In Your House 8: Beware Of Dog Review

Sunday, May 26th, 1996
Florence Civic Center
Florence, South Carolina

Tuesday, May 28th, 1996
North Charleston, South Carolina
North Charleston Coliseum

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Ah yes, this very infamous show. With this being a Memorial Day weekend, a friend of mine ordered this show and had a few friends over for a sleepover. It turned into a disappointing result for wrestling, but still a great night otherwise. 

Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Marc Mero

Helmsley's valet tonight looks like she's in her 40s, which I'm sure was not the intention. Dok Hendrix is backstage with Mero and Sable and Mero cuts one of his cheesy Wild Man promos. Mero gets in the ring and goes right after Helmsley. He knocks Hunter to the floor and hits a dive to get this match off to a good start. Vince mentions that there are some big storms outside the building and warns that there may be some technical difficulties. Hunter hits a high knee and gets a 2 count. Mero goes for a backslide but Hunter has been working on the shoulder and he can't pull it off. Hunter takes Mero's left arm and slams it into the ring post. Hunter continues to work on that shoulder and arm and Vince just keeps saying the word "methodically". Hunter lays out Mero's arm and hits a running knee drop on it. Mero gets a small burst but it's cut short by a clothesline. Hunter goes back to work on the arm and uses the rope for leverage. Hunter goes up top but Mero gets there and crotches him. Mero hits a top rope hurricanrana to a good pop and both men are down. Mero hits a back body drop and I like how he used his right shoulder to send him up. Mero goes up top and hits a sunset flip for a nearfall. Mero dropkicks Hunter over the top rope and misses with the somersault dive. He's now grabbing his left knee. Hunter now grabs Sable and tells her to watch this. Hunter goes back in the ring and slaps Mero before setting him up for the Pedigree. Mero counters and hits a slingshot into the ring post and picks up the victory. I am probably in the minority here, but I liked that match. 

Match Rating: ***

Mr. Perfect is backstage with British Bulldog, Jim Cornette, Diana, Clarence Mason and Owen Hart. Cornette announces that he was able to get Owen a manager's license for tonight only so that he can have a manager who has all of his attention since he also has Vader vs. Yokozuna. 

And then the power went out...

We waited. And waited. And waited. Eventually we got the power back on and we are at the main event of the evening. 

WWF Championship Match
British Bulldog vs. Shawn Michaels

Dok is with Shawn and Jose (for some reason). The audio sucks and he says that no matter what is going on, he's still focused and compares this storyline to Melrose Place. They show Michaels walking to the ring and Mr. Perfect bumps shoulders into him. Clarence Mason has a mic held up for him and of course it doesn't work at first. He eventually says that Michaels has tried to break up a family and he serves Michaels. Great. Shawn rips it up and Diana is shocked. Bulldog attacks Michaels and we are underway. Bulldog tries to dump Michaels over the top, but he lands on the apron. They go back and forth and Bulldog holds onto the ropes when Michaels goes for a superkick and then Michaels dives over the top onto Bulldog. Jerry then kind of defends Shawn, saying he understands what Shawn is up against since they are both good looking guys and women throw themselves at them. Shawn hits an ezuigiri. Shawn slows the match down and gets in some mat wrestling. Even Vince calls out Bulldog for the lack of aggression from Bulldog. Lawler defends him due to the distraction Shawn has created with his wife and then Vince argues with him with the exact same point. Bulldog gets out of the hold and hits a big back body drop. I can assure you that in 1996, not one single person believed that Bulldog would ever win the WWF Championship. I will say that the storyline for my younger self was definitely a little surprising, it still didn't make me believe in Bulldog any more than I did prior. Now it's time for Bulldog's rest hold. They've really slowed this match down to a crawl right now. I understand that they are giving them nearly 20 minutes here, but I don't understand the logic of 5 consecutive minutes of it being rest holds. Bulldog sends Michaels off the ropes and he ducks a clothesline but looks to trip through the ropes to the floor. Michaels battles back and sends Bulldog off the ropes, causing the two to collide. Both men are up and Michaels hits the flying forearm and a kip up. Bulldog is off the ropes and accidentally runs into the referee. Shawn hits a top rope elbow drop and starts tuning up the band. Owen runs in so he hits him with it instead. This allows the Bulldog to attack him and now a new referee is out. Bulldog goes for a running powerslam, but Michaels pushes his way out of it and hits a German suplex into a bridge for a 3 count. Bulldog's music hits and Diana brings in the WWF Championship. The second referee comes in and holds up Shawn's hand and his music plays. Fink tries to make an announcement but the referee's and competitors are still arguing. Diana holds up the title belt in the aisle and out comes Gorilla Monsoon to grab it out of her hands. We finally get a replay while all of this is going on. Both guys shoulders clearly look to be down. Fink finally announces that Monsoon has declared this match a draw. That's always a popular decision. Fink then of course lets us know that the title can't be changed on a draw, so Shawn is still champ. They show a different angle and Bulldog tried to get his shoulder up but was unable to. This was definitely one of the more disappointing Shawn singles matches. 

Match Rating: ***

Off to Tuesday night we go. We have Jim Ross and Mr. Perfect on commentary for this portion of the show. 

Caribbean Strap Match
Steve Austin vs. Savio Vega

They show footage of Austin losing to Vega on Sunday in the dark. DiBiase is so confident that Austin will win this time, he will leave the WWF if he loses. Ross and Perfect are laying it on heavy about how they just had this match in the dark two nights ago. These guys get this match off to a physical start and the crowd is responding to it much better than WrestleMania. Austin gets his first attempt to touch the turnbuckles, but we are way too early for that, so Savio is able to break the count. Austin is able to dump Savio over the top and Austin comes along with him. Savio props Austin on the top rope and goes for a superplex but Austin is able to knock him off. Austin slowly tries to stand up and Savio now kicks him to crotch him on the top. Savio climbs back up and hits a top rope superplex. Savio gets close to getting the 4th turnbuckle until Austin nails him with a spinebuster. Austin goes for a Tombstone and they go back and forth with it ending with Savio falling over the top rope to the floor. Austin goes up to the top and Savio pulls him off and into the guardrail. That may be the closest thing to a high flying move that I have seen Austin pull off in WWF. Austin is able to come back and desperately drives Savio into the steps. Savio then pulls the strap and now he goes into the steps. Savio tries to carry Austin and touch all 4. He gets 3, but then Austin falls to the ground and is able to pull him back. Austin hits a piledriver and then DiBiase, being the brilliant manager that he is, tells Austin to go for one more. Savio obviously counters out of it and DiBiase is furious. Austin puts on the Million Dollar Dream and Savio moves around and touches the turnbuckles with Austin on his back. Savio is able to fall on his back and counter out of it. Austin wraps the strap around Savio's neck and starts dragging him around the ring. Austin is touching the turnbuckles, but so is Savio unbeknownst to Austin. It takes DiBiase until the third one to realize it. Austin and Savio start battling over the last one and Austin pulls Savio and he goes into the fourth turnbuckle for the victory. DiBiase is upset and Austin heads to the back on his own. Who would have thought that getting rid of DiBiase would be the best thing for his career other than every person on planet Earth? Savio grabs the mic and starts singing "Nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah, hey, hey, hey, goodbye". I promise you, no one was upset that DiBiase was gone. They actually start playing the song as well. This was a hard-hitting match for a feud that I'm not really sure many people were invested in other than young me. They won them over with this one though.

Match Rating: ***3/4

They show Shawn Michaels in the AOL room chatting. Actually, he doesn't appear to type a single thing.

