WWE Network Collections: Hidden Gems (September 2016)

Originally Posted to the WWE Network: September 6, 2016

If the WWE Network is going to be awesome enough to drop great things like the new ‘Hidden Gems’ set, you know I’m going to be all over it! I’m not going to go through everything they added (as cool as it is to have Lou Thesz matches from the 50s, and NWA Title defenses from the 60s up, that stuff is so far before my time that it’s almost a different sport, and I have little interest in reviewing it), but whatever I consider pertinent

While I’m skipping the Last Battle in Atlanta, it’s really cool that the footage was found (and, according to the WWE’s own archivist, apparently they had it all along, at the end of a random Omni tape that no one had bothered to categorize since they acquired the rights to it in 2001), and is available on demand to subscribers. I’m just not bothering with a formal review because the match itself isn’t anything particularly special, but it’s certainly worth checking out for the historical significance

NWA World Title Match: Ric Flair v Barry Windham: From January 20, 1987, and aired on Worldwide on January 24 - Tony Schiavone and Dusty Rhodes on commentary. Windham is one half of the NWA United States Tag Team Champions at this point. Windham immediately shoulderblocks him down, and starts to throw the champ around, so Ric takes it to the mat. Surprisingly, Barry gets the best of that as well, and he works the arm. Ric tries taking it vertical again, but loses a criss cross, and keeps getting outmaneuvered by Windham no matter what angle he tries approaching this challenger. Ric gets frustrated and outright shoves him, but that doesn't end well. Windham continues to dominate the feeling out process, so Ric bails, and takes a walk in the crowd. Flair's got some weird alternate boots on here tonight, that are definitely not part of his standard issue. He still managed to properly color coordinate, though. Back in, Barry hooks an inside cradle for two, and continues to control on the mat, but gets tossed out of the ring during a criss cross. Ric, of course, is right on him, ramming his challenger into the rail a few times out there, and blasting him with chops. Snapmare brings Barry back in, and Ric grounds him, working the arm. Closer inspection of the boots reveals that they actually are Flair's own (note the 'RF'), but they're an entirely difference design than what he normally wears. Not sure why I find that so interesting, but the heart wants what it wants. Windham railroads him into the corner for a ten-punch, but Flair knees him in the gut before he can follow-up, then tries a leveraged pin, so Barry simply punches him in the face at two! That's style! It's annoying that they keep cutting away to commercial, when you'd have to assume the cameras were still rolling during the breaks. Why not just show the full, uncut match? Flair backelbows him out of the ring, but a vertical suplex back in is escaped, and Barry decks him for two. Headlock, but Flair counters with a side suplex, then immediately applies the Figure Four! He gets caught using the ropes, however, and a break is forced. The damage is done though, and Ric capitalizes with a kneebreaker. Back to the Figure Four, but Barry finds a small package for two, so Flair dumps him to the outside. Barry comes right back at him with a slingshot sunset flip for two, and man is this crowd on fire! Flair cuts off the comeback with a sleeper, but Barry escapes, and nails the Nature Boy with a 2^nd rope clothesline for two. Bodyslam sets up a splash, but Ric lifts the knees to block - only to have a vertical suplex reversed into a hanging version. Windham goes high risk with a flying elbowdrop in an effort to put the champion away, but Flair dodges. Kneedrop, but Windham dodges, and he starts pounding Ric's knee. Hey, what's good for the goose. He applies his own figure four, but Ric gets the ropes to escape, and delivers an inverted atomic drop - though it hurts his knee as well. Flair fights through the pain to unload chops, but Windham counters a hiptoss into an abdominal stretch - only for Flair to counter back to the hiptoss. They take the referee down in the process, but Windham is able to come at Flair with a missile dropkick for a delayed two count. Sleeper, but Flair uses a side suplex to break - only to have a flying bodypress rolled through for two. It's worth noting that both Flair and Windham are completely ignoring their leg injuries at this point, criss crossing at full speed. Another sleeper by Windham, but Flair gets into the ropes, so Barry shifts into a rollup for two. Ten-punch flops Flair for two, and a lariat looks to finish, but Ric bails to the apron. Barry brings him right back in with another hanging vertical suplex, and even adds a kneedrop, but it's still only enough for two. Backslide is worth two, and a slam off the top leads to a powerslam for two. Jumping lariat looks to finish, but time expires at 31:21 shown of 37:00. That took up the entire episode of Worldwide that week, in fact. This is, of course, a very famous match, and considered by many to be a full on classic. Me, I don't see that. It was a good match, with lots of back-and-forth, and it was well paced. But, it also had some major flaws. For one, it didn't have a finish. The selling was also really below par, with both guys neglecting injuries throughout, and short of the usual nuanced psychology of Flair's better performances. ***

