Original Airdate: September 20, 1997
From Birmingham, England; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon, Jim Ross, and Jerry Lawler
Opening Match: Hunter Hearst Helmsley v Dude Love: Dude wins a pair of criss crosses to start, and a corner whip rebounds Helmsley into a backdrop. Dude unloads in the corner for a bit, and a clothesline sends HHH to the outside to regroup. Back in, Dude works the arm, then switches to focusing on the leg. Cross corner whip flips Helmsley into a tree of woe, as the announcers discuss Austin Powers, which is a shockingly recent pop culture reference for them. That's the kind of thing you wouldn't expect them to reference until, like, 2009, or so. Sweet Shin Music looks to finish, but HHH bails to the outside, and a chase ends in Chyna clobbering Dude with a clothesline on the floor. That allows Helmsley to gain control as they take it inside, and a kneeling facebuster gets him two. He works an abdominal stretch, but gets caught using the ropes, and the ensuing argument with the referee allows Dude a brief comeback. Helmsley cuts him off with a swinging neckbreaker, but wastes time gloating, and Dude sends him flying with a catapult. That triggers a comeback for real, and Dude armdrags him off the top to set up the Music! Double-arm DDT follows, but Chyna puts her man in the ropes at two. The distraction allows Helmsley to recover, and he nails Dude with the Pedigree at 12:51. Mick Foley is a tremendous worker, and he had some strong matches with HHH around this period, but his style with the Dude gimmick hurts more than helps. And that's a shame, since I really appreciate the artistic choices, and the effort to make each gimmick a little different, but the 70s influenced style is not very conducive to having great matches. ** (Original rating: **)
Leif Cassidy v Tiger Ali Singh: Sunny acts as the guest ring announcer here. Tiger declares himself the 'true messiah' before the bell, which is a weird position for a babyface to take. Cassidy attacks, but Tiger fights him off in the corner, and a series of corner whips lead to an overhead suplex. Cassidy comes back with a pair of clotheslines, and a spinkick puts Tiger down for two. Cassidy works the arm, but Tiger fights off a superplex attempt, and dives with a flying bulldog at 4:07. Cassidy did a good job of selling, but the dynamics were all screwed up here, as the crowd seemed to think Tiger was the heel, but Cassidy was working like a heel, so they weren't properly engaging. Maybe if the dude wasn't calling himself the freakin' messiah this wouldn't have happened. ½* (Original rating: ¼*)
WWF Tag Team Title Match: The Headbangers v Savio Vega and Miguel Perez Jr: The challengers attack before the bell, but the 'Bangers manage to clean house, and the dust settles on Mosh and Perez to start. Perez tries a cross corner whip, but Mosh reverses, and then armdrags his challenger into an armbar. Tag to Thrasher for a 2nd rope clothesline, so Savio runs in, but the champs quickly dispatch him with another combo. Dust settles on Thrasher and Vega, and they trade headlocks for a bit, dominated by Thrasher. Back to Perez, so Thrasher takes him down in a headlock as well. Miguel forces a criss cross, allowing Savio to take a cheap shot from the apron, and the tide, she has'a turned. The challengers cut the ring in half on Thrasher, until he manages to dodge a corner splash from Vega, allowing Thrasher a side suplex, followed by a hot tag! Mosh runs wild, and a rana off the top gets two on Perez when Savio breaks the count. Powerslam on Perez ends the same way, so Thrasher comes back in, and Roseanne Barr the door! Perez hits Thrasher with a powerbomb, but Mosh dives off the top with a flying seated senton immediately after, pinning Miguel at 13:30. This was perfectly competent, if a bit dull. * ¼ (Original rating: ¼*)
Patriot v Flash Funk: They feel each other out to start, doing a babyface match - clean breaks and handshakes. Reversal sequence ends in Patriot landing a clothesline to get control, and he grounds Funk in a chinlock. Headbutt drop gets two, but a corner charge misses, and Funk dives with a flying bodypress for two. He adds a clothesline for two, and works a chinlock of his own. Patriot fights free, but Flash drops him again with a short-clothesline, and he unloads in the corner. Cross corner whip, but Patriot reverses, and delivers an atomic drop into a side suplex two. That was a nice combo that makes perfect sense, but that you just never see. Patriot goes back to the mat with a bodyscissors, and he rolls it into a cradle, but Flash counters with a surfboard. Spinkick gets Flash two, but he charges into a powerslam, and Patriot covers for two. Backdrop, but Funk blocks, and victory cradles him for two. Patriot drops him with a clothesline, and goes up with the Patriot Missile for two. Uncle Slam, but Funk gets into the ropes to block, and Flash uses a bodyslam to set up a flying twisting splash for two. Flying moonsault, but Patriot lifts his knees to block, and the Uncle Slam finishes at 8:45. Good match here, with both guys working hard, and telling a nice story. ** ¾ (Original rating: * ¾)
