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What the HECK?/Intro- Rasslin Tape 17 (Fall/Winter 1991)
This tape starts sometime in late October 1991 and is probably the most rumbustious
WWF tape I have. It starts out as just another heapin' helping of crap, but
the World title changes twice within five days, and then a THIRD time
when the title is held up. Considering that the
WWF went almost 8 years with about five World title changes, it's pretty significant.
This is also the only WWF tape I own that features TWO PPV's.. The 1991 Survivor Series
and the mini-PPV, "This Tuesday in Texas". But before we get to that, we must weed through...
Random Match 1: Rockers vs. Beverly Brothers (w/The Genius)
(Shawn Michaels & Marty Janetty vs. Beau & Blake Beverly)
When I first began watching these tapes back in 2000, I swore I would never
cite a Leapin' Lanny Poffo/Genius poem.. but since this match sucks:
The Genius knows that rock and roll is decadent and filth.
It's why the world is a mess today.
The Beverly Brothers, members of the upper echelon,
Shall use my master plan to save the day!
Oh well. Marty frustrates the Bevs by fluffing up their mullets
during the initial lock-ups. Marty works most of the match
and gets pummeled by the Bevs, including two veg-o-matics.
(The move where the opponent is hooked on the top rope and
the other guy leaps over and smacks him. I know that's NOT
the correct terminology according to Jim Cornette's Midnight Express, but I remember it
being called that, somewhere).
Shawn keeps trying to make the save, but the
ref constantly orders him out. A bearhug happens! Marty comesback with
a face buster on Blake, then tags Shawn who delivers a double noggin-knocker
and a neckbreaker. Marty returns and they issue a double backdrop.
4-way brawl breaks out and the bell rings to signal a time limit draw.
I suppose the big storyline was that Shawn was trying to play by the rules, but
was becoming irritated.
Random Match 2: WWF Intercontinental Championship:
Bret "Hitman" Hart(c) vs. Skinner
A PTW match. Bret starts with a side headlock, whips
Skinner to the ropes and hits a reverse atomic drop.
Skinner bails, then returns to choke, stomp and
drag Bret's grill across the ropes.
He misses a charge into the turnbuckle, so Bret quickly
follows up with a backbreaker, elbow off the second rope and
the sharpshooter to get the submission victory. Get used to this
formula.
Random Match 3: "Texas Tornado" Kerry Von Erich vs. Big Bully Busick
A PTW/MSG match, with Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan and Lord Alfred Hayes.
Tornado starts with a headlock into a takedown, then comes off the ropes
to hit two shoulderblocks. Busick gets a kneelift, then slaps on the
Greco Roman Knucklelock Challenge. Tornado gets the upper hand, but
Busick twists the hold around and hits a clothesline.
Busick goes up to the second turnbuckle, and Tornado meets him with
the Von Erich Claw! Tornado tries for his discus punch, but it's blocked.
A Busick bearhug happens! Busick gets an elbow off the ropes, a clothesline
and a sleeper. Tornado is Irish-whipped into the corner, then turns around and
catches Busick with a boot to the jaw, delivers a discus punch and gets the pin.
Random Match 4: WWF Intercontinental Championship:
Bret "Hitman" Hart(c) vs. Big Bully Busick (w/Harvey Whippleman)
A Superstars of Wrestling feature match. Hope your were paying attention, because
this is almost identical to the Skinner match above! In fact, it's so ordinary that
commentators Roddy Piper and Randy Savage spend the entire match
babbling about Ric Flair and Jake Roberts, respectively. Busick does manage an abdominal
stretch. Reverse atomic drop, backbreaker, 2nd rope elbow and the sharpshooter
scores the submission win for Hitman. A Very Special Moment, because this
was Busick's LAST WWF TV appearance.
SSShowdown Match 1: Big Bossman vs. Earthquake (w/Jimmy Hart)
On to the annual "Survivor Series Showdown" on USA Network. Hosted by
Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan. Throughout the show, plugs for the "Macho Man Reinstatement Hotline"
constantly appear (but kids, be sure to get your parents' permission).
