Owen Hart Tribute Thread
03-22-2014
, 08:28 PM
The following match happened at the first event I ever went to, and still the only PPV I saw in person. Naturally the one PPV I saw in person had literally the very lowest buyrate in WWE history (though I'm under the impression this record was eventually broken). Even if it would have ultimately been a lame match, I would have enjoyed seeing the billed match of Mankind vs. Jake the Snake just for the chance to see two legends from different generations go at it. Instead Jake no-showed because he was on a bender and they had to sub in…Henry Godwinn. Sigh. Jerry Lawler spent the whole broadcast making cracks about Jake being a drunk even though Vince was calling it a rib injury. "Jake succumbed to the wrath of grapes" was pretty damn good.
Anyway, on with the main event, which was the only watchable part of the show.
In Your House 9 - Camp Cornette (Vader/Owen Hart/British Bulldog) vs. The People's Posse (Shawn Michaels/Sid/Ahmed Johnson)
Date: July 21, 1996
Link: N/A
Background: Shawn Michaels successfully defended the WWF Title against British Bulldog at King of the Ring, but after the match, Vader and Owen ran in to help Bulldog and the three of them beat Michaels down. Ahmed Johnson and the Ultimate Warrior ran in for the save, setting up the 6-man for this match. So why Sid? Because a week before the show Warrior got fired for no-showing house shows. Standard. Sid hadn't been around in a while and this was his first face run since temporarily being a face as Sid Justice over four years before. HBK and Ahmed announced him as their new third partner on the Raw before the show, and here we were.
The Match: I would just like to draw everyone's attention to the fact that "The People's Posse" really was the name of Shawn's face coalition here. I just want to remind people as many times as possible, in case they had forgotten, that HBK circa 1996 was absolutely historically AIDSy.
Michaels and Vader start right off against each other, and Shawn sets the tone quickly with some great work, including a hurracanrana on the big man as well as a sequence where he hits Vader with a flying bodypress that carries them both over the top, followed by him going back into the ring, executing a baseball slide, but keeping in the ring and then going out and hitting Vader with a pescado. Great stuff.
After Michaels tags out, Vader gets control on Ahmed until Ahmed makes an impressive display of strength when Vader comes in with a flying cross-body and Ahmed catches him out of mid-air and makes it look easy in doing so. Ahmed is still a big sloppy oaf, but there were definitely some positives. Sid gets a sequence where he clears the ring of all three members of Camp Cornette; the crowd is absolutely eating out of the palm of Sid's hand and pops solidly for just about everything he does.
Bulldog tags Owen in when Owen isn't paying attention, and after being pulled into the ring by Shawn they have an awesome chain wrestling sequence including a fun Oklahoma Roll spot. Man I wish those two had wrestled more. As this match is over 20 minutes, I'm not going to spell out every sequence and good spot here, but this is really good stuff. They don't waste time on almost any restholds, and hilariously the one time that Vader does put Shawn in a resthold there's a sequence that I had no idea got such a good shot live. A fan jumps up on the apron on the hard camera side, and from opposite teams Bulldog and Ahmed instantly both take a run at him with looks to kill, and the fan jumps off and scrambles back over the railing as fast as he can (obviously security then took care of him).
When Cornette tries to interfere late, Shawn actually hits him, gets a hold of the racket and hits Vader with it, leading to a near-fall. But when HBK sets up for the superkick, Cornette holds his leg to stop him, Vader collapses Shawn against the ropes, and then hits the Vaderbomb for the pin to set up their SummerSlam main event a month later.
For some reason the bookers think that a brilliant idea is to have the babyface team beat the **** out of the winners after the match to diminish the impact of the win. At least this sequence ends in one of the iconic spots of Shawn's 1996 championship run, when he runs and hits a flying plancha over the top rope and onto the floor.
Result: Camp Cornette via pinfall when Vader pins Shawn Michaels (24:32)
Rating: This was a very, very good match to cap off a truly dreadful PPV. Most of the greatness isn't to do with Owen, but as mentioned in the match recap he and Michaels do make magic together for a few more minutes of this one. It's the two captains though, Shawn and Vader, who really star. Overall I give this 3.75 stars out of 5.
Anyway, on with the main event, which was the only watchable part of the show.
In Your House 9 - Camp Cornette (Vader/Owen Hart/British Bulldog) vs. The People's Posse (Shawn Michaels/Sid/Ahmed Johnson)
Date: July 21, 1996
Link: N/A
Background: Shawn Michaels successfully defended the WWF Title against British Bulldog at King of the Ring, but after the match, Vader and Owen ran in to help Bulldog and the three of them beat Michaels down. Ahmed Johnson and the Ultimate Warrior ran in for the save, setting up the 6-man for this match. So why Sid? Because a week before the show Warrior got fired for no-showing house shows. Standard. Sid hadn't been around in a while and this was his first face run since temporarily being a face as Sid Justice over four years before. HBK and Ahmed announced him as their new third partner on the Raw before the show, and here we were.
The Match: I would just like to draw everyone's attention to the fact that "The People's Posse" really was the name of Shawn's face coalition here. I just want to remind people as many times as possible, in case they had forgotten, that HBK circa 1996 was absolutely historically AIDSy.
Michaels and Vader start right off against each other, and Shawn sets the tone quickly with some great work, including a hurracanrana on the big man as well as a sequence where he hits Vader with a flying bodypress that carries them both over the top, followed by him going back into the ring, executing a baseball slide, but keeping in the ring and then going out and hitting Vader with a pescado. Great stuff.
After Michaels tags out, Vader gets control on Ahmed until Ahmed makes an impressive display of strength when Vader comes in with a flying cross-body and Ahmed catches him out of mid-air and makes it look easy in doing so. Ahmed is still a big sloppy oaf, but there were definitely some positives. Sid gets a sequence where he clears the ring of all three members of Camp Cornette; the crowd is absolutely eating out of the palm of Sid's hand and pops solidly for just about everything he does.
Bulldog tags Owen in when Owen isn't paying attention, and after being pulled into the ring by Shawn they have an awesome chain wrestling sequence including a fun Oklahoma Roll spot. Man I wish those two had wrestled more. As this match is over 20 minutes, I'm not going to spell out every sequence and good spot here, but this is really good stuff. They don't waste time on almost any restholds, and hilariously the one time that Vader does put Shawn in a resthold there's a sequence that I had no idea got such a good shot live. A fan jumps up on the apron on the hard camera side, and from opposite teams Bulldog and Ahmed instantly both take a run at him with looks to kill, and the fan jumps off and scrambles back over the railing as fast as he can (obviously security then took care of him).
When Cornette tries to interfere late, Shawn actually hits him, gets a hold of the racket and hits Vader with it, leading to a near-fall. But when HBK sets up for the superkick, Cornette holds his leg to stop him, Vader collapses Shawn against the ropes, and then hits the Vaderbomb for the pin to set up their SummerSlam main event a month later.
For some reason the bookers think that a brilliant idea is to have the babyface team beat the **** out of the winners after the match to diminish the impact of the win. At least this sequence ends in one of the iconic spots of Shawn's 1996 championship run, when he runs and hits a flying plancha over the top rope and onto the floor.
