Nadeem Ahmad
Pre-Show Stalwart
For the first time in nineteen ninety-seven "WWF Monday Night Raw" became a program of two hours on television. This episode was live from across the border by New York so it was different to say the least. Some international flavors were definitely tasted as Bret Hart and Owen Hart were welcomed in the home country for them although that was like saying Shawn Michaels wrestled with pride at Wrestlemania Twenty-four because it was held in the United States of America. Although the Sky Dome was a huge arena it was nowhere filled to capacity as it felt at Wrestlemania Six and Wrestlemania Eighteen. Maybe ratings for the company as a whole were not too great or WWF Monday Night Raw possibly was not good enough to be sold out in a great arena like this place because about twenty-five thousand fans filled it up which was still an impressive sight to see among the big rafters and large open spaces to truly show the magnitude of size near the stadium. I was posting with installments again because of the upcoming snow and the case of an outage for power so more detailed results would probably be edited in afterwards.
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Program: WWF Monday Night Raw
Date: February third nineteen ninety-seven also known as February 3, 1997
Building: Sky Dome
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and "Doc" Hendrix
Views of the international city were shown as fans packed the indoors to get tickets and anticipated the event to start. For some reason the cameras were filming from the other side than they usually were stationed at. Prior to the live feed a clip showing the attenders of Royal Rumble was aired, who nearly doubled the number of people in attendance on that night of this show. It was strange to think that location of two parts of Wrestlemania could not have been maximized for the program yet more people showed up in the arena closer to Mexico. Well San Antonio was growing to be one of the ten largest cities in the United States anyway so that explanation was probably true.
Match One: Vader versus "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
Vader brought the slow dragged body in the ring while letting Paul Bearer follow him up to it. Some decent amounts of people were cheering for him surprisingly as he had been boring to some people on more recent episodes leading up to here. Steve Austin came out to a big pop and did the famous strut of holding both fists hanging by the thighs before raising them up. As he got in the ring he started talking and verbally trashing Vader to his face but Bret Hart ran in and jumped on top of him to get him laying and punched a lot swiftly. They were separated and Vader began to hit him too like the buffoon he resembled.
After the bell rang Vader "clotheslined" Steve Austin. Vader did a "standing clothesline" and a "scoop slam". Vader did another "scoop slam" and a "big splash" on Austin who was laid down and I remembered that klunderblunker thought a wrestler who used a splash which was not a finishing manuever probably was not very good. Okay well he more likely thought a fighter who used it as a finishing manuever not off of the ropes nor turnbuckles might not be great but this situation was similar as I just did not consider Vader to be nice. Look. I get he was agile. He was extremely athletic for the size he measured in. The problem was for comparisons. Undertaker could both outwrestle and outcompete Vader as well as do more aerial manuevers and athletic techniques. Kane even would frequently jump off of top cables and fight with ladders to use them at heights. Vader simply was not the most unique nor fit character out there. Hey even John Cena, a man of nearly half the weight could come close to "deadlift" over seven hundred pounds as he demonstrated at the twenty-fifth anniversary of Wrestlemania.
What did these rants have to do with the match? I related how Vader was good but not great. He was obviously somewhat strong but that strength was to be expected with a human being weighing four hundred twenty-three pounds allegedly. A nice moonsault was pretty much what could be given to the credit of him as I could give and realize it was hard enough for a normal man to perform and even more difficult of Vader to pull off. Other than that "Vader Sault", I failed to see what impression of him was so apparently noteworthy of this guy. He even injured Mick Foley in World Championship Wrestling, knocking off a chunk of the ear in reality, not kayfabe. I knew I did not become the only person to view Vader as a liability.
Also, he cheaply punched too much instead of using chops like a sane person might resort to. Hardcore Holly, Buh Buh Ray Dudley, Vader and Bradshaw were some of the stiffest workers in the World Wrestling Federation that I knew of and probably could have caused or been partly responsible for some concussions or damage to the brain. If anyone looked how how hardly Vader would hit people on the head they may have known what I was typing about. Anyway Vader had hit with the "big splash" but missed with a "sitdown splash". Steve Austin did an impressive "scoop slam" and a "double diving elbow drop" from the second turnbuckle near the ramp away from the commentators and away from the filmmakers. I did not come to be aware of who won as Austin just casually walked back away from the "squared circle" possibly to a "count-out", a "disqualification", a "double disqualification" or "no contest".
After editing this post I remembered that Steve Austin had stunned the referee for hardly any reason and was disqualified. It seemed like a cheap way to end a match as Vader was being far more cowardly and aggressive when cheating yet they did not bother getting in the way of him to try breaking up the action. When Steve Austin did it they were quick to stop him and he retaliated although it might have been wise to control that rage.
Rating: "F "
They barely wrestled as it was more about Bret Hart assaulting Steve Austin and further brewing animosity between the characters. Vader and Austin set up for the match at "WWF In Your House: Final Four" by meeting here and getting aquainted with each other. The action was typical of this era as it was featuring too much brawling, barely any technical skills and a lot of cheating as I shook the head against these types of false morals. It was not even about flashes since Steve Austin was more than capable of putting on a display of techniques and wrestling on the mat but rather had to keep the big man sluggish, weak and down to believably beat him. For somebody who loved this sort of crap it might have been an "A". I personally felt like it did not deliver quality skills on the mat which were up to par of those seen in preceding years. Any teenager of this time seeing it more than likely would have enjoyed it.
