The Fed Zone: Reviewing WWF 1996

[ChristianCaged]

RAW #153

Date: 1 April 1996
Location: Orange Pavilion; San Bernadino, CA
Commentary: Vince McMahon & Jerry Lawler

He's hardcore! He's hardcore!

It's the annual tradition of RAW After Mania, and it's debuts galore! Vince and Jerry welcome us to this live show from California, after a video package about WMXII.

Mankind def. Bob Holly (3:22)
After months of vignettes, Mankind has arrived. And as Vince would say, he's deranged! He just savages poor Bob Holly from the beginning and works him over in the corner, before hitting a running knee to down his opponent. And to celebrate, he pulls out his own hair. Meanwhile, there's a bunch of dudes in the front row who clearly enjoy a bit of ECW and chant "he's hardcore" (which Vince ignores, obviously). Holly tries to mount a comeback with a dropkick and then goes for a dive to the outside, but Mankind catches him and takes him back inside to finish the job. He sets up Holly in the corner for the TREE OF WOE and throws an elbow at his head. That puts Holly on the mat, so Mankind goes for the throat (so to speak) and applies the Mandible Claw. Holly submits but Mankind takes a long time to release it and forces him to emit some white substance. Very effective squash here to put over the Mankind character, and they're coming out of the gate pretty strong with it. (*1/2)

Hey, guess who's at ringside. It's Sable! We then take another look at the fight that broke out last night between her real husband Marc Mero and her date last night Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Speaking of wild men...

Marc Mero def. Isaac Yankem DDS (4:26)
Hey, Mero's music ain't bad! And Sable looks impressed, which brings out HHH to try and talk some sense into her. Mero sends Yankem outside early with a dropkick and then does a 360 plancha to the outside in a fun spot. Yankem then rolls back in, so Mero attempts a springboard leg drop and it looks...very bad. Mero is still going wild and catches the huge Yankem in a headscissors, before decking him with a knee lift. Yankem finally gets a moment to breathe, as he wipes out Mero with a clothesline. Yankem then applies a REST HOLD as Helmsley continues to harass Sable. Mero breaks out of the hold eventually and gets a near fall off a crucifix. Yankem attacks the back of Mero, hoping to slow him down a bit, but Mero steals another pin that Yankem kicks out from. Mero then engineers a sunset flip, and that's enough to keep Yankem down for three. Not a bad little debut for Mero here, although there were some awkward moments in there. (*3/4)

Post-match, Helmsley isn't giving up and tries to ward Sable away, so she slaps the shit out of him! Mero comes to the rescue and carries Sable out of there while Hunter fumes. I guess that makes them an official partnership.

The Bodydonnas (w/Sunny) def. Aldo Montoya & Barry Horowitz (5:31)
The Bodydonnas are our new Tag Team Champions but this match is non-title. Sunny is looking extra sexualised this evening. A bit of shock and awe gets Aldo off to a flying start, before tagging on Barry Horowitz. He has some fun beating on Skip like it's the middle of 1995 and tags Aldo back in. In the end, some double teaming gets Skip and Zip control and they hit a double flapjack on Montoya to assert their dominance. The champs have some fun with Aldo on the outside, but Skip's attempt to suplex Aldo back into the ring leads to him getting suplexed out of it! Gnarly spot. Montoya then leaps to the floor from the turnbuckle as the crowd begin to realise "hey, these guys are doing some cool shit". Barry gets the hot tag now and RUNS WILD, before getting a small package on Skip. That should be enough for three but Zip and Sunny have the referee distracted. Barry tags Aldo back in, and he hits a flying body press for another near fall. Skip rallies now, levelling Aldo with a German Suplex before hitting a spinebuster. Aldo is all at sea now, and Zip tags in for a Whoopee Cushion to finish the match. Kind of a lame ending to this one but these guys were rolling and actually won the crowd over. (**1/4)

It's interview time now, as Vince welcomes the NEW WWF Champion Shawn Michaels to this very ring. Shawn does a slightly queasy promo here, thanking the fans and giving Bret a shout out. It's 1996 Shawn though so it all feels very disingenuous. Diesel is HBK's opponent at the next IYH show (even though he lost at WMXII), but first he'll have to go through Jerry Lawler on RAW next week. Someone tell me what the actual point of that match is; does anyone really believe King is winning the big one ever?! He ends on the line that will become the subtitle for the upcoming PPV: him and Diesel were good friends, but they're better enemies. You could just feel the heat of Shawn's reign draining out the building here, as they were making to the same mistakes they made with Diesel.

