Stampede Wrestling Stu Hart 50th Anniversary Show (December 1995)

Original Airdate: December 15, 1995

From Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Opening Match: Cuban Assassin and Jerry Morrow v King Lau and Mike Anthony: Jerry starts with Mike, and gets dominated. He passes to Cuban, but Mike is ready with an armdrag, and he holds an armbar. Cuban whips him into the ropes to force a break, but Mike wins the resulting criss cross with a pair of dropkicks, and Jerry tags back in. Mike is ready with a backdrop, and he passes to King to work Jerry’s arm. King… Jerry… conspiracy! Jerry tries knocking King down, but Lau absorbs the blows, so Jerry tags out so Cuban can have a go. King takes him down, however, but a double up with Jerry finally turns the tide, and Morrow holds Lau in a chinlock. The heels work King over, but Mike catches a tag, and comes in hot. He nails Cuban with a dropkick, and passes back to King for a sloppy Russian legsweep for two. He should have asked Bret for some pointers on that one. Cuban manages to dump King to the outside, however, and the heels go back to controlling the contest. Cuban really stinks at cutting the ring in half, however, and Mike gets the tag again, and Roseanne Barr the door! Jerry helps Cuban block a monkeyflop out of the corner, allowing Morrow to go to the top with a flying splash at 11:28. This was basic, but fine. *

Makhan Singh v Gothic Knight: Any relation to LA Knight? Lots of stalling from Singh to start, with little going on for an extended period of time. Singh finally takes a cheap shot to get control, and he works Knight in dull fashion, but Knight comes back with a clothesline for two. Another clothesline for two, but Knight gets reversed into the corner, and squashed with an avalanche at 11:00. Awful. DUD

Rhonda Singh v KC Houston: Stalling from Singh in the early going, and she suckers Houston into a test-of-strength, then clobbers her. Singh knocks KC around, and a bodyslam sets up a legdrop. Another legdrop gets her two, so he ground KC in a chinlock, but Houston makes the ropes. Singh responds by clobbering her, but a 2nd rope splash misses, and KC hooks a victory roll for two. Inside cradle gets her two, so Houston tries a piledriver, but Singh backdrops her to shake that off. Corner whip sets up an avalanche, but Houston dodges, and schoolboy for two. They collide for a double knockout spot, and Singh is up first. They criss cross, and Singh manages to grab the pin at 6:07. Really boring. DUD

Dan Kroffat v Jesse Helton: They do some tie ups to clean breaks to start, and Dan gets the first takedown into a side-headlock. Jesse counters to a headscissors, but Krofat escapes, and both guys regroup. They lock up for a test-of-strength next, which Helton dominates, but Dr. Drago Zhivago keeps insulting Dan on the house mic, and Dan decides to abandon the match to fight him instead, giving us a no-contest at 3:04. This was a really boring babyface match. And I’m a guy who likes babyface matches. Anyway, this was just background for an angle more than anything else. DUD

WWF v WCW Match: Rad Radford v Chris Benoit: They feel each other out to start, with Rad dominating. Benoit escapes a chinlock, so Radford backdrops him, and delivers an elbowdrop for two. Irish whip, but Chris reverses, and gets Radford in a sleeper. Rad escapes via side suplex, but a kneedrop misses, and Benoit clobbers him with a clothesline. Rad gut-punches him to buy time, but Benoit quickly fights him off with a bridging German suplex for two. Rad tries a bodyslam to set up a dive, but Benoit vertical superplexes him off for the pin at 11:28. Radford actually got a shoulder up at two there, which I’m guessing was some deal to appease the WWF for letting the WCW guy go over. The match was a big nothing, and I’m guessing both guys were annoyed with the booked finish. ½*

Keith Hart v 1-2-3 Kid: They do some posturing to start, with Kid controlling. Keith wins a criss cross with an armdrag, however, and a bodyslam has Kid bailing. Kid stalls out there for a bit, but still ends up trapped in a hammerlock once climbing back inside. Kid tries a snapmare to escape, but Hart holds onto the hold, and then wins a few criss crosses. Hart works a mat-based side-headlock next, so Kid forces another criss cross, and this time outsmarts Hart - dumping him to the outside. Kid dives after him with a plancha, and he rolls Keith in to pepper with kicks in the corner. Kid with a vertical suplex to set up a flying frogsplash for two, but a flying kneedrop misses. That allows Keith to go to work on the part, but Kid counters a figure four with a cradle at 6:37. This was a nice little match. Simple, but well worked, and engaging. * ¾ 

