[1985-04-27-WWF-Philly Spectrum] Hart Foundation vs British Bulldogs

[Superstar Sleeze]

British Bulldogs vs Hart Foundation – Philly 4/27/85

This review is from 2013 But wanted to capture it here in case it inspires people to watch discuss.  

The very first Bulldogs/Hart Foundation featured a similar structure to the rest of the Bulldogs/Harts match, but it lacks of a lot of the usual spots (blind knee, Demolition Decapitation, Bret getting tangled in the ropes). It is structure that is not seen very often in WWF. It is a short shine with a double face in peril and I would hypothesize it is the influence of the AWA on Stampede Wrestling. I would also assert this is not a style that suits the offensive dynamos that are the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs excel where they can just kick ass and hit a ton of their crazy spots. When you have someone like a Hammer in there, to hit them in the mouth, you can get a really fun give and take. I really did not care much for 5/85 MSG match between these two and I would say this is a bit better than that,  but was just an average match. As I said above, it was a short shine with the stock Bret Hart bump off the hammerlock and the Dynamite enziguiri. I really liked the organic feel of the knee lift collision between Bret and Dynamite that leads to a pretty boring Dynamite Kid heat segment. They do the Bret/Dynamite I can’t hit a backbreaker and Dynamite hits one. I forgot how fucking awesome Davey Boy dropkick is. Neidhart cuts him off from behind with a groin shot. Fuck man and an even more boring heat segment ensues. This is mechanical, cold Bret Hart at his worst as we a lot of shoulder rubs. Dick Graham mentions “SUPLEX CITY!” Davey Boy just stops selling and cuts Bret off on top and hits a monster missile dropkick! Dynamite whips Bret into Neidhart and now the Bret Bump! He is a house afire and we get an ab stretch??? Tombstone Piledriver! That’s better. Now Davey Boy powerslam! Dynamite starts wasting time going into  the draw. Awfully cold finish. Better structure than the 5/85 tag, but Bret Hart is just working how you are supposed to rather than with your gut. Bret is a great ring general and brings a lot to the match, but when he was not feeling it then it would just leave you feeling cold.   *** 1/4