The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) def. Justin Bradshaw (w/Uncle Zebekiah) via DQ (4:54)
They keep going on about how battered and bruised Taker is after wrestling Diesel, as if that's meant to justify them giving the next title shot to a loser. It's okay, he beat up the Undertaker really bad before getting Tombstoned! Meanwhile, Bradshaw has been on a tear in the syndicated programming and remains undefeated. Given Undertaker's heavy night the day before, Bradshaw dominates the early exchanges with his roughhousing, Hansen-lite brand of lariats and shoulder blocks. After a break, Bradshaw continues to dominate the match and gets a near fall off a flying shoulderblock. However, Undertaker catches him on the second one and delivers a powerslam to wake up the crowd. Bradshaw goes back to the lariat and fells Taker with a big boot, but Taker rallies and hits his flying clothesline. A chokeslam and Tombstone follows, but MANKIND IS HERE to attack Taker and force a DQ. The match was a means to an end and very forgettable, especially compared to what comes after. (*)

Mankind just decimates an under-the-weather Taker here, sending him crashing into the steps before hitting his patented elbow drop from the apron. He then applies the Mandible Claw and puts Undertaker out as the crowd look on shocked. Awesome closing angle here, as they put over this new character BIG. And thus begins the feud that helps make Taker the long-term star he would become. And Foley doesn't do too badly out of it either (apart from losing a few teeth).

A pretty good follow-up to WrestleMania here with a bunch of new faces — that was quite refreshing to see. None of the action was blow-away good but it was all pretty solid and effective. Not much wastage here, an easy thumbs up.

NEXT WEEK: Shawn battles King and Vader gets it on with Yokozuna one-on-one!

 

[ChristianCaged]

RAW #154

Date: 8 April 1996
Location: Orange Pavilion; San Bernadino, CA (taped)
Commentary: Vince McMahon & Mr. Perfect

Yokozuna takes a lift!

The afterglow of WrestleMania has begun to wear off as we head into the rest of the spring. And seeing as Jerry is in action tonight, Vince is joined on commentary by Mr. Perfect instead.

Vader (w/Jim Cornette) def. Yokozuna (w/Mr. Fuji) via referee stoppage (3:45)
It's the battle of the behemoths and the last time we'll see Yoko for a while. As usual, these two open things up with a big brawl, as they proceed to just beat clumps out of each other. Yokozuna takes the early advantage, hitting his uranage before hitting a leg drop. That would be enough to stop a normal man, but not VADER. Yoko sets Vader up in the corner now and charges, but Big Van evades it and takes Yoko down. Now he sets up for a Vader Bomb with Yoko's leg draped on the rope, dropping his full weight. Yokozuna is in agony here and the referee calls a stop to it immediately, making Vader the winner. Barely a match, but it was fine while it lasted I guess. (1/2*)

Post-match, Vader repeats the trick two more times and, during the ad break, they wheel Yokozuna out of the building on a forklift (the ultimate indignity). This was an angle of course, as Yoko was sent off to fat camp to lose some weight.

It's interview time now, as Vince welcomes The Ultimate Warrior to the ring. Decent-sized pop here, as usual. Also as usual is the gibberish promo from Warrior himself about being in the wilderness and returning to answer the call of the spirit of the Warrior. It's all a load of nonsense, basically. Warrior is then interrupted by Goldust, who has seemingly recovered from the humiliation doled out to him by Piper. Goldust gets a bit freaky about Warrior, who promptly denies him and whatever "queerish" stuff he's into. Warrior then launches an attack, wiping out Goldust with a clothesline. So I guess that's our next IC Title programme. The Warrior music plays and he celebrates to close out the segment.