Result: Camp Cornette via pinfall when Vader pins Shawn Michaels (24:32)
Rating: This was a very, very good match to cap off a truly dreadful PPV. Most of the greatness isn't to do with Owen, but as mentioned in the match recap he and Michaels do make magic together for a few more minutes of this one. It's the two captains though, Shawn and Vader, who really star. Overall I give this 3.75 stars out of 5.
Last edited by LKJ; 03-22-2014 at 08:34 PM.
03-22-2014
, 09:00 PM
Shamefully, I did miss one great Owen moment earlier in 1996, that being the transition from the King of Harts Owen Hart to the Slammy Award-Winning Owen Hart. Tied into the storyline where Owen gave Shawn Michaels a concussion, Triple H presented the award for "Squared Circle Shocker," and the winner was Shawn Michaels collapsing on Raw. When this was announced the winner, Owen proudly and excitedly ran to the front and accepted the award as his own, and from then on started calling himself the Slammy Award-Winning Owen Hart. It was a great moment and some solid ongoing trolling afterwards.
Date: March 30, 1996
Link: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xw4...ort&start=1143
Date: March 30, 1996
Link: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xw4...ort&start=1143
03-22-2014
, 09:49 PM
SummerSlam '96 - Owen Hart vs. Savio Vega
Date: August 18, 1996
Background: None. They just slapped it onto the card as the opener. They really didn't have any creative plans for Owen at this point, so they were just using him as a prop in the Cornette stable. At least they made a point of still using him a lot.
The Match: Incidentally, this was during a period of time where Owen was wrestling with a cast on because of an injury. Whether the injury was real or was just another clowning heel move, I really don't know. I tried Googling around to refresh my memory of what had his arm in a cast to begin with, and there isn't much out there about it. It had at least become a work by this point because Vince was openly talking about how this was the slowest-healing injury in wrestling history. It is also pointed out early that Jim Cornette for some reason isn't out there with Owen tonight, but they say the announcers don't know why that is.
The cast has some focus in any case, as Savio takes Owen around the ring and slams the cast-covered arm on three of the corners. They show a backstage camera that gives footage of Cornette helping Vader get ready for his match that night, and he isn't even watching Owen. You would think they were building up an acrimonious split but that isn't really where it went. Midway through the match, Clarence Mason comes down toward ringside to observe.
The action itself here is just okay. Savio wasn't a terrible worker or anything, but his offense generally includes: (1) kick; (2) modified kick; (3) modified modified kick). It's just not terribly exciting. Anyway there was a nice missile dropkick spot by Owen, and also a back superplex by Savio that set up the end of the match because in executing the move Savio fell with the back of his head on Owen's cast. As the two men recover from the move, Owen pretty blatantly hits Savio with the cast in a spot where the referee absolutely would have had to see it, and the referee just pretends that he didn't. Vega is out cold and Owen applies the sharpshooter to end the match. The referee pretty obviously was in the wrong spot and shouldn't have been able to see the weapon shot so clearly, so the ending is sort of botched.
Clarence Mason comes into the ring to celebrate with Owen, and when Owen can't find Jim Cornette anywhere around he shrugs and smiles and hugs Mason in a pretty damn funny moment. That built toward Mason becoming Owen's manager for a bit. I wish I could get a job in wrestling as a smarmy lawyer; that's actually what Mason was in real life. He was billed as hailing from "Sioux City," HAR HAR HAR.
Result: Owen Hart via submission (13:23)
Rating: This was too long for a somewhat limited worker like Savio; it should have been a semi-squash of a JTTS instead of being that competitive really. I didn't mind the ending sequence at all, and in fact sort of liked it, but at the same time it did get botched a somewhat significant amount by the official. Match is nothing special outside of a couple of late spots. I'll say 2.25 stars out of 5.
Date: August 18, 1996
Background: None. They just slapped it onto the card as the opener. They really didn't have any creative plans for Owen at this point, so they were just using him as a prop in the Cornette stable. At least they made a point of still using him a lot.
The Match: Incidentally, this was during a period of time where Owen was wrestling with a cast on because of an injury. Whether the injury was real or was just another clowning heel move, I really don't know. I tried Googling around to refresh my memory of what had his arm in a cast to begin with, and there isn't much out there about it. It had at least become a work by this point because Vince was openly talking about how this was the slowest-healing injury in wrestling history. It is also pointed out early that Jim Cornette for some reason isn't out there with Owen tonight, but they say the announcers don't know why that is.
The cast has some focus in any case, as Savio takes Owen around the ring and slams the cast-covered arm on three of the corners. They show a backstage camera that gives footage of Cornette helping Vader get ready for his match that night, and he isn't even watching Owen. You would think they were building up an acrimonious split but that isn't really where it went. Midway through the match, Clarence Mason comes down toward ringside to observe.
The action itself here is just okay. Savio wasn't a terrible worker or anything, but his offense generally includes: (1) kick; (2) modified kick; (3) modified modified kick). It's just not terribly exciting. Anyway there was a nice missile dropkick spot by Owen, and also a back superplex by Savio that set up the end of the match because in executing the move Savio fell with the back of his head on Owen's cast. As the two men recover from the move, Owen pretty blatantly hits Savio with the cast in a spot where the referee absolutely would have had to see it, and the referee just pretends that he didn't. Vega is out cold and Owen applies the sharpshooter to end the match. The referee pretty obviously was in the wrong spot and shouldn't have been able to see the weapon shot so clearly, so the ending is sort of botched.
Clarence Mason comes into the ring to celebrate with Owen, and when Owen can't find Jim Cornette anywhere around he shrugs and smiles and hugs Mason in a pretty damn funny moment. That built toward Mason becoming Owen's manager for a bit. I wish I could get a job in wrestling as a smarmy lawyer; that's actually what Mason was in real life. He was billed as hailing from "Sioux City," HAR HAR HAR.
Result: Owen Hart via submission (13:23)
Rating: This was too long for a somewhat limited worker like Savio; it should have been a semi-squash of a JTTS instead of being that competitive really. I didn't mind the ending sequence at all, and in fact sort of liked it, but at the same time it did get botched a somewhat significant amount by the official. Match is nothing special outside of a couple of late spots. I'll say 2.25 stars out of 5.
Last edited by LKJ; 03-22-2014 at 10:02 PM.
03-23-2014
, 10:59 AM
In Your House 10 - Promo w/ Owen Hart, Steve Austin and Brian Pillman
Before Owen's match on this show, he shared the ring with Steve Austin and Brian Pillman in a fun time capsule where the three of them eat up a seven-minute segment ripping on Bret. It's pretty good stuff. This was during Bret's hiatus in which he disappeared after WrestleMania XII and didn't return to the ring until Survivor Series; this was basically the Stone Cold Steve Austin character in its infancy.
Link: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xkm...?search_algo=2
In Your House 10 - WWF Tag Team Titles: The Smoking Gunns (c) vs. Owen Hart & The British Bulldog
Date: September 22, 1996
Link: N/A
Background: Not much from Owen and Davey's end; again all I can guess is lack of other creative plans, so they decided to return these guys to the tag division. The Smoking Gunns were managed by Sunny at this point, who was jumping around managing whoever held the tag team titles (though that trend didn't continue after this match). Billy Gunn was all smitten with her and sort of a tweener as a result, so they were slowly building up friction between him and Bart.
