Two interesting things about the argument. 1. I can basically believe anything thag anybody says about Shawn Michaels between 1992 and 1998, and 2. I find it hard to believe anything that Bret says ever. So it's like, unstoppable force meeting immovable object

Oh I definitely don't think that Shawn was above putting himself over in a way that wasn't scripted, but I just think that Occam's razor dictates that Sid's actions during the match point to an already-scripted face turn the following night.

Great American Bash '95: Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair



Date: June 18, 1995

Link: http://network.wwe.com/video/v31585669

Background: Ric Flair attacked Randy Savage's father. Savage is less than pleased with the situation. This was the PPV main event, Savage's second straight here in WCW.

The Match: As Savage emerges from the back, he summons toward the entry for someone to join him. Angelo Poffo makes his way through the smoke and joins his son en route to the ring. Angelo has to use a cane to walk out thanks to the injuries inflicted by Ric Flair last month.

Flair leads Savage on a chase, tries to attack him as he re-enters the ring, but Savage gets the advantage back quickly anyway. Literally like 12 seconds into the match, Tony Schiavone declares, "Man, this match has been great." I mean…okay. Series of clotheslines by Savage, culminating in one over the top rope. Follows out with an axhandle to the floor that he gets better-than-usual elevation and connection on. Flair tries to charge him after a moment and gets backdropped on the floor.



Ric does turn the tables though, stopping short on a posting attempt by Savage and knocking him into the post instead. He lays in the chops against the barricade, then heads up to the apron and hits an axhandle to the floor from there. Lays in some stomps before returning his hurt opponent to the ring. Savage tries to fight back with some weak right hands, but he doesn't have a lot right now and Flair maintains control. Snapmare. Knee drop.

One of Savage's comeback attempts finally gets a foothold, as lays in a series of punches that floor the Nature Boy. Savage is going dirty for a lot of this match, choking his rival and then raking hard against the eyes. He forgoes quite a bit of wrestling for brawling. As Flair tries to escape outside, Savage chases him down and absolutely obliterates him with a running axhandle shot. Surprisingly great-looking spot on a pretty routine move since Flair sold the hell out of it.



Still, Flair fights back with some right hands and rolls Savage back in. Gets greedy though, trying to enter from the top rope and getting thrown off of it. Savage appears to set up a piledriver, but Flair quickly scurries his way toward the corner to get out of it. Savage whips him into the corner, Flair flips over top of it and ends up on floor. He immediately grabs at Angelo Poffo, which causes Savage to go at him hard, but Flair knows what he's doing, sidestepping the situation and then lunging and taking Savage's leg out from behind while he's checking on his father. One-legged atomic drop into the barricade by Flair hurts Savage's leg further.

Savage rolls in, never wanting to stop throwing punches, even throwing them upward from his back. Flair attacks the leg again though, and the leg injury is getting bad enough now that any shot downstairs is going to put Savage down in a hurry. Leg whip by Flair on the bad leg. Macho keeps trying to fight hard even when he can't stand up successfully. Nature Boy drags him outside, attempts a whip into the barricade, and Savage reverses and sends Flair into the barricade. Savage returns to the ring. Flair follows and quickly manages to apply the figure-four.



Savage, despite the hurt leg, keeps fighting and fighting and refuses to submit. He eventually successfully turns it over to reverse the leverage. Flair manages to get the hold loose. Savage just has too hard of a time standing now given the advanced state of his injury. Macho Man really sold limb injuries like the legend that he is.

Flair lays in punches and chops against Savage in the corner. Savage desperately manages to fling Flair into the corner, who jumps up to the top rope and attempts an axhandle, but Savage wallops him on the way down. Pinning attempt gets two. Savage goes up top, successfully hits the flying elbow, but on the two-count he pulls Flair up instead of completing the pinfall.



Savage goes ringside and pulls a bell out from under the ring. Savage has gotten cut open at some point here, not sure if it was hardway or blading. Referee Randy Anderson gets the bell away from Savage. Flair rolls to the outside. Savage goes up top for a flying axhandle to the floor. Flair dodges, and holy **** Savage takes the barricade hard on that one.



Flair immediately follows up with a series of punches right at the wound Savage is bleeding from. He chokes at Savage, then gets in Angelo Poffo's face. Poffo takes his cane and strangles at Flair from behind. Flair gets the cane away from him as Savage attacks him from behind. Savage returns to the ring, takes a cane shot from Flair straight to the face out of view of Randy Anderson (who was tending to Angelo Poffo), and Flair pins Savage for the 1-2-3.



Result: Ric Flair via pinfall (14:42)

Meltzer Rating: ****

Rating: This was really good stuff. Flair was 46 here while Savage was 42, but both conclusively proved here that they still had something in the tank. ***3/4

In Your House 2: IC Title - Jeff Jarrett (c) (w/ The Roadie) vs. Shawn Michaels

Date: July 23, 1995

Link: http://network.wwe.com/video/v31313113

Background: Not particularly much of one. This IYH was emanating from Nashville, and was sort of Jeff Jarrett's night since he finally sang (lip-synced) a song earlier in the night to relatively positive reviews and was now putting the belt on the line that he won back at Royal Rumble. Shawn Michaels had face-turned the night after WrestleMania, so they pointed him toward the IC Title.

