WWF at London Gardens (February 16, 1991)

 

Original Airdate: February 16, 1991

From London, Ontario, Canada; Your Hosts are Sean Mooney and Lord Alfred Hayes

Opening Match: Barbarian v Koko B. Ware: Barbarian powers him around early, but Koko comes back with a pair of dropkicks to knock him out of the ring. Koko keeps coming with fiery right hands, but Barbarian gets sick of his shit, and posts him. Inside, Barbarian works a nervehold, until Koko escapes, and makes a comeback. A missile dropkick gets a close two, but a charge ends badly when Barbarian catches him in a hotshot at 8:31. Not the most exciting opener, but it got across. ¼*

Crush v Butch: Crush powers him around to start, but a monkeyflip attempt during a criss cross goes badly when Butch bootrakes him. Crush ends up on the outside, leaving Butch with plenty of room to hongi, or whatever the fuck it is he does in his spare time. Crush powers back in to deliver an inverted atomic drop, and a corner whip sufficiently rattles the ring. Crush with a clothesline, and he grounds Butch in a bodyscissors. Crush looked so weird as a member of Demolition. The other guys had this look where, even if the gear didn’t fit right, or even if there was a discolored pad sticking out, it seemed rough and tumble, and right for the act. With Crush, it just looked like a guy cosplaying. Crush with a backbreaker, and he works a bearhug, but Butch escapes. Crush slugs him down, and a bodyslam sets up a 2nd rope fistdrop, but Butch moves. Butch delivers a facebuster as he starts making a comeback, and a running headbutt knocks Crush out of the ring. Butch ends up on the outside with him, but loses a slugfest, so he shoves Crush into the post instead, and then rolls in to grab the countout win at 9:39. Oh man, this was stillwater. Oddly, this was the only match from this card that made TV or home video. This. DUD

Ted DiBiase v Jimmy Snuka: Speaking of weird looks, Snuka with a mustache is there. Jimmy grabs the microphone, and mocks DiBiase for losing the services of Virgil, then takes it a step further by introducing Virgil to stand in his corner against DiBiase. Ted chews his former bodyguard out, allowing Snuka to sneak attack, and DiBiase eats the steps on the outside. Ted begs off on the way back in, but manages to catch Jimmy with a cheap shot as Superfly advances. Turnbuckle smash, but Snuka reverses, and adds a series of them for good measure. Snuka hooks a schoolboy for two, and a clothesline results in DiBiase bailing, but Virgil rolls him right back in! That allows Jimmy a schoolboy for two, so Ted bails again, and gets in Virgil’s face. Snuka tries another sneak attack, but DiBiase is ready for him this time. Ted tries to post him, but Jimmy reverses, and unloads on DiBiase on the outside. Inside, Snuka tries a 2nd rope axehandle, but DiBiase gutpunches him to block. That allows Ted to unload in the corner, and a clothesline finds the mark, setting up a trio of fistdrops. Or ‘knuckle blows,’ per Hayes. Hayes lowered my initial assessment of British people significantly, true story. DiBiase goes for a bodyslam, but Virgil trips him from the outside, and Snuka topples for the pin at 4:37. This was super basic, but entertaining, buoyed by the storytelling. *

Jim Duggan v General Adnan: The ring announcer here looks like he’s auditioning to replace Rick Rude, or something. Adnan is subbing for Sgt. Slaughter, who was Duggan’s originally advertised opponent. Adnan comes from behind with the towel to choke Jim, but Duggan quickly fights him off, and unloads with punches. Jim with a bodyslam, and the three-point stance wraps us up at 1:06. DUD

Rick Martel v Jake Roberts: This terrific HD WWE Vault upload really lets you appreciate how great the entrance themes were in this era. Each had so much flavor and character. The commentary stops for this match, and doesn’t return for the rest of the show, oddly. Martel attacks from behind to kickstart things, and he unloads. A cross corner whip rattles the ring, but the charge in misses, and Jake wrenches on the wrist. Martel continuously yelling at the crowd to ‘shut up’ while also moaning and groaning in a wristlock is some wonderful heel work. Rick ends up on the outside and stalls, complaining to the referee about closed fists, and breaking the momentum. Back in, Jake muscles him into the corner, but Martel manages a cheap shot during the rope break. That’s enough to turn the tide, and Rick delivers a kneedrop, before hammering on Roberts in the corner. Martel works a modified chinlock, until Jake escapes, and cradles for two. Martel immediately cuts him off, and delivers a backbreaker, but a trip to the top ends badly when Jake crotches him. Jake goes on the comeback trail, but Rick hits the deck to avoid the DDT, and bails. That triggers someone in the crowd to call him a ‘fucking shithead,’ which no one bothered to censor, and I love it. Inside, Martel manages to sucker Jake into getting tied in the ropes, and he grabs the perfume sprayer, but the referee snags it away. While that’s happening, Jake is able to free himself, and surprise Martel with the DDT! He’s too battered to cover, however, and both men are left taking the count. Jake manages to roll over, and he pins Martel with an arm across the chest at 12:31. Man, the next time someone brings up Triple H pinning Booker T after an eternity at WrestleMania, show them this. It made that one look like a flash pin. This wasn’t a great match, but I really appreciated Martel’s heel work here. He did a great job of playing his character, and the psychology was excellent. ¾*

