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Superstar Sleeze

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  1. Superstar Sleeze
    Was watching this episode for Shawn Michaels vs Jerry Lawler and saw this come on first. Fast forwarded to the finish. Heard Worcester chanting "Kill The Clown" and I was like "Yep, this made the Yearbook" and here it is. This is the penultimate RAW before their summer break heading into the Monday Night Wars and this is definitely a microcosm of their issues. Non-Matt Borne, Babyface Doink was given a feature attraction match on RAW as recent as May 8th against IC Champion Jeff Jarrett. It is weird how much cooler heel, Matt Borne Doink is than this version of Doink. Not a good look heading into the Monday Night Wars.
  2. Superstar Sleeze
    Shawn Michaels vs British Bulldog - WWF RAW 3/6/95 These have great chemistry together and their stock spots (short arm scissors and the press slam onto the top rope etc…) always hit. I am torn on this match. When Shawn is bumping & feeding, this match is a hoot BUT this is a great point in favor of the anti-Shawn contingent because when it is time for him to take control there’s a whole lotta nothing. They give them a shit ton of time this takes up half an episode of RAW and what we did about 17-18 minutes. Shawn is with Sid at this point and Shawn is headed into Mania against Diesel. Davey Boy was the runner-up in Rumble that Shawn won but Vince is crying foul for no reason. It sounds like Shawn won fair and square. I like the booking here as it is gives Shawn a definitive win over his fellow finalist and a quality win over an upper midcard act. Bulldog throws Shawn around pillar to post. He is atomic dropping Shawn, blasting him with clotheslines, Shawn takes the Harley bump, they play King of the Mountain. It is a shit ton of fun. Bulldog works a great headlock against Michaels bringing us down in a good way after the red hot start. He is consolidating control. Then we get their famous Short Arm Scissors spot which is always a crowd pleaser. Bulldog looked king - size there. Upside Down Surfboard. Delayed Vertical. They pulled out all the stops. Michael’s gets caught by Sid and hits a slingshot splash. I think besides the Short Arm Scissors that was his only offense. Shawn tanks Bulldog out by the tights and Davey Boy takes a nasty spill. Then it all evaporates. Shawn really doesn’t do much with his heat segment. Some punches, a reverse elbow and an elbow drop, two chin locks and a sleeper. It was pretty damn lame. This was perfect fodder for the Shawn has no offense crowd. Davey Boy powers out of the sleeper; they knock heads coming out of the second ad break. That’s the leveling playing field spot. Bulldog grabs a sleeper but that seemed like a time filler. Finally, we get to the finish which is gangbusters. Bulldog hits a series of clotheslines. Their favorite Press Slam, Shawn nuts first on top rope, shakes the Top Rope! Flair Flip! Which felt so killer! Cornette says shades of Ray Steven’s and follows it up with I have never seen anything like that. Way to contradict yourself. Bulldog is rolling, headbutt gets two. Shawn ducks a charging Bulldog who careens to the outside. Sid blasts him In The back with a knee. Shawn gets two and a Sweet Chin Music gets three. They should have had him nail Sweet Chin Music after the knee just to make the finish more efficient but I agree they needed to make Sweet Chin Music feel like it could take down Diesel. I would have loved to have seen a Running Powerslam attempt after the Flair Flip to really kick this up a notch. It was the best of Shawn, it was the worst of Shawn. The shine & comeback/shine are undeniable so I am giving this a thumbs up but acknowledging that this is one of Shawn’s worst heat segments. ***1/2
  3. Superstar Sleeze
    WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels vs Mr. Perfect - WWF Summerslam 1993 I would say this match is a victim of expectations and a rough Hennig performance early. In a lot of ways they wanted to wrestle this NWA/AWA Heavyweight Championship style match but were only given 11 minutes and a shitty finish. They trade holds early. It is symmetrical and respectful. The idea is to see who the best wrestler is. Michael’s is the one supplying the energy and movement. Perfect is cutting him off at the pass. They blow a flying hammerlock spot and Michael’s has to go to the corner twice. It was just weird. Was Perfect already Injured? I see he starts a Diesel program after this and last two more months before not returning until 1997 in WCW. He seemed off. Shawn is feeding him good spots to thwart him but even the top rope crossbody into arm drag feels weird. Shawn feeds him a catapult. Diesel distraction. BANG~! Sweet Chin Music! But it is not a big deal yet. Great transition. The back work by Shawn is tight. Love sit down splash and a good “Goddamnit!” by Perfect! Perfect fights his way out the backbreaker stretch. Perfect’s comeback is great! The hurdle->dropkick, the inverted atomic drop and axe looked great. Perfect Plex was killer. Diesel yanking him out and then brawling and Hebner watching and even getting hit BUT NOT calling the DQ was egregious. Calling that a count out victory for Michael’s was stupid. Diesel/Shawn beat down a feisty Mr. perfect to start the Perfect/Diesel program. Terrible finish aside, I thought from the Catapult on this was a good match but the beginning is rough. Disappointing given who is involved but still good. ***
  4. Superstar Sleeze
    Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels - WWF 12/1/93 Steel Cage Match A match I discovered through Cagematch that got a pretty high rating which I would attribute more to the names participating in the match than the match itself even though I do think the match is good just not great. It is a Coliseum Home Video with Gorilla and Polo on the call. Polo is pretty rough. Bret and Shawn fell out of bed and had a good match. Bret seemed to dog it a little more than Shawn. There are enough on the way of high spots to keep you entertained but the connective tissue is not there. Shawn attacks Bret right as he enters the cage. Shawn’s right cross is so much better than his jab. Bret just rag dolls for him. Does not make him earn it at all. Shawn gets caught in the catapult into the cage. Shawn had to feed this spot to Bret. Bret works in his usual moves. They tussle around the door. They trade Ball Busting spots. Shawn yanks Bret down from the cage and he lands nuts first on the top rope. Then when Shawn tries to go out the door, Bret catches him with the middle rope to the nuts. It is weird seeing the Sweet Chin Music without any fanfare. There is a great leap by Shawn to prevent Bret from going out over the top. The finisher is killer with both guys out over the top. Bret slams Shawn’s head into the cage but as he is falling his foot gets hooked into the cage and rope. Bret falls safely to the floor for the win. Awesome finish! The high spots were good and at 12 minutes this was breezy. They really don’t do much in between the high spots. Creative finish bumps it up. ***1/2
  5. Superstar Sleeze
    Hakushi vs 1-2-3 Kid - WWF Summerslam 1995 Have to say, I was disappointed by this match. I wanted to see what Kid could do against a non-superstar. So many of his high profile matches are against Bret, Shawn, Owen, Razor etc... This is a decidedly midcard match in a good spot with about 10 minutes against an opponent who is capable of having good match. I just thought this was there. They are sort of telegraphing a Hakushi babyface turn on commentary which I do think comes to fruition. The match is wrestled pretty straight for the most part from Hakushi. Pretty standard opening, headlocks, armdrags, the usual stuff. Hakushi gets a thrust to the throat with his fingers, so that was heelish. I liked that Kid used an armdrag to get out of the Argentine Backbreaker. There are levels to selling and Hakushi had not done enough to apply it, but soon after that Kid was just rag dolling for Hakushi. No fight, no struggling no making Hakushi earn it. Hakushi's individual spots were good: back handspring elbow, the Bronco Buster (wonder if Kid got him from him) and the Vaderbomb. His kicks however are the shits. There is no connective tissue. The Flying Space Tiger Drop which should be the climax of all this and is not executed very well. Hakushi missed the diving headbutt. Kid's comeback is pretty good. Dive to the floor, slingshot legdrop, big top rope splash. Kid goes for signature Spinning Heel Kick, but Hakushi catches him and converts mid-air into a slam. I loved the finish. The rest of it just felt very average. There was no hook, there was no character work, it is something just two random midcard wrestlers could do. Didnt feel special.
  6. Superstar Sleeze
    Owen Hart vs 1-2-3 Kid - WWF RAW 8/15/94 Kid had such a weird 94. The beginning has nice continuity with the Quebecers and climaxing of winning the tag belts on RAW. I don’t know if the situation with Marty screwed him over as he basically doesn’t have a program for the rest of the year. He just has killer 4+ star matches when called upon against Owen at KOTR, Bret on Raw and the Kliq Action Zone tag. A lot of people would kill for a year they good but there’s a whole lot of nothing in between the matches. Seemingly, this one other big featured Kid bout of 94, it is not as good as the KOTR 94 match but that’s the best sub 5 minute match ever so it is feed to compare. I really liked the match after the commercial break. I found the match before the ad break to be very noisy. It was a lot of disjointed spots/sequences kind of grouped together. I liked Kid outfoxing Owen early nailing a kick and avoiding charge and getting a near fall. Then the transitions just become random. Some arm work by each guy then some headlocks by each guy. Owen gets enziguiri and Kid gets a spinning heel kick. You get Macho shouting DOUBLE KIP UP! Maybe they were going for symmetry but Owen was using a lot of hair pulling. It just didn’t connect. To further that point you do get a Kid dive before the ad break and an Owen dive after the ad break. I like symmetry BUT it didn’t feel right in this match. I thought after the ad break it was a totally different match and a vast departure from KOTR style. This was Owen the bully heel which like Shawn is something you almost never get to see. That’s the value of Kid he allows these smaller heavyweights to get to play the bully. It is set up by a wicked suplex from apron to floor. Then the dive and a hard slap across the face. The bully shit kicks in with the back breakers to the ring post. The really targeted back work by Owen is excellent. He missed a top rope move landing on his knees. Kid makes a spirited comeback kicking the leg. Kid slaps on a single leg crab. I really thought they had something special, but Anvil doesn’t let them explore it as he attacks Kid triggering the DQ. The finish makes the match feel incomplete. Sometimes a DQ finish just feels right in the context of a match but this one, it felt too soon. Plus won at KOTR and could’ve used another win going into Summerslam so not only was timing off, it was not the right finish. Another 5-10 minutes I think they could’ve made up for the beginning and delivered another classic but that ain’t what happened. ***1/4
  7. Superstar Sleeze