Match Two: Flash Funk versus Savio Vega
Flash Funk who was also known as "2 Cold Scorpio" during later years danced slowly to slow funk and was escorted by lovely dark skinned African American women. As Savio Vega brought the majority of an entire nation with him and no pun was intended, Jim Ross walked behind him, trying to keep up as he tried to get an answer as to why Savio had somehow turned his back on the fans by joining the Nation of Domination. Vega replied with a Hispanic accent by basically slamming the followers with words, saying he did not care what anybody thought of him. He looked more Italian than Puerto Rican to me. Sunglasses were on him too as the ultraviolet rays in Canada may have been too harming to handle up there in winter. I loved that place anyway. Free healthy care was good.
Squeezing into seat by the commentators around the start of the match was Michael Hayes who was known as "Doc Hendrix" here to join for commentary. Savio Vega ran into the turnbuckles away from the commentators, away from the filmmakers, but on the other side of ring across the ramp and Flash Funk dropped him with a "sunset flip" from the third rope over those pads. Savio Vega did an "arm drag" and a "sidewalk slam". Flash Funk did a "back drop", an "arm drag" and then a whirling "splash" from the third turnbuckle by ramp away from the commentators near the filmers after an attempted "roundhouse kick" went through the motions up until the kick which became folded backwards to make it a knee instead. I thought of a name like "roundhouse knee" but it did not sound proper enough. The knee and the splash were nice ways to innovate by already getting the opponent down with the drop and drag before doing them.
Flash Funk did a "three hundred sixty degrees leg drop" onto the laying Vega and the referee did a "two count". He rotated three hundred sixty degrees forward with the body so he kept going forward and did a flip instead of a "swanton bomb" to lay on the back with and dropped the leg like Hulk Hogan would do but this fell after the manuever like a somersault. Flash Funk did a half whirling "splash" from the third turnbuckle by the ramp and filmers outside the ring onto the person who portrayed D'Lo Brown in future episodes. At some point Jim Ross mentioned that an interview with Sycho Sid was coming. Flash Funk missed with a "springboard moonsault" from the third turnbuckle by the ramp closer to the filmers to be pinned by Savio Vega.
Rating: "C + "
Cheating plentied with being too opportune was working against the aggressor in Funk. There really was no solid reason for hitting the probable accountant in the tuxedo during the match. D'Lo Brown was a certified public accountant or a "C.P.A." when not wrestling in nineteen ninety-nine so I was referring to him. The Nation of Domination actually did not interfere too much while the action took place if at all so they had toned it down for a while but Savio did nicely without help from the members and this bout featured nice skills in the air and on the ring. It might have been rated with a "B " but like I mentioned in another review, I did not appreciate shots to the head nor attacks with closed fists too much and I also thought hits with elbows were bad so I took off points. Nice wrestling was displayed though so it was not too foolish comparably.
Jim Ross introduced the former World Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Champion, Sycho Sid. Sid used awesome music. It sounded like a cross between a screeching freight train coming to a halt on broken tracks of a railroad mixed with a boiling kettle of a teapot. Yeah I knew that was a weird combination but it sounded great and I wondered if it was featuring on "WWF ... Metal" or whatever that album was called. The man from Arkansas met with the old commentator from Oklahoma for a reunion of the southerners in Canada of most places. "J.R." was in the ring with a microphone to get the thoughts of Sid about the newer champion at the time whom was none other than Michael "Shawn" Hickenbottom. Sid Eugy acknowledged that Shawn admitted to a strange relationship between them. Eugy mentioned that evil had shown up at the "Royal RUMBLE" in that crazily intense but cool voice, shouting "rumble" nicely. This was happenning because he related the best concepts coming out of the championship to evil things that had come as a result of it. To reiterate, he said that line after saying that for him evil came at Survivor Series and for Shawn evil showed up at the Royal Rumble. He knew Shawn was the champion but Sid claimed continuing to be the man, the master and the ruler ... of the world.
Match Three: Tag Team Championship: Doug Furnas and Philip Lafon versus British Bulldog and Owen Hart
The Europeans came out together to some music and the Tag Team Champions were next to enter with the music of British Bulldog. British Bulldog "clotheslined" Philip Lafon. British Bulldog tagged in Owen Hart. Owen reversed a "hammerlock". Philip Lafon tagged in Doug Furnas. Doug Furnas did a "hip toss". Owen Hart tagged in British Bulldog. Doug Furnas did a "hip toss" on British Bulldog. Owen Hart got the blind tag and caught Furnas with a "spinning heel kick". British Bulldog tagged in but Furnas did a "sunset flip" to get the referee to do a "two count" after Owen tagged in. British Bulldog tagged in and out for some kicks. Furnas did an "electric chair drop". Furnas did a "small package" on a legal Bulldog for a "two count". Owen Hart tagged to do a "swinging neckbreaker".
After the commercials British Bulldog tagged for a "double clothesline" with Owen and a "one count". Furnas caught Bulldog with a "belly to belly suplex" and then tagged out after Owen tagged in. Lafon did a "snap suplex" and a "tornado DDT" but Owen supposedly put a foot on the rope when being pinned with a "small package". It was close to call and the some members of the audience thought the title changed. This confusion caused them to be less wary of Bulldog and Owen as the champions basically took over and one of them pinned to keep the belts.
That result was almost correct. Instead of pinning to retain the championships Owen was counted out. Owen Hart had hurt the leg because British Bulldog lifted him over to toss him above the ropes opposite the filming cameras to drop him outside the mat of the ring. Apparently he mistook him for either Philip or Doug as Lafon whipped Hart towards Smith who was standing by the ropes on the side away from the filmmakers although I could not understand how he made the mistake because even the peripheral vision theoretically might have been enough to let him know otherwise. There was no announced decision made though so I was to assume the "countout". Another cheap outcome was the result but the match was developed well.