The Match: James Cornette had his own match earlier in the night with Jose Lothario (don't even ask), and after attending to Cornette's kayfabe injuries in the back Clarence Mason wanders down to the ring to stand in Bulldog and Owen's corner.
Crowd is absolutely sitting on their hands early; don't know if this is an indication of an all-around dead crowd or if it's more about this match lacking a true babyface team, since Billy keeps using dirty heel tactics on Owen and Davey (the kind that Vince arbitrarily disapproves of from the announce booth). As the match progresses, well…I can't blame them for failing to get into it as it's a fairly dull match. As opposed to Owen's 1995 tag battles with them, the Gunns look pretty ****ing lazy here, not pulling off any of their cool double-team stuff they were doing before.
Bart and Billy set up the Bulldog for the Sidewinder and hit him with it. As they go for a pin, Clarence Mason gets up on the apron to distract the official. With the official distracted, Owen comes off the top rope and nails Billy, which gets the first real crowd pop of the match. This match is weird. Billy still attempts a cover because Bulldog is faded from the finisher, but obviously only gets a two-count. They continue to work Bulldog over, and he ends up from the match dynamic being the de facto face-in-peril who needs to make a hot tag.
Bulldog never actually makes the hot tag though. Bart sets him up for either a running powerslam or a snake eyes, but Bulldog wiggles out, gets behind him, pushes him into the corner into Billy, and Billy shoves him right into Bulldog's arms where Bulldog executes the running powerslam. Owen takes out Billy in his attempt to make the save, and the Bulldog gets the three-count.
Result: "…and NEW WWF Tag Team Champions," Owen and Davey via pinfall when Davey pins Bart (10:59)
Rating: Fun to watch Owen win gold, but this was a snoozer. Really no notable spots to pick out, completely dead crowd until the true heels Owen and Davey launched the comeback at the end and won, weird that it was just a slow build to no hot tag at all, etc. 1 star out of 5.
Before Owen's match on this show, he shared the ring with Steve Austin and Brian Pillman in a fun time capsule where the three of them eat up a seven-minute segment ripping on Bret. It's pretty good stuff. This was during Bret's hiatus in which he disappeared after WrestleMania XII and didn't return to the ring until Survivor Series; this was basically the Stone Cold Steve Austin character in its infancy.
Link: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xkm...?search_algo=2
In Your House 10 - WWF Tag Team Titles: The Smoking Gunns (c) vs. Owen Hart & The British Bulldog
Date: September 22, 1996
Link: N/A
Background: Not much from Owen and Davey's end; again all I can guess is lack of other creative plans, so they decided to return these guys to the tag division. The Smoking Gunns were managed by Sunny at this point, who was jumping around managing whoever held the tag team titles (though that trend didn't continue after this match). Billy Gunn was all smitten with her and sort of a tweener as a result, so they were slowly building up friction between him and Bart.
The Match: James Cornette had his own match earlier in the night with Jose Lothario (don't even ask), and after attending to Cornette's kayfabe injuries in the back Clarence Mason wanders down to the ring to stand in Bulldog and Owen's corner.
Crowd is absolutely sitting on their hands early; don't know if this is an indication of an all-around dead crowd or if it's more about this match lacking a true babyface team, since Billy keeps using dirty heel tactics on Owen and Davey (the kind that Vince arbitrarily disapproves of from the announce booth). As the match progresses, well…I can't blame them for failing to get into it as it's a fairly dull match. As opposed to Owen's 1995 tag battles with them, the Gunns look pretty ****ing lazy here, not pulling off any of their cool double-team stuff they were doing before.
Bart and Billy set up the Bulldog for the Sidewinder and hit him with it. As they go for a pin, Clarence Mason gets up on the apron to distract the official. With the official distracted, Owen comes off the top rope and nails Billy, which gets the first real crowd pop of the match. This match is weird. Billy still attempts a cover because Bulldog is faded from the finisher, but obviously only gets a two-count. They continue to work Bulldog over, and he ends up from the match dynamic being the de facto face-in-peril who needs to make a hot tag.
Bulldog never actually makes the hot tag though. Bart sets him up for either a running powerslam or a snake eyes, but Bulldog wiggles out, gets behind him, pushes him into the corner into Billy, and Billy shoves him right into Bulldog's arms where Bulldog executes the running powerslam. Owen takes out Billy in his attempt to make the save, and the Bulldog gets the three-count.
Result: "…and NEW WWF Tag Team Champions," Owen and Davey via pinfall when Davey pins Bart (10:59)
Rating: Fun to watch Owen win gold, but this was a snoozer. Really no notable spots to pick out, completely dead crowd until the true heels Owen and Davey launched the comeback at the end and won, weird that it was just a slow build to no hot tag at all, etc. 1 star out of 5.
Last edited by LKJ; 03-23-2014 at 11:25 AM.
03-23-2014
, 11:31 AM
In Your House 11 - WWF Tag Team Titles: Owen Hart & The British Bulldog (c) vs. The Smoking Gunns
Date: October 20, 1996
Link: N/A
Background: Sunny had fired the Smoking Gunns due to them losing the titles, but Billy was determined to win her back by regaining the belts. The Bart/Billy breakup they were teasing was obviously imminent. Clarence Mason had tricked Jim Cornette into signing over the contracts of Owen and Davey to him, so Mason was officially their new manager.
The Match: Apropos of nothing, apparently we're emanating from my transplant home of Indianapolis for this match. Jim Ross is in the middle of his temporary anti-Vince heel run as a commentator, and was having microphone problems during the match that were infuriating him (this was obviously deliberate).
Bart seems to be heeling it up in this match too, so we're in full-on heel vs. heel mode. This again is a weird dynamic and all but begs for a lame crowd. Owen and Davey have worked up more chemistry as a tag team here and it leads to a better match this time around. The fact that they control more of the offense makes for a better match as well.
After Billy hits Owen from the apron, Owen ends up playing the de facto face-in-peril mode that Bulldog was in last match. The Gunns set up Owen for the Sidewinder, but Bulldog sneaks into the ring from behind Bart, waits, and then pulls Bart back once Billy leaves the top rope, causing Billy to come up empty. As Bulldog pulls Bart out of the ring, Owen hits the spinning wheel kick and gets the pin on Billy to retain the titles. This was the end of the Smoking Gunns.
Result: Owen and Davey via pinfall when Owen pins Billy (9:17)
Rating: Meh, I mean it was a bit better than the month before, but by the end I still just wanted to be done with it. 1.75 stars out of 5.
Date: October 20, 1996
Link: N/A
Background: Sunny had fired the Smoking Gunns due to them losing the titles, but Billy was determined to win her back by regaining the belts. The Bart/Billy breakup they were teasing was obviously imminent. Clarence Mason had tricked Jim Cornette into signing over the contracts of Owen and Davey to him, so Mason was officially their new manager.
The Match: Apropos of nothing, apparently we're emanating from my transplant home of Indianapolis for this match. Jim Ross is in the middle of his temporary anti-Vince heel run as a commentator, and was having microphone problems during the match that were infuriating him (this was obviously deliberate).