Undertaker v Tugboat: Undertaker attacks on the outside to get things going, and he hammers on Tugboat as they head inside. Undertaker with a bunch of chokeholds, and a legdrop connects. An elbowdrop misses, but Tugboat is in rough shape, and has to roll out of the ring to catch a breather. Undertaker follows, and feeds him a smash into the apron, but one into the post gets reversed. That allows Tugboat a pair of smashes into the steps before taking things back inside, where he delivers a powerslam. Tugboat with a cross corner whip, and he follows in for an avalanche. Another cross corner whip, but the second avalanche misses, and Undertaker dives with a flying elbowdrop at 4:02. Not very good, but I actually appreciated Tugboat’s selling, and it didn’t overstay its welcome. ¼*

Virgil v Brooklyn Brawler: Brawler kickstarts things, but Virgil quickly fights him off, and a backelbow sends Brawler bailing. Brawler manages to pound Virgil down after climbing back in, but Virgil gets pissed, and his glare is enough to send Brawler bailing again. That’s quite the glare. Inside, Brawler again gets control, so Virgil tries a wild charge, but Brawler moves, and Virgil takes a big spill out of the ring. Brawler brings him in the hard way, and a bodyslam gets him two. Brawler with a turnbuckle smash, and a cross corner whip, but Virgil gets a knee up to block the charge in. Brawler is still able to get himself to the top rope, but Virgil slams him off before he can dive, and it’s comeback time! A Russian legsweep and a powerslam finish at 7:14. I liked the structure of this, as the idea was that Virgil was a complete novice who hadn’t really worked before, so it made sense that even a relative jobber like Brawler could dominate him. ½*

WWF Tag Team Title Match: The Hart Foundation v Power & Glory: Bret Hart starts with Paul Roma, and Bret immediately controls with a standing hammerlock. Bret with an inverted atomic drop, and Paul scurries to tag out. Hercules gets caught in an armbar right away, but manages to power out, so Bret passes to Jim Neidhart, who quickly teaches Hercules a thing or two about power. Back to Bret, but that proves to be a mistake, as Hercules press-slams him. Tag to Roma for an elbowdrop, and the heels take control, working the Hitman over. Bret gets a hot tag off to Jim, and he runs wild. A powerslam on Hercules looks to finish, but Roma saves at two, so Bret comes back in to double team. They set up the Hart Attack on Hercules, but Roma trips Hart up as he runs the ropes. That allows the heels to take control on the Hitman again, and they set up the superplex/dive combo, but Anvil saves before they can execute it. That leads to everyone brawling on the outside, and we have a double countout at 13:00. I really like both of these teams, but this was a pretty lacklust effort all around. Kind of odd booking too, since the Foundation pinned them cleanly during the last stop in this venue, and now they do a rematch with an inconclusive finish. ¾*

Main Event: WWF Title Match: Sgt. Slaughter v Ultimate Warrior: This was originally announced as Warrior v Randy Savage, but Slaughter has subbed in, though he still has Sensational Sherri in his corner anyway. Slaughter is often considered one of the low points for the title, but you can’t deny that he looks great with the belt. To be clear, I don’t consider him to be a low point, though I know others do. Warrior steals Slaughter’s army helmet before the bell, and Sarge comes in angry. Warrior shrugs him off and delivers a few turnbuckle smashes, and goes to town, so Sherri distracts him. Warrior takes the bait and chases her, though Slaughter fails to capitalize on the distraction. Macho Man would have been all over that. Warrior with a corner whip to rebound Slaughter into a backdrop, and Warrior adds a clothesline, before randomly chasing after Sherri again. She didn’t even do anything that time! Sherri dives under the ring to get away from the maniac, but he follows her under, doing God knows what in the darkness. When they come out, my worst fears are proven true, as Warrior has removed Sherri’s skirt. Slaughter attacks him and holds him for Sherri to get a slap in on, and rightly so, frankly. Inside, Slaughter puts the boots to the challenger, and he delivers a backbreaker. Slaughter puts the camel clutch on, and he holds that for a good while, until Warrior is finally able to power free. Slaughter keeps attacking, but now Warrior is in no-sell mode, so fuck off. Warrior makes a comeback, but Slaughter gets his knees up to block a splash. That allows Slaughter to go to the top for a flying axehandle, and a short-clothesline gets him two. Another clothesline, but Warrior ducks, and the resulting criss cross ends in a double knockout spot. Slaughter is up first, and he goes back to the top rope, but this time Warrior slams him off. Warrior adds a corner whip that sends Slaughter bumping over the top, and the challenger follows to post him out there. Warrior grabs the title belt and bashes Sarge with it, then takes him back inside for a jumping shoulderblock. Another one connects, but Warrior gets overzealous, and starts randomly beating up the referee for the DQ at 14:02. Well, that finish made no sense. The match wasn’t good, but it had its moments. ½*

BUExperience: I generally enjoyed this, but it was not a good show by any means. I can’t really explain it, probably just nostalgia at play.

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