The Match: Double J gets the live band entrance, with backing from his backup band from the singing performance earlier. Also The Roadie enters first to give Jarrett his own personalized ring announcement. It's like a small-scale version of a WrestleMania entrance. Roadie actually pretty obviously kills a bit of time for no apparent reason, so Jarrett really may have been late to his spot. Our supporting players for this match are Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler, and Earl Hebner.



Michaels wins a trade of punches right off the bat, sending Jarrett to the mat to regroup as Michaels showboats up on the corner. After that regroup, Double J manages an armdrag that he struts about. Dueling arm-wringers by the two men. Michaels whip into the corner, reversed, hard right hand floors Michaels as he comes off the ropes. Jarrett replicates Michaels's earlier showboating now, laying across the top turnbuckle.

Side headlock by Jarrett, who is ensconced in velvet for the occasion. Gets sent into the ropes, the two men block each other's hip-tosses, and amidst a move-countermove sequence Michaels thumbs the eyes. Another back-and-forth ends in Michaels clotheslining Jarrett over the top to the floor, then following by doing the Double J strut. Jeff starts to take a walk, like he's going to leave with the title, but he ends up having too much pride to retain that way and talks himself into returning to the ring.



He rolls in at the count of 9, then rolls back out. Waits until 9, rolls in and then rolls out, just kind of playing the psyche-out game while HBK is itching to get at him. After the second roll-out, Michaels goes out and gets him, rolling him into the middle but then following him in with an axhandle that gets him punched in the gut. Jarrett quickly follows with a legdrop along the ropes. Standing dropkick by Jarrett misses. After a Roadie distraction, Jarrett tries to charge from behind, but Michaels sidesteps and throws him high out over the top. HBK to the top rope, and a double cross-body on both Jarrett and Roadie on the floor as Lawler calls on him to be disqualified for that move. There are those AWA sensibilities.



The champ eventually rolls back in, begs for enough mercy to get an opening, sends Michaels into the ropes, Michaels leaps up to the second rope to jump back onto him, he pump-fakes, Jarrett bites on it and ducks, Michaels waits for him to stand back up and attempts a sunset flip. Jarrett holds up and punches down, but Michaels moves and Jarrett punches the mat. Michaels charges, and Jarrett sends him on a really high-elevation backdrop all the way to the floor. Awesome.



JJ follows Shawn out and slams him multiple times into the steel steps. Rolls Michaels back in. Face-first suplex in the middle of the ring gets two. Abdominal stretch by Jarrett, who goes for the Roadie leverage several times until Earl Hebner eventually catches him and kicks his hand loose, leading Michaels to hip-toss him. HBK whips Jarrett into the ropes, but Jarrett stops short on the way back and executes a DDT. Two-count.

Vince seems to have a shoot issue with his mic; Lawler is quick on his feet, celebrates, then picks up the play-by-play. Jarrett distracts the referee while Roadie works on Michaels, which Lawler nonchalantly describes as "Roadie tries to convince Michaels that he's had enough." Michaels fights back at Roadie, Jarrett tries to run in and attack and Michaels sidesteps to cause a collision between the two allies. Michaels with a roll-up on Jarrett for two as Vince's mic unfortunately returns. Jarrett flings Michaels hard into the corner, and Michaels does the full flipping bump over the top to the floor.

Once again, as Jarrett runs distraction The Roadie capitalizes, this time by actually jumping up onto the apron and hitting a running clothesline from the apron to the floor on HBK. Jarrett yells that he's going to win by countout, but of course Shawn rolls back in. Jarrett to the top for a cross-body, Michaels rolls through for a two-count. Sunset flip by Jarrett, Michaels punches and sits down for a cover, Jarrett pulls him over with his legs at the two-count for a counter-cover that gets two as well. Sick dropkick by Jarrett connects strongly with Shawn's face. Great sequence.

Rope-running sequence ends in a sleeper hold by Jarrett. Michaels fades until he actually finds his shoulders down for a two-count, prompting the big comeback where he makes it to his feet and delivers a back suplex. I do like that they at least varied the usual comeback a bit there, not being on a third drop of an arm and also having the comeback lead into one quick burst where the face does a move and then resumes laying out because that was all the energy he had. Michaels eventually rolls on top of Jarrett, but only gets two.



Michaels blocks a punch, runs the ropes, and comes off with a great-looking flying clothesline. A few more right hands by Shawn, and another flying clothesline. Up to the top rope, and a jumping axhandle off the top. Two-count. Bodyslam. HBK up top once more, this time for a flying elbow. He did it better than CM Punk too. Two-count. Michaels with a whip into the corner. Charges the corner, Jarrett gets the boot up, Michaels anticipates and baseball slides out of the ring before getting hit. Drags Jarrett legs-first backward into the post to crotch him. As Hebner attends to Jarrett, Michaels goes up top to try to follow and Roadie crotches him as well.

Jarrett up to meet Michaels at the top rope. Superplex. Goes for the figure-four, and Michaels wraps up a surprise small package for two. Jarrett quickly back up with a one-legged atomic drop. Again tries to follow with the figure-four, but Michaels desperately kicks him off into Hebner for the ref bump. Michaels sets up for the superkick, but Roadie runs in and clips the leg from behind. Jarrett up top for a really high flying bodypress, but again only two as Hebner is back in the action.

