not very good. Booker is backed up to the ropes by #1 to start as Gorgeous Gary Young joins commentary to scout. Stevie comes in with a double clothesline to clear the ring. #2 comes in and gets kneed in the face as Young isn’t overly impressed so far.

Booker gets clotheslined down but pops up with the yet to be named Spinarooni, only to get taken into the wrong corner. Commentary remembers that Brute Force are actually Slammer and Jammer (I’m guessing someone gave him a note) as Booker misses a charge into the corner. Jammer (I guess, though I can’t imagine it matters) misses a dropkick but avoids a clothesline. Booker is back up with a clothesline, allowing the tag off to Ray (commentary gets the Experience confused) as everything breaks down. Jammer shoves the referee down and it’s a DQ at 5:54.

Rating: C-. While this wasn’t the team’s debut (they had begun teaming in the late 80s), it was their first spot in a bigger promotion. You could see the team working together well, which makes sense for brothers. Brute Force was….well hey did you see the Experience? They were pretty good.

Post match we get a tease of an interview with BARRY HOROWITZ but we have to go to the next match. Dang it that’s such an unfair tease.

From a Wrestling Challenge dark match, April 5, 1993.

Kip Winchester/Barry vs. Barry Horowitz/Reno Riggins

I’m guessing the ring announcer got confused, as Winchester’s partner is named Brett Colt and the team will eventually be known as the Smoking Gunns (the better known Billy and Bart Gunn names would come with their next dark match). We take a good while for the Gunns to be ready and the women REALLY seem to approve. Or maybe they’re fans of Horowitz’s mullet. Either way, Billy (er, Kip) grabs a headlock, followed by a hiptoss into an armbar. Bart (er…eh I did that joke already) comes in to stay on the arm and an assisted Russian legsweep gets two.

Riggins avoids a crossbody and Bart is taken into the wrong corner so the alternating beatdowns can ensue. Horowitz’s catapult sends him into the bottom rope and a northern lights suplex gets two. The abdominal stretch goes on for a bit, followed by Horowitz’s jawbreaker for two more. The chinlock is broken up and a collision gives us a double down. Billy comes in to clean house with some dropkicks and a powerslam plants Riggins. A spinning side slam plants Riggins again and Billy hits a not great looking top rope bulldog for the pin at 8:41 (and Barry is suddenly Brett Colt).

Rating: C. The Gunns were basically what they would become right out of the gate and that’s fine. The cowboy trope has been done for decades in wrestling and it still works here. Throw in something like the cap guns they fired off before the match and you easily get the idea of the team. It’s not a good or memorable match at all, but it was a case of what you see is what you get, which is fine.

From WCW TV, June 10, 1989.

Steiner Brothers vs. The Raider/Snake Brown

The Steiners had already had some house show matches but close enough. Also, Raider is Randy Barber, who was in the Road Warriors’ first match as well. Rick has a big fan in the crowd and gives her his jacket in a nice moment. Scott powerslams Raider down and gives hands it off to Rick, who runs both of them over. The Steiners clear the ring, allowing Rick to jump onto Scott’s back for a bit. Brown comes in and gets caught with Scott’s spinning belly to belly, followed by Rick’s overhead version. An elbow gives Rick the pin at 1:47.

Post match the Varsity Club comes in and get beaten up in a hurry before their match at the Clash Of Champions the next week.

From OVW TV, April 17, 2004.

Joey Matthews/Johnny Nitro vs. Matt Cappotelli/Maven

Melina is here with Matthews and Nitro. We’re joined in progress with Matthews getting beaten down and sent outside for the introductions and opening bell. Matthews gets elbowed in the face by Maven, allowing Cappotelli to come in for a legdrop. A double clothesline drops Nitro and Matthews with Nitro bailing to the floor. That lets Nitro hide behind Melina and Matthews gets in a cheap shot from behind.

Back in and a bridging northern lights suplex gets two on Cappotelli, allowing Nitro to come in. An uppercut to the back of the neck gets two but Matthews accidentally crashes into Nitro. Cappotelli bulldogs his way over to Maven to clean house, including a missile dropkick for two on Nitro with Matthews making the save. Melina comes in to rake Maven’s eyes and Nitro’s spinning fisherman’s suplex finishes at 4:50.

Rating: C. Now this was a case where the team had a lot of development to go, as MNM was pretty much just there in name only. They were all there, but they didn’t have the look or gimmick whatsoever. That would come in time, but for now it was pretty much Morrison’s athleticism carrying things. As for the match, you’re in a bit of trouble when Maven is your biggest star.

From Main Event, September 16, 2021 (oddly enough the last episode I watched when I was regularly covering Main Event).

Humberto Carrillo/Angel Garza vs. Lucha House Party

Carrillo and Garza (Los Garza) being introduced as “iconic” is more than a bit of a stretch. Carrillo and Metalik trade some armdrags to start before Dorado comes in with a top rope hurricanrana. The pop up dropkick sends Garza outside and the Party hit stereo flip dives as we take a break.

We come back with Metalik hitting a top rope splash for two and grabbing a chinlock on Carrillo. That’s broken up and it’s back to Garza for a backbreaker. Carrillo suplexes Metalik for two more but Metalik is back with a super hurricanrana. Dorado gets the tag and cleans some house, including a running headscissors to Garza. A nice superkick sets up a high crossbody for two, followed by the Golden Rewind. Metalik’s moonsault sets up Dorado’s moonsault for two as Garza makes the save. Garza comes in, TAKES OFF HIS PANTS, and hits the Wing Clipper for the pin at 6:02.

Rating: C+. This was one of the better matches thus far, which shouldn’t be a surprise as it takes a bit more time to get to WWE TV (as low as Main Event might be) than some of the other places these matches have aired. Carrillo and Garza are far from “iconic”, but I guess they needed to fill in some time. The House Party is something that can work at pretty much any time and they were starting to click when they were split up.

From an AWA house show, April 19, 1987.

Tag Team Tournament First Round: Nasty Boys vs. Curt Hennig/Greg Gagne

The Nastys (Brian Knobbs and Jerry Saganowich (his real name), as they were still workshopping the whole thing) are in their second match together, which I think we can call close enough. Hennig and Knobbs start things off with Knobbs ducking a right hand, which hits Gagne instead.

Back up and Hennig stares at Knobbs a bit before Knobbs drops him with a shoulder. Sags comes in and gets caught with a running dropkick into an armdrag as apparently Knobbs is the key to the team. It’s back to Knobbs for a clothesline so Sags comes back in. That’s fine with Hennig, as he and Gagne take turns working on the leg. Gagne sits on the leg and grabs a standing Figure Four.

With that broken up, so Gagne kicks the leg out again and cranks away. More kicks finally draw Knobbs in for the save before he gets in legally, with a headlock takeover to Hennig. Sags distracts the referee so Knobbs can choke away in the corner but Hennig gets in a shoulder for the double down. The stereo tags bring in Gagne and Sags, with the former getting in a double noggin knocker. The dropkick hits Sags and Hennig’s missile dropkick finishes at 10:54.

Rating: C+. The Nasty Boys weren’t really close to what they would become here, as they more or less wrestled a really basic match rather than their traditional brawling style. Putting them in there with a team as experienced as Hennig and Gagne was smart as they can help with anyone, though the Boys had a long way to go. That being said, they picked it up fast, which is all the more impressive.

From (I believe) WWC, October 14, 1987.

Wild Samoans vs. Miguel Ramos/Sabu

It isn’t the famous Samoans, but rather Fatu and Samu, who would become known as the Headshrinkers. It’s also not the famous Sabu, but rather the wrestler who would be better known as Invader #1. Samu takes Sabu back into to the corner to start and gives him an early slam. A spinwheel kick drops Sabu again and it’s off to Fatu for a belly to back suplex/clothesline combination. Ramos comes in and is immediately knocked down for a falling headbutt. With Sabu knocked to the floor, a belly to back superplex sets up a Superfly Splash to give Fatu the pin at 4:09.

Rating: C. This was kind of a weird pick as the team was pretty much nothing like what they would become. This was more the Samoan Gangster Party under a different name and as a longtime Headshrinkers fan, I’m glad they made the change. The top rope splash looked great as usual though, and stuff like that was enough to give the team a chance.

From Championship Wrestling, April 20, 1985.

Hart Foundation vs. Mario Mancini/SD Jones

Jimmy Hart is here with the Foundation. Neidhart powers Jones up against the ropes to start and they trade some shoves. Mancini comes in to work on the arm and is quickly forearmed down. Hart adds a dropkick and rakes Mancini’s eyes over the rope. The Hart Attack finishes at 2:39. Total squash, with the finish looking great of course.

From OVW TV, May 24, 2006.

Southern Tag Team Titles: Cryme Tyme vs. Kasey James/Roadkill

James and Roadkill are defending. James and the Neighborhoodie (JTG) start things off with the latter grabbing some early slams. Neighborhoodie leapfrogs him and stops to dance, only to walk into a slam from James. Roadkill comes in for a World’s Strongest Slam but a Vader Bomb misses. It’s off to Gaspard to kick Roadkill down for two and Neighborhoodie adds a pop up splash in the corner.

Roadkill fights out of the corner without too much trouble though and it’s back to James to pick up the pace. Gaspard is there to cut him off before missing a splash. That’s enough for Roadkill to come back in and clean house, including a Boss Man Slam for two on Neighborhoodie. Everything breaks down with James and then Roadkill hitting some running corner splashes. Roadkill’s top rope splash connects but cue Cherry for a distraction. Deuce N Domino run in with Cherry’s skates to knock Roadkill silly and put Neighborhoodie on top for the pin and the titles at 6:25.