The Undertaker v Unabomb: From Smoky Mountain Wrestling's Super Bowl of Wrestling card, August 4, 1995. Unabomb is, of course, the future Kane. Interestingly, this show also featured WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels in the main event, as well as NWA World Champion Dan Severn in action. Of course, by 1995, seeing the NWA Title defended on the same show as a WWF title didn't quite have the same significance. Hell, we're less than three years away from when the NWA actually had their titles defended on WWF pay per views. Unabomb's Demolition-like entrance gear is pretty rad. It's really interesting to see Undertaker do his classic entrance and routine in a non-WWF setting. Especially a low-rent Indy setting. Undertaker dominates Unabomb in the early going, and hits the ropewalk forearm, and we're suddenly clipped to later, with Unabomb hitting a vertical suplex. Why bother posting these Hidden Gems, and then putting up the clipped matches. Clipped again to Unabomb putting the boots to him, and a baseball slide knock 'Taker to the floor. Clipped again to Undertaker hammering him on the outside, but missing an elbow into the post, and Unabomb throwing him into a table. Clipped to Unabomb hitting Undertaker with a flying legdrop, and a bodyslam sets up an elbowdrop for two. Clipped to Unabomb missing a cross corner charge, and Undertaker delivering a stinger splash. Backdrop, but Unabomb counters with a sloppy powerbomb - Undertaker sitting up, and hitting a jumping clothesline. Chokeslam and the Tombstone finish at 6:06 shown of 14:46. Not that the full match was likely any kind of classic, but why post a clipped version? It's not like Coliseum Video, where they're dealing with time constraints. Just post the full match! I won't bother rating it because more than half the match is cut, but it's worth checking out for the novelty value more than the workrate anyway

Bret Hart v Steve Austin: From South Africa, September 14, 1996 - just before Bret Hart made his official return to the WWF after a long post-WrestleMania hiatus. This originally aired exclusively in South Africa on SuperSport, as the finale of the WWF's tour of the country. Jim Ross and Owen Hart provide commentary, with Austin threatening to beat Owen if he tries to get involved in any way. Long feeling out process to start, until Austin catches him with a Thesz-press out of a criss cross - triggering a pinfall reversal sequence that ends in Hart cracking him with a backelbow. Sharpshooter, but Steve scrambles into the ropes before Bret can get it on, then bails to the outside. He stalls out there for a bit to kill the Hitman's momentum, but Bret still gets an armbar once Austin re-enters, so Steve mulekicks him to escape. Cross corner whip and a pointed elbowdrop get two, and another cross corner whip sets up a pointed elbowdrop off the apron. That leaves Bret down on the outside, and Steve goes after him with an axehandle off the apron. He drops him into the rail next, then slaps on a chinlock on the way back in. Bret's tights are weird tonight, with the straps of his top really thin, like he used to wear them in the 1980s. Hart escapes and tries to criss cross, but ends up getting dumped to the outside. Austin follows and pulls up the mats for a piledriver on the exposed concrete, but Bret counters with a backdrop, and grabs a sleeper on the way back in. Steve uses a jawbreaker to escape, but a straddling ropechoke misses, and Hart whips him into the corner for a clothesline. Backbreaker for two, and a Russian legsweep gets two. Vertical suplex, but Austin blocks, so Hart reroutes with a rollup for two. Steve tries cutting off the comeback with a charge, but ends up getting backdropped over the top - Hart quickly following with a plancha! Steve reverses a cross corner whip on the way back in, however, but Bret blocks a superplex, and hits a rare flying pointed elbowdrop. Even JR notes that you don't usually see that one! Sharpshooter, but Steve goes to the eyes to block. Stunner, but Bret runs the ropes to back flip over, and shifts right into a small package for the pin at 19:56. This obviously wasn't nearly as good as their more famous pay per view matches (nor was I expecting it to be), but it's still a strong match in its own right, and great in a 'bonus feature' sort of way, as you get to see them familiarize themselves with each other. ** ½