    Marty Jannetty vs 1-2-3 Kid - WWF RAW 10/25/93 There’s a world where Marty & Kid are the Rockers of the 90s and they rule the WWF New Gen tag team scene in glorious fashion. Their title victory over the Quebecers is 1 of 2 matches I think is the best non-Bret, non-Shawn WWF Matches of 1993-1997. After the DiBiase addendum to the Ramon program, the Kid has struck out on his own. Last month, he single-handledly showed up both Quebecers, WWF World Tag Team Champions. He knocked out Jacques to the point where he got farted to the back and he knocked out Pierre and it was only due to instinct and Johnny Polo that the Quebecers retained. Now here he is pitted against fellow baby face and recent IC Champion. Pretty basic baby face vs baby face wrestling here. Basic chain wrestling, lots of symmetry. I thought Kid was more aggressive than Marty. I don’t know if that is by design or if that is just a difference in their personalities. Kid gets some nice kicks and a Victory Roll. Marty gets a nice counter powerbomb. The aggrieved Johnny Polo is out to watch. He trips Marty and Kid has no problem immediately pouncing on Marty for a near fall. Kid misses a somersault splash from the top. Now it is Polo’s turn to trip Kid. Marty at least shows some frustration but Marty takes the cover. Kid nails a beautiful German after a series of suplexes from Marty. I agree with Brain Marty is wrestling this match lethargically. Marty wakes up with a stiff elbow. Kid nails the same Karate Kick that KO’d Jacques. Marty collapses to the outside. Polo pushes Marty out of the way of a diving Kid! SPLAT! Double Countout! Polo is very amused by his antics. Marty & Kid team up and kick Polo’s ass. Great double super kick that feels very 21st century. Marty & Kid feel perfect as a tag team. I want to rewatch the title change with Quebecers now. This match is alright. I thought Kid brought it but Marty dragged ass. ***
  8. Superstar Sleeze
    WWF World Tag Team Champions Quebecers vs 1-2-3 Kid & Barry Horowitz - WWF RAW 9/27/93 The Quebecers had just defeated The Steiners two weeks back in an awesome match under the convoluted Province of Quebec Rules match. Highly recommend that match. This kicks off the Quebecers vs 1-2-3 Kid feud which climaxes with Kid & Marty winning the Tag Team Titles at the 1 year anniversary of RAW in an awesome match which I have called one of two best non-Bret, non-Shawn matches of WWF 93-97. Quebecers claim they will have a high profile title defense. Raven as Johnny Polo is just so weird to me. It doesn’t feel right. They are in New Haven so he is wearing Harvard gear. That popped me. Instead it is against Miracle Jobber Connection of Barry Horowitz & Reno Riggins. Vince feels robbed and cheated. Wait! What’s that?!? Reno has the flu! Barry wants to choose a new partner and he chooses the 1-2-3 Kid. The Quebecers laugh it off and say you’re on. Bobby is worried about this. The Quebecers were the 90s WWF answer to the Midnight Express. Good stooges, great bumpers and killer offense. The whole match is 1-2-3 Kid, Horowitz does two maybe three moves. Kid starts off red hot with his karate and speed. The Quebecers are betwixt and between. It is dropkicks for everybody as even Horowitz gets in on the action. A cheap shot from behind sets up the heat segment on the Kid. Lots of MX style offense. Total Elimination looked killer. They take turns body slamming each other on the Kid. Lots of double teams. Jacques misses a reverse crossbody. Kid BLASTS him with a kick. Jacques collapses to the floor and he is out cold! This sold more for comedy than it would be today and that fits the Quebecers style. That crooked ref Earl Hebner says the match must continue as a virtual handicap match! Johnny Polo do something! Pierre is kicking Horowitz ass with a middle rope leg drop and a middle rope headbutt. Pierre slams Horowitz at the Kid’s feet to prove a point. He sends the Kid flying. He wants revenge for Jacques! Pierre plays with his food. KID BLASTS PIERRE WITH A KICK! Pierre out of instinct pulls the top rope down and Kid careens to the floor! I think we have a double KO situation. Polo tosses Kid back in and Pierre drapes the arm over for a cover. This is a nice piece of business. You get the Kid’s feet over as lethal. Jacques had to be carted out and Pierre was essentially knocked out. Kid has gone from plucky underdog now to a lethal weapon. The campy Quebecers are the perfect people to put him over. They still treat Horowitz as a total jobber so Kid looks like a superstar in this Herculean effort taking on and taking out both World Tag Team Champions. Now if only he had a better partner… ***
  9. Superstar Sleeze
    Razor Ramon vs 1-2-3 Kid - WWF RAW 6/21/93 I have seen this match before but I misremembered it. If I recall listening to Scott Hall talk about this, Kid gets knocked for a loop legit and kind of fucks up the finish. It is unclear to me if it was the chokeslam which then causes him to slip off the top rope and nearly kill himself falling to the floor. Or if he was fine but just slipped by accident and that’s what’s KO’d him. Either way, Razor had to call for a moonsault and yell GET THE MONEY at the end to make sure Kid finished the angle. There is even the weird part at the end where Kid slows down before speeding back up which seems consistent with the story that he was concussed to fuck. This is such a Southern Fried story. The upset loss, the big bad heel with wounded pride doing everything he can to get the underdog back in the ring, risking $10k of his own money. The body of the match is pitch perfect. Kid gets a series of quick near falls to big reactions and really plays off the 1-2-3 moniker. Then Hall is able to get a hold of him Sack of Shit. Kid is slowed but keeps coming CHOKESLAM! It is brutal. That permanently slows him down. Razors slaps the back of his head and really vacillates between kicking his ass and embarrassing him. Real bully heel shit. Razor wants the Razor Edge on concrete. This is when Kid slips off the top either by accident or because the Chokeslam concussed him. If he didn’t have a head injury before now he does. They call the moonsault spot but this time Razor kicks out and Kid takes the money. The finish is a little odd as it is not a very baby face move for Kid to the take money BUT the match was fun and it shows Razor up. This leads to Razor turning baby face of all things. Really good Southern-Fried angle. This is also on the same show as the really fucking good Marty vs Doink 2/3 falls match. 1993 WWF is pretty damn fun actually.