The Legion of Doom v The Godwinns: Animal and Henry Godwinn start, testing each other in the early going. Henry gets the better of an exchange, but a criss cross allows Animal a jumping shoulderblock, and Henry bails. Tags all around, and Hawk blitzes Phineas Godwinn with chops into the corner, followed by a corner clothesline. Again, but Phineas sidesteps this time, and Hawk hits the post. That allows the Godwinns to take control, and they work Hawk over. Henry misses an elbowdrop, allowing Hawk to fire off a clothesline, followed by a chincrusher. Tag to Animal for a double backelbow, and he traps Henry in a chinlock, as Ross tries to push the Godwinns as somehow equals to the LOD simply because they've also won the tag title before. Sheesh, talk about the 'big lie.' The Godwinns manage to swing things back around by dumping Animal to the outside, and Phineas delivers a single-arm DDT on the way back in, as they work to cut the ring in half, targeting the arm. Phineas hits boot on a dive to allow the hot tag back to Hawk, and Roseanne Barr the door! Neckbreaker on Phineas gets two, but the Godwinns manage to double up on him, and Henry delivers the Slop Drop for two. That gives us yet another heat segment, until hawk fights off another double team, and reaches Animal's outstretched hand. Animal comes in hot, and the Doomsday Device finishes Phineas at 10:41. Three heat segments was a bit much for this type of match, but it was mostly watchable enough. * (Original rating: DUD)
Owen Hart v Vader: Vader powers him around to start, with Owen doing some nice pinball selling. Hart tries a sunset flip, so Vader tries a sit-down splash, but Owen dodges. That allows him a rana, and he dives with a 2nd rope bodypress for two. Sharpshooter, but Vader blocks, so Owen tries a suplex instead. Vader starts to reverse, so Owen turns it into a schoolboy for two, and he tries for the Sharpshooter again, but he can't quite get the big man over. Crucifix, but Vader blocks with a Samoan drop, and adds an elbowdrop. He dives from the middle with a splash for two, and rattles the ring with a huge cross corner whip. Owen tries a bodyslam to block some forearm shots, but he can't lift the man, and Vader wrecks him with a short-clothesline. Vader takes it to the mat with a fujiwara armbar, but Owen escapes, so Vader throws a knee. Another corner whip sets up an avalanche, and Vader goes back to the ground with the armbar. He shifts to a toehold, but Hart slugs free, so Vader tries another avalanche, but Owen dodges this time. Bodyslam, but Vader again clobbers him to block it, and then delivers a clothesline for two. Back to the toehold, but Owen throws fists to escape again, so Vader starts teeing off on him. Yeah, trying to trade rights with Vader is a very bad idea. I'd try the bodyslam again first, frankly. Powerbomb, but Owen counters with the leg-feed enzuigiri, and he gets the Sharpshooter applied! Vader makes the ropes to save himself, so Owen tries the bodyslam again, and actually delivers it this time for two! Hart with a corner whip, but Vader rebounds out with a bodyblock. That sets up the Vaderbomb, but Owen lifts his knees to block. Hart hustles to the top with a flying dropkick, and he lands a nice spinheel kick for two. Another dive off the top, but this time Vader catches him in a powerslam at 12:13. Fun match, and you could tell Owen was having a ball getting to play the plucky babyface underdog role again. *** (Original rating: *** ½)
