[1996-02-18-WWF-In Your House VI] Bret Hart vs Diesel (Cage)

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Probably their worst big show match, and considering the booking of Bret's title matches, it's a little weird that he would be surprised that he was just keeping the belt warm for Michaels. The focus is always on building feuds between other top guys, and the Davey Boy match is the only time he got any type of meaningful victory over a challenger.

 

Bret is the champ during this time period, but doesn't really become a key part of the company focus until the build starts for Mania.

[Kevin Ridge]

Diesel is slowly dominating most of the action that is shown. Diesel is about to escape cage and win but Undertaker comes through the ring apron and drags Diesel underneath. The finishes in the matches against Undertaker and Diesel have not been good to Bret. Not a way for a face champion to be book going into the next big show. Match has been set for WrestleMania between Bret and Shawn.

[PeteF3]

Not good, and hugely disappointing in the face of their other matches. This is Nash in full Big Lazy mode, a few years early. Diesel's also in full heel mode, both in the way he's working and crowd reactions--wait a second, he gets booed the whole match, gets booed for thumbing Bret in the eye...and not two seconds later a "DIE-SEL" chant breaks out. WTF, Louisville? As cheap as the ending is and as weak as it makes Bret look, I do like it as an effective and creative BS finish that played off Undertaker's post-Royal Rumble promise. Kind of notable that Bret completely vanishes from sight as soon as he escapes the cage, though, and that it's Undertaker's music that plays and not Hart's. The full Diesel heel turn is pretty clearly in place by this point.

[soup23]

This looked really pedestrian from the clips. Why did Taker wait to the finish to pop up?

[PeteF3]

This looked really pedestrian from the clips. Why did Taker wait to the finish to pop up?

 

Well, it wouldn't have been much of a main event if he'd dragged Diesel to Hell 30 seconds in...

[soup23]

 

This looked really pedestrian from the clips. Why did Taker wait to the finish to pop up?

 

Well, it wouldn't have been much of a main event if he'd dragged Diesel to Hell 30 seconds in...

 

True but in the confines of wrestling logic, situations like these are a pet peeve of mine. Maybe he thought he could lay out the newly crowned champion or something, I dunno. I can get a heel having enough bravado that he doesn't want interference unless a loss is imminent, this just seemed like Taker hanging out and then deciding to rise from the ashes.

[tim]

Nothing of a match, but another good angle for Undertaker/Diesel. One of the times that Undertaker coming up through the ring worked.

[Makai Club #1]

I wasn’t digging this at all. Totally low energy from start to finish. The match was worked fine, as most Hart matches are but this wasn’t very fun or engaging to watch. It wasn’t exactly slow but it felt very off. Not a good match. The finish was a good way to further Diesel vs Taker. **1/4

[Superstar Sleeze]

WWF World Heavyweight Champion Bret Hart vs Diesel - WWF In Your House VI Steel Cage

Trying to squeeze this in before dinner with in-laws so this will be short. The forgotten fourth match in their rivalry and clearly their worst. Survivor Series 95 which was only three months prior is a stone cold classic and I really like Royal Rumble 95 and KOTR 94 is very good as well, but this is just wrestled in slow motion and they just didnt seem to care at all. The crowd cared even less. It was clear that Diesel was going heel by this point, but not sure he had cemented his heel turn yet. For whatever reason, Bret doesnt really wrestle as a babyface instead he chooses to wrestle like a subtle heel again which served him well before against Diesel, but with Diesel clearly having more heel heat than babyface heat except one notable exception this made the match feel like it was heel vs heel. Bret was the first to use the cage to counteract Diesel's clubbering and crowding in the corner. Standard Bret chop the big man down with attacks to the knee. There is no one I like watching more grind on top than Bret but that works if his opponent is over as a babyface. It was the wrong strategy for this crowd. I think we needed Bret to provide the uptempo babyface energy whereas Diesel could play the heel role more effectively. Also I just think Bret isnt very good at cage match. Another example of this is Bret needed to crotch Diesel on the top rope to transition again a subtle heel move. For Diesel, he was using high impact slams like sidewalk slam or press slam so it felt very heelish from both. A particularly hard Bret Bump wakes up me and the crowd. Bret starts getting some babyface heat and Diesel sucks starts happening until Diesel uses a thumb to the eye and we get Diesel chants. Thats not on the wrestlers that was just fucking weird. 

The finish is not great either but better than the Royal Rumble finish...Diesel low blows Bret as he is trying to escape. Undertaker emerges up through ring and drags DIESEL STRAIGHT TO HELL and Bret escapes to win. The reason why it is better is because at least Undertaker is justifiably pissed that Diesel screwed him at Royal Rumble. Diesel emerges from HELL disheleved and escapes to set up their WrestleMania match. Now the top two WrestleMania matches are set and on paper a pretty damn good card. 

Heatless match, weirdly worked, strange low tempo, both felt like they were working heel. It also didnt seem like they were working towards something. They match did not have a feel of progression. They wrestled for like 19 minutes and then out came the Undertaker and it felt like the whole point of the match was out came the Undertaker and the match just a backdrop to that. Pretty lame match no need to watch this.