DVD #1: Bret Hart vs 1-2-3 Kid

[Loss]

WWF World Title Match: WWF Champion Bret "The Hitman" Hart vs 1-2-3 Kid

WWF Monday Night RAW 07/11/94

Taped 07/01/94, Bushkill, PA

[Dylan Waco]

I reviewed this on SC the other day, and was waiting to actually get the disc to post the review here. I will rewatch the match on disc later this week also, but here are my initial thoughts..

 

Context is key in that match. A big part of the reason the match works as well as it does is because of what was going on around it. Waltman was extremely green and looked it. He had upset Razor Ramon to get his break, and Ramon was a top echelon guy in alot of ways because of his size and finisher. Bret was in his own right still kinda of viewed as a fluke champion in some ways. He hadn't really had a run of beating "big" guys that would establish him as a giant killer, which has really been the previous trend for WWF babyface champs.

 

So the dynamic was interesting. Kid was a major, major underdog, but Bret was kind of the underdog champion, so the heirchial style of match they worked here was actually pretty tricky. When Bret gives that look at the beginning it is almost a signal that it is a match of underdogs and underappreciated guys. Waltman gets to hang with Bret on the ground and work him over with some speed and they sort of play that Bret isn't taking him serously. Then Bret starts almost heeling on him with beatdown tactics and wear down holds, before Kid starts busting out with the high risk shit.

 

The high risk shit is really important for two reasons. In alot of peoples eyes Kid was more of an underdog opposite Ramon, than he was opposite Bret because of size/strength. He beat Ramon with high risk, so when he starts unloading flip planchas and top rope legdrops the nearfalls are really hot because Bret isn't as big or strong as Razor. Also it's important to remember that these sort of things were exceedingly rare at that period on U.S. tv, espcially that high up the card. So it is something different.

 

Really the finishing stretch to the match is great. Bret actually eats a nasty boot off of his second rope elbow for a nice transition. They do a really smart Waltman escape from the sharpshooter that sort of subtley puts him over. The run of nearfalls is really well done. The finish itself is also something I have always loved and remembered exactly from the first time I saw it, as Waltman missing a top rope dropkick, leading straight to a sharpshooter and an immediate submission, is really the perfect end to a match like this.

 

This match has been compared to Windham v. Scorpio before and in some ways it works, but it's structurally different because Windham was working big dominant champ v. Scorpio, whereas Bret was working developing underdog champ v. Kid.

[Dylan Waco]

One other thing, and this may seem minor, but my main criticism of the match is that Waltman uses a powerbomb. It probably seems really nitpicking to some, but really it was a poor choice. Waltman as underdog, flippy young guy, really doesn't work if he is using heavily protected big tiime power moves as setup spots that aren't even getting hot nearfalls. I wouldn't go so far as to say that it was precursor to the X Division style trash we see today, but it was the "little guys are technical and no every move" concept that did give rise to that feces and this is an early and inappropriate manifestation of it.

 

When this thread opens up some, I think I will toss up my review of Backlund v. Bret here, as it is an interesting comparision match from roughly the same period and basic circumstances (tv match)

[Resident Evil]

Although I didn't get to view the match on the disc yet, I did get to rewatch this about 4 weeks ago. However, it was the clipped version. The restart wasn't there at all. Thank goodness they had the eyebrow spot though!

 

Still an awesome match though that escalated nicely. Waltman's win over Razor of course helped this match out a lot or should I say Hart and the 123Kid took advantage of the Kid's momentum he had after defeating Razor. We as fans wanted to see if the Kid wasn't a fluke, if he could keep his momentum and if he could beat Bret with some kind of new, fancy, highflying move we hadn't seen before. Even if we knew deep down that Bret was going to win, there was a part of us that thought the Kid might just do it. The match kept that hope alive extremely well. Just simply an excellent match on all levels and as Dylan already said before me it had the perfect ending because it fit in so well with what they were doing. Bret was the master of those.

 

It's almost impossible for anyone to dislike this match.

[MikeCampbell]

This was just a boatload of fun, I remember being pissed when I first heard about it happening, because I didn't have cable at the time, and even at age 11, I knew it would be awesome. I didn't get much audio thanks to my fiance watching Interview with the Vampire in the other room and ignoring my pleas of "Turn it down!" But the match itself was tons of fun, with both guys playing their roles very well.

[Loss]

This was a terrific match. I think most people have seen it on the Raw Hits CHV release. I think it's good there also, but it loses something. The CHV announcers were usually pretty low-key and didn't really have a lot of emotion. Jim Ross is so much better in the TV version of this match than the commercial version.

 

I'm curious if people who have seen both versions will agree.