Backstage, Vader has attacked Yoko once again and *Vince voice* this man is an animal!

Hunter Hearst Helmsley def. Duke Droese (4:38)
So it seems these two are still feuding?! Duke goes wild early and looks unstoppable, but his overexuberance is punished as Hunter avoids a charge and sends him outside. HHH capitalises now, launching Dumpster into the stairs. We then get a Marc Mero split screen, as he promises a surprise next week. Hunter sets up for a Pedigree now, but Duke rallies and hits an atomic drop, followed by a spinebuster. And it's time to take out the trash! Duke sets up for the Trash Compactor, but Hunter escapes and delivers the Pedigree to win the match. Honestly, a decent little match, but nothing special. (*1/2)

Finally, Yoko is being carted off in an ambulance, not to be seen for at least a few months. Farewell, sweet sumo.

It's time for an arm wrestling segment! Can't remember the last time I saw one of these. Bulldog is accompanied to the ring by Owen Hart and is set to take on Ahmed Johnson, so we can find out who is the strongest. Owen is pretty hilarious here, constantly interrupting to point out how Ahmed is cheating until the ref chucks him out. Then Ahmed beats Davey fair and square, so Bulldog pearl harbors him and then hurls him into a table a bunch of times (not that it breaks, exactly). This was obviously intended to get him some heat but I actual fact, the smarks in the front row just begin chanting "he's hardcore" to express their delight at weapons being used. Fair.

WWF Championship: Shawn Michaels (c) def. Jerry Lawler (8:12 shown)
Before the match begins, Diesel arrives and takes up a post on the commentary desk. Hey, he's wearing a HBK shirt! Michaels and Lawler trade fists to begin, which the former gets the better of before posing with some fans. Back inside, Lawler has some kind of weapon and cheap shots Shawn to take over, choking the champ on the mat. After a break, Lawler remains on top and hits a piledriver for two. He did kick out of one of those at WMXII. Lawler is frustrated and goes high now, presumably for a fist drop. Shawn catches him with the boot though and then heads up top himself for the elbow drop. Shawn could finish it there, but he jaw jacks with Diesel a bit before catching Lawler with some Sweet Chin Music to go over. Not that bad, for a Lawler match. (*1/2)

Post-match, the fight is on between Shawn and Diesel, and Perfect tosses Big Daddy the belt to really clean HBK out. After kicking his former friend's butt, Diesel gather his watch and sunglasses, and leaves. Cool.

Another decent episode here, maybe a notch below last week based on the slightly forgettable action. But the angles have been strong post-Mania. Slight thumbs up.

NEXT WEEK: Savio gets a shot at Goldust's Intercontinental Championship!

 

[ChristianCaged]

RAW #155

Date: 15 April 1996
Location: Orange Pavilion; San Bernadino, CA (taped)
Commentary: Vince McMahon & Mr. Perfect

Bret loses his smile in Germany!

After his in-ring escapade last week, Jerry once again joins Vince on the commentary desk, as we continue the taping ahead of In Your House: Good Friends, Better Enemies. Hey, these things have subtitles now!

Marc Mero (w/Sable) def. Leif Cassidy (w/Marty Jannetty) (6:35 shown)
Sable is officially the valet of Marc Mero here, and is already courting attention with a sleek leather jumpsuit. But Jerry has to pretend she looks ugly because he's a heel. Mero and Cassidy exchange quickfire offense and arm drags to kick us off, but Mero gets the better of it and sends Cassidy outside to regroup. Back inside, Cassidy tries to rally but gets socked again. This time, Mero follows his opponent outside and hits a Noggin Knocker on the two Rockers! Jannetty recovers though and wipes Mero out with a clothesline behind the referee's back. That gives Cassidy the chance to capitalise, and we head into a break with him suplexing Mero. When we return, Marty is getting in more cheap shots on the outside, as Cassidy smiles like the Cheshire Cat in the ring. Cassidy then locks in a full nelson hold, until Mero slips out and decks him with a head scissors. Cassidy heads out to the floor once again, but Mero meets him there with a somersault plancha (the same one he used against Yankem). A flying sunset flip follows and make that 2-0 for Mero on RAW. Actually a decent little match with a lot of energy, while Vince calling Sable the classiest woman in the WWF got a chuckle from me when I think about where her character ends up. (**1/4)

Diesel phones in from Germany now, and apparently, the shot with the belt last week was just an effort to teach HBK a lesson. Well, that clears that one up then!

