WWF Shotgun Saturday Night (February 15, 1997)

Original Airdate: February 15, 1997

Todd Pettengill hosts from the streets of New York City. Apparently it’s a clip show this week. Less than two months into the show’s run. Well, that’s gotta be some sort of record

Goldust v Sultan: From the January 4 episode in New York. 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*

Ahmed Johnson v Crush: Also from January 4. 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*

From the January 11 episode, Honky Tonk Man performs a duet with Pettengill, and Todd actually doesn’t sound bad, while Honky is almost inaudible. No idea what the point of this was. It’s one thing for the live crowd, but why is this on TV?

Also from January 11, Rocky Maivia saves Sable from Honky’s advances, which draws the ire of Marc Mero

From the January 18 episode in San Antonio Texas, Todd Pettengill brings Terry Funk out to hype up the Rumble match, and he spots Austin at the commentary table, and challenges him to get it on right now. Austin looking at him like one might a very small child trying to punch at your leg is a perfect fit. But then Terry starts slapping Steve, and that’s the line - Austin catching him with a punch before officials swarm

Goldust v Steve Austin: Also from January 18. You may remember these two from… earlier segments. Steve pounds him down for a stomping, but Goldust fights him off, and nails him with a jumping clothesline. Steve fights that off with a mulekick, but Goldust counters a chinlock with a hammerlock, and he works that for a while. To a vertical base, Goldust wins a slugfest, and he’s working this match as full on Dustin Rhodes here. So Goldust runs wild, but Terry Funk runs in to attack Austin for the DQ at 5:06. Not much here. Afterwards, all the workers in the locker room run in to turn it into a big brawl to hype the Royal Rumble one last time. DUD

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Bret Hart v Mankind: From January 25 in NYC. Mankind corners one of the go-go dancers during his entrance, so Bret comes out before his music hits to make the save, and they brawl into the ring. Nice way to take advantage of the fact that they're wrestling in a working nightclub. Bret dives off the middle at him, and this ring is so small that they end up in the next corner. Hart with a vertical suplex and a legdrop, and he hammers Mankind into the corner, but Mankind returns fire, and they spill to the outside. Bret bashes him into the guardrail out there, and they fight up onto a stage, where Hart delivers another suplex. Mankind fights him off on the way back inside, and he chokes the Hitman down for a running kneesmash in the corner. Mankind with a corner whip and a legdrop for two, and he grounds Bret in a chinlock. Bret slugs free, so Mankind pounds him back down, but a charge goes badly when Hart sidesteps, and Mankind takes a bump over the top. He decides to flirt with the dancers again while he's out there, but Hart sends him into the rail again to keep him away, and wow, there's less room between the ring and the fans here than even in ECW. And it's the same fans, too. Bret crotches him on the rail and clotheslines him off, and a flying axehandle connects on the way back inside. Headbutt drop to the groin connects, and a snap suplex sets up a 2nd rope elbowdrop, but Mankind dodges. Mankind drops him with a double-arm DDT for two, but a corner charge misses, and the Hitman uses a Russian legsweep. Hart with a pointed elbowdrop, followed by a bulldog for two. Swinging neckbreaker gets two, and a backbreaker sets up... no, he doesn't go for the pointed elbow. Okay. He does hit a clothesline, however, and he slaps on the Sharpshooter, but come on. Like Mankind is going to submit. No matter, Owen Hart decides to run in to attack his brother for the DQ at 12:19. That was a weird finish, considering Bret and Owen weren't really feuding (or even interacting) much during this period. I'd love to see a proper match between these two, though sadly this was not that. It was interesting in its own way, though it dragged a lot, and I really didn't care for the finish. *

