Original
Airdate: February 16, 1997
From
Chattanooga, Tennessee; Your Hosts are Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler
Opening Match:
Marc Mero v Leif Cassidy: Why do I always remember how to spell 'Chattanooga,'
but never 'Tennessee'? The building is so small that they can't even fit the
usual house set in for this show, though they do an admittedly good job of
making it look alright for TV. Mero works the arm the start, until Cassidy
bails to the outside. He goes after Sable (in the thick of that weird period
where she wore sunglasses everywhere to tease a heel turn that never
materialized) as a method to distract Mero, and Marc falls right into the trap,
getting swept and sent into the post. Cassidy wastes time with a follow-up,
however, and Mero dives off the apron with an axehandle, then rolls him in to
hit with a slingshot legdrop for two. Cassidy fights back with a pair of
dropkicks to the knee, and that's enough to turn the tide in his favor. Cassidy
works the leg, until Mero manages a leg-feed enzuigiri, into an Oklahoma roll
for two. Cassidy cuts him off with a kneebreaker into a figure four, but Sable
passes Mero the ropes to help him escape. Cassidy rightly protests, but Sable
plays dumb, and ends up slapping him. This shit has Vince Russo's fingerprints
all over it. Mero dives with a tope to save Sable from Cassidy on the outside,
and back in, he mounts a comeback. Samoan drop sets up the Wild Thing at 9:30.
This was a weird match, with Cassidy working the leg and working the leg and
working the leg, and Mero selling and selling and selling... and then just
making the comeback to win with the usual. * (Original rating: *)
Six-Man Tag Team
Match: Faarooq, Crush, and Savio Vega v Goldust, Flash Funk, and Bart Gunn: Quite the random
team on the babyface side of things. Faarooq wants to cut a promo before the
match, but Goldust attacks, and the babyfaces clean house. That leads to Funk
diving at the Nation with a flying bodypress on the floor, and Goldust delivers
a facebuster to Faarooq as things settle down. Over to Flash for a Thesz-press,
but Faarooq catches him in a spinebuster, and passes to Savio. Vega quickly
gets into trouble in the corner, however, and Flash brings him off the middle
with a rana for two. Dropkick knocks Savio to the outside so Flash can dive
again, but this time the Nation gang up on him out there, and that turns the
tide. The Nation cut the ring in half on Funk, and man, Faarooq doesn't really
know how to play this role, does he? Like, he's supposed to be the gang leader,
and he's constantly getting bailed out by his goons. Not sure how much of it
falls on him versus the agents/booking, but it's a really noticeable trend when
watching chronologically. Anyway, after another Faarooq screw up, Bart gets the
hot tag, and Roseanne Barr the door. Gunn dives with a flying bulldog on
Faarooq for the kill, but Crush breaks the cover, and puts Faarooq on top for
the pin at 6:10. I had zero expectations going in, but it was peppy, and didn't
overstay its welcome. What more do you need at this level? * ¾ (Original
rating: ½*)
WWF
Intercontinental Title Match: Rocky Maivia v Hunter Hearst Helmsley: Feeling out
process to start, and it's worth noting that, out of the two, HHH definitely
looks like the guy you'd have expected to go on to be the mega star. Funny how
things go sometimes. Rocky dominates on the mat, but a criss cross ends in him
getting dumped over the top, and Hunter barrels into him with a baseball slide
out there. HHH with a bodyslam on the floor before rolling Rocky bail in for a
catapult underneath the bottom rope, and a cross corner whip leads to a
vertical suplex. Kneedrop gets him two, so he works a chinlock, using the ropes
for leverage. He gets busted, so he whips Rocky into the ropes for a criss
cross, catching him with a high knee for two. Another suplex, but Maivia
counters with a quick small package, but it only gets two this time. Nice callback
to the Thursday RAW Thursday match there. HHH stays focused with a backbreaker
for two, and he goes back to the chinlock, but Rocky escapes, throwing a
bodypress for two. Dropkick, but Helmsley dodges. He tries to capitalize with a
kneedrop, but Maivia dodges, and HHH is forced to take it into the corner to
hold control. Cross corner whip is reversed on him, however, and Rocky tries a
legwhip, but Hunter manages a short-clothesline to fight him off. HHH with a
flying axehandle, but Maivia throws a punch to the gut to block, and he starts
making a comeback. Unfortunately, the crowd could not care less about this guy.
Maivia goes up with a flying bodypress for two, but HHH counters a ten-punch
with a hotshot across the top turnbuckle for a leveraged two count. Whip into
the ropes, but Rocky counters a clothesline with a floatover DDT for two, so
HHH goes to the eyes. That allows him a kneeling facebuster and a neckbreaker,
as Goldust shows up in the aisle. That distracts the challenger, and Rocky
sneaks up with a bridging German suplex to retain at 12:22. This finish was
weak, and hurt the already cold Maivia more than helped, but a solid enough
outing otherwise. Afterwards, HHH and Goldust get in each other’s faces, when
suddenly an unnamed 'deranged fan' attacks Marlena, in the debut of Chyna.
