Goody Bag XX: Monday Night Dy-no-mite!

 
WWF European Title Match: Davey Boy Smith v Owen Hart: From Monday Night RAW on March 3 1997 (taped February 26 in Berlin, Germany). This is a tournament final to crown the first champion, and both guys are co-holders of the WWF Tag Team Title. Feeling out process to start, with both guys very evenly matched throughout, though Davey has a slight edge. Owen tries a rana after a reversal sequence, but Smith counters with a powerbomb, then sends Hart over the top with a slingshot! Owen regroups out there, but his brother-in-law holds the ropes open for him to climb back in. Reversal sequence ends in Owen escaping a hammerlock with a rollup for two, but Davey armdrags him down for a wristlock before Hart can follow-up. Owen tries to escape, so Davey hits a hammerlock-drop, then grounds him again with another wristlock. Crucifix gets two, but Owen counters the hanging vertical suplex with a leg-feed enzuigiri - only for Smith to duck, and apply a surfboard! Back to the wrist, but Owen escapes for a criss cross, and eats a monkeyflip. Smith charges for the follow-up, but Owen is ready with a backdrop over the top, and now it's his turn to condescendingly hold the ropes open for his partner. Criss cross sees Owen fake twisting his ankle on a leapfrog, and when Davey goes to check on him, Hart swipes at the leg. Sharpshooter, but Davey manages to block, and they end up getting into a shoving match. Another criss cross ends in Owen hitting a spinheel kick, and he adds a backbreaker, then a cross corner whip. Bodyslam sets up a legdrop for two, and Hart works a chinlock. He knocks a worn down Davey to the outside to try for the countout, but Smith comes back with a slingshot sunset flip for two, so Owen cuts him off with a clothesline and an elbowdrop for two. Overhead belly-to-belly suplex gets two, and Owen tries a camel clutch, but Bulldog escapes with an electric chair. He tries a charge in the corner, but hits boot, and Owen hooks a leveraged pin for two. Neckbreaker sets up a 2^nd rope flying elbowdrop for two, but Smith counters a vertical superplex with a bodyblock for two, then hits a well executed jumping clothesline during the resulting criss cross. Hanging vertical suplex gets two, and he press-drops Owen crotch-first across the top rope! Vertical suplex from the apron, but Hart counters with a bridging German suplex for two. Running Powerslam, but Hart topples him for two, and tries a 2^nd rope twisting bodypress - Smith rolling through for two! Leg-feed enzuigiri sets up the Sharpshooter, but Smith gets the ropes. Owen keeps coming with a tombstone, but Davey counters to the Running Powerslam - but only for two! Oooh, I totally bought that as the finish. Smith argues the count, allowing Hart to sneak up with a victory roll, but Davey reverses for the title at 22:43! This was two guys who knew each other very, very well, and who were given plenty of time to tell a proper story. Also lots of similarities and references to the match Smith had with Bret Hart at SummerSlam, down to the finish being something of a callback to both that match as well as Owen's own match with Bret at WrestleMania X. **** ¼

WWF Tag Team Title Match: Owen Hart and Davey Boy Smith v Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin: From RAW is WAR on May 26 1997 in Evansville Indiana. Owen is the Intercontinental Champion here and Bulldog is the European Champion in addition to their tag belts. Shawn dives out of the ring with a tope onto the champs during the entrances, and Steve follows out to start us off with a brawl. Inside, the dust settles on Hart and Austin, and Steve wins a criss cross with a knee, but Davey stops him from applying a sharpshooter. Steve fights him off and hits Owen with a 2^nd rope pointed elbowdrop, then tags Shawn in to hit a flying axehandle. Reversal sequence with Owen ends in Michaels getting his eyes raked, and Bulldog tags in to knock his challenger around. Shawn goes to the eyes and hits a rana, then a leg-feed enzuigiri for two. The challengers cut the ring in half on Davey with quick tags, but a cheap shot from Owen puts Steve on the outside. Hart drops him across the guardrail before bringing him back in, where he and Davey go to work cutting the ring in half. Owen tries a sleeper, so Steve escapes with the Stunner, but he doesn't get all of it. Still, it's enough for a tag to Michaels, and he hits Bulldog with the jumping double-ax and a dropkick - only to run into a press-drop crotch-first across the top rope! Ouch! Shawn ends up on the outside for Owen to abuse, and inside, Bulldog hits a slingshot for two. Running Powerslam looks to finish, but Austin breaks the cover at two. The referee kicks him out, allowing Owen to come in without a tag and hit Shawn with a gutwrench suplex for two. Overhead belly-to-belly gets two when Austin saves again, but his interference again allows the champions to double team while the referee engages Stone Cold. Michaels manages a sunset flip on Smith, but Owen distracts the referee, and Bulldog is able to escape and take Shawn's head off with a clothesline for two. This is some quality heeling by the champs tonight! Owen goes for a vertical superplex, but Shawn shoves him off the top, and hits a flying bodypress for two, so Hart fires back with a leg lariat for two. Charge in the corner misses, however, and Austin gets the hot tag! He stomps a mud hole on the Bulldog, so Owen comes in to cut it off, but Shawn is on top of him - Roseanne Barr the door! Michaels fires off a Superkick on Bulldog during the chaos, and Austin covers for the title at 13:25! This was pretty much non-stop action - four of the best workers in the world working hard and bringing their A-games on free TV, and in front of a hot crowd. **** ½

