Monday Nitro 10-2-95 Review

Monday, October 2nd, 1995 
Denver Coliseum
Denver, Colorado

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Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan and Steve McMichael hype up the show tonight and are interrupted by Ric Flair. He tells Arn Anderson that he better be ready tonight. We then see the set up for our first match between Lex Luger and Randy Savage. 

Lex Luger vs. Randy Savage

If Luger loses, he has to leave WCW. A whole lot of nothing happens before the commercial break and we kind of don't get a whole lot of anything right after it either. This one has the feeling of "we don't want to give away too much". Finally we get Savage leaping off the top rope for a double ax handle to Luger on the floor. We get a referee bump and Savage hits the top rope elbow drop, but there's no count. Out comes the Giant and he hits the chokeslam on Savage. Thankfully the referee was looking the other way for that one. Luger slowly pushes Savage on his back for the Torture Rack, which was kind of sorry looking because Luger was selling the elbow still. Why he couldn't have just pinned him is beyond me. I think even the referee was expecting that. This was a big disappointment. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Disco Inferno comes out and dances until Eddy Guerrero's music interrupts him. Sure?

Eddy Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko

They show Guerrero beating Psicosis on Main Event to earn the right to face Malenko here I guess? McMichael tries to sell us on that by saying these guys fly more than vultures over dead meat. That's one way to put it. They put on a clinic of fast paced action to slowly start to win over the live crowd. Don't worry though, Hulk Hogan's limo is here and they show that in a split screen and then eventually they just show Hogan. Just what the world wants to see, Jimmy Hart and Hogan saying the same crap he has been saying for a decade. We go back to the match and McMichael tries to hype up the match, but even Heenan is talking about Hogan. Guerrero hits a top rope splash from the corner to the floor. Back in the ring, Guerrero goes for the Frog Splash, but Malenko gets his knees up. Guerrero then counters a Malenko pin attempt with one of his own and picks up the victory. After the match, Malenko pulls Guerrero back in the ring and tells him he got lucky and shakes his hand. This was solid, but was ruined by the Hogan stuff. They obviously are capable of much more than this. 

Match Rating: *1/2

Mean Gene brings out Hulk Hogan for an interview. He looks dorkier than most do in a neck brace. Hogan says that he's going to the back to confront the Giant. On his way to the back, a "woman" throws salt in his eyes and attacks him with a cane. In a shocking turn of events, it's the Taskmaster. Out comes Zodiac and Giant to continue the attack. Giant rips off the neck brace and does the same neck snap that no one else believed the first time. They then shave off Hogan's moustache. The American Males come out to try and save him, but as you would expect, that doesn't work. Out comes the Nasty Boys and they eat it too. We get the reunion we have all been waiting for and that's with Zodiac and scissors. Struttin' and cuttin' baby. 

Arn Anderson vs. Ric Flair

Congrats to the announcers for making it about a minute before mentioning the Hogan thing again. We then move onto baseball results. Meanwhile, the match here is very vanilla so far. Flair does get on the Figure Four, but Arn is right by the ropes. Flair goes off the top rope, but Arn hits him in the midsection. Flair then blocks a piledriver and hits a back body drop onto the mats outside the ring. Flair does get the Figure Four on again, this time in the middle of the ring. Out comes Pillman and the referee rings the bell before he even jumps off the top rope. Pillman breaks up the hold and then attacks Flair. I don't know if these two could possibly have a duller match than what we got here.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Bischoff says that next week we'll get Ric Flair vs. Arn Anderson in a cage match. Plus, Sabu will take on Mr. JL and Big Bubba Rogers will face Hawk. 

Well, this episode stunk big time. This was lifeless television and it felt like no one wanted to do anything to make it special. 