Same gimmick
as the past two years- a "random drawing" pits single combatants from
opposing Survivor Series teams against one another. In a weird quirk,
Bossman and Quake are matched up for the second straight year. Slow, plodding
match with lots of PunchaMania and the always endearing Earthquake bearhug.
Midway through, IRS comes down to stand at ringside and distract Bossman.
Quake tosses Bossman to the ropes and Bossman returns with his blocked kick/
crescent kick move. They blow it with Bossman's left leg..so they immediately
try it again with his RIGHT leg! Bossman gets a 2 count, and then IRS
pulls him out. Typhoon and Jake Roberts run-in, as the bell sounds for the DQ.
Hawk and Animal arrive to chase off the baddies and make the fans
happy. Quake and Bossman? Well, they'd settle their score
roughly 5 years later as John Tenta and Big Bubba (No Trubba)
in a WCW PPV "Loaded sock on a pole" match. The fans would rejoice.
A VERY Historic Episode of the Funeral Parlor
Flashback from a few days prior. Hulk Hogan is being interviewed
by Paul Bearer, when Ric Flair arrives! WITH the NWA belt!
"That bubble you've been living in has just burst, big man! wooo!"
As far as I know, this was the first time Flair and
Hogan ever had a confrontation. Undertaker pops out of the standing
coffin and attacks Hogan from behind. Flair and Taker beat the tar out
of Hogan, until Randy Savage and Roddy Piper arrive from the broadcast
table, with chairs in hand. Funny moment as Taker rips offs
Hogan's crucifix chain... then drops it like it's acid. Possibly
the only enjoyable Funeral Parlor.. oh-hh-hh-hh yessss.
SSShowdown Match 2: Luke Williams vs. Blake Beverly (w/The Genius)
I had forgotten which Beverly was which... so this is Mike Enos.
Brawl to start and Luke resorts to the always disturbing butt bite.
Luke knocks Blake to the outside with a charging clothesline, then follows
him out to beat up on the Genius as well. Luke chases the Genius back to the dressing room
as a commercial break cues up. Luke returns wearing the Genius' mortarboard.
Blake attacks with a side backbreaker and a vertical slam for a 2 count.
Blake misses a splash off the second turnbuckle, which allows
Luke to schoolboy him, roll him up and get the pin.
SSShowdown Match 3: Million Dollar Championship:
Virgil (c) vs. "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase (w/Sensational Sherri)
DiBiase comes out of the gates with a hip-toss, a go-behind armbar and
an EVIL CACKLE! Virgil comes right back with his own hiptosses and takes DiBiase
to the mat with an armbar. Both guys tumble around and trade 2 counts.
DiBiase tosses Virgil over the top rope, where Sherri
scratches and delivers the High Heel Eye Gouge!
Back inside, DiBiase hits Virg with a vertical suplex for another 2.
Virgil makes a big comeback with a charging clothesline and grapevine
suplex for 2. Repo-Man suddenly wanders out and "steals" the Million Dollar Belt.
Virgil leans through the ropes to take a shot at him and gets brained by
the belt. DiBiase staggers over, covers Virgil, gets the pin and
his championship back. DiBiase gets the house mic and gloats over a dazed Virgil.
"You're right back where you were when I found you.. penniless and in the gutter!"
"El Matador" Tito Santana is out to chase the heels away.
If you remember old timey CRZ recaps, this was the birth of
the "Miracle Jobber Connection"!
Now, stupid moment: after Virgil won the belt, the storyline was that he was suddenly
a millionaire and living the high life. Supposedly, the Million Dollar Belt
was worth, well... a million. But, consider that Virgil still HAD the belt...
and didn't sell it! Therefore, he wasn't really a millionaire. LOGIC in
WRESTLING.
SSShowdown Match 4: "El Matador" Tito Santana vs. Skinner
Skinner with a go-behind hammerlock, so Tito reverses and comes off the ropes
with a shoulderblock to send the Aligator Man packing.
Skinner beats on Tito for the majority of the match, until
he misses something from the top turnbuckle. Tito capitalizes
with 2 drop-kicks, a kneelift and "El Paso De Muerte" to score the 3.