Rating: C. This was a rather odd choice to end on, as Cryme Tyme was more of a product of their time than anything remotely important long term. The Neighborhoodie was basically the same as he would be as JTG, while Gaspard needed some adjustments. The gimmick didn’t seem to be there yet either, but that’s the point of being in developmental.

Overall Rating: C+. The thing to remember here is that these were the teams’ first (or close enough) appearances. They all needed to be fine tuned to become the versions that would work during their heydays. That being said, for what is in essence a bunch of prequels, this was a fun look back, even with some rather odd choices for teams. They could easily do something else like this, and that’s something I could definitely see happening with the way the Vault goes.

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

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

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.

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 21, 1993
Location: Mid-Hudson Civic Center, Poughkeepsie, New York
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Randy Savage, Bobby Heenan

We have a fresh taping after the King Of The Ring and in this case that means we have a pair of rematches. One of them is going to involve a good bit of money and the other is going to involve possibly multiple clowns. That sounds like quite the show and hopefully it lives up to its (probably limited) hype. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a quick look at the (soon to be) 1-2-3 Kid beating Razor Ramon six weeks ago.

Opening sequence.

Steiner Brothers vs. Barry Hardy/Reno Riggins

The Steiners are the new Tag Team Champions (though this is non-title), having won the titles and then traded them with Money Inc. over the last week or so. Scott armdrags Riggins down to start as commentary recaps the recent title changes. It’s off to Hardy, whose forearms to Steiner don’t particularly do much. Rick drives him into the corner and hands it back to Scott, who gets to beat up Riggins again. The Frankensteiner finishes at 3:45. Total domination.

Rating: C. I could watch the Steiners smash through people for a long time and that made this a rather entertaining match. They ran through these jobbers with ease and the Frankensteiner always looked good. This is the Steiners’ bread and butter and it was on full display here.

Marty Jannetty vs. Doink The Clown

2/3 falls after last week’s match went to a double countout. They stare at each other a lot and Doink backs him up against the ropes for an oddly clean break. With that not working, Jannetty hits a dropkick and grabs an armbar to slow things down. It feels like they have a lot of time here, some of which is spent on Jannetty flipping around to get another armbar. Back up and Jannetty misses a charge into the buckle, allowing Doink to hit a quick Whoopee Cushion for the first fall at 7:02.

We take a break and come back with the start of the second fall as Doink takes over in the corner. Doink knocks him outside and laughs a lot as commentary talks about the upcoming Yokozuna bodyslam challenge. Jannetty fights up and slugs away, setting up a suplex. The referee makes Jannetty get off the top though, leaving him to superkick Doink instead. The top rope fist drop ties us up at 11:54 and we take another break.

We come back with Doink bailing out to the floor but tripping Jannetty down to wrap the leg around the post. Back in the and Figure Four goes on, with Jannetty getting out and slugging away to start the comeback. That’s reversed into an STF but the Whoopee Cushion is broken up. Jannetty elbows him in the face again but goes outside to check underneath the ring.

Doink gets in a cheap shot and goes under the ring, with the Doink who comes back out clearly not being the same one (with Vince and Savage realizing it). Jannetty rolls him up for two anyway, only for Doink to grab a piledriver for the pin. Hold on though as Randy Savage pulls out the original Doink and that’s enough for the referee to reverse the decision at 20:45.

Rating: C+. I’ve seen far worse matches, but twenty plus minutes of Jannetty vs. Doink, after last week’s match on top of that, is a bit more than anyone could ever reasonably need. I do appreciate having a story carry over though, as it’s not something you would often see around here. Good match, but I pretty much never need to see them wrestle again.

Mr. Hughes vs. Bobby Who

Hughes hammers away like…well like he’s Mr. Hughes in a squash match. The plodding forearms have Who down and a powerslam gets two, with Hughes pulling him up. Something like a Boss Man Slam finishes Who at 3:01.

Rating: C-. Unlike the Steiners, this wasn’t much in the way of an entertaining squash, as if you’ve seen one Hughes match, you’ve seen most of them. That was certainly the case here, as Hughes did his usual slow motion stuff and then won. They kept it short, but this wasn’t exactly a who’s Who of jobber opposition.

Razor Ramon vs. 1-2-3 Kid

This is a rematch from the big upset and Ramon is putting up $10,000 to get another shot. Kid starts fast with a top rope sunset flip for two and Ramon is looking a bit panicked. A fall away slam sends Kid flying as the fans are all behind said Kid. Ramon hammers him down even more and grabs a powerslam for two. Kid gets thrown outside and the pads are pulled back but he reverses a Razor’s Edge attempt. Back in and Kid’s moonsault press (how he won the first time) gets two…so he grabs the bag of money and runs off, jumps into a car and leaves at 5:14. Ha!

Rating: C+. The match was basically a squash until the end but then the Kid had a rather hilarious way out of the whole thing. Ramon shooting off his mouth and being sure that he would win is only going to cause him more problems and I’m curious to see how he is going to respond. If nothing else, the Kid’s awesome debut push continues and it’s working rather well.

Ramon swears this isn’t over.

Commentary wraps it up.

Overall Rating: B-. Good show here, with the long match in the middle being a nice change of pace before the rather funny ending to the main event. This show felt so much fresher than what they have been doing lately and that is something that has been needed. Keep this kind of stuff up and Raw could get entertaining rather quickly.

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: October 18, 1993
Location: Mid-Hudson Civic Center, Poughkeepsie, New York
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan, Randy Savage

The big deal this week is the Randy Savage/Crush summit, as the two of them have apparently been having some issues. This week they get to talk everything out, which I’m sure won’t go badly at all. We also have a new Intercontinental Champion in Razor Ramon, plus some issues between Ludwig Borga and Lex Luger. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

The opening video looks at the Savage/Crush summit and recaps last week’s major stories, calling them summits as well. I sense a theme emerging.

Opening sequence.

Steiner Brothers vs. Corey Student/Tony DeVito

Scott and DeVito start things off with Scott snapping off a dragon suplex. Student comes in and gets clotheslined down, followed by the Steiner Screwdriver, which has commentary freaking out. A tilt-a-whirl slam sets up the Steiner Bulldog for the pin at 3:07.

Rating: C+. The match had the Screwdriver and that alone is going to make it worth a look. The Steiners were still one of the best teams around and getting to see them smash people was always fun. Throw in quite the collection of bumps, including the one off the Screwdriver, and this was a guaranteed success.

Commentary talks about Shawn Michaels’ suspension and you can call in (for 99 cents) to vote on whether he should be brought back. Diesel and Mr. Perfect argue either side.

Video on Yokozuna, stylized as an old Godzilla movie.

IRS vs. Scott Taylor

IRS starts fast with a suplex and an elbow to the face to drop Taylor again. Taylor gets two off a sunset flip but IRS is right back with another suplex. We hit the chinlock as the fans start up their IRWIN chants. The abdominal stretch doesn’t last long so it’s the Write Off to pin Taylor at 3:31.

Rating: C-. Nothing to see here, but what else were you expecting? IRS has always been someone who can have a competent match, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be the most entertaining. You can only get so much out of a guy whose offense is built around an abdominal stretch and a running clothesline, which was on display here.

Jeff Jarrett is in Nashville at the Country Music Hall Of Fame where he talks about being born into a wrestling family. He’s coming to the WWF to use it as a stepping stone to the country music injury. We get two spellings of his name, which Jarrett likes to do.

Tatanka vs. Iron Mike Sharpe

We see a quick clip of Tatanka running into Ludwig Borga for a mini argument over the weekend. Tatanka works on the arm to start as Savage says he doesn’t want his friendship with Crush to wind up like his friendship with Hulk Hogan. Savage goes into a rant about how Hogan is a primadonna and a backstabber who thinks he’s the greatest thing walking the face of the earth. Well that went hard fast. Sharpe fights back and sends him into the buckle, which sends Tatanka onto the war path. Some chops to the head set up the Papoose To Go to give Tatanka the pin at 3:02.

Rating: C. Again, there is only so much you can get out of a match like this, even with an established jobber like Sharpe. That being said, the Savage rant on Hogan was by far the most interesting thing here, as those two felt like they were about to explode at any time. With Hogan being gone from the company, things could be more open, which is certainly what Savage did here.

Survivor Series Report. My goodness I still remember that building skeleton theme from when I was a kid. Joe Fowler recaps the idea of Survivor Series and runs down the double main event: the All Americans vs. the Foreign Fanatics and the Hart Family vs. Jerry Lawler and three mystery knights.

Crush arrives and talks to Bobby Heenan.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Dennis Diamond

Diamond looks like an average guy off the street. Bigelow throws him out of the corner to start as Heenan rants about how Savage needs to beg Crush for forgiveness. Savage still has no idea what he did wrong as Diamond gets dropped with a suplex. A jumping enziguri drops Diamond and a slingshot splash finishes him off at 3:01.

Rating: C-. Now this is more the kind of show that makes Raw feel all the less interesting, as you have a bunch of short, nothing matches. Bigelow mauled him here and there was only so much to get out of it. The match wasn’t that long, but Bigelow beating people up while commentary talks about the show’s big story is only going to get you so far.

Diesel begs fans to call and vote to have Shawn Michaels brought back, though he seems to get the phone number wrong.