Rating: "C "
The wrestling was pretty nice from the four foreigners but cheating occurred enough to distract from the main attractions. At one point Bulldog turned the back to Owen when posing both biceps from the apron for the crowd to see. That just showed how much the character cared about the championship as he became visibly upset when the opponent knocked him off using Owen, somehow blaming it on the "brother-in-law". Even though Owen had done it, Bulldog divided attention from the match for the accident he did not view. Furthermore, it was downright silly for him to throw the relative that quickly without seeing who was running at him.
Match Four: Goldust versus Crush
Goldust came out with the blonde wig he usually wore and touched the slippery outfit before Crush was accompanied by the unadministering members of the Nation of Domination, meaning the wrestlers who were not the boss like Ron Simmons was. Goldust did two "hammerlocks" and a "clothesline" then knocked Crush over the third rope by the filmers. Goldust did a "drop toe hold" back in the ring followed by two "arm locks" and an "armdrag takedown". Goldust did an "armlock" on the floor inside the ring and an "armdrag". Crush could not keep Goldust down with a "leg drop" and a "two count" before a "belly to belly suplex" and another "two count". Crush did not connect with the "falling fist" from the third turnbuckle near the commentators away from the filmers and Goldust reversed the "piledriver" with a "back drop" before knocking Crush with a "clothesline" and a "bulldog". That meant he tried to do a "piledriver" but somehow Goldust countered and then did a "back drop". It was a good but basic counter.
The Nation obviously had to get involved so another interference resulted in a disqualification. Was that correct? I honestly did not remember the ending to this match as it was just getting to be good so maybe I would go back and check. Well I was almost right. Savio Vega ran in to do a "spinning heel kick" but the referee probably tried doing something, not to see it. He basically got a cheap shot in as the official was distracted and Crush connected with the "Heart Punch" to end it.
Rating: "C "
Neither of these guys were restraining from going outside the ring, from using closed fists nor from other various things considered to be violations of a regular match such as using the barricade for hitting. Anyway they put up a decent fight with Goldust showing some skills on the mat. It was too bad for Savio Vega as he had to come in and help Crush win the match, letting him seem dependent on him at the time. There was hardly any reason as to why the members of the Nation could not get too over and this bout was a prime example of that fact. The trademark "belly to belly suplex" of Crush was rightly done though and brought the scale up a factor.
Vince McMahon was in the ring rocking the cool navy blue suit with the logo of "WWF" on it to introduce the World Wrestling Federation Champion, who was the one and only "SHAWWWWWN MICHAELS"! He was dressed in "ring attire" but I was not sure if he had wrestled during a dark match for the show or for an untelevised match of the night or if he simply had been feeling the mood to rock it. He addressed the comments made by Sid earler in the night, metaphorically saying he found him to be symbollically a few cards short of a full deck but that if being bad was what it took to become the champion then he would be the worst guy the WWF had ever seen. He acknowledged the bipartisan crowd mentioned by Vince. Basically he thought it was okay because he knew people in San Antonio so he thought the "Hitman" would use the share of fans in Canada. Bret Hart came out to interrupt though and said Shawn was more like Dennis Rodman maybe, instead of Muhammad Ali.
He also brought up before that insinuation that the more he tried, the harder it was for him to like Shawn. I wondered what he was on. I read once that he supposedly admitted to stopping using cocaine in nineteen eigthy-eight but it was text from somewhere on the website of "Wrestlezone" so it might not have been true. I personally was "straight-edge" and hoped to remain so even after I would die. If C.M. Punk was right, that idea of being "straight-edge" meant I did not use intoxicating drugs. Anyway he called Shawn a "degenerate" and a derogatory reference to a stubborn type of animal with four legs. I once was told that Bret Hart started the idea for D-Generation X, saying "we are the 'degenerates'" or something close to it. Maybe this promo was a part of that reference. Steve Austin ran in to start fighting Bret after Shawn put the belt on the floor so he could get ready to defend himself.
Sid also joined the group, ending the moment for the trio as he tried getting involved for some reason unknown to me. Brawls personally were bad for happenning at most times according to me and this segment was indicative of the era for amplified attitude that was ready to later enter the World Wrestling Federation. Officials and probably a referee, although I was not sure who it was, tried stopping Sid and holding him back as he and Austin left. Bret Hart came back in the ring filled with official administrators of security, meaning they might have been referees. He frankly snatched the belt from the hand of Shawn, likely claiming to be the real champion earlier before that taking and then gestured to give it back to him with the right hand while he stepped forward with the right foot, falsely giving that impression but then let go of it by removing the hand underneath due to pulling it back, dropping the gold on the leather to the mat. He left from persuasion of those officials, leaving Shawn to retake it and to put it over the right shoulder although he did so with the gold facing the body and not the crowd so he inverted it after realizing that position, putting it on the same shoulder but having it face the other way for the audience to see the shinier parts.
Match Five: Intercontinental Championship: "Wildman" Marc Mero versus Hunter Hearst Helmsley
Three athletic "arm drags" and a "dropkick" by Marc Mero started off the match. A "back body drop" led to pushing Helmsley out of the ring but after pushing him, Mero met the knees of Helmsley laying to counter the splash of Mero. Helmsley dropped Marc Mero with a "delayed standing vertical suplex" and posed with a "kurtsey" or whatever it was called. Mero kicked out by the count of two slaps of the mat after Helmsley dropped a knee to the head of him.