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Razor Ramon v Owen Hart: Owen stalls to start, and Razor dominates him once they engage. Owen blocks a corner charge with a boot, allowing him to go up with a missile dropkick, and he ropechokes the Bad Guy. Hart with a straddling ropechoke, and a cross corner whip ends in the top rope snapping off. It’s not the same without Bret coming out to chew the referee out about it. Owen dumps him to the outside to abuse as the ring crew tries to fix the ropes, and Razor gets a taste of the timekeeper’s table. Hart handled that like a total pro. Inside, Owen delivers a leg-feed enzuigiri for two, and a spinheel kick finds the mark for another two. Sleeper, but Razor uses a side suplex to escape, and both guys are left looking up at the lights. Razor recovers first, and takes Owen upstairs for a side superplex. Razor’s Edge, but 1-2-3 Kid runs in, so Ramon sends him into Owen with a rocket launcher! Razor takes Kid out, and goes back to the Edge on Owen, but Hart backdrops him over the top to block. Hart nails him with the timekeeper’s hammer out there, and he rolls the Bad Guy in to pin at 12:35! Kid personally presents Owen with the title belt, but before Hart can leave the premises, another official hits the ring to inform the referee of the weapon shot, and the match gets restarted. Hart refuses, so the referee threatens to reverse the decision, and Hart charges in with a running dropkick on the still groggy Ramon. A few corner whips rattle the ring, but Razor counters a suplex with a small package at 13:55 (16:13 total). Boy, the Harts sure are doing a lot of jobs on their dad’s hometown tribute show. This was just your standard Razor/Owen match from this period, with the finish from the house show matches Ramon was working with Jeff Jarrett the year before. * ½ 

Bad Company v Terry Funk and Dory Funk Jr: Brian Pillman starts with Dory, and gets the better of him with a few bodyslams until Funk bails to the outside. Back in, Dory levels the whippersnapper with some uppercuts before passing to Terry, and he dumps Brian to the outside for Makhan Singh to abuse. Back in, Terry drops Pillman with a neckbreaker for two, but Brian fights back with a series of chops to send him over the top - Bruce Hart ready and waiting with a beating out there. In, Bruce keeps after Terry with a series of rights to set up a kneedrop for two, and Brian tries a side suplex, but Terry mulekicks him to get away. To the outside, Terry whips him into a table, then vertical suplexes his ass onto it for good measure. Does he think he's back in Japan with Foley again? Back in, Dory gets two out of it all, and a butterfly suplex gets two as well. The Funks cut the ring in half on Pillman (with Bruce Hart acting like a complete fucking asshole the entire time), and it spills to the outside, where Brian takes a nasty backdrop bump on the exposed concrete. Terry also makes friends with some poor unsuspecting photographer out there, stealing his gear and abusing Pillman with it. Terry was never a friend to photographers, was he? Good thing he wasn't booked for WrestleMania XI. Imagine the carnage! In, Dory backelbows him for two, then hits a bodyslam for two. The Funks continue to cut the ring in half, but Brian manages to duck a punch from Terry, and he falls into the tag! Bruce knocks Terry right to the outside for a brawl into the crowd, but Dory steps in, and Pillman is too battered to help. Bruce manages to hold his own against both brothers, and Terry blades after a chairshot. Inside, Pillman tags back in to beat on Terry with a ten-punch, and a piledriver gets two. DDT is worth two, but Terry manages a side suplex before Brian can follow-up again, and we've got a brawl - Roseanne Barr the door! Bruce hits Dory with a side suplex to setup a flying splash for two, and a vertical suplex gets two. In comes Terry with a chair, however, and that's a DQ at 18:19! Damn, shitty ending to an otherwise awesome match! Pillman was the standout for that heat segment, and both Funks did a tremendous job on their end, though Bruce annoyed me from start to finish here. *** ¾

Main Event: WWF Title Match: Bret Hart v Davey Boy Smith: Bret was apparently working with the flu here, which is incredible. I can barely walk from the couch to the bed when I’ve got the flu, forget about working a wrestling match. Feeling out process to start, controlled by the champion. Hart with a bodypress for two, but Davey catches him with a knee as they criss cross, and Bulldog grounds him in a chinlock. Hart fights to a vertical base, so Davey shifts to a headlock, and takes it back to the ground. Bret rolls back into a cradle for two, but Bulldog sinks his teeth into the headlock. Hart manages to force a criss cross, and a monkeyflip gets him the better of it, followed by a clothesline to send Smith over the top. Bret dives out after him, but Bulldog catches him, and rams the Hitman into the post. Inside, Smith matslams him, and goes to the chinlock again. Bret fights free, and hooks a crucifix for two, so Bulldog unloads on him. That softens Bret up for another chinlock, until Hart fights to a vertical base in the corner, and then hammers his challenger on the break. Cross corner whip, but Smith reverses, and then corner whips the Hitman a second time for good measure. Davey with a hanging vertical suplex, but a trip to the top ends in Hart vertical superplexing him off! Hart adds an inverted atomic drop to set up a clothesline for two, and a gut-punch sets up a Russian legsweep for two. Piledriver gets two, and a backbreaker sets up a 2nd rope pointed elbowdrop, but Bulldog blocks. That allows Davey to whip him into the ropes for a clothesline, but Hart has the same idea, and it’s a double knockout spot. Bulldog gets the better of it, and drops Hart with a mulekick in the corner. Looked like they were trying for the running powerslam spot, but messed up. And, indeed, Bulldog then hoists him up for the running powerslam, but Bret topples him for two. Criss cross sees Hart block a leapfrog into the Sharpshooter, but Smith goes to the eyes to block. That allows Davey a rollup for two, but Hart reverses for the pin at 12:47. This wasn’t at the level of the classic match they had two days later at In Your House, but I don’t think these two could have a bad match with one another. Even with Bret suffering from the flu, this was still better than almost anything else on the card. *** ¼ 

BUExperience: The bulk of the undercard is total throwaway junk, but the top two matches are really strong, and worth checking out. I was expecting more from this card, and stuff like Radford/Benoit was definitely a notable disappointment, but the good outweighs the bad here.

**