Overall Rating: 29%

Monday Night Raw 10-2-95 Review

Original Airdate: Monday, October 2nd, 1995
Welsh Auditorium
Grand Rapids, Michigan 

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Razor Ramon vs. 1-2-3 Kid

We get a bunch of highlights during the entrances, including them talking about Lawrence Taylor vs. Bam Bam Bigelow. I know this will shock you, but these have good chemistry. Dean Douglas is out to take notes and mostly just to make this not as enjoyable. We get a mostly back and forth match here that kind of ends out of nowhere. Kid missed a spin kick and Razor hits him with a clothesline for the victory. Has Razor ever won with a clothesline? After the match, Kid confronts Razor and then they go after each other. Razor puts him in the abdominal stretch, but Kid slaps him. Razor then brings him down and slaps him in the back of the head. Kid again fights back, so Razor sends him into the corner, but runs into the Kid's boot as we go into a commercial break. It' snot often that you get a commercial break after a match is over. During the break, Razor caught Kid off the top rope and apparently pinned him again. So then Kid wants another match, so we are now apparently in the third match between these two. Razor hits a back superplex. He goes for a Razor's Edge, but instead uses a small package to beat him for a third time. After the match, Kid raises Razor's hand and then rolls him up and again the referee counts, but Razor kicks out at 2. The crowd wants the Razor's Edge and Kid holds out his arms for him to put him in it. Then Razor gives him a hug and we're all good? This was kind of a bizarre ordeal. The action was good though. 

Match Rating: **1/4

Barry Horowitz vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley

It feels like we haven't seen a whole lot of Helmsley lately. You can call the WWF Hotline to vote to let everyone know if you think OJ Simpson is guilty or not. In a surprising twist, the money actually goes to charity. Helmsley hits a delayed suplex, which is kind of surprising with Bulldog on the roster. The problem with this version of Helmsley is that he has to work so slowly. Helmsley dominates most of the match. Barry gets his little comeback, but ducks his head too early and gets hit with the Pedigree for the victory. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Al Brown & Sonny Rogers vs. PG-13

PG-13 arrives here with no vignettes or anything. They do get a pre-recorded interview and say that they're the USWA Tag Team Champions and want the Smoking Gunns titles. They are definitely on the small side for this era, but they are working a nice squash here. This was a solid debut, even if they don't really look the part. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Next week on Raw, it's Owen Hart, Yokozuna and British Bulldog taking on Diesel, Shawn Michaels and Undertaker. Dok then tries to sell us an ugly Bret Hart shirt while Jean Pierre Lafitte is on his way to the ring. 

Jean Pierre Lafitte vs. Bret Hart

These two had a great one at In Your House, so it only makes sense to give Lafitte another shot on TV. They start brawling on the outside and Bret body slams Lafitte on the steel steps. Back in the ring, Lafitte is able to shift the momentum when he throws Bret on top of the ropes. Lafitte continues to hit high impact moves here to keep Bret grounded. Lafitte is able to throw Bret into the steps after the commercial break and Lawler loves it. How did Lafitte never do anything big in WWF again? Bret is finally able to put together a few moves after hitting an inverted atomic drop. Lafitte tries to go for the Cannonball, but Bret crotches him. He hits a superplex and locks in the Sharpshooter for the victory. This was another really good match between these two and one of the best Raw matches of the year.

Match Rating: ***1/2

After the match, Lawler confronts Bret, which leads to Isaac Yankem attacking him from behind. Really? Did anyone want to see more of this? 

When we come back, they are helping Bret to the back. Vince informs us that Bret will have a cage match with Yankem "in several weeks". 

We hear from Jim Cornette and his squad for next week's six man tag match. We then hear from their opponents and Undertaker talks about rotting carcasses. The results of the OJ poll says 49% guilty, 51% not guilty. What a world.

This Raw taping has to be one of the best of all time up to this point. That is two really good episodes in a row and next week looks like it should at the very least have another good match. Thumbs up again.

Overall Rating: 70%

Superstars 9-30-95 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, September 30th, 1995
Valparaiso University
Valparaiso, Indiana

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Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler and Scumbag Vince talk about the tag team division being hot at the moment. They then show Barry Horowitz teaching Hakushi about America as they are walking down to the ring.