Here is Bobby Heenan in the ring for the Randy Savage/Crush summit and Crush has Mr. Fuji with him. Crush talks about how he and Savage (still on commentary) were best friends and Crush would listen to everything he said. Then Crush became Savage’s superior and people like Heenan and Fuji have shown him the light. Crush tried to face Yokozuna with a bad back and Savage didn’t help him from the Banzai Drops.

Crush’s career could have been ruined and that’s what Savage wanted. Savage called him….to see how BAD he was doing! Fuji owns the hotel in Crush’s backyard and his word is gold. Savage needs to stay out of his life and out of his way, which is enough for Savage to get in the ring. Savage calls Heenan and Fuji a couple of goofs and wants to talk to Crush man to man. If Savage is wrong, he’ll absolutely admit it, but he wants to talk to Crush one on one.

Savage offers a handshake but Crush isn’t sure. Heenan tries to say Savage is tricking him but Crush shoves him away. We do get a handshake and Savage holds the ropes open for Crush, who goes outside with Savage…and then lays him out. The huge beatdown is on, with Savage being dropped onto the barricade. Cue Yokozuna and Jim Cornette, with Crush bowing to them. Yokozuna crushes Savage with a Banzai Drop and Savage is carried out. This got intense in a hurry and you could feel the fans not being happy with Crush, which should be a good sign for his future.

Post break we’re told Savage has a lacerated…tongue. That’s not quite the devastating injury.

36% of people want Shawn Michaels back.

A preview of next week’s show takes us out.

Overall Rating: C. In a similar situation to last week, this was all about one big thing and the rest of the show was just time around that segment. At the same time, stuff like the blatantly pathetic “CALL AND VOTE, FOR MONEY!” thing was annoying and none of the matches were worth a look. While it’s always cool to see Scott Steiner bust out the Screwdriver, it wasn’t enough to carry the other half hour of the show. The big segment was good though, and like a lot of the shows from this era, that was about enough to get by.

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

Summerslam 1993
Date: August 30, 1993
Location: Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit, Michigan
Attendance: 23,954
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan

A lot has changed in the last year. Bret won the WWF Title about three months after the last Summerslam but lost it at Wrestlemania to the monster Yokozuna. Yoko went on a path of destruction through the WWF over the summer, but it was WCW signee Lex Luger who stood up for the USA on the 4^th of July in a body slam challenge and is challenging for the title tonight. Hogan is gone, so America’s hopes rest on Luger. Let’s get to it.

We see Luger’s Lex Express bus arriving earlier today. Luger had gone around the country in a bus to get fan support for the match against Yokozuna. Why he didn’t stay in the WWF and win matches to get a title shot is beyond me.

Ted DiBiase vs. Razor Ramon

The match starts fast as DiBiase jumps Razor coming in. Razor comes back with a quick backdrop and a slam, sending DiBiase running to the floor. Back in and DiBiase takes it into the corner for some chops, only to be reversed on a whip and clotheslined out to the floor again. Razor pulls him back in but Ted chokes away on the top rope. I love basic heel moves like that. You never see those anymore because it’s all about attitude or whatever nonsense WWE tells you now.

Heenan makes jokes about the 1-2-3 Kid, who recently defeated Ramon and triggered his face turn. A clothesline gets two for DiBiase and it’s off to the chinlock. It’s clear that DiBiase is WAY past his prime here but his prime was so good that this is still totally watchable. Razor’s arms stay up on the third drop but DiBiase takes him back down with a swinging neckbreaker. Ted sends him to the floor and rips off a turnbuckle pad, only to be sent into it himself. The Razor’s Edge is good for the pin.

Rating: C-. Not much to see here but DiBiase was nothing more than a jobber to the stars by now anyway. This would actually be the last match in the WWF for DiBiase as he would do a quick run in Japan before retiring by the beginning of the year. The match wasn’t bad but it could have been the main event of any episode of Raw.

Todd Petingill interviews some of the Steiners’ relatives as we’re in their hometown. The sister calls Rick by his real name of Rob here.

Tag Titles: Steiner Brothers vs. Heavenly Bodies

Jim Cornette manages the challengers, who are Jimmy Del Ray and Tom Pritchard. This is part of the cross promotion with SMW. Heenan sings Cornette’s praises, which was how Cornette got over as a heel. He had debuted not long before this and Heenan immediately hugged him. Since Heenan was a heel and Cornette was a friend of his, Cornette was instantly hated. No shades of gray, no thought to it, just basic heel work. I miss stuff like that so much.

The Bodies jump the champions and send Scott out to the floor early on. A double flapjack puts Rick down and Scott is knocked back to the floor, but the Bodies spend too much time double teaming. All four are in now with the Steiners cleaning house to the delight of the crowd. I’m sure it has nothing to do with them wearing University of Michigan colors. A tilt-a-whirl slam (called a suplex by Vince) puts Del Ray down and the Steiners stand tall.

We officially start with Pritchard vs. Scott and Tom is slammed down in a BIG gorilla press. A backdrop puts Del Ray down and it’s off to Rick vs. Pritchard. Rick cleans house with Steiner Lines to send the challengers to the floor. Back in the and the Bodies finally start cheating, allowing Pritchard to hit an enziguri to send Scott to the floor, followed by a Del Ray moonsault press to wipe Scott out.

Back in and Del Ry hits a Rocky Maivia spinning DDT but doesn’t cover like the schnook that he is. Heenan has the match 1112-9 in favor of the Bodies. A powerslam gets two for Del Ray and Cornette jabs Scott in the throat with his tennis racket. Scott finally comes back with a belly to belly out of nowhere and makes the hot tag to Rick.

Everyone gets Steiner Lines (Heenan: “Mrs. Steiner just gave her daughter a Steiner Line!”) but the top rope bulldog only gets two on Del Ray thanks to a save. Cornette throws in the racket but a shot to Rick’s back is only good for two. Del Ray misses a moonsault and the Frankensteiner retains the belts.

Rating: C+. This was as by the book of a tag team match as you can get but it was still good stuff. I don’t think anyone cared about the Heavenly Bodies but that’s where a good manager like Cornette can come in handy: the fans are going to boo anyone he’s out there with, including a tag team who never did anything of note in the WWF.

A new interviewer named Joe Fowler (he didn’t last long) is with Shawn and Diesel, with the former saying he’s the best IC Champion ever. Diesel says he’s there to keep the chicks off the champ. Fowler wasn’t bad actually.

Intercontinental Title: Mr. Perfect vs. Shawn Michaels

Shawn is defending. This match was literally months in the making with the WWF basically saying “this is going to be the match of the year, guaranteed.” To continue the theme of things that just aren’t the same today, Perfect is trying to become the first three time IC Champion. We also have Radio WWF with JR and Gorilla Monsoon doing commentary. Wrestling used to be broadcast on the radio back in the day, with legendary sportscaster Bob Costas doing commentary at one point.

Shawn easily takes it down to start but Perfect snapmares him down as well. Perfect takes over with an armdrag and drives some knees into the arm. Shawn comes back with a headlock out of the corner but Perfect avoids an elbow and we have a stalemate. Some LOUD chops in the corner snap Shawn’s head back and a clothesline turns him inside out for two. Back to the armbar on the champion but Shawn escapes and goes up top, only to dive into an armdrag.

Perfect puts on another armbar before catapulting Shawn out to the floor in a great crash. Perfect goes to the floor but has to stare at Diesel, giving Shawn an opening for the yet to be named Sweet Chin Music. Shawn hits an ax handle of the apron to Perfect’s back before heading back inside to drop knees onto the back. A hard whip into the corner puts Perfect down again and Shawn drops down onto Perfect’s back.

Off to a backbreaker with Shawn bending Perfect’s back over Shawn’s knee. A stiff right hand gets Perfect out and a running dropkick puts Shawn down again. Perfect gets two off an atomic drop before countering a backslide into the PerfectPlex, only to have Diesel pull the leg for the save. Diesel gets punched in the face before both guys brawl on the floor. Shawn slides back in to distract the referee, allowing Diesel to post Perfect for the countout.

Rating: C. This was ok and nothing higher than that. The ending was lame and the match was a bunch of arm/back work with no heat segment or drama at all. It was a one off match that collapsed under the weight that the company put on it by saying it would be a classic and all that jazz. Not much to see here.

Perfect gets beaten down post match with Shawn claiming to be the best ever. Perfect gives chase and catches up with Shawn during an interview with Gene. The fight winds up being Perfect vs. Diesel in a match I don’t think ever happened, unless it was on some random Raw or Superstars.

1-2-3 Kid is nervous for his PPV debut.

I.R.S. vs. 1-2-3 Kid

The Kid is relatively new at this point, having shocked the world by beating Razor Ramon in May. He also beat IRS’ partner DiBiase recently so IRS is here for revenge and to stop the Kid’s lucky streak. The Kid is launched into the air and bounces off the mat for early control but he dropkicks IRS out of the air on a second attempt. Nice psychology there, but IRS knocks him to the floor a few seconds later.

Kid comes back in with a sunset flip for two but gets caught in an abdominal stretch to drag the match out even longer. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Kid takes him to the corner for some kicks and a moonsault press for two. A side roll gets two as Heenan is losing his mind. Kid dropkicks him down for two more, but IRS hits a flying clothesline for the pin out of nowhere.

Rating: D. What in the world was that? The Kid had been undefeated since May and you have him lose to a jobber to the stars in IRS? I don’t get the thinking here at all and it would continue to make little sense as the Kid would only lose one more singles match this year, and not again until next June. Yet he loses to IRS here? I don’t get it.

