[1993-03-01-WWF-Monday Night Raw] Bret Hart vs Fatu

[Superstar Sleeze]

WWF World Heavyweight Champion Bret Hart vs Fatu - WWF RAW 3/1/93

Fun trivia fact here: the first WWF Championship match on RAW. I would have expected Bret Hart to hold that honor given that timeframe, but would have never guessed the challenger. Bret defends against Yoko at WrestleMania and he takes on his shoot cousin here. They were not related kayfabe as Fatu does have "Samoa" on his tights and Yokozuna was billed from Japan. I do like this booking as a tune-up match as Fatu is a smaller version of Yokozuna so it gives you a nice preview of the WrestleMania IX main event without giving away the whole farm. Unfortunately, "Elvis" is on commentary for the match and no it is NOT the Honky Tonk Man, I believe this is Rob Bartlett. It was incredibly unfunny and distracting. It was really bad. 

I have not seen Bret in a long time and it was nice to see him again. I came away with the same thoughts I always have about Bret. I really enjoy the snap of his matches. It is not even the snap of his execution of the moves, there is a snap to how he moves in the ring and how the match even flows. It is very comforting. It feels realistic. Today matches feel like they have motion smoothing on. From the opening bell to the final bell, it is this seamless perpetual motion blur that never ends. The beats of a Bret match are just good for your soul. The feather in Bret's cap is that he can have a match unto himself. I think of people like Flair, Arn, Vader, and Misawa as wrestlers who have this plug 'n play formula. By the way this is a positive, no matter what other fans tell you. It gives you a comfort zone and then the slightest deviation is an immediate Ooooooo as opposed to other wrestlers that much noisier and then therefore the signal to noise ratio is shit. My complaints about Bret are the same. His matches are too segmented and mechanical. They are just too damn neat. Clear transitions are nice but make either side consolidate that advantages. He does not pepper in enough hope spots working underneath. He is still an easy Top 50 wrestler of all time. 

I am not sure I have ever reviewed a Rikishi/Fatu match. Obviously becoming a wrestling fan in 1997, I have seen my fair share of Rikisihi, he even came to my local skating rink when I was in high school. He was better than what I expected but I thought he was going to suck. He definitely does not suck. I dont think he is any great shakes, but he was fine. 

Enjoyed the shine, Bret tries a crossbody (nothing like hurling your body like a missile at the larger opponent) but Fatu catches him. Rikishi misses an elbow and the heir to Jack Brisco works his armdrags. Good cat & mouse early from Bret. Luring Fatu into traps who would miss and then take advantage of the discombobulation. In a heelish move, Bret feigns a knee injury early and rolls up Fatu. Fatu has enough of this and smokes Bret with a thrust kick. Some nerve pinches follow. Bret crossbody (a hope spot, be fair to Bret, MartMan), gets two but he gets sent outside where Samu is waiting to punish him while Afa distracts the ref. Back from commercial, we ditch the nerve pinches for piledrivers and sidewalk slams. Thats more like it! Bret meets Fatu at the top rope for a superplex. Five moves of Doom incoming. Again, I like them. He does them really well and there is usually a shake-up in the middle of the combination. First Sharpshooter attempt does not go well as Samu decks him from behind and pins him!?!?! Even Elvis wakes up from his shitty jokes to note that aint fair. They switch back after Bret kicks out. Bret knocks Fatu into Samu. Russiam Legsweep. Samu's head gets caught in the ropes!?!?!? Dropkick to Afa! Sharpshooter! Great visual with Samu in the background with his head caught in the ropes. 

It was an enjoyable TV match. I have spent so much time either as a kid/teenager watching the Bret classics and then reviewing those classics as an adult, it is nice to just watch a random TV match by him and acknowledge yes Bret is a great wrestler. ***1/2