Vader vs. Yokozuna

They go at it quickly but then we get some stalling. They do a tease of a football stance vs. a sumo stance but Vader backs out of it. After more stalling they do actually do it and Yoko wins that and clotheslines Vader over the top to the floor. Yoko continues to get the better of Vader here and is working on his left leg. Yoko hits the Rock Bottom and a Samoan drop and is visibly winded. He sets him up for the Banzai Drop until Cornette is on the apron. Yoko blocks the tennis racket shot and throws Cornette into the ring. Cornette puts the racket on the ground and tries to shake his hand. Yoko grabs it and starts squeezing it before giving him a headbutt. He then pulls Cornette into the corner but Vader is starting to crawl over there. He moves Cornette out of the ring and Yoko misses. Vader hits a big elbow on the injured leg of Yoko and then hits a splash on the leg. Vader hits the Vader Bomb and that's all. That was a lot of stalling in there and while I know Yoko is no slouch, they definitely kind of took a little of the mystique away from Vader here in my opinion. Vader does a great job selling his injured leg after the match, so props to that. 

Match Rating: *1/2

We get a King of the Ring commercial featuring Jerry Lawler and Vince as Satan. Pretty accurate. JR lets us know that Shawn Michaels will take on British Bulldog again and the Smoking Gunns will take on the Godwinns. They have some big news for Ultimate Warrior taking on Jerry Lawler. They show the brackets and Vader already advanced over Ahmed last night and he gets a bye due to the Lawler/Warrior match. 

Casket Match For The Intercontinental Championship
Goldust vs. Undertaker

This is still the most random casket match that I can recalls. Goldust is feuding with Ahmed and Undertaker is feuding with Mankind and yet here we are. Taker could never bet outdone with mind games, so he has Paul Bearer come out the entrance and Taker is behind Goldust and he attacks him to kick things off. Taker is mostly dominating here and hits Old School before it was old. Goldust is able to hit a body slam and of course Taker sits right back up. Goldust hits him with at Tombstone and again, Taker sits back up. Goldust hits him with a running clothesline while Taker is seated. We get our first view of the casket cam, as Goldust rolls Taker in. He can't shut the lid because Taker fights his way out of it. Goldust is able to dump Taker out of the ring despite being hit with a big boot just moments before. Goldust slams Taker into the steps and chokes him with electrical cables. Back in the ring, Taker starts fighting back and knocks Goldust down with some right hands. Goldust is able to slap on the sleeper hold and has him down flat on the mat. He rolls Taker into the casket, but Taker just is able to block it closing with his arm. Taker pushes the lid and it sends Goldust to the floor. Back in the ring, Taker hits a leaping clothesline and then they both spill to the floor after another clothesline. Goldust hits a body slam back in the ring and climbs to the top. He hits a top rope clothesline and goes for a cover and counts to 3. I feel like his character wouldn't make that mistake. Goldust goes for Old School, but Taker doesn't let it happen and yanks him off the top. Taker puts him up and hits the Tombstone. He goes to roll Goldust into the casket and when he opens it up, Mankind is in there and puts on the Mandible Claw. Taker is in the casket and Goldust is the winner. They kind of gave away the outcome by making this for the Intercontinental title, but I don't think anyone expected such a well executed finish there. The casket starts smoking and when they get it open, it's empty. Paul Bearer is upset and the lights go out. Much like the Diesel/Bret match at the February show, the match itself was just okay and the finish was awesome. 

Match Rating: **

Now, obviously watching this live, this was a disappointment, but not one that you can pin on the actual show itself. In its condensed version, this is a very solid show. Nothing is terrible and the strap match is actually quite good. Coming off a hot main event at the last show, the Shawn match is definitely a disappointment. Even if you take the booking out of it, they really just didn't put in the effort you would have expected here. However, this is one of those shows that actually has a few feuds that matter rather than a bunch of random Raw matches and that's a win. 

Overall Rating: 59%

Monday Night Raw 5-13-96 Review

Original Airdate: Monday, May 13th, 1996
Sioux City Municipal Auditorium
Sioux City, Iowa

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Zip vs. Ahmed Johnson

Sunny tries to use her looks backstage to distract Ahmed, but he says that his mom told him to always take the trash out, not in. Zip tries to get something going but it doesn't last long. Ahmed starts to dominate and Sunny is now up on the apron. The distraction allows for Skip to come in there and Vince thinks he's so clever because he noticed it. Unfortunately, I am going to miss the Body Donnas defend their titles against the New Rockers on Superstars. Ahmed hits an electric chair but then misses an elbow drop. Ahmed dumps a charging Skip over the top rope and in comes Zip again. The distraction fails and Ahmed hits Skip with a spinebuster and then a Pearl River Plunge for the victory. They tried to make this more interesting than you would expect but at the end of the day, it was a squash. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

We get a Warrior University commercial. What a joke. The list of graduates who had successful careers is endless. 

Duke Droese vs. Vader

Duke actually gets to knock Vader down with a clothesline and then hits a crossbody that sends both of them over the top rope and into a commercial break. During the break, Vader chucks Duke into the steps and then hits a big splash in the middle of the ring. Cornette is on commentary for this match by the way. For some reason, we get a rest hold spot that lasts way longer than you would expect. I completely thought this would be over in 90 seconds or so. Duke fights out of it and hits a dropkick. It's all for nothing, as Vader hits a slam and a Vader Bomb for the victory. This was way longer than it needed to be. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

It's time for an interview with Undertaker in the ring. He's here to hype up the upcoming casket match at In Your House. They have the gold casket out with Goldust's star on it. After some Paul Bearer hamming it up, out comes Goldust. If you needed a reminder of how tall Goldust is, he's almost right up there with Taker. Goldust takes both of Taker's hands and Taker just kind of lets him until he uses it to force him to the ground. Out comes Mankind and he attacks Taker and gives him the Mandible Claw. I remember just thinking all of this booking was just so strange. Goldust just had a meaningless feud with Ultimate Warrior and then gets thrown into a casket match with Taker for some reason when Taker vs. Mankind was what made sense. While Taker is knocked out, Goldust straddles him and then Taker sits up and Goldust is out of there. 

Aldo Montoya vs. Justin Bradshaw

Was this a Superstars outtake? Bradshaw no sells most of Montoya's offense and then hits him with a slam. Uncle Zebekiah is now on commentary. I guess no one needs to manage tonight. Now this match gets a rest hold spot? What are we doing? Somehow this episode of Raw destroyed Nitro. Bradshaw hits a big boot and then a big clothesline with Zebekiah screaming for the win. Again, why would they not just have him destroy him in 90 seconds? After the match, they bring out the branding iron and give Aldo the true mark of a loser. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

We get a video about Kuwait and Operation Desert Storm. They show a weird interview of Shawn and then show him being attacked by British Bulldog in the ocean. Shawn could have used this version of Davey when he got attacked in Syracuse. 

Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Shawn Michaels

I'm guessing that this is the reason this episode is on Netflix? Shawn clotheslines Helmsley over the top and he's able to hang on so he can skin the cat. Shawn then comes over to Hunter's valet and then nails Hunter with a right hand. This aired 6 days before the infamous Curtain Call incident at MSG, so Trips was not being punished here. Hunter goes for a monkey flip but Shawn just stomps on his face. Helmsley ducks Shawn and he lands on the top rope and Shawn gets sent to the floor. Hunter hits him with the baseball slide while Jose Lothario reminds us that he's out there. Out comes Mr. Perfect to check things out. Hunter drops Shawn on the guardrail and we go to a commercial break. I will say that this is by far the best Hunter has looked to date, which I mean is no surprise. Most guys had their best matches either with Shawn or Bret. Hunter hammers away in the corner and hits a swinging neckbreaker for a 2 count. We get another commercial break and this time when we come back, we are in a rest hold. Shawn fights back and hits a slingshot and an inverted atomic drop. Shawn hits the top rope elbow drop, but Hutner kicks out at 2. Shawn counters a powerbomb into a hurricanrana but Hunter counters that into a pin attempt and almost steals the victory. Shawn starts tuning up the band and he does for the win. This was a good main event with a buddy doing the other one a solid and giving him a match with a lot of time. Mr. Perfect is shown walking to the back after the match. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

Jim Ross is shown backstage with British Bulldog, Diana and Jim Cornette. He mentions that Shawn will be ringside during Bulldog's match with Jake Roberts next week. Bulldog says that Shawn better not be anywhere near Diana. He says that he's not afraid of snakes, but Roberts should be afraid of him. Lots of yelling here. 

