WWF at Canadian National Exhibition Stadium (August 24, 1996)

 

Original Airdate: August 24, 1996

From Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Jim Cornette v Jose Lothario: What was with that outfit Cornette always wore when he wrestled? I guess it was to get heat, and if so, great choice there, Jim. It definitely makes me hate him. Cornette attacks as Jose steps into the ring, and Jim wails on him with punches, as Jose struggles to get his entrance gear off. Jim with a ropechoke, but Jose fights him off, and makes a punchy comeback. Cornette eats a series of turnbuckle smashes, and ends up on the outside, so Jose chases. Jose drags him back in, but Cornette nails him from the high ground, and unloads forearm shots. A big roundhouse punch misses, however, and Lothario tags him with one of his own for the pin at 3:31. DUD

Steve Austin v Marc Mero: Feeling out process to start, dominated by Mero. Finally, Steve is able to win a criss cross by chucking Marc over the top, and Austin dives after him with an axehandle from the apron. Steve adds a whip into the steps out there, but Marc beats the count to the apron, so Austin wallops him with a forearm, and then knocks him off the apron, and back to the floor. Steve with another axehandle from the apron, but an attempt at a suplex back in is countered by Mero with a rollup for two. Austin cuts him off with a clothesline, and a pair of pointed elbowdrops find their marks. Steve uses a snapmare to set up a 2nd rope pointed elbowdrop for two, and Steve goes to a chinlock from there. Marc escapes, and wins a criss cross with a schoolboy for two, but isn’t so lucky on the next go, when Austin uses a Thesz press to set up mounted punches. Austin dumps him to the outside, but Marc manages a sleeper on the way back in, so Steve drops down with a jawbreaker. Austin with a ropechoke, but a straddling version misses, and Marc hooks a catapult into the corner. Mero follows in for a ten-punch count, and a headscissor takedown is next. Mero with a backdrop, so Steve goes to the eyes to buy time, and Austin heads up. Mero crotches him, and Marc follows upstairs for a rana off the top for two. A criss cross allows Austin a (sloppy) hotshot for two, but Mero reverses a cross corner whip, and delivers a powerslam for two. Mero with another corner whip, and he tags Austin with a knockout punch, but Mankind shows up to abduct Sable. That draws Mero to the outside to make the save, and he’s counted out at 14:04. These two always had great chemistry. ** ¾ 

Lumberjack Match: Vader v Sycho Sid: The lumberjacks appear to be football players, not wrestlers. I have deduced this by the fact that they are wearing football jerseys. Posturing to start, with both guys doing a lot of measuring. Vader manages a bodyslam, but Sid pops up, and hammers him with punches, ahead of a clothesline. Another clothesline puts Vader over the top for the lumberjacks to deal with, and Sid puts him in a wristlock after he’s rolled back in. No word yet if Sid is able to differentiate it from a wristwatch. Hard to tell from this angle. No matter, Vader escapes, and he pops Sid with a straddling ropechoke - complete with nearly killing himself when the top rope snaps back on him. Vader takes him into the corner to unload on, and he grabs a standing side-headlock, but Sid uses a side suplex to escape. Vader bails, but the lumberjacks swarm like security at a bookstore, and he’s back inside. Vader manages to snapmare Sid into a chinlock, but Sid escapes, so Vader slams him. Vader goes up for the pump-splash, but Sid gets his knees up to block, and Sid makes a comeback - finishing with the chokeslam at 8:55. Not the best wrestling, but good energy, and the crowd seemed into Sid. ¼*

Faarooq v Aldo Montoya: Aldo tries a sneak attack, but quickly gets clobbered. Aldo manages to get out of the corner and land a dropkick, but a criss cross ends badly when Faarooq catches him with a spinebuster. Faarooq with a pair of headbutts, and the Dominator at 0:48. DUD

WWF Tag Team Title Match: The Smoking Gunns v Davey Boy Smith and Owen Hart: Billy Gunn and Hart start, and Owen wins a criss cross with a dropkick, before tagging out. Billy bails as Bulldog comes in, and he elects to pass to Bart Gunn as he climbs back in. Smith and Bart play to the crowd some, before engaging in a test-of-strength, dominated by Gunn. Davey escapes, and delivers a bodyslam, before passing to Owen. Hart works a wristlock, so Bart forces a criss cross, and Billy takes a cheap shot. That allows the Gunns to take control on Owen, and it’s kind of fun getting to see Owen play a babyface again. And it makes sense, given they’re in Canada. Owen manages to block a 2nd rope dive from Billy with an inverted atomic drop to allow the hot tag to Bulldog, and Roseanne Barr the door! The referee gets bumped as Davey hits Billy with the running powerslam, and there’s no one to make the count. Owen tries reviving the official, and we get a dramatic count… ending in Sunny pulling him out at two! It may not get the pin, but the referee does call a DQ over it, giving the challengers the non-title victory at 7:53. This was fine. Simple, but again, the crowd liked it. *

