WWF Superstars (June 29, 1996)

 

Original Airdate: June 29, 1996 (taped June 25)

From LaCrosse, Wisconsin; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon, Jim Ross, and Mr. Perfect

Davey Boy Smith v Buck Zumhoff: I get why, and I get why he kept getting the spot, but poor Davey is now 0-4 in pay per view world title matches in only eight months. It just shows how weak the roster was on the heel side during this period, though bringing Vader and Mankind in helped. And, if you didn’t think Zumhoff was disgusting enough already, his gear here is too big, and nearly falling off him at points. Bulldog with a running powerslam at 3:00. ¼*

Dok Hendrix is in the studio for the In Your House Slam Jam. It’s so weird seeing Ultimate Warrior playing backup for Shawn Michaels. He’s also dressed like Van Hammer here, and keeps blocking Michaels in the camera shot, to make it even weirder. 

Duke Droese v Brooklyn Brawler: This was nearing the end for Droese’s run here, but don’t worry fans, he will be adequately replaced! And, in fact, here’s TL Hopper on commentary to ease that transition. Duke with a tilt-a-whirl slam at 1:58. DUD

Hunter Hearst Helmsley v Jerry Fox: Brian Pillman sits in on commentary for this one, which is, certainly, an improvement over TL Hopper. Fox looks like he’s angling for a tag run with Bob Holly here. Or Koko B Ware. No matter, HHH finishes him with the Pedigree at 2:43. Pillman was kind of a miss on commentary here, surprisingly. DUD

In Your House ad

Ross brings Sunny out for an interview about Cloudy, but Sunny doesn’t want to talk about that. She wants to talk about Phineas Godwinn. She takes a different tone, and actually does a great job of seeming like she’s genuinely sorry for how she’d been treating him, as she makes an apology. So Phineas comes out, and Sunny begs for forgiveness, and Godwinn announces that he loves her. Sunny initially says how happy she is, but then slaps him, after suckering him into closing his eyes for a kiss. Sure, you saw it coming, but it was great. So, she reads him the riot act, and then calls the Smoking Gunns in to beat him up. They put the boots to Phineas, but Henry Godwinn and Hillbilly Jim make the save. Once they clean house, Sunny is left alone, and Phineas finally gets some payback - pouring the contents of the slop bucket over her head. This was a surprisingly strong segment, with a seriously good performance from Sunny

Marc Mero v Don Callis: Callus appears to be hyping NXT with his gear. I hope he got some royalty money for that later on. Goldust watches on a monitor in the back, and he promises a ‘sequel’ to his losing effort to Ahmed Johnson at King of the Ring. I appreciate his commitment to the bit, no wonder he was able to make this gimmick work for so long. Mero with a knockout punch for the pin at 2:25. Back to the stupid finishers for him, I see. DUD

Goldust v Todd Becker: Goldust was busy during this period, with issues ongoing with Undertaker, Ahmed, and Mero. Goldust is all fired up coming off his title loss to Johnson, and Mero split screens in to cut a promo on him ahead of their meeting this Monday on RAW. Apparently, Marlena tried flirting with Sable in the parking lot earlier, and he’s very angry. Son, get a camcorder. Goldust with a Curtain Call at 1:55. I dig how aggressive Goldust’s pins on jobbers were, basically screwing them into the mat. Good character work. ¼*

We take a look back at the history between Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty, ahead of their meeting this Monday on RAW. They were doing a great job of hyping RAW here, really focused stuff

Justin Hawk Bradshaw v Freddie Joe Floyd: This is Floyd’s debut. Freddie uses speed to avoid getting trapped in the corner, and uses a drop-toehold to ground Bradshaw for a little scuffling. Well, if he wants to hook ya, he’ll hook ya. Bradshaw gets a standing headlock, but Freddie escapes, and throws a dropkick. A snapmare gets him one, and Freddie goes to an armbar, but Justin powers out. Bradshaw plants a big boot on him, and Floyd does a great job of rattling the ring on a cross corner whip. Bradshaw tries a backdrop, but Joe blocks. Big boot, but Joe dodges, and Freddie throws a pair of kicks for two. Bodypress, but Bradshaw catches him in a bodyslam, and gives him another one, at Uncle Zeb’s direction. Zeb asks for another one, so Bradshaw obliges, but then goes to the well once too often, and Floyd rolls through the fourth slam into a cradle at 4:47. I get that it was his debut, but I’m still surprised they put him over Bradshaw here. Especially since the character was meant to be JTTS. It seems like the referee couldn’t believe it either, and he actually stopped his count at two, before restarting it - twice - for the pin. Can’t blame him there. *

Dok is back with another Slam Jam, and apparently Undertaker is a dragon now. Well, I didn’t see that coming

Backstage, Bradshaw is fuming, and demands a rematch, next week

BUExperience: Good episode this week!