Owen and Bruce Hart say their dad is at home recovering from knee surgery but they’re here to support Bret.

Bret Hart vs. Jerry Lawler

This is the blowoff to a MAJOR feud which started at the King of the Ring. Bret won the tournament but Jerry attacked him during the coronation, saying he was the only real king in professional wrestling. Jerry comes to the ring on crutches with a big ice pack on his knee. He claims an injury from a car wreck (going into hilarious detail about a blue haired lady causing a ten car pileup) so Bret’s new opponent is the court jester.

Bret Hart vs. Doink the Clown

This is evil Doink, meaning he’s AWESOME. Doink comes out carrying two buckets, one of which contains confetti to throw at the fans. The other is full of water which is thrown on Bruce Hart in the old Harlem Globetrotters trick. Bret jumps Doink on the floor and we get things going inside. Doink is punched back to the floor before he can even get his jacket off before Hart sends him into the post. Heenan talks about how Lawler was in an 18 car pileup, crawled out of the car and into a school bus, saved 40 kids from the bus and bought them all hamburgers before coming to the arena tonight. Vince’s stunned reaction is great.

Doink gets in a shot and goes up, only to be crotched on the buckle. Heenan: “He’s been de-Doinked!” Bret offers Lawler a chance to come in before dropping Doink with an atomic drop. Another Lawler distraction lets Doink hit a knee to the back before sending Bret into the steps. Doink starts working on the leg and wraps it around the post with Lawler cheering him on.

The Clown puts on an STF and Heenan swears Bret gave up. Doink transitions into a lame chinlock before putting on a stump puller (you sit the other guy down and push his head down while pulling up on a leg) to stay on the leg and neck. Bret comes back with a right and the Five Moves of Doom. He hooks the Sharpshooter but Lawler runs into the ring and breaks the crutch over Bret’s back for the DQ.

Rating: C+. The match was your usual good Bret match when he had a good opponent to work against. Lawler pretending to be injured is the perfect action for him as he’s such a slimy coward most of the time. The Bret vs. Lawler feud had incredible heat to it as the fans wanted to see Lawler get beaten up…….and then there’s this.

President Jack Tunney stops Lawler in the aisle and says get in the ring right now.

Bret Hart vs. Jerry Lawler

Bret blasts him in the head with one of Doink’s buckets before the bell. They head inside and Bret immediately pounds Lawler down and gets in a crutch shot for good measure. Lawler gets in a crutch shot to the throat and chokes away as the referee (ECW’s Bill Alfonzo) is trying to restrain the Hart Brothers.

Bret gets crotched against the post, allowing Lawler to tell the referee to go yell at the Brothers again. The distraction lets Lawler get in more crutch shots in a classic simple heel move. He stops to tell the booing fans to shut up but Bret is ready to fight. Hart destroys Lawer and even throws in a piledriver before putting on the Sharpshooter for the academic submission. He won’t let go though and the decision is reversed.

Rating: B. The match itself isn’t much from an action standpoint, but the story was perfect (Bret wants revenge) and it’s a short form clinic on how to work a crowd from Lawler. Those subtle things like distracting the referee and sneaking in weapon shots and telling the crowd to shut up are so basic and easy but you NEVER see them today. Today’s writers need to watch some Lawler matches and they’ll learn how to have a crowd eating out of a heel’s hand in no time.

It takes about ten referees plus two Brothers to pull Bret off of Lawler. Bret is told that Lawler is the undisputed King so he goes after Jerry again as Lawler is put on a stretcher. Bruce Hart gets in some shots as well but Lawler is finally wheeled off, raising his arm in victory like the true villain he is.

Unfortunately we never got the planned blowoff to this feud as some 15 year old accused Lawler of rape (she admitted she made the whole thing up and Lawler was acquitted) so the Hart Brothers vs. Jerry and three hired goons at Survivor Series never happened. That’s a shame as the reaction for Lawler being destroyed by the whole family including Stu would have been a sight to behold.

Ludvig Borga is on the streets of Detroit to show us the country that Lex Luger wants to stand up for.

Bret and his brothers say Lawler deserves a broken leg.

Marty Jannetty vs. Ludvig Borga

Borga is basically the original Antonio Cesaro but from Finland. Marty fires away to start but gets punched in the corner by the former boxer. A hard clothesline puts Jannetty down before Borga throws him into the air for an uppercut (much like Cesaro). More punches in the corner have Jannetty in trouble and a clothesline stops his comeback dead. Borga blows his nose on Jannetty before putting on a bearhug. Marty escapes and makes a quick comeback with a pair of superkicks but gets caught in a powerslam and a torture rack for the submission.

Rating: D-. This was one of the lamer squashes I can remember in a long time. Borga looked slow and limited in the ring but the rack looked good. Other than that though, Borga came off as much more flash than substance. He would get better, but at the end of the day he never quite did anything in the company.

Giant Gonzalez vs. Undertaker

This is a Rest in Peace match, which means No DQ and No Countout, or a street fight as we would call it. Gonzalez has been tormenting Undertaker all year and lost to him via DQ at Wrestlemania. Gonzalez is a legit 7’7 and his manager Harvey Whippelman has stolen the Urn. Paul Bearer is absent for reasons that aren’t quite explained. The Giant pounds on Taker to start but Taker comes back with some clotheslines. A single elbow takes the Dead Man down and they head outside with the Giant in control.

Gonzalez hits some of the weakest chair shots you’ll ever see before whipping Taker knees first into the steps. Back in and Undertaker hits some uppercuts but keeps reaching for the Urn. Taker is still down when the gong rings and Paul Bearer makes his return with a black wreath. Whippelman goes after him and gets decked, allowing Paul to get the Urn back. The Giant stares down at him, Undertaker sits up, hits five clotheslines and a sixth frm the top for the pin. Seriously, that’s it.

Rating: G. As in I long for Great Khali. You often hear bad wrestlers said to be as bad as Giant Gonzalez and there’s a good reason for that: the guy is HORRIBLE. I understand the idea of the guy being huge and not needing to do much, but Gonzalez couldn’t do even the most basic stuff without screwing it up. Having seen a good deal of both, I can safely say that Gonzalez makes Great Khali look like Bret Hart.

Post match Harvey turns on Gonzalez and gets laid out.

Cornette says his men have been ripped off all night but that won’t happen when Lex Luger faces his Yokozuna. All those people Luger has seen over the country aren’t going to be able to help him now because it’s just Luger vs. Yokozuna, and the last thing Luger will hear is BANZAI!

Smoking Guns/Tatanka vs. Headshrinkers/Bam Bam Bigelow

Aren’t cowboys and Indians supposed to fight? The heels have Afa and Luna Vachon with them. The Samoans run over the Guns to start and we have Bigelow vs. Tatanka to get us going. Tatanka fires off a shoulder block and a dropkick followed by an impressive backdrop. Both guys try cross bodies and Tatanka actually gets the better of it. For a gimmick wrestler Tatanka had some good success around this time.

A double tag brings in Billy vs. Fatu (Rikishi) with the Samoan hitting a quick superkick. Billy comes back with a top rope clothesline as Vince tells us Billy went to college on a rodeo scholarship. That actually exists? Another superkick from Samu knocks Billy into the tag to Bart who is slammed face first into the mat for his troubles. Bigelow comes in with a dropkick for two before it’s back to Fatu for a wicked powerslam. The Samoans take turns double teaming Bart with headbutts and chops as the heat segment goes on for a good while.

Bigelow misses a charge and hits the post, allowing Bart to make the hot tag off to Tatanka. The Indian chops every heel in sight and takes Bigelow down with a DDT and a high cross body for two. Tatanka goes on the war path but walks into an enziguri from Bam Bam. Sometimes there’s no better solution than to kick a guy in the head. Everything breaks down and Tatanka is left all alone against the three monsters. A TRIPLE HEADBUTT puts Tatanka down and all three go up for a triple flying headbutt, but Tatanka rolls away and rolls up Samu for the pin.

Rating: B-. Where in the world did this come from??? This was a shockingly good tag match with everyone moving fast and some great looking spots from Bigelow. Tatanka was one of those guys that the fans just liked and there’s no way you can fake that. Good stuff here and a very nice surprise.

To fill in time, we talk to Luger’s bus driver. The guy is so valuable he gets to sit in the bus and watch the show on a monitor. He talks about how great Luger is and how he visited a bunch of kids.

Pettingill asks some fans who they like in the main event and the answer is obvious.

Some guy sings the Japanese national anthem.

Randy Savage is master of ceremonies for the main event and comes out with some country singer who sings the American national anthem.

WWF Title: Lex Luger vs. Yokozuna

Remember, this is Luger’s ONE title shot. It’s a long staredown to start before Lex has to knock Mr. Fuji down. Lex starts pounding away but a single shot from the champion puts him down. Luger comes back with more right hands and down goes Yoko. A big elbow drop gets two for Luger and he avoid one from Yoko. Luger hits a running clothesline in the corner before pounding away on the champion’s head in the corner. Yoko will have none of that though and takes Luger down with a single chop.

Luger gets in some right hands but can’t slam Yoko again. Instead he gets kicked in the face and knocked to the floor with some headbutts. Out to the floor they go with Yoko choking Luger with a mic cord. A splash crushes Luger against the post but Yoko misses a chair shot. They head back inside where Luger hits two ax handle shots off the top and middle rope before a top rope forearm gets a very close two count.

A double clothesline puts both guys down and things slow down even more. Fuji throws in his bucket which Yoko uses to knock Luger out cold but only for two. A big belly to belly suplex and side slam get the same results as the champion is getting frustrated. Off to a nerve hold by the champion which eats up several minutes.

