Superstar Sleeze

WWF Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett vs Razor Ramon - WWF WrestleMania XI Besides his title loss to Shawn Michaels at IYH 2, the biggest match of Jarrett's first run with IC belt. I was on Cagematch looking at his challengers and it is pretty lame slate. The Bob Backlund (heel vs heel match) looks interesting, but Aldo Montoya, the weird two match series with Bob Holly where the belt is held up, the house show title switch with Razor, which gets Jarrett up to being a 3-time champion in short order, finally a match against Savio Vega leaves a lot to be desired. It is not surprising that besides Jarett's matches with Razor and Shawn, this period of his career is not discussed and pretty much forgotten. As for the match, I watched the Shawn/Diesel match from WrestleMania XI first and I have to say this felt like the midcard version of the match. Right down to a similar beginning. Diesel hits a back body drop on Michaels so he can pose with Pamela Anderson. Razor sends Jarrett packing with some hard rights so he can pose with 1-2-3 Kid. I think Big Daddy Cool one that one Razor. I needed to do some stuff for work, but it has only been 30 minutes since I watched this match, but a lot of it seems to have evaporated. I remember when I watched it. It didnt feel sticky. It was good, uptempo work, but there was no strong hook that made you say ok thats the story of the match. It was just a lot of really, really fucking good Razor Ramon punches with some fun Jarrett bumping & stooging. Also you could tell Kid was pumped to be at this WrestleMania. He was not WrestleMania X and didnt have a match on this show, but he was stoked to be out there tonight. Like Shawn in the Diesel match, I thought Jarrett gave Razor a lot of different looks early only to end up eating the Knuckle Sandwich. He used the Roadie way more effectively than Shawn used Sid. I thought Jarrett played the cat and mouse game well and only to get stopped by a hard Razor Right. Roadie yanking Jarrett down from the Razor's Edge was a good spot. The climax of the shine was really good with the Roadie eating the turnbuckle and The Bad Guy sending Double J over the top to the floor to crash down on the Roadie. I thought the transition to heat was weak. All of sudden Jarrett was landing dropkicks and hit his straddle. Jarrett suffers from lack of offense so we get the chinlocks and the sleeper here I dont think it built to as well as Shawn's sleeper in the Main Event. I might be screwing up the order here but I think whats first is there's the weird exchange of three double knockouts to level the playing field: a suplex where they both hit the back of their heads, a double noggin knocker and a double punch. The crowd boos this. It is very rare that a crowd will boo a match so that was interesting and I was eye rolling myself so glad the crowd agreed. Then I think Razor mounts a comeback with the Sack of Shit, but tweaks his knee on the Bulldog. Now it was a bum knee at the Royal Rumble (Roadie chop blocked him) that cost him the IC Title. So this was expected and a good play off that match. Jarrett gets the Figure-4 which helps add so much needed drama to this match. I have noticed that WWF has a tendency to not let the heels do their finishes in their match which can hurt the drama of the match. I also believe in protecting finishes, but I think there is a way to do both. Razor counters it. I think it is pretty much into the finish. The usual prelude to the Razor's Edge, the super Back Suplex. Razor's Edge and Roadie chop blocks the knee blatantly in front of the ref. Wicked lame finish. Kid BLASTS Jarrett with a Spinning Heel Kick pretty sure thats where Jarrett got the bloody nose and then smokes Roadie too. Great kicks from the Kid. Who is super jazzed to be there. Jarrett and Roadie beat him up. I wish Kid got the Savio spot and this spun off into a Jarrett/Kid program in May and June as that would have been great. Typical WWF Jarrett match starts out promising and loses steam. Loved the Shine, but after that it was hit and miss. Still good. *** 1/4

WWF World Champion Diesel vs Shawn Michaels - WWF WrestleMania XI What a fucking shine! Five star fucking shine! Fuck! They couldn’t finish the match off. The Good Friends Better Enemies Street Fight is the better match and overshadows this one. Damn I thought I found the hidden gem hiding in plain sight. They just couldn’t take it home. This is Shawn Michaels at his most Ric Flair I have ever seen him. This has to go down as one of the all time great shines. Because what makes a Ric Flair shine special is all the different looks he gives he his opponent. This was a beautiful work of art by Shawn. We start with unrelenting speed. Cat and mouse. Eventually Diesel clobbers him. Then we try to work the arm. Diesel powers out and throws him around. Shawn spits at him to get him riled up. Diesel shoved him down. Shawn goes for the eyes, Diesel hits a magnificent knee lift and Shawn takes an awesome bump and even makes up for not going over the top with a cool bump through middle & bottom ropes. This was fabulous. Every turn Diesel thwarted Shawn and bested him using power and size. Shawn used at least four strategies as documented above (I might have missed one or two, I do these based off memory no notes). It was terrific! I thought the transition to heat was also fantastic. Another cat and mouse run the ropes exchange except Diesel goes for the Big Boot the prelude to the Jacknife Powerbomb finisher so you know he is trying to end it. He misses Shawn and gets hung up in the top rope. Shawn clotheslined Big Daddy Cool over the top; skins the cat; top rope splash to the floor. Great consolidation. The cherry on top on his desperation Diesel lunges at Shawn and hits his ribs on the post/ring steps. Shawn splash from apron onto the bad ribs. It is a five spot transition but it is does masterfully. Unfortunately this is where the match starts to drag. Diesel in my opinion oversells the ribs. This grinds the match to a halt. Shawn does a pretty good job staying on the ribs. The Top Rope Elbow Drop was onto ribs WWF an excellent spot. The heat segment was not bad but it was not great. If Shawn had more offense would’ve it been better yes, but I don’t think he did a bad job per se. I think very easily some Diesel hope spots or struggle could have easily boosted the heat segment. Diesel slings Shawn off a couple times and things look to pick up. I like the sleeper as the last ditch Shawn attempt to keep control but Diesel powers out and that’s when the match goes off the rails. A strong comeback/finish could have easily over come that alright heat segment but I think the story is true: Kevin Nash was blowed up. None of his shit had any zip on it. I will say there was a Diesel chant during the heat segment but before that when he was selling the ribs on the outside there was a pretty sizeable SID chant and Sid didn’t do shit this match. There was a Let’s Go Shawn chant during Diesel’s comeback so the Hartford crowd was all over the place. Overall the crowd was dead for the comeback. It was how Diesel was doing it. The what was solid shit; he just had nothing left in the tank. Shawn was doing his best bumping hard but Nash was cooked. The finish was ridiculous they wanted Shawn to get the visual pin and hit an exposed buckle (botched catapult but man did he hit the middle buckle hard). I know he was turning baby face that’s a lot of protection. The Earl Hebner twists his ankle off camera sucked that’s why Sweet Chin Music didn’t get the pin. I liked the Shawn Bulldog converted into a Sidewalk Slam that was somewhere in there. The Big Boot and the weird Jacknife Powerbomb finishes it. I am not one to penalize on blown spots BUT this one has a lot of hiccups. Tough one to grade because I loved the Shine and transition to heat. Five stars no joke. The heat segment drags it down and comeback/finish really drags it down. Four stars means a great match in my eyes and I don’t think you can truly call it great. So let’s go *** 3/4