Barry Horowitz & Hakushi vs. Skip & Rad Radford

This is the feud that just keeps on giving. This match gets a commercial break, so it's not a rushed Superstars match. Radford hits a big spinebuster and Skip covers him for a 2 count. Dean Douglas is out to the ring to check out the action. They do a poorly executed double team behind the referee's back. I'm not really sure what happened here, but Barry didn't seem to interested in participating. Barry avoids a splash and tags in Hakushi. He hits cartwheel reverse elbows in the corner on both opponents. He props Skip on the top rope and tags in Barry. They hit a double superplex and Barry hits a weird leg drop. Radford is able to break up the pin attempt and then hits a second rope elbow behind the ref's back. Hakushi comes back and hits a splash behind the ref's back to even the score. Barry is able to cover Skip and picks up the victory. There were a few weird spots, but the match was good overall. Hakushi is too good for this role, but it worked here.

Match Rating: **

It's time to go to Dok Hendrix to hype up the next In Your House. British Bulldog and Diesel both talk about their main event match. Shawn Michaels will definitely also take on Dean Douglas for the Intercontinental Championship.

Razor Ramon vs. Al Brown

Razor rocking the bright yellow and red combo here today. He hits the same notes he has been hitting for awhile in his squashes. The crowd loves it though, so you can't blame him. I'm good with it as well. He's always done a good job of maintaining his bully status despite being a face. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get to see Ahmed Johnson for the first time. He talks about competition. For some reason he's talking on an angle like he's watching a TV backstage. 

Bob Holly vs. AC Conner

At this point, I'm not really sure what the point of Holly is any more. Conner is of course D'Lo Brown and he gets in a spin kick. Conner goes for a top rope splash, but Holly rolls out of the way. Holly comes back and hits a top rope crossbody for the victory as JR compares him to the recently returned Marty Jannetty. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They recap the tag team situation from In Your House. To be honest, I can't really remember what ends up happening in the next few months, if anything, with those titles. I do know we'll have some new teams soon, I just don't remember if anything happens prior to then. We'll see if Netflix allows me to continue this truly engaging saga. 

Fatu tells us he's going to take care of British Bulldog today while the Blu twins are entering the ring. 

Jacob & Eli Blu vs. Bill Gorgan & Sonny Rogers

Here's a reminder that the Blu twins still exist. It's a shame that we were stuck with 8 Ball and Skull for so long because this variation is much better. That's not saying much, but it's true. They make quick work of the jobbers here, which is how it should be. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Next week, it's Henry Godwinn and Bam Bam Bigelow against Sid and Kama. Plus, Marty is back too. 

We go to Dean Douglas, who is now in his wrestling gear for a Report Card. At least he isn't with the chalkboard. He challenges Barry Horowitz next week, ha ha ha.

British Bulldog vs. Fatu

There's a lot of time left in the show for one match. Fatu gets no televised entrance here. I know I am a broken record here, but Fatu is another guy who has done absolutely nothing since coming back. People knew and liked this guy, even if his new gimmick is lame. Fatu gets off to the hot start, but then Jim Cornette slaps Fatu's ankle. He goes after Cornette, but is too wise for Bulldog and catches him before he can sneak attack him. Bulldog is eventually able to take control and uses the steel steps to do so. Two matches with commercial breaks this week. Bulldog slows down a Fatu comeback with a knee to the gut and then slows down the match. Bulldog hits a DDT, but Fatu no sells it and he does some Rikishi Fatu dancing before hitting a superkick. Fatu hits a top rope splash, but has some pain from the splash I guess. Bulldog crotches him the top rope. This has to be one of the longer Superstars matches of 1995. Bulldog then hits a knee to the back of the head and lifts him up for an impressive running powerslam for the victory. It wasn't necessarily a great match, but both guys put in a good effort and came out looking good. 

Match Rating: *1/2

Back to Dok and he talks about Mabel vs. Undertaker in a revenge match from King Of The Ring. When do the fans get their revenge? We hear from Undertaker and Paul Bearer and he talks about the hounds of Hell or something. 

Barry Horowitz is on his way back to the ring into the final commercial break. When we come back, they just tell us that he will be facing Dean Douglas. I'm not sure anyone is mad, but that was a weird choice. Kama, Sid and Ted DiBiase yell and we're off. 

This was a good episode by Superstars standards. The two matches were both effective in what they were trying to accomplish. They are trying to build heel Bulldog and they succeeded.

