Original Airdate: Monday, October 16th, 1995
Welsh Auditorium
Grand Rapids, Michigan
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We get a lengthy hype video for the cage match.
Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Doink
Doink is still a thing. He grabs Helmsley by the nose, as Vince disapproves of Lawler using the term "blue blood". Helmsley looks a little hesitant compared to earlier squashes. Doink tries to steal the match with a few quick pin attempts, but Helmsley is able to kick out. Doink misses with a reverse crossbody off the second rope and hits the Pedigree for the win. This was meh.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Barry Horowitz talks to Hakushi about baseball.
WWF Tag Team Championship Match
PG-13 vs. Smoking Gunns
It's kind of weird that PG-13 is just getting a title shot. We hear from Gorilla Monsoon about who Mabel is going to wrestle at In Your House now that Undertaker is injured. He has decided that it will be the guy that helped injure Taker and that's Yokozuna. Thanks a bunch, Gorilla. The Gunns outsmart the newcomers at every opportunity to begin until PG-13 shifts the momentum by tripping Billy while running the ropes. Billy finally tags in Bart and that's about all it takes to take care of PG-13. I thought that would be a little bit more enjoyable than it was.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Next week, it's Alundra Blayze vs. Bertha Faye. Remember them?
We go to an interview from a house show with Dok Hendrix, British Bulldog and Jim Cornette. Did they purposely leave so much extra time in this taping where the last two episodes have had so much filler in it? This was a short interview. Vince then teases that he's going to break the story involving Shawn Michaels.
We hear from Ahmed Johnson again and doing the best you can for your mom at school or something.
Dean Douglas vs. Joe Dorgan
They show the attack on Michaels by Dean last week on Raw. Vince tells us about the "unprovoked attack by 10 thugs" in Syracuse. They have Shawn Michaels now on the phone and that distracts from another awful Douglas squash. He doesn't even finish the interview before the match finished.
Match Rating: 1/4*
We go to Dok trying to sell us a hideous Diesel and Shawn shirt. They then show them getting the smaller cage ready for Lawler. They run through the In Your House card again, as the stalling continues. We hear from Goldust again and then they show the Mabel/Undertaker saga. We hear from Paul Bearer before we finally see the moron dentist come down.
They announce that next week we will have a battle royal to become the #1 contender for the Intercontinental Champion.
Steel Cage Match
Isaac Yankem vs. Bret Hart
We get lots of punching and kicking until we get to the drama. Lawler switched the locks on the cage door and then we go to commercial break. When we come back, we get a special bulletin running on the bottom of the screen to call the WWF Hotline to find out more about Shawn Michaels. Meanwhile, Bret is able to press slam Yankem off the top rope. He then slaps on the Sharpshooter in the middle of the ring. He holds it on long enough that he thinks he can climb. Lawler starts climbing and knocks Bret back to the mat. Out comes Gorilla to order him to get in his shark cage. Lawler doesn't listen, so Bret climbs and knocks him back down. Yankem is able to take advantage, but Lawler also gets thrown in his cage. This was the first time I had ever seen this gimmick before and loved it. Yankem starts climbing and gets halfway over, but Bret meets him up top. He gets Yankem back in the ring, but crotches himself on the top. We then get the famous Lawler nosebleed where he actually made his nose bleed by creating a scab prior to the taping and then opening the scab while in the cage. Yankem is once again halfway over the cage, but Bret grabs the leg and pulls him back in. Yankem is just so limited that there isn't much you can do with him here. Lawler drops in the key to the lock, but art imitates life and he's too dumb to open the lock. Bret rolls him up and then punches him in the jaw. He hits a bulldog and the backbreaker. He hits the second rope elbow drop and climbs up and over for the win. I mean, this was fine for what it was, but not much more than that. Bret can only do so much.
Match Rating: **
After the commercial, they tease that Lawler isn't going to be lowered.
This episode felt like an afterthought and the stalling from last week continued. Throw in a weak Douglas squash and a disappointing showing from Helmsley, this was barely as good as an average Superstars episode.
Overall Rating: 38%
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