WWF Title Match: Bret Hart v Undertaker: They trade blows in the corner to start, with the challenger getting the better of that one. Cross corner whip rebounds Hart into an overhead choke, and Undertaker unloads in the corner ahead of another choke against the buckles. Bret responds by exposing the top turnbuckle, but Undertaker short-clotheslines him for two before he can use it. Elbowdrop misses, allowing Hart to go for an early Sharpshooter, but Undertaker blocks. Hart clotheslines him over the top instead, but Undertaker catches him on a dive, and they brawl up the aisle. Undertaker gets the better of it with a bodyslam on the floor, and holy shit, the 'ramp' tonight is literally a piece of mismatched plywood. 1980s Vince would have burned the company to the ground before he'd allow them to go on-air like that. Inside, Undertaker keeps hammering, but he puts his head down on a backdrop, and Bret DDTs him. Bret capitalizes with a legdrop and a trio of pointed elbowdrops, but Undertaker sits up before the champ can go to the Sharpshooter. Hart opts to bootchoke him instead, but a whip into the exposed buckle gets reversed, and boy, Bret is taking these corner bumps like he's wearing a steel plate under a hockey jersey. Undertaker keeps after the battered sternum with a pair of elbowdrops for two, and he stretches the part with a bow-and-arrow. Undertaker with a crucifix cradle for two, so Bret starts kicking at the knee to disable him, but Undertaker fights him off with a backbreaker for two. Bret swipes at the leg again, and this time he manages to get some traction, but a corner charge hits elbow. Undertaker is limping, though, so damage done. Undertaker with a corner whip, but his own charge with a knee misses, allowing Hart to pounce on the part. Undertaker as a three dimensional worker is such a breath of fresh air after years and years of zombie bullshit. Hart works the leg, and goes for the submission with a figure four, but Undertaker reverses. That allows him to turn the tide back, but a big boot misses, and Hart kicks out the leg to turn it right back. Bret works the part, and a Russian legsweep gets him two. Vertical suplex gets two, and a backbreaker sets up a 2nd rope pointed elbowdrop, but Undertaker lifts his boot to block, and both men are left looking up at the lights. Undertaker recovers first with a legdrop to the groin for two, but Hart counters a second one into the Sharpshooter! Undertaker manages to power out of it, but that takes a lot out of him, allowing Hart to stay in control with a pair of headbutt drops to the groin. Back to the Sharpshooter, but Undertaker grabs him by the throat to block, and fights to a vertical base - only for Hart to kick the leg to cut him right back down! Undertaker fights him off and uses a big boot to set up a legdrop for two, so Hart bails, and brings the ring bell in. He swings, but Undertaker blocks the blow with a big boot, and he looks to wallop the champion with the bell himself, but the referee intervenes. The distraction allows Bret to clip the leg, and he goes back to work on it - only for Undertaker to knock him over the top. The challenger follows to whip the Hitman into the steps out there, and he takes him in for another whip into the exposed buckle, so Hart tries sliding out of the ring - only to hit the post! That was a nice psychological sequence. Ropewalk forearm, but Hart pulls him off the top to block. Undertaker responds by trying the Tombstone, but Hart counters with a rollup for two. Bret tries a tombstone of his own, but Undertaker reverses, so Hart grabs the ropes for dear life to block. That ends in him getting his head caught between the top and middle ropes, and Undertaker won't back off, causing the referee to call a DQ at 28:34. This was great, and easily the best of the three major Hart/Undertaker matches (by a wide margin), though marred by an absolutely horrible finish. One that felt especially cheap after half an hour. I also found the dynamic really interesting, with Hart actually getting a mostly heel reaction (and working accordingly), despite the rest of his stable getting decidedly babyface reactions all night. **** (Original rating: ** ½)
Main Event: WWF European Title Match: Davey Boy Smith v Shawn Michaels: Shawn gets very, very physical with two very, very young looking girls on his way to the ring, and steals a Bulldog action figure from a little boy that he puts down his pants. 1997 Shawn was a menace to society. Davey waves his flag around as Shawn stalls on the outside, as Vince notes that Michaels is "good... and he knows it." You can just hear the venom in his voice, and I'm still not sure I understand why he chose this train wreck over Bret. I get that Shawn was younger, but Michaels jumping to WCW would have meant nothing, losing Hart to WCW could have been a death knell for the WWF. And, yeah, we know now that it absolutely was not the case (and quite the opposite in fact), but who could have guessed beforehand how badly WCW would misuse Bret? They sure did an effective job with Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, after all. Shawn pinballs around for Bulldog once we get going, bumping like an absolute mad man. He takes a clothesline over the top with