  10. Superstar Sleeze
    Razor Ramon vs The Kid - WWF RAW 5/17/93 One of the best episodes of RAW ever as this also has the Marty return angle and victory over Shawn for the IC Title. What a great angle! Not only did they make 1-2-3 Kid a star but they used this to turn Razor Ramon baby face and Razor became an even bigger star. Talk about win-win. I have heard Hall talk about this match and how Kid wanted to do a bunch of shit. He told me he has got one move. That’s what makes the match. It looks like a squash. They never telegraph it. The way he smacks and throws him around. The abdominal stretch and the Sack of Shit. You never know something is up. Razor misses a charges overshoots knocks himself loopy. Kid’s moonsault is perfect because it is the knee to the head that sells it for me. Kid and Razor nail the reaction the crowd goes wild. It is clearly the match that made the Kid but I would argue it made Razor too. Brilliant angle!
  11. Superstar Sleeze
    Shawn Michaels vs 1-2-3 Kid - WWF RAW 12/6/93 This looks fan-fucking-tastic when you’ve been watching a metric shit ton of New Generation WWF. This is during HBK’s fake IC title reign. I am surprised this isn’t talked up more because this completely different than anything else on WWF TV. This is downright Japanese workrate shit a precursor to WCW cruiserweight stuff. It is very avant-garde for WWF and really foreshadows what is to come. Kid comes out red hot. The one thing is Kid’s punching sucks. It will be interesting to see if he ever gets better at that. I can’t remember Syxx or X-PAC’s punch. They cut a great pace. Here are some of the high spot highlights: Strong dive to the floor by Kid. Shawn takes a weird bump into the post. He hooked it and spun out that I thought maybe he blocked it but I think he was supposed to hit. Kid eats a beautiful power slam off the apron to the floor. That was wicked. Beautiful German Suplex! Lots of movement, a dive and a suplex. Very different than most WWF. Also this is an interesting combination because Kid can actually slam/suplex Shawn which he normally can’t do that in WWF. Also Shawn can play the bigger bully heel a role he usually couldn’t play in WWF. Kid works a great side headlock but runs up the ropes one too many times and Michael’s suplexes him. Michaels works the backbreaker and in a rarity can really be that bully heel here. Kid gets a heel kick. Kid misses a somersault splash from the top rope. Crashes and burns. Back from commercial and Superkick (not quite sweet or musical yet). Shawn who was feuding with Razor over who was the real IC Champion hits TWO Razor Edges and they looked GREAT! Again that’s Shawn getting to play bully heel which he never gets a chance. Razor saves on the third attempt. The match gets thrown out. Diesel slugs Razor from behind the curtain. Shawn HITS TWO RAZOR EDGES ON SCOTT HALL! Damn I mean that is a big boy for Shawn to get up! He must have ate his Wheaties that morning. It didn’t look super good because it had to be done on concrete/floor so Shawn safely put Razor down but just hoisting him up and down was impressive. It was a spot fest but with character. Shawn was the bully heel and Kid was the plucky underdog. It was not overtly cooperative. It was not a weird a motion smoothing match. They took their time and made the high spots stand out. A really good 90s workfare match. *** 3/4
  12. Superstar Sleeze
    WWF Champion Bret Hart vs Bob Backlund - WWF RAW 12/11/95 Non-Title Well put me in the camp that would vote for Bob Backlund over Donald Trump. After pretty much nothing on WWF TV after WrestleMania XI, Bob Backlund gets one last quick push. He has been attacking people most notably Jim Ross with the Crossface Chickenwing in order to set up a match with WWF Champion Bret Hart this week on RAW. I LOVED the opening matwork. It was so tight & competitive. It felt organic. The whole match felt like a real sporting contest. It is weird coming from 1994 WWF as this is a much bigger building but it seems like they are forcing it as they try to complete with new, fresh Nitro. I love the fact that Backlund Main evented a Monday Night Wars RAW. Bret gets a drop kick to Backlund’s back as he was jawing with the fans. Backlund comes back from break and almost gets the Crossface Chickenwing on. His heat segment on the arm was great. Lots of good rope-assisted stuff. Great armbars. Good stiff shots. I don’t think this was better than the Superstars match but it was better than Mania XI. Bret is able to wriggle into shifting his weight and begins his comeback as we go into break. He looks to finish with the Sharpshooter but Davey Boy shows up. I would be remiss not to mention how terrible Diana’s interview is about how she feels about the upcoming title match between Bret & Davey Boy and Davey Boy as a heel. Backlund applies the Crossface Chickenwing. They ring the bell early but Bulldog stomps Bret in the hold and there’s the DQ. Look Superstars and Survivor Series matches are classics BUT I felt like these two had another one in them here. Shame about the finish but I felt like they could have topped even Survivor Series on this night with more time and the right finish. It was solid heat for the impending Bret/Bulldog match that coming weekend. It is shame that this is the swan song for Backlund. I checked his Cagematch and this his last hurrah. He still had more to give. Really enjoyed the opening amateur wrestling and rest of it too. ***1/2
  13. Superstar Sleeze
    Well put me in the camp that would vote for Bob Backlund over Donald Trump. After pretty much nothing on WWF TV after WrestleMania XI, Bob Backlund gets one last quick push. He has been attacking people most notably Jim Ross with the Crossface Chickenwing in order to set up a match with WWF Champion Bret Hart the next week on RAW. Great unhinged promo here. He says he had dreams of BEING GOD AGAIN, but it is a non-title bout. Society needs less Hitmen. Do not try to finite me which I could totally see becoming Gen Z slang. Absolutely awesome promo by Bob!