Luger fights up again but gets clotheslined down for two. To show you how impressive he is, Heenan actually compliments Luger. I don’t think I ever remember him cheering for a good guy before. Yokozuna loads up the Banzai Drop but Luger rolls away at the last minute. They fight into the corner again but Yoko misses a charge. Luger slams him down and hits the loaded forearm, knocking the champion out to the floor. Unfortunately for Luger, he also knocked Yokozuna out cold, earning Luger a countout win.

Rating: D+. This was long and slow without being very good. Luger got good reactions though, especially for the slam. It was clear that his character was nothing but warmed over Hogan leftovers but at least the fans hadn’t entirely realized that yet. This wasn’t a terrible match, but it certainly was nothing of note either. The ending wasn’t great but it was necessary to continue the story being told.

Luger celebrates with his friends to end the show despite not winning the title. We even get a music video of his push, which would be WAY more effective if Luger had, you know, WON THE FREAKING TITLE. Heenan: “This was his ONE shot!” Vince: “Don’t worry he’ll get another one!” Heaven forbid we pay attention to storylines that PPVs are built around.

Overall Rating: C+. With a Luger title win, this would have been a very solid show. There are some bad matches on here but the majority of the show works amazingly well with Bret vs. Lawler and the six man being highlights. Much like last year it’s a show where the overall show is better than its individual parts which made for a good show. Why Luger didn’t go over here continues to elude me.

Ratings Comparison

Razor Ramon vs. Ted DiBiase

Original: C-

Redo: C-

Steiner Brothers vs. Heavenly Bodies

Original: B-

Redo: C+

Shawn Michaels vs. Mr. Perfect

Original: B-

Redo: C

1-2-3 Kid vs. I.R.S.

Original: F

Redo: D

Bret Hart vs. Doink the Clown

Original: B

Redo: C+

Bret Hart vs. Jerry Lawler

Original: B+

Redo: B

Marty Jannetty vs. Ludvig Borga

Original: D+

Redo: D-

Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzalez

Original: C+

Redo: G (As in I long for Great Khali)

Tatanka/Smoking Gunns vs. Bam Bam Bigelow/Headshrinkers

Original: F+

Redo: B-

Yokozuna vs. Lex Luger

Original: B-

Redo: D+

Overall Rating

Original: D+

Redo: C+

……I had no idea what I was doing back then did I?

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/07/27/history-of-summerslam-count-up-1993-i-still-dont-get-the-ending/

King of the Ring 1993
Date: June 13, 1993
Location; Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio
Attendance: 6,500
Commentators: Jim Ross, Bobby Heenan, Randy Savage

It’s another WWE Vault special as we’re looking back at one of the company’s on again/off again concepts. That could make for a good way to go, but this show has a bit of a hit and miss reputation. Bret Hart is the #1 seed and that’s good enough for me, though this is hardly a strong time for the company. Oh and Hulk Hogan is defending the WWF Title against Yokozuna in a Wrestlemania rematch. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at the tournament and runs down the brackets:

Bret Hart
Razor Ramon

Mr. Perfect
Mr. Hughes

Jim Duggan
Bam Bam Bigelow

Tatanka
Lex Luger

Commentary previews the show, including the non-tournament stuff.

King Of The Ring First Round: Razor Ramon vs. Bret Hart

Heenan and Savage bicker about the 1-2-3 Kid’s famous upset of Ramon so JR ignores them to call the match as Hart starts in on the arm. Hart works on an armbar but can’t get a hiptoss, instead getting dropped by a hard clothesline. An elbow misses though and Hart is back on the arm, including another armdrag into an armbar.

Ramon gets evil by going to the eye before elbowing Hart in the face for two. The chinlock doesn’t work though as Hart reverses into a hammerlock and cranks away. Back up and Hart misses a charge into the post, allowing Ramon to really take over for the first time. A fall away slam gives Ramon two and he nails a running powerslam for the same.

Hart fights up and hits the atomic drop into the running clothesline for two as the fans are way into the comeback. The Five Moves Of Doom are cut off with the chest first crash into the buckle but the Razor’s Edge is blocked as well. A small package gives Hart a VERY near fall so Ramon takes him up top for the belly to back superplex. That’s reversed into a crossbody to give Hart the pin at 10:24.

Rating: B. It’s a good sign for Hart that he’s gotten this much better in just a few months, as this was quite a bit better than his match against Ramon at the Royal Rumble. This was Hart figuring out a bigger and stronger opponent, which is where he tends to shine. Good stuff here, though if Hart is the #1 seed, Ramon is dead last? Really?

We look at Mr. Hughes taking out the Undertaker, who needed a new monster to slay. The villains stole the Urn as well.

King Of The Ring First Round: Mr. Perfect vs. Mr. Hughes

My money is on Mr. Before the match, Heenan uses his Brain Scan to mock Perfect’s form on the gum swat, because he’s still bitter over Perfect deserting him. Hughes powers him into the corner to start and shrugs off a dropkick. Perfect is sent outside and comes back in to slug away with limited success. A neck crank keeps Perfect down for a bit and a big boot makes it even worse. The neck crank goes on again before a big whip into the corner has Perfect down again.

Bret Hart gets an insert interview, where he says he’d rather face Perfect in the second round. Back up and Perfect tries to jump over Hughes but both of them go down, with Perfect slugging away to keep things going. A missed charge in the ropes gives Perfect a breather and he manages a backdrop (Hughes doesn’t even lose his sunglasses) and there’s the necksnap. That’s enough for Hughes, who grabs the Urn and clocks Perfect for the DQ at 6:01.

Rating: C. Yeah there isn’t much that Perfect can do here, as they didn’t have time to go anywhere and the ending was just lame. Hughes is getting one of his biggest shots ever and he just hits Perfect for the lame DQ? It’s just a weird way to go, though Hughes was just a successful enough monster to feel like he could win, giving Hart another monster to slay in the semifinals.

Mr. Fuji and Yokozuna are ready for Hulk Hogan, who cheated at Wrestlemania. Not exactly but Hogan was hardly on fair footing there either.

King Of The Ring First Round: Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Jim Duggan

Duggan is in the singlet style gear here so you know this isn’t going to go well. Bigelow grabs a headlock to start as JR is firmly in NFL resume mode. Heenan: “CAN IT! WHO CARES???” Duggan slugs back with a running shoulder to the floor, with Savage getting on him for spending way too much time playing to the crowd.

Back in and Duggan can’t pick him up, allowing Bigelow to start in on the ribs. The bearhug doesn’t last long and Bigelow misses a headbutt but Duggan still can’t slam him. The second bearhug works a bit better but Duggan fights out again. This time the slam works but Duggan misses a charge into the buckle. Bigelow’s top rope headbutt finishes Duggan at 5:01.

Rating: D+. I love Duggan but the magic was gone by 1993. That made this little more than a formality, though Duggan still did have the ability to slug it out with a big man. Bigelow was clearly the right way to go here as he was always worth a look and they didn’t waste an opponent on him, but yeah not much to see here.

The Steiner Brothers and the Steiner Brothers are ready for Money Inc. and the Headshrinkers in an eight man tag. This is from the Coliseum Video version of the show so it isn’t even the original broadcast.

King Of The Ring First Round: Tatanka vs. Lex Luger

Luger does his mirror entrance and has the steel forearm for a bonus. Hold on though as Luger has to put on an elbow pad or he’s out of the tournament. As Heenan panics over the pad ruling, Luger jumps Tatanka to start fast but stops to pose, with commentary losing it over how stupid he is here.

Tatanka is back in to chop him to the floor for a slam, followed by a clothesline for two back inside. The armbar slows Luger down again and Tatanka chops away at the shoulder as this is already feeling like the time limit draw of the tournament. Bam Bam Bigelow joins us for an insert promo which we can’t hear to start, but he seems to want to face Tatanka next.

The armbar goes on again but this time Luger fights out as you can hear the crowd getting rather quiet. A backbreaker out of the corner puts Tatanka down again and a rather delayed elbow gets an also delayed two (oh yeah the time limit draw is coming and they’re not hiding it). Luger actually hits his big jumping elbow for a VERY delayed two and we hit the chinlock.

Tatanka fights up and chops away as we have three minutes left. A big chop gets two as the fans are responding to actually seeing someone working faster. The top rope chop gets two but Luger knocks him down again and we get a double breather. A backdrop puts Tatanka down again and a suplex gives Luger a near fall with thirty seconds left. Another suplex gets another two and time expires at 15:00.

Rating: C-. This was one of the most frustrating things you can see in wrestling, as it was just a countdown until the obvious finish. There was no reason for them to do some of the things they were doing here other than killing time and that made for a tedious match. Tatanka’s comeback was good and they needed to do this to protect his undefeated streak, but find a more interesting way to do it.

Post match Luger talks about wanting to keep going and then takes the pad off to knock Tatanka silly.

Mr. Perfect doesn’t like Bret Hart saying he would prefer to face Perfect, with Gene Okerlund egging things on. Then they argue over whose dad could beat the other before bringing up Hart beating Perfect at Summerslam 1991. They do at least shake hands.

King Of The Ring Semifinals: Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect

Hart has a bandaged hand after the first round. They start slowly until Perfect takes him down by the head as commentary discusses whether or not Heenan was managing Perfect when Hart beat him for the Intercontinental Title. Ignore that he wasn’t, but Heenan seems to have forgotten that. Hart blocks a slam and kicks him away, setting up a headlock to grind away a bit.