SSShowdown Match 5: "Rowdy" Roddy Piper vs. Hercules
Weird match, considering that both guys are NOT from opposing
Survivor Series teams. Basic brawl until Herc throws Piper through the ropes.
Piper comes back in via a sunset flip for a quick 2. They brawl some more
with Piper hitting a bulldog to score the pinfall. End of the Showdown Special,
as it's time for..
1991 Survivor Series
Show opens with a recap of the Jake Roberts-Randy Savage snake bite incident and
a message from WWF Pres. Jack Tunney. Tunney rules out both men from tonight's
Series and schedules a match between them for "this Tuesday, in Texas".
Additionally, Tunney bans ALL reptiles from ringside. See, Tunney was getting
rather savvy... he didn't ban only snakes, he included all REPTILES. In case
Skinner was getting ideas about bringing a gator to the ring someday.
SS Match 1: Roddy Piper, Bret Hart, Davey Boy Smith & Virgil vs. Ric Flair,
The Mountie, Warlord & Ted DiBiase
Looks like they've ditched the cutesy team names this year. Captains are
Roddy Piper and Ric Flair.
Never noticed before, but Harvey Whippleman apparently picked up
Warlord's contract from Slick. Flair gets a separate intro and the heat
for him is rather thick. All the managers are forced to leave after the intros, but
Sherri sticks around for a few minutes, getting involved in the match before
the refs shoo her out. A cheapshot from Flair pins Davey Boy, so Piper
returns the favor by cheapshotting Warlord and getting him pinned.
Great pace and an a VERY entertaining match...so it really sucks that
the ending involves a 5cop-out -way DQ, with Flair becoming the sole survivor.
Mean Gene brings out the newly re-instated "Macho Man" Randy Savage and
eventually Elizabeth. Strange, but this was the second consecutive year
that Macho's Series appearance consisted of a live interview.
SS Match 2: Jim Duggan, Sgt. Slaughter, Kerry Von Erich & Tito Santana vs.
Col. Mustafa, Berzerker, Skinner & Hercules
I believe Tito was a replacement for the departed Ricky Steamboat.
Jim Neidhart was originally scheduled as well, but the Flair/Beverly
Brothers attack shelved him. Good for storyline purposes, since it
forced team captain Jim Duggan to go out and recruit the re-babyfaced
Sgt. Slaughter! Pretty sure that this is Slaughter's
first match since he "got his country back". (It wasn't that it
was a good babyface turn, it's just that "Iraqi" Sarge was so
preposterous that it was easy to turn him. I don't think
even the dimmest 6-year old believed for one moment that Sarge
was an Iraqi sympathizer)
Finally, Hercules was another replacement- for
the departed Big Bully Busick. Fun moment as Slaughter
hits Mustafa with the Slaughter Cannon for the first pinfall.
Baddies all go down by pinfall as Duggan's entire team survives.
Mean Gene fires up the podium again, and brings out Jake "The Snake" Roberts.
Jake had apparently been listening to the recently released Ozzy Osbourne
"No More Tears" album, as he cops the line about "I spoke to God this morning..". Like
the current 2003 Bud Light "Real Men of Genius" commercial, Jake is
Mr. Multi-Colored Sweater Wearer.
SS Match 3: WWF Championship:
Hulk Hogan(c) vs. Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer)
Cameramen were apparently told
to "look for kids clinging to their parents"... a few catch "scared" (or bored)
kids, and
one shot catches a kid zonked out.
Gorilla does a good job of building up this match, mentioning
that several freaks and monsters have all failed at taking out Hogan
(see: Bossman, Kamala, Killer Kahn, Andre, One Man Gang, etc). Which makes
it all the more surprising when Undertaker WINS! Actually, Flair comes down and tosses
a chair in. Taker tombstones Hogan on it and we have a NEW WWF Champion- the
"undefeated" Undertaker! Nevermind that Taker lost SEVERAL house shows matches
over the summer to the Ultimate Warrior.
