WWF LiveWire (January 11, 1997)

 

Original Airdate: January 11, 1997

Your Hosts are Dok Hendrix and Jim Ross from the control center, with Ross’ Cosby sweater still in full effect

From Monday Night RAW, Ross brings out WWF Champion Sycho Sid out for an interview, and at least this motherfucker is getting a crowd reaction. Ross wants to know if Sid is intimidated to face Shawn Michaels in HBK's hometown, but Sid is not. So there you go. And then Shawn comes out to do guest commentary on the next match, and he dances on the table to taunt Sid, so Sid warns him that he's not going to be responsible for what he does at the Royal Rumble. The promo wasn't much, but good closing

Bret Hart v Vader: From RAW on January 6 (taped December 30 1996) in Albany New York, with Shawn on commentary. Bret appears to be missing a layer of his tights here, as Vince notes that it's all about 'attitude' in the WWF. Well, it sure will be. Vader takes the Hitman into the corner for some abuse, as Lawler wonders what it would be like to see a Triple Threat match with Hart/Vader/Michaels. That... actually would probably be pretty awesome. Shawn notes that he could 'squash' Bret on his own, though. They spill to the outside, where Hart reverses a whip into the steps, and he sends Vader into the guardrail out there. Inside, Bret blasts him with a pair of pointed elbowdrops, followed by a headbutt to the groin area, as Shawn continues to tease a more heelish direction on commentary. Bret works the arm, but a criss cross ends badly when he collides with the mass that is Vader. Into the corner for more abuse, and Vader hits a short-clothesline, as Shawn sounds like he's genuinely annoying McMahon a bit now. Vader with a bodyslam, and he dives off the middle with a bodyblock, as we see Steve Austin observing from the back. Vader with another 2nd rope bodyblock, and a 2nd rope splash gets him two. Lawler gets a funny dad-joke on commentary, suggesting that Jose should have named his son 'Jos-B.' Vaderbomb time, but Hart lifts his knees to block, and he starts making a comeback - with Shawn mocking him for using the same comeback moves all the time. Considering how bad he was with that in his 2000s run, he shouldn't talk. 2nd rope pointed elbowdrop gets two, and a side suplex is worth two. Bodypress sends both men tumbling over the top, and I smell a cheap finish coming up. They slug it out on the floor as Sycho Sid comes out, but instead of interfering, he kidnaps a cameraman. Meanwhile, Austin shows up as well, but he does interfere - dropping Bret with the Stunner on the floor. That allows Vader to take Hart in, and the Vaderbomb finishes at 8:40. Interesting that he got to pin both Hart and Michaels with it on TV. Other than Sid, very few guys got pinfall victories over both of those guys during this period. Anyway, the match was pretty weak, with both guys pretty much just going through the motions. * ¼

From RAW, Sid powerbombs Pete Lothario on a table backstage, with Shawn sprinting to the back, but unable to get there before the damage is done. I remember thinking Pete looked like a kid when I saw this back in 1997, but that dude looks forty. I like how they at least explained the presence of the camera here. It's a minor thing, but I prefer it so much over the 'invisible camera that happens to anywhere the action is' style that became the norm in the Attitude Era. Any attempts at realism never hurt

Faarooq is in the green room

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Rafi calls from Pennsylavnia, and wonders if Bret Hart will interfere in matches at the Royal Rumble. Such a random question. Maybe he’ll take a poop, let’s ask about that

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We take a look back at Shotgun Saturday Night, with the Nation of Domination and Ahmed Johnson brawling all over the place

Faarooq joins us in the studio, and Craig calls from Florida, thinking they should rename is the Nation of Procrastination since it’s taking so long to get around to the match with Ahmed

Chris calls from Texas, hoping to be the newest member of the Nation. Faarooq promises to send him some ‘literature.’ Literature? Literature?! You’ve got to feel it!

Clarissa calls in from Missouri, wondering where Faarooq is ‘going’ with this whole Nation of Domination ‘thing’

Steve calls from New Jersey, wanting to know why Faarooq formed the Nation

Sean calls from Massachusetts, wondering who would win a fight between Faarooq and Ron Simmons. Faarooq doesn’t shy away from it, noting that he used to be Ron Simmons, but that guy is gone now

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Chris calls from Tennessee, and thinks Faarooq can beat Johnson without the Nation, so why rely on them. Faarooq offers to send literature

From Superstars, we get clips of Undertaker torturing Jim Cornette

Shotgun Saturday Night ad

Superstars ad

Shawn calls from New Jersey, wondering what the card is for Shotgun tonight

Lou calls from Florida to ask about the tag division, which Ross flat out thinks is ‘substandard’

Nicole calls from Michigan, wondering what the card is for the Royal Rumble. Gosh, we’re scraping the bottom of the barrel this week

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The Starburst Fruit Twists Rewind is Shawn Michaels winning the Rumble match in 1995

BUExperience: I kind of enjoyed the hell out of JR just ripping on the Northeast for the entire hour. I very much did not enjoy the rest.