WWF Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon vs Jeff Jarrett - WWF RAW 4/25/94 "Who throws a better punch than Razor Ramon?" - Macho Man Randy Savage. Nobody, brutha, nobody. This is Jeff Jarrett's first feature singles contest on Monday Night RAW, a couple weeks prior he was in a 10-man tag, but here is his first proper main event. He would go to wrestle Tatanka in July and Doink the Clown (the lame babyface, non-Matt Bourne version) in October, before the British Bulldog match in December where the Roadie debuts and he starts getting pushed. Like so many Jarrett matches I have watched from his first WWF run this started auspiciously. I thought I finally found the WWF hidden Jarrett gem, but the chinlocks rear their ugly head and this match like his others are simply good. None of his matches are bad mind you, but the only true great one remains the Shawn Michaels classic. Great, heated start to this one. You might even think Double J is the babyface the way he gets so much offense in early against Razor, but I think that speaks to the selflessness of Razor and also that fact Razor was established and over. They needed to establish Jarrett as a credible threat. Commentary is mostly focused on Razor's upcoming title defense against Diesel this weekend on Superstars, which is where Razor lost the title. This match against Jarrett is non-title. Jarrett gets a takedown early and smacks Razor around. I am surprised given Razor's size advantage they worked that spot, but like I said it puts Jarrett over and he is the one that needed the cred. Razor finally catches Jarrett in the sack of shit. Jarrett powders, but Jarrett comes back on the outside. Jarrett's ferocity on offense is what keeps this compelling. Jarrett hits Razor with a couple good down South rights, but Razor who might have the best right ever just comes across and smacks the shit outta Jarrett and mows him down. Out of all the WWF New Gen guys, Hall's stock is the one rising the most with me. He is always working hard and kicking ass. Jarrett comes back and hits a fist drop. Here comes the chinlock. Razor works out of it but sets too early into a commercial break. Vince/Savage go on a long tangent about George Foreman's comeback and basically promote his return fight harder than they promote either Razor or Jarrett. Some free publicity for Foreman. Back from the ad and now Jarrett has a sleeper on Razor. They really milk this. Razor gets the back suplex. Razor starts firing off those right and steamrolls Jarrett with a clothesline. He looks a like million bucks on offense. Signature Razor taunt. Here comes Michaels. He beats Michaels from pillar to post. Diesel saves Michaels from the Razor's Edge and clobbers him with the Big Boot and Jacknife polish off Razor. Diesel and Michaels take turns stepping on the fallen Razor and parading around with the IC Title. A bit unusual given that they were going to do a title switch to have Diesel get the upper hand before the title match, but chock this one up as a curveball. Before the ad break, they were really humming along. After the first chinlock and the DQ finish, cant say this is much better than good. I had their Rumble match at good. Interested to watch their WrestleMania match next. ***

Jeff Jarrett vs British Bulldog - WWF RAW 12/5/94 I have a soft spot for both these guys because I started watching in the Summer of 1997. Both always come off uneven to me unless they are in the ring against Bret or Shawn. I earmarked this as something I was interested to see how it unfolded. It was very much a Jarrett match. It was very uneven. The shine was terrific and easily the best part of the match. The heat segment left something to be desired. I feel like all the criticisms laid at Shawn Michaels should be weighted tenfold against Jarrett. He really has no offense and the WWF house style does him no favors so you get a lot of chin locks. I would say the match is more hit than miss but disappointing. Like I said loved the shine. Jarrett is celebrating the smallest arm drags and takedowns with the Fargo Strut and Reclining On The Top Rope. He goes to hip toss Bulldog, nothing doing, tries again, nah nah, and now Bulldog sends Jarrett flying. We get the worst looking strut from the Bulldog but it is endearing. Bulldog mows him down with a shoulder tackle. Great bump. Headlock - Headscissors Bulldog is rolling. Bulldog delayed Vertical. I thought was watching the second best Jarrett in WWF match. Jarrett clocks Bulldog with a right when Bulldog goes up top. Here comes the chin locks. Shawn Michaels is on commentary makes some good Bulldog napping jokes in reference to how long Bulldog was out during Survivor Series. Jarrett does a couple moves off the top neither is graceful. We trade a couple high spots with Jarrett getting a Bulldog on the Bulldog and the irony was not lost on Vince and Shawn. Bulldog gets a Fisherman Suplex which Shawn says no one ever wins with that move. Quite the swipe at Curt Hennig, wonder what that was about. Jarrett gets the best right hand of the match. Jarrett clearly knows how to work a great shine but his next best move is hai punch but WWF doesn’t really work brawls except on special occasions and that hurt Jarrett. Again the chin lock it was at least 3 if not four. Bulldog begins his comeback inverted atomic drop always a Sleeze Pleezer and then back drop. Mows him down with three clotheslines. Jarrett bails but Bulldog Military Presses him in the aisle way and tosses him back in the ring. Very cool and impressive high spot. Wait what’s this someone is hanging onto Bulldog. Jarrett wins by countout. Shawn says Bulldog was caught sleeping again. lol. It is the Roadie! Except he has not been named yet. So in case anyone was wondering this is the debut of the Roadie. Both these guys had quiet 1994s but were poised for new programs. Jarrett would have the best stretch of his first WWF run coming up now armed with Roadie he feels like an upper mid card act. He gets featured bouts against Bret Hart and a title shot against Diesel on RAW and wins the IC Title against Razor Ramon at Rumble which kinda feels like a mild upset in this context. Bulldog was about to have the opposite trajectory as he was destined for midcard hell to be partnered with Lex Luger against the Million Dollar Corporation. This December-February stretch is littered with Luger vs MDC, Bulldog vs MDC or them together vs MDC on RAW. It is something I’m going to skip. It looks like Luger vs IRS from later this month and Bulldog vs Tatanka the week after is how the Allied Powers were born. Anyways, the finish is lame but it gets the Roadie over and establishes him as Jarrett’s new buddy. Take out the Jarrett chin locks this is a really good match, with them it is just good. Elevated a little by how much I loved the shine. ***1/4