Bart seems to be heeling it up in this match too, so we're in full-on heel vs. heel mode. This again is a weird dynamic and all but begs for a lame crowd. Owen and Davey have worked up more chemistry as a tag team here and it leads to a better match this time around. The fact that they control more of the offense makes for a better match as well.
After Billy hits Owen from the apron, Owen ends up playing the de facto face-in-peril mode that Bulldog was in last match. The Gunns set up Owen for the Sidewinder, but Bulldog sneaks into the ring from behind Bart, waits, and then pulls Bart back once Billy leaves the top rope, causing Billy to come up empty. As Bulldog pulls Bart out of the ring, Owen hits the spinning wheel kick and gets the pin on Billy to retain the titles. This was the end of the Smoking Gunns.
Result: Owen and Davey via pinfall when Owen pins Billy (9:17)
Rating: Meh, I mean it was a bit better than the month before, but by the end I still just wanted to be done with it. 1.75 stars out of 5.
03-23-2014
, 02:48 PM
great thread.
03-23-2014
, 03:08 PM
Survivor Series '96 - Elimination Match: Owen Hart/British Bulldog/New Rockers vs. Doug Furnas/Philip Lafon/Godwinns
Date: November 17, 1996
Link: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5w...?search_algo=2
Background: This was the debut of Doug Furnas and Philip Lafon. They had been talked up in the weeks leading up to this show, but I don't think they were getting the full-on vignette treatment. Otherwise this is mostly just a standard two heel teams vs. two face teams.
The Match: Gotta say, I always wished better things for the New Rockers. I thought the Leif Cassidy gimmick was a very solid one and that Al Snow played the hell out of it. Unfortunately Marty Jannetty didn't seem to have his heart in the gimmick near as much as Snow did, and mostly just went through the motions. Also he was a crackhead, so that was a good reason to never really push them.
Naturally as soon as I rip on him, Marty spends like 10 minutes straight in the match with only minor breathers for a couple of quick sequences for the others. He does finally fall prey to Henry Godwinn's finisher, the Slop Drop (reverse DDT), and gets pinned. Owen quickly runs into the ring and blindsides Henry with a spinning wheel kick and pins him to even the score right back up. Bulldog promptly powerslams Phineas Godwinn to eliminate him within the next minute and the heel team is ahead.
Philip Lafon eliminates Leif Cassidy next after an awesome modified superplex off the top rope. Even Jim Ross seemed to be stumped on what to call it, so I don't feel too bad for not know what to call it either. Sick spot though. With Cassidy gone, we're down to the tag champs against Furnas/Lafon in what would be the first look at a fun rivalry over the next few months. The Bulldog gets eliminated by Lafon when Lafon jumps into a crucifix position and then transitions into a sunset flip pinning combo, and Owen is by himself.
I had forgotten what stellar dropkicks Doug Furnas threw. Truly excellent. Shortly after throwing one of those, Furnas hits Owen with a release German suplex and pins him cleanly to put Furnas/Lafon over nicely in their debut.
Result: Doug Furnas/Philip Lafon survive (20:41)
Rating: The start is certainly slow, but it builds to something very solid after the match pares down to Furnas/Lafon vs. Owen/Davey. Enough nice spots here to call this 3.25 stars out of 5.
Date: November 17, 1996
Link: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5w...?search_algo=2
Background: This was the debut of Doug Furnas and Philip Lafon. They had been talked up in the weeks leading up to this show, but I don't think they were getting the full-on vignette treatment. Otherwise this is mostly just a standard two heel teams vs. two face teams.
The Match: Gotta say, I always wished better things for the New Rockers. I thought the Leif Cassidy gimmick was a very solid one and that Al Snow played the hell out of it. Unfortunately Marty Jannetty didn't seem to have his heart in the gimmick near as much as Snow did, and mostly just went through the motions. Also he was a crackhead, so that was a good reason to never really push them.
Naturally as soon as I rip on him, Marty spends like 10 minutes straight in the match with only minor breathers for a couple of quick sequences for the others. He does finally fall prey to Henry Godwinn's finisher, the Slop Drop (reverse DDT), and gets pinned. Owen quickly runs into the ring and blindsides Henry with a spinning wheel kick and pins him to even the score right back up. Bulldog promptly powerslams Phineas Godwinn to eliminate him within the next minute and the heel team is ahead.
Philip Lafon eliminates Leif Cassidy next after an awesome modified superplex off the top rope. Even Jim Ross seemed to be stumped on what to call it, so I don't feel too bad for not know what to call it either. Sick spot though. With Cassidy gone, we're down to the tag champs against Furnas/Lafon in what would be the first look at a fun rivalry over the next few months. The Bulldog gets eliminated by Lafon when Lafon jumps into a crucifix position and then transitions into a sunset flip pinning combo, and Owen is by himself.
I had forgotten what stellar dropkicks Doug Furnas threw. Truly excellent. Shortly after throwing one of those, Furnas hits Owen with a release German suplex and pins him cleanly to put Furnas/Lafon over nicely in their debut.
Result: Doug Furnas/Philip Lafon survive (20:41)
Rating: The start is certainly slow, but it builds to something very solid after the match pares down to Furnas/Lafon vs. Owen/Davey. Enough nice spots here to call this 3.25 stars out of 5.
03-23-2014
, 04:18 PM
In Your House 12 - WWF Tag Team Titles: Owen Hart & The British Bulldog (c) vs. Diesel 2.0 and Razor Ramon 2.0
Date: December 15, 1996
Link: N/A
Background: Who knows. Glen Jacobs (Kane) as the reincarnation of Diesel and Rick Bognar as the reincarnation of Razor was an abortion of an idea, and after debuting it to significant jeers, they figured they'd double down by giving them a title match on PPV.
The Match: Once again Owen and the Bulldog are stuck in a heel vs. heel match. Without remembering almost any of this match, I know before the wrestlers are introduced that the crowd is going to default to cheering at least mildly for Owen and Davey again.
There seems to be some underlying subplot going on here where Steve Austin and Davey Boy Smith have a feud that stemmed from the last couple of episodes of Raw. Austin came down to ringside fairly early in the match, which caused Davey to immediately race out of the ring to attack him. Officials from the back pull Austin away from ringside and that's that; it had no other meaning in the match.
The heat segment of this match mostly features Diesel and Razor slowly working Owen over. Owen finally makes the hot tag to Davey (finally one of these Owen/Bulldog matches actually HAS the hot tag that it seems to building to), who fights off both of the other guys until Owen returns in. Owen and Diesel go over the top together, leaving Davey and Razor in the ring. Davey sets Razor up for the powerslam, Razor escapes and sets Davey up for the Razor's Edge, but Owen runs in and hits a spinning wheel kick on Razor before he can lift Davey up, and Davey rolls through off of the assist to score the pinfall.
Steve Austin reappears after the match and blindsides Davey with a chop block before being forced to the back again.
Result: Owen Hart & The British Bulldog via pinfall when Bulldog pins Razor (10:45)
Rating: Meh, decent climax but I wasn't particularly entertained. Everything with this Diesel/Razor 2.0 thing seems just too stupid to be watching. 1.5 stars out of 5.
