WWF Shotgun Saturday Night (March 15, 1997)

 

Original Airdate: March 15, 1997 (taped March 10)

From Worcester, Massachusetts; Your Hosts are Jim Ross and Brian Pillman - making his return for the first time since the fall of 1996

Hunter Hearst Helmsley v Bob Holly: HHH muscles him into the corner, but Bob outmoves him, and hooks a schoolboy for two. Holly asks for a test-of-strength, and HHH is all too pleased to take a cheap shot. Bob manages an armdrag into an armbar before things get too far into the weeds, but HHH manages to send him into the ropes, and delivers a high knee. Helmsley with a backbreaker, and a kneeling facebuster follows. HHH unloads in the corner, and a vertical suplex sets up a kneedrop for two. HHH with a flying axehandle, but Holly blocks, and goes on the comeback trail. A rana gets him two, but a flying splash misses, and Helmsley delivers the pedigree at 5:39. This was a complete house show special. ½*

WrestleMania 13 ad

The Headbangers v Doug Furnas and Philip LaFon: Mosh and LaFon start, as Pillman suggests we check Doug and Phil’s pulses to make sure they’re actually awake. His commentary has been pretty bad for a guy who is so incredible on the microphone, but that line was brutal. LaFon with a slingshot sunset flip for two, and he uses an armdrag into an armbar. Tag to Doug, and he steamrolls Mosh with a shoulderblock, but fails to hold him for a cover before a tag is made to Thrasher. Thrasher tries for a hammerlock, but Doug counters to a waistlock, and holds it. Thrasher gets the ropes, and passes back to Mosh, and Mosh manages to dump Furnas throat-first across the top rope. The Headbangers work on Furnas, as Pillman moves on to slagging Vader’s lack of motivation next. Furnas manages to catch Mosh with a clothesline to allow the tag, and LaFon uses a shoulderblock for two. Back to Doug for a backdrop for two, but Mosh punches him before he can keep it going, and passes to Thrasher. The heels go back to work on Furnas, until Mosh telegraphs a backdrop, and gets nailed. Tag to LaFon for a spinheel kick for two, and a bodyslam sets up a 2nd rope seated senton splash for two. Philip goes to a chinlock, and a snap suplex gets him two. Mosh manages a hotshot to shake him off, and it’s back to Thrasher for a wishbone. Backdrop, but LaFon counters with a sunset flip for two, and tags. Doug with a powerslam for two, and an overhead suplex is worth two. Tag, and LaFon tries a backdrop, but it’s his turn to get nailed. Tag to Mosh, and he backdrop Philip over the top, so Doug comes in to dropkick him, and Roseanne Barr the door! Both teams spill to the outside, and we have a double countout at 8:00. Not technically incompetent, but dull. And the crowd was silent throughout. * ¼ 

The ring announcer (who even I don’t know by name) brings WWF Tag Team Champions Davey Boy Smith and Owen Hart out to talk about their recent issues. Gosh, how much of an afterthought was this show that we couldn’t even get a C-string interviewer like Kevin Kelly out to do this? The random ring announcer, really? Anyway, they’re going to prove that there’s no dysentery in the ranks by retaining the tag title at WrestleMania 

WrestleMania 13 ad

Flash Funk v Burt Centeno: If you needed more proof that Vince McMahon wasn’t paying attention to Shotgun by this point, Pillman gets another funny line in, wondering what ‘homeless shelter’ then found Centeno in. ‘He’s no name player,’ Brian notes. Funk with a flying somersault splash at 3:37. DUD

Hector Garza v Heavy Metal: Ross notes that these guys are from AAA, to which Pillman quips that they’re ‘about as big as a AAA battery.’ Okay, fuck it, he’s won me over. Forget what I said before. Metal gets a grapevine on for a bit, but they end up in the ropes, so he tries a half-crab, but Garza has the ropes again. Garza fires off a dropkick, so Metal tries a handspring backelbow, but misses. That gives Garza a two count, and a bodyslam sets up a dive, but Metal dodges, and hooks the leg for two. That looked stupid, as Metal moved before Garza was even set to dive, and then Hector did it anyway. Metal backdrops Garza over the top (with Hector taking a bump on the steps on the way), and Metal dives after him. Metal with a suplex back into the ring, and a bodyslam sets up a springboard flying moonsault, but Garza dodges. That allows Garza a modified guillotine, but it goes nowhere. Garza with a clothesline, but a dropkick misses, and Metal goes to a camel clutch. Metal with a cross corner dropkick, but Garza dodges, and dives with a missile dropkick, capped off with a standing moonsault at 5:30. *

Sunny hosts Sunny Undercover, which is her new interview segment, but there’s less than a minute of airtime left, so we never even get to meet her guest. They spent the entire episode hyping this segment, and then ‘ran out of time?’ On a taped show?!

BUExperience: We’re a week out from WrestleMania, and this was, like, the dullest show imaginable. The crowd gave them nothing here, too.