Overall Rating: 56%

Monday Nitro 9-25-95 Review

Monday, September 25th, 1995 
Florence Civic Center
Florence, South Carolina

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We get the usual intro and then we're right off to the matches. I don't hate watching these shows that don't have the 15 minute interview spot to start the show.

Alex Wright vs. Disco Inferno

For as much as WCW liked to poke fun at WWF's gimmicks (and a lot of the time, rightfully so), this was right out of Vince's bad idea box. Wright is able to hit a missile dropkick to the back of Disco and he dumps him out of the ring. He hits a dive to the floor. Steve McMichael tells us that we already know that San Francisco is going to win tonight. Well guess what, my friend. The Lions took care of business over the 49ers and I was there. They do a good job keeping the pace up for this quick match and Wright finishes him off with a backslide. This was forgettable, but fun. 

Match Rating: **

We go to Jimmy Hart and Hulk Hogan in a neck brace. He's building himself a new Hulkamania monster truck. Oh, good. He also challenges Giant to a WCW Championship match. Sorry, the big, nasty, stinky Giant. This was as terrible as you would expect. 

After a Slim Jim commercial, Mean Gene is in the ring. He shows us what happened last week with Randy Savage and Lex Luger. Savage is out when we come back and then Luger comes running out. Luger challenges him to a match next week and puts his #1 contender spot on the line. He also says that if he doesn't beat Savage, he'll leave WCW. Did he really have to put up 2 things here to get Savage to agree? I'm pretty sure he didn't have to offer either of these stipulations to get him in the ring.

Kurasawa vs. Sgt. Craig Pittman

Kurasawa hits a flurry of kicks and then hits a unique slam onto the concrete outside the ring. Pittman is able to send a charging Kurasawa over the top. Bischoff can't shut up about this stupid monster truck. Pittman tries to put on Code Red, but Kurasawa gets his foot on the rope before it happens. Kurasawa hits a German suplex into a bridge and he pins him for the victory. Kurasawa looked good here. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Arn Anderson and Brian Pillman are now in the ring with Mean Gene. Pillman yells a lot and flashes the 4 sign. Anderson tells Flair that he's made enemies with the people he wants to be his partner. 

They then show us the lame Kevin Sullivan attack on Savage at the beach. Absolutely terrible. 

Taskmaster vs. Randy Savage

Zodiac is also at ringside. He's able to attack Savage behind the referee's back. Sullivan continues the attack outside the ring. This match is mostly shenanigans, as Zodiac ends up in the ring. That doesn't end the match though. Instead Savage takes the referee and throws him on the ground and that's the end of the match. He stacks Sullivan on top of Zodiac and goes for the elbow drop. Sullivan moves out of the way, so Zodiac eats it. Out comes the Giant and he gives Savage a chokeslam. The ring bell has rung about 75 times by this point. A couple of jobbers come out and they get chokeslammed. Alex Wright comes out and he gets a bear hug. Luger is now out and he takes his time. He stands over Savage and then Giant grabs him. They get into it and he eats a chokeslam. Taskmaster doesn't seem happy that he did that to Luger. This was pretty good for what they were trying to accomplish. 

Match Rating: *

Lex Luger vs. Meng

Luger is already down in the ring from the attack and Meng comes running out to be able to continue the attack. Meng just dominates the wounded Luger the whole match. Luger attempts to make a comeback, but Meng uses a spike and the referee doesn't see it and picks up the victory. That was a pretty flat main event. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

We get a recap of the show and they want us to come here next week. Hulk Hogan will be here and so will the American Males. Also, the Nasty Boys and Dean Malenko. 

This was a much better show than last week. Both Raw and Nitro were strong this week, but I'd give the edge to Raw overall. 

Overall Rating: 60%

Monday Night Raw 9-25-95 Review

Monday, September 25th, 1995
Welsh Auditorium
Grand Rapids, Michigan 

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Vince hypes up Undertaker being on the show before going into the controversy over the Tag Team Championships from last night's In Your House. They show Jim Cornette with Clarence Mason working on getting a resolution. Owen Hart and Yokozuna are the champions still, but will have to defend their titles tonight. 

