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