Perfect gets up and gets pulled into another headlock, which is broken up as well. A nice dropkick sends Hart outside and Perfect hits a rather loud chop as the fans approve of what they’re seeing. Back up and Hart gets shoved off the apron for a huge crash (near a cooler full of ice, water and Pepsi). Hart is back in and Perfect’s missile dropkick gets a pair of near falls. Perfect goes up again but gets caught in a superplex, allowing Hart to start in on the leg. The Figure Four has Perfect in trouble until he makes the ropes, meaning Hart can grab another leglock to keep him in trouble.

That’s broken up and the sleeper goes on, with Perfect putting his foot on the ropes because he’s still a bit of a heel. Hart gets out again and starts the comeback, including the backbreaker into the middle rope elbow. The Sharpshooter is loaded up but Perfect gets smart by grabbing Hart’s bandaged hand. Back up and the PerfectPlex is blocked as Hart suplexes him out to the floor for a huge crash. Back in and Perfect tries a small package but Hart reverses into one of his own for the pin at 18:54.

Rating: A-. There are certain people who work very well together and these two have some very underrated chemistry. Hart continuing to get the better of Perfect is a cool thing to see as you know Hart had to work for this one. Perfect was game here too and I could have gone for a heck of a lot more of hero Perfect than we got over the years. He really was that good and it was on display here. Outstanding match.

Post match respect is (eventually) shown.

Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart give a VERY pro-America speech about how they’re protecting us from the evil Japanese threat. This would have been over the top during World War II.

WWF Title: Hulk Hogan vs. Yokozuna

Yokozuna, with Mr. Fuji, is challenging and there are a lot of Japanese photographers at ringside. Heenan says this is a fresh Yokozuna, not one who wrestled a “thirty minute match” before Hogan faced him. That’s a stretch even for Heenan. Hogan comes out and sweet goodness he’s probably….oh 40lbs down from his traditional size or so?  Happy steroids trial everyone.

Hogan can’t shove him around to start but Yokozuna can shove him down rather quickly. A big slam drops Hogan again and Fuji is certainly approving. Back up and Hogan avoids a charge in the corner before hammering away with right hands. The running corner clothesline rocks Yokozuna but it’s way too early for the slam. Another attempt gets a leg up but Hogan falls down and is in trouble again. Hogan fights up and hits some running clotheslines but Yokozuna drops him with a single clothesline.

The big splash misses and Hogan has an opening, which is cut off with a bearhug. That stays on for a good while until Hogan fires off some right hands to free himself. Yokozuna drops him again though as Hogan just can’t keep anything going. The belly to belly suplex gets two (and Yokozuna gets some height on the kickout) as it’s time to Hulk Up. The big boot rocks Yokozuna but doesn’t drop him and a second has the same result.

A third big boot finally drops Yokozuna and the legdrop connects…for two, with the kickout putting Hogan back on his feet. Hogan has to deck Fuji but a photographer (with a huge beard) gets on the apron. Hogan goes over to him and the camera causes a fireball to go off in Hogan’s face. The big leg gives Yokozuna the pin and the title back at 13:07.

Rating: D+. There is only so much you can do for a match like this, but that’s how Hulkamania officially ends in the WWF in the 90s. They went out of the way to make sure Hogan didn’t get to slam him and that’s the big sign that things are changing. Hogan never should have gotten the title back in the first place and he had some protection with the camera, but Yokozuna kicking out of the legdrop was a big moment. Not a good match as expected, but it certainly has the historical significance.

Post match Hogan tries to get up but he can’t see. Yokozuna hits the Banzai Drop and Hogan is helped out, not to appear on WWF TV for nearly nine years.

Mr. Perfect is disappointed with his loss but he’d rather not talk about it.

Gene Okerlund talks about the love that Detroit has shown to the WWF (I’m thinking there was a promo for Summerslam 1993 cut out here) but wants to talk to Shawn Michaels and his new bodyguard. Michaels dubs the new bodyguard as Diesel (who had been around for all of five minutes at this point) but says he (as in Michaels) does the talking.

Steiner Brothers/Smoking Gunns vs. Money Inc./Headshrinkers

Welcome to the death slot guys. Scott and DiBiase start things off with Scott getting the better of things and sending DiBiase outside. Rick sends him back in, where Scott hits a Steiner Line out to the floor. Back in again (thanks Rick) and it’s off to Fatu vs. Bart, with latter of whom hits a dropkick into an armbar. Bart makes the mistake of ramming him head first into the mat, earning a shot to the face from Fatu.

IRS comes in for a back elbow and it’s back to DiBiase for a nice suplex. Samu drops a headbutt and a backbreaker gets two. IRS’ top rope right hand connects as IRS is fascinated by Money Inc.’s briefcase. Bart gets in a shot of his own though and it’s off to Billy to clean house. The Million Dollar Dream cuts Billy off though, only for DiBiase to let him go for some reason. Billy grabs a quick small package for the pin at 6:50.

Rating: C. There’s nothing to see here as the idea was just to put people in the ring after the big devastating title change. That’s what you need to do in a spot like this, even if the match meant pretty much nothing. It’s kind of a shame too, as there were some good tag teams in there.

Post match the brawl is on with the good guys cleaning house in a hurry. The Steiners would win the titles from Money Inc. the next day (and lose then two days later, only to win them back again three days later).

Jack Tunney congratulates Yokozuna and Mr. Fuji on the win. Fuji brags about doing exactly what they said they would do.

Intercontinental Title: Shawn Michaels vs. Crush

Michaels, with Diesel, is defending. They take their time to start until Crush grabs a headlock and then shoulders him down. The headlock goes on again before some leapfrogs frustrated Michaels. The superkick misses and Crush hits a pair of dropkicks to put him out on the floor. Back in and Crush gorilla presses him (with reps) and drops Michaels so casually that it’s kind of funny.

There’s the tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and Diesel pulls Michaels to the floor for a breather. Crush goes after him but gets in a staredown with Diesel, allowing Michaels to get in a diving shot off the apron. Diesel sends Crush head first into the post and Michaels rams Crush’s head into the post over and over (GEEZ).

Back in and Crush actually kicks out so Michaels grabs a front facelock. That’s broken up with pure power as Crush sends him out to the floor and then swats away a dive off the top. Crush hits a big boot and drops the leg for two (not a good combination on this show)….and we have two Doinks. The distraction (it could be their cigars) lets Michaels hit a superkick to the back of the head to send Crush into the buckle and retain at 11:15.

Rating: C+. I’ve long since had a soft spot for Crush and I could have gone for seeing him do something more. Maybe not being the guy getting the Luger spot, but doing something else could have been interesting. This was memorable due to the RAM CRUSH’S HEAD INTO THE POST spot but there was pretty much no way that Michaels was losing when his new bodyguard was getting his big debut.

Bam Bam Bigelow is fresh and ready to become the first King Of The Ring. Short and to the point here.

King Of The Ring Finals: Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Bret Hart

Hart is pretty banged up with a band hand and a slight limp. Bigelow goes with the big forearms to the back to start but Hart counters a gorilla press into a crossbody for two. More pounding drops Hart again and Bigelow launches him over the top for a big crash. Back in and Bigelow slowly hammers away, setting up a hard whip into the corner (back first for a change). Thankfully JR is right there to sell the impact and the pain, which is where he shines like few others.

A jumping elbow gives Bigelow two and we hit the bearhug. That’s broken up and they go outside, where Hart reverses a whip into the barricade. Back up and Hart is rammed into the post so Bigelow goes back inside. Cue Luna Vachon with a chair to drop Hart again but he actually makes it back inside. The top rope headbutt gives Bigelow the pin and the crown at 9:27….but here is another referee to point out the chair shot.

For some reason that isn’t a DQ and instead we keep going. Bigelow isn’t happy and hammers away again, with a headbutt knocking Hart silly again. The bearhug goes on again so Hart escapes, only to get headbutted into an over the shoulder backbreaker. That’s broken up as well and somehow Hart manages a belly to back suplex. Bigelow misses a backsplash and Hart fights up again, this time with a dropkick out to the floor.

The slingshot dive hits Bigelow and Hart hammers away as this feels like his last shot. Back in and a middle rope clothesline gives Hart two and the middle rope bulldog gets the same. The Sharpshooter is broken up so Hart tries another belly to back, with Bigelow landing on him (nice call back to earlier in the match) for two. Back up and Hart gets a boot up in the corner and grabs a victory roll for the pin at 18:21.

Rating: B+. Just in case you needed another great Hart match to close things out. As usual, Hart can do some of his best work against a monster and also as usual, he knows how to make you believe that he’s near death before making the comeback. Having Bigelow get a pin in there was kind of weird, but Hart was cheated to make it happen so it hardly brought anything down.

Post match Randy Savage runs in to hug Hart and they RUSH him over to the platform for the coronation. Hart gets the robe and the crown…and Jerry Lawler comes in, saying he’s the only king in the WWF. Lawler offers him the chance to kiss his feet, but Hart asks why he was never in the tournament in the first case. Hart starts the BURGER KING chant and Lawler jumps him from behind, beating him down with the scepter and kicking off a two year feud. JR is AGHAST and Lawler kicks Hart in the face, which he says is making Hart kick the royal feet. Hart is out to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. It’s so weird to see a show divided in half between Bret Hart and everything without Bret Hart. This was a one man all star performance from Hart, who had three awesome matches and…well everything else. What was the best match without him? The Intercontinental Title match I guess, and even that was just decent. Absolutely incredible work from Hart, with the Perfect match being outstanding, and not much else in the way of quality.