Marty Jannetty vs. Skip

Vince hypes up the big surprise of Jannetty returning tonight. He 100% will never do anything stupid again. I promise. Skip doesn't get a televised entrance, which is surprising because, you know, Sunny. We get lots of Marty being too quick and outsmarting Skip and Sunny here. Skip eventually slows things down and for some reason Dean Douglas is watching and taking notes. After a commercial break, Skip hits a clothesline and is still in control. Marty is able to hit a German suplex and catches Skip for a powerbomb. Sunny distracts Marty, but he sees Skip coming and sends him flying over the top. He tries to suplex him back in the ring, but Skip falls on top with the help of Sunny for a 2 count. Marty hits a Rocker Dropper and hits a top rope fist for the victory. I guess you had to have him win his debut, but they sure have made Skip a jobber quickly. Lawler continued to hype up the name Clarence Mason. The match was solid, as you would expect from these two. 

Match Rating: **1/4

We go over the title situation, this time showing Mason negotiating with Gorilla. 

WWF Tag Team Championship Match
Owen Hart & Yokozuna vs. Smoking Gunns

Don't forget to buy your In Your House t-shirt. After 2 commercial breaks, we finally get to the match. We get some good action from both teams and the crowd is into this one. Just as Owen is pinning Billy, we get another commercial break. Yokozuna putting on my second favorite move, the nerve hold, is a perfect time to hype up the WrestleMania special on Fox. Billy is finally able to move out of the way of a Yoko elbow drop, but then he misses a leg drop of his own. Owen is tagged in and tries his best to keep Bart out, but Billy makes the tag and Bart hits a military press slam. Yokozuna barely gets in the ring on time to break up the count. They throw Owen into Yoko, knocking him down. They hit the Sidewinder and then Yoko goes to break up the count, but they move and he splashes Owen. The Gunns make the pin and we have new champions. Diesel and Shawn Michaels are out to give high fives to the new champs. What is going on here in the last 24 hours? There's been quite a few really strong matches here on WWF television. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

Next week on Raw, Jean Pierre Lafitte will once again Bret Hart. I'm good with that. Razor Ramon will also take on 1-2-3 Kid. Obviously, Nitro has had an impact. 

Dok Hendrix talks to Gorilla Monsoon and he announces that British Bulldog will take on the WWF Champion Diesel at In Your House. He also says that Bret Hart will take on the winner of that match at Survivor Series. He then says that Shawn Michaels will take on Dean Douglas for the Intercontinental Championship as well. I bet he won't.

British Bulldog vs. Undertaker

It's kind of an odd booking decision to have Bulldog take on Taker just after being announced the #1 contender. Taker goes for Old School, but Bulldog drags him off the top. A Jim Cornette distraction helps out Bulldog and he hits a chop block on him. King Mabel and Sir Mo are now watching the match from the aisle. Bulldog surprisingly hits a traditional piledriver and gets a 2 count out of it. Taker comes back, but then Mabel is in the ring. Bulldog knocks into Mabel's arms and he hits the belly to belly suplex. Bulldog then hits the running powerslam, followed up by a Mabel leg drop. Diesel and Michaels are out to make the save. The match was fine for what they were aiming for here. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

They actually show video footage of the end of the Razor Ramon/Dean Douglas match. No still photos! They hype up next week's double main event while Diesel and Shawn continue to celebrate in the ring. 

This was one of the absolute best Raw episodes of the year. We got some new champions, a couple of good matches and the new style of announcing matches with Gorilla Monsoon just making stuff happen. The main event was meh, but it had star power at least. 

Overall Rating: 77%

In Your House 3: Triple Header Review

Sunday, September 24th, 1995
Saginaw Civic Center
Saginaw, Michigan

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We get the usual Todd Pettengill narrated intro and a quick In Your House music video. The fact that they did a pay per view in Saginaw is still kind of amazing to me. Jerry Lawler now says that Owen Hart is going to be the new Intercontinental Champion after yesterday predicting there would be new Tag Team Champions. Jim Ross thinks it will be Yokozuna walking away with the Intercontinental Championship.