A frustrated Jarrett signals to Roadie to be ready to pull the leg. He whips Michaels toward the ropes in Roadie's direction, Michaels reverses without Roadie realizing it, Roadie reaches behind his back for the trip and trips Jarrett.



Jarrett back to his feet, eats a superkick, and that's 1-2-3 for the title change. Excellent match.

Result: Shawn Michaels via pinfall, new IC Champion (20:01)

Meltzer Rating: ****1/2

My Review and Rating: This is every bit the match that I remember being so damn good. Lots of great high spots, really good psychology, both wrestlers absolutely working their asses off to put on a classic. I can see where someone might not love this match since they deliberately drag it out at times, but to me the story is compelling from start to finish. ****1/2

RAW: Bret Hart vs. Hakushi (w/ Shinja)

Date: July 24, 1995

Link: http://network.wwe.com/video/v34902365

Background: This is the continuation, or I guess maybe the blowoff, of a secondary feud of several months. Hakushi's manager Shinja started randomly accusing Bret Hart of being a racist against Japanese for no apparent reason and with no proof of any kind. That was the whole basis for the feud. Honestly I sort of love the idea of a manager starting **** like that with a big start just over 100% baseless slander.

The Match: Hakushi is in first, and Shinja produces a bag that has a facsimile of Bret Hart's head in it. I had forgotten about that weird ****. Hakushi proudly holds Bret's severed head up overhead.



The real Bret Hart hits the ring, and we're ready to go. Vince and Lawler announcing, Earl Hebner officiating.

Bret goes to ringside to give out his glasses to a ringside kid. On the way back into the ring, Shinja grabs his ankle and pulls him back down. As Bret is distracted, Hakushi attacks. I can't help but wonder how Gorilla Monsoon would have described that particular attack. In any case, the bell rings and we're under way as Hakushi begins to work Bret over on the outside, sending him knee-first into the steel steps and then dropping Bret along the steel guardrail.

Hakushi flings Bret into the ring and remains aggressive with the kick/stomp/axhandle treatment. Bodyslam. Second rope splash lands squarely on Bret's knees. Bret now on the offensive, hits an inverted atomic drop and a running clothesline. Lays in a series of punches, and eventually a backbreaker. Hakushi reverses a whip into the corner, and Bret drops down to try to avoid impact, but actually ends up sliding hard rib-first below the bottom turnbuckle and into the post. Don't think I've ever seen that one before, but it looked pretty great. Hakushi follows him in with a baseball slide as Raw goes to break.



Hakushi still in control as the show returns, executing a handspring back elbow against the corner. He holds his foot against Bret's throat, then preens to the crowd. The wasted time allows Bret to get back up. Hakushi with a series of chops, but Bret finally blocks one and hits a Russian legsweep. Hakushi still back up first, and he connects on a spinning back kick. Whip into the ropes, Bret reverses, attempts a backbreaker, Hakushi escapes and executes a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker of his own.

Hard whip into the corner, as Bret takes his customary hard corner bump (to the back, this time). Hakushi with a flying headbutt right onto Bret's kidney from the top rope. Two-count.



The Japanese star lays in a nerve hold, but Bret is back to his feet fairly quickly, elbowing his way free. He tries to run Hakushi into the ropes for a roll-up, but Hakushi drops down and Bret spills through the middle to the floor. Commercial break.

Back from break, and Hakushi handsprings his way across the ring and executes a somersault sentan to the floor out of the handspring. They also show a replay that he jumped backward with a standing moonsault from the ring over the top rope to the outside on Bret during the break. Impressive stuff. As that replay ends, Bret rams Hakushi's and Shinja's heads together. He heads to the apron and jumps back off on both of them.

Bret returns his opponent to the middle, connects on a backbreaker and then a second rope elbow for a two-count as Shinja hits the apron. The distraction doesn't end up helping Hakushi, as Bret still connects on a bulldog. Two-count. Small package by Bret gets another two. Hakushi ducks a punch and hits a crisp back suplex. Hakushi jumps to the top rope in one motion, goes for the flying headbutt, but comes up empty. Bret sets him back up on the top rope and connects on a superplex. Gets back up and locks in the Sharpshooter, and we get our submission to finish things.



Shinja runs in after the match. Bret punches him a couple of times and then piledrives him. Vince announces that that may be the last we ever see of Shinja, which I assume must have ended up being the case since that bit of commentary pretty strongly signals a blowoff.

Result: Bret Hart via submission (9:23 plus commercials)

Meltzer Rating: ****

My Review and Rating: Very good match. Fast and furious pace. The short length, and the fact that some of Hakushi's spots felt more spotfest-y than natural probably drops it a bit below four stars for me, but certainly a fun watch. ***1/2

I remember loving these series of matches. I feel I remember wrestling three times on TV around this time. Hakushi could obviously handle his own, but I loved how Bret routinely got 3 plus star matches out of guys that never approached that rating in any other match of their career.

LOL, on what would Gorilla say about that. I certainly know.

Shinzaki was great and got quite a few 4* matches in AJPW in the late 90's as well as that phenomenal match at Heatwave 98 w/Hayabusa vs RVD/Sabu.