Casket Match: Undertaker v Mankind: Undertaker comes in slugging, and Mankind ends up on the outside quickly. Undertaker stalks after Paul Bearer, allowing Mankind to recover, but his attempt to Pearl Harbor backfires, and he goes flying over the top again. Mankind decides to pull him out to the floor instead this time, and Undertaker eats the steps out there. Inside, Mankind puts the boots to him until Undertaker falls into the casket, but Undertaker reverses him into it before Mankind can shut the lid. Mankind fights off getting closed, and they slug it out, ending in Mankind uses a turnbuckle smash. Undertaker no sells, and hits Mankind with a clothesline, before adding the ropewalk forearm, and Mankind bails. Mankind brings a chair in, but Undertaker grabs it away, and whacks him. He pretty stupidly slid the chair right to Undertaker there, what did he expect to happen? Undertaker goes for the casket again, but Mankind fights him off, and puts the boots to the Dead Man. Mankind with a swinging neckbreaker, and Mankind pulls him to the outside, but it backfires when Undertaker throws him into the crowd. Undertaker follows to hit him with a chair out there, and they do an extended brawl through the crowd, finally ending up back at the casket. Undertaker smashes the lid over Mankind’s head a few times, and he brings the ring steps with him as they go back into the ring. Undertaker nails him with the steps, and a clothesline follows. Tombstone, but Mankind counters to the mandible claw! Undertaker fades, allowing Mankind to roll him into the casket, but he fails to get the lid closed! Bearer passes Mankind a chair to finish the job, but Undertaker blocks the swing, and cracks Mankind with one of his own. Tombstone, but Mankind snaps his throat across the top rope to block this time. That allows Mankind to go to the top, but Undertaker catches the dive in a chokeslam! The tombstone follows, and Undertaker shuts the lid on him at 13:20. Undertaker/Mankind matches are very hit or miss. When they hit, they can be some of the best and most memorable matches you’ll ever see. This wasn’t a hit, but it was a fine house show match, with good storytelling. *

Main Event: WWF Title Ladder Match: Shawn Michaels v Goldust: Dok Hendrix plays the guest ring announcer here. Shawn tackles him down for mounted punches right away, and he chucks Goldust over the top for a plancha! Shawn rolls him back in for a flying axehandle, but Goldust blocks, and clotheslines the champion down for some punches. Goldust with another clothesline to set up a fistdrop, and he goes to grab the ladder, but Michaels is ready with a chair when Goldust gets near ringside! Shawn beats him down in the aisle, but a vertical suplex on the floor gets reversed, with Michaels landing on the steps! Inside, Goldust uses a corner whip to rebound into the Curtain Call, but Michaels blocks. Superkick, but Goldust ducks, and both guys throw clotheslines for a double knockout spot. Both guys get a vertical base for a slugfest, and Michaels tries a suplex, but gets sent into the corner to block. Goldust removes a top turnbuckle pad, and he cross corner whips the champion into the exposed steel. Goldust gives him another trip into the steel, but Shawn sidesteps a corner splash, and Goldust hits it. That allows Michaels a cross corner whip, but Goldust reverses, and Shawn flips over the buckles, before rebounding into a punch. Goldust with a catapult over the top, allowing him to grab the ladder, and he decides to plank it between the apron and guardrail. Goldust drops the champion on the ladder with a snake-eyes, before rolling him inside, and dropping the ladder across his back a few times. Goldust props the ladder up in the corner and whips Shawn into it, then makes the first climb attempt of the match, but Michaels manages to slam him off. Shawn looks for a comeback, but loses a slugfest, and Goldust tries for a suplex, but Michaels shoves him into the ladder to block. Shawn adds a swinging neckbreaker, followed by a piledriver. He climbs, but Goldust tips him over, and Shawn takes a bump across the top rope on the way down. Goldust uses a facebuster into the ladder from there, and he bashes Shawn with it to knock the champion out of the ring. Goldust climbs, but Michaels makes a mad dash dive off the top to knock him off - and just barely dodges the falling ladder in the process! Sleeper from the champion, but Goldust uses a jawbreaker to escape, and he hammers on Michaels with right hands. Shawn fights him off, and gets to the top of the ladder with a flying splash, and he climbs for the belt, but Goldust is following up the opposite side. They slug it out, won by Michaels, and he reclaims his belt… nope, Goldust tips him over again! I could have sworn that would be the finish! Shawn ends up tied in the ropes, like at WrestleMania X, and Goldust climbs. He gets up, but Shawn knocks him off, right into the exposed turnbuckle. That allows Michaels to climb, but Goldust pulls him off, into the Curtain Call - only for Shawn to counter with a superkick! And that’s finally enough to let him grab the belt at 16:53 shown. There was a little bit of clipping here, but not enough to take away from the match. This was great, and something I really liked about it was how long it took for the ladder to even come into play. They had a match enhanced by the gimmick, not a match dictated by the gimmick. **** (Original rating: *** ¼)

BUExperience: This version omits the Godwinns/New Rockers, Bob Holly/Hunter Hearst Helmsley, and Savio Vega/Justin Hawk Bradshaw in a Caribbean strap match. But no matter, because a hot crowd, a stacked card, and several TV (or even pay per view) quality matches make this an easy recommendation. 

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