Stone Cold Steve Austin (w/Ted DiBiase) def. Bart Gunn (7:57)
Kind of sad seeing Bart all by himself. He should put on a mask and call himself El Barto. Anyway, Austin gets caught in a headlock early on, but has the power to work out of it and drive Bart Gunn out to the floor. Bart returns inside now, but Austin slows things down with a REST HOLD as we go to the commercials. That hold is *still* in after the break, but Bart breaks away and fires up, wiping Austin out with a flying body press after a bulldog for a near fall. Unfortunately for Bart, his momentum stops dead as DiBiase trips him and gets him all distracted, with allows Austin to fly into him in the ropes. Bart rallies, and steals a few more two counts off quick pins, before applying his own SLEEPER. However, Austin drops to the mat for an awfully Stunner-looking manoeuvre and applies the Million Dollar Dream to put Bart out for good. Kind of dull and awkward, seeing as Bart hadn't wrestled too many singles matches for the company (aside from the matches with Owen on RAW, I can't remember any). (*1/4)

Interview time! This week, Vince welcomes THE MAN THEY CALL VADER and his manager Jim Cornette to the ring. Out of nowhere, Vader will be facing a returning (and then swiftly leaving) Razor Ramon at the PPV. The only interaction I can even remember between them was Razor helping shoo Vader from the ring after nearly killing Monsoon, so I guess that's the beef? Cornette then delivers a hell of a promo, subtly alluding to the fact that Razor's "career" would soon be going down the drain. Not quite, Jim.

Intercontinental Championship: Savio Vega def. Goldust (c) (w/Marlena) (9:27 shown)
Around about this time, Goldust got hurt in Germany at a house show. Let's face it though, the Warrior match was shifting tickets and they had to find some way not to cancel the match with all the TV already taped. Which will explain why we get what do at IYH: GF, BE. Anyway, Goldust feels Savio up on the lock up and plays up the campness of his character. Savio thinks he's an alpha though and runs off the bizarre one temporarily. Back inside, Goldust gets levelled with a side slam from Savio, which leads to our first near fall of the match and the ad break. As we come back, Goldust delivers the atomic drop on Savio and then applies a REST HOLD, as this weary crowd begins to boo. Unsettled by this, Goldust grabs a mic and threatens the crowd with kisses if they don't settle down. Savio uses that distraction to rally and tries for a superplex off the top, but Goldie cuts him off. After another break, Savio grabs a roll-up for two, but the ref goes down in the process. It's time for some shenanigans then, as Marlena tosses Goldust the belt. Savio beats him to the punch though and kicks the belt out of his hands, before whomping Goldust with it himself. That gets the pin and seemingly the title, but another referee spotted the infringement and awards the match to Goldust via DQ! Amidst all the confusion, Gorilla Monsoon arrives and promptly vacates the belt, subject to a rematch next week. A fine-enough match but nothing I'll ever remember, and the booking gymnastics here make little sense. Just feels like a way to kill television time rather than use it purposefully, which has been a problem with RAW for ages and won't be fixed for at least another few months (around the time nWo makes Nitro must-see TV every week). (*1/2)

We finish on a pretty interesting interview with Bret, which (like the finish at Mania) really feels like it's pushing us down the path of a heel turn. He bemoans the finish of the Ironman match, (rightly) pointing out how it was unfair to make him break the Sharpshooter, only to restart the contest anyway. Crucially, Bret also dispels any rumours that he too is leaving for WCW, but suggests the sun may be setting on his own career. I'm pretty sure this is the last we hear from Bret for a while, as he'd go on a long hiatus after the Germany tour, only to return for the legendary Austin programme that kickstarted his career renaissance.