Date: December 15, 1996
Link: N/A
Background: Who knows. Glen Jacobs (Kane) as the reincarnation of Diesel and Rick Bognar as the reincarnation of Razor was an abortion of an idea, and after debuting it to significant jeers, they figured they'd double down by giving them a title match on PPV.
The Match: Once again Owen and the Bulldog are stuck in a heel vs. heel match. Without remembering almost any of this match, I know before the wrestlers are introduced that the crowd is going to default to cheering at least mildly for Owen and Davey again.
There seems to be some underlying subplot going on here where Steve Austin and Davey Boy Smith have a feud that stemmed from the last couple of episodes of Raw. Austin came down to ringside fairly early in the match, which caused Davey to immediately race out of the ring to attack him. Officials from the back pull Austin away from ringside and that's that; it had no other meaning in the match.
The heat segment of this match mostly features Diesel and Razor slowly working Owen over. Owen finally makes the hot tag to Davey (finally one of these Owen/Bulldog matches actually HAS the hot tag that it seems to building to), who fights off both of the other guys until Owen returns in. Owen and Diesel go over the top together, leaving Davey and Razor in the ring. Davey sets Razor up for the powerslam, Razor escapes and sets Davey up for the Razor's Edge, but Owen runs in and hits a spinning wheel kick on Razor before he can lift Davey up, and Davey rolls through off of the assist to score the pinfall.
Steve Austin reappears after the match and blindsides Davey with a chop block before being forced to the back again.
Result: Owen Hart & The British Bulldog via pinfall when Bulldog pins Razor (10:45)
Rating: Meh, decent climax but I wasn't particularly entertained. Everything with this Diesel/Razor 2.0 thing seems just too stupid to be watching. 1.5 stars out of 5.
03-23-2014
, 09:53 PM
03-24-2014
, 07:02 PM
Raw: Owen Hart vs. Mankind
Date: January 6, 1997
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSvkf0KCV-I
Background: None, just a random Raw opener. Between two heels. Who knows.
The Match: This was just a random Raw match that I happened to run into on YouTube, but man I'm pretty impressed by this. Very entertaining brawl, with both guys playing dirty, taking solid bumps and having nice natural chain sequences. Lots of good match psychology in this one between the moves/countermoves and things like Owen trying to attack Mankind's mandible claw hand (at one point biting it for a while). All of that, and we get a nice clean finish too.
The final sequence came when Owen charged into the corner, Mankind dodges, and Owen's shoulder hits square in the post. As Owen stumbles out of the corner, Mankind grabs him and executes his sit-down piledriver on him, which gets the pinfall. Unexpectedly fun match, I recommend taking a look if you're a fan of either wrestler or preferably both of them.
Result: Mankind via pinfall (7:40 of YouTube time, plus whatever the commercial cut out).
Rating: I won't go overboard in rating this, but I do think it's a very solid 3 stars out of 5.
Date: January 6, 1997
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSvkf0KCV-I
Background: None, just a random Raw opener. Between two heels. Who knows.
The Match: This was just a random Raw match that I happened to run into on YouTube, but man I'm pretty impressed by this. Very entertaining brawl, with both guys playing dirty, taking solid bumps and having nice natural chain sequences. Lots of good match psychology in this one between the moves/countermoves and things like Owen trying to attack Mankind's mandible claw hand (at one point biting it for a while). All of that, and we get a nice clean finish too.
The final sequence came when Owen charged into the corner, Mankind dodges, and Owen's shoulder hits square in the post. As Owen stumbles out of the corner, Mankind grabs him and executes his sit-down piledriver on him, which gets the pinfall. Unexpectedly fun match, I recommend taking a look if you're a fan of either wrestler or preferably both of them.
Result: Mankind via pinfall (7:40 of YouTube time, plus whatever the commercial cut out).
Rating: I won't go overboard in rating this, but I do think it's a very solid 3 stars out of 5.
03-24-2014
, 07:10 PM
Royal Rumble '97 - Rumble Match
Date: January 19, 1997
Background: The winner goes to WrestleMania, etc., etc. What did you think?
The Match: Owen draws lucky number 13 and has an okay outing, but doesn't last an especially long time. The most notable Owen thing that happens here is that British Bulldog is trying to dump Steve Austin out of the match, and Owen sneaks up from behind and dumps Bulldog out. The two yell at each other, as Owen swears up and down that it was an accident, before Bulldog heads to the back.
Owen tosses Goldust out for his second elimination about five minutes later, but ultimately gets thrown out by Austin. Off-camera, mind you. That's the second time that Owen has been eliminated in a Rumble and all you get is a crowd reaction and then they pan back and tell you "oh Owen was eliminated btw." I believe 1995 is the other year it happened.
Ultimately Steve Austin wins this Rumble by coming back into the ring and tossing rightful winner Bret Hart out after he had already been eliminated and nobody saw him be eliminated. It was a fairly stupid ending as all of their selective enforcements over the years in Rumbles are, but whatever, it helped that great Bret/Austin feud pick up more steam I suppose.
Result: Owen eliminates two including his partner, lasts just over 8 minutes; Steve Austin wins despite being eliminated late
Rating: N/A, still not doing these.
Date: January 19, 1997
Background: The winner goes to WrestleMania, etc., etc. What did you think?
The Match: Owen draws lucky number 13 and has an okay outing, but doesn't last an especially long time. The most notable Owen thing that happens here is that British Bulldog is trying to dump Steve Austin out of the match, and Owen sneaks up from behind and dumps Bulldog out. The two yell at each other, as Owen swears up and down that it was an accident, before Bulldog heads to the back.
Owen tosses Goldust out for his second elimination about five minutes later, but ultimately gets thrown out by Austin. Off-camera, mind you. That's the second time that Owen has been eliminated in a Rumble and all you get is a crowd reaction and then they pan back and tell you "oh Owen was eliminated btw." I believe 1995 is the other year it happened.
Ultimately Steve Austin wins this Rumble by coming back into the ring and tossing rightful winner Bret Hart out after he had already been eliminated and nobody saw him be eliminated. It was a fairly stupid ending as all of their selective enforcements over the years in Rumbles are, but whatever, it helped that great Bret/Austin feud pick up more steam I suppose.
Result: Owen eliminates two including his partner, lasts just over 8 minutes; Steve Austin wins despite being eliminated late
Rating: N/A, still not doing these.
03-24-2014
, 07:34 PM
Raw: Owen Hart & The British Bulldog vs. Doug Furnas and Philip Lafon
Date: January 20, 1997
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEottqzRa2E
Background: Well Furnas and Lafon eliminated these same tag team champions back at Survivor Series a couple of months earlier, and I believe that this was the first (but not last) regular tag team match between them. Owen had eliminated Davey Boy the night before from the Royal Rumble, but Jim Ross dismisses that at the start of this match as all patched up. This was a non-title match.
The Match: Owen starts the match and does #work against both Furnas and Lafon. Doug Furnas was great, hitting one great release belly-to-belly suplex on Owen early and then quickly following with an impressive hurracanrana on Davey. Lafon was never as impressive as Furnas since he was almost purely a mat guy and also had all the charisma of Dan Severn, but he was certainly a capable hand in the ring.