Funny how that felt like something of a rip off of Jackie's WCW debut a few
weeks before, though would end up being a lot bigger in the long run. It was
also executed far better on the WWF side, much more memorable, with a great
sell job from Marlena. And then WCW ripped off this whole Maivia/Helmsley deal
with Prince Iaukea winning the TV title from their arrogant blue blood Lord
Steven Regal in a big upset the next night on Nitro. ** ¼ (Original rating: **)
WWF Tag Team Title
Match: Owen Hart and Davey Boy Smith v Doug Furnas and Philip LaFon: Owen and Furnas
start, feeling each other out, with Doug dominating. Over to LaFon to do a
pinfall reversal sequence with Hart, ending in LaFon grabbing an anklelock to
counter a hiptoss. Owen makes the ropes and tags out, with Bulldog coming in
aggressively with right hands, but LaFon fighting him off with a sunset cradle
for two. Davey tries a suplex, but LaFon fights that off with a spinheel kick
for two, so Owen takes a cheap shot from the apron, and the champs put the
boots to LaFon together. Nicely done, including on the referee's part. Owen
with a springboard bodypress, but LaFon rolls through for two, so Hart hits him
with a gutwrench suplex for two. Backbreaker gets two, so Bulldog tags in for a
tandem clothesline, followed by a wishbone. It's a good thing Lord Alfred Hayes
wasn't calling this one, he might not know how to handle that tandem
clothesline spot. LaFon tries fighting back with a sunset flip on Bulldog, but
Owen distracts the referee, delaying the count. Hart comes back in to try the
Sharpshooter, but LaFon manages to block, so Owen starts working the leg to
weaken him. The champs with a hanging vertical suplex/flying bodypress combo
for two, but an attempt at a backdrop by Owen is countered with a small package
by the challenger. Bulldog rolls it over, but Furnas manages to roll it back
for two, and LaFon is able to get some traction as the champs argue over it.
Owen ends up hitting Davey with a spinheel kick by accident, so Bulldog hits
Hart with a clothesline 'by accident,' and LaFon gets a two count out of that,
along with a tag. Furnas with a dropkick on Hart for two, and an overhead
suplex gets two. The challengers use a tandem backdrop for two, and LaFon with
a bridging northern lights suplex for two. Rana gets two when Bulldog saves,
and Roseanne Barr the door! Davey gets dumped, allowing the challengers to hit
a combo on Owen for two, as the referee restores order. Furnas with a suplex,
but Hart counters with a leg-feed enzuigiri, and both guys are able to tag.
Smith charges in with a dropkick on LaFon, and he adds a pop-up flapjack,
followed by a clothesline. Good fire from Bulldog here. LaFon tries a sunset
cradle, but Owen saves at two, and Roseanne Barr the door again. LaFon gets
control of Bulldog as Furnas fights it out with Owen on the outside, but Phil
gets dropped with a hotshot. That allows Bulldog to gear up for the Running
Powerslam, but Owen whacks LaFon with his Slammy while Davey is executing what
would have likely been the winning move - getting the champs disqualified at
10:25. Insanely weak finish to an otherwise really strong match. *** ½ (Original
rating: ****)
Main Event: WWF
Title Final Four Elimination Match: Bret Hart v Undertaker v Vader v Steve
Austin:
This is for the vacant title, with getting dumped over the top counting as an
elimination, along with pinfalls and submissions. Everyone kind of squares off
for a moment, before settling into Hart/Austin and Undertaker/Vader slugging it
out. Undertaker puts Vader down with a jumping clothesline as Bret goes to town
on Austin in the corner, allowing Undertaker to attack the Hitman from behind.
He turns back to Austin with the ropewalk forearm (a really stupid move in a
battle royal type match), but it doesn't backfire. Vader grabs him for a
belly-to-belly suplex, though, and those two spill to the outside, where Vader
unloads against the post. He grabs a chair, but Undertaker ducks a swing, as
Austin cross corner whips Bret with authority. Steve adds a pointed elbowdrop,
as Vader makes another go with the chair, but gets it kicks back into his face,
busting him open hardway. Boy, they're not wasting any time tonight, are they?
That would lead to a particularly nasty RAW Magazine cover, too. Undertaker
shows no mercy by whipping him into the steps out there, and they go back
inside, where Hart has Austin in a sleeper - Steve using a jawbreaker to
escape, getting two. Undertaker hits Vader with a chokeslam, so Austin comes
over to hit Undertaker with a Stunner, but 'Taker takes it wrong, and it ends
up just being a neckbreaker. Okay then. Meanwhile, Vader bodyblocks Hart for
two, as Undertaker gets sick of Austin in the corner, and turns the tables with
some right hands. Steve fights him off with another swinging neckbreaker for
two, as Vader grabs a chair, and goes to work on the Hitman. Boy, that gash
over Vader's eye is nasty. Steve takes Undertaker out to the aisle for a
piledriver on the floor, but Undertaker counters with a backdrop out there, as
Hart fights Vader off with a clothesline. Vader bails, but before Bret can go
after him, Undertaker comes over with a vertical suplex for two. Meanwhile,
Vader stalks Austin with the ring steps, but Steve knocks them back at him, and
then chucks them at his head for good measure. I'm loving this! That backfires
when it ends up firing Vader up, however, and the big man destroys Steve with
shots on the floor, then dumps him across the guardrail. Whip into the time
keepers table, but Steve reverses, and grabs the title belt to start beating on
Vader with, but that just pisses Vader off again, and Austin gets pummeled.
