WWF Shotgun Saturday Night (January 4, 1997)

Original Airdate: January 4, 1997

From New York, New York; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon and Sunny

Bob Backlund shows up outside of the nightclub where this show is being held, protesting the debauchery that is surely going on inside

Todd is walking around the club, trying to get a look at the Flying Nuns

Earlier today, the Flying Nuns came out of St. Patrick's Cathedral 

The Godwinns v The Flying Nuns: The Nuns are the Headbangers, in their one and only appearance with the gimmick. And they’re trying to put them over as actual females, in a weird stretch. The Nuns attack before the bell, but get fought off, as Vince keeps calling it a ‘mixed’ tag match. Lots of posturing, and Brother Love shows up to back up the Nuns. The Nuns get control of Henry Godwinn, cutting the ring in half, as the crowd chants ‘ECW.’ A missed dive allows the tag to Phineas Godwinn, and Roseanne Barr the door. “Henry not the legal hog farmer in there” is certainly not a phrase I’m guessing people would often hear inside a New York City nightclub. The Nuns use a cheap shot with a weapon behind the referee’s back, and Phineas is pinned at 10:21. God help us, this was terrible. Afterwards, Brother Love comes in to solidify his relationship with the Nuns… who were promptly repackaged as the Headbangers, and never mentioned ever again. -¼*

Holiday Hell tour ad

Todd is in the VIP section, where Goldust and Rocky Maivia are hanging out, but Backlund storms the scene to shame them. Maybe he should have managed those Nuns

Goldust v Sultan: Vince goads Sunny by noting that Marlena looks nice, which of course does not please her. They brawl to the outside right away, where Sultan tries a smash into the steps, but Goldust reverses. Inside, Goldust clotheslines him for two, and grabs a sleeper, as Backlund continues to rant and rave about Marlena’s ‘exposure’ at ringside. Sultan gets control and hits a corner clothesline, and he works Goldust over in the dullest fashion imaginable, as the crowd chants ‘Fatu sucks.’ Sultan misses a corner charge to allow Goldust a swinging neckbreaker, and he makes a comeback. Clothesline gets him two, but he walks into a Samoan drop, and Sultan slaps on the camel clutch. Goldust is in trouble, so Marlena hops onto the apron, and gives Sultan an eyeful. Backlund loses his mind, and ushers Sultan out of the ring before he can act on what he sees, however, and Goldust picks up the countout win at 9:33. Another terrible match, but the finish was memorable. -½*

Over in the VIP, there’s dancing going on

Ahmed Johnson v Crush: Sunny is so upset at all the attention that Marlena is getting, that she promises a ‘special home video’ on next week’s show. They scuffle around in a brawl right away, with Crush getting the better of it. He tries a front-facelock, but Ahmed counters with a bodyslam, as Vince refers to him as ‘Kona Crush.’ Seriously? I know it’s a nightclub, but save your drinking for after the show, man. Ahmed with a slingshot clothesline, so Crush goes low, and pounds him down. Meanwhile, Todd catches up with Clarence Mason at ringside, so Mason can cut the worst promo I’ve ever heard. He just sounds so unsure of himself. Crush gets control and goes to work in dull fashion. He delivers a belly-to-belly suplex, and locks on a full-nelson, but Ahmed fights free. Ahmed with a sloppy axekick, and he sets up the Pearl River Plunge, but D-lo Brown attacks for the DQ at 3:54. Another atrocious contest. Afterwards, Ahmed destroys Brown, but Crush makes the save, and the Nation of Domination unload on him. Goldust and the Godwinns make the save, allowing Ahmed to chase the Nation out into the street. He gets D-lo, chasing him onto the roof of a car, and giving him a Plunge on it. That was another crazy memorable moment, though saddled with this horrible match. -¼*

Earlier today, Jim Cornette and Mini Vader arrive in the city, but poor Vader needs to get to a bathroom

Todd invites Sunny into the ring to do the Macarena, in the most dated reference possible

Mini Vader v Mascarita Sagrada Jr: Apparently Vader is a full on joke at this point. Mini Vader, that is. Though it could have gone either way, really. They trade off a bit to start, so Cornette comes into the ring to chew Vader out. They fight into the crowd, where Vader gains control, and he works Sagrada over. Vader with a powerbomb, but a corner charge misses, and Sagrada sends him to the outside with a flying headscissors. Sagrada dives after him with a flying corkscrew backelbow on the floor, and a rana follows on the way back in. Sagrada with a missile dropkick to put it away at 4:49. Match of the night! Afterwards, Cornette chews Vader out again, and challenges Sagrada to try taking him on, but Vader turns on him, and the little guys double team him. ½*

BUExperience: People talk about how the Attitude Era grew out of ECW, but this show feels like the closest the WWF ever came to straight up copying Paul Heyman’s organization. This had a very ECW-ish vibe, and the setting was right out of the 1992 era for that promotion, when they were regularly running nightclubs like this as well. 

It was certainly something different and unique (which was kind of par for the course for the period, with stuff like this, or LiveWire), and I remember seeing the highlights on the other shows, and not being able to wrap my mind around it at the time. Back then, I’d only ever seen WWF or WCW promote wrestling, and this was certainly very different than what I’d become accustomed to. 

I’m not sure it was quite a ‘success,’ but it was interesting, so points for that.

The wrestling was flat out unwatchable, though.