After the commercials Mero did a "hurricanrana" and a "knee" to the midsection. Mero "outwrestled" Helmsley to "Irish Whip" him over the turnbuckle by the ramp and by the filmers, sending him over the ring and catching him there with a "somersault plancha" over the third rope by the commentators. He slammed the head of Helmsley onto the steel steps by the ramp and by the filmmakers and then got an opportunity to do an amazing "hurricanrana" on Helmsley by placing him on the turnbuckle by the commentators and by the filmers and by leaping from the third turnbuckle in that spot. Helmsley countered a charging Mero with a "tilt-a-whirl" into a "backbreaker" which was similar to what the late Andrew Martin would do in following years except that wrestler known as Test would do the "tilt-a-whirl" into a "powerslam" with much more speed and strength. The steroids may have been the explanation for the sheer brawn and exertions he demonstrated before the death caused him to leave this world at the age of only thirty-three years if the article somewhere on "Wrestlezone" or some similar website was correct.
Mero got Helmsley down with a "Samoan drop" and brought him back to lay down with a "whirling springboard" from the top turnbuckle near the ramp by the filming crew onto the ropes by the ramp for a "Mero Sault" off of it on a standing Helmsley. I really could not think of the technically correct term for it. I was hesitant to refer to it as the "corkscrew springboard" but he did not spin more than three hundred sixty degrees so I mentioned it as the "whirling springboard". He basically was facing Helmsley with the back to the outside of the ring while standing on the turnbuckle and then jumped to the right side on the rope by turning around while in the air so that he leaped from that turnbuckle to the same adjacent ropes on the spot approximately east of the right shoulder except he went forward slightly and then turned around halfway before landing on the cable, letting him look like he was jumping over the rope after turning around instead of on it. The "springboard" was described to enunciate how he pushed the weight under the boots to lower the rope enough before doing a "moonsault" off of it. Just as the match was becoming more interesting Helmsley pulled out metal knuckles which maybe were brass and put them on the fist to knock Mero down with a punch when the referee was apparently not directly looking before realizing the count of three slaps to the mat.
Rating: "C -"
Without the cheating this match may have been rated with an "Aey minus" or an "A -". To me cheating included shots to the head, striking with closed fists, choking, using foreign objects and various other factors. I just took off grades for those instances. However it was a well balanced fight with individuals trying to take control, the pace was nice and psychology was used with Mero going to the air frequently and with Helmsley trying to wear him down by keeping him grounded. It was a shame he needed to resort using a weapon to win as the Intercontinental Championship was usually not as hardcore as the matches for the World Wrestling Federation Championship were. They often displayed greater skills of technical wrestling than the bouts for the belt of heavyweights showed. It was the case here blinded by idiocy and a lot of punching.
Match Six: No Holds Barred Tag Team Match: Faarooq and Mankind versus Ahmed Johnson and Undertaker
Vince was determined that this match was going to happen. Faarooq brought out the Nation of Domination with him as Mankind came out to the same music with him. Ahmed Johnson was the next entering combatant to step in the arena before Undertaker arrived with the usual dark entrance. Undertaker and Mankind brawled by the side of the ramp where the fans were and Undertaker smacked the head of Mankind into the barrier a few times while Faarooq and Ahmed Johnson were fighting in the ring. Ahmed Johnson did a "spinebuster" on Faarooq with authority and threw him overhead off the third turnbuckle by the commentators away from the cameras. Undertaker broke the "headlock" of Faarooq and "clotheslined" him before going to the "Old School" from the ropes by the filmers.
After the commercials Mankind countered the "Old School" of Undertaker from the ropes opposite the filmmakers into a "Mandible Claw". Ahmed Johnson used the finisher on Mankind and Faarooq got Ahmed with "The Dominator" on him. The finisher of Ahmed Johnson at the time was the "Pearl River Plunge" which was like a "double underhook powerbomb". Undertaker broke the count. Vader hit Mankind with a steel chair because Undertaker ducked out of the way and Vader smacked Undertaker with it on the back but Undertaker acted as if he was not affected by suddenly standing straight. Vader and Mankind had been teaming together due to the management of Paul Bearer. He pushed Vader out of the ring and dropped Mankind with a "Tombstone Piledriver" on the folded steel chair above the mat to pin him.
Rating: "B -"
I thought the dropping of Mankind "headfirst" onto a steel chair in the ring was a little too hardcore. However this match reminded me a lot of the style that Extreme Championsihp Wrestling was using around that period in a way which was not entirely bad. Blood was not shown so I was somewhat pleased about that fact. Also, the Nation of Domination barely interfered if at all. After a second thought I could not remember whether they were even at "ringside" during the match because I was typing this review after a while since watching the program. I was posting with installments so this bout was the last physical contest of the night as far as matches were concerned and I really did not even remember if the members even accompanied Faarooq to the ring but if they were there then maybe Ahmed Johnson smacked the rappers around a bit. Still the wrestling was decent too for a match in which no holds were barred. Mankind also was bumping into the steel steps like a crazy person and might have hurt the shoulders or the back a lot because of such bumps. I was not mentioning those points to seem happy about the pain but felt it proved him to be a really tough individual to the audiences who had not seen the stuff he did in Japan nor in "ECW".