SummerSlam '95: IC Title Ladder Match - Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Razor Ramon



Date: August 27, 1995

Link: http://network.wwe.com/video/v31304779

Background: This wasn't really built to until the weeks before the event. It was face vs. face, and the two men hadn't had much interaction since they last met in the historic ladder match at WrestleMania X (won by Razor). Razor worked somewhat heel in the weekly promos leading into this.

The Match: Razor cuts a pretty heelish promo backstage before the match. He's the first to enter and Michaels is out second, rocking a horrific baby blue outfit. After a SNAFU with the belt getting hung improperly, the bell eventually rings. Face-off in mid-ring quickly leads to blows, the two men run the ropes, and Razor stops short as Michaels readied a superkick for him. Good little first sequence.

Moments later, Razor attempts to set up for a Razor's Edge and Shawn quickly manages an escape. Okay, now I like the first sequence a bit less. The two trade arm-wringers. Michaels with some punches, a whip into the corner, but Razor reverses and Michaels flips out over the top and takes a hard bump to the floor.

(credit to this random dude's tumblr for the gifs this time)



Razor quickly heads out to go get the ladder, but Michaels jumps him from behind and stops him, then returns him toward the ring. Shawn tries suplexing him into the ring, but gets blocked and then Razor actually suplexes him to the floor, with Michaels hitting his ankle on the steel guardrail on the way down.



Razor is quick on the follow, dropping an elbow on the floor and then stomping away. Back into the ring, Razor whips him into the ropes, attempts a Razor's Edge, Michaels escapes and throws a superkick that Razor ducks, then they clothesline each other simultaneously. Dude, stop doing the thing where you bust out your finishers immediately after each other, it just screams lazy choreography.

Razor reverses a whip into one corner, then after Michaels's impact he whips him into the opposite, with Michael falling along the top rope in a way that you basically never see…it's to set up Razor conveniently heading up the ropes and executing his signature fallaway slam from the second rope.



Ramon heads out to get the ladder, returns toward the ring with it holding it sideways…Michaels goes to baseball slide the ladder into him from the ring, but Razor dodges, drops the ladder, and lays in a hard right hand that floors the champion. See, that's a way better sequence than these really contrived ones; I can appreciate teasing a specific spot and then doing a simple swerve.

With Michaels laid out, Razor sets up the ladder and makes the first attempt to climb it, but of course that's not gonna work. Michaels knocks him off, then picks up the ladder and incidentally hits Razor with it as he swings it through to set it up. He pretends to be conflicted about having hit Razor with the ladder, which is quite silly. Shawn sets it up, starts to climb, Razor pulls at him from the mat and causes Michaels to moon the crowd, then fully pulls him off and Shawn appears to fall dangerously with his knee caught in something of a grapevine in the ladder. Given the subsequent action this was a deliberate spot, though it sort of fooled me at the time into looking like an accident.



Razor takes advantage of Michaels's predicament, stomping repeatedly on the ladder that HBK's leg is still stuck in. At first I thought the knee spot was unintentional, but on rewind probably not. Either a good spot or good improvisation though. Razor smashes HBK's knee a few more times into the ladder, then picks up the ladder and deliberately takes out the bad leg with it. The Bad Guy scoops the IC Champ and slams him along the ladder, then sets the ladder along the second rope in one corner. He attempts to whip Shawn into that corner, but Shawn correctly crumples on a sell of the bad wheel, and Razor continues attacking it until Michaels desperately kicks him off into the ladder in the corner.



Razor still back up first, and he lifts Shawn for a one-legged atomic drop and drops him along the ladder. Jumps on the bad knee a few more times, then Michaels kicks him out of the ring with the good leg, but Razor is straight back onto attacking the bad one from outside the ring, ramming the bad leg into the post. The challenger returns to the ring and continues working the bad leg; to his credit, he's busting out a lot of unique ways to keep attacking the same leg. He picks up the ladder, casually drops it on Shawn's leg, then shrugs at the crowd indifferently as if it was an accident.

Ramon tries to climb the ladder again, but Michaels finds the wherewithal to scramble up the turnbuckle and jump into Razor from there to bring him down. That spot strains credibility and sort of shows the downside of doing limb work in a ladder match. Same for the ensuing spot, where Razor again attempts to climb but Michaels climbs up after him and pulls him back to the mat with a back suplex from the ladder.

Shawn folds up the ladder and sets it in a corner. Whips Razor toward it, Razor reverses, Shawn re-reverses, Razor collides hard with the ladder. Shawn suddenly walks normally again as he sets up the ladder in another corner and again whips Razor into it. Razor has been clearly working more heelish in this match, but the crowd noticeably boos this flurry of offense by Michaels.



Scoop slam by HBK. Sets up the ladder, but in the corner. Climbs up and hits a moonsault from there. The earlier leg injury seems to be totally gone; Michaels is just done with that phase of the match, I guess. He climbs back up all the way to the top of the ladder, standing on top of it, attempts a splash from there, but Razor moves out of the way and Shawn comes up empty.

Both slow to get up, and both attempt to climb up their respective sides of the ladder. They meet at the top and trade blows, then both fall off and get crotched alongside the top rope at the same time, with Razor not quite hitting his spot and instead kind of clumsily spilling outside. Honestly, the spot came out better for having him miss a bit; I would have found the simultaneous crotching to be especially stupid if it went down as it was clearly intended to.