Kind of a middling show this week but not bad. All three matches were perfectly adequate and focused on new, up and coming faces in the organisation. It was pretty skippable overall though. Thumbs in the middle, leaning down.

NEXT WEEK: Savio gets a shot at Goldust's the now-vacant Intercontinental Championship!

 

[ChristianCaged]

RAW #156

Date: 22 April 1996
Location: Orange Pavilion; San Bernadino, CA (taped)
Commentary: Vince McMahon & Jerry Lawler

Goldust Savio II: Electric Boogaloo

One last stop before IYH: Good Friends, Better Enemies, and oh boy does this feel like the end of a long taping. Vince and Jerry walk us through it.

Intercontinental Championship: Goldust (w/Marlena) def. Savio Vega (10:17 shown)
After the debacle of last week's finish, the IC Title is now vacant! Savio goes right for Goldust to begin and gets an early near fall off a powerslam. The fight goes outside now, before Goldust gets some leverage back in the ring after hitting a corner splash. Savio's fire won't die though, so Goldust goes low to get some control. After a break, Goldust targets the leg and you can literally feel the crowd getting bored. A REST HOLD follows just to labour the point even further. At least us TV viewers get a break from the action; unfortunately, it's for a barely intelligible inset promo by Ultimate Warrior. Just as Savio is on the comeback trail, we go to the ads again. Following the second break, Savio steals a two count with a small package. Goldust responds with an attempt at the Curtain Call, but Savio escapes it and leverages Goldust into a pin attempt for two. Unfortunately for Savio, his nemesis Austin has arrived, and he takes advantage of Marlena's distraction to smash Savio in the face with the Million Dollar Championship. Goldust gets the pin and regains the Intercontinental Championship. I suppose that makes it a whole new reign, right? Similar to last week's match, but somehow even more tedious. (*)

Vader (w/Jim Cornette) def. Fatu (1:55 shown)
We get a break right after the entrances, so we join this one in progress as Vader puts a beating on poor Fatu. I wonder if he feels like he's making a difference anymore, seeing as he barely gets any TV time. Fatu is a big boy though and manages to rally, knocking Vader down off a shoulder block. Fatu then heads high for the splash and connects, but Vader feels no pain and just refuses to sell it. Vader hits a clothesline now and then debuts the Vadersault(!) in WWF to end the match. Very short squash, but a delicious one. (1/2*)

We now cut to some clips from the Germany tour, which show Bulldog attacking Jake Roberts, until Jake fires up and hits a DDT. He then gets the snake out and drapes it over Bulldog, which obviously frightens the life out of him. They'll face each other this weekend, sorta.

The Godwinns (w/Hillbilly Jim) def. Yoshihiro Tajiri & Tim Patterson (4:00)
Well if that ain't the weirdest jobber team you ever did see. And yes, that is THE Tajiri. The future star of the cruiserweight division in WWE hits a lovely standing moonsault early on, but the success is short lived, as he tags in Patterson, who gets destroyed by Henry and worn down with a bear hug. Sunny tries to get involved at one point, but Hillbilly Jim chases her off, much to the fans' chagrin. The beatdown continues for an unnecessary amount of time until Henry hits the Slop Drop for the victory. They'll face the Bodydonnas this weekend at the PPV.

Mankind def. Aldo Montoya (2:26 shown)
Mankind started this taping, and by god he'll finish it as well. This one is cut in half by a break, but Aldo gets a dropkick in early and shows some fire. It's short-lived though, as Mankind beats on him and the corner and connects with a running knee to seize control of the match. After the break, Aldo makes a comeback, only to go high and whiff, as Mankind catches him on the way down. Mankind hits a sweet Piledriver and then applies the Mandible Claw, which quickly ends things. Usual white substance aftermath here as Aldo catches his breath. Not a bad squash here, as Mick just worked in such a unique way that he immediately stood out. (*)

We close out the show with a rundown of the Shawn-Diesel feud and that's all!

This one really felt like all the dregs of the taping stitched together. I cannot wait for this show to tape more regularly. Thumbs down.