insane zeal, and Michaels stalls out there for a bit. He goes to the eyes to shake Davey off on the way in, but a turnbuckle smash gets reversed, and Smith uses an inverted suplex-slam. He threatens to press-drop Shawn out of the ring, but the referee blocks, so Bulldog settles for planting him on the mat instead. He grabs an abdominal stretch, but Michaels escapes, so Bulldog backdrops him over the top. Shawn seemed to have a death wish with his bumping during this period, and sadly it caught up to him not long after this. Davey brings him in hardway for a pair of armdrags, and he grounds his challenger in a wristlock. Shawn fights to a vertical base and slugs free, and he wins a criss cross with a cheap eye poke. He tries following up with a rana, but Smith counters with a sitout powerbomb for two, and he goes to an armbar. Davey looks blown up here, which is a shame, because Michaels looks game to work. Shawn tries a crucifix, but Bulldog counters with a Samoan drop, and he ties the challenger up in a surfboard. I remember seeing him do that move for the first time back in 1994 (I'd never seen anyone do it before that), and thinking it was the most dangerous looking move imaginable. I still don't get how that was never considered more than a transition move for anyone. It just looks so painful and physically impressive. Shawn escapes and puts the boots to the champion, but he telegraphs a backdrop, and Bulldog counters with a hanging vertical suplex for two. That draws Rick Rude down to ringside, and he's able to help Michaels reverse a rollup for two. Davey stays focused with a series of clotheslines, so Rick trips him up, allowing Michaels to knock the champion to the outside for Rude to post! Shawn capitalizes with a flying axehandle out there, and he delivers a backelbow on the way back inside. Michaels slaps on a sleeper, but Bulldog powers to a vertical base, and escapes via side suplex. Next time try slappin' da bass instead, pal. Shawn cuts him off and rattles the ring with a cross corner whip, and a hiptoss leads to a short-armscissors. Smith muscles to a vertical base and slams him to escape, but a criss cross ends in a double knockout situation. Cue Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Chyna to ringside, as both combatants stagger for a Bulldog-won slugfest. Smith with a backdrop, and a corner whip flips Michaels into a clothesline. Smith with a catapult into the corner for two, but a charge misses, and Bulldog knocks himself silly on the post. That allows Shawn a bodyslam to set up a pair of flying elbowdrops, but an attempt at a Superkick gets countered to the running powerslam, so Rude hooks Smith's ankle to block. Davey fights them off, so Shawn bails, but Davey chases for a running powerslam on the floor - only to slip off of the platform (the ringside area is elevated here), and collapse. Not sure if that was a botch, but if it was, it was perfect as it was. That allows Shawn's crew to abuse Davey's knee (that was hurt in the fall and also by them on RAW a few weeks prior), and inside, Michaels removes Smith's brace and tosses it to his wife as a taunt. Diana Hart-Smith is looking legitimately livid here, and if she's working, she's doing a great job. That's like Oscar caliber anger right there. Michaels puts Davey in a figure four, and Davey fights into a reversal - only for Rude to knock him right back over. Meanwhile, HHH and Chyna give Shawn additional leverage, and the crowd is openly wondering where the Hart Foundation are. But they never arrive, and despite the crowd trying to rally him, Bulldog is done at 22:53. The crowd immediately pelts the ring with trash at the bell, and there's a bad vibe in that place, no doubt. And Michaels then adding fuel to the fire by dedicating the win to Diana doesn't help. She hops the rail and tries to go after him, but she's no match for Chyna, and the attack continues until finally the Harts show up to chase the heels off. The fact that they didn't show up before then made the group look ridiculously weak, though. This was a good match, though it felt like Bulldog didn't quite have enough in the tank to really deliver a great performance/keep up with Michaels. *** ½ (Original rating: *** ¼)
BUExperience: Good show! Interestingly, most WWF shows from this era suffered from terrible undercards and strong main events, but this one actually had very solid support underneath the two strong matches at the top. Hart/Undertaker, especially, is well worth going out of your way to see, even if it is saddled with the worst finish of the show.
***
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