  14. Superstar Sleeze
    Bret Hart vs Bob Backlund - WWF WrestleMania XI I Quit Call me crazy but I liked this match don’t understand all the fuss why people think it is so bad. Yes both 1994 matches are significantly better but this is still good. The blowoff to Bret’s other big feud of 1994 does not reach the heights of the two great Backlund of 1994. I thought both wrestlers did a great job with psychology, working snug and everything looked tight. Bret’s punches and headbutts always look frat and he was using them liberally early to overwhelm Backlund. I loved Bret going for the Sharpshooter early and often. Look how Backlund escaped it was so realistic and forceful. I like how Bret settled for the Figure-4 and then a leg lace to keep towards the Sharpshooter. Backlund gets a heel to the face and immediately starts working the arm. It is really great arm work. The arm wrenches around the ropes. The arm bars are all great. Backlund like Bret us committed to his finish the Crossface Chickenwing but like Bret needs to settle for arm bars. Bret battles back. Still can’t get the Sharpshooter. Backlund struggles and applies the Crossface Chickenwing but can’t get it all the way cinched in. Bret reverses applies his own and damn he even clasps his hands. That shit is legit. Backlund doesn’t say I Quit but the match is called. It is a little short, a little anticlimactic. The finish is bizarre as they really don’t do anything with Bob after this. If there was ever a wrestle who could’ve said I Quit without it damaging them it was Bob Backlund in 1995. That mars the match a touch. I still enjoy this. ***1/4
  15. Superstar Sleeze
    Bret Hart vs Jerry Lawler - WWF King of the Ring 1995 THE STENCH MUST BE HORRIBLE! I actually liked this feud in what I have seen. It is a fun, campy light hearted midcard for Bret to kick some ass over a slime ball heel. Now if I do watch the Isaac Yankem part of the feud I might be singing a different story. Lawler has made sure to make his feet as a palatable as possible that even the most ardent foot fetishist would be repulsed by them. It is a fun, campy angle. I don’t know why people get so worked up about it as if Bret Hart is so above slumming it. I thought this was their best match together of 1995 (Summerslam 1993 is the gold standard of the feud). Since Lawler is going to do the JOB clean here, he actually gets in real offense. It starts off with a standard asskicking Bret shine, great punches and headbutts, A really sick steel stairs bump by Bret sets it up with Lawler hitting not one, not two BUT three piledrivers. He clobbers Bret with his boot exposing his STINKIN feet. He shoves his boot in Bret’s face. All of this even though it sounds great on paper, it is a little lacking and heartless. I think it is Bret. He is Doug. His rag doll routine. He is NOT making Lawler earn it. He is not struggling so the piledrivers and the heat segment aren’t as hot as they could be. Lawler goes to shove his STINKIN’ feet into Bret’s mouth but like smelling salts conjures up the vigor to kick some Lawler ass. Lawler uses his boot to crack Bret in the head. Fist drop. Bret pulls Lawler into the steel post. Hakushi tries to save but hits Lawler and runs off. 3/5 moves of Doom and Sharpshooter finishes it. Hakushi nails Lawler again and Bret sends him packing. Bret shoves his foot into Lawlers mouth. BUT the best part is Bret shoves Lawler’s STINKIN foot into Lawler’s mouth. Glorious. That was genius. The crux of the angle was not Bret’s feet, it was how gross Lawler’s feet were. By having Lawler have to taste his own feet, that was the payoff. Brilliant! Fun stuff could’ve been better if Bret worked better from underneath but still good Craic. *** 1/2
  16. Superstar Sleeze
    Bret Hart vs Jerry Lawler - WWF In Your House I disagree with everyone, I thought Jerry Lawler's mother played by an attractive, young brunette was stupid at best, weird/creepy at worst. I will say she did give all she got. It was pretty similar to the RAW match, but I preferred the RAW match. I did like the piledriver spot which seems to break me away from the pack. I interpret those type of No Sell spots like Bret Hart is such a badass and Lawler is such a weenie that Bret can fight through anything to kick Lawler's ass. Lawler was being presented more as a manager in WWF. Someone who talked a lot of shit but needed to recruit others to fight his battles. This is not 1980s Jerry Lawler in Memphis. This is 1995 WWF, I think the Piledriver will survive. Bret hits his own Piledriver which wrecks Lawler. I think if you take the RAW match and add the Piledriver spot and the finish of this match you get a good combo. Lawler gets in a little offense, but not much. Just when Bret looks to take it home, there is a pretty cool ref bump where Hebner is hanging by his ankle being caught in the ropes. That is pretty sick. Hakushi hits a bunch of diving headbutts and Lawler PINS Bret! Now he has a countout and pinfall victory! There was some cool stuff in this. Another thumbs up. With the emphasis on Diesel/Shawn, this is a fun, midcard, cartoony feud for Bret. It is something light after Owen and Backlund. Enjoying Bret/Lawler, lets see if that continues. ***
  17. Superstar Sleeze