Savio Vega vs. Waylon Mercy

If this match doesn't scream "In Your House", I don't know what does. Mercy hits a body slam outside the ring and throws Savio back in the ring. Mercy drops Savio's throat onto the top rope and we go to Dok Hendrix. He tells us that Owen Hart is not in the building and he has no idea what this means for the main event. Mercy slaps on the sleeper hold, but Savio comes back with a back suplex. Savio hits a big boot and a spin kick for a 2 count. Savio ducks too soon and gets a kick to the face and a brainbuster, but Savio kicks out at 2. Savio comes back with a German suplex into a bridge and gets another 2 count. He hits a running spin kick and that gets him for the "upset". I will say, Savio looked determined to pull a good match out of Mercy here. It was nothing special, but it was fun enough. 

Match Rating: *3/4

We go backstage to Gorilla Monsoon arguing with Jim Cornette. He says that Owen isn't here, but he's in Michigan. Gorilla says the match will go down tonight and the fans will not get ripped off. 

Sid vs. Henry Godwinn

Godwinn's music just doesn't work for a babyface. I probably like both of these guys more than most, so let's see what we get here. Godwinn gets dumped out of the ring and DiBiase gets in a few cheap shots. I do appreciate that there was more story to this one than I had remembered, even if it was a pretty big drop off for Sid after being in the main event. Sid slaps on the Camel Clutch. Godwinn eventually gets out and Sid misses a leap in the corner. He goes off the second rope and Godwinn hits him in the midsection. Godwinn hits a kick to the gut and the Slop Drop, but DiBiase interrupts the count. Godwinn goes after DiBiase and that allows Sid to regain momentum. Godwinn gets tripped running the ropes and Sid hits a leg drop to the back of the head. Sid hits the powerbomb and that's all. This may honestly be the most I've seen DiBiase get involved. After the match, Sid mocks Godwinn and does the thing where he shoves him out of the ring with his head. They grab the slop bucket, but out comes Bam Bam Bigelow to attack them. Kama is right behind him and makes the save. I'm glad to see Charles Wright didn't miss his cue for this much more important Sid match. Godwinn comes from behind and slops DiBiase to the crowd's delight. There was a little too much interference for this one to really get going. 

Match Rating: *

We go back to Jim Cornette and Gorilla Monsoon. He gives him two options. He can have Yokozuna defend the titles by himself or he can find a partner that Gorilla will sanction for tonight. 

British Bulldog vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

Bulldog is without Jim Cornette here. The eventual result of the main event would have been more effective if Bulldog didn't already have to wrestle. They let us know that Bulldog will face Undertaker tomorrow on Raw. Good thing Peacock is losing Raw from their library soon. They show Cornette talking to Sid backstage. Bulldog avoids a charging Bam Bam and he falls to the floor. Bulldog slows the match down and works on the legs of Bam Bam. Bulldog gets him up for a body slam, but Bam Bam wills his way on top for a 2 count. The crowd is more into this than I was expecting, but that is the nice thing of running smaller towns. This time Bulldog is able to hit a body slam and that is all. This was actually a little better than I remembered, even with Bulldog slowing the match down. They got a few more minutes, so that was necessary. 

Match Rating: **

Bob Backlund is out to kill some time. Oh, I guess it's to introduce Dean Douglas. Dean Douglas then introduces his opponent for some reason. 

Dean Douglas vs. Razor Ramon

Razor rushes to the ring and is right after Dean. Dean uses the ref to try and take advantage, but Razor just decides to hip toss him over the top rope. They then show Jim Cornette talking to King Mabel. Honestly from a kayfabe standpoint, that probably would have been the right choice. Razor hits the fall away slam and gets a 2 count. Douglas does finally get some offense in and sidesteps Razor to send him outside. He leaps over and hits a double ax handle on the back before driving him into the ring. Razor makes his comeback after Dean works on his back for a bit. Man, Tim Patrick is really slapping that mat here today. Dean hits a top rope reverse crossbody and gets reversed into a close call pin attempt. Dean throws Razor into the referee. Dean misses with a second rope leap and Razor puts him up for the Razor's Edge. Backlund is waking up the ref for some reason, but instead 1-2-3 Kid comes down to the ring and counts to 3. Razor thinks he won, but sees that it was Kid. He shoves Kid out of the ring and Dean rolls up Razor for the victory. That was kind of a fun screwy ending. Dean had to pick up a win here. They then show the replay and Dean pulled the tights. Razor seemed disinterested in making Dean look good here. Razor throws Kid in the ring and slaps him in the face. Officials and referees are out to break it up and Jim Ross thinks it's all Dean Douglas' fault. That's a stretch. 