As Shawn sets up the ladder in the ring, Razor goes underneath the ring and takes a second ladder out from under it, then brings it into the ring. As he's doing this, Michaels is trying to climb to victory, so Razor drops the second ladder and executes the Razor's Edge on Michaels from the ladder to the mat.

Both stay down for a long time. Razor eventually up first. He sets up a ladder in a spot that for some reason is off-center, then starts to climb. Michaels sets up a ladder equidistant from the center and climbs as well. He superkicks Razor while both are near the top of their ladders, then attempts to jump for the belt but comes up empty.



Razor is back up, and he does that ridiculous thing where he sets up a Razor's Edge facing toward the ropes that are about a foot away, thus signaling that he's taking a backdrop over the top rope instead. Which he does.

Razor remains laid out as Michaels climbs to the top, attempts to pull the belt down with him, and the belt holds firm as he spills to the mat. That was obviously supposed to be the ending; Michaels signals as much by throwing a temper tantrum about it in the ring. Get a hold of yourself you emotional dip****. He climbs back up and secures the belt, winning the match.

Razor comes bursting into the ring, grabbing the belt from the referee. He teases the heel turn, but hands the belt to Michaels and raises his hand. Then they hug it out. Given that they were past kayfabe enemies, they really should have followed the Curt Hennig/Bret Hart model of a babyface handshake from KOTR '93; there should not have been a hug. But whatever.

Result: Shawn Michaels via unfastening the belt (25:03)

Meltzer Rating: ****3/4

My Review and Rating: There was good action in this, but the psychology of the match was some of the worst you'll see. A bunch of time spent on leg work that the injured party permanently forgets about in mid-match, a bunch of contrived spots that don't seem organic at all…I give them credit for bumping well and working hard, but the bad psychology was really distracting. I think this falls way short of the WrestleMania X matchup, where they managed to not only put on great action but also to tell a story that consistently made sense with trying to win the match and secure the IC Title. **3/4

Speaking of bad psychology, I remember the next match on the agenda - Johnny B. Badd vs. Brian Pillman - featuring bad psychology in abundance as well. A 30-minute match that I already know that I don't much like? Looking forward to it...

Fall Brawl '95: US Title #1 Contender Match - Johnny B. Badd vs. Flyin' Brian Pillman

Date: September 17, 1995

Link: http://network.wwe.com/video/v31585679

The Match: This match gets the full Michael Buffer intro after entrances, and the crowd clearly boos Flyin' Brian even though he hadn't really started his heel turn yet. Tony and Bobby on the call, Nick Patrick the referee.

Back-and-forth chain wrestling to start, hold and counter-hold. Rope-running sequence with a couple of leapfrogs, then the two dropkick each other simultaneously (obviously both missing). Tony comments on how Pillman isn't as smiley as usual tonight, so they're openly advertising the start of the heel turn that would hit a higher gear later during the Flair vs. Arn match.



Arm-wringer into a hammerlock by JBB; Pillman flips over Badd for the escape and executes a side headlock takeover into a rest hold. Back up to a vertical base, the two run the ropes and have kind of a botched semi-collision where I'm not sure what was supposed to happen. Pillman pins for a two-count. Magistral cradle by Badd gets a one-count, but Pillman is in the ropes quickly.

Heenan: "Who do you think Sting would rather wrestle?"
Tony: "I think…he would rather wrestle Johnny B. Badd."
Heenan: "Why?"
Tony: "I think he knows more about Johnny B. Badd. He trained him. He knows a lot about the youngster.
Heenan: "So basically Johnny B. Badd is Sting's pet?"

Heenan didn't usually make me laugh in WCW, but I loved that one. Drop toe-hold by Pillman, then a pinning combo for two. Badd with a corner whip, Pillman grabs the corner and jumps outward, then takes Badd over with a flying headscissor. Victory roll by Pillman for two, and then he settles back into a reverse chinlock so they can talk things over.

Badd appears to get busted open, but gets the better of Pillman after a whip into the corner and takes him over with his own side headlock. The two stand, they run the ropes, but Badd executes the same take-over and rests back into the headlock on the mat. Pillman works his way back to his feet and executes a backbreaker. Two-count.

(gif credit is legitshook.com again)



Terrible-looking Boston crab by Flyin' Brian. He eventually just voluntarily breaks the hold because it sucks so much, then punches Badd and taunts the crowd a bit. So he is openly working a bit heel.

Pillman Irish whip gets reversed, tilt-a-whirl backbreaker by Badd on the way back, and a two-count. Badd grapevines Pillman's leg from a standing position, then drops an elbow on it. He transitions into something of a surfboard and stretches Pillman out. Brian manages a rope break, gets back to his feet and shoves Badd; Badd shoves back, as the two get more aggressive with each other.

Back elbow by Pillman during a potential break in the corner draws more booing from the crowd. Badd fights back with lefts and rights that bully Pillman out of the ring for a walk. Brian re-enters and offers a handshake, but Badd refuses. Pillman attacks, throwing punches and kicks and knocking JBB to the outside. Back to the apron, Badd reaches inside, grabs Pillman, and smashes him against the turnbuckle. He follows a now-lying Pillman in with a slingshot legdrop over the ropes. Two-count.