    Bret Hart vs Jerry Lawler - WWF RAW 3/13/95 Apparently, Bret Hart is a racist! Man, you could not run this angle today at all. Everyone would be freaking the fuck out. Pretty simple, asshole heel makes up a lie to disgrace the babyface, but it is so baseless no believes it. Lawler says he is racist towards the Japanese people. He has Bull Nakano out with him to prove he has the support of the Japanese people. What this really is a backdrop for Bret Hart/Hakushi feud to start, which would Bret's post-Mania program. Bret had a lot of loose ends to tie off. He has the No Holds Barred Match against Owen in two weeks, the Bob Backlund I Quit Match at WrestleMania and now he has the rebooted Lawler program from 1993 and Hakushi. They may have taken the title off, but he is getting the Dusty treatment with all the feuds he is in. Lawler tries to jumpstart the match, but Bret is having none of it. He comes roaring back and he kicks the King's ass from pillar to post. Bret has some great punches and strikes. Slams Lawler into some hard metal objects. Tree of woe. It is a pretty good asskicking. I would liked some more variety from Bret or even more over the top stooging from Lawler, BUT it was still very good, just not all-time, you gotta see this levels. Bob Backlund is in the crowd. Hakushi is outside. Bret gets distracted and Lawler takes over. Lawler's heat segment is short, but sweet. Bret catches him coming off the top rope. Great Bulldog by Bret. He slugs Lawler over the top rope. Outside Bull Nakano fucks with him. Bret gives her the death stare. Lawler tries to hold Bret for Nakano, but she hits Lawler. Nakano holds Bret's foot as he is trying to get back into the ring. Lawler wins by countout. Bret stalks Nakano. Racist and a woman-beater. Jeez Bret, this is not a good look brutha. Bull Nakano hides behind Hakushi and Shinja. Lawler attacks Bret from behind to continue the feud. It was more of an angle than a match, but I enjoyed this. It was a good asskicking with a fuck finish that leads to a new, interesting program. Thumbs up from me. ***
  18. Superstar Sleeze
    Bret Hart & British Bulldog vs Owen Hart & Jim The Anvil Neidhart - WWF RAW 11/7/94 Since no one had really talked this up, I thought I found a hidden gem, but apparently everyone is just really lukewarm on it. Weird, because I am not a huge fan of Stampede style tag team matches, but I thought this was every bit as good as them so I thought this would warrant more love. It is pretty shocking in retrospect how much Bret Hart's signature title reign was spent against Owen. According to Cagematch, besides the televised title defenses against Backlund, Kid and Diesel, all the house show title defenses were against Owen, until they switched over to Anvil, oof. They made a big deal in the Action Zone match to say that would be the last Owen challenge so that was blown off on TV. Now it is time to give away the tag team match on TV. I enjoyed this as a Stampede style match with Owen basically filling in for Dynamite Kid and doing strange bedfellows tag. Nice to hear Vince acknowledge Bret/Anvil were tag champs. Slam bang start. Babyfaces whip the heels into each other and Bulldog press slams Owen from the ring to the floor onto Anvil, helluva spot. Always a Sleeze Pleaser. I thought Bret/Bulldog did a great really putting Owen/Anvil on their back foot during the shine, really overwhelming them with fast break offense. Bulldog was really throwing Owen around. I was disappointed by the transition to heat. The spinwheel kick is great, but Owen is supposed to be this brat heel. I would have rather seen some cheating like a Hart Foundation style sliding knee to the back (which we do see later). I liked the heat segment on Bulldog it did go a little long and maybe one too many chinlocks but there was a lot of action in and out of the chinlocks. Anvil throwing gutwrenches and powerslams was a delight. The start of the heat segment was Bret chasing Owen around the ring only for Owen to hit the Hart Attack on Bulldog. Great spot! Heel miscommunication sets up the Bret Hot Tag which I thought was very good, really liked the reverse crossboy onto Owen out of a standing ten count punch to Anvil. They fake us out with a possible double FIP with Owen hitting the sliding knee and during ref distraction a top rope elbow on Bret as he was pinning Anvil. That was great! Bulldog trips Owen and Bret applies the Sharpshooter on Anvil to win. I dont think this is as good as the Action Zone tag pitting Bret/Bulldog vs Owen/Backlund, but I still thought this was very good. They were given plenty of time and there was a lot of slam bang action throughout. The shine and the Hart Attack were really good. *** 3/4
  19. Superstar Sleeze
    WWF Champion Bret Hart vs Owen Hart - WWF Action Zone 10/23/94 Surprised this did not make the Yearbook as it made the original WWE Bret Hart DVD set, it is a WWF Title Defense, it is sort of the swan song of the Bret/Owen (they have a match on RAW in early 95 but theres no title) and it is also the premiere episode of Action Zone. The Kliq can rest easy, they still have the best Action Zone match in history, but this is pretty good. I remember thinking the WrestleMania X match was a lot better, but still enjoying this one and when I would get tired of WrestleMania X, I would spin this one. I do think this a million times better than their borefest at Summerslam. It is pretty much the condensed version of WrestleMania X with the in-laws (Anvil & Bulldog) thrown in for effect. Take routine restholds, but make them fun is the mantra of Owen. In the hands of a lesser man, the chinlock/headlock sequence during the initial heat could have ground the match to the halt, but he threw in so much hair pulling and ref misdirection. He always had me entertaining. Classic Owen heeling early too, celebrating ridiculous stuff like the lockup. Bret seemed to be wrestling extra dry in my opinion. He was just mechanical, clinical, cold. Nailing the arm drags, working the arm, going for interesting covers early. The passion was not there. Owen was bringing life to the match. Anvil trips Bret which leads to the holds