Randy Savage vs IRS - WWF RAW 1/17/94 On paper this seems like a random match up to headline RAW, BUT Savage smashed some cake into IRS’ face last week during the 1-2-3 Kid & Marty Jannetty celebration. I am sure he deserved it for his shit talk. Savage is knee-deep in the Crush feud and IRS is wrapping up his feud with Razor at the Rumble. They used Savage a lot in this stretch on TV. He had a RAW match against Fatu the month prior which I am skipping and he has the World Title match against Yokozuna the next month which rocks. This match exceeded my expectation. It was a sort of break neck, frenetic pace. There were not a lot of high spots or narrative per se. It was a lot of slam bang action but most importantly how it was done. It was heatedly and with a competitive ferocity. Savage tries it cut IRS off at the pass which seems heelish. IRS slams him into the buckles a lot. a lot of just dropping his weight onto Savage. Savage timed his hope spots right before the commercial breaks (or if this was taped they timed the breaks around his hope spots). The use of the atomic drop into clothesline or a double axe handle from the apron to set up attacking Crush who is doing commentary. IRS for his part did well on offense suplex into the ring coming out of the break. There were some chinlocks and an ab stretch but it was not too bad. IRS ate a boot on a top rope splash. Nice throat first drop by Savage to get revenge on IRS doing that earlier. He goes for the Top Rope Elbow but Crush interferes to trigger the DQ. All the main eventers pour of the back to simulate the Royal Rumble as hype for the show later that week. Like I said better than I thought. A good competitive frenetic energy to this one. ***

WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels vs Jerry Lawler - WWF RAW 8/14/95 The main event of the penultimate RAW before the Monday Night Wars begin. Shawn Michaels the Main Eventer is fully crafted before our eyes. The Jeff Jarrett IYH 2 match is the birthplace in my opinion (perhaps it is on a RAW against King Kong Bundy or IRS when Michaels return from the Sid attack/betrayal, but I have no desire to watch those matches). The Kip Up is here, Top Rope Elbow Drop and it is called Sweet Chin Music and all the fanfare around is there. If you compare this to the Bulldog match in March of 1995 (5 months earlier), Michaels is still a heel and he has Sid as his bodyguard. He feels like an Upper Midcarder on the cusp on breaking out. I have never thought about it this way, but his breakout match is that Jarrett match. It is funny to see his next big match is against fellow Memphis legend, Jerry Lawler. You can see that Shawn Michaels would have fit like a glove in Memphis. He is just so campy and he can do the dog and pony shit so well. He has always been able to see the Rougeaus match from Paris and London. He cut his teeth against Buddy Rose for goodness sake. Shawn brings that camp and playfulness that WWF sorely needs. That being said, I say this as a Shawn defender for the most part, he was pretty damn uncool in his promos. The bad Dad jokes are so weird when youre supposed to be this ultra-cool playboy rockstar. He looks bitchin' as fuck, but he sounds corny as fuck. Last week, Diesel wrestled Sir Mo, (Mabel's tag team partner) and in the process Mabel beat up Shawn Michaels. Even though this was brought multiple times, Shawn basically said he was not going to sell the attack during his promo and followed through on that. This RAW also had the infamous Lawler/Yankem vignette (which made me cringe and it was as bad as I expected) so Lawler is still full steam ahead on trying to get vengeance on the Hitman. Lawler is a great character to have on teh roster. He get heat but you can beat him like a drum and keep getting heat. He is a great mouthpiece for all random heels. Really fun shine as expected, Shawn baseball slides through the legs and trips the King. Single leg pick up. I LOVE trips! I love when babyfaces use trips to show up a heel. Lawler says here is a "Whopper" in response to the "Burger King" chants and BIG SWING AND A MISS! Shawn clobbers Lawler. Piledriver! Nah! Nah! Shawn splays! Big Punch. Excellent Memphis bullshit. Thankfully for Lawler, Sid comes out distracts Shawn and Lawler clocks Shawn and sends him careening to the floor on a hard Irish Whip. Back from commercial, this is the best Lawler heat segment I have seen in WWF. He kicks some ass, gets his fist drop and DDT. He actually looks competent, which is not always the case in the Bret matches. He misses a splash from the top. KIP UP~! Look how Lawler sells the KIP UP~! This is a missing ingredient for Shawn that pre-Summer 1995 that he was missing. Shawn hits the top rope elbow. It was a middle rope elbow against Bulldog. Again, a big change that helps legitimize Shawn. I need to either read my review or watch the Jarrett match because I wonder if all this here. SWEET CHIN MUSIC! It is called as such and he gets sold as such! Sid attacks here. Razor saves. Razor shoves Shawn to get more of Sid. Diesel tries to calm down his fellow Kliq boys. Interesting booking at the end, Shawn/Sid is a natural big time match because of the Sid turn and now that Diesel is finished with Sid it makes sense for Sid to come down the ladder and wrestle Michaels. It is interesting that rather than have that at Summerslam they wanted that to be big first RAW Main Event against Nitro. They always say that Shawn/Razor II they wanted the "better" match for Summerslam, BUT I wondered if they wanted the "BIGGER" match for the first RAW. Just food for thought. I thoroughly enjoyed this. Perfect TV wrestling. #2 babyface just having a fun, popcorn match against the sleazy, scuzzy heel. Whats not to love! *** 1/2