Rating: "C "
When seeing the show it felt somewhere in the middle of a long program on the road to Wrestlemania Thirteen. The matches involved a lot of cheating for the standards that I used. They really were not badly fought but the interferences and uses of weapons brought the factors down a bit. When Undertaker planted Mankind on the chair it seemed to be more due to a perceived notion that he could not keep him down due to the history of how resilient he was rather than desperation. Also the Intercontinental Championship was the first time the belt had been defended on this show during that year and was done so expertly. The bad part of it was how Helmsley resorted to using metal knuckles similarly to the method that Regal had applied later on in the next decade after this show. However it was a concern for people who thought the belt had lost prestige as the two individuals in the contest were impressively showcased. Also the opening bout was just a pity as Vader was basically being misused at this point and Steve Austin actually stunned the referee for hardly any apparent reason to cheapen the first match which had really energized the crowd at the beginning of the program.
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Program: WWF Monday Night Raw
Date: February third nineteen ninety-seven also known as February 3, 1997
Building: Sky Dome
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and "Doc" Hendrix
Views of the international city were shown as fans packed the indoors to get tickets and anticipated the event to start. For some reason the cameras were filming from the other side than they usually were stationed at. Prior to the live feed a clip showing the attenders of Royal Rumble was aired, who nearly doubled the number of people in attendance on that night of this show. It was strange to think that location of two parts of Wrestlemania could not have been maximized for the program yet more people showed up in the arena closer to Mexico. Well San Antonio was growing to be one of the ten largest cities in the United States anyway so that explanation was probably true.
Match One: Vader versus "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
Vader brought the slow dragged body in the ring while letting Paul Bearer follow him up to it. Some decent amounts of people were cheering for him surprisingly as he had been boring to some people on more recent episodes leading up to here. Steve Austin came out to a big pop and did the famous strut of holding both fists hanging by the thighs before raising them up. As he got in the ring he started talking and verbally trashing Vader to his face but Bret Hart ran in and jumped on top of him to get him laying and punched a lot swiftly. They were separated and Vader began to hit him too like the buffoon he resembled.
After the bell rang Vader "clotheslined" Steve Austin. Vader did a "standing clothesline" and a "scoop slam". Vader did another "scoop slam" and a "big splash" on Austin who was laid down and I remembered that klunderblunker thought a wrestler who used a splash which was not a finishing manuever probably was not very good. Okay well he more likely thought a fighter who used it as a finishing manuever not off of the ropes nor turnbuckles might not be great but this situation was similar as I just did not consider Vader to be nice. Look. I get he was agile. He was extremely athletic for the size he measured in. The problem was for comparisons. Undertaker could both outwrestle and outcompete Vader as well as do more aerial manuevers and athletic techniques. Kane even would frequently jump off of top cables and fight with ladders to use them at heights. Vader simply was not the most unique nor fit character out there. Hey even John Cena, a man of nearly half the weight could come close to "deadlift" over seven hundred pounds as he demonstrated at the twenty-fifth anniversary of Wrestlemania.
What did these rants have to do with the match? I related how Vader was good but not great. He was obviously somewhat strong but that strength was to be expected with a human being weighing four hundred twenty-three pounds allegedly. A nice moonsault was pretty much what could be given to the credit of him as I could give and realize it was hard enough for a normal man to perform and even more difficult of Vader to pull off. Other than that "Vader Sault", I failed to see what impression of him was so apparently noteworthy of this guy. He even injured Mick Foley in World Championship Wrestling, knocking off a chunk of the ear in reality, not kayfabe. I knew I did not become the only person to view Vader as a liability.
Also, he cheaply punched too much instead of using chops like a sane person might resort to. Hardcore Holly, Buh Buh Ray Dudley, Vader and Bradshaw were some of the stiffest workers in the World Wrestling Federation that I knew of and probably could have caused or been partly responsible for some concussions or damage to the brain. If anyone looked how how hardly Vader would hit people on the head they may have known what I was typing about. Anyway Vader had hit with the "big splash" but missed with a "sitdown splash". Steve Austin did an impressive "scoop slam" and a "double diving elbow drop" from the second turnbuckle near the ramp away from the commentators and away from the filmmakers. I did not come to be aware of who won as Austin just casually walked back away from the "squared circle" possibly to a "count-out", a "disqualification", a "double disqualification" or "no contest".
After editing this post I remembered that Steve Austin had stunned the referee for hardly any reason and was disqualified. It seemed like a cheap way to end a match as Vader was being far more cowardly and aggressive when cheating yet they did not bother getting in the way of him to try breaking up the action. When Steve Austin did it they were quick to stop him and he retaliated although it might have been wise to control that rage.
Rating: "F "
They barely wrestled as it was more about Bret Hart assaulting Steve Austin and further brewing animosity between the characters. Vader and Austin set up for the match at "WWF In Your House: Final Four" by meeting here and getting aquainted with each other. The action was typical of this era as it was featuring too much brawling, barely any technical skills and a lot of cheating as I shook the head against these types of false morals. It was not even about flashes since Steve Austin was more than capable of putting on a display of techniques and wrestling on the mat but rather had to keep the big man sluggish, weak and down to believably beat him. For somebody who loved this sort of crap it might have been an "A". I personally felt like it did not deliver quality skills on the mat which were up to par of those seen in preceding years. Any teenager of this time seeing it more than likely would have enjoyed it.
Match Two: Flash Funk versus Savio Vega
Flash Funk who was also known as "2 Cold Scorpio" during later years danced slowly to slow funk and was escorted by lovely dark skinned African American women. As Savio Vega brought the majority of an entire nation with him and no pun was intended, Jim Ross walked behind him, trying to keep up as he tried to get an answer as to why Savio had somehow turned his back on the fans by joining the Nation of Domination. Vega replied with a Hispanic accent by basically slamming the followers with words, saying he did not care what anybody thought of him. He looked more Italian than Puerto Rican to me. Sunglasses were on him too as the ultraviolet rays in Canada may have been too harming to handle up there in winter. I loved that place anyway. Free healthy care was good.