Intermission time, as we get backstage interviews from Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper and Ric Flair.
We come back and Gorilla receives BREAKING NEWS over his headset- Hogan and Undertaker
will have a rematch this Tuesday in Texas, and it'll
be available on a PAY-PER-VIEW basis! Call the cable company that you're
watching, right now! Jack Tunney has a quick interview about his
rematch decision and mentions that he'll be at ringside, This Tuesday in Texas.
Yes, the word "This" has just become CAPITALIZED!
SS Match 4: Butch Miller, Luke Williams, Marty Janetty & Shawn Michaels vs.
Jerry Saggs, Brian Knobbs, Beau Beverly & Blake Beverly
Gorilla and the Brain spend most of the remaining time plugging This Tuesday in Texas.
Whackers go fairly quick. An errant powerslam has Marty Janetty accidentally
bumping Shawn Michaels with Jerry Saggs' foot. Michaels is knocked loopy
and is pinned by Knobbs. Michaels and Jannety have a brief argument as Michaels
breaks out the SHOVE. Gorilla and Brain make a big deal about how Michaels
"just left his partner and went back to the locker room". Well, I thought that
was one of the RULES of the Series - you get pinned, you leave. LOGIC IN WRESTLING.
Blake Beverly, Jerry Saggs and Brian Knobbs survive.
SS Match 5: Hawk, Animal & Big Bossman vs. Typhoon, Earthquake & Irwin R. Schyster
More substitute fun! Jake Roberts was the fourth man for the heels, and
Sid Justice was originally the fourth man for the faces. Sid got injured and
fans expected Randy Savage to take the slot. Then, Tunney's decision reduced
this to a 3-on-3 survival match. An IRS briefcase shot sends Bossman to the
locker. Later, the briefcase hits Typhoon and causes HIM to get pinned.
Earthquake is miffed and leaves the ring with his partner. IRS tries escaping, but
Bossman walks out and forces him back to the ring. Hawk nails IRS with a top rope clothesline
to score the final pin.
Final interview has Mean Gene in the
"bowels of Joe Louis Arena", with the Undertaker. Paul Bearer invites Okerlund to look into
their special casket... Okerlund acts scared, because golly, the CAMERA is in there!
The casket closes on the camera as the show ends. Kinda strange how the whole show became a set-up
for This Tuesday in Texas.
I felt like a sucker, because "Tuesday" seemed more interesting than
the Series, and I was pissed that I would have to pay ANOTHER 30 bucks! The blow was weakened
somewhat when it turned out to be about 6 or 7 bucks. It's possible that they were
experimenting with making the Series a more straight-forward
PPV to advance feuds and what not. Considering that the next
year had only ONE Survival/elimination match.
Random Match 5: "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith vs. The Mountie (w/Jimmy Hart)
I believe this was from the PTW episode aired about 24 hours before
"This Tuesday". Guys trade lock-ups for awhile until Davey Boy military presses Mountie
five times and slams him. Mountie punches and not much else... Davey Boy tries for the
running power slam, but Mountie grabs the ropes and falls on top for
two. After two roll-ups, Davey eventually lands the power slam, but gets distracted by
Jimmy Hart and his RED JACKET. He chases him around ringside and Mountie follows.
Someone takes a header into a table...ho-hum, double countout.
MORE PPV? Gee whiz! It must be Tuesday and we must be in Texas..for
THIS TUESDAY IN TEXAS. It's a good thing they only started promoting this six days before..otherwise it would have been "A few weeks from now in Texas" and then "Next Tuesday in Texas", before
transforming into "THIS Tuesday in Texas". Gorilla and the Brain welcome us to the show
and we go right to...
Texas Match 1: WWF Intercontinental Championship:
Bret "Hitman" Hart(c) vs. Skinner
Hart's music fires up as he comes down the aisle.. poor Skinner is already
in the ring and gets introduced under the music. Slightly the same formula as their
"Superstars" match from a few paragraphs up, but it's an improvement. Bret works the armbar for
the opening minutes and both guys trade hammerlocks. Skinner
suckers Bret in and takes over for a good five minutes, beating and stomping.