Watched this for the first time. The content needs a little tweaking and he was a little too quiet at times, BUT the aesthetic and the vibes are on another level! Absolute genius from jump! He just jumps off the page with the look and DEEEEPPPPPP INHALE! Incredible! Would love for a Modern Day Goldust to really shake things up nowadays.

Was watching this episode for Shawn Michaels vs Jerry Lawler and saw this come on first. Fast forwarded to the finish. Heard Worcester chanting "Kill The Clown" and I was like "Yep, this made the Yearbook" and here it is. This is the penultimate RAW before their summer break heading into the Monday Night Wars and this is definitely a microcosm of their issues. Non-Matt Borne, Babyface Doink was given a feature attraction match on RAW as recent as May 8th against IC Champion Jeff Jarrett. It is weird how much cooler heel, Matt Borne Doink is than this version of Doink. Not a good look heading into the Monday Night Wars.

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

WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels vs Mr. Perfect - WWF Summerslam 1993 I would say this match is a victim of expectations and a rough Hennig performance early. In a lot of ways they wanted to wrestle this NWA/AWA Heavyweight Championship style match but were only given 11 minutes and a shitty finish. They trade holds early. It is symmetrical and respectful. The idea is to see who the best wrestler is. Michael’s is the one supplying the energy and movement. Perfect is cutting him off at the pass. They blow a flying hammerlock spot and Michael’s has to go to the corner twice. It was just weird. Was Perfect already Injured? I see he starts a Diesel program after this and last two more months before not returning until 1997 in WCW. He seemed off. Shawn is feeding him good spots to thwart him but even the top rope crossbody into arm drag feels weird. Shawn feeds him a catapult. Diesel distraction. BANG~! Sweet Chin Music! But it is not a big deal yet. Great transition. The back work by Shawn is tight. Love sit down splash and a good “Goddamnit!” by Perfect! Perfect fights his way out the backbreaker stretch. Perfect’s comeback is great! The hurdle->dropkick, the inverted atomic drop and axe looked great. Perfect Plex was killer. Diesel yanking him out and then brawling and Hebner watching and even getting hit BUT NOT calling the DQ was egregious. Calling that a count out victory for Michael’s was stupid. Diesel/Shawn beat down a feisty Mr. perfect to start the Perfect/Diesel program. Terrible finish aside, I thought from the Catapult on this was a good match but the beginning is rough. Disappointing given who is involved but still good. ***

Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels - WWF 12/1/93 Steel Cage Match A match I discovered through Cagematch that got a pretty high rating which I would attribute more to the names participating in the match than the match itself even though I do think the match is good just not great. It is a Coliseum Home Video with Gorilla and Polo on the call. Polo is pretty rough. Bret and Shawn fell out of bed and had a good match. Bret seemed to dog it a little more than Shawn. There are enough on the way of high spots to keep you entertained but the connective tissue is not there. Shawn attacks Bret right as he enters the cage. Shawn’s right cross is so much better than his jab. Bret just rag dolls for him. Does not make him earn it at all. Shawn gets caught in the catapult into the cage. Shawn had to feed this spot to Bret. Bret works in his usual moves. They tussle around the door. They trade Ball Busting spots. Shawn yanks Bret down from the cage and he lands nuts first on the top rope. Then when Shawn tries to go out the door, Bret catches him with the middle rope to the nuts. It is weird seeing the Sweet Chin Music without any fanfare. There is a great leap by Shawn to prevent Bret from going out over the top. The finisher is killer with both guys out over the top. Bret slams Shawn’s head into the cage but as he is falling his foot gets hooked into the cage and rope. Bret falls safely to the floor for the win. Awesome finish! The high spots were good and at 12 minutes this was breezy. They really don’t do much in between the high spots. Creative finish bumps it up. ***1/2

Hakushi vs 1-2-3 Kid - WWF Summerslam 1995 Have to say, I was disappointed by this match. I wanted to see what Kid could do against a non-superstar. So many of his high profile matches are against Bret, Shawn, Owen, Razor etc... This is a decidedly midcard match in a good spot with about 10 minutes against an opponent who is capable of having good match. I just thought this was there. They are sort of telegraphing a Hakushi babyface turn on commentary which I do think comes to fruition. The match is wrestled pretty straight for the most part from Hakushi. Pretty standard opening, headlocks, armdrags, the usual stuff. Hakushi gets a thrust to the throat with his fingers, so that was heelish. I liked that Kid used an armdrag to get out of the Argentine Backbreaker. There are levels to selling and Hakushi had not done enough to apply it, but soon after that Kid was just rag dolling for Hakushi. No fight, no struggling no making Hakushi earn it. Hakushi's individual spots were good: back handspring elbow, the Bronco Buster (wonder if Kid got him from him) and the Vaderbomb. His kicks however are the shits. There is no connective tissue. The Flying Space Tiger Drop which should be the climax of all this and is not executed very well. Hakushi missed the diving headbutt. Kid's comeback is pretty good. Dive to the floor, slingshot legdrop, big top rope splash. Kid goes for signature Spinning Heel Kick, but Hakushi catches him and converts mid-air into a slam. I loved the finish. The rest of it just felt very average. There was no hook, there was no character work, it is something just two random midcard wrestlers could do. Didnt feel special.