This was the definition of a one match show. On an hour show, that's good enough for a solid watch, even if everything else was pretty much trash. 

Overall Rating: 58%

In Your House 7: Good Friends, Better Enemies Review

Sunday, April 28th, 1996
Omaha Civic Auditorium
Omaha, Nebraska

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We get the usual good hype video for the show featuring that music that always gets me pumped up playing in the background. We then go to the In Your House CGI and it's a plane dropping bombs on Omaha. Hopefully they can still run the show there. We get some pyro as Vince McMahon screams us into the arena along with Jerry Lawler. 

British Bulldog vs. Jake Roberts Owen Hart & British Bulldog vs. Jake Roberts & Ahmed Johnson

They show some footage of a house show with Bulldog attacking Jake Roberts and then Jake brings out the snake and in a shocking turn of events, Bulldog is scared of snakes. They interview Jake backstage and Vince cuts him off in the middle of the promo like they are in some big rush. Jake comes out while Cornette and Mason are telling him that the contract shows the snake has to go to the back. Jake rips it up and brings out the snake. Everyone scrambles out except Cornette, who faints. Jake then carries the snake around his neck to the back. Now Jake brings out Ahmed. I guess we have a tag team match? What a weird way to start a pay per view. This feels very house show. Jake and Owen just start going at it and the bell rings. They show Diana in the crowd again. I wonder if she'll be more involved soon? Wink, wink. The match has been solid so far and the crowd is off to a hot start. Ahmed hits the big press slam on Owen and tags Jake back in. Jake runs into a boot and then Owen hits a dropkick. We are deep into the heat segment here and I really have to give the crowd credit; they are following along to all the cues. Owen gets on a sleeper hold but Jake counters out with a jawbreaker. The crowd is trying to get Jake over to Ahmed and he does. Bulldog is also in and he eats a spinebuster from Ahmed. Ahmed tags Jake back in for the DDT. He sets him up but in comes Owen. He lets go of Bulldog and hits a back body drop on Owen. They hit a double clothesline on him and Bulldog grabs Cornette's tennis racket. Owen grabs Ahmed out of the ring and Bulldog attacks Jake with the tennis racket to the knee. He puts on a leg submission hold and Jake gives up. That was kind of a weird ending but I have to say, I liked this way more than I remembered. This was nothing great, but it was a fun opening contest. 

Match Rating: **3/4

Marc Mero and 1-2-3 Kid are on the Superstar Line. They wrestled in the Free For All Match. 

Goldust vs. Ultimate Warrior

Oh boy, here we go. They show Goldust blowing gold sparkles into his face. Goldust is sporting a wrap on his knee. This is the debut of Goldust's bodyguard. Too bad it's Mantaur. Goldust and Marlena book it back to the locker room and Warrior starts smoking a cigar. The bodyguard is still out there and slowly walks to the back. Goldust and Marlena are in front of the prop house and Warrior pulls out Goldust's c hair and apparently that's enough to make them all really upset. Words can't describe how boring all of this is and I thought that at the time as a huge Warrior mark. The crowd then starts chanting a word that has not aged well and thankfully the announcers don't acknowledge it. Goldust grabs the mic and says that if the crowd doesn't keep quiet, he is going to go out there and kiss every single one of them. They of course keep chanting to make this all worse. Warrior gets Goldust in the ring by holding up his jacket and then even puts it on him. In all seriousness, I know there was an injury here or something like that but who in the world approved this? Warrior is smoking the cigar again and now Goldust wants Warrior to kiss his hand. Warrior burns it with the cigar instead and clotheslines him with him in the chair. Goldust limps to the back again and Warrior throws his chair out of the ring. They ring for the bell and we have a countout. Warrior then goes after Goldust's bodyguard and he reminds us how terrible of a wrestler he was. Warrior hits him with some clotheslines and then the leaping shoulder tackle. He rips of his shirt and jacket and hits a body slam and Warrior's music plays. This is 100% one of the worst things that WWF ever put on a pay-per-view up to this point and probably still is to this day. Horrendous and embarrassing. 

Match Rating: 0 Stars

We go backstage to Dok and we see British Bulldog in the back all upset and Dok lets us know that it has something to do with Diana. 

Vader vs. Razor Ramon

I knew that Razor was leaving after this and was shocked that they put him on this card after not having him on WrestleMania. I will miss him on this timeline though. He's been one of the most entertaining performers by far of the last few years on here. Vader dominates the early going as you would expect here. After that last "match", it would have been nice to get this one off to a quicker start. Razor fights back and clotheslines Vader over the top to the floor. Vader tries to sneak up on Razor while Cornette is on the apron but it doesn't work. Vader does shift the momentum quickly though and hits a big splash for a 2 count. Vader hits a Vader Bomb but Razor kicks out, which is surprising. Vader goes for a suplex but it's blocked and Razor hits him with one for a 2 count. Vader runs into a boot in the corner and Razor hits a leaping bulldog from the second rope for a nearfall. Vader is on the second rope and Razor uses that as an opportunity to put Vader up for the Razor's Edge. He can't get him up and Vader just kind of falls on his back. Vader now goes all the way up top but Razor puts him on his shoulders and hits an electric chair. He goes for a Razor's Edge but Vader hits a back body drop and then sits on him and that's enough for the win. I really like these two guys and while this wasn't bad, this was disappointing. That ending left a lot to be desired as well. Dok walks up to Cornette and Vader to tell them that Vader will face Yokozuna at the next In Your House. Cornette says there is no way Yoko will be there because he's hurt. 

Match Rating: **1/4

We see Undertaker and Paul Bearer in the AOL chat room. Make sure you buy your collared shirt and hat package. Take your pick with Shawn Michaels, Undertaker or Ultimate Warrior. This features 100% embroidery. Only $39.95!

WWF Tag Team Championship
Body Donnas vs. Godwinns

After all of the stalling that has taken place tonight, they didn't even have time to show the Godwinn's entrance? The Body Donnas are quick with the illegal double team, so Hank hits a double clothesline. The Godwinns get in most of the offense until Skip lowers the top rope and Phineas falls hard on the mat and to the floor. The match breaks down so it's time for some shenanigans. We get some mule kicks from Phineas and then Henry starts to clean house. Sunny comes running out with a picture of herself to Phineas. Hillbilly Jim threatens to pour the slop bucket on her. The distraction allows for Zip to roll in the ring for the injured Skip. When Henry turns around, he hits a small package and picks up the victory to retain their titles. This was very much a TV match and much shorter than I expected. After the match, Henry puts the picture in the slop bucket and tries to cheer Phineas back up. 

Match Rating: **

We get a commercial for the next In Your House during Memorial Day weekend. Vader vs. Yokozuna, Marc Mero vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Savio Vega vs. Steve Austin and the WWF Championship will be defended. I bet that show goes well. Dok is now in the locker room with wood paneling to interview Mero and Sable. He says that Helmsley has entered the jungle. They show the ending of the Free For All match with Helmsley hitting the Pedigree on Mero. The first 2,500 people who send in their proof of purchase for the show tonight get 5 free minutes of long distance time!!!!

We get a lengthy hype video for this match before showing interviews from both competitors that aired during the Free For All. Diesel promises that he has something special for him tonight. 