Back into a rest hold we go. The two stand back up, run the ropes, and again have a mid-ring collision as Pillman attempted a leapfrog as Badd jumped into him. The two slowly get back up, and Pillman lays in a headbutt that puts Johnny down, but Pillman falls down directly after from the impact. Back up, Pillman with a turnbuckle smash and a couple of kicks and stomps that send Johnny outside. We hear a five-minute warning from Michael Buffer.

Badd to the apron, Pillman attempts a suplex to the inside, JBB blocks and suplexes him out to the floor. Badd goes inside, then gets a running start and connects on a plancha over the top to the outside He tosses Pillman in, heads up top, and Pillman obliterates him with a dropkick as Badd is on the way down. Two-count for Pillman.



Pillman whip into the ropes, drops his head too soon, Badd kicks him and hits a sit-out powerbomb for two. Back up, Pillman sends Badd into the ropes, picks him up on the way back, and connects on a tombstone piledriver. Two. Badd blocks an attempted tornado DDT, then pins for another two-count. Johnny puts him in a rest hold, but we hear a two-minute warning from Buffer and he gets back up to his feet. Pillman blocks and hits a Russian legsweep. Pillman applies some weak-looking submission hold for a few moments, then transitions it into kind of an octopus. This looks way more like a rest hold than a submission hold, and he just keeps it on as Buffer calls out a one-minute warning.



JBB works his way back to his feet, hits what I guess is a knockout punch, but a pin attempt fails because Pillman landed near the ropes. Kind of a sloppy springboard clothesline by Pillman, pin attempt for two as time runs down. Pillman makes one more attempt for the win with a backslide, but time expires during the pinfall count (and Badd kicks out anyway). Nick Patrick orders the match to go to sudden death overtime, and the match continues.

Pillman works Badd over in the corner; Badd fights his way back. The brawl spills out to the floor, and they continue to trade blows out there. Pillman reverses a whip by Badd and sends Badd into the steel guardrail. They return to the ring after a moment's recovery. Pillman attempts a top rope missile dropkick, but Badd attempts a counter-dropkick, and they both lay out after having come up empty. Pillman up slightly before JBB, whip into the ropes and a sleeper. Badd fades as Pillman locks in a body-scissor. Badd's hand goes up and down twice, but not a third time. He keeps fighting back.

Johnny slaps on his own sleeper. Pillman reverses into a back suplex. He sets Badd up on the top rope, slaps him, then heads up and attempts a superplex that gets blocked. High sunset flip by Badd off the top. Fantastic elevation; that should have been the finish. Unfortunately it just gets a two-count. Attempted powerbomb by Badd gets reversed into a hurracanrana. Two-count. Crucifix attempt by Pillman gets blocked and reversed into a Samoan drop by Badd. Two.

Badd sets Pillman up top, connects on a great-looking hurracanrana, but again only two. Once again he sets Brian up on the turnbuckle, but Pillman manages a tornado DDT. Two. Brian heads back up top on his own, Badd falls into the ropes, and Pillman gets crotched. JBB throws him hard off the top and into the guardrail on the floor. Gets a running start and hits the Badd Day somersault plancha. Rolls Flyin' Brian back inside, goes for a slingshot splash, but Pillman puts the knees up. Two-count for Pillman.



Badd tries to take a breather, but Pillman isn't going to allow the rest. He runs and executes a suicide dive that unfortunately mostly misses. He's still back up and in the ring first. As they return to the ring, a springboard cross-body attempt by Brian gets blocked and he gets crotched. The two make their way back up one more time, they run the ropes at a dead sprint faster than you usually see guys run the ropes, they collide with a mid-ring cross-body, Badd gets underneath when he obviously didn't mean to, so he awkwardly rolls through and executes the pin.



Result: Johnny B. Badd via pinfall (29:14)

Meltzer Rating: ****

My Review and Rating: This was far better than I remembered it being when I last watched it. I don't even think that my previous criticisms of the match psychology were particularly well-founded. I had it in my mind that they were still basically using rest holds even as time expired, but my memory just distorted that or something.

It had a bit of that Bret-Bulldog 1992 stop-and-go thing going on where the early stuff didn't feel that organic, but I would say it was a decent match for the 20 minutes of regulation and a great match for the 9 minutes of overtime. ***3/4

In Your House 3: Bret Hart vs. Jean-Pierre Lafitte

Date: September 24, 1995

Link: http://network.wwe.com/video/v31317763

Background: Lafitte was a pirate and kleptomaniac who stole Bret Hart's leather jacket. So they had a match. The two men were given the task of attempting to overcome that incredibly lame quintessential 1995 storyline and give us a good match.

The Match: Bret kicks things off early with a hard suicide dive to the outside while his music is still playing. It only partially connects, but it's still a cool-looking spot.



Lafitte is rocking Bret's jacket as Bret pounds away, but Bret yanks the jacket off and continues the beating on the outside before rolling Lafitte in.

Lafitte fights back out of a corner, then attempts a turnbuckle smash that gets blocked and leads to him eating the corner himself. Bret attempts to take control, but Lafitte is right back on offense and beating Hart down against the corner with repeated blows. Corner whip, but an empty corner charge. Armdrag by Bret, then a couple of hard knees to the bicep of the pirate. Standing armbar turns into a rope-running sequence, sloppy crucifix by Bret gets two.

