[1995-01-23-WWF-Raw] 1-2-3 Kid & Bob Holly vs Smoking Gunns

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[FLIK]

Glad this ended up making the set. Always thought it was a really good match that for whatever reason never got pimped much. Great performance from the Gunns I thought, maked out huge for their double team stuff back then, Kidd & Holly were good too.

 

Random aside, I always liked Shawn's anouncing work he was doing on RAW and for whatever reason him yelling out to one of the Gunns during this match"COVER HIM YOU REXOL RANGER" I found insanley amusing. some 16 or so years later I still don't even know WTF a rexol ranger is either

[Loss]

Why is the top heel also the color guy?

 

They should have stuck with Kid and Holly as a team. They were pretty over with the live crowd after the title win, were putting together some nice double team spots (double superplex!) and Kid seemed to raise Holly's game.

 

The Billy/The Kid (See what I did there?) slugfest near the end is great.

 

Not really a classic or anything, but I do like this better than the match the night before, which says a lot, because babyface vs babyface tag matches are a little limited. The Gunns got a lot of crap, but they were a perfectly fine tag team. They worked hard and had some pretty good offense.

[PeteF3]

They ran through a multitude of guest commentators after Heenan left--Johnny Polo, the Quebecers, Bastion Booger of all people...Shawn was one and seemed to fit the role best, so he stuck around for a bit.

 

Lawler was likely unwilling to miss a MSC show every few weeks. Savage was back on the road going around the horn with Crush, which may have been logistically problematic. With the WWF trying to cut costs on flying people in, which is what led to Heenan's departure, their options may have been pretty limited.

[Tim Evans]

Not a bad match at all. Gunns surprised me by being able to hang with the kid. Was the plan for the Gunns to win the title at Rumble before Billy got hurt?

[FLIK]

Yeah, Holly & Kid were their replacements in the tournament so it was supposed to be the Gunns getting it from the start.

[PeteF3]

I'm not sure what exactly the logic was behind this booking--the Gunns were taken out of the tournament by choice, not because of injury--but this is a fine match. And it's worked between four guys who want to win at any cost, which is the best kind of babyface match. Lots of nifty double-teams here, particularly from the Gunns. The gimmick was cheesy but their work is perfectly acceptable. Both of them are better than Tatanka, but not as good as Bigelow, so in the end I think I liked the Rumble match slightly better.

[Calvin]

This is for 1-2-3 Kid & Bob Holly's WWF Tag Team Championship.

I don't think this needed twenty minutes, but whatever. Kid looks amazing, as usual, and the Gunns were better than expected.

**3/4

[Superstar Sleeze]

WWF World Tag Team Champions 1-2-3 Kid & Bob Holly vs Smoking Gunns - WWF RAW 1/23/95

1-2-3 Kid the king of the makeshift tag teams. Kid/Jannetty were obviously the better team and in my dream world, they ruled WWF tag team scene for at least a couple years. Kid/Holly are the poor man's version. I havent seen Holly wrestle since his departure from WWE and he does not seem like a great lost worker. I believe this is my first time watching the Smoking Gunns as a tag team. All in all, given there was only one worker I would say I'd like in this match, this greatly exceeded expectations. Really unique match, it is double FIP, BUT since each team is babyface, they each do a FIP. Pretty cool.

I loved the beginning of the match. The work was tight, uptempo and it just felt like an 1980s babyface vs babyface tag team match. Kid & Holly were the Cinderella story of the Tag Team Title Tournament replacing Smoking Gunns who were out due to a "rodeo injury" they defeated the Million Dollar Corporation the previous night at the Royal Rumble. So they were really playing up the 24 hours since they won the title defense. It was a really well done babyface vs babyface work. Holly was the first to break the mold with right hand to Bart. Billy came in and just tackled Holly with a bulldog. It looked awesome. I thought things would get chippy, but they settled into place. Gunns hit a double press slam on Holly. Kid/Holly showed they could do double teams too with a double superplex and a double dropkick. Kid/Holly worked their heat segment on Billy. Kid/Holly, unexpectedly played more of the de facto heels in the match, Kid dropkicked Bart off the apron when Billy went for a tag and this was sold as very heelish. 

Kid sold exhaustion so well and thus the Rocker Dropper by Billy came off really organic and well-timed. Right into hot tag for Bart. Loved the backbreaker/Rockers Dropper combo AND the Billy dropkick into a vertical suplex. Both looked killer. I thought the face in peril on Kid dragged a bit, BUT still cool seeing each team do one. Holly continues that thread of Kid/Holly being heelish when he does a Hart Foundation knee to the Gunns running the ropes. Vince declares Holly has the best dropkick in the game which was a long standing soundbyte. Jim Brunzell's was better. Shawn Michaels says his is better on commentary. Holly eats the foot on a splash. Bart gets him up in an Argentine Backbreaker and Billy comes off the top into a Slop Drop/Edge combo. Bart stops Kid. 1-2-3 New Champs and first reign for the Gunns. 

Saw footage of the Sidewinder, some AEW team should bring that back. Thats sick. I thought this what a really damn good tag team match. I think you can play Kid & Holly's heelishness up as desperation. They just did all this work to win the tag team titles against all odds and now 24 hours later they have to defend them. The twin scourge of exhaustion and desperation will cause a man to cheat. I thought the Gunns were pretty damn solid here. Looking forward to more matches. *** 3/4