Original Airdate: Monday, November 25th, 1996
New Haven Coliseum
New Haven, Connecticut
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Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart
I would say that this is a pretty good way to start a show, even if we have seen it 100 times. While Owen is entering the ring, we see Shawn Michaels and Jose Lothario at home and we will hear from them later on. We get a little bit of a slow pace to start, so I'm guessing they are going to get some time here. Owen hits a nice belly to belly suplex to regain control. I kind of stayed away from typing too much waiting for something to happen and just as the match finally picks up a little bit, out comes Steve Austin to hit Bret with a chair. This leads to Owen arguing with Austin and then British Bulldog as well. Lots of arguing, but not much action. I feel like they could have had a better match in their sleep, but this was far from bad. It just was nothing memorable.
Match Rating: **
Executioner vs. Freddie Joe Floyd
It is pretty obvious in the first 30 seconds that the Executioner is not long for this roster. Floyd is a very solid hand and you know he was likely giving it all he had here to make him look good, but it's very much a Waylon Mercy scenario here. Floyd hits a nice kick and gets a 2 count. Executioner then no sells some punches and hits a couple of turnbuckle clotheslines. He uses the Asian spike or something for the victory. Not good.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Shawn and Jose are sitting in a couch at Jose's house that just screams early 90s. Jose apologizes to Shawn and Vince cuts him off to ask him his status. They let us know that Shawn will take on the champion at Royal Rumble. Vince then tells Shawn that his boyhood dream has been shattered and he wonders if he can pick up the pieces. Shawn says he lost his edge and it wasn't Jose's fault. Lawler then calls Jose a fossil and says that he cost Shawn the title. Shawn sticks up for him and says that Sid is the man he wants. Vince asks about the crowd cheering for Sid and Shawn said he's good with it because he wants them to enjoy themselves, but he won't beg to anyone to cheer for him. Shawn is all fired up here. Shawn says he's going to take more risks and do what he did to become the top guy. That was kind of a fun segment since it didn't seem overly polished.
Back to the arena and out comes Sunny to join the announce table. Now it's time for the Karate Fighters Holiday Tournament. It's Sable vs. Sunny, the biggest feud behind the scenes. Sunny pulls off the big victory, but the referee finds out that she used gum to hold her figure down and then punches the referee. That leads to dad jokes from Lawler and Todd.
Salvatore Sincere vs. Rocky Maivia
My favorite themed jobber, Sal Sincere. Sunny says she has her eyes on Rocky. After hyping Rocky up for a minute or two, we go to Dok Hendrix during the match for an update on Bret and Austin to interrupt the match. Sincere does a nice job of trying to make this feel like more than just a squash. It's basically a Superstars main event. Rocky hits the shoulder breaker and that's the victory. Not a great finisher. I wonder if he'll ever change that?
Match Rating: 3/4*
Marc Mero tells us that it's time to get wild.
We come back to Dok Hendrix and he says that Bulldog and Owen seem to be ready to defend their titles at In Your House.
Billy Gunn vs. Marc Mero
Mero is in the ring already and Hunter Hearst Helmsley is at the announce table. Helmsley distracts him and it allows Gunn to attack. Back in the ring, Billy runs into a boot from Mero. Mero goes up top and hits a moonsault for a 2. Billy hits the Rocker Dropper, but Mero kicks out at 2. Billy is controlling the majority of this match and definitely has a big future coming up for him pretty soon. Mero gets a small package for 2, but Billy levels him with a clothesline when they get back up. They actually are giving this a commercial break. When we come back, Mero hits a hurricanrana from the top rope for a 2 count. Helmsley gets up and says he is going to help Sable. Mero hits a Samoan drop and then goes after Helmsley. He hits him but then Billy hits him from behind. Helmsley is in the ring with Billy and they attack him, causing the DQ. Out comes Jake Roberts to try to make the save, but he doesn't even get in a move before being attacked. Mero basically is able to clear the ring for himself. The match was fine for what it was.
Match Rating: *1/4
This was a pretty good episode overall, but nothing really happened. They tried to play up the whole Owen/Bulldog/Bret/Austin stuff, but they never showed anything and it didn't seem like that big of a deal. I did like the Shawn interview and helped bring back some edge to his character. The wrestling was nothing special, but inoffensive.
Overall Rating: 51%