No Holds Barred Match For The WWF Championship
Diesel vs. Shawn Michaels

They show Jose Lothario getting Shawn ready backstage during Diesel's entrance. They show Mad Dog Vachon in the crowd. They mention that his career was cut short due to an accident. It seems like that information could play a role later on. Shawn is very serious on his way down to the ring and goes right into the ring to get things going. Diesel is outside the ring and Shawn greets him with a baseball slide kick and then a top rope moonsault-ish. Shawn grabs Hugo's boot off his foot and hits Diesel with it off the top rope. Diesel sends Shawn into the corner and he does his usual bump and then uses a double ax handle to knock him off the apron and into the guardrail. Diesel slows things down and hits a leaping side suplex. Diesel starts taking the tape off his wrists and starts choking...Earl Hebner? He then steals his belt and starts whipping Shawn with it. He then wraps it around Shawn's neck. He then throws him over the top rope with the belt still wrapped around his neck. He then ties it to the second rope. He goes outside and throws Fink to the ground and steals the chair he is sitting on and hits Shawn in the back with it. Shawn is out of the belt but then gets hit again with the chair to the back. They do the spot where Diesel misses with the chair and hits himself in the head after it bounces off the rope. Shawn has the chair now but Diesel hits him with a low blow before he can use it. Diesel hits a huge back body drop but Shawn kicks out of the pin attempt. We're back outside the ring and Diesel hits a Jackknife on Shawn through the announce table. It should be noted that he did not move any of the monitors and he did not use the Spanish announce table. The table looks like it was made during the Lincoln administration. Shawn goes under the ring and grabs a fire extinguisher and surprises Diesel with it. Shawn takes advantage of him being blinded and hits him with a flying forearm. He grabs a chair and nails him with it. A funny note is that the chair has some of the audio equipment on it and it gets pulled into the ring even when he's swinging it. Diesel comes back and hits a big boot. He signals for the Jackknife and points out to someone in the crowd. He gets Shawn up, but he nails him with a flurry of right hands when he's up in the air. Shawn hits a top rope elbow drop and starts tuning up the band. Diesel catches the leg and hits a clothesline. Both men are back up on their feet and Diesel clotheslines Shawn over the top. He drops Shawn on the guardrail and then grabs Mad Dog Vachon by the throat. He throws him on the ground and rips off his artificial leg. Vince says it's the lowest thing he's ever seen in his life. Before he can use it, Shawn hits him with a low blow and then nails Diesel with the leg to the head. He tunes up the band and gets Sweet Chin Music for the victory to retain his title in a wild match. My friend let me borrow his recording of this the week after the show and I think I watched this match about 5 times before giving it back to him. This was something very different for the time by WWF standards and it was also non-stop action. Great main event. 

Match Rating: ****1/2

This one is a really tough show to rate. On one hand, you have one of the best main event matches up to this point in WWF history. On the other hand, you have the offensively terrible Warrior/Goldust "match", which is one of the worst things they have put on to this point. The rest of the show is very much an episode of Monday Night Raw. I guess the best way to slice it is to just put it right in the middle. 

Overall Rating: 50%

Monday Night Raw 4-8-96 Review

Original Airdate: Monday, April 8th, 1996
Orange Pavilion
San Bernardino, California

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Vince McMahon gets Mr. Perfect this week with Jerry Lawler taking on Shawn Michaels tonight. 

Yokozuna vs. Vader

Well, we're getting the match that we thought we were going to get at WrestleMania here on Raw. We get an awesome spot right at the start with Yoko hitting a Samoan drop on Vader. Yoko is gassed after that though and Vader hits him with a clothesline. Vince lets us know that we started early tonight and we will be for the upcoming weeks thanks to USA Network. It would be nice if I could watch all of those episodes and the other show that is the reason for that. Yoko comes back with a Rock Bottom and hits a big leg drop. Yoko is taking a page out of Vader's playbook just leveling him in the corner with right hands. He charges at Vader and Vader moves out of the way. Jim Cornette grabs Yoko's ankle and Vader bounces off the second rope onto the ankle and Yoko is screaming in agony. The ref calls for the bell and then Vader hits it a second and third time. It's announced as a ref stoppage and that Vader has won the match. I was down in Myrtle Beach on vacation with my cousins and we watched this live and the next spot got quite the reaction out of the family. They bring out the stretcher for Yoko but he is much too large to fit on that. So instead they bring out a forklift to wheel him away. They also put a temporary splint on. The match itself was fine for what it was, but the aftermath was fun. 

Match Rating: *

Vince is in the ring now and brings out the Ultimate Warrior. He cuts a very 1996 Warrior promo here. He's rambling on and out comes Goldust and Marlena. Goldust is talking about riding Warrior's back or something and Warrior calls him a freak. We get a rare curse word during this time that gets bleeped out as well. This was an absolutely awful segment. I remember being disappointed with it as a kid too. They had absolutely no plan for Warrior and really didn't have the roster for a guy like him. 

We see Yoko still on the forklift outside the arena and out comes Vader to attack him some more with a chair. I love Vader. 

Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Duke Droese

Hunter gets the already in the ring treatment and Duke runs out to go after him. Duke hits a body sam and clotheslines Hunter over the top. They show the interaction between Mero, Sable and Hunter from last week. Hunter baits Duke into flying over the top rope and goes after him. He tosses the trash into the steel steps while Vince is bragging about the highest ratings ever on the Preview Channel. Keep in mind that the Preview Channel usually showed ads and not actual shows, so I'm not sure that's the flex he was hoping for. We get a commercial break during a Duke Droese match. Duke comes back with an atomic drop and a spinebuster. He goes for the Trash Compactor but Hunter counters out of it and hits the Pedigree for the victory. This was a pretty standard match here as they try to build Hunter back up. 

Match Rating: *3/4

They show Yokozuna finally getting into the ambulance. Now it's time for an arm wrestling match between British Bulldog and Ahmed Johnson. Owen hypes up how strong Bulldog is and they sit down at a table that looks like it's from 1983. Owen stops it because Ahmed is wearing too much oil and calls him a cheater. Ahmed takes Jack Doan's shirt and wipes his hands on him in an awkward spot. Couldn't they have had a towel brought out? Owen continues to stall the match and Doan threatens to have Owen thrown out. Owen says that Bulldog isn't ready yet and that's what gets him kicked out. They show Diana in the crowd. We finally get to the arm wrestling and it's a stalemate to start. They go back and forth and then Ahmed wins. How exciting. Ahmed celebrates and Bulldog hits Ahmed in the back with a chair. Bulldog folds up the table and sets it up in the corner. Bulldog hits him again with a chair a few times. Ahmed fights back but Bulldog is able reverse Ahmed into the table. It doesn't break, so he sets it up again and throws him into it again. Once again, it doesn't break so Bulldog chucks the table on Ahmed's back. He then lays the table on Ahmed's back and jumps on it as Vince keeps calling him a poor sport. Pot, meet kettle. 

Next week, Savio Vega takes on Goldust. Not that I'll be able to watch it, but it was a memorable one for me. 

Out comes Diesel and he's wearing a Shawn Michaels shirt. He joins the announce team and we go to commercial. 

Jerry Lawler vs. Shawn Michaels

Diesel says he's no longer part of the Kliq. We get aaaaaaa lot of stalling here. So much so that they even show the chairshot from the house show 2 weeks ago during the match. It's pretty rare when I'm not invested in a Shawn match and so far this is one of them. Diesel even makes a comment that feels like a jab by saying this is the greatest sports entertainment in the world right here. Shawn makes a comeback and hits is flying forearm. Shawn hits the top rope elbow drop but Shawn decides not to cover him and start talking to Diesel. Diesel tells him that he better go get his win. Shawn hits Sweet Chin Music and picks up the win before staring down Diesel again. Diesel gets in the ring and they start brawling. Mr. Perfect distracts Shawn and Diesel hits him with a boot. Perfect throws Diesel the title belt and Diesel hits him in the face before dropping it on Shawn so he can pose over him. I have absolutely no recollection of this partnership with Perfect. This match was pretty disappointing, but it was just here to give the crowd a Shawn match. 