Squeezing into seat by the commentators around the start of the match was Michael Hayes who was known as "Doc Hendrix" here to join for commentary. Savio Vega ran into the turnbuckles away from the commentators, away from the filmmakers, but on the other side of ring across the ramp and Flash Funk dropped him with a "sunset flip" from the third rope over those pads. Savio Vega did an "arm drag" and a "sidewalk slam". Flash Funk did a "back drop", an "arm drag" and then a whirling "splash" from the third turnbuckle by ramp away from the commentators near the filmers after an attempted "roundhouse kick" went through the motions up until the kick which became folded backwards to make it a knee instead. I thought of a name like "roundhouse knee" but it did not sound proper enough. The knee and the splash were nice ways to innovate by already getting the opponent down with the drop and drag before doing them.
Flash Funk did a "three hundred sixty degrees leg drop" onto the laying Vega and the referee did a "two count". He rotated three hundred sixty degrees forward with the body so he kept going forward and did a flip instead of a "swanton bomb" to lay on the back with and dropped the leg like Hulk Hogan would do but this fell after the manuever like a somersault. Flash Funk did a half whirling "splash" from the third turnbuckle by the ramp and filmers outside the ring onto the person who portrayed D'Lo Brown in future episodes. At some point Jim Ross mentioned that an interview with Sycho Sid was coming. Flash Funk missed with a "springboard moonsault" from the third turnbuckle by the ramp closer to the filmers to be pinned by Savio Vega.
Rating: "C + "
Cheating plentied with being too opportune was working against the aggressor in Funk. There really was no solid reason for hitting the probable accountant in the tuxedo during the match. D'Lo Brown was a certified public accountant or a "C.P.A." when not wrestling in nineteen ninety-nine so I was referring to him. The Nation of Domination actually did not interfere too much while the action took place if at all so they had toned it down for a while but Savio did nicely without help from the members and this bout featured nice skills in the air and on the ring. It might have been rated with a "B " but like I mentioned in another review, I did not appreciate shots to the head nor attacks with closed fists too much and I also thought hits with elbows were bad so I took off points. Nice wrestling was displayed though so it was not too foolish comparably.
Jim Ross introduced the former World Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Champion, Sycho Sid. Sid used awesome music. It sounded like a cross between a screeching freight train coming to a halt on broken tracks of a railroad mixed with a boiling kettle of a teapot. Yeah I knew that was a weird combination but it sounded great and I wondered if it was featuring on "WWF ... Metal" or whatever that album was called. The man from Arkansas met with the old commentator from Oklahoma for a reunion of the southerners in Canada of most places. "J.R." was in the ring with a microphone to get the thoughts of Sid about the newer champion at the time whom was none other than Michael "Shawn" Hickenbottom. Sid Eugy acknowledged that Shawn admitted to a strange relationship between them. Eugy mentioned that evil had shown up at the "Royal RUMBLE" in that crazily intense but cool voice, shouting "rumble" nicely. This was happenning because he related the best concepts coming out of the championship to evil things that had come as a result of it. To reiterate, he said that line after saying that for him evil came at Survivor Series and for Shawn evil showed up at the Royal Rumble. He knew Shawn was the champion but Sid claimed continuing to be the man, the master and the ruler ... of the world.
Match Three: Tag Team Championship: Doug Furnas and Philip Lafon versus British Bulldog and Owen Hart
The Europeans came out together to some music and the Tag Team Champions were next to enter with the music of British Bulldog. British Bulldog "clotheslined" Philip Lafon. British Bulldog tagged in Owen Hart. Owen reversed a "hammerlock". Philip Lafon tagged in Doug Furnas. Doug Furnas did a "hip toss". Owen Hart tagged in British Bulldog. Doug Furnas did a "hip toss" on British Bulldog. Owen Hart got the blind tag and caught Furnas with a "spinning heel kick". British Bulldog tagged in but Furnas did a "sunset flip" to get the referee to do a "two count" after Owen tagged in. British Bulldog tagged in and out for some kicks. Furnas did an "electric chair drop". Furnas did a "small package" on a legal Bulldog for a "two count". Owen Hart tagged to do a "swinging neckbreaker".
After the commercials British Bulldog tagged for a "double clothesline" with Owen and a "one count". Furnas caught Bulldog with a "belly to belly suplex" and then tagged out after Owen tagged in. Lafon did a "snap suplex" and a "tornado DDT" but Owen supposedly put a foot on the rope when being pinned with a "small package". It was close to call and the some members of the audience thought the title changed. This confusion caused them to be less wary of Bulldog and Owen as the champions basically took over and one of them pinned to keep the belts.
That result was almost correct. Instead of pinning to retain the championships Owen was counted out. Owen Hart had hurt the leg because British Bulldog lifted him over to toss him above the ropes opposite the filming cameras to drop him outside the mat of the ring. Apparently he mistook him for either Philip or Doug as Lafon whipped Hart towards Smith who was standing by the ropes on the side away from the filmmakers although I could not understand how he made the mistake because even the peripheral vision theoretically might have been enough to let him know otherwise. There was no announced decision made though so I was to assume the "countout". Another cheap outcome was the result but the match was developed well.
Rating: "C "
The wrestling was pretty nice from the four foreigners but cheating occurred enough to distract from the main attractions. At one point Bulldog turned the back to Owen when posing both biceps from the apron for the crowd to see. That just showed how much the character cared about the championship as he became visibly upset when the opponent knocked him off using Owen, somehow blaming it on the "brother-in-law". Even though Owen had done it, Bulldog divided attention from the match for the accident he did not view. Furthermore, it was downright silly for him to throw the relative that quickly without seeing who was running at him.