NEXT WEEK: Ultimate Warrior makes his RAW debut!

 

[ChristianCaged]

In Your House: Good Friends, Better Enemies

Date: 28 April 1996
Location: Omaha Civic Auditorium; Omaha, NE
Commentary: Vince McMahon & Jerry Lawler

Say goodbye...to the bad guys!

We're live on PPV in Omaha and we've got nearly 10,000 people in the house, which ain't half bad for an In Your House event. On the pre-show Marc Mero defeated 1-2-3 Kid by DQ after being attacked by Helmsley. Didn't watch it, but I suspect it was pretty fun. Vince and Jerry are on hand to call the action.

Owen Hart & The British Bulldog (w/Jim Cornette & Clarence Mason) def. Jake Roberts & Ahmed Johnson (13:47)
So apparently, Clarence Mason has filed some kind of injunction to prevent Jake from bringing his snake to ringside. This is also supposed to be a one-on-one match between Jake and Bulldog, but as we'll discover, that gets changed. Jake brings his snake to the ring despite Mason's threats and tears up the legal document, before throwing the snake on Cornette. He sells it like he's been shot and goes all pasty white, so Mason gets him out of there. Roberts has also headed to the back, but he returns with Ahmed Johnson and for *reasons* we get a tag team match instead. In reality, I believe Bulldog was actually nursing a small injury that could have scuppered the world title plans for the months ahead if it were aggravated. The heels show a bit of indecision early, with neither of them wanting to get in the ring with Ahmed. Fair enough. As we spot Diana Hart Smith in the crowd, Owen gets rag-dolled by Ahmed before Jake is tagged in. He attempts an early DDT but Owen escapes not once, but twice, and rakes the eyes. He tags Bulldog in now, but the elbow drop attempt misses and Jake brings Ahmed back into the match. Davey Boy says "f*** that" and tags Owen back in. The test of strength follows, which Ahmed wins (obviously). The big man then nails Owen with a clothesline and pounds on him with his boot in the corner. Davey nails Ahmed from behind to give Owen a chance to make a tag and then hits a slam, but Ahmed just no-sells it and continues to the physically dominate the heel team. Owen gives it another go, but Ahmed demolishes him too and brings in Jake. He really just seems like a hindrance to Ahmed though, as Owen catches him with the knee and levels him with a missile dropkick. It's time for the heel heat segment, as Owen and Bulldog take it in turns to distract the ref and beat on Jake, putting him in REST HOLDS and even attempting the Sharpshooter. Eventually, Jake finds himself in a sleeper and has to drop to the mat for a JAWBREAKER to escape. He gets the hot tag to Ahmed, who hits a spinebuster on Davey before tagging Jake back in to hit the DDT. Owen reverses it with a backdrop, though. No fear, as Ahmed dumps Bulldog to the floor and then works with Jake to hit a double-clothesline on Owen. Bulldog is back on the apron now, so Jake goes to suplex him while Owen pulls Ahmed out of the ring. With the ref distracted by the latter, Bulldog grabs Cornette's tennis racket (still at ringside) and whacks Jake with it, before applying a knee bar to make old man Jake tap the f*** out. Just an okay and very unremarkable opener with a limited face team and a beat-up Bulldog on the opposite side. The crowd were into it though and made it a watchable encounter. And now, everyone in this feud can move on. Well, sorta. (**)

Intercontinental Championship: The Ultimate Warrior def. Goldust (c) (w/Marlena) via count out (7:43)
Ah, this match is pretty infamous. Goldust blew his MCL on tour in Germany, but rather than cancelling the match or just having Warrior beat up someone else, we got this. Goldust arrives with a heavily bandaged knee, along with a "bodyguard" played by TAFKA Mantaur (although I didn't realise it until his hat feel off). They should have brought Mike Shaw back as Bastion Booger for this. Warrior gets the usual big pop. Clearly Goldust is in no condition to fight, as he stalls even more than usual until Warrior gets frustrated and sends him (and his entourage) running up the aisle. Unfortunately, they left all their stuff here, so Warrior starts smoking Marlena's cigars and sits in the director's chair while the crowd wonder what the f*** is going on. Goldust is (for some reason) really bothered by this and returns to ringside, first grabbing a mic so he can threaten the crowd with kisses. Warrior seems to relent now and even robes Goldust, but it's all a ruse and Warrior burns Goldust's hand with the cigar, before clotheslining him out of his chair. This time Goldust cuts and runs for good, so the referee counts him out and awards the match to Warrior. Where do you even start with this?! The bell rang to start the match and to end it, so we have to at least treat it like a contest, so I can safely call this one of the worst "matches" I've ever seen. It only went on for 7 minutes but it felt like an eternity. (DUD)