[Guest FlairPinnedMe]

I had seen this match originally when I was a kid, and it was pretty cool to go back and to watch it again with different eyes. A lot of the time you find out what you loved and thought was awesome as a kid, isn’t so awesome when you watch it years later. This match would be a major exception to that rule.

 

The dynamic for the match was really good. 1-2-3 Kid had been built up for a while scoring fluke wins over guys most especially Razor Ramon. And since Bret wasn’t really a big powerful guy – there was somewhat of a chance for 123 Kid to get out the fluke win. Ross put over Kid as a real contender too which helped the believability factor.

 

The start is a good build up, they feel each other out for a bit. Kid gets a few holds in, trying to beat Bret at his own game? Bret comes back with his powerful strikes and Kid gets beat down a lot. He makes a few fluke gutsy comebacks.

 

After the restart is what makes the match great. 123 Kid is really tired after being beat down a bunch by Bret during the match. Bret is tired from trying to keep up with the younger, faster 123 Kid. Kid makes his comeback, gets his series of kicks in the corner, and then cross body from the top gets a 2 count. I agree with DylanWaco that the powerbomb did seem really out of place, but it didn’t make that much of a difference.

 

The finish is real good too, he tapped out to the sharpshooter, so it’s not like he looks weak or anything. Overall, a really good match especially for a TV match back then.

[Loss]

One other thing about this match is that I really think this is Bret Hart's vision of what wrestling should be. That's been argued for Hart/Benoit in the past, and I can see the case, but there was a dark cloud hanging over that match. Here, there's optimism for the future. This was a reaction to the Hogan era, and the type of championship matches you got on top when Hogan was champion. Savage was never really able to break the Hogan mold in the same way Bret did as far as working a different style on top (which may be because Hogan was still around), and this was really more of the classic version of a world champion versus local hero match than anything we'd seen this company do for years.

 

This was more the type of match you would have seen in WCW just a year or two prior, whereas Hogan/Flair at Bash at the Beach (which happened 16 days after this match), in front of a huge crowd in a tourist's city like Orlando was more like a WWF match you would have seen just a year or two prior. Bret Hart as the 1990s version of Jack Brisco is great fun, even though it was odd seeing it in the WWF of all places.

[World's Worst Man]

I liked how they worked in all of the flash pins in this match. While the Kid started out strong, eventually it seemed like his plan was to just kind of hang around and try to get another fluke win. It's a shame that the flash near fall after the restart happened during the break, because it looked like it would have been the best of the match. I was also disappointed that they didn't work in a small package reversal of the sharpshooter, as it would have been a nice last ditch effort from the Kid to win the match, and probably would have gotten a fair bit of heat. I felt that the finish ended up being a little flat instead. In any case, it was a solid match that did a good job of accurately portraying each guy's character. The 1-2-3 Kid as the young, upstart, over-achieving underdog and Bret Hart as the classy, honorable champ.

[tim]

It's a shame that the flash near fall after the restart happened during the break, because it looked like it would have been the best of the match.

yeah i thought the exact same. speaking of restarts, i love them, because they make the match feel like a special event as well as a wrestling match, and it was really great here, especially prefaced by the bret's speech praising Kid. And God those European uppercuts were brutal.

[JHawk]

One of my favorite matches ever, and one I used to watch at least once a year.

 

What's missed by a lot of people who have seen this match is how Bret's playing a subtle heel over the course of the match. especially before the restart. He's doing everything by the books, but he's using roughouse tactics: elbows, boots, forearms, etc.

 

Kid's comeback are perfectly timed, and the near falls are so good that it's only when Hart locks in the Sharpshooter that you think he's got the match sewn up.

 

An easy **** in my eyes, and it's a shame they never had a rematch until Kid's heel turn.

[Loss]

I wasn't aware they had one even then. I need to see that.

[Bix]

I vaguely remember it...was it on Superstars?

[kjh]

Some random thoughts:

 

I really liked the pacing of the match and how they picked things up before a commercial break with a nice flurry of action to keep viewers hooked. Bret's slow methodical destruction of the Kid made a great contrast to Kid's high risk, fast paced offense and Bret's strikes looked really crisp and stiff. I thought they did a good job of teasing the Kid's big comeback before it happened with Bret constantly cutting off his mini comebacks either by beating on him some more or outsmarting him.

 

Bret's facials expressing shock whenever the Kid outwrestled him or almost beat him really helped put the Kid and the story of the match over. After the great false finish where the Kid countered Bret's superplex for a near fall, Bret had this great look on his face like "Gee, he almost beat me there".

 

Loss makes a good point how this match epitomises Bret's vision of wrestling - a morality play between good and evil with good always triumphing in the end. The lesson here being that Bret's honesty and sportmanship didn't consequently cost him the match and his title. Bret was more of an everyday man hero than Hogan's cartoon character come to life, someone who wouldn't bend the rules and stoop to the same levels of his opponent unless he was unduly provoked and snapped.