Match Four: Goldust versus Crush
Goldust came out with the blonde wig he usually wore and touched the slippery outfit before Crush was accompanied by the unadministering members of the Nation of Domination, meaning the wrestlers who were not the boss like Ron Simmons was. Goldust did two "hammerlocks" and a "clothesline" then knocked Crush over the third rope by the filmers. Goldust did a "drop toe hold" back in the ring followed by two "arm locks" and an "armdrag takedown". Goldust did an "armlock" on the floor inside the ring and an "armdrag". Crush could not keep Goldust down with a "leg drop" and a "two count" before a "belly to belly suplex" and another "two count". Crush did not connect with the "falling fist" from the third turnbuckle near the commentators away from the filmers and Goldust reversed the "piledriver" with a "back drop" before knocking Crush with a "clothesline" and a "bulldog". That meant he tried to do a "piledriver" but somehow Goldust countered and then did a "back drop". It was a good but basic counter.
The Nation obviously had to get involved so another interference resulted in a disqualification. Was that correct? I honestly did not remember the ending to this match as it was just getting to be good so maybe I would go back and check. Well I was almost right. Savio Vega ran in to do a "spinning heel kick" but the referee probably tried doing something, not to see it. He basically got a cheap shot in as the official was distracted and Crush connected with the "Heart Punch" to end it.
Rating: "C "
Neither of these guys were restraining from going outside the ring, from using closed fists nor from other various things considered to be violations of a regular match such as using the barricade for hitting. Anyway they put up a decent fight with Goldust showing some skills on the mat. It was too bad for Savio Vega as he had to come in and help Crush win the match, letting him seem dependent on him at the time. There was hardly any reason as to why the members of the Nation could not get too over and this bout was a prime example of that fact. The trademark "belly to belly suplex" of Crush was rightly done though and brought the scale up a factor.
Vince McMahon was in the ring rocking the cool navy blue suit with the logo of "WWF" on it to introduce the World Wrestling Federation Champion, who was the one and only "SHAWWWWWN MICHAELS"! He was dressed in "ring attire" but I was not sure if he had wrestled during a dark match for the show or for an untelevised match of the night or if he simply had been feeling the mood to rock it. He addressed the comments made by Sid earler in the night, metaphorically saying he found him to be symbollically a few cards short of a full deck but that if being bad was what it took to become the champion then he would be the worst guy the WWF had ever seen. He acknowledged the bipartisan crowd mentioned by Vince. Basically he thought it was okay because he knew people in San Antonio so he thought the "Hitman" would use the share of fans in Canada. Bret Hart came out to interrupt though and said Shawn was more like Dennis Rodman maybe, instead of Muhammad Ali.
He also brought up before that insinuation that the more he tried, the harder it was for him to like Shawn. I wondered what he was on. I read once that he supposedly admitted to stopping using cocaine in nineteen eigthy-eight but it was text from somewhere on the website of "Wrestlezone" so it might not have been true. I personally was "straight-edge" and hoped to remain so even after I would die. If C.M. Punk was right, that idea of being "straight-edge" meant I did not use intoxicating drugs. Anyway he called Shawn a "degenerate" and a derogatory reference to a stubborn type of animal with four legs. I once was told that Bret Hart started the idea for D-Generation X, saying "we are the 'degenerates'" or something close to it. Maybe this promo was a part of that reference. Steve Austin ran in to start fighting Bret after Shawn put the belt on the floor so he could get ready to defend himself.
Sid also joined the group, ending the moment for the trio as he tried getting involved for some reason unknown to me. Brawls personally were bad for happenning at most times according to me and this segment was indicative of the era for amplified attitude that was ready to later enter the World Wrestling Federation. Officials and probably a referee, although I was not sure who it was, tried stopping Sid and holding him back as he and Austin left. Bret Hart came back in the ring filled with official administrators of security, meaning they might have been referees. He frankly snatched the belt from the hand of Shawn, likely claiming to be the real champion earlier before that taking and then gestured to give it back to him with the right hand while he stepped forward with the right foot, falsely giving that impression but then let go of it by removing the hand underneath due to pulling it back, dropping the gold on the leather to the mat. He left from persuasion of those officials, leaving Shawn to retake it and to put it over the right shoulder although he did so with the gold facing the body and not the crowd so he inverted it after realizing that position, putting it on the same shoulder but having it face the other way for the audience to see the shinier parts.
Match Five: Intercontinental Championship: "Wildman" Marc Mero versus Hunter Hearst Helmsley
Three athletic "arm drags" and a "dropkick" by Marc Mero started off the match. A "back body drop" led to pushing Helmsley out of the ring but after pushing him, Mero met the knees of Helmsley laying to counter the splash of Mero. Helmsley dropped Marc Mero with a "delayed standing vertical suplex" and posed with a "kurtsey" or whatever it was called. Mero kicked out by the count of two slaps of the mat after Helmsley dropped a knee to the head of him.
After the commercials Mero did a "hurricanrana" and a "knee" to the midsection. Mero "outwrestled" Helmsley to "Irish Whip" him over the turnbuckle by the ramp and by the filmers, sending him over the ring and catching him there with a "somersault plancha" over the third rope by the commentators. He slammed the head of Helmsley onto the steel steps by the ramp and by the filmmakers and then got an opportunity to do an amazing "hurricanrana" on Helmsley by placing him on the turnbuckle by the commentators and by the filmers and by leaping from the third turnbuckle in that spot. Helmsley countered a charging Mero with a "tilt-a-whirl" into a "backbreaker" which was similar to what the late Andrew Martin would do in following years except that wrestler known as Test would do the "tilt-a-whirl" into a "powerslam" with much more speed and strength. The steroids may have been the explanation for the sheer brawn and exertions he demonstrated before the death caused him to leave this world at the age of only thirty-three years if the article somewhere on "Wrestlezone" or some similar website was correct.