Owen Hart vs 1-2-3 Kid - WWF RAW 8/15/94 Kid had such a weird 94. The beginning has nice continuity with the Quebecers and climaxing of winning the tag belts on RAW. I don’t know if the situation with Marty screwed him over as he basically doesn’t have a program for the rest of the year. He just has killer 4+ star matches when called upon against Owen at KOTR, Bret on Raw and the Kliq Action Zone tag. A lot of people would kill for a year they good but there’s a whole lot of nothing in between the matches. Seemingly, this one other big featured Kid bout of 94, it is not as good as the KOTR 94 match but that’s the best sub 5 minute match ever so it is feed to compare. I really liked the match after the commercial break. I found the match before the ad break to be very noisy. It was a lot of disjointed spots/sequences kind of grouped together. I liked Kid outfoxing Owen early nailing a kick and avoiding charge and getting a near fall. Then the transitions just become random. Some arm work by each guy then some headlocks by each guy. Owen gets enziguiri and Kid gets a spinning heel kick. You get Macho shouting DOUBLE KIP UP! Maybe they were going for symmetry but Owen was using a lot of hair pulling. It just didn’t connect. To further that point you do get a Kid dive before the ad break and an Owen dive after the ad break. I like symmetry BUT it didn’t feel right in this match. I thought after the ad break it was a totally different match and a vast departure from KOTR style. This was Owen the bully heel which like Shawn is something you almost never get to see. That’s the value of Kid he allows these smaller heavyweights to get to play the bully. It is set up by a wicked suplex from apron to floor. Then the dive and a hard slap across the face. The bully shit kicks in with the back breakers to the ring post. The really targeted back work by Owen is excellent. He missed a top rope move landing on his knees. Kid makes a spirited comeback kicking the leg. Kid slaps on a single leg crab. I really thought they had something special, but Anvil doesn’t let them explore it as he attacks Kid triggering the DQ. The finish makes the match feel incomplete. Sometimes a DQ finish just feels right in the context of a match but this one, it felt too soon. Plus won at KOTR and could’ve used another win going into Summerslam so not only was timing off, it was not the right finish. Another 5-10 minutes I think they could’ve made up for the beginning and delivered another classic but that ain’t what happened. ***1/4

Marty Jannetty vs 1-2-3 Kid - WWF RAW 10/25/93 There’s a world where Marty & Kid are the Rockers of the 90s and they rule the WWF New Gen tag team scene in glorious fashion. Their title victory over the Quebecers is 1 of 2 matches I think is the best non-Bret, non-Shawn WWF Matches of 1993-1997. After the DiBiase addendum to the Ramon program, the Kid has struck out on his own. Last month, he single-handledly showed up both Quebecers, WWF World Tag Team Champions. He knocked out Jacques to the point where he got farted to the back and he knocked out Pierre and it was only due to instinct and Johnny Polo that the Quebecers retained. Now here he is pitted against fellow baby face and recent IC Champion. Pretty basic baby face vs baby face wrestling here. Basic chain wrestling, lots of symmetry. I thought Kid was more aggressive than Marty. I don’t know if that is by design or if that is just a difference in their personalities. Kid gets some nice kicks and a Victory Roll. Marty gets a nice counter powerbomb. The aggrieved Johnny Polo is out to watch. He trips Marty and Kid has no problem immediately pouncing on Marty for a near fall. Kid misses a somersault splash from the top. Now it is Polo’s turn to trip Kid. Marty at least shows some frustration but Marty takes the cover. Kid nails a beautiful German after a series of suplexes from Marty. I agree with Brain Marty is wrestling this match lethargically. Marty wakes up with a stiff elbow. Kid nails the same Karate Kick that KO’d Jacques. Marty collapses to the outside. Polo pushes Marty out of the way of a diving Kid! SPLAT! Double Countout! Polo is very amused by his antics. Marty & Kid team up and kick Polo’s ass. Great double super kick that feels very 21st century. Marty & Kid feel perfect as a tag team. I want to rewatch the title change with Quebecers now. This match is alright. I thought Kid brought it but Marty dragged ass. ***

WWF World Tag Team Champions Quebecers vs 1-2-3 Kid & Barry Horowitz - WWF RAW 9/27/93 The Quebecers had just defeated The Steiners two weeks back in an awesome match under the convoluted Province of Quebec Rules match. Highly recommend that match. This kicks off the Quebecers vs 1-2-3 Kid feud which climaxes with Kid & Marty winning the Tag Team Titles at the 1 year anniversary of RAW in an awesome match which I have called one of two best non-Bret, non-Shawn matches of WWF 93-97. Quebecers claim they will have a high profile title defense. Raven as Johnny Polo is just so weird to me. It doesn’t feel right. They are in New Haven so he is wearing Harvard gear. That popped me. Instead it is against Miracle Jobber Connection of Barry Horowitz & Reno Riggins. Vince feels robbed and cheated. Wait! What’s that?!? Reno has the flu! Barry wants to choose a new partner and he chooses the 1-2-3 Kid. The Quebecers laugh it off and say you’re on. Bobby is worried about this. The Quebecers were the 90s WWF answer to the Midnight Express. Good stooges, great bumpers and killer offense. The whole match is 1-2-3 Kid, Horowitz does two maybe three moves. Kid starts off red hot with his karate and speed. The Quebecers are betwixt and between. It is dropkicks for everybody as even Horowitz gets in on the action. A cheap shot from behind sets up the heat segment on the Kid. Lots of MX style offense. Total Elimination looked killer. They take turns body slamming each other on the Kid. Lots of double teams. Jacques misses a reverse crossbody. Kid BLASTS him with a kick. Jacques collapses to the floor and he is out cold! This sold more for comedy than it would be today and that fits the Quebecers style. That crooked ref Earl Hebner says the match must continue as a virtual handicap match! Johnny Polo do something! Pierre is kicking Horowitz ass with a middle rope leg drop and a middle rope headbutt. Pierre slams Horowitz at the Kid’s feet to prove a point. He sends the Kid flying. He wants revenge for Jacques! Pierre plays with his food. KID BLASTS PIERRE WITH A KICK! Pierre out of instinct pulls the top rope down and Kid careens to the floor! I think we have a double KO situation. Polo tosses Kid back in and Pierre drapes the arm over for a cover. This is a nice piece of business. You get the Kid’s feet over as lethal. Jacques had to be carted out and Pierre was essentially knocked out. Kid has gone from plucky underdog now to a lethal weapon. The campy Quebecers are the perfect people to put him over. They still treat Horowitz as a total jobber so Kid looks like a superstar in this Herculean effort taking on and taking out both World Tag Team Champions. Now if only he had a better partner… ***