Poor Vader looks like he's had enough of this shit. Meanwhile, Undertaker has
been dominating Hart in the ring, so Vader decides to pull Bret to the outside
to beat on, sending the Hitman into the rail. That allows Austin to recover for
a dive at Undertaker, but he gets slammed off the top, as Hart and Vader spill
into the crowd. Back to ringside, Bret tries smashing him into the steps, but Vader
reverses, as Austin fights off an over the top elimination attempt by
Undertaker. Steve dives with a flying clothesline, as Vader decides to try
putting Bret in a sharpshooter on the floor. Which looks horrible. Regardless,
Steve takes that as his cue to attack, stomping the crap out of the prone
Hitman. Undertaker saves, and he and Bret team up on Steve for a bit, until
Vader saves. Steve thanks him by attacking with a Thesz press, and he unloads
mounted punches. Vader returns fire with a bodyblock, but Undertaker chokes him
down before he can do anything else, as Hart pounces on the downed Austin.
Undertaker with a cross corner whip, but Vader rebounds out with a clothesline,
as Bret gives Steve a piledriver for two. Vader with the flying moonsault on
Undertaker, but 'Taker dodges, so Vader bails for a bit. Undertaker chases, as
Steve fights Bret off in the corner with a well placed mulekick, then puts the
boots to him. On the outside, Vader has found some wire to choke Undertaker
with, as Steve works to dump Bret over the top, but can't quite get him. Bret
turns the tables, but Steve manages to hang on through the assault, so Hart grounds
him for some punches. 2nd rope pointed elbowdrop gets two, so he
tries a side suplex, but Steve counters with a rollup for two. Turnbuckle smash
follows, but here's Undertaker to attack them both, which ends up triggering a
slugfest between Hart and Vader - with Bret actually winning via a punt to the
balls! Steve sweeps Undertaker down to pull into the post, and he bashes his
leg into it, as Bret delivers a Russian legsweep on Vader for two. Undertaker
recovers and nearly dumps Austin over the top, as Vader fights Bret off with a
clothesline, still bleeding like crazy. I'm honestly shocked he hasn't lost the
mask yet. Undertaker goes after Vader with a short-clothesline, allowing Bret
to add a pointed elbowdrop, and he adds one for a downed Stone Cold as well.
Well, at least he's fair. He then scoops Austin up in a fireman's carry, and
dumps him over the top at 18:03. Well, that was to the point. Bret's
celebration is cut short with a clothesline from Vader, however, and the big
man unloads in the corner, as Steve hobbles out of the arena with surprisingly
little incident. Undertaker saves Bret from a Vader attack in the corner, and
he hits Vader with a corner splash, but Bret attacks with headbutts. Undertaker
responds on kind, until Vader crashes into him, clipping the knee. Bret
gleefully piles on, helping Vader put the boots to Undertaker until he falls
out of the ring, but an attempt to slug it out with Vader ends badly. And he
finally takes off the mask. Vader with a vertical suplex to set up a flying
splash, but Hart recovers, and brings him down with a vertical superplex!
Sharpshooter time, with Undertaker hanging back, letting it happen - only to
attack once Hart's back is turned. That knocks Bret to the outside, and here's
Stone Cold to attack him again. He does some damage, as Vader sets up a
Vaderbomb on Undertaker, but gets shoved over the top at 22:28. Meanwhile,
Austin is STILL pounding on Bret, since apparently the officials are not just a
little bit, but totally useless. Undertaker finally saves him, but then hits
him with a chokeslam anyway, and it's Tombstone time! He sets it up, but Austin
wants to do the job himself, trying to pull Bret over the top. He ends up just
crotching him on the ropes, and screwing up Undertaker's Tombstone. That earns
him a beating from the Dead Man, but the distraction allows Hart to recover
with a rollup for two. Oh man, I've seen this a few times before, and I still
bought that as the finish! The kickout sends Bret right into a slugfest with
Austin, so Undertaker tries to attack both, but ends up getting clotheslined
over the top by the Hitman at 23:59. Oh man, I short changed the hell out of
this one in the first review, didn't I? This was nonstop, chaotic action from
start to finish, and so much more realistic and intense than the stupid fatal
four-ways we see today, which almost always feature two guys having a match,
while the other two take a nap on the outside. This was all action, and what
this style of match should always aspire to be. I think this is my fourth
overall viewing of this match. First time live in 1997. Then I reviewed it way
back in 2001 (and gave it a four-star rating), then reviewed it again in 2012
and gave it the rating listed here. And despite going back and forth on it, I
never seem to remember much about this match, which is a shame. It's
great! **** (Original rating: ** ¾)
***
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