[JHawk]

I vaguely remember it...was it on Superstars?

I think it was on Raw. It was OK but nothing spectacular.

[Dylan Waco]

Just watched the DVD version, and wow the match is much better with the restart, although it is odd that subtle heel Bret would call for restart and then the clearcut face would try and score a cheapshot rollup win when the champs back is turned. Still Ross is unbelievable getting this over and so is Savage to be honest. Post match when Savage and Ross stand up and clap along with the crowd and Ross calls it one of the best matches he's ever seen it really feels like it means something, even if it was just carny bullshit.

 

Also, man alive Kids flip plancha spot was fucking insane early in his career. I know for a fact he rolled it out a few times in Global and opposite Lynn and it is just a ridiculously crazy spot from anytime period, let alone that point when there siimply was no precedent on the national scale for shit like that. Just a crazy spot, that requires an unbelievable degree of trust in your opponent or a total lack of concern for your own well being or both.

[Dylan Waco]

Don't want to highjack this and Loss can move this if he wants, but here is my review of Backlund v. Bret which is from the same rough time period and has alot of similarities in that it is Bret v. a clear underdog opponent, but a guy that still has some crediblity because of his past. Also similar in a sense, as Backlund works alot of crazy rollup falls as a big base of this match, which is something Kid toyed with in the Bret match, before bringing out the big time offense. Interesting match and really hard to rate opposite Kid v. Bret, though Kid v. Bret is generally regarded as better.

 

Bret v. Backlund

 

This match might actually be better than I remembered. For years I have talked about this match as one that has slipped through the cracks of history and is a reasonable rival to the Waltman match I talked about earlier. After rewatching it I feel the same way.

 

The big story here is that Backlund is finally getting his shot after ten years. He never really lost the title himself, but he's past his prime and not really a serious threat. He's also cranky as shit, coming out of the gates by refusing a cleanbreak and then pushing the action with various rollups and takedown attempts trying to get a quick win.

 

One thing I like about the match, that would make it a dismal failure in the eyes of many modern fans, is that it is an incredibly simple match. The match is roughly fifteen minutes long, and there is really nothing in the match that is a true highspot. Backlund has always had a really simple offense, but what he has he delivers really well here, getting nice nearfalls out of everything from a piledriver to even a simple bodyslam (that is really impactful and unlike anything you'd see today from anyone not named Finlay). There is also a great spot in the match where Bret is working offense, controlling Bob with armbars and hammerlocks and Bob picks him up hitting this really deep wastelock takedown that looks and feels like a true deadlift.

 

I watched Hansen v. Bob in the cage last night. It's a good match, but the match is almost entirely good because of Hansen. Bob is really a prop for Hansen to stiff and bump around for. In this match Bret is just the guy applying holds, while Backlund does all the work in making the match go.

 

Finishing stretch is a great example of this, as Bob is awesome fighting his way out of the sharpshooter, awesome with the double bridgeout reversal spot (which Ross does a great job of putting over), awesome with the celebration after the close nearfall on he inside cradle, and awesome after he loses to the Bret cradle. In all of this Bret is there and Bob is the star.

 

I'm not a Backlund fan at all. There are plenty of Bob matches that I like, but most of the time I feel like he's the weaker guy in the match and often times it just feels like he's there for the ride. This was not the case here as Backlund really steals the show

[Frankensteiner]

Re: the Bret/Backlund, I think Bret held up his end of the match. He did a good job of putting Backlund over as a credible opponent. At the same time, Bob is booked to look much stronger in that match, hence it's easier for him to look like a show stealer.

 

On a related note, if we're rolling out Bret TV matches, I think people should check out Bret/Fatu from 3/1/93 Raw. I don't know how people would rate it, but it was a fun little match.

[Dylan Waco]

Backlund is booked to look stronger, but Kid was booked to look stronger in the Bret match and yet you don't get the feeling afterword that it was the Kid show..after the Backlund match you get the feeling he was running a clinic and Bret was just the other carbon based lifeform required to make the gears turn.

[smkelly]

I wish they still had matches like this today in the WWE.

 

Hart is a great wrestler, and shows his merit by working with a pretty new worker and delivering a great match. I didn't much like the powerbomb spot either, it felt out of place, and just unecessary.

 

Kid nailed Hart with a few stiff spin kicks to the face that made me say "wow". Kid took a big bump to the floor on a senton.

 

Overall, great match.