Razor Ramon vs 1-2-3 Kid - WWF RAW 6/21/93 I have seen this match before but I misremembered it. If I recall listening to Scott Hall talk about this, Kid gets knocked for a loop legit and kind of fucks up the finish. It is unclear to me if it was the chokeslam which then causes him to slip off the top rope and nearly kill himself falling to the floor. Or if he was fine but just slipped by accident and that’s what’s KO’d him. Either way, Razor had to call for a moonsault and yell GET THE MONEY at the end to make sure Kid finished the angle. There is even the weird part at the end where Kid slows down before speeding back up which seems consistent with the story that he was concussed to fuck. This is such a Southern Fried story. The upset loss, the big bad heel with wounded pride doing everything he can to get the underdog back in the ring, risking $10k of his own money. The body of the match is pitch perfect. Kid gets a series of quick near falls to big reactions and really plays off the 1-2-3 moniker. Then Hall is able to get a hold of him Sack of Shit. Kid is slowed but keeps coming CHOKESLAM! It is brutal. That permanently slows him down. Razors slaps the back of his head and really vacillates between kicking his ass and embarrassing him. Real bully heel shit. Razor wants the Razor Edge on concrete. This is when Kid slips off the top either by accident or because the Chokeslam concussed him. If he didn’t have a head injury before now he does. They call the moonsault spot but this time Razor kicks out and Kid takes the money. The finish is a little odd as it is not a very baby face move for Kid to the take money BUT the match was fun and it shows Razor up. This leads to Razor turning baby face of all things. Really good Southern-Fried angle. This is also on the same show as the really fucking good Marty vs Doink 2/3 falls match. 1993 WWF is pretty damn fun actually.

Razor Ramon vs The Kid - WWF RAW 5/17/93 One of the best episodes of RAW ever as this also has the Marty return angle and victory over Shawn for the IC Title. What a great angle! Not only did they make 1-2-3 Kid a star but they used this to turn Razor Ramon baby face and Razor became an even bigger star. Talk about win-win. I have heard Hall talk about this match and how Kid wanted to do a bunch of shit. He told me he has got one move. That’s what makes the match. It looks like a squash. They never telegraph it. The way he smacks and throws him around. The abdominal stretch and the Sack of Shit. You never know something is up. Razor misses a charges overshoots knocks himself loopy. Kid’s moonsault is perfect because it is the knee to the head that sells it for me. Kid and Razor nail the reaction the crowd goes wild. It is clearly the match that made the Kid but I would argue it made Razor too. Brilliant angle!

Shawn Michaels vs 1-2-3 Kid - WWF RAW 12/6/93 This looks fan-fucking-tastic when you’ve been watching a metric shit ton of New Generation WWF. This is during HBK’s fake IC title reign. I am surprised this isn’t talked up more because this completely different than anything else on WWF TV. This is downright Japanese workrate shit a precursor to WCW cruiserweight stuff. It is very avant-garde for WWF and really foreshadows what is to come. Kid comes out red hot. The one thing is Kid’s punching sucks. It will be interesting to see if he ever gets better at that. I can’t remember Syxx or X-PAC’s punch. They cut a great pace. Here are some of the high spot highlights: Strong dive to the floor by Kid. Shawn takes a weird bump into the post. He hooked it and spun out that I thought maybe he blocked it but I think he was supposed to hit. Kid eats a beautiful power slam off the apron to the floor. That was wicked. Beautiful German Suplex! Lots of movement, a dive and a suplex. Very different than most WWF. Also this is an interesting combination because Kid can actually slam/suplex Shawn which he normally can’t do that in WWF. Also Shawn can play the bigger bully heel a role he usually couldn’t play in WWF. Kid works a great side headlock but runs up the ropes one too many times and Michael’s suplexes him. Michaels works the backbreaker and in a rarity can really be that bully heel here. Kid gets a heel kick. Kid misses a somersault splash from the top rope. Crashes and burns. Back from commercial and Superkick (not quite sweet or musical yet). Shawn who was feuding with Razor over who was the real IC Champion hits TWO Razor Edges and they looked GREAT! Again that’s Shawn getting to play bully heel which he never gets a chance. Razor saves on the third attempt. The match gets thrown out. Diesel slugs Razor from behind the curtain. Shawn HITS TWO RAZOR EDGES ON SCOTT HALL! Damn I mean that is a big boy for Shawn to get up! He must have ate his Wheaties that morning. It didn’t look super good because it had to be done on concrete/floor so Shawn safely put Razor down but just hoisting him up and down was impressive. It was a spot fest but with character. Shawn was the bully heel and Kid was the plucky underdog. It was not overtly cooperative. It was not a weird a motion smoothing match. They took their time and made the high spots stand out. A really good 90s workfare match. *** 3/4