No Disqualification Match: Bret Hart v Terry Funk: This is from Funk's retirement show (#43 of 87) on September 11, 1997, with Joey Styles providing commentary. Hart was the reigning WWF Champion at this point. Before the bout, Paul Heyman and a bunch of members of the ECW locker room come out, and present Funk with an honorary ECW World Title belt as a retirement gift. Much like with Undertaker in SMW, it takes some getting used to seeing WWF era Bret Hart work an Indy setting. Funk controls on the mat with a side-headlock in the early going, but Bret counters into a few pinfall attempts, then manages to apply a mat-based front-facelock. Funk counters to the spinning-toehold, but Hart is quickly in the ropes, and bails. Terry chases, allowing Hart to take the high ground on the way back in, and he pounds Funk in the corner. Hart starts targeting the leg, so Terry tries bailing - Bret helping him by sending him to the floor with a closed fist. Back in with a vertical suplex, and Hart goes back to the leg on the more docile Funker. In quite vicious fashion, too. Back to the floor, Bret uses a chair on the leg, then rams Terry into a table a couple of times. Hey, when in Rome. Inside, Hart applies a figure four - openly using the ropes for leverage. Funk gets into the ropes to escape, so Bruce Hart (at ringside, along with Stu, and a bunch of the Hart brothers) cracks him with a chair for good measure, and Bret starts unloading with closed fists. That riles Terry up, however, and the Funker wins the ensuing slugfest, then hits a neckbreaker for two. DDT gets two, and the piledriver looks to finish, but Bruce puts his brother's foot on the ropes at two. Terry dumps the Hitman to the floor, and they spill into the crowd for a brawl - Funk controlling. Wow, that arena floor looks like it hasn't been cleaned up since the last rodeo, and Hart comes up literally covered in dirt. He still manages to apply a ring post figure four, and inside, he goes back to work on the leg, in unrelenting fashion. Backbreaker hits, and Hart retrieves a chair - slamming the pointed back of it into the knee repeatedly. He then wraps the chair around Funk's leg, and pounds THAT - shoving the protesting referee out of his way. Funk manages to sweep him down, however, and the rowdy Texas ECW fans start throwing him chairs. He uses them to abuse Hart's knee until the Hitman bails, but Terry is right after him - beating him with the chair! He leaves Hart sprawled on a table, and tries to drive him through it with a 2^nd rope pump-splash, but Bret rolls out of the way, and Terry goes through it! In, Hart executes a pointed elbowdrop, then headbutts him in the groin. Sharpshooter, but Funk counters with an inside cradle for two. He tries for Bret's leg again with the spinning-toehold, but Hart escapes with his own small package for two! Pair of clotheslines follow, but Terry ducks a third, and shoulderblocks him down for two. Side suplex, but Funk ends up pinning himself at 25:07, when Hart gets his shoulder up at two. Apparently, Hart really wanted to put Terry over here, but Funk insisted on losing. Really good match, though the finish was a bit frustrating. I mean, would it have killed them to have the leg factor in somehow, after twenty minutes of near non-stop abuse? Still a really fun brawl, though. *** ½

BUExperience: Love this new section, hope they update it further soon!