[Frankensteiner]

Backlund is booked to look stronger, but Kid was booked to look stronger in the Bret match and yet you don't get the feeling afterword that it was the Kid show..after the Backlund match you get the feeling he was running a clinic and Bret was just the other carbon based lifeform required to make the gears turn.

I don't necessarily agree that Kid was booked to look stronger. He was basically a guy who had to pull off insanely dangerous moves to even have a shot at an upset. Plus Bret had already pinned him midway through the match off a crucifix reverse. With Backlund, you got the sense he was beating Bret at his own game, outwrestling him, and looking like his equal.

 

Throughout his WWF comeback, I'd be hard pressed to find any good Backlund matches not involving Hart. And they had 3 really good and pretty different matches (MSG HH, Superstars, Survivor Series). Who was the last guy up to that point to give Bob a good match? Takada? So, yeah, I'm inclined to give Bret credit where it's due.

[Dylan Waco]

Once again, I"m not a Bob fan. I don't even like "peak" Bob very much. But I can't change what I see with my own eyes. Bob was working for the fluke pin early and often, but he still looked strong. Kid's "crazy moves" were his entire persona. Literally that was his role, his reason for existing and his reason for success. Saying he "had to resort" to that is like bitching cause Bret had to resort to the sharpshooter. That was his ace in the hole.

 

Anyhow, Bob dictated the pace of the Bret match and brought most of the interesting stuff to the table. Bob didn't get alot of other chances during that run...also Bret was a guy who was more than willing to let guys have there kind of match and didn't mind taking a backseat if it was someone he respected.

[Jingus]

Throughout his WWF comeback, I'd be hard pressed to find any good Backlund matches not involving Hart. Who was the last guy up to that point to give Bob a good match? Takada?

Pretty much, Takada, yup. And that would be their 1988 match, not the 1991 outing where Bob supposedly got knocked out shoot in like a minute. Although aside from the UWF matches, damned if I can remember Backlund working anywhere else, he kinda fell off the face of the earth after losing the WWF title.

 

Also, don't forget the NOT so good match he and Bret had at Mania 11.

[gordi]

So, I was dying to get my hands on this DVD... then it arrived... then the f'n Benoit Family Tragedy hit and wrestling just stopped being fun...

 

So, then... this past weekend Bryan Danielson fought Adam Pearce as part of the NWA title tournament. It was in North Vancouver, and my friend Verne was involved with booking the show, and so I took a group of people from the camp I run to see Danielson...

 

...and Pearce is a great funny heel, and they brawled into the crowd right through where we were sitting... and we went for pizza with the wrestlers afterwards...

 

... and I remember now why I am a wrestling fan... so I was able to give a couple of matches from this DVD a shot. I also watched Danielson vs. Aries '05 and Misawa vs. Kobashi '03 with some camp friends... and enjoyed that a lot...

 

 

This match of course brought up thoughts of the Owen Tribute Match, which left me feeling very wistful... but it didn't hurt, at least...

 

...and this match is definitely WWF style wrestling done extremely well, not just following the same old formula, and with a clear underdog storyline (I like DW's analysis of how it was, in a way, underdog vs. underdog), and the good sportsmanship re-start did the trick for me, I got into this and just enjoyed it.

 

Count me among those who sincerely wish that WWE were still capable of putting on matches like this.

[S.L.L.]

One other thing about this match is that I really think this is Bret Hart's vision of what wrestling should be. That's been argued for Hart/Benoit in the past, and I can see the case, but there was a dark cloud hanging over that match. Here, there's optimism for the future. This was a reaction to the Hogan era, and the type of championship matches you got on top when Hogan was champion. Savage was never really able to break the Hogan mold in the same way Bret did as far as working a different style on top (which may be because Hogan was still around), and this was really more of the classic version of a world champion versus local hero match than anything we'd seen this company do for years.

This is a really good point.

 

One thing watching this match reminded me of is that since he became a notable singles wrestler, Bret's character has pretty much always been presented as a tragic one. Certainly, he's far from the only wrestler to have bad things happen to him, but the general story for Bret's character is that he wants to be Jack Brisco, having clean, straightforward wrestling matches, but something always goes wrong for him. And the response often isn't rage, it's a bitter depression. Bret doesn't know how to cope with wrestling his brother-in-law in his home nation. Bret feels powerless to stop the constant humiliation he and his family are put through at the hands of Jerry Lawler. Bret is heartbroken over his little brother turning against him. Bret doesn't know how to deal with some of his fans turning to Michaels and Austin, even though he feels they aren't worthy successors. And of course, Bret, already aimless in WCW, is forced to soldier on even more aimlessly after his brother's death.

 

So in this match, it is interesting to see what the character of Bret Hart must have envisioned as the light at the end of the tunnel. He seldom actually got there, but of the rare occasions he did, this was the best.