WWF Champion Bret Hart vs Bob Backlund - WWF RAW 12/11/95 Non-Title Well put me in the camp that would vote for Bob Backlund over Donald Trump. After pretty much nothing on WWF TV after WrestleMania XI, Bob Backlund gets one last quick push. He has been attacking people most notably Jim Ross with the Crossface Chickenwing in order to set up a match with WWF Champion Bret Hart this week on RAW. I LOVED the opening matwork. It was so tight & competitive. It felt organic. The whole match felt like a real sporting contest. It is weird coming from 1994 WWF as this is a much bigger building but it seems like they are forcing it as they try to complete with new, fresh Nitro. I love the fact that Backlund Main evented a Monday Night Wars RAW. Bret gets a drop kick to Backlund’s back as he was jawing with the fans. Backlund comes back from break and almost gets the Crossface Chickenwing on. His heat segment on the arm was great. Lots of good rope-assisted stuff. Great armbars. Good stiff shots. I don’t think this was better than the Superstars match but it was better than Mania XI. Bret is able to wriggle into shifting his weight and begins his comeback as we go into break. He looks to finish with the Sharpshooter but Davey Boy shows up. I would be remiss not to mention how terrible Diana’s interview is about how she feels about the upcoming title match between Bret & Davey Boy and Davey Boy as a heel. Backlund applies the Crossface Chickenwing. They ring the bell early but Bulldog stomps Bret in the hold and there’s the DQ. Look Superstars and Survivor Series matches are classics BUT I felt like these two had another one in them here. Shame about the finish but I felt like they could have topped even Survivor Series on this night with more time and the right finish. It was solid heat for the impending Bret/Bulldog match that coming weekend. It is shame that this is the swan song for Backlund. I checked his Cagematch and this his last hurrah. He still had more to give. Really enjoyed the opening amateur wrestling and rest of it too. ***1/2

Well put me in the camp that would vote for Bob Backlund over Donald Trump. After pretty much nothing on WWF TV after WrestleMania XI, Bob Backlund gets one last quick push. He has been attacking people most notably Jim Ross with the Crossface Chickenwing in order to set up a match with WWF Champion Bret Hart the next week on RAW. Great unhinged promo here. He says he had dreams of BEING GOD AGAIN, but it is a non-title bout. Society needs less Hitmen. Do not try to finite me which I could totally see becoming Gen Z slang. Absolutely awesome promo by Bob!

Bret Hart vs Bob Backlund - WWF WrestleMania XI I Quit Call me crazy but I liked this match don’t understand all the fuss why people think it is so bad. Yes both 1994 matches are significantly better but this is still good. The blowoff to Bret’s other big feud of 1994 does not reach the heights of the two great Backlund of 1994. I thought both wrestlers did a great job with psychology, working snug and everything looked tight. Bret’s punches and headbutts always look frat and he was using them liberally early to overwhelm Backlund. I loved Bret going for the Sharpshooter early and often. Look how Backlund escaped it was so realistic and forceful. I like how Bret settled for the Figure-4 and then a leg lace to keep towards the Sharpshooter. Backlund gets a heel to the face and immediately starts working the arm. It is really great arm work. The arm wrenches around the ropes. The arm bars are all great. Backlund like Bret us committed to his finish the Crossface Chickenwing but like Bret needs to settle for arm bars. Bret battles back. Still can’t get the Sharpshooter. Backlund struggles and applies the Crossface Chickenwing but can’t get it all the way cinched in. Bret reverses applies his own and damn he even clasps his hands. That shit is legit. Backlund doesn’t say I Quit but the match is called. It is a little short, a little anticlimactic. The finish is bizarre as they really don’t do anything with Bob after this. If there was ever a wrestle who could’ve said I Quit without it damaging them it was Bob Backlund in 1995. That mars the match a touch. I still enjoy this. ***1/4

Bret Hart vs Jerry Lawler - WWF King of the Ring 1995 THE STENCH MUST BE HORRIBLE! I actually liked this feud in what I have seen. It is a fun, campy light hearted midcard for Bret to kick some ass over a slime ball heel. Now if I do watch the Isaac Yankem part of the feud I might be singing a different story. Lawler has made sure to make his feet as a palatable as possible that even the most ardent foot fetishist would be repulsed by them. It is a fun, campy angle. I don’t know why people get so worked up about it as if Bret Hart is so above slumming it. I thought this was their best match together of 1995 (Summerslam 1993 is the gold standard of the feud). Since Lawler is going to do the JOB clean here, he actually gets in real offense. It starts off with a standard asskicking Bret shine, great punches and headbutts, A really sick steel stairs bump by Bret sets it up with Lawler hitting not one, not two BUT three piledrivers. He clobbers Bret with his boot exposing his STINKIN feet. He shoves his boot in Bret’s face. All of this even though it sounds great on paper, it is a little lacking and heartless. I think it is Bret. He is Doug. His rag doll routine. He is NOT making Lawler earn it. He is not struggling so the piledrivers and the heat segment aren’t as hot as they could be. Lawler goes to shove his STINKIN’ feet into Bret’s mouth but like smelling salts conjures up the vigor to kick some Lawler ass. Lawler uses his boot to crack Bret in the head. Fist drop. Bret pulls Lawler into the steel post. Hakushi tries to save but hits Lawler and runs off. 3/5 moves of Doom and Sharpshooter finishes it. Hakushi nails Lawler again and Bret sends him packing. Bret shoves his foot into Lawlers mouth. BUT the best part is Bret shoves Lawler’s STINKIN foot into Lawler’s mouth. Glorious. That was genius. The crux of the angle was not Bret’s feet, it was how gross Lawler’s feet were. By having Lawler have to taste his own feet, that was the payoff. Brilliant! Fun stuff could’ve been better if Bret worked better from underneath but still good Craic. *** 1/2