Drop toe-hold by the Hitman, and back into an armbar. Back up at a standing position, he attempts a hip-toss, but Jean-Pierre blocks and turns Bret inside out with a hard clothesline. A few low stomps by Lafitte, who for some reason paces the ring doing nothing for a bit before returning to the attack. Bret goes behind after a whip into the ropes and rolls his man up for a two-count. Attempts a backdrop to follow, but drops his head too early and gets kicked in the face.

Jean-Pierre follows with some punches, tries a corner whip, reversed by Bret, but Bret comes up empty on a corner charge and runs hard shoulder-first into the ringpost. As he emerges back out from the corner, Lafitte follows by deliberately ramming Bret shoulder-first through the turnbuckles back into the post. Hard whip into the other corner, where the Hitman takes his hard chest-first corner bump. Delayed pinning attempt by JPL gets two.

Running start by Lafitte, who gets backdropped over the top rope, but somehow lands on his feet. He promptly drags Bret outside and sends him violently into the steel steps. Drops an axhandle from the apron, then sends Hart back inside. Bret fights his way back out of the corner, staggers Lafitte with a few punches, then gets a running start and ends up getting planted by a spinebuster.

Side headlock by Jean-Pierre. Bret elbows his way loose, but gets elbowed himself when he tries to follow. Legdrop by Lafitte, cover for two, and now into a reverse chinlock. Bret elbows his way free again, executes a sunset flip for two, but they're both back up quickly and the pirate puts him back down with a clothesline. Sidewalk slam by Lafitte. He heads up top, seemingly for his finishing cannonball, but instead connects on a top rope legdrop. Nicely done, but that move is in that superplex genre where it doesn't actually win. Two-count.



Lafitte signals this time for the cannonball, and does attempt it, but gets nothing but mat. Inverted atomic drop by Bret, followed by a running clothesline. Tries for the Sharpshooter, but Lafitte powers his way out of it and kicks Bret all the way outside. Running start by the pirate, who attempts a fantastic-looking somersault plancha over the top rope that misses entirely. Good God. Respect for that bump.



Hitman throws him hard into the steel steps at ringside, then returns him to the ring. Whip into the corner by the Hitman, and Lafitte respectfully does the Hitman chest-first corner bump. We're into Bret's moves of doom now, as the Russian legsweep gets two. Small package by Bret gets another two. Backbreaker, and a second rope elbow attempt, but Lafitte gets a boot up that catches Hart face-first on the way down. Interrupting the moves of doom like that is very nice; Lafitte was never winning this, but this match seemed like it would help him. Unfortunately the story goes that he ran into kliq politics.



Attempted crucifix by Bret, Lafitte blocks and holds him up, then backs up and barrel rolls through to plant Bret. Two. JPL whips him into the corner, Bret tries to grab the ropes and jump back outward, JPL catches him on his shoulders and looks like he might transition him into a powerslam or snake eyes or something, but Bret insistently holds onto the ropes and Lafitte's attempts to rock him loose ultimately cause him to pull Bret down hard on top of him. Two-count. That would have been a cool three, since it basically would have made the eventual win look kind of fluky.

Lafitte gets a knee up on a Bret Hart corner charge after getting whipped into the corner, again can only get two on a cover. This is probably a couple too many pinning attempts. Dropkick by Bret. Goes for a running bulldog, but Lafitte shoves him violently on through into another corner bump. Love that reversal spot. Cover only gets two, with Bret only getting a leg up. Hard forearm by Bret staggers Lafitte, Bret tries to follow with cross-body that gets him tangled up in the ropes, and Bret finds himself laid out in the ring.



Lafitte back up top, diving headbutt attempt misses. Mid-ring collision. Both are laying down, but Bret grapevines Lafitte's leg and transitions into the Sharpshooter. That's all she wrote, as Jean-Pierre finally submits.

Result: Bret Hart via submission (16:37)

Meltzer Rating: ****

My Review and Rating: Very nice match. Bret showed more tricks up his sleeve in this match than he did in most, even against good workers; he did well to help make Jean-Pierre look like a million bucks, though Jean-Pierre did a lot of that himself too. The match lacked suspense to a certain extent because you just knew Bret was going over 100% of the time, but there were a number of times that I thought the match was going home only to get disrupted. Recommended viewing. ***3/4

I just watched the Bret-Pirate match recently. I remember Bret's pre match interview talking about why he was upset that he had his jacket stolen but you could even tell he didn't believe in that storyline. Like he said something about the jacket being stolen then was like "plus it should be a good match" or something. You could just tell Bret's heart wasn't in the storyline but pretty sweet match.

Bret has to be the all-time leader in getting solid matches out of people who basically were midcarders.

Flair and Bret are the two best I've ever seen at carrying people.

Until I started listening to Lapsed Fan, I hadn't heard about this thing where there was a dude named Tom Magee who got a tryout match with Bret, who proceeded to make him look amazing. Allegedly the company thought he could be the next big thing after seeing it. Then apparently he got on TV once or twice and was so atrocious against regular talent that he barely lasted in the company at all.

But to be fair to Lafitte, he wasn't just some schlub who needed a bunch of carrying. He had talent. Just too bad that 1995 creative was apparently at 2015 levels of laziness when it came time to build an actual feud for this match.

We have some of those matches.

He doesn't look THAT bad in that clip. I would have expected worse.

"We're not the Mounties" is legit one of my favorite tag teams ever. When they came along, I was like 10, but I realized they were so much better than most other tag teams in 1993-1994. I guess Vince agreed somewhat, giving them the tag titles 3 times.