I talked about at the beginning of the paragraph. This also triggers Bulldog to come out. Bret starts to mount a comeback with some stiff European Uppercuts. This shows a similar progression as the WrestleMania X match. Bret was working scientifically early and just trying to win the match by pinfall, but he had enough of Owen's antics started to really lay it in. Owen got a nice belly to belly and missile dropkick. This puts Bret in position to be attacked by Anvil while Owen distracted the ref. Anvil wrapped Bret's knee around the post. Owen is Bret's younger brother and is just a savage on the leg. He is a great grinder. Bret really thrives in the grind, breaking someone down. I thought Owen varied the holds and the strikes wonderfully. We cut to break as Bret is reversing a Figure-4. It is off to finish stretch. Bret hits his standard stuff, which always looks good. When he goes for the Sharpshooter, Owen pokes him in the eye and gets a spinwheel kick. Bret fights back and tries to superplex Owen, but Anvil holds Owen's foot and Bret goes flying, crashing hard to the match. As the ref is checking on Bret, the Bulldog shoves Owen off the top rope to crotch himself. 1-2-3! It was never going to be WrestleMania X and it was never supposed to be. Like I said it was the condensed version but also with a sudden ending. The wrinkle of Anvil and Bulldog helped change the dynamic from Mania X. Set up a RAW match between the two teams that I have not seen, but am interested in. It is Bret vs Owen, the work is very solid, but it is hard to call this more than very good especially with the finish. *** 3/4
  20. Superstar Sleeze
    This is an interesting point. I see on Cagematch the Milan match from the next night did make tape, but if memory serves me correctly the Barcelona match is the match that made the Bret Hart DVD. Bret Hart vs Bam Bam Bigelow - WWF Barcelona 4/24/93 This made the the initial DVD release for Bret Hart back in the mid-2000s when I was gobbling those up with fury. Christmas shopping was so easy for me back then just buy me the latest one. This match did not make too much of an impression on me compared to the other badass matches on the set. I agree with my past self in that this is a very good match, but nowhere near one of Bret's best (Cagematch has it at his 24th best, which seems too high). Short match, only 11minutes and change, my memory was that it was longer. Not a huge Bam Bam fan, but this one is his better efforts. I actually thought the King of the Ring Finals match was better. This is light years better than their July RAW match though. They establish Bam Bam's power advantage early through conventional measures. Bret is able to work the arm and start to build an advantage. Bigelow even goes for a press slam and Bret falls on top of Bam Bam because Bam Bam cant hold him up. Now thats a nice twist you dont see every day. He gets a little cocky when he hits Bigelow with an European Uppercut so hard it sends him to the floor. Bam Bam catches Bret coming off the apron and sends him spine first into the steel post. What follows is laser-focused, clinical back work. Really enjoyed all over it, good suplexes/slams, holds and strikes to the back. Loved the headbutt to the back, a real Bam Bam signature. Bearhug was well-worked. The Argentine Backbreaker is not something you see a lot of and that was cool. Bigelow missed the top rope headbutt which is a perfect transition to Bret's comeback. Bret keeps brief with a flying clothesline and bulldog. Bam Bam quashes the Sharpshooter attempt. Bam Bam shifts his weight on a suplex attempt. 1-2-NO! Good nearfall that I was not expecting. Bret gets a Victory Roll out of the corner to win. Someone should bring back the Victory Roll. It is a very good match. Very textbook. It is textbook wrestling, done very well. *** 1/2
  21. Superstar Sleeze
    WWF Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon vs IRS - WWF Royal Rumble 1994 I watched a bunch of Scott Hall around time of his passing, but I must have skipped this one because it is IRS. It is Razor's only meaningful IC Title defense before the Ladder Match with Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania X. He defended against Martel and IRS at some Superstars Tapings, but no RAW title defenses and this the only PPV defense of this title reign. This is a stopgap feud for Razor between winning the title in October and the Ladder Match at WrestleMania X. IRS repossessed Razor's gold chains due to tax evasion and is holding them in a briefcase. I dont think I really have a problem with Rotundo but he is not good in this match at all. Just watch how he takes the atomic drop or does a snapmare. He is not putting in the effort. He looks and feels like a holdover from the previous generation and is just out of place. Razor is full of vim and vigor. He wrestles a great match unto himself. He SLUGS IRS at one point during the Shine. It was wicked! Razor takes a crazy bump over the top rope to the floor that is downright Dustin-esque. IRS settles for chinlocks. Razor comes back and he looks great. Punches, Sack O Shit, the Back Suplex off the Top. Ref gets bumped through. IRS goes for the briefcase, but Da Bad Guy blasts him with it. Still no ref. Michaels cracks Razor with his bogus IC Title. IRS covers. 1-2-3?!?!?!? WAIT! WHAT? The history books are wrong! Is it going to be a triple threat at WrestleMania?!?!? Wait! There is another ref. Razor hoists IRS up and RAZOR'S EDGE! 1-2-3! THANK GOD! They threw in some wrinkles down the stretch that I did not expect. I thought this was a great individual performance by Razor, but not enough to get over the average hump. IRS really drags the match down.