Bret Hart vs Jerry Lawler - WWF In Your House I disagree with everyone, I thought Jerry Lawler's mother played by an attractive, young brunette was stupid at best, weird/creepy at worst. I will say she did give all she got. It was pretty similar to the RAW match, but I preferred the RAW match. I did like the piledriver spot which seems to break me away from the pack. I interpret those type of No Sell spots like Bret Hart is such a badass and Lawler is such a weenie that Bret can fight through anything to kick Lawler's ass. Lawler was being presented more as a manager in WWF. Someone who talked a lot of shit but needed to recruit others to fight his battles. This is not 1980s Jerry Lawler in Memphis. This is 1995 WWF, I think the Piledriver will survive. Bret hits his own Piledriver which wrecks Lawler. I think if you take the RAW match and add the Piledriver spot and the finish of this match you get a good combo. Lawler gets in a little offense, but not much. Just when Bret looks to take it home, there is a pretty cool ref bump where Hebner is hanging by his ankle being caught in the ropes. That is pretty sick. Hakushi hits a bunch of diving headbutts and Lawler PINS Bret! Now he has a countout and pinfall victory! There was some cool stuff in this. Another thumbs up. With the emphasis on Diesel/Shawn, this is a fun, midcard, cartoony feud for Bret. It is something light after Owen and Backlund. Enjoying Bret/Lawler, lets see if that continues. ***

Bret Hart vs Jerry Lawler - WWF RAW 3/13/95 Apparently, Bret Hart is a racist! Man, you could not run this angle today at all. Everyone would be freaking the fuck out. Pretty simple, asshole heel makes up a lie to disgrace the babyface, but it is so baseless no believes it. Lawler says he is racist towards the Japanese people. He has Bull Nakano out with him to prove he has the support of the Japanese people. What this really is a backdrop for Bret Hart/Hakushi feud to start, which would Bret's post-Mania program. Bret had a lot of loose ends to tie off. He has the No Holds Barred Match against Owen in two weeks, the Bob Backlund I Quit Match at WrestleMania and now he has the rebooted Lawler program from 1993 and Hakushi. They may have taken the title off, but he is getting the Dusty treatment with all the feuds he is in. Lawler tries to jumpstart the match, but Bret is having none of it. He comes roaring back and he kicks the King's ass from pillar to post. Bret has some great punches and strikes. Slams Lawler into some hard metal objects. Tree of woe. It is a pretty good asskicking. I would liked some more variety from Bret or even more over the top stooging from Lawler, BUT it was still very good, just not all-time, you gotta see this levels. Bob Backlund is in the crowd. Hakushi is outside. Bret gets distracted and Lawler takes over. Lawler's heat segment is short, but sweet. Bret catches him coming off the top rope. Great Bulldog by Bret. He slugs Lawler over the top rope. Outside Bull Nakano fucks with him. Bret gives her the death stare. Lawler tries to hold Bret for Nakano, but she hits Lawler. Nakano holds Bret's foot as he is trying to get back into the ring. Lawler wins by countout. Bret stalks Nakano. Racist and a woman-beater. Jeez Bret, this is not a good look brutha. Bull Nakano hides behind Hakushi and Shinja. Lawler attacks Bret from behind to continue the feud. It was more of an angle than a match, but I enjoyed this. It was a good asskicking with a fuck finish that leads to a new, interesting program. Thumbs up from me. ***

Bret Hart & British Bulldog vs Owen Hart & Jim The Anvil Neidhart - WWF RAW 11/7/94 Since no one had really talked this up, I thought I found a hidden gem, but apparently everyone is just really lukewarm on it. Weird, because I am not a huge fan of Stampede style tag team matches, but I thought this was every bit as good as them so I thought this would warrant more love. It is pretty shocking in retrospect how much Bret Hart's signature title reign was spent against Owen. According to Cagematch, besides the televised title defenses against Backlund, Kid and Diesel, all the house show title defenses were against Owen, until they switched over to Anvil, oof. They made a big deal in the Action Zone match to say that would be the last Owen challenge so that was blown off on TV. Now it is time to give away the tag team match on TV. I enjoyed this as a Stampede style match with Owen basically filling in for Dynamite Kid and doing strange bedfellows tag. Nice to hear Vince acknowledge Bret/Anvil were tag champs. Slam bang start. Babyfaces whip the heels into each other and Bulldog press slams Owen from the ring to the floor onto Anvil, helluva spot. Always a Sleeze Pleaser. I thought Bret/Bulldog did a great really putting Owen/Anvil on their back foot during the shine, really overwhelming them with fast break offense. Bulldog was really throwing Owen around. I was disappointed by the transition to heat. The spinwheel kick is great, but Owen is supposed to be this brat heel. I would have rather seen some cheating like a Hart Foundation style sliding knee to the back (which we do see later). I liked the heat segment on Bulldog it did go a little long and maybe one too many chinlocks but there was a lot of action in and out of the chinlocks. Anvil throwing gutwrenches and powerslams was a delight. The start of the heat segment was Bret chasing Owen around the ring only for Owen to hit the Hart Attack on Bulldog. Great spot! Heel miscommunication sets up the Bret Hot Tag which I thought was very good, really liked the reverse crossboy onto Owen out of a standing ten count punch to Anvil. They fake us out with a possible double FIP with Owen hitting the sliding knee and during ref distraction a top rope elbow on Bret as he was pinning Anvil. That was great! Bulldog trips Owen and Bret applies the Sharpshooter on Anvil to win. I dont think this is as good as the Action Zone tag pitting Bret/Bulldog vs Owen/Backlund, but I still thought this was very good. They were given plenty of time and there was a lot of slam bang action throughout. The shine and the Hart Attack were really good. *** 3/4