After a slower sequence in the match, Lafon comes in and has a nice flurry of offense where he throws multiple suplex variations at Davey, including a t-bone suplex and what looked like a modified northern lights suplex. Just as he's getting going though, he comes off the ropes where Owen tugs at his foot from the floor. As he turns around to look at Owen (with the referee distracted obviously), Owen wallops him with his Slammy and Bulldog executes the powerslam for the win.
Result: Owen & Bulldog via pinfall (9:35)
Rating: The match was a bit uneven in its pacing, but the high spots were very solid and Furnas and Lafon acquitted themselves nicely as workers who could easily keep up with Owen and Davey. 3 stars out of 5.
Date: January 20, 1997
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEottqzRa2E
Background: Well Furnas and Lafon eliminated these same tag team champions back at Survivor Series a couple of months earlier, and I believe that this was the first (but not last) regular tag team match between them. Owen had eliminated Davey Boy the night before from the Royal Rumble, but Jim Ross dismisses that at the start of this match as all patched up. This was a non-title match.
The Match: Owen starts the match and does #work against both Furnas and Lafon. Doug Furnas was great, hitting one great release belly-to-belly suplex on Owen early and then quickly following with an impressive hurracanrana on Davey. Lafon was never as impressive as Furnas since he was almost purely a mat guy and also had all the charisma of Dan Severn, but he was certainly a capable hand in the ring.
After a slower sequence in the match, Lafon comes in and has a nice flurry of offense where he throws multiple suplex variations at Davey, including a t-bone suplex and what looked like a modified northern lights suplex. Just as he's getting going though, he comes off the ropes where Owen tugs at his foot from the floor. As he turns around to look at Owen (with the referee distracted obviously), Owen wallops him with his Slammy and Bulldog executes the powerslam for the win.
Result: Owen & Bulldog via pinfall (9:35)
Rating: The match was a bit uneven in its pacing, but the high spots were very solid and Furnas and Lafon acquitted themselves nicely as workers who could easily keep up with Owen and Davey. 3 stars out of 5.
03-25-2014
, 07:46 PM
In Your House 13 - WWF Tag Team Titles: Owen Hart & The British Bulldog (c) vs. Doug Furnas and Philip Lafon
Date: February 16, 1997
Link: N/A
Background: Lafon beat Bulldog in singles, Furnas and Lafon beat Owen and Davey via countout in a title shot the following week, so here's the rematch for the titles.
The Match: Owen and Davey are still building up tension between them, with Owen even making a point of stepping in front of Davey during the ring entrance. It's clear that if they're breaking up, it's Davey turning face and Owen remaining heel.
Furnas and Owen kick things off, but it's actually until Furnas tags Lafon in that the match picks up, as Owen and Lafon put on a pretty sick mat wrestling sequence. Because I can't seem to fully compliment Lafon though, I feel compelled to point out that a spinning heel kick is one of his go-to moves, and he really doesn't do it very well. He not only executes it at a sub-Owen level, but even a sub-Savio level.
There's a silly spot in mid-match where Lafon hits a garden-variety sunset flip on Bulldog, and because the referee is distracted Bulldog lays there with his shoulders to the mat for like 10 ****ing seconds until it's too late to get a 3-count on him. The whole "would have had the pin but the ref wasn't looking" thing is fine, but a wrestler shouldn't suddenly be down forever on a basic move just BECAUSE the ref wasn't looking. And just as I'm writing about that, the same thing happens with a small package later.
Owen and Davey execute a nice spot where Davey lifts Lafon up for his usual delayed suplex and Owen hits a cross-body off the top while Lafon is elevated. That move should have been a staple of their tag team, maybe their finisher beyond their individual finishers. Very believable false finish occurs when Owen accidentally hits Davey with a (better than Lafon's) spinning heel kick, which causes Davey to get up and push Owen, who slaps Davey, who hits a vicious running clothesline on Owen in return which is immediately followed by Lafon splashing Owen off the top for the pinning attempt. Davey has a change of heart just in time though and runs back to break up the pin. Great moment though, if I hadn't known better I would have fallen for it again just watching it that time.
An awesome flurry of offense from Furnas and Lafon on Owen late, that I won't even attempt to do justice to with a writeup except to say "watch this," occurs in the late stages. Owen reverses the momentum with an enziguiri, tags Bulldog in, and when Bulldog actually gets Lafon in position for the powerslam, Owen runs in and hits Lafon with his Slammy and causes a disqualification when it looked like Bulldog was about to win the match. Owen and Davey do more fighting after the match, including Bulldog committing the ultimate party foul and breaking Owen's Slammy.
Result: Furnas & Lafon via disqualification (10:30)
Rating: Even with a disqualification finish, I'm calling this the best matchup of the Owen/Davey vs. Furnas/Lafon rivalry. The action in this one was the best and it was the most intriguing to watch overall. Definitely recommended. 3.5 stars out of 5.
Date: February 16, 1997
Link: N/A
Background: Lafon beat Bulldog in singles, Furnas and Lafon beat Owen and Davey via countout in a title shot the following week, so here's the rematch for the titles.
The Match: Owen and Davey are still building up tension between them, with Owen even making a point of stepping in front of Davey during the ring entrance. It's clear that if they're breaking up, it's Davey turning face and Owen remaining heel.
Furnas and Owen kick things off, but it's actually until Furnas tags Lafon in that the match picks up, as Owen and Lafon put on a pretty sick mat wrestling sequence. Because I can't seem to fully compliment Lafon though, I feel compelled to point out that a spinning heel kick is one of his go-to moves, and he really doesn't do it very well. He not only executes it at a sub-Owen level, but even a sub-Savio level.
There's a silly spot in mid-match where Lafon hits a garden-variety sunset flip on Bulldog, and because the referee is distracted Bulldog lays there with his shoulders to the mat for like 10 ****ing seconds until it's too late to get a 3-count on him. The whole "would have had the pin but the ref wasn't looking" thing is fine, but a wrestler shouldn't suddenly be down forever on a basic move just BECAUSE the ref wasn't looking. And just as I'm writing about that, the same thing happens with a small package later.
Owen and Davey execute a nice spot where Davey lifts Lafon up for his usual delayed suplex and Owen hits a cross-body off the top while Lafon is elevated. That move should have been a staple of their tag team, maybe their finisher beyond their individual finishers. Very believable false finish occurs when Owen accidentally hits Davey with a (better than Lafon's) spinning heel kick, which causes Davey to get up and push Owen, who slaps Davey, who hits a vicious running clothesline on Owen in return which is immediately followed by Lafon splashing Owen off the top for the pinning attempt. Davey has a change of heart just in time though and runs back to break up the pin. Great moment though, if I hadn't known better I would have fallen for it again just watching it that time.
An awesome flurry of offense from Furnas and Lafon on Owen late, that I won't even attempt to do justice to with a writeup except to say "watch this," occurs in the late stages. Owen reverses the momentum with an enziguiri, tags Bulldog in, and when Bulldog actually gets Lafon in position for the powerslam, Owen runs in and hits Lafon with his Slammy and causes a disqualification when it looked like Bulldog was about to win the match. Owen and Davey do more fighting after the match, including Bulldog committing the ultimate party foul and breaking Owen's Slammy.
