[1995-03-06-WWF-Raw] Shawn Michaels vs Davey Boy Smith

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Fun match, but pretty empty. There's no real sense of strategy, so while everything is high-energy and they cut a good pace, there's no real rhyme or reason behind anything. It's just a bunch of stuff, the best of which is Shawn applying a really awesome short-arm scissors and Davey Boy doing a Backlund-like powerlift to counter. But yeah, empty. There are two times Davey Boy starts selling a knee injury, which you'd think would create an opening for Shawn, but he never goes after it. You get all the big standard Michaels bumps without any real sense of psychology. Like I said, fun match, but Shawn is exposed as a guy who hasn't really grown all that much since Survivor Series '92 (he's just a flashier bumper now), and he's even more exposed when watching a yearbook alongside his international peers.

 

Side note: Vince and Cornette go together like oil and water on commentary. Cornette is too long-winded for Vince's tastes, and by the end of the match, Vince just starts talking over him to call the match.

[Tim Evans]

This is one of the first matches I really remember liking when I became a fan. Shawn's bumping is on another level here and I really liked Sid and Cornette here too. Cornette put over Sid as a monster being afraid of him and such. The match might not be great as it seemed the crowd wasn't into it much and finish kinda sucked, but I enjoyed it.

[PeteF3]

They already seem to be teasing a Shawn/Sid split, with the announcers speculating on if Shawn can control him. I bet that was always the endgame, so maybe they just moved Shawn's face turn up a bit instead of deciding out of the blue the day after WM to do it. Shawn going after Smith's arm makes sense (and sold great by Cornette, who points out that the legs are stronger than the arms), but after Smith powers out it doesn't really go anywhere. Davey Boy busts out an impactante/Romero special, which is cool. Shawn has a few wrinkles here but is still weak on offense, and there are a number of openings and transitions that Davey Boy immediately cuts off, particularly after Sid catches Shawn flying to the floor. Shawn wins in refreshingly clean fashion.

 

What is with Vince constantly whining about Davey Boy being ROBBED? Cornette presses him on why exactly he was "robbed" at the Rumble and Vince just plugs the Coliseum Video release.

[NickH]

Fun fun fun. Really enjoy watching these two.***1/2 Shawn at this point I would think would remind fans of Ziggler right now, just a guy that bumps with no substance, no reason. It's a really good throwaway match that you can do once in a while but at some point either you evolve into a main eventer or you get stuck in the midcard.

 

I'm mentioning Ziggler because I can imagine him vs the Bulldog here. The difference is Shawn evolved into a great main eventer, whereas I can see Dolph having this sort of match every week but not getting anywhere.

[Calvin]

It's hard to tell if Shawn took a fistful of soma's or snorted a line before he worked this match. Maybe both? Going from him bumping vivaciously around the ring to slapping on sleep-inducing chinlocks in control segments that we're way too fucking long made this a rollercoaster of a match. This would've worked better as a sub-ten minute sprint where Shawn isn't left to his own devices.

**1/4

[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