Post-match, the bodyguard hasn't had the good sense to escape with Goldust, so Warrior chases him and then beats him up around the ring. Warrior slams him and then celebrates not winning the title. Only one more Warrior match on PPV to sit through!

Backstage, British Bulldog is MAD! He's banging on the door of HBK's dressing room while some of the geeks try and pull him away. Something must be afoot, and we later find out that Shawn has made some overtures to her.

Vader (w/Jim Cornette) def. Razor Ramon (14:50)
It's the end of the line, for the Razor character at least. Usual start from Vader here, as he fires away on Razor with fists that look a little too stiff. Razor rallies though and goes for the Razor's Edge early. Vader is nowhere near beat up enough though and backdrops Ramon out of the ring. That doesn't slow Razor down, as he rolls back in and fires away on Vader, clotheslining him to the floor. Cornette catches Razor's eye now, but when Vader tries to take advantage, Razor is waiting for him. No matter, as Vader sticks him in the corner now and smashes him with an avalanche. Vader misses the elbow drop though and Razor hits a back suplex to take control again. Vader quickly recovers and hits the VADER BOMB! And Razor kicks out! Wow, that was unexpected. Vader keeps up the heat now and hits a back suplex, but a second one is reversed and Razor connects with a suplex instead for a near fall. Vader is on the back foot now and goes high out of desperation, but Razor catches him off the ropes for a powerslam! That gets two, as does a flying bulldog as Razor gathers steam. Vader responds by hurling the full weight of his body onto Razor as he is leaning against the ropes. Vader goes up for another VADER BOMB now, but Razor gets up and tries to hoist Vader up for a Razor's Edge. The body gives out though and both men are down! Vader goes high once again, but this time for the VADERSAULT. Razor meets him there again and takes him down with the Electric Chair drop! Razor tries one more time for the Razor's Edge, but Vader backdrops him and hits a sit-down splash to put Razor away for good. Despite the lingering bad blood over being suspended for WrestleMania and getting jobbed out in his last match, Razor seemed strangely motivated here. Good match overall and more back and forth than you would expect (Razor is the first person in WWF to kick out of the Vader Bomb by my recollection). (***)

Post-match, Vader and Jim celebrate at ringside, until Dok Hendrix emerges from backstage and kindly informs them that Yokozuna will be back for the next PPV and will face Vader! Jim can't believe it.

World Tag Team Championships: The Bodydonnas (c) (w/Sunny) def. The Godwinns (w/Hillbilly Jim) (7:18)
The Bodydonnas beat The Godwinns last month to win the Tag Team Championship Tournament, in one of the darker moments for the company's tag division. Okay, that might be a bit much, but neither of these teams are getting in the Hall of Fame any time soon. Skip and Zip try to double-team Henry Godwinn from the start, but he's too much of a beast for them and manages to isolate Zip with the slop bucket looming. Zip manages to get across and tag in Skip, but he takes a massive suplex from Henry right away as the Godwinns assert their physical dominance. After trying to trick the referee with a twin switch (ala The Killer Bees), Skip and Zip get some measure of control back by pulling the top rope down to send Phineas to the floor on a charge. Skip rolls P.I.G. back in, but Zip can only get a two count. They then execute a sweet slingshot suplex on Phineas, which gets another near fall. A quick REST HOLD follows, which Phineas breaks out of, only to take a hurricanrana from Skip for two. Sunny decides to be helpful now, and retrieves a fetching picture of herself. Meanwhile, Henry gets the hot tag and RUNS WILD, destroying both Skip and Zip while Sunny entices Phineas with her photo. Hillbilly Jim inserts himself and threatens Sunny with a slopping, which causes the referee to miss the Slop Drop on Skip. Zip executes the twin switch perfectly this time and rolls up an unsuspecting Henry to steal a three count. Completely forgettable bout here, as they couldn't be putting less effort into the tag team division if they tried. Not awful from a workrate perspective, but these teams were not exactly well suited to each other. (*1/4)

