WWF Superstars (June 15, 1996)

 

Original Airdate: June 15, 1996 (taped May 28)

From North Charleston, South Carolina; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon, Jim Ross, and Mr. Perfect

Vader v Tony Johnson: I don’t know how I never noticed it as a kid, but wow, Vader was incredibly out of shape during this period. He looks like he ate the 1993 version of himself. Meanwhile, Justin Hawk Bradshaw split screens in, already cutting promos on Vader for the King of the Ring semifinal, despite not advancing through the quarterfinal yet. Vader with the pump-splash at 2:07. DUD

We take a look at the ‘controversy’ that has come from Clarence Mason suing the WWF for assault (since Gorilla Monsoon touched his back while walking up the aisle on RAW), which ultimately resulted in Jim Cornette being allowed to appoint a special guest referee for the Shawn Michaels/Davey Boy Smith WWF Title match at King of the Ring

Owen Hart v Barry Horowitz: Gosh, just how many times did they run Owen v Bret Hart? Enough already! Harvey Wippleman acts as the referee here, in his first gig. Barry with a takedown into an overhead wristlock, but Owen counters to a headscissors, but Horowitz counters to a side headlock. Hart counters out to a hammerlock, but Horowitz counters a leg-feed enzuigiri to a corkscrew legwhip. Horowitz unloads in the corner, but a cross corner whip gets reversed, and Owen catches him over an overhead belly-to-belly suplex on the rebound. Hart uses a backbreaker and a gutwrench suplex for two, and he goes to an armbar from there. Barry escapes, and hooks a rollup for two, but Hart cuts him off. Hart with a cross corner whip, but Barry throws an elbow when Owen follows in, and Horowitz hiptosses him. Barry throws a dropkick to set up a legdrop for two, and a bridging northern lights suplex is worth two. He tries a Thesz-press, but Owen counters with a spinebuster into the Sharpshooter at 6:00. But then Owen doesn’t let off the hold for, like, five seconds, and Wippleman reverses the decision on him. A little overzealous there. The match was nothing special, but fine and dandy like sweet cotton candy. * ½ 

Dok Hendrix is in the studio for the King of the Ring Slam Jam. They’re really focusing on the main event, but the tournament itself has been kind of an afterthought in the build

Marc Mero v Jason Ahrndt: Owen sits in on commentary here, since he’ll be facing Mero in the tournament quarterfinal on RAW. Mero with a rana off the top at 2:20. That’s a much better fit than the figure four as a finish for him, though the shooting star press was even better. DUD

King of the Ring ad

Jerry Lawler is ready for Ultimate Warrior at King of the Ring

Vince brings WWF Intercontinental Champion Goldust out to hype the title match with Ahmed Johnson at King of the Ring, but there’s not much here. Goldust’s usual flirting, and not much else. The only thing of note, for me, is that you could see Goldust’s confetti in the aisle for previous few segments, which means this aired out of taping order. Not really notable, but notable to nerds like me

The Smoking Gunns v Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy: The WWF Tag Team title is not on the line here. Sunny sits in on commentary, which should tell you everything you need to know about her judgment. I mean, her whole gimmick at this point is that she’s a tag title slut, and she isn’t even scouting the team that would end up becoming more successful than any of the ones in the promotion at this point. Meanwhile, the Godwinns split screen in, and Phineas is still all broken up about Sunny. The Gunns with a combo at 2:40. It was a squash only, but still fun to see. And the Hardy’s did a great job of making the champs look strong. ¼*

Dok is back with another Slam Jam 

King of the Ring ad

King of the Ring Tournament Quarterfinal Match: Jake Roberts v Justin Hawk Bradshaw: Bradshaw gets a standing side-headlock right away, so Jake forces a criss cross, but takes a shoulderblock. We get a split screen of an intimate interview with Jake, as he talks about his troubled childhood. Bradshaw drops him with another shoulderblock, so Jake tries a headlock of his own, but Bradshaw easily powers into a reversal. Jake forces another criss cross, and catches him with a punch to the gut this time, followed by a kneelift. DDT, but Bradshaw bails to the outside to avoid it. Back in, Jake gets an armbar, but Bradshaw fights him off in the corner. Bradshaw tries a charge, but hits a boot, and Jake tries for the DDT again, but Bradshaw blocks once more. Bradshaw with a pair of elbowdrops, and a few cross corner whips rattle the ring. Bradshaw pounds him down and hooks the leg for two, but a lariat misses, and Jake delivers the DDT at 7:15. This was pretty weak. Jake did a good job of selling, and brought strong psychology to the table, but Bradshaw’s offense was really limited. ¾*

Undertaker is going to take great pride in taking Mankind’s soul at King of the Ring

BUExperience: Another fairly dull outing this week, though I enjoyed the Hart/Horowitz match (for what it was).