Chris Benoit v Bret Hart: From WCW Monday Nitro on October 4 1999 in Kansas City Missouri. Benoit is the WCW Television Champion here, but this is a non-title tribute match to the late Owen Hart (who tragically died in this very arena earlier in 1999). Harley Race acts as the guest ring announcer. Feeling out process to start, with Benoit generally having an edge over the Hitman throughout, but the wily veteran able to hold his own. Bret hits a Russian legsweep as a counter to an armbar, then pounds Benoit in the corner before dropping him with a DDT to setup a 2^nd rope pointed elbowdrop. I like how Hart is working his big finishing sequence moves into the match early here. Bret tries a knee, but Chris counters with a schoolboy into an elevated crab, but Bret's in the ropes. Chris keeps coming with a backdrop for two, and a backbreaker is worth two. Elbowdrop gets two, but a second try misses, and Hart drops a headbutt down low. Bret with a snap suplex for two, and he grounds the Crippler in a chinlock. Backbreaker has Benoit trying to bail, so Bret gives him a hand by kicking his ass out of the ring. Hart follows to the outside to ram Chris' back into the apron, but a tombstone on the way back in gets reversed for two. That's an interesting spot to work into an Owen Hart tribute match. Chris with a northern lights suplex for two, and he sends Hart into the ropes for a knee for two. Benoit with some chops in the corner, but Hart dodges a dropkick, and hits a pointed elbowdrop. Side suplex gets two, but a charge misses, and Hart goes crashing into the ropes as a result. He has the ring smarts to bail, but Benoit is right on him with a tope before he can even catch a breather! Hart tries a vertical suplex from the apron on the way back in, but Benoit counters with a rollup - Bret reversing for two. Benoit with a backslide for two, so Hart tries a suplex, but Benoit counters with an inside cradle for two. Bret keeps coming with a swinging neckbreaker for two, and a cross corner whip sets up an inverted atomic drop. That dazes Benoit enough for Bret to try a superplex, but Chris headbutts him down. He perches, but Bret pops up and crotches him on the top turnbuckle, then vertical superplexes his ass down! Sharpshooter, but Chris counters to the Crippler Crossface - only for Hart to get the ropes! Chris responds with a three-alarm rolling vertical suplex to setup the flying headbutt, but Bret kicks out at two! Benoit keeps coming with a saito suplex, but he runs into a short-backelbow while trying to whip Hart into the ropes, and Bret piledrives him for two. Hart with a cross corner whip to setup a side suplex, but Benoit back flips onto his feet, and cracks the Hitman with chops. Two-alarm rolling German suplex follows, but Hart blocks the third alarm. He goes for a suplex of his own, so Chris counters to the Crossface, but Bret is able to counter back to the Sharpshooter for the win at 32:00. Even though Hart's timing looked off throughout, this was a terrific match, and is probably Bret's only truly great match in WCW, and the last great outing of his long and illustrious career. ****

WWF Title Match: Triple H v Taka Michinoku: From RAW is WAR on April 10 2000, from Fort Lauderdale Florida. Taka attacks while HHH argues with the referee about the challengers entourage, and Michinoku hits a quick headscissors. Dropkick and a spinheel kick put HHH down for a seated dropkick for two, so Hunter tries a flapjack, but Taka counters with another dropkick. Tornado DDT gets two, but Taka telegraphs a backdrop, and eats a kneeling facebuster before getting clotheslined over the top. HHH follows him out to drop across the barricade, then back in with a high knee for two. Hunter gets distracted arguing with the referee again to allow Taka a brief comeback, but HHH dumps him to the outside to cut it off, then follows for a toss into the steps. Funaki responds by baseball sliding into the champion, and back in that allows Michinoku a sloppy flying moonsault press for two. Cue Vince and Shane McMahon, but the Acolytes (out to watch the challenger's back) cut them off. That brings the McMahon's heavies out, as Michinoku hits HHH with a missile dropkick. Rana, but Hunter counters with a powerbomb, and the Pedigree retains at 5:53. Nice clean ending, despite all the interference. I remember this match being amazing back in 2000, because (even if just for a fraction of a second), you felt like Taka freakin' Michinoku was actually going to win the WWF Title. Triple H was channeling classic Flair during this run, and while the match itself really isn't that good, there was a lot of excitement. ** ¼