Result: Furnas & Lafon via disqualification (10:30)
Rating: Even with a disqualification finish, I'm calling this the best matchup of the Owen/Davey vs. Furnas/Lafon rivalry. The action in this one was the best and it was the most intriguing to watch overall. Definitely recommended. 3.5 stars out of 5.
03-25-2014
, 08:11 PM
Raw: Owen Hart vs. Flash Funk
Date: February 17, 1997
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCoDL-1G2VE#t=54m00s
Background: None to speak of. Random Raw match.
The Match: Flash Funk was 2 Cold Scorpio, basically playing something like The Godfather before The Godfather was a thing. Flash Funk was of course about 20x better in the ring, even if he didn't have the insight to institute a trademark move of wildly swinging both arms before charging at a guy in the corner of the ring.
Owen comes to the ring with both tag belts over his shoulders and no British Bulldog at his side. Clarence Mason is still there. Honestly this match is somewhat disappointing; Meltzer gave it 3 stars and I hoped that it would be at least that good, but it isn't. Both wrestlers put out their offense, but there isn't much of a story or flow and it's just not that interesting despite the talent involved here. Owen hits one german suplex into a pinning combo that was probably my favorite spot of the match, and Flash Funk does hit a very nice moonsault off the top rope, but everything else is pretty generic. That, and two unrelated interviews interrupt commentary during the match and basically make the match feel like it didn't matter at all.
The match ends when Bulldog, who had come down to ringside in mid-match, wallops Flash Funk with Owen's Slammy and holds Funk's leg as Owen gets the pin. Bulldog happily celebrates Owen's win from the outside. The rift between the tag champs seems to once again have been patched up.
Result: Owen Hart via pinfall (roughly 9:30 plus commercial time)
Rating: Like I said, it just left me cold for whatever reason. There were good spots but it just wasn't great. 2 stars out of 5.
Date: February 17, 1997
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCoDL-1G2VE#t=54m00s
Background: None to speak of. Random Raw match.
The Match: Flash Funk was 2 Cold Scorpio, basically playing something like The Godfather before The Godfather was a thing. Flash Funk was of course about 20x better in the ring, even if he didn't have the insight to institute a trademark move of wildly swinging both arms before charging at a guy in the corner of the ring.
Owen comes to the ring with both tag belts over his shoulders and no British Bulldog at his side. Clarence Mason is still there. Honestly this match is somewhat disappointing; Meltzer gave it 3 stars and I hoped that it would be at least that good, but it isn't. Both wrestlers put out their offense, but there isn't much of a story or flow and it's just not that interesting despite the talent involved here. Owen hits one german suplex into a pinning combo that was probably my favorite spot of the match, and Flash Funk does hit a very nice moonsault off the top rope, but everything else is pretty generic. That, and two unrelated interviews interrupt commentary during the match and basically make the match feel like it didn't matter at all.
The match ends when Bulldog, who had come down to ringside in mid-match, wallops Flash Funk with Owen's Slammy and holds Funk's leg as Owen gets the pin. Bulldog happily celebrates Owen's win from the outside. The rift between the tag champs seems to once again have been patched up.
Result: Owen Hart via pinfall (roughly 9:30 plus commercial time)
Rating: Like I said, it just left me cold for whatever reason. There were good spots but it just wasn't great. 2 stars out of 5.
03-25-2014
, 10:16 PM
Raw - European Title Tournament Final: Owen Hart vs. The British Bulldog
Date: March 3, 1997
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RX79OhrgcE#t=71m09s
Background: I've written up about the breakup teased between these two for what feels like a couple of months at the start of 1997 now, but this wasn't a grudge match. It was just the finals of a tournament to crown the inaugural WWF European Champion.
The Match: This is a truly great one from the word go. No surprise that these two would have great chemistry, but Owen and Bret were both able to not only carry Bulldog, but bring out the best in him so that he really stepped up his game and carried his weight in matches like this.
This match originated from Germany, so Davey gets a nice babyface reception and even acts like a babyface on the way to the ring. No real question as to where the crowd will split here; I'd be curious how this match would have been reacted to in Canada. Owen had acted a lot more heelish leading up to this than Davey, but maybe nationality trumps? Who knows.
The two wrestlers keep it to a clean technical match early, having a sequence and then shaking hands. Vince keeps hammering home that he expects it to devolve into a brawl. Great spot early when Owen goes for a hurracanrana and Bulldog reverses into a strong powerbomb.
Bulldog tosses Owen out of the ring and invites him back in by keeping the ropes open. Owen tentatively goes through and Bulldog doesn't pull any sucker punches. A bit later, the roles are reversed after Owen backdrops Bulldog out of the ring, and Owen holds the ropes open for Davey. Davey is even more tentative, but goes through and Owen just allows him through and offers a handshake. The storytelling is really solid in this one since it's very believable that these two are going to snap at any moment.
Sure enough, Owen sells a leg injury after executing a leg injury, and when Bulldog approaches Owen takes a cheap shot and the fight is on. Owen hits a spinning heel kick and gets up taunting Bulldog by showing how healthy his legs still are. (Side note: Honky Tonk Man is on commentary for this match, unfortunately. He's terrible at it.)
Vince: "We're giving you action here in the World Wrestling Federation! Not just a bunch of talk; we're giving you action!" I mean…that was true in this case, but pot --> kettle anyway. Owen goes for a superplex, and Davey grabs the rope on the way down to end up splashing on top of Owen in a very nice reversal and a fairly believable near-fall.
The final flurry of offense that takes up the last five minutes of the match is just stellar. The match is good throughout, but it definitely builds to an impressive climax. After a series of near-falls, Owen gets Bulldog in the sharpshooter in the middle of the ring, but Bulldog manages to climb to a rope break. Owen then reverses a move into the tombstone position, which Bulldog reverses into position for his running powerslam finisher, which he executes but only gets a two-count. As Davey questions the count, Owen comes up from behind, jumps on top, and rolls through to execute a victory roll. Davey reverses it into a pinning combo of his own and finally gets the three-count. Awesome stuff. Owen twice goes for a handshake and both times leaves the handshake at that as the announcers speculate that he's about to attack. After the second handshake Owen leaves the ring and allows Davey Boy to celebrate.
Result: "…and NEW European Champion," British Bulldog via pinfall (roughly 17:40 plus commercials)
Rating: This match is truly awesome. I remembered it being great and it surpassed what I had in my memory in this viewing. Certainly one of the finest matches of both men's careers. Props for giving it a clean finish and leaving the breakup angle alone for a future show too. Just great all around. 4.5 stars out of 5.
Date: March 3, 1997
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RX79OhrgcE#t=71m09s
Background: I've written up about the breakup teased between these two for what feels like a couple of months at the start of 1997 now, but this wasn't a grudge match. It was just the finals of a tournament to crown the inaugural WWF European Champion.
The Match: This is a truly great one from the word go. No surprise that these two would have great chemistry, but Owen and Bret were both able to not only carry Bulldog, but bring out the best in him so that he really stepped up his game and carried his weight in matches like this.
This match originated from Germany, so Davey gets a nice babyface reception and even acts like a babyface on the way to the ring. No real question as to where the crowd will split here; I'd be curious how this match would have been reacted to in Canada. Owen had acted a lot more heelish leading up to this than Davey, but maybe nationality trumps? Who knows.
