From
1-2-3 Kid v Hakushi: Couldn't they have at least changed Kid's lighting to flash dollar signs in rhythm with his music, instead of making the same mistake they did with Tatanka, and not changing a thing about the character? Razor Ramon calls in while Kid and Hakushi feel each other out, noting that Kid is nothing more than 'small change' in the Million Dollar Corporation. As soon as he hangs up on the phone, Marty Jannetty runs down trying to get at Kid, but is restrained by officials. Kid escapes and armbar and unloads a kick combo in the corner, followed by an inverted cravat. Hakushi escapes, so Kid throws a spinheel kick, and he grounds him in a chinlock. Spinkick, but Hakushi ducks - only to miss a dropkick, and get elbowdropped for two. Kid with a bodyslam to set up a flying frogsplash for two, but he runs into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker as they criss cross, and both guys are left down. That leads to a slugfest, won by Hakushi, and he pops Kid with the handspring backelbow. Jumping forearm gets two, and a flying shoulderblock is worth two. Backdrop connects, and a superkick sends Kid crashing to the outside - Hakushi trying to dive after him, but getting shoved off the top by Ted DiBiase! That allows Kid to recover with a spinheel kick, and that's three at 9:41. Afterwards, Kid and DiBiase stop by ringside to have a chat with Jerry Lawler, so Jannetty takes the opportunity to try and run in again, but this time gets taken out by Sycho Sid before he can get his hands on Kid. Even though Kid wasn't really adept at working heel, this was still about on par with their SummerSlam match. * ¾
Dok Hendrix is in his man cave to recap Survivor Series, as well as hype up the upcoming In Your House, where Davey Boy Smith will challenge new WWF Champion Bret Hart for the title. And 'hype' is accurate, because holy shit is this dude hyper. We don't see it, but I'm going to have to assume he did at least two lines of blow right before the camera turned on, because even Todd Pettengill would be offering this guy a Valium here
Diesel arrives at the arena, and chats with Shawn Michaels
Barry Didinsky wants you to buy some denim jackets airbrushed with different wrestlers on the back. I wouldn't wear any of those in public, unless I was observing some sort of celibacy pact. And even then
Savio Vega v Skip: Skip tries attacking, but Savio turns the tables, and goes to work. Skip fights him off with a leg-feed enzuigiri, but Vega counters a dropkick with a catapult into the corner, so Skip throws a bodypress for two. Skip tries a vertical suplex, but Savio reverses, and is able to follow-up with a backdrop. Vega with an avalanche and a hiptoss, but Diesel struts down and decides he wants to address the crowd right fucking now. He beats up Skip on the floor, and Vega just sort of accepts the interruption, and the match is called a no-contest at 3:00. Kind of seems like a clear DQ win for Skip, considering he's the only one Diesel physically attacked. But whatever. The match was just set up for the angle, but was fine while it lasted. ¾*
And now for the real meat of the segment, as Diesel cuts a scathing, kayfabe stretching promo on the WWF, and Vince McMahon. He won't be a corporate puppet anymore! He's done shaking hands and kissing babies! From now on, kissing hands and shaking babies! Baby! This was tremendous stuff, especially for the period, when things like this just didn't happen. Even small stuff, like Diesel appearing in simply street clothes made this stand out. I mean, this was an era when WWF superstars rarely ever appeared in anything but their ring gear. This whole thing, from the tone, to the street clothes, to Diesel interrupting a match made the segment feel unscripted and unauthorized, like something straight out of ECW. I can't think of a better segment to establish Diesel's new tweener character, and he didn't even need a rambling twenty minute promo to do it - wrapping this whole thing up in a clean and lean five minutes, and getting it over in a big way
Next week, Undertaker battles
Shawn Michaels v Owen Hart: Feeling out process to start, initially dominated by Hart, but won by Michaels when he sends Owen to the outside following a backdrop and a dropkick. Back in, Shawn works an armbar, but Owen forces a criss cross, so Michaels hits a rana. Clothesline misses, however, and Hart sends him over the top, then drives into him with a baseball slide out there. It takes Shawn a while to get up from that one, and Owen is ready with a suplex in from the apron, but Michaels counters to a German suplex - reversed by Hart for two. Owen drills him with a few European uppercuts, and a corner whip leads to a vertical suplex for two. Chinlock, but Shawn slugs free, so Owen clips him with a spinheel kick for two. Back to the chinlock, and Shawn is notably more dazed now, taking longer to escape. Hart hits him with a neckbreaker when he does, so Shawn tries a backslide, but it only gets two, and Hart is able to cut him off again with a clothesline. More uppercuts and another corner whip, but Owen runs into an elbow as he charges after him in the corner. That allows a groggy Michaels to throw some rights, but Hart rakes the eyes, and rattles him with a headbutt. Vertical superplex, but Michaels topples him for two, and manages a jumping clothesline as they criss cross. I think I'm in the minority, but I have to say, Michaels' comeback routines were much better timed and more believable in the 90s than in his 2000s run. Bodyslam sets up a flying elbowdrop for two, and Owen takes a chest-first bump into the corner. How did that buckle get exposed? Superkick, but Hart is so rattled that he's not rebounding, so Shawn heads in after him - only to get drilled with a leg-feed enzuigiri! Owen goes in for the kill with the Sharpshooter, but HBK manages to poke him in the eyes to block, but Owen blocks a rollup. Shawn responds by clotheslining Hart over the top, but after skinning the cat back in, Shawn suddenly collapses at center ring. And now things kick into high gear, as Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji look uncharacteristically concerned, and stall for time with Hart on the outside, as the referee checks on Shawn. This is all very different, as the official is still technically counting Owen out, but obviously looks distracted by what's going on with Shawn. And heel Owen is standing around with his dick in his hands, instead of going in for the kill. Another referee scrambles out, and Vince leaves his announce position - the match stopping, and basically ending in a no-contest at around 14:00, though no bell sounds. A concerned looking McMahon oversees EMTs working on Michaels, and there is no snarky comments by Lawler in the background, or any commentary at all, actually. That was apparently Kevin Nash's idea to add realism, and it's fantastic. Even Lawler has left the announce position now, and looks concerned. And the crowd is buying this hook, line, and sinker. Later, we’d become desensitized to these sorts of angles because it would be repeated so many times, but this was completely new territory for the WWF in 1995. Stretcher jobs had, of course, been done before, but that was with the dastardly heel laughing in the background, while the announcers tell a story on commentary. This wasn't that. The match before the angle was damn good too, but both Michaels and Hart did their best work after the wrestling portion. Between Shawn's selling and Hart's look of genuine confusion, tied in with some strong performances by the officials, this came off as totally believable, and I can tell you that most people were suckered at the time. This is still great, even all these years later. *** ½
BUExperience: One of the best episodes of the whole series to that point, and one of the most memorable ever, actually. This felt like a seismic shift from the more cartoony episodes we were used to. Suddenly, we had two very adult angles grounded in realism carrying the hour, with the Michaels and Diesel stuff becoming major turning points in the direction of both of those characters, as well as the direction of the entire promotion. Things would get cartoony again soon enough, but this was almost like a glimpse into the future they’d arrive at in 1997. A must-see.
Monday
Night Wars Rating Chart
|
|
11/20/95
|
|
|
Show
|
RAW
|
Nitro
|
|
Rating
|
2.3
|
2.5
|
|
Total Wins
|
5
|
4
|
|
Win Streak
|
|
1
|
|
Better Show (as of 11/13)
|
2
|
7
|
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