At the same time though, it’s a huge change of course though with Yokozuna taking the title back and getting rid of Hogan, who would be off to Hollywood and then WCW. That’s quite the big night, with Hart pretty clearly turning into the next star…but we had to deal with Luger’s face run first. In other words, 1993 WWF didn’t make a ton of sense, but Hart is awesome.

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

Wrestlemania IX
Date: April 4, 1993
Location: Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada
Attendance: 16,891
Commentators: Jim Ross, Bobby Heenan, Randy Savage

With Wrestlemania XLI in Las Vegas (or really close to it), WWE is looking back at this show in ways that have never been done before. I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be some new appreciation for the show, as it’s not like anyone has ever really appreciated it before. It’s a double main event, though neither match is overly exciting. Let’s get to it.

The opening video focuses on the location more than anything else, with Bret Hart and Yokozuna on the side of a casino.

Host Gorilla Monsoon introduces the newest WWF broadcaster: Jim Ross, who is rather impressed by some of the Roman set. Or he hates it. You never can tell with Ross. Either way, he hypes up the double main event and it still sounds wrong to hear Ross talk about Hulk Hogan.

Finkus Maximus (just go with it) introduces Caesar and Cleopatra, who come in on an elephant. After they do nothing (though the elephant does stand on its hind legs), Randy Savage is brought out on a sedan with some vestal virgins. Then Bobby Heenan, who was supposed to be on the sedan, comes out (backwards) on a camel. Naturally Heenan makes this work, because he can make just about anything work.

Intercontinental Title: Tatanka vs. Shawn Michaels

Michaels, with Luna Vachon, is defending after Tatanka, with Sherri (Shawn’s former manager) beat him a few times in non-title matches. Heenan says Sherri won’t be here in Tatanka’s corner. Savage: “Wrong again camel breath.” They take their time to get going before Michael’s single leg doesn’t exactly work. Tatanka comes back up with a hammerlock but has to power out of a top wristlock.

A headlock takeover out of the corner gives Michaels two so he tries it again, only to get reversed into a belly to back suplex. Michaels goes up but gets armdragged out of the air (cool), setting up a Flair Flip in the corner. Back in and Tatanka starts in on the arm with an armbar as commentary is thankfully right there to tell us about Michaels having a bad shoulder recently.

Michaels fights up but misses a charge into the post, setting up a shoulder breaker but Tatanka drops an elbow instead of covering (Savage is not pleased with the lack of a cover). A top rope chop hits Michaels so Tatanka goes up again, only to dive into the superkick for a sweet counter. They go outside where Michaels hits a hard clothesline off the apron, allowing him to flirt with Sherri for a bit.

Back in and the chinlock goes on, followed by some rapid fire lefts in the corner. For some reason Michaels climbs onto Tatanka’s shoulders and that’s good for an electric chair. Back up and the superkick is blocked, allowing Tatanka to fire off some chops. Even Heenan is getting on Tatanka for not covering so a high crossbody gives Tatanka two.

Michaels gets in a knockdown of his own and goes up but gets powerslammed out of the air for a big crash. They fight to the floor, where Michaels misses a dive off the apron for a nasty crash. That doesn’t work for Michaels, who pulls the referee out to break up the countout, which is a DQ at 18:23.

Rating: B-. This was getting really good by the end as they were just trading big shots. Tatanka was staying a step or two ahead of Michaels the whole way and if Michaels wasn’t such a big deal at this point, changing the title would not have been crazy. That being said, Michaels was clearly the prospect of the future here and protecting him made sense. Good opener here, which doesn’t feel nearly that long.

Post match Tatanka celebrates but Vachon jumps Sherri, leaving Tatanka to chase her off.

The Steiner Brothers are ready to face the Headshrinkers in their first Wrestlemania.

Steiner Brothers vs. Headshrinkers

Afa is here with the Headshrinkers. JR debuts the term “slobberknocker”, which has Heenan right there with the jokes. Scott armdrags Fatu to start and goes after the armbar. Fatu isn’t having that and they slug it out, which is of course fine with Scott. A clothesline turns Fatu inside out so he goes to the eyes to cut Scott off. Rick tries to cut off some double teaming but gets dropped with a single right hand in something you don’t see very often.

The Headshrinkers make the mistake of turning their backs on the Steiners, who go up top (same buckle) and come off with a double Steiner Line (that was awesome). Apparently Luna has attacked Sherri in the First Aid station as it’s off to Rick, who gets chopped down by Samu. Scott comes back in and starts slugging away but gets caught in a hot shot, which goes a bit too hard and he crashes out to the floor.

Afa BLASTS Scott with his stick and they go back inside, where Fatu hits a middle rope headbutt. Something like a bulldog puts Scott down again, as does a standing dropkick from Samu. A Demolition Decapitator (minus the rope walk) gets two but Fatu misses a top rope headbutt. It’s back to Rick, who is taken down with a double Stroke. An electric chair is loaded up but Rick powerslams Fatu out of the air (GEEZ) for two in an awesome looking counter. Scott is back in with a belly to belly but Samu snaps off a great looking superkick. Back up and a quick Frankensteiner gives Scott the pin at 14:27.

Rating: B. The more I watch this match, the more I like it, as you had four big, strong guys just laying it in over and over. They were absolutely beating the fire out of each other and it’s awesome throughout. That powerslam out of the air was great and I wanted to see them stay at it. Heck of a match here and we can call this an underrated gem.

Doink is thrilled with how well his “pranks” have been received, including ripping his ‘own arm out of its socket”, because only Randy Savage got the idea of a cast. Today he’s facing Crush, who might be….seeing double.

Crush vs. Doink The Clown

Doink wastes no time in spraying his flower at Crush to start, earning himself a slam on the floor. Crush posts him hard and they head inside for the first time, where Doink is whipped hard into the corner. Some shots from Doink just make Crush madder and they head back inside for a jumping necksnap over the top (Savage says “love it, love it, love it” over seeing one of his old moves).

Something close to a Stunner over the top staggers Crush though and Doink adds a top rope shot to the back. That works so well that Doink adds a middle rope version, plus another top rope shot to finally put Crush down. Another posting has Crush in more trouble but he powerslams Doink out of the air for quite the crash. A running clothesline sends Doink outside and it’s time to crawl underneath the ring.

That’s broken up so Crush teases the Head Vice, but the referee gets bumped. JR: “I’m concerned about the official who is lying there motionless.” Savage: “No he’s just out cold”. The Head Vice goes on and Doink is in trouble…but here is another Doink to hit Crush in the back with the cast. Two cast shots to the head knock Crush silly and we get a double vision deal. The original Doink gets the pin at 8:29.

Rating: C. The match wasn’t exactly great but it did have a clever ending. The original Doink was a rather interesting idea and could have gone a long way before he went on with the stupid comedy stuff. This should have told you that Crush wasn’t likely going anywhere as losing, even via a screwy finish, in this spot isn’t a good sign.

Post match another referee comes out to check under the ring for the other Doink but they can’t find him.

Todd Pettingill talks to some Japanese photographers, who like Yokozuna.

Bob Backlund vs. Razor Ramon

Backlund offers a handshake to start but gets a toothpick thrown in his face instead. Ramon shoves him into the corner without much trouble but Backlund sweeps the leg a few times and bounces back and forth like Brock Lesnar would later do. Ramon goes with the power take over as we hear about Lex Luger knocking out Bret Hart earlier today. Backlund shrugs it off and hits a hiptoss, followed by a missed dropkick. A butterfly suplex drops Ramon and an atomic drop does the same, only for Ramon to small package him for the pin at 3:44.

Rating: C-. This felt way out of place, as Ramon went from challenging for the WWF Title at the Royal Rumble to whatever this was supposed to be. I’m not sure why this was on the card but it’s one of the more bizarre matches you will ever see at Wrestlemania. At least it was short, but egads this did not feel like it belonged on Wrestlemania.

Money Inc. doesn’t seem worried about the Mega Maniacs. We look back at Money Inc. smashing Brutus Beefcake’s face with their briefcase, which got Jimmy Hart on Beefcake’s side. It also brought Hulk Hogan back to the WWF, but Money Inc. still isn’t worried.

Tag Team Titles: Money Inc. vs. Mega Maniacs

The Maniacs, with Jimmy Hart, are challenging and Hogan is sporting a REALLY nasty black eye (apparently from a Jetski accident but also possibly due to a backstage fight with Randy Savage, depending on which story you believe). The villains try to jump the Maniacs before the bell and are cleared out while Hogan’s music is still playing. Money Inc. is chased to the floor again and we finally start with Beefcake and IRS.

Beefcake gets taken into the wrong corner for some chops and DiBiase comes in for an elbow to the (masked) face. For some reason DiBiase goes for a shot to the face and hurts his own hand, setting up a double noggin knocker to bring us back to the 80s. DiBiase’s ram into the buckle has no effect either and Beefcake sends him into the corner over and over for some more success.

Hogan comes in for a few shots but it’s already back to Beefcake for the stomping. Hogan’s middle rope ax handle connects and DiBiase is sent outside. A poke to the eye cuts IRS off and Hogan sends him outside like a hero should be doing. Money Inc. teases leaving but are threatened with losing the titles if they don’t get back in. That means an eight count, sending Heenan into a rant about the rules being made up as they go.