The two wrestlers keep it to a clean technical match early, having a sequence and then shaking hands. Vince keeps hammering home that he expects it to devolve into a brawl. Great spot early when Owen goes for a hurracanrana and Bulldog reverses into a strong powerbomb.
Bulldog tosses Owen out of the ring and invites him back in by keeping the ropes open. Owen tentatively goes through and Bulldog doesn't pull any sucker punches. A bit later, the roles are reversed after Owen backdrops Bulldog out of the ring, and Owen holds the ropes open for Davey. Davey is even more tentative, but goes through and Owen just allows him through and offers a handshake. The storytelling is really solid in this one since it's very believable that these two are going to snap at any moment.
Sure enough, Owen sells a leg injury after executing a leg injury, and when Bulldog approaches Owen takes a cheap shot and the fight is on. Owen hits a spinning heel kick and gets up taunting Bulldog by showing how healthy his legs still are. (Side note: Honky Tonk Man is on commentary for this match, unfortunately. He's terrible at it.)
Vince: "We're giving you action here in the World Wrestling Federation! Not just a bunch of talk; we're giving you action!" I mean…that was true in this case, but pot --> kettle anyway. Owen goes for a superplex, and Davey grabs the rope on the way down to end up splashing on top of Owen in a very nice reversal and a fairly believable near-fall.
The final flurry of offense that takes up the last five minutes of the match is just stellar. The match is good throughout, but it definitely builds to an impressive climax. After a series of near-falls, Owen gets Bulldog in the sharpshooter in the middle of the ring, but Bulldog manages to climb to a rope break. Owen then reverses a move into the tombstone position, which Bulldog reverses into position for his running powerslam finisher, which he executes but only gets a two-count. As Davey questions the count, Owen comes up from behind, jumps on top, and rolls through to execute a victory roll. Davey reverses it into a pinning combo of his own and finally gets the three-count. Awesome stuff. Owen twice goes for a handshake and both times leaves the handshake at that as the announcers speculate that he's about to attack. After the second handshake Owen leaves the ring and allows Davey Boy to celebrate.
Result: "…and NEW European Champion," British Bulldog via pinfall (roughly 17:40 plus commercials)
Rating: This match is truly awesome. I remembered it being great and it surpassed what I had in my memory in this viewing. Certainly one of the finest matches of both men's careers. Props for giving it a clean finish and leaving the breakup angle alone for a future show too. Just great all around. 4.5 stars out of 5.
03-25-2014
, 11:06 PM
WrestleMania XIII - WWF Tag Team Titles: Owen Hart & The British Bulldog (c) vs. Vader and Mankind
Date: March 23, 1997
Link: N/A
Background: None to speak of. I assume they lacked creative plans for all parties involved so they just made this a title match. Owen and Bulldog sure took on a lot of heel teams.
The Match: Crowd actually pops for the Bulldog's entrance music that Owen and Davey come out to. Jim Ross comes out to interview them en route to the ring and tries to stir up **** between Owen and Davey, but they shrug him off with "Bulldog's got two belts, Owen has two Slammies."
As Owen started the match, I feel compelled to finally point out this super annoying thing that Vince and JR always did in these matches: to say that it was obviously the best strategy to keep Owen in the ring as much as possible to avoid having to face the Bulldog. WTF. I know Bulldog was the stronger man, but I don't think the crowd would tend to think of Owen as the weaker link of these two.
The match dynamic here mostly pretty much plays with Vader and Mankind as the heels and Owen and Bulldog as the faces, at least as far as how the respective workers treat the match. Lot more cheating from Vader and Mankind's end. The crowd is mostly dead and a bit confused on who they're supposed to cheer for, but they have some mild but obvious preference for the champions. They actually chant for Owen at one point.
Match is really slow-developing, but there are a few nice spots. Vader going to the second rope and jumping at Bulldog, who reverses it into a powerslam, is a pretty damn impressive spot given Vader's size. Owen enters with a missile dropkick right after, followed by a kip-up, and the match does pick up a bit.
Ultimately thought, there's too much slow-down, too much methodical offense by the functional heels managed by Paul Bearer, and the match drags on too long. Match could have used a lot more Owen vs. Mankind given how well they worked together in January.
Bulldog throws Owen into two different posts when he takes him into the corner, then sets him up for a powerslam but Mankind locks in the mandible claw. As Owen comes in to rescue Bulldog and Vader runs in to cut him off, the two wrestlers knock Bulldog and Mankind over the top rope. Mankind reapplies the mandible claw, which is stupid because it causes both of them to be counted out. Seriously? A double countout at WrestleMania in a title match? Good work, bookers.
Result: Double countout (16:08)
Rating: Not very good. Had a couple of nice moments but it was mostly pretty slow, and easily below the standard you would expect considering the four workers involved. And boothisman.gif to the double countout at Mania. 1.5 stars out of 5.
Date: March 23, 1997
Link: N/A
Background: None to speak of. I assume they lacked creative plans for all parties involved so they just made this a title match. Owen and Bulldog sure took on a lot of heel teams.
The Match: Crowd actually pops for the Bulldog's entrance music that Owen and Davey come out to. Jim Ross comes out to interview them en route to the ring and tries to stir up **** between Owen and Davey, but they shrug him off with "Bulldog's got two belts, Owen has two Slammies."
As Owen started the match, I feel compelled to finally point out this super annoying thing that Vince and JR always did in these matches: to say that it was obviously the best strategy to keep Owen in the ring as much as possible to avoid having to face the Bulldog. WTF. I know Bulldog was the stronger man, but I don't think the crowd would tend to think of Owen as the weaker link of these two.
The match dynamic here mostly pretty much plays with Vader and Mankind as the heels and Owen and Bulldog as the faces, at least as far as how the respective workers treat the match. Lot more cheating from Vader and Mankind's end. The crowd is mostly dead and a bit confused on who they're supposed to cheer for, but they have some mild but obvious preference for the champions. They actually chant for Owen at one point.
Match is really slow-developing, but there are a few nice spots. Vader going to the second rope and jumping at Bulldog, who reverses it into a powerslam, is a pretty damn impressive spot given Vader's size. Owen enters with a missile dropkick right after, followed by a kip-up, and the match does pick up a bit.
Ultimately thought, there's too much slow-down, too much methodical offense by the functional heels managed by Paul Bearer, and the match drags on too long. Match could have used a lot more Owen vs. Mankind given how well they worked together in January.
Bulldog throws Owen into two different posts when he takes him into the corner, then sets him up for a powerslam but Mankind locks in the mandible claw. As Owen comes in to rescue Bulldog and Vader runs in to cut him off, the two wrestlers knock Bulldog and Mankind over the top rope. Mankind reapplies the mandible claw, which is stupid because it causes both of them to be counted out. Seriously? A double countout at WrestleMania in a title match? Good work, bookers.
Result: Double countout (16:08)
Rating: Not very good. Had a couple of nice moments but it was mostly pretty slow, and easily below the standard you would expect considering the four workers involved. And boothisman.gif to the double countout at Mania. 1.5 stars out of 5.
03-26-2014
, 05:59 AM
