From Davis, California; Your Host is Jim Ross, with Michael Cole and Kevin Kelly (hour one), and with Jerry Lawler (hour two). Anyone want to place a bet on how many replays we get of the Steve Austin/Mike Tyson segment tonight?
Ken Shamrock v Mark Henry: Ross sounds like a videogame when announcing the name of the town they’re in. Did he say something else and they fixed it in post? Shamrock brings Ahmed Johnson and the DOA with him for backup since Henry has the Nation of Domination out with him. Ken tries a sneak attack, but Henry fights him off, and drops him across the top rope. Who would have guessed that, of everyone in and around the ring, Henry would have the most longevity in the promotion. Mark with a powerslam for two, and a backbreaker finds the mark. Bearhug, so Ken goes to the eyes, but Mark bodyslams him before he can recover. Back to the bearhug, but Ken escapes, so Henry delivers another backbreaker, then reapplies the hold. Ken slugs free, and a series of kicks allow him a comeback this time. Belly-to-belly suplex looks to set up the anklelock, but the Nation attack for the DQ at 3:18. Shamrock’s backup run in to… back him up, however, and they clear the Nation out. This wasn’t very good, with two very green guys trying to hold something together, but it was short enough that it didn’t fall apart. Why was Shamrock working like a heel, though? ¼*
Undertaker/Kane feud recap, concluding in exclusive footage of the smoldering casket being opened after Royal Rumble went off the air… and it was empty!
The Western Union Rewind is WWF Champion Shawn Michaels playing dress up as Undertaker last week
Barry Windham is tired of being a clown, and that’s why he’s with the NWA now! Meanwhile, NWA North American Champion Jeff Jarrett promises to lead the NWA brand into the next century. And he kind of did, yeah
The Legion of Doom v Jeff Jarrett and Barry Windham: Glad we have some real WWF originals like the LOD to defend the WWF’s honor against these NWA goons. Jim Cornette joins us on commentary, and he’s sick of these ‘laser light shows,’ he wants ‘boots and tights!’ Has he changed at all in the twenty five years since. Animal dominates Windham to start, as Cornette goes a mile a minute, and apparently he won’t rest until he puts the WWF back under the NWA’s thumb, where they ‘belong.’ The heels get control of Hawk, and cut the ring in half, until Hawk nails Jeff with a flying clothesline. They were way off the mark with that one. Barry responds by whacking Animal with the tennis racket for the pin at 4:45, despite Animal clearly kicking out at two. Boy, that match really fell apart at the end there. Plus, this NWA angle is stupid, and not connecting at all. Also, poor Jarrett, who came in from WCW with lots of fanfare… and is now leading a loser group and working time filler tag matches again. At least down south he was probably getting paid more to do the same thing. DUD
Backstage DX are ready for Owen Hart tonight, and Steve Austin at WrestleMania. Shawn, sweet guy that he is, offers to step aside, and let Austin fight Tyson at WrestleMania rather than defend the WWF Title. What a guy. And he even offers to act as the guest referee for the match. I know they obviously weren’t going there, but it actually felt like a distinct possibility at the time. And, I’m pretty sure if Tyson was actually willing to play ball, they would have gladly booked that, and changed the title some other time
Goldust v Vader: Ross puts Vader over as the ‘most athletic big man in the history of the WWF,’ which is something that gets thrown around every few years, but really, is it anyone but Andre the Giant? Vader dominates early on, delivering a backdrop and a vertical suplex, so Goldust goes low. That allows Goldust to put the boots to him, and a turnbuckle smash follows, as does a ropechoke. Luna Vachon is quick to add a cheap shot, and Goldust connects with a clothesline for two. Vader tries swinging, so Goldust goes to the eyes, but a cross corner whip backfires when Vader rebounds into him. Vader with a powerbomb to set up the Vaderbomb, but the lights die before a cover is made, and here’s Kane. And the match just kind of stops, and I guess it’s a no contest at 3:15. Oddly, both historyofwwe and cagematch list this as Vader pinning Goldust, but that definitely did not happen. The match was fine, but the finish was crap. Couldn’t they save this for some jobber match? ¾*
Earlier today, Mick Foley and Terry Funk were hanging out while the ring was being set up, chatting about how much they like watching guys like Cactus Jack, Mankind, and Chainsaw Charlie. Nothing much to this segment, but both guys have so much natural charisma, that it works