  22. Superstar Sleeze
    WWF Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon vs Diesel - WWF RAW 11/29/93 A non-title bout. Shawn Michaels is back in WWF and he is disputing Ramon's Intercontinental Championship as Michaels has never lost it. This leads to of course the very famous Ladder Match. It is a great angle and a perfect use of the Ladder Match. It makes sense that Ramon takes on HBK's heater prior to the match to put some stank on the feud. Short match, but we do see, is pretty good. It is a Kliq Match so Razor is very giving and really lets Diesel shine. You can see the Diesel push is starting. He got his own program coming out of Summerslam with Mr. Perfect. While IRS was the leader of his team at Survivor Series, he was definitely the star of the team (also included Adam Bomb & Rick Martel). They establish Diesel's size advantage (although Razor is a big boy). Diesel works the back really well. It is laser-focused. It is varied and he keeps it moving. The use of the straddle on the back, the sidewalk slam. The bearhug. The Big Boot & Snake Eyes coming out of the first bearhug into the second bearhug. Good stuff. Razor makes his comeback out of his second bearhug with the second rope bulldog (love that move) and punches. He is going to do the Razor's Edge, but Shawn Michaels comes in and attacks Razor. He wants to piledrive Razor on the IC Title, but Razor reverses and 1-2-3 Kid makes the save. All nothing like a Kliq love-in. This sets up Shawn Michaels vs 1-2-3 Kid the next week. Looking forward to that. This could have been great, but more of a set up for next week and thats fine. I like their Superstars Sprint the next year thats the IC Title switch.
  23. Superstar Sleeze
    Razor Ramon vs Rick Martel - WWF RAW 10/11/93 Vacant WWF Intercontinental Championship Vince McMahon brings history teachers to tears across the country when he declares that Christopher Columbus was Hispanic and sailed for the Queen of England (Columbus was Italian and sailed for the King & Queen of Spain). Usually when someone says "they dont teach you this in history class", it is either wrong or it was taught and they just werent paying attention. Fantastic match. I could have sworn I seen this match, well if I did, I dont remember it being this good. I thought Martel was fabulous in this match, his last best match until his brief resurgence in WCW in 1998. Martel really pushed the pace. I loved during the shine, he would pepper in offense thus making Razor EARN the shine. It was a slight wrinkle and it forced Razor to overcome and walk through Martel's offense making Razor's offense more compelling. Razor worked his usual specialties like the Sack O' Shit (Fallaway Slam) and his solid base of arm work. Martel even took his slingshot splash into the ring. The match really picked up after the ad break where Martel had a very strong heat segment. This was different from your run of the mill WWF heat segment. Martel really threw out the bombs. This felt more like All Japan than WWF. Bodyslam on the outside kicks off. Great Saito Suplex and general back work. TWO Boston Crabs! Razor gets the ropes on the first, Martel peppers in a sidewalk slam and then a second Boston Crab. Razor muscles out of the Boston Crab, great series of nearfalls. Razor comes back a little too neatly for my tastes. Something more creative OR Martel missing a move would be better. I did like Martel fighting through the apparent, customary Super Back Suplex from Razor to hit a crossbody to get one last nearfall. Then Razor polished it off with a Razor Edge. I think one missed Martel move, a consolidation move by Razor followed by the Razor's Edge would have elevated match slightly more. This was awesome! Cagematch has this as Scott Hall's 8th best match. I dont disagree with their rating. I have this at *** 3/4 which on their scale is 7.5 and the aggregate rating is 7.24 so pretty close. I just cant believe this is Scott Hall's 8th best. I feel like he has to have more top ranked matches. I will definitely have to make a list. Regardless, this match is a ton of fun, highly recommended. *** 3/4
  24. Superstar Sleeze
    WWF World Tag Team Champions Yokozuna & Owen Hart vs Lex Luger & British Bulldog - WWF In Your House II There was no more fitting end to Lex Luger’s tepid WWF run than having him stare up at the lights after a Yokozuna leg drop. Luger & Yoko we’re so tied together for last two years and for Yoko to get first pinfall and send Luger packing feels right. I love Luger, a Top 50 fave but WWF was just an awful fit for him. Anything interesting thing most WWF wrestlers of this generation had their best match against Bret or Shawn but Luger never got a chance to work with either. I wonder if he did if his run would’ve went better. Last note, I have never seen an Owen/Yoko match before and I have always been intrigued by the team. These two holding the tag title definitely elevated them. Yoko/Luger start off not much of a shine at all for Luger. Yoko body slams misses an elbow but Yoko goes back on offense, weird. Luger does rally and knocks Yoko on his ample posterior which lands on poor Owen’s foot. This ends up being the best part of the match. Owen selling is good comic relief and they tease some tension in Camp Cornette. Luger/Owen have a brief exchange which makes me wonder how Luger would’ve done with better wrestlers. Bulldog comes in. They work their standard Stampede wrist lock spot. Yoko gives Bulldog a good whack as he is running the ropes. Owen and Yoko take over. Yoko does the nerve pinch. We get a good spinning heel kick and the Enziguiri of Doom (though he hadn’t KO’d Shawn yet). I forget the transition to the hot tag but Luger gets a good one. He press slams Owen onto Yoko. The Allied Powers back suplex Yoko together. Owen crashes down on Luger. Yoko drops the leg. 1-2-3. Hello WCW! The most poetic ending to the ignominious WWF run of Lex Luger. ***
  25. Superstar Sleeze
    As an AP Latin student someone using “anaphora” correctly about obscure 1993 pro wrestling just popped me huge in the Dublin airport!
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