Match Rating: **1/2

They announce next month's In Your House will be in Winnipeg with King Mabel vs. Undertaker and the debut of Goldust. Get ready for it!

Dok Hendrix is showing off the Shawn Michaels hat and glasses for only $25! Diesel and Shawn are here and they cut a terribly cheesy promo. 

Bret Hart decides to try and top their promo with another cheesefest. 

Jean Pierre Lafitte vs. Bret Hart

We get the famous Bret dive through the ropes that they used a lot in hype videos. Lafitte gets the better of Bret in the early going and Bret ends up getting his shoulder into the ring post. Lafitte then throws Bret into the steel steps for good measure. Lafitte hits a top rope leg drop and gets a 2 count. He misses with the top rope somersault though and Bret hits an inverted atomic drop followed by a clothesline. Lafitte then misses with a somersault over the top rope to the floor. Bret returns the favor and throws Lafitte into the steps. Bret goes off the second rope, but Lafitte gets his boot up. That move rarely gets countered, so that was good stuff. Bret goes for a crucifix, but Lafitte counters it and hits a rolling slam. Lafitte is killing it here and of course did nothing after this. Lafitte counters a bulldog and shoves Bret into the turnbuckle chest first. Lafitte misses with a top rope splash and then they collide when running the ropes. Bret puts on the Sharpshooter while they are lying down. He gets up and Lafitte submits. This was a really good match and one that you see on a lot of underrated lists. 

Match Rating: ****

Jim Cornette announces that he's decided on British Bulldog as Yokozuna's partner. Gorilla Monsoon allows it and reminds him that if Bulldog is pinned, they lose the tag titles. 

Vince goes live on the house mic and we get lots of feedback. He announces Alundra Blayze and she models the Triple Header t-shirt. Then they hype the free video you get with it and it's just a black cassette tape again with no box to let you know what it even is. 

Triple Header Tag Team Match For The WWF Championship, Intercontinental Championship & WWF Tag Team Championships
Yokozuna & British Bulldog vs. Diesel & Shawn Michaels

We get a fun, fast paced opening sequence between Shawn and Bulldog and then Diesel knocks Yokozuna out of the ring. Shawn tries to use his quickness to work on Yoko, but he runs into a back elbow. He's able to avoid an elbow drop and tags in Diesel, who then runs into a clothesline. Diesel comes back with a boot and knocks Yoko out of the ring. In comes Bulldog and he tries getting Diesel up for the delayed vertical suplex and loses hold of him. So he picks him up again and pulls it off. Bulldog gets Diesel up for the running powerslam, but Diesel slips out of it and pushes him into the corner. He hits some running clotheslines in the corner before tagging in Shawn. He hits a body slam and then Shawn hits a splash off the shoulders of Diesel for a 2 count. Bulldog comes right back and puts Shawn into a military press before crotching him on the top rope. Yoko then sends Shawn flying into the corner and Bulldog hits a body slam on the outside of the ring. Bulldog sends Michaels pretty high up there with a back body drop. Yoko goes for the splash in the corner, but Michaels is able to move out of the way. Both men crawl and make tags to their partners. Diesel hits snake eyes in the corner and then the splash with Bulldog draped on the middle rope. He hits the side suplex and then all four men are in the ring. Bulldog and Yoko are thrown into each other and then they toss Bulldog into Yoko. Yoko then falls on Bulldog and then Diesel hits the big boot on him. Diesel goes for the Jackknife, but Cornette distracts the ref and Yoko makes a save. Michaels hits Sweet Chin Music on Yoko. Bulldog hits the running powerslam, but Shawn leaps off the top rope for the save. Out comes Owen Hart and he goes off the top rope, but Diesel hits him in the midsection. We then get a stupid finish where Diesel hits the Jackknife on Owen and the referee allows the victory over the guy not in the match. In what world would that even make sense? It's a shame because other than that, this match was a blast. That may have been the best I've seen Yoko move around since he returned at WrestleMania also. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

Make fun of me all you want, but I enjoyed this show. The two main matches more than delivered what we were hoping for and the undercard was good enough. I'd gladly watch this one again. 

