WWF Action Zone (February 26, 1995)

 

Original Airdate: February 26, 1995 (taped January 25)

From Fort Myers, Florida; Your Hosts are Jim Ross and Todd Pettengill

Mantaur v Geza Kalman Jr: I still don’t get how the announcers making fun of Mantaur was supposed to get him over. If you treat him like a joke, we’ll treat him like a joke. And then capping two minutes of making fun of him off by saying “he’s got a great future in the WWF” just adds insult to injury. Mantaur with a slam at 3:14. DUD

Duke Droese v Reno Riggins: They hype up yet another Lex Luger/Tatanka match for RAW tomorrow night. And that somehow still wasn’t even the last one before they finally moved on from that stupid feud. Duke with a tilt-a-whirl slam at 2:29. DUD

In High Gear tour promo

King Kong Bundy v Lee Tobin: Despite getting programmed with Undertaker for WrestleMania, Bundy feels ice cold. His return was a complete flop, I almost forgot that he actually stuck around until the fall of ‘95, he didn’t do anything of note after WrestleMania. Bundy with the avalanche at 2:34. DUD

Kama v Bill Payne: Unlike Mantaur, the way they’re talking about Sycho Sid (who came back this past Monday on RAW) is how you get a guy over as a monster. Of course, then they started booking him to be a coward who runs away from Diesel, but baby steps. Kama with a modified STF at 2:47. DUD

Bret Hart and Davey Boy Smith v Bob Backlund and Owen Hart: Bulldog and Owen start, and Owen smacks him with a headbutt, allowing him some rights. A criss cross ends in Smith using a monkey flip, however, and a series of armdrags follow. Tag to Bob, but Backlund walks into a hiptoss, and Smith adds a bodyslam. A backslide gets him two, so Bob tries a suplex, but Davey reverses. Tags all around, and the crowd goes wild as the Hitman unloads on his brother. Bret uses an inverted atomic drop to set up a clothesline, so Backlund runs in, but Bret cuts him off. Bret with a corner whip on Owen, and a headbutt leads to a matslam, so Backlund runs in again, but Bret is ready once more. Bret tries a backbreaker, but Owen rakes the eyes, capitalizing on the recovery time that Backlund’s interference afforded him. Tag to Backlund, but Bret blocks the crossface chickenwing, and uses another inverted atomic drop. He gets the Sharpshooter on, but Owen is immediately in to save. That allows the heels to take control, and they work Bret over, cutting the ring in half. Bret, of course, remains an absolute master at tag wrestling, his timing is impeccable. Though he isn’t forgotten as a tag wrestler, the success of his singles career kind of overshadowed how great he is as a face-in-peril. Bret dodges a double team that leaves the heels falling like dominoes, and he gets the hot tag to Bulldog! Smith press-slams Owen for two, and a corner whip gets another two - Backlund breaking the cover on both occasions. Smith tries to stay focused, but Backlund is in again, so Bulldog bashes their heads together, and cradles Owen for two. Bret recovers enough to take care of Backlund, and Bulldog hits Owen with the running powerslam at 14:38. A pretty fun match, with a hot start, great work from Bret during the heat segment, and a strong finish. ** ½ 

BUExperience: A pretty bad episode most of the way, but the main event makes up for some of the earlier weaknesses.