Mero got Helmsley down with a "Samoan drop" and brought him back to lay down with a "whirling springboard" from the top turnbuckle near the ramp by the filming crew onto the ropes by the ramp for a "Mero Sault" off of it on a standing Helmsley. I really could not think of the technically correct term for it. I was hesitant to refer to it as the "corkscrew springboard" but he did not spin more than three hundred sixty degrees so I mentioned it as the "whirling springboard". He basically was facing Helmsley with the back to the outside of the ring while standing on the turnbuckle and then jumped to the right side on the rope by turning around while in the air so that he leaped from that turnbuckle to the same adjacent ropes on the spot approximately east of the right shoulder except he went forward slightly and then turned around halfway before landing on the cable, letting him look like he was jumping over the rope after turning around instead of on it. The "springboard" was described to enunciate how he pushed the weight under the boots to lower the rope enough before doing a "moonsault" off of it. Just as the match was becoming more interesting Helmsley pulled out metal knuckles which maybe were brass and put them on the fist to knock Mero down with a punch when the referee was apparently not directly looking before realizing the count of three slaps to the mat.
Rating: "C -"
Without the cheating this match may have been rated with an "Aey minus" or an "A -". To me cheating included shots to the head, striking with closed fists, choking, using foreign objects and various other factors. I just took off grades for those instances. However it was a well balanced fight with individuals trying to take control, the pace was nice and psychology was used with Mero going to the air frequently and with Helmsley trying to wear him down by keeping him grounded. It was a shame he needed to resort using a weapon to win as the Intercontinental Championship was usually not as hardcore as the matches for the World Wrestling Federation Championship were. They often displayed greater skills of technical wrestling than the bouts for the belt of heavyweights showed. It was the case here blinded by idiocy and a lot of punching.
Match Six: No Holds Barred Tag Team Match: Faarooq and Mankind versus Ahmed Johnson and Undertaker
Vince was determined that this match was going to happen. Faarooq brought out the Nation of Domination with him as Mankind came out to the same music with him. Ahmed Johnson was the next entering combatant to step in the arena before Undertaker arrived with the usual dark entrance. Undertaker and Mankind brawled by the side of the ramp where the fans were and Undertaker smacked the head of Mankind into the barrier a few times while Faarooq and Ahmed Johnson were fighting in the ring. Ahmed Johnson did a "spinebuster" on Faarooq with authority and threw him overhead off the third turnbuckle by the commentators away from the cameras. Undertaker broke the "headlock" of Faarooq and "clotheslined" him before going to the "Old School" from the ropes by the filmers.
After the commercials Mankind countered the "Old School" of Undertaker from the ropes opposite the filmmakers into a "Mandible Claw". Ahmed Johnson used the finisher on Mankind and Faarooq got Ahmed with "The Dominator" on him. The finisher of Ahmed Johnson at the time was the "Pearl River Plunge" which was like a "double underhook powerbomb". Undertaker broke the count. Vader hit Mankind with a steel chair because Undertaker ducked out of the way and Vader smacked Undertaker with it on the back but Undertaker acted as if he was not affected by suddenly standing straight. Vader and Mankind had been teaming together due to the management of Paul Bearer. He pushed Vader out of the ring and dropped Mankind with a "Tombstone Piledriver" on the folded steel chair above the mat to pin him.
Rating: "B -"
I thought the dropping of Mankind "headfirst" onto a steel chair in the ring was a little too hardcore. However this match reminded me a lot of the style that Extreme Championsihp Wrestling was using around that period in a way which was not entirely bad. Blood was not shown so I was somewhat pleased about that fact. Also, the Nation of Domination barely interfered if at all. After a second thought I could not remember whether they were even at "ringside" during the match because I was typing this review after a while since watching the program. I was posting with installments so this bout was the last physical contest of the night as far as matches were concerned and I really did not even remember if the members even accompanied Faarooq to the ring but if they were there then maybe Ahmed Johnson smacked the rappers around a bit. Still the wrestling was decent too for a match in which no holds were barred. Mankind also was bumping into the steel steps like a crazy person and might have hurt the shoulders or the back a lot because of such bumps. I was not mentioning those points to seem happy about the pain but felt it proved him to be a really tough individual to the audiences who had not seen the stuff he did in Japan nor in "ECW".
Rating: "C "
When seeing the show it felt somewhere in the middle of a long program on the road to Wrestlemania Thirteen. The matches involved a lot of cheating for the standards that I used. They really were not badly fought but the interferences and uses of weapons brought the factors down a bit. When Undertaker planted Mankind on the chair it seemed to be more due to a perceived notion that he could not keep him down due to the history of how resilient he was rather than desperation. Also the Intercontinental Championship was the first time the belt had been defended on this show during that year and was done so expertly. The bad part of it was how Helmsley resorted to using metal knuckles similarly to the method that Regal had applied later on in the next decade after this show. However it was a concern for people who thought the belt had lost prestige as the two individuals in the contest were impressively showcased. Also the opening bout was just a pity as Vader was basically being misused at this point and Steve Austin actually stunned the referee for hardly any apparent reason to cheapen the first match which had really energized the crowd at the beginning of the program.
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