Overall Rating: 77%

Superstars 9-23-95 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, September 23rd, 1995
Erie Civic Center
Erie, Pennsylvania

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It's time for some slop puns, as we recap the Henry Godwinn/Ted DiBiase feud. Jim Ross is with Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler today because he likes bacon. 

Kama & Tatanka vs. Bam Bam Bigelow & Henry Godwinn

Bam Bam hits a double clothesline, but the cheating of Kama and Tatanka gets the best of him as we go to commercial. When we come back from commercial, DiBiase brings out Sid. I feel like we are at the point where it's pretty safe to say that Kama is an absolute turd of a character, right? They gave him like 20 minutes with Undertaker at the second biggest show of the year and still no one cares. We get a double crossbody between Tatanka and Bam Bam, allowing both men to make the tag. Godwinn hits Kama with a clothesline and a back body drop. Tatanka pulls down the top rope and Godwinn falls in front of Sid. The ref is distracted by Bam Bam and Sid hits Godwinn with a powerbomb. The bell rings and we have a countout. Bam Bam scares them off with the slop bucket. This was fine at doing what it was supposed to do. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

We go to Dok Hendrix, who is now handling the In Your House hype duty in the famous mid-90s studio. They hype up what happened last time Diesel and Shawn Michaels tagged. Jean Pierre Lafitte says that Bret is afraid and then Bret calls him a big, fat, stupid pirate. 

Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Tony Williams

This is Hunter's first appearance on Superstars since August 12th. We get a random commercial break with no prompting and then Hunter hits the Pedigree for the win. That was strange, but who cares? 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time to listen to Goldust ramble off names of actors in a theatre with a guy in a vest and a lady with no head in it. He then quotes Batman.

Vince is now in the ring to talk with Diesel and Shawn Michaels. Sorry, two dudes with attitudes. When they get to the ring, Jim Cornette and his crew crash the party. They argue back and forth, with Cornette doing the better job. 

Bob Holly vs. Isaac Yankem

If Kama is a turd of a character, I'm not sure what that makes Isaac Yankem then. Or Glenn Jacobs the human for that matter. We get another fade out commercial break and was kind of hoping they'd just skip to the end of this match. Yankem hits one of the worst looking big boots you'll see. Holly hits a missile dropkick and then a standing dropkick that Yankem sells terribly. Yankem kicks him in the gut and hits the DDS for the win. Almost as terrible as his political career. 

Match Rating: 0 Stars

Next week it's going to be Hakushi and Barry Horowitz vs. Skip and Rad Radford. Plus, Fatu takes on British Bulldog. 

Savio Vega vs. Sid

Vega gets off to a quick start, but then runs into a chokeslam. Sid sets him up for a powerbomb, but Bam Bam runs in and attacks him for the quick DQ finish. Godwinn is down to the ring as well. He chases DiBiase off with the slop bucket, but then dumps it on Sid. I mean, Sid is from Arkansas, he should be used to it. Sid then grabs a chair and slams it in anger. Boy, is he mad.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Back to Dok Hendrix to remind us that In Your House is tomorrow. If you weren't planning on buying it, you probably still aren't. We hear from Dean Douglas, Razor Ramon and British Bulldog.

We then see Sid, who is still snapping because of the slop. If only he cared that much when he was losing to Diesel every month. 

We see Sid throwing garbage around in the back now after they hype up that titles will change hand tomorrow. DiBiase doesn't know what to do. They then do predictions and basically spoil the entire event. Jerry Lawler predicting Diesel and Michaels will win? What?

This was kind of a weird show to me for some reason. They tried their best to make the Sid/Godwinn stuff feel important and I guess for the most part it worked, but I'm not sure people care enough about it. The rest of it was kind of there, but I am looking forward to In Your House, as I kind of remember liking it. 

Overall Rating: 39%