I never noticed it at the time, but Skinner was THE trendiest wrestler of
November 1991, on the cutting edge of fashion- he's wearing baggy drawers
and flannel, the "grunge" look that would be hip for the next three years or so.
In other words, he's wearing the same shit I wore my sophomore year in college.
Bret hits the suplex, backbreaker, second rope elbow, and Skinner
tosses him into the corner. Skinner actually connects with his
"Gator-breaker", but a nonchalant cover only scores a 2. Skinner then goes up top and tries to nail
Bret's boot with his chin. Bret immediately turns him over, applies
the sharpshooter and gets the win.
Sean Mooney is backstage with Jake "the Snake" Roberts. Jake gives
a patented creepy interview, mentioning how excited he got
at seeing the Macho couple in agony. Mean Gene is standing by
with Macho Man and Elizabeth. Macho rambles for a bit, but hears Jake's
music starting up in the background...
Texas Match 2: "Macho Man" Randy Savage vs. Jake "The Snake" Roberts
Macho runs down the aisle
and attacks Jake during the intro. Special stipulation, mandated by Jack Tunney
states that no reptiles are allowed at ringside. The two slowly brawl for most of the match.
Jake gets a reverse atomic drop and beats away. Short-arm clothesline and he signals for
the DDT. Savage shoves him into the turnbuckle and Jake sells a "rib injury" like crazy.
Savage lands the top-rope elbow out of nowhere to get the pin. Afterwards, Savage tries bringing
a chair and the the ring-bell(!) into the ring. Referee "Evil" Earl Hebner blocks the bell,
allowing Jake to hook in a DDT and drop Savage. He applies another DDT...then slithers
out to ringside. Jake has a snake bag hidden UNDER the ring...so technically it
wasn't at ringside or in his corner! Elizabeth runs in and tries to cover up her husband.
Jake hits another DDT on Savage then taunts Liz. He even grabs her by the hair
and (gasp) slaps her! That finally brings the rest of Strikeforce:Referee out. The "snake"
never made it out of the bag, however.
Jake is backstage with Mean Gene and gives a sadistically evil interview.
He asks Savage to bring Liz back to ringside... since he got such a thrill out
of watching her scream. Jake even goes a little farther and hints at stealing
Liz. This feud really went over the top...considering the whole thing seemed flimsy at first. WHY did
Jake attack the Macho wedding in the first place? Cuz he's a bad guy? I always
thought that he came unglued when Damien "died" and went back to being plain ol'
EVIL Jake. His creepy interviews beefed the feud up and this incident (and the snake-bite) made you
forget about the half-assed start.
Texas Match 3: "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith vs. Warlord (w/Harvey Whippleman)
Not that it's saying much, but this is probably the best match between these two.
Bulldog clotheslines Warlord over the top rope and leaps over with a flying splash.
Warlord was supposed to catch him, but only grazes him, so Bulldog hits the ground awkwardly.
Warlord picks him up and slams him into the post. Bulldog fights his way back into the ring
and comes in with a top-rope dropkick. Decent sequence has a Bulldog piledriver reversed into
a backdrop, reversed into a sunset flip, followed by each guy getting a pinning attempt.
Things finish up as Warlord sends Bulldog to the ropes and misses a clothesline.
Bulldog swings under the armpits, hooks a crucifix and scores the pin. Whoa, Bulldog actually
PINNED someone with that move!
Sean Mooney is backstage with the Macho Man. Savage blows several gaskets, falls down
twice and keep repeating "It's my fault" and "I'm gonna getcha".
Texas Match 4: "El Matador" Tito Santana & Virgil vs. "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase & Repo Man
(w/Sensational Sherri)
Hope you enjoyed your three week push, Chico... cuz you still own property in JobberLand!
Tito works most of the match as the heels go all punchy/kicky. Gorilla sez: "Repo
look to be well over that 300 lbs mark". Of course... he's also 9 feet tall!