More on Mr. Magee from Dave Meltzer/Wiki - He received acclaim after one of his first matches, when on February 22, 1986 in the main event of a major All Japan Pro Wrestling show, where he took on Riki Choshu. Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter said of his first match: "He was the greatest combination of strength and agility the business had ever seen".[2] Magee was given the nickname "MegaMan" and became a runner up for the Pro-Wrestling Illustrated Rookie of the Year award in 1986, which was won by Lex Luger

Sorry for the semi/hijack

Lol, I'm with you. I ****ing loved the Quebeckers. Hooray for 10 year olds who loved the heels

Jacques Rougeau not being a Hall of Famer is one of the bigger snubs that nobody talks about.

Carrying wasn't the best word.

Bret Hart and Flair are the best I've seen at making their opponent look better than they are.

Nitro: Chris Benoit vs. Eddie Guerrero

Date: October 16, 1995

Link: http://network.wwe.com/video/v35532261

Background: This was Chris Benoit's first match on Nitro. That is all.

The Match: They get right after it immediately when the bell rings, likely realizing that they have to optimize a really small window of time. Crisp armdrag by Benoit. Side headlock by Eddie, runs the ropes and shoulderblocks Benoit. Benoit attempts a powerbomb, Eddie escapes and counters, pinning Benoit down for a two-count.

Benoit back up with a headscissors takeover. Eddie back at Benoit with a headscissor of his own. Benoit rolls out, Eddie runs at him and then spins around in mid-air to hold up as was common for Rey Mysterio Jr. He kind of botches it. Eddie up top, great leaping plancha from the top to the floor. Guerrero rolls back in. Tries to suplex Benoit in, but Benoit lands on his feet. Go-behind by Eddie, ducks a back elbow, side headlock by Eddie, Benoit goes for what would normally be a back suplex, but they're right up against the ropes so he basically carries them both out hard to the floor.

(More gif credit to legitshook)



Guerrero posts Benoit kind of weakly, then follows him in to knock him against it again, but actually hurts his own arm by whacking it into the post. Eddie holds the bad limb as Benoit pulls him into the ring, lays on a hammerlock on the bad arm, then holds the arm behind him as he executes a back suplex on top of the arm. Great stuff.

The Crippler whips Eddie into the corner for the chest-first bump, then dropkicks Eddie as Eddie staggers back out. Back into a hammerlock, and a great northern lights suplex on top of that arm. Another snap suplex. A whip, and a hard back elbow. Everything here is just so crisp, so stiff. Obviously Eddie was doing his best to make Benoit's debut a great one.

Benoit whip into the ropes, attempts a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker that Eddie reverses in mid-air into an armdrag. Then Eddie runs off the ropes, springboards off the second rope, and executes a sick tornado DDT.



Two-count, as Benoit gets his leg on the ropes. Eddie tries a whip with his one good arm, but Benoit reverses and then turns it into a short clothesline. Back into the hammerlock for another suplex, but Eddie reverses the leverage and falls on top for a barely two-count.

Benoit back up first and laying in the stomps as he yells at Eddie to get up. Eddie obliges and gets up, only to be greeted by some stiff knife-edge chops. A headbutt and a bodyslam. Benoit stalks his opponent, picks him back up, then with something of an armdrag to pull him back to the mat, where he proceeds to put Guerrero in a hold to tweak the bad arm further.

Back up to their feet, they lock fingers in the test of strength, Eddie uses the position to jump up to the top rope and spring off it into a great hurracanrana. Pretty contrived setup, but the payoff made it kind of forgivable. Pin for two, another time with Benoit being saved by a leg on the ropes. Back suplex by Eddie.



Then a brainbuster. Eddie to the top slowly…too slowly, as his frog splash hits Benoit's knees. Benoit then delivers a powerbomb with such impact that I distinctly remember this one spot putting him over with me permanently in my first exposure to him. I still love watching that spot today. It's not even a finisher, as Eddie manages to kick out of the pinning combo at two.



Benoit picks Eddie up, goes for another powerbomb, Eddie reverses into a pinning combo, Benoit escapes before a count, both back up quickly, then Eddie throws a punch with his bad arm and crumples. Benoit capitalizes with a dragon suplex for the 1-2-3 to win his Nitro debut. Holy **** what a match.

Result: Chris Benoit via pinfall (8:38)

Meltzer Rating: ****

My Review and Rating: Fantastic stuff. They only got a short amount of time, but they did all you reasonably could with it. What I had forgotten about this match is that they actually included a good story regarding Eddie's arm. He sold it like a champ from the moment that it happened, and then the ending sequence where he cost himself the match by flailing and landing a punch with the bad arm and not being able to handle it…beautiful. ****1/2

With that, this thread has caught up chronologically to the Monday Night Wars thread, so I imagine I'll just keep them on track together going forward.

The next match in this thread actually doesn't coincide with that thread though, as it's another Benoit-Guerrero match, this time from WCW Saturday Night. Where Dave gives the above match ****, he actually gives ****1/2 to the WCW Saturday Night one. Color me intrigued.

I don't remember if I've ever seen this next one, but needless to say that I'm not going to go into it with the impossible standard of expecting it to be better than the Benoit Nitro debut.