Back in and DiBiase takes over on Hogan, with the champs getting in a variety of choking on the ropes. We hit the Million Dollar Dream and Hogan stays in it so long that he should be legally dead. Savage: “They’re hanging from the rafters! But they don’t have rafters in the Roman Coliseum. What they have are columns and they’re hanging from them!” Hogan fights up so Beefcake comes in (no tag) and puts the sleeper on DiBiase, leaving him out cold as well. They both beat the ten count and Beefcake comes back in to clean house, only for DiBiase to hit him in the back with the briefcase.

DiBiase finally goes after the mask and gets it off, meaning Beefcake’s face is sent into a raised boot in the corner. Beefcake fights up and drops IRS but the referee gets bumped. The double tag (unseen by the referee) brings in Hogan and DiBiase with the former slugging away.

The big boot hits DiBiase and Beefcake hits IRS with the mask. We get a double cover so Jimmy Hart turns his jacket inside out (it has black and white stripes) to count the double pin. Ever the morons, Hogan and Beefcake celebrate with the titles (Hogan slips on the ropes) and even Savage doesn’t think this makes sense. Another referee comes out to disqualify the Maniacs at 18:28.

Rating: D+. I’m not sure what makes good guys in wrestling so dumb but my goodness this was stupid even by wrestlers’ standards. It might have come after being so bored by the match, which was just WAY too long and nothing worth seeing. Hogan being in a tag team doesn’t feel important in the slightest and Beefcake felt like a relic of the past here. Just dull stuff here and a pretty lame flop of a match.

Post match the Maniacs are annoyed at the other referee for calling the DQ and Hart throws him over the top. Hogan gets to pose while Beefcake and Hart stand around, leaving him to open the briefcase and find….a brick. And money. One of which is given to the fans. Well gee I wonder why they’re cheering Hogan here.

Singer Natalie Cole has absolutely nothing to say but the CEO of Caesars Palace is a bit happier to have the WWF here.

Mr. Perfect isn’t worried about Lex Luger and his bionic forearm. Luger calls himself a knockout artist and beyond perfection but Perfect has been hot at the tables this week. He’s ready to go deal with….the Lexissus? Perfect almost cracks up at his flub and says he’s going to go do it.

Lex Luger vs. Mr. Perfect

Luger has some rather scantily clad women with him and Savage seems interested. JR: “I’ve been to at least a dozen rodeos in Oklahoma and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that.” Heenan: “OF COURSE NOT!” The women hold up the mirrors and we’re officially ready to go. They take their time to start until Perfect hits a nice running knee lift. A shoulder puts Luger down and a running dropkick does it again, meaning it’s time for a breather on the floor.

Back in and Luger slowly hammers away but Perfect takes him down and gets in the Robinsdale Crunch. The leg gets cranked on for a bit but Luger gets up and sends him into the buckle a few times to take over. A backbreaker keeps Perfect down and a cradle with feet on the ropes gets two.

Luger hits a powerslam for two but Perfect’s sunset flip gets the same. Perfect catapults him head first into the buckle and slowly hammers away for two. A not so perfect missile dropkick gives Perfect two and they fight over a backslide, with Perfect’s feet touching the ropes, though the referee doesn’t see it, to give Luger the cheap pin at 10:57.

Rating: C-. Not much to see here, with Perfect being his usual athletic self but Luger was basically in slow motion. The Narcissist stuff never worked and that was on full display again. Perfect was doing his thing and I still really like him as a good guy, but there is only so much you can do with this kind of a situation.

Post match Perfect is furious and Luger knocks him out with the big forearm. This was possibly the long form setup for Perfect screwing Luger over the next year, which is a heck of a story if that is where they were going. Luger leaves so Perfect goes after him, shoving away Shawn Michaels in the process. Michaels jumps Perfect from behind and beats him down, setting up their Summerslam feud.

Heenan laughs about what happened to Perfect, which has Savage on his feet in anger for some reason.

Gorilla Monsoon hypes up the two remaining matches.

Giant Gonzalez vs. Undertaker

Harvey Wippleman and Paul Bearer are here too. If that’s not enough, Undertaker comes to the ring in a funeral chariot with a vulture, because he’s that kind of awesome. They do the big staredown and Undertaker barely comes up to Gonzalez’s nose. Gonzalez shoves him down and chokes away, with Undertaker having to go to the middle rope to choke back. A low blow cuts Undertaker off but he’s right back with Old School.

Gonzalez gets in a beal to send him flying and we hit a standing chinlock. Undertaker finally fights up but gets sent outside so Gonzalez can slowly hammer away. The steps crush Undertaker again but he gets back inside, where a headbutt puts him down again. Undertaker strikes away and goes after Wippleman, who throws in a rag. Gonzalez uses said rag, which is apparently covered in ether, to knock Undertaker out for the DQ at 7:36.

Rating: D-. Oh yeah this was every bit as bad as you could imagine. At the end of the day, Gonzalez could not do anything in the ring to back up his presence. It’s amazing to see someone that size, but it only gets you so far when you can’t do ANYTHING once the bell rings. Throw in a stupid ending to protect Gonzalez and this was an all time terrible Wrestlemania match.

Post match Undertaker is taken out on a stretcher, with Savage implying that undertaker is dead (which….yeah kind of the point). Undertaker leaves so the fans chant for Hogan, which draws Undertaker back out to clear the ring. Cops come out to take Gonzalez away.

We recap Bret Hart defending the WWF Title against Yokozuna, which is all about Yokozuna being a total monster. Yokozuna has crushed a bunch of people with the Banzai Drop, including Hart, who did get up, though that’s not shown here due to reasons. Naturally this means we talk to Hulk Hogan, who has been firing Hart up. You really should be able to see it coming from here. Last night, some people attacked him at the gym but that’s not what matters right now. Hart is a Hulkamaniac but Hogan wants the first shot at either Hart or the (deleted Japanese slur). And that’s that.

Todd Pettingill meets some annoying fans.

WWF Title: Yokozuna vs. Bret Hart

Yokozuna, with Mr. Fuji, is challenging. They stare each other down to start until Hart hits a running dropkick. Some right hands in the corner don’t have much impact and Yokozuna runs him over to the floor without much trouble. Hart gets smart by tripping him down and getting the big leg tied in the ropes. Some right hands and a middle rope elbow have Yokozuna in more trouble but he’s able to get out.

One heck of a clothesline puts Hart down, setting up the big legdrop as the pace slows. A nerve hold has Hart down again but he fights up and gets a boot up in the corner. The middle rope bulldog puts Yokozuna down for two but he’s right back with a superkick. The nerve hold goes on again but Hart avoids a splash. The Sharpshooter actually goes on (and it’s not a bad one either), only for Fuji to throw salt in his eyes. Yokozuna gets the pin and the title at 8:57.

Rating: D+. This is a similar story to the Gonzalez match, but Yokozuna is FAR better than Gonzalez could ever hope to be. That being said, Hart was still limited in what he could do, but some of the ways he was outsmarting Yokozuna did work. It’s far from a terrible match, though it’s certainly not worth a look outside of the title change.

Post match Hulk Hogan is IMMEDIATELY out there to check on Hart, prompting Fuji to issue the challenge for a title shot RIGHT NOW in an all time dumb move. Hart gives Hogan his blessing and yes we’re on.

WWF Title: Hulk Hogan vs. Yokozuna

Hogan is challenging and gets jumped at the start, so Fuji throws more salt, only to hit Yokozuna. The freedom loving referee is fine with this, allowing Hogan to hit a clothesline and drop the leg to win the title at 22 seconds.

Hogan celebrates to end the show as Heenan is losing his mind.

Overall Rating: D+. Yeah this show deserves a lot of its reputation. There are all kinds of issues here, and one that doesn’t get addressed enough is the Roman Coliseum deal. It feels like some goofy fun idea and that doesn’t mesh with the biggest show of the year. Do this for something like Summerslam, but don’t try to make Wrestlemania into a themed show.

That’s on top of ALL the other problems, including some pretty dreadful matches and almost nothing that feels Wrestlemania worthy. Hogan coming in to steal the title and make Hart the afterthought of afterthoughts didn’t help either. This show somehow lives down to its terrible reputation and even the awesomeness that is the Steiners vs. the Headshrinkers (easily the match of the night) can’t bring it up to even ok.

Ratings Comparison

Tatanka vs. Shawn Michaels

Original: B+
2013 Redo: B
2015 Redo: B
2025 Redo: B-

Steiner Brothers vs. Headshrinkers

Original: B+
2013 Redo: B
2015 Redo: A-
2025 Redo: B

Doink the Clown vs. Crush

Original: D
2013 Redo: D+
2015 Redo: D
2025 Redo: C

Razor Ramon vs. Bob Backlund

Original: C-
2013 Redo: D
2015 Redo: D
2025 Redo: C-

Money Inc. vs. Mega Maniacs

Original: C+
2013 Redo: D+
2015 Redo: D
2025 Redo: D+

Lex Luger vs. Mr. Perfect

Original: C-
2013 Redo: C
2015 Redo: D+
2025 Redo: C-

Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzalez

Original: F+
2013 Redo: D-
2015 Redo: F
2025 Redo: D-

Yokozuna vs. Bret Hart

Original: D+
2013 Redo: D+
2015 Redo: D+
2025 Redo: D+

Yokozuna vs. Hulk Hogan

Original: N/A
2013 Redo: N/A
2015 Redo: N/A
2025 Redo: N/A

Overall Rating

Original: F+
2013 Redo: D
2015 Redo: D
2025 Redo: D+

It’s interesting that Hart vs. Yokozuna has been the same for all four versions but the show just is not very good.

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