Tito makes the hot tag to
Virgil, who actually clears the ring with clotheslines and a grapevine/Russian leg-sweep for
DiBiase. Sherri is up on the apron to interrupt the count, allowing DiBiase to grab Virg.
Sherri errantly smacks DiBiase with her heel, so instead of going for the cover,
Virgil decides to grab Sherri. Repo Man smacks him in the back with
a charging knee. One roll-up later and Virgil is pinned.
WWF Championship:
Undertaker (c) (w/Paul Bearer) vs. Hulk Hogan
Special "Jack Tunney Seated at Ringside Match"-- a gimmick that may never be repeated!
Undertaker is still billed as "undefeated" by the way.
Hogan storms the ring, hits a reverse atomic drop, slam and clotheslines
Taker over the top rope. Hogan follows him out and Taker jabs him in the throat to take
over. Taker chokes and that's pretty much the rest of the match. Well, he does
do his patented "armbar/walk the ropes" spot. Both guys bounce off the ropes and
the green Undertaker TRIPS! Hogan makes a mini-Spinach comeback
as Ric Flair arrives at ringside. Hogan thumps taker away and hops out to smash
Flair with a chair. Flair tumbles into Tunney and knocks the WWF President unconscious.
Flair tries to help Taker with a chair, but Hogan reverses a whip and sends Taker's noggin
into it. Hogan hits the big boot and sends Taker wobbling.
Flair partially revives Tunney, who sees Hogan grab the ashes from Bearer's
urn, blind Undertaker, then roll him up to get the pin and his fourth title. Believe it
or not, but it was entertaining and Hogan
actually CARRIED the match!
Tunney talks to referee Joey Marella, as Hogan celebrates and the broadcast ends.
A Very Special Announcement from Jack Tunney
Good editting job on my part, huh?! Tunney is in his office and issues a statement about the referee's oversight of
the flagrant rule breaking. He can't overrule the ref, but declares the
WWF Title vacant and to be awarded to the winner of the Royal Rumble. Undertaker and Hogan
are given the slight advantage of picking their entry numbers between 20 and 30.
At the time, a very unexpected twist and a historic moment that signaled
"something cool is gonna' happen".
Random Match 6: Greg "the Hammer" Valentine vs. "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase (w/Sensational Sherri)
A PTW match with Lord Alfred Hayes and Sean Mooney. DiBiase bails after two lock-ups,
so Hammer follows him out and attacks him. DiBiase slides back in, tries begging him
off and receives a series of elbow smashes. Mooney gets perhaps his GREATEST LINE
EVER "so far in this encounter, the Hammer has been nails!" (Which begs the question,
did Hammer team up with Nailz?!). Hammer with an atomic drop and whips DiBiase to the
buckle. DiBiase gets his foot up and takes over. A spinning toehold attempt
is blocked as Hammer kicks DiBiase to the ropes. Hammer softens him up
for the figure four, until Sherri gets up on the apron again. Hammer is over to cop a feel,
allowing DiBiase to roll him up and score the pin. Hammer chases Sherri back to the locker
after the bell. Really not a bad match.
Random Match 7: Shawn Michaels vs. "Nature Boy" Ric Flair (w/ Mr. Perfect)
"Wrestling Challenge" banners are in the arena, but this was taped from PTW, with
Hayes and Mooney. Historic Moment- Hayes says something insightful as he explains
the difference between a manager and Mr. Perfect's role as an "executive consultant".
The wrestler usually works for the manager and the two are working towards
a common stipend. An "Executive Consultant" is someone who was hired by the wrestler
for his expertise and receives payment, regardless of win/loss. Good 'nuff for me.
Bell rings and both guys trade lock-ups, chops and Michaels
gets two takedowns into headlocks. Michaels is whipped to the corner,
then ascends to the top and comes off with a flying sunset flip for 2.
More chopping and Flair bails after a stiff slap. Michaels suplexes Flair in from
the apron. Flair is thrown to the corner for his patented flip.