WWF Title Match: Triple H v Chris Jericho: From RAW is WAR on April 17 2000, from State College Pennsylvania. Just like Taka the week before, Jericho has the Acolytes out to watch his back for this. He blitzes HHH at the bell, and manages to backdrop the champion over the top to the outside! Chris goes after him with a baseball slide, but Hunter sidesteps, so Chris regroups with a springboard dropkick to knock the champ off of the apron. Jericho tries a vertical suplex back in, but HHH counters by snapping his throat across the top rope, and hitting a high knee. He hammers his challenger in the corner, and they spill to the outside for a brawl - HHH dominating. Inside, Hunter hits a hanging vertical suplex and a kneedrop for two, then adds a DDT. He goes up, but Jericho pops up and armdrags him down, then fires off a few chops ahead of a backelbow. 2^nd rope missile dropkick gets two, so HHH tries the Pedigree, but Chris counters to the Walls! He fails to get it applied, however, and shifts to a slingshot instead - taking out the referee in the process! Chris keeps coming anyway with a one-handed bulldog, but Shane McMahon crotches him on the top rope as he goes for a follow-up. The Acolytes chase Shane off, but the damage is done. With the referee still down, Stephanie McMahon passes HHH the title belt, but Jericho gets it first, and knocks the Game out! Cover, but there's no referee! Another official sprints down, but Hunter has recovered, and gets a shoulder up at two! He fires off a kneeling facebuster, but ends up getting into it with the new referee - allowing Chris to hit a spinheel kick and the Lionsault for the title at 8:38! The decision got reversed later on in the evening, but this was another exciting HHH title defense that brilliantly played off of the Taka match from the week before. ** ½

WWF Tag Team Title Match: Steve Austin and Triple H v Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit: From RAW is WAR on May 21 2001 in San Jose California. Austin is also the WWF Champion here. Austin starts with Jericho, and almost immediately stomps a mud hole in the corner, but runs into a jumping forearm as they criss cross, and Chris schoolboys him for two. Another criss cross ends in Steve trying to dump him over the top, but Jericho lands on the apron, and dives with a flying elbowsmash. Steve fights him off for the tag, so Jericho pops an incoming HHH with a chop, and the challengers double team him in the corner. Benoit gets his eyes raked to allow the tag back to Austin, but Steve makes the mistake of trying to have a chopfest with the Crippler, and that ends badly. Benoit hits a knee during a criss cross, and a snap suplex follows. Vertical superplex gets two, so HHH comes in illegally for some double teaming - Benoit holding his own against both champions! Crippler Crossface looks to finish Austin, but HHH comes in with a chair to save, and puts Steve on top for a dramatic two! Now in control, Austin goes to work with a pointed elbowdrop and a bootchoke, and HHH pulls Benoit to the outside for a whip into the steps. The champs cut the ring in half, but Chris escapes a HHH sleeper with a German suplex, then adds a leg-feed enzuigiri for the tag - only to have Austin distract the referee as it happens! That allows Hunter to dump Benoit to the floor for Austin to abuse, but Jericho is pissed, and comes over to brawl! HHH hits Benoit with the Pedigree in the chaos, but the referee is busy dealing with Austin/Jericho, and there's no count. That allows Jericho to hit Hunter with a missile dropkick, and both men tag! Jericho comes in hot on Austin, and the Walls look to finish, but HHH saves! He looks to punish Jericho by putting him through the announce table with a Pedigree, but Chris counters with the Walls on the table - allowing Benoit to swan dive onto Austin with the flying headbutt! Only now, the referee is busy with HHH/Jericho, and there's no count! That allows Austin to recover for the Stunner, but Jericho pulls the referee out at two! He nails Steve with the one-handed bulldog, but Austin lifts the knees to block the Lionsault. Stunner is blocked, however, and Jericho hits the Lionsault on the second try. Cover, but here comes HHH with the sledgehammer - Jericho able to dodge, and Hunter hitting Austin! Benoit takes HHH out so Jericho can cover, and we have new champions at 13:55! This was wild stuff, with fast and furious action in the early and late going, and a solid heat segment in the middle. **** ¼