Match Rating: *

I really liked the Vader/Yoko stuff but other than that, this was a pretty flat episode coming off a legendary one. The next episode I get to watch is May 13th, so I guess it's onto In Your House I go. 

Overall Rating: 48%

Monday Night Raw 4-1-96 Review

Monday, April 1st, 1996
Orange Pavilion
San Bernardino, California

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork22

We get a quick montage of WrestleMania XII before going over to Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler. Vince is so lame when talking about Shawn Michaels. It's finally time for the debut of Mankind.

Mankind vs. Bob Holly

It's apparent about 15 seconds in that WWF just got themselves a steal with the signing of Foley here. Holly does get a dropkick in and a little bit of a pop for it. Mankind ducks him and Holly falls to the floor. We get a tree of woe spot and Mankind starts pulling out more of his hair. He puts on the Mandible Claw and I have to say, I remember seeing this live as a kid and just being appalled by that as a finisher. In one squash match, we just witnessed the debut of a true superstar here. I also love that Mankind has different exit music than he does for his entrance theme.

Match Rating: **

They show still photos of the debut of Marc Mero's debut and the brawl with Hunter Hearst Helmsley. They then show that Sable is in attendance today. 

We get a commercial for the WrestleMania encore. We then get a video of a bunch of people saying how fun WrestleMania was. 

Isaac Yankem vs. Marc Mero

Back to back debuts to start the show here. Yankem is a poor choice of an opponent here and not just because he sucks. A dropkick by Mero sends Yankem over the top and then Mero hits a somersault dive. Mero hits a double ax handle from the top rope and gets a 2 count. Hunter is out now and sitting next to Sable. Mero hits a crucifix and gets a 2 count. Mero starts with some of those boxing style punches and then hits a top rope sunset flip for the victory. Sable is shown cheering for him while Hunter continues to talk to him. Mero comes over and Sable slaps Hunter. Mero carries Sable over the rail and leaves with Mero. This was another pretty good debut.

Match Rating: *1/2

Ultimate Warrior will be here on Raw next week. 

They show clips of the Body Donnas winning the titles during the Free For All. We will get a rematch at In Your House. 

Barry Horowitz & Aldo Montoya vs. Body Donnas

It's always a joy to see the well-established team of Montoya and Horowitz in action. Aldo hits a nice double move with a headscissors and headlock and the crowd goes absolutely silent. There's apparently something going on in the crowd too but it also may just be that they are looking for something to watch other than this match. Just for the record, I'm not picking on it. Aldo hits a crossbody from the second rope to the floor on Skip. He tags in Barry and he hits a high knee. He gets him into a pin but Sunny has the ref distracted and Zip breaks it up. Skip hits a German suplex into a bridge and gets a 2 count. Skip hits a top rope hurricanrana and Zip hits a splash off the top rope for the victory. This was a solid little match and by the end the crowd at least sort of cared. 

Match Rating: **1/4

After another WrestleMania encore commercial, they show Bob Backlund in the crowd. 

Don't forget to call the WWF Superstar Line to find out what happened in Bret Hart's locker room after losing the title. 

They show more fan reactions from WrestleMania. We go to Vince in the ring and he brings out the new WWF Champion, Shawn Michaels. He doesn't get as big of a reaction as I expected. Not to skip ahead, but that won't be the case going forward so it must just be a San Bernardino thing. Shawn says last night was the best night of his life. They move onto Diesel and they show that 2 weeks ago at a house show at Madison Square Garden that Diesel hit Shawn in the back with a chair. Shawn goes back to Bret and speaks highly of him. He wants everyone to know that he will wear this belt with the dignity that Bret wore it with. He says that he will send the Burger King back to White Castle next week on Raw and that he'll dance all over Diesel's face at In Your House. 

You can buy the WrestleMania XII limited edition ring mat plaque for only $49.95. 

Justin Bradshaw vs. Undertaker

Who would have thought that this would be a SummerSlam main event one day? Bradshaw sends Taker into the corner but runs into a boot. He hits Taker with a big power slam and a clothesline. We get a quick commercial break just as the match goes outside the ring. We see the Karate Fighter Slam of the Week and it's Goldust hitting Roddy Piper with his car. When we come back, Taker is fighting back but JBL catches him with a side suplex. Taker comes back with a leaping clothesline and hits the Tombstone. He goes for the cover, but in comes Mankind and he attacks Undertaker to cause the disqualification. He absolutely takes it to him, leaving Taker unconscious. The match was what it was, a setup for the Mankind attack.

Match Rating: *

We come back and they show a replay of the Mankind attack. Next week, Yokozuna will take on Vader and Ultimate Warrior will be here. Don't forget about Jerry Lawler vs. Shawn Michaels. 

This was truly one of the best episodes of Raw up until this point. They had one true mission and that was to make Mankind into a star in one night and they 100% succeeded. As a result, the Mero debut kind of felt less important especially since he was feuding with a guy who just got destroyed the night before. The tag match was also a fun few minutes. Thumbs up here. 

Overall Rating: 79%

WrestleMania XII Review

Sunday, March 31st, 1996
Arrowhead Pond Of Anaheim
Anaheim, California

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork22

This is one of the handful of pay per views that I was able to order at my house and I was extremely excited for this one. I was into just about everything at this point of my childhood, but most particularly the main event and the return of Ultimate Warrior. 

We get a short but sweet hype video focusing on the main event before going into the arena with pyro, Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler. They hype up the other matches outside the main event. Vader's music interrupts them and we are underway. 

Vader, British Bulldog & Owen Hart vs. Yokozuna, Jake Roberts & Ahmed Johnson

Vader and Yoko start going at it and the other four follow suit. Yoko ducks a clothesline and hits one of his own. He follows it up by clotheslining Vader over the top. Ahmed then decides to dive over the top onto Vader and gets a pop for it. We are back to Vader and Yoko again and this time Vader gets in a bunch of right hands. Owen hits Yoko with a dropkick from behind, but it doesn't faze Yoko. Yoko goes for a splash in the corner but Bulldog pulls Owen out of the way and they double team Yoko. Vader is back to slugging away on Yoko and he falls to the mat. Yoko is back on his feet and ducks a right hand and hits a Rock Bottom. Ahmed gets the hot tag and takes care of Owen and Bulldog. You really had to be around to understand how over Ahmed was. It really is a shame that it just never added up for him. Ahmed goes for the Pearl River Plunge on Bulldog but Owen hits a missile dropkick on him while Cornette is distracting the referee. Owen hits an enziguri before getting Vader back in. Owen comes in and Ahmed sort of misses his clothesline and both men are down. Ahmed crawls to the corner and tags in Jake. Short arm clothesline by Jake and the crowd is feeling it. Owen holds onto the ropes to block the DDT. Vader is in and he squashes Jake in the corner. Vader hits a body slam and Owen comes in off the top rope with an elbow drop for a 2 count. Bulldog hits a running powerslam and Jake kicks out of that too? Vader comes in and hits a big splash and Jake also kicks out of that. It seems like it would have been wiser to have Ahmed break up the count. Bulldog misses with a leg drop and both men crawl to their corners to make a tag. In come the two big men again and Yoko hammers away on Vader and the crowd is behind him. Yoko then cleans house and hits a Samoan drop on Bulldog. He tags in Jake, which makes no sense, but he goes for the DDT. We have all 6 men brawling and Jake hits a DDT on Owen. The ref is distracted and in comes Cornette with the tennis racket. Jake hits him in the gut and goes for a DDT on him. In comes Vader to break it up and hits the Vader Bomb on Jake for the victory. Call me crazy, but I enjoyed this one. They kind of booked themselves into a corner with trying to build up Ahmed as the hot new star, Yoko as a babyface and Vader as a top heel, but Vader had to get the win here. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

We get a Roddy Piper/Goldust hype video that for sure is not the same voiceover as the original airing. It sounds like Michael Cole, maybe?