Commercial break and when we come back Michaels is outside on the apron and launches himself
in with a sunset flip. Flair tries a belly-to back suplex, but Michaels
flips out and nails a dropkick. Perfect reaches in and trips him up. Flair gets a kneedrop
and about 5 seconds later Michaels is back in control. As always, Flair misses his....umm,
move (?) off the top rope and gets caught by Michaels. Michaels drops an elbow for 2, then hits
his superkick (I refuse to use the words "Sweet", "Chin" and that other one). Off the rop
turnbuckle with a fistdrop and Michaels scores a 2 count. Flair gets clotheslined over the top
rope
to the floor and Michaels tries to follow with a flying body-press. Flair dodges and Michaels
hits the railing, knocking himself out. Referee Joey Marella starts counting, but
Flair keeps resetting the count. Mr. P gets in a few kicks and that brings Marty Janetty
down to ringside, wearing (snicker) an Overkill t-shirt ("EEEEEE- limination!").
Janetty tries reviving Michaels, and after awhile decides to hoist him back into
the ring. Flair is waiting, uses the ropes for leverage and gets the 3 count.
After the loss, a groggy Michaels has some UNKIND WORDS and a shove for Marty. I suppose
fans of 90's WWF would score this as a semi-important match for Michaels....but Flair
wasn't allowed to get much offense in.
Random Match 8: New Foundation vs. Nasty Boys (w/Jimmy Hart)
(Owen Hart & Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart vs. Brian Knobbs & Jerry Saggs)
More PTW. More Hayes and Mooney. I suppose calling Owen and Anvil "the
New Hart Foundation" would have gotten them in trouble with Bob Newhart. Or
more likely, subjected the team to countless "Larry, Darryl & Darryl" jokes.
Anvil and Knobbs starts with a brawl. Anvil shoulderblocks and clotheslines both Nasties
out of the ring. Anvil tags in Owen and Irish whips across the ring and out through the ropes
for a flying bodypress on both Nasties. For fun, Owen returns to the ring via a top-rope
moonsault. Back in, Owen goes to work on Saggs's arm then tags Anvil who
gnaws on it! Owen returns and chases Saggs out to ringside. Knobbs hits him with
a blindside shot and the Nasties take over. Nasties work on him and Knobbs even
gets his half-assed camel clutch/rear-chinlock. Nasties miss a double clothesline attempt.
Owen stops and the ropes, tags Anvil and slingshots him in over the top rope.
Anvil delivers two shoulderblocks and a powerslam to each Nasty.
Anvil covers Knobbs for 2, until Saggs runs in and grabs the ref. Nasties are disqualified
for handling the ref (you can fondle him, just don't handle him). Foundation
clears the ring and looks decidedly UN-bad-ass-ickal in their genie pants.
Why'd you Tape This?
Nice to have the two PPVs back-to back. Busy tape and in terms of overall
time frame, this is probably the shortest WWF tape I have (Early November
to mid- December). As you can probably see, things started changing.
Aside from the opening Survivor Series match, there's
not too much that strays from punchy/kicky, however. The second Hogan-Taker match is decent, but
the big news on this tape is probably Ric Flair. Everybody wanted a piece of him
and he actually got one over on Hulk Hogan. Ironically, in the two matches
he appeared in, he was almost a punching bag... but fans would go NUTS
whenever he got pummeled...sort of like HonkyTonk Man about four years earlier.
With "This Tuesday in Texas" Jake Roberts began to challenge for most
hated wrestler. He actually slapped Liz! That was verboten in the WWF!
Even Bobby Heenan, the consummate heel-backer, stated that Roberts had gone too far.
Sort of a pre-cursor to the ugly angles of the late 90's. Oh yeah, Sid Justice
was billed as the top babyface in the Fall.. but got injured and sorta disappeared
for a bit. I'm sure you missed him. But he returns on the next tape and makes
a difference. Another quirky thing- Undertaker was actually getting a sizeable
cheer when the first "BONG" in his entrance music came over the the PA.
We only have TWO more tapes to go. And I believe the second tape is NOT a full six hours.
In the meantime, you can
still e-mail me your own
rasslin' reviews
or you if ya' wanna see these matches on YOUR TV you can
set up a trade for this tape!
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