Time for a retrospective on the Shawn-Diesel feud; the cool music video promos are not quite upon us yet, which is a shame, as you could probably make a pretty good one for these two.

WWF Championship: Shawn Michaels (c) (w/Jose Lothario) def. Diesel in a No Holds Barred Match (17:54)
It's time to say goodbye to Big Daddy Cool, although Nash does technically revive the gimmick for one night only years later. Mad Dog Vachon (or Luna's dad) is sitting at ringside, which will become relevant soon enough. Quick start here, as these two HATE each other and are keen to prove it. After ejecting Diesel during his entrance, Shawn hits him with the baseball slide and then moonsaults onto Diesel on the outside! In a fun tease to a later spot, Shawn now removes someone's shoe and clobbers Diesel with it off the top rope for the first near fall. Shawn then tries to whip Diesel into the corner, but he's too powerful for that and sends Shawn over the rope for the Flair Flip, before launching him into the railing. Ouch! Diesel takes over now, slamming Shawn and then choking Earl Hebner himself with wrist tape! He then removes Hebner's belt and lays it in on Shawn's back. Something, something, government mule. In perhaps the most ruthless moment of the match, Diesel wraps the belt round Shawn's neck and chokes him, before hanging Shawn up with it over the top rope. Sick visual! Hebner is back up and tries to free Shawn from his predicament, so Diesel grabs a chair and starts wailing on HBK with it. After getting a few stiff shots in with it (no head shots, thankfully), he misses one and slams the chair against the ropes, which of course leads to it bouncing back in his own face. Ha ha! Shawn grabs the chair now, but as he builds up to strike his opponent with it, Diesel decks him with a savage low blow. Diesel gets two off a huge backdrop now, before working Michaels' neck and sending him to the outside. He then delivers a Jackknife through the announce desk, which takes out commentary and knocks Vince over in an amusing bit of slapstick. With Shawn dead to the world outside, Diesel grabs the WWF Championship and parades with it in the ring. Thinking on his feet, a battered Shawn locates a fire extinguisher under the ring and sprays Diesel with it to get some momentum. The flying forearm follows, and Shawn now gets the chair again. This time he wipes Diesel out with it. However, Diesel rallies and hits the big boot off a charge by HBK. He sets up for a Jackknife, but Shawn escapes and levels Diesel, before going high for the flying elbow drop. Shawn attempts Sweet Chin Music, but Diesel catches the foot and wipes him out with a clothesline. He then drops Shawn throat-first on the rail before finding Vachon and yanking him over the barricade. There, he removes his prosthetic leg and heads back inside to beat on Shawn with it. In a call back to earlier in the match, Shawn cuts that off with the low blow and then grabs the artificial limb. An unconventional Sweet Chin Music follows and that's enough for a pin. This was just tremendous and set a standard for the many hardcore-style main events that would follow this one over the years. There are some that probably beat it, but not many. I love how they didn't go super long or slow with it; this is just 18 or so minutes of pure chaos and excitement. You could put this match on whenever, and I'm watching it. The best WWF match since Shawn vs. Razor at WMX. (****3/4)

Post-match, Shawn celebrates a huge title defence as we go off the air.

Overall

A strange show in some ways, such is the mixture of highs and lows. Goldust vs. Warrior is horrible, obviously, but the two biggest matches (Vader/Razor, Shawn/Diesel) both deliver, with the main event standing out as one of the best matches of the past few years. At only 1 hour and 40 minutes in length, I think the time spent watching this one was mostly worthwhile. 6/10.