WWF Tag Team Title Match: The New Age Outlaws v Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie: They don’t wait for the bell, with all four guys brawling in and around the ring right away. Cactus suplexes Billy Gunn on the ramp as Charlie unloads on Jesse James in the ring, and Jack feeds Billy the steps next. Charlie with a neckbreaker on Jesse, and Jack goes low on him, but Billy’s back with a weapon. The Outlaws put the hurt on Charlie, cutting the ring in half as the dust settles. Jack gets the tag and runs wild, and the crowd is surprisingly sleepy for this one. The Outlaws are terrible with heat segments, they just don’t connect at all, and are much better suited as babyfaces. Jack and Charlie get hold of chairs, and start unloading for the DQ at 5:17. ½*
WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Taka Michinoku video package
#1 Contender’s Match: Brian Christopher v El Pantera: Winner gets a shot at Taka at In Your House. Honky Tonk Man acts as the guest ring announcer, for no reason I can discern. Likely because of his relation to Brian, I suppose, but Honky hasn’t been on this show in forever, and he isn’t involved in any angles, nor is it even his hometown, or something. Brian with a German suplex early on, and he works a headlock, before putting Pantera down again. Pantera comes back with a pair of takedowns, and a dropkick sends Christopher to the outside. Pantera with a baseball slide, and a tope follows. Inside, Pantera tries a handspring backelbow, but Brian counters with a Russian facebuster. Brian adds a sunset bomb on the floor, and a 2nd rope fistdrop on the way back in, but Pantera blocks. Pantera makes a comeback, and a victory cradle gets him two. Backdrop, but Brian blocks, and delivers a sitout powerbomb. That sets up a flying legdrop, but Pantera rolls out of the way, and hooks a magistral cradle at 4:16. This was okay, but felt a little all over the place. Afterwards, Lawler comes in to beat Pantera up. *
Backstage, Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie are ready to speak, when the Outlaws attack, aided by DX
The Headbangers v The Quebecers: Ross notes that the Quebecers are former tag champions, and despite that being less than four year ago at this point, it feels like it was from before the advent of color TV, or something. The heels attack before the bell, and get control of Thrasher. They work him over, as Lawler makes a statement about how he isn’t a fan of ‘Canada, or Canadians,’ which is weird, considering we’re just a few months removed from him playing cheerleader for the Hart Foundation every week. Mosh gets the tag and runs wild, again in front of a dead crowd. The Headbangers with a variety of combos, but they get clobbered, and the heels try a combo of their own, but get thwarted - allowing Mosh a cradle on Jacques at 3:10. Yawn. Afterwards, the Quebecers do a beat down. ¼*
Goldust v Owen Hart: This is scheduled as Triple H defending the WWF European title, but Goldust comes out dressed as HHH (complete with Luna playing Chyna), and they have the title belt, and everything. Owen isn’t having it, so Goldust attacks to kick start the match, and connects with a clothesline. Goldust unloads in the corner, until Owen bails, but Goldust is on him with a shot into the steps. Luna attacks out there as well, but Hart fights back with a turnbuckle smash on the way back in, and a nice flying bodypress gets him two. Goldust cuts him off and delivers a kneedrop for two, followed by a cross corner whip. Goldust goes to the eyes for good measure, and takes Hart down for a chinlock. Owen escapes, and starts making a comeback, finding the mark with a suplex, and a spinheel kick. Into the corner for a ten-punch count, and a leg-feed enzuigiri sets up a flying dropkick. Luna takes a shot to cut the comeback off, allowing Goldust to try a Pedigree, but Owen counters to the Sharpshooter at 6:10. As soon as the bell sounds, DX pop up on the TitanTron, gloating about getting out of defending the title, but Commissioner Slaughter comes down, and he isn’t having it. In fact, he’s so unimpressed, that he’s holding HHH to the contract, and awarding Owen the title. Well, you can’t say HHH wasn’t a quick learner when it came to avoiding dropping titles in the ring. *
Don King would love to sign Tyson to face Austin at WrestleMania, but the boxing commission wouldn’t allow it, so forget that. But, he does think maybe something can be worked out, because Mike wants a piece of Stone Cold
Steve Austin hits the ring (following the fourth or fifth replay of the Tyson incident on the show thus far), and he wants Tyson - boxing commission be damned. In fact, he doesn’t need to wait for WrestleMania, and he challenges Mike to show up at In Your House
BUExperience: Not the best episode, but not a bad one either. You can’t say it was uneventful, I suppose.
Meanwhile, Nitro put up their highest competitive rating to that point opposite this.
Monday Night Wars Rating Chart
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