Hollywood Backlot Brawl
Roddy Piper vs. Goldust

We go to the backlot and Goldust comes driving in a gold Cadillac. Piper has a baseball bat and smashes the window. He slams Goldust into a catering table and hits him with a trash can. Say what you will about this "match", but they are going all out. Piper starts spraying Goldust with a hose. Goldust hits a low blow to finally get away from Piper and tries to back out. He backs into a white Bronco and then runs into Roddy Piper. Piper falls off the hood and Goldust speeds off. Piper runs to the white Bronco and chases after him. We go back to the arena, so this is to be continued...

Steve Austin vs. Savio Vega

As Austin is entering, all they talk about is just about anything but Austin. Dok Hendrix is backstage with Savio Vega. They show Austin tagging with Vega under some sort of ruling and Austin never tagged in and then hit Vega off the top rope to cause their team to lose. Vega tries to cut a fired up promo to mixed results. Vega comes running in and we are underway. I was very much into Austin here, even as the lame Ringmaster gimmick. I had heard so many good things about him in the early days of the internet and he definitely was intriguing to me. Austin slows down the pace after leveling Vega with a double ax handle. The crowd is pretty quiet as you would expect for a match being built on Superstars and one that followed a videotaped match for the live crowd. Sadly, the thing this match is most remembered for is the interruptions from the whole Piper/Goldust stuff. We hear from Piper on the phone and he is unhinged as usual. We get one of my favorite wrestling spots, the constant pinfall attempts. I'm just a sucker for it. They show the footage of the car chase, which of course is just the OJ Simpson chase and Savio hits a big kick on Austin. These two are definitely putting in the effort, which is a common thing in 1996. Lots of guys getting big opportunities and the best ones worked their butts off to take advantage of it. Austin ducks a spin kick and he knocks out the referee. DiBiase puts the Million Dollar belt in the ring but Austin goes after Savio instead. He's all over it and blocks the attempt. DiBiase is on the apron this time and that's enough to distract him and Austin nails him with the belt, almost falling on Tim White and knocking him out for real. Austin hits him another time with the belt before putting on a choke hold (not the Million Dollar Dream for some reason). DiBiase dumps a Coke on White's head to wake him up and he does the arm drop and that's enough for the victory. The announcers do refer to this as the Million Dollar Dream, but it isn't. That was kind of a lame finish to an otherwise solid match. Austin keeps the hold on for a long time until another official comes out. 

Match Rating: **3/4

We now get more chase footage and Vince thinks it looks "awfully familiar". He has the awful part correct.

Mr. Perfect is backstage with Diesel and they show the end of the main event from In Your House and then the magic of Undertaker on Raw that I missed. They show the famous Diesel in the casket spot, which was well done. Diesel cuts a pretty tame promo here. 

They show more Bronco footage.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Ultimate Warrior

Helmsley gets the biggest pop of his career just because the crowd knows what's coming. He's with his most attractive valet to date. They should consider using her for some other roles. Lawler lets us know that he heard that Warrior is up to 400 lbs. and had his head shaved. He pays good money to these sources. Vince lets us know that the valet's name is Sable. Warrior is out and gets a huge pop. This truly was a "I can't believe this is real" moment for me as a kid. I later would be disappointed by Warrior when I went to a house show and he no showed, leading to his release. Helmsley attacks him from behind with Warrior still in his robe. Warrior ducks a clothesline, but Helmsey kicks him in the midsection and hits the Pedigree. Warrior no sells it and stands right back up. Not one person has even come close to getting out of that move. Warrior hits some clotheslines and then hits the running shoulder tackle. He hits the press slam and the splash for the easy victory, making Helmsley look like a total goof but honestly it wasn't anything that was really going to kill his career like some people think. Warrior was in great physical shape here but at the same time, he was only 36 years old, so it's not like he was some old fart. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go back to Todd and he introduces a new superstar, "Wild Man" Marc "Maro". He's excited to be here in the WWF and then Helmsley bumps into him on accident. This leads to a brawl and that's that. 

We now get more footage of the car chase and Piper is on his way to the arena.

Diesel vs. Undertaker

We get right to this one with both men getting in some offense. They head to the outside of the ring and Diesel gets his head slammed into the steel steps. Taker is back in the ring and hits Old School, even though it's not called that yet. Taker grabs a chair, but Diesel is able to duck and Taker hits it on the post. Diesel then throws Taker into the guardrail. Back in the ring, Diesel hits a big boot and is pretty proud of himself. I was very much rooting for Diesel here but also knew that Diesel was leaving. I pretty much had flamed out on Undertaker at this point. Diesel hits Snake Eyes and then the splash on the ropes. We then get a double boot spot, which was pretty cool. We get my favorite move of all, a bear hug. Taker gets out and Diesel puts on a headlock, which Taker counters out of with a back suplex. Diesel hits a Jackknife, and the announcers are in shock. The transfer on Netflix is seemingly having some issues as I got some static sounding here. Diesel doesn't cover him and instead is just proud of himself. Taker sits up but Diesel hits him with a second Jackknife. He again doesn't cover him. What could go wrong? He does eventually go to the mat, but Taker grabs him by the throat. Taker starts throwing fists and hits a leaping clothesline. Taker hits a chokeslam and signals for the Tombstone. He gets him up and nails it in the center of the ring for the victory. This was a solid big man match that really was Taker's first real opponent at WrestleMania. It's pretty impressive that Diesel's two opponents at WrestleMania were Shawn Michaels and Undertaker. 

Match Rating: ***

We go backstage to Todd and he's watching a monitor of Piper and he realizes they are here at the arena. We then go to them getting out of their car and Piper chasing after him. Vince says "Roddy Piper" about 75 times. Now it's time for part 2 of this weird "match".

Goldust vs. Roddy Piper (Part 2)

Goldust gets Piper in position for maybe a piledriver and instead rubs his butt. We get more shenanigans until it's just too much for Piper to take. Piper snaps and grabs Goldust by the crotch. He then hits a knee south of the border. He then starts ripping off Goldust's attire and he's wearing women's lingerie underneath. He then hits him with another knee to the crotch and Goldust rolls out of the ring and heads to the back with Marlena covering him up. Piper's music hits and I guess that's it. As I said, this isn't a match really. I enjoyed the first part, hated that the in between stuff took over some of the show and thought the ending was meh. No rating for this one though.

We once again get Michael Cole for some reason on this hype video and it totally ruins it. 

We go to the ring with Howard Finkel and he announces the man who is now officially the President of WWF, Gorilla Monsoon. 

Iron Man Match For The WWF Championship
Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart

Shawn's music hits but out comes just Jose Lothario. He gets to the ring and his music stops. Lawler obviously assumes he chickened out. Instead, Jose points up to the top of the arena and there's Shawn dancing and then zip lines down to the ring for an epic entrance. Bret gets the standard entrance. We then get Earl Hebner explaining the rules to both competitors. Bret gives his glasses to his son, Blade in the front row and we are now underway. We get a slow pace to start, with Bret going to the mat. After a few minutes, we finally get a countdown timer with a very basic score bug, even by 1996 standards. With this one being 60 minutes, I'm not going to recap every second here. They show Freddie Blassie and Stu Hart in the front row. Bret was my guy back in 1996, but there was definitely a part of me that was rooting for Shawn. Bret throws Shawn into the corner, but he leaps up and gets Bret in a headscissors and it sends Bret through the middle ropes. Bret then thinks he throws Shawn over the ropes, but he skins the cat and gets Bret into an arm bar. I should mention that the ring mat has a unique pattern on it with the WrestleMania logo all over it. They sold this in pieces after the show, which I kind of always secretly wanted. I actually did like the look of it because it was different than anything else they were doing and I do believe that WrestleMania should look different. Business finally picks up around the 46 minute mark with Bret trying to go for the Sharpshooter and Shawn grabbing the bottom rope. Bret clotheslines him over the top. Shawn follows him outside and throws Bret into the timekeeper. Shawn goes for Sweet Chin Music and Bret ducks and he knocks out the timekeeper. This is one of the spots they replay always for this match. We get some replays of the kick and then see him being stretchered away. Vince is all of us when he says that he's surprised that there hasn't been a decision yet. Bret hits another clothesline and goes right back to the chin lock. Shawn has done some work on the shoulder of Bret and hits him with a shoulder breaker. He hits a double ax handle off the second rope and a hammerlock slam. Lawler is shocked that Michaels is wrestling in this style. Trust me, we all were. Bret hits a slingshot into the steel post and both men are down. We finally get a pinfall attempt and it gets a 2. Shawn misses a splash in the corner and Bret kicks him while he's draped up on the top rope. Bret hits an inverted atomic drop and a clothesline. Bret goes up to the top rope and Shawn meets him there. Bret fights him off and hits a weird variation of maybe a bulldog. We are at the halfway point and Shawn hits a power slam for a 2. Shawn ducks too early and Bret hits a piledriver and Shawn kicks out. The crowd is so hungry for a pinfall. Shawn thinks he has a chance for Sweet Chin Music but Bret sort of falls into the ropes, so he doesn't go for it. Bret rolls outside for a breather and Shawn hits him with a top rope dive. Back in the ring, Shawn hits a top rope crossbody but Bret rolls through and gets another 2 count. Shawn goes for a Perfect Plex and Bret kicks out of that. Shawn charges at Bret in the corner and Bret throws him way over the top. That was quite the bump. Bret gets him back in the ring and goes to work on his back. We now are at the 20 minute mark and it is still 0-0. Bret hits a super back suplex from the second rope and again Shawn kicks out. Bret has Shawn in a camel clutch and Shawn fights out of it into a sunset flip and another 2 count. Shawn goes off the second rope and Bret greets him with a fist to the midsection. Side Russian leg sweep by Bret and another 2 count. Shawn goes over the top on an Irish whip and he lands onto Jose too. Bret throws Shawn into the steps and also again hits Jose. We're back in the ring and at the 15 minute mark. Both Vince and Jerry think it's time for the Sharpshooter. Bret hits a suicide dive onto Shawn and that surprisingly doesn't get much of a reaction. Bret hits a German suplex into a bridge and Shawn is able to kick out again. We get more rest holds from Bret as we are now under 10 minutes. We get a double clothesline spot at the 7:38 mark. Bret gets Shawn up to the top rope and hits a superplex. Bret is trying to get a submission move on and settles on a half crab for some reason. Bret goes off the second turnbuckle and Shawn gets his foot up to stop it. Michaels throws Bret into the turnbuckle sternum first. Bret sends Shawn off the ropes and Shawn hits the forearm. Shawn kips up but the camera misses it. Shawn hits a reverse double ax handle off the top rope at the 3 minute mark and Bret kicks out of that. Shawn hits a suplex and then a top rope elbow drop and again only gets a 2 count. Shawn hits a gutwrench sit down powerbomb. He climbs up top and hits a moonsault and Bret kicks out of that. The crowd is starting to get into this now. Shawn climbs up again but Bret catches him by his legs and slaps on the Sharpshooter with 30 seconds left. The crowd is on their feet here and starts counting down. Shawn never gives up and the bell rings. Earl gives Bret his title but Gorilla is now in the ring and talking to him. Bret is heading to the back and then Fink gets on the mic and says that this match has been ordered to continue under sudden death rules. Bret is understandably not happy with that decision, especially since he had him in his finisher. The bell rings and we are underway. Bret sends Shawn in the corner. He leaps over Bret and hits him with Sweet Chin Music and both men are down. Both men are up and Shawn hits him again with Sweet Chin Music and that's it, the boyhood dream has come true. We then get the infamous "get out of the ring" moment from Shawn so he can celebrate. This match is one of the few that I can say is both overrated and underrated at the same time. Lately there has been so much hate for this match and it's not really justified. However, there are glaring issues as well. I think this match would have worked a lot better if there was a heel involved. I think that would have helped the slower parts be a little bit more interesting. This also would have been a lot more successful if they would have done a 1-1 or 2-2 tie into overtime. With that being said, I do enjoy this match a lot. I would have liked a quicker pace in the early moments to ease into the slower parts, but other than that, this is a really good match. It's also not a match that I revisit very often just due to its length. It's not for everyone, but these are two amazing performers who put on a unique match in the biggest spot available at the time. 

Match Rating: ****

For me, this is the most underrated WrestleMania. It gets a lot of hate, but I still enjoy this show 30 years later. The Diesel/Undertaker match delivered as a co-main event and had a really good build. The six man tag match was a lot of fun. Ultimate Warrior did his thing. The Austin/Vega match gave us a hint of what was to come. The Piper/Goldust thing added some chaos to the show. We got to watch the two best wrestlers in the company actually wrestle. I'll forever be in the minority here and that's okay. Thumbs up. 

Overall Rating: 79%

In Your House 6: Rage In The Cage Review

Sunday, February 16th, 1996
Louisville Gardens
Louisville, Kentucky

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork22

So, I am a little shocked that Netflix has all the pay per view shows already, so I'm just going to keep going with those. They also have quite a few of the Raws from this era that should take me a long time to go through. Should they ever (they won't) add in all the Raw episodes and Superstars that I missed, I will go back. I'm not sure what I would do about WCW, should they ever add that back up. That's my biggest bummer overall. I was really looking forward to continue doing both promotions at the same time. 

After the usual "For over 50 years" WWF promo, we get the Sunny in a bikini vignette saying that this may be too hot for some. We then get a quick, but very good hype video and then throw it to Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler in the arena. 

Crybaby Match
Razor Ramon vs. 1-2-3 Kid

Kid comes out pushing a stroller and Vince loves it, which is usually a good sign that it's not funny. Razor gets the hot start and clotheslines Kid over the top. Kid trips Razor up on the way in and hits a springboard clothesline for a 2 count. Razor catches the Kid and hits the fall away slam. He signals for the Razor's Edge, but Kid rolls out of the ring. Ted DiBiase throws some baby powder in the face of Razor right in front of the referee and then Kid hits him with a missile dropkick for a 2 count. I guess that's a legal thing to do. Kid hits his patented leg drops and a standing dropkick. Kid hits a top rope splash and gets another 2 count. Kid slaps on the sleeper, which allows for "nap time" jokes. Razor quickly is out of it but then Kid jumps on his back to better apply it. Razor gets out of it by crotching Kid on the top rope and both men are down. Kid goes off the top rope and Razor rolls through for a 2 count. Kid hits a spin kick and gets another 2 count. This is actually quite a bit better than I had remembered. Razor hits a fall away slam but this time it's from the second rope. DiBiase leaves the baby powder and then goes and distracts the ref. Razor kicks Kid and the powder goes in his face. He hits the Razor's Edge, but Razor lifts Kid up before the 3 count. He hits a second one and that is all. Razor then gets the baby bottle and pours it all over Kid's face. He then gets the baby powder and throws it in Ted's face. He then wraps the diaper up on Kid and pours the powder in his face. Razor walks to the back and Kid throws a temper tantrum once he realizes what just happened. This was a good opener despite the stupid gimmick. 

Match Rating: ***

Ray Rougeau is backstage with Sunny to promote the hotline. They have zero chemistry. They show earlier when Jake Roberts brought his snake out. Get your head out of the gutter. 

Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Duke Droese

Helmsley is still doing the random valet gimmick here. We get a brief promo from Duke with Todd showing off his new haircut, which will definitely get him over. Droese runs out to the ring and they go right at it, which I can appreciate that they took the time to realize that would make sense. Droese hits a big boot and flexes. He'll have plenty of time to do that in prison. Droese goes for the 10 punches in the corner, but Helmsley is able to drop him face-first into the turnbuckle midway. Lawler gets the valet's thoughts for a moment. I have to say, she looks to be quite a bit older than Helmsley. Droese charges at Helmsley and he dumps him over the top and to the floor. Droese then gets thrown into the steel steps. Back in the ring, Helmsley hits the high knee and a bunch of fists to the face. Helmsley has been slowly getting more aggressive in the ring, which is a good thing. He hits a suplex and gets a 2 count. The crowd is not into this match at all despite the fact that they are both working pretty hard here. I'm just thankful that I have no ads on Netflix, so I'm likely saving at least 10 minutes of my life on these long shows. Droese comes back with a spinebuster, but he is slow to get up. He catches his second wind and hits a back body drop. Droese hits a scoop slam to a mild applause, and he calls for it to be time to take out the trash. He hits the Trash Compactor but doesn't go for the cover and points to the trash can outside the ring instead. He goes out and grabs it. The referee doesn't allow it and Helmsley hits him in the head with the lid while he is throwing the bin out for the victory. That was kind of a dumb finish, although you could make an argument that Duke wanted more than just a victory. Like I said, they did work hard here but the crowd just didn't care. 

Match Rating: **

Don't forget to buy your Undertaker sweatshirt. 

I guess I have to start paying more attention to the pre-match videos to catch up with what I missed. Here, they show the babyface turn for Yokozuna. We go to Dok Hendrix, who hypes up that Yoko was never allowed to speak for himself and this is the first time he will right now. Yoko magically speaks very good English and cuts a good promo. 

British Bulldog vs. Yokozuna

Lawler makes a good joke about not being able to understand a word that Yoko said. Yoko goes right after Bulldog and hits a back body drop and a clothesline. Yoko misses with the elbow drop. Bulldog hits a few clotheslines to knock Yoko off his feet early on. Yoko is back though and pulls Bulldog to a different corner even though he was set up properly in the other corner. That allows Jim Cornette to pull Bulldog out of the ring. He throws Bulldog into the ring post, but Yoko misses the charge and runs into the post himself. Back in the ring and Bulldog hits a single ax handle off the top rope. He goes up again and this time Yoko hits him in the midsection. It looked like that was supposed to happen the first time. Bulldog tries some more clotheslines and this time he has no success. He runs off the ropes and Yoko catches him for a big Samoan drop. That gets a good reaction from the crowd. This is easily the fastest paced match I have seen Yoko take in a very long time. Yoko is ready to drag Bulldog to the corner, but Cornette is in and hits him in the back with his tennis racket. The ref rings for the bell, which is lame. Yoko corners Cornette and out comes Vader and he attacks Yoko. They start slugging it out and Bulldog helps make it a 2 on 1 situation. Bulldog pulls out some handcuffs and slaps them on Yoko before continuing the attack. Yoko fights back with one arm, but he isn't able to for very long. We have a whole group of officials out and that's not really working either. Yoko fights back again but then Cornette gets in some cheap shots again with the racket. Clarence Mason is noted as being out here too. The heels eventually head to the back. I thought they did a nice job of establishing Yoko as a face here and both guys gave it their all. The finish sucked but I guess it made sense for the big picture. 

Match Rating: **

They show Goldust and Marlena in the AOL chat room. 

We get a shorter than expected hype video for this one. As Owen is entering, Todd is with Shawn Michaels. Shawn puts this match over as the biggest match of his life, but he'll be kickin' it with the kliq tonight. 

WrestleMania XII #1 Contender Match
Owen Hart vs. Shawn Michaels

Shawn is up on top of the prop house dancing for his entrance here and he gets his usual loud pop. He then swings off the house on a rope and has to jump pretty far down, which seems like an unnecessary risk ahead of WrestleMania. He attacks Owen during his entrance with his music still playing and the bell doesn't ring because he has to do the rest of his entrance. Michaels hits a big dive off the top rope to the floor on Owen and Vince loses his mind with his man crush. Owen starts to go to work now and hits a backbreaker. He then hits a neckbreaker for a 2 count. Owen hits a big spin kick to the head of Michaels. Owen tries to suplex Michaels into the ring but Michaels counters and suplexes Owen to the floor. Michaels runs off the apron and Owen catches him for a body slam. Owen then hits my favorite move of his, the missile dropkick. Owen throws Michaels into the turnbuckle and Michaels does his bump, but this time he lands in the ring and Owen absolutely levels him with a clothesline. That looked awesome. Owen slaps on the Sharpshooter but Michaels is able to will his way to the bottom rope. Owen hits a big enziguri and Michaels is out on the floor. Owen gets him back in the ring and only gets a 2 count. Lawler calls him out for not just letting him get counted out. Owen misses in the corner and crotches himself on the second rope. Michaels hits an inverted atomic drop and hits the flying forearm. Shawn kips up and hits another forearm. Michaels hits a top rope elbow drop and levels Cornette. Owen ducks the Sweet Chin Music but then Shawn ducks a second enziguri and hits Sweet Chin Music for the victory. This was very good, as expected from these two. It lacked a little drama because I don't think anyone was buying that Owen was going to win this match. Shawn dances with a youngster after the match for a pretty awkward moment. 

Match Rating: ***3/4

We get a WrestleMania XII hype video that uses WrestleMania XI as part of the marketing. Interesting choice there even though I'm the one who likes that show more than most people. 

You can see the stage being set up in the background as we go to Todd and he brings out Roddy Piper. Roddy has some important stuff to tell us because he takes his job as WWF President very seriously. He says that the main event at WrestleMania won't stop until there is a winner. He then says he doesn't feel bad for Yokozuna tonight but he'll be taking on Vader, who he calls an inbred who wears his jockstrap on his face. Cornette comes out and talks about how Vader has scared everyone in the WWF. It's kind of fun to see Piper and Cornette go at it on the mic here. I love how Piper keeps saying "Anaheim" regarding WrestleMania. Piper spanks him and that's that. 

Steel Cage Match For The WWF Championship
Diesel vs. Bret Hart

We are getting closer and closer to the end of the big blue cage era. Diesel hits a big Irish whip into the turnbuckle and it makes a great sound with the post hitting the cage. Diesel is able to drive Bret into the cage a couple of times and Bret is already looking out of commission early on here. Bret is kind of working this match similarly to his Undertaker match at Royal Rumble, which is kind of surprising. Bret tries to climb out of the cage but Diesel tosses him to the mat. Bret tries to work on the legs but Diesel throws Bret into the turnbuckle sternum first. Bret once again tries to climb out of the cage and Diesel grabs him by the hair to bring him back in. Bret gets thrown into the turnbuckle again and Diesel is just taking his sweet old time. Diesel goes for Snake Eyes but Bret slips out of it and shoves Diesel into the corner. Bret goes for the Sharpshooter but can't get him turned over and Diesel hits him with a thumb to the eye. Bret tries to climb out again and Diesel hits a low blow and then Bret crotches himself on the top rope for extra crotch pain. The door opens and Diesel is sliding out of the ring. Then, a hand starts emerging from through the ring and grabs Diesel. It's none other than the Undertaker and he pulls Diesel down into the hole in the ring with smoke coming out of it. This allows Bret to climb over the top of the cage and to the floor to win the match. Diesel emerges from under the ring and Undertaker is out after. Diesel climbs out of the cage and looks to be spooked. This ending made up for a mediocre main event here. This is definitely Bret's worst title reign but that finish was something really cool at the time and still holds up. I remember feeling like I had to see this show because of that finish alone. Undertaker climbs the cage and points to Diesel as his music plays and the lights go out. 

Match Rating: **

Despite a mediocre main event, the finish was memorable and helped leave a good final impression of the show. The Owen/Shawn match was very good and the opener was also solid. Like most In Your Houses, they are glorified episodes of Raw and I would say this was one of the more entertaining ones overall. I tend to like these more than most people probably just because of nostalgia and shifting my expectations that these aren't designed to be as good as WrestleMania and SummerSlam. 

Overall Rating: 60%