Rocky Maivia v Savio Vega: Also from January 25. Feeling out process to start, as the Nation show up at ringside. That distracts Maivia, allowing Savio to hammer him down, and he unloads a ten-punch in the corner. Vega with a backdrop, but a criss cross allows Maivia a bodypress for two. Savio cuts him off and takes him down in a nervehold, as Todd tries to talk to Faarooq and Crush, but gets brushed off. Vega with a snap suplex for two, and it’s back to the nervehold, as the New York crowd vocally chants against Rocky. I get what they felt about him at the time, but he’s not the one dragging this match down with his endless nerveholds, that’s for sure. Vega with chops in the corner, and a snapmare sets up another nervehold. Vega misses a corner splash, allowing Maivia to make a comeback, and a side suplex gets the youngster two. Vega manages to dump him over the top, and Rocky hurts his knee on the landing, getting counted out at 13:57. Started off well enough, but turned into a nervehold exhibition. Afterwards, the Nation gives Maivia a beating to cement Vega’s new role. ½*

Vader v Steve Austin: From Superstars on February 9 (taped January 21) in Lafayette Louisiana. Bret Hart is doing guest commentary on this one. Vader tries powering him around, but Austin won’t back down, and actually manages to pound the big man down in the corner. Clipped to them trading punches, and Vader gets the better of that exchange. Steve comes at him for another slugfest, but that ends badly as well, and this time he adds an elbowdrop to the leg. Vader adds an avalanche and a clothesline, but Steve lifts his knees to block the Vaderbomb, and Austin drops him with a lariat! Steve is unloading when the lights suddenly die, but this isn’t WCW, it just means Undertaker is arriving. He appears at the commentary position when the lights are up to brawl with Bret, as Austin and Vader spill to the outside for a double countout at 4:32 shown (of about ten minutes). Too much clipped to rate, but the match was decent, if a little relaxed since they were just kind of killing time before the non-finish.

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Davey Boy Smith v Mankind: From the February 1 episode in NYC. Mankind would prefer to stay on commentary, and offers the spot to anyone else in the back looking for something to do (“I think I saw Aldo Montoya back there”), but Bulldog forces him into the ring. Davey puts the boots to him in the corner, and they spill to the outside for more of the same. Mankind tries to go back to commentary, but Bulldog is on him, but Mankind wins a slugfest when Smith tries dragging him back to the ring. Mankind with an elbowdrop for two, and he works a chinlock from there, but Davey powers to a vertical base, and Mankind takes a bump to the outside - banging his leg into the nightclub stage in the process. That seemed unnecessarily dangerous for this nothing show, but that’s Mick Foley for you. Bulldog works the leg, but Mankind starts choking him, and Bulldog ends up in the pit between the ring and stage. Inside, Mankind covers for two, as Todd tries to get an interview with Savio Vega in the crowd. Stop salting his game, Pettengill. Mankind with a legdrop for two, as Vader makes his way to ringside. Mankind with a backdrop for two, and he goes back to the chinlock, but a piledriver out on the stage gets countered with a backdrop. Cue an attack from Vader on the floor, and that allows Mankind the pin at 9:05. This had the usual stupid bumps from Mankind going for it, and nothing else. Afterwards, Ahmed makes the save for Bulldog, but ends up getting into a fight with him as a thank you, as Mankind and Vader laugh it up with Pettengill. ¼*

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Hunter Hearst Helmsley v Undertaker: From the February 8 episode in New York. Undertaker charges in to blitz him, but the referee gets bumped early on. That allows HHH to grab the title belt, and he brains the challenger with it to turn the tide. Helmsley with a ropechoke, and a snapmare sets up a kneedrop. Kneeling facebuster connects, and it’s pretty funny watching these two big guys try to work in this half-sized ring. HHH unloads in the corner, and a neckbreaker is worth two. Swinging neckbreaker is worth another two, so HHH grabs the title belt again, but Undertaker blocks him this time. He steals the weapon away and blasts Helmsley with it, and that’s a DQ at 7:50. And then afterwards, we get the bit that this match is perhaps best known for, as Undertaker chases him up onto the street level, and gives him a tombstone on the escalator - leaving a slumped HHH to ride down in a heap. The match was junk, but the atmosphere was cool. ½*

BUExperience: Definitely skip this one. Obviously.