WWF 1995 King of The Ring (6/25/95)

As 1995 continued to be a disappointing year for the WWF, their pay per view quality began to suffer along with house shows and other revenue sources. After Wrestlemania 11 and In Your House disappointed, Vince turned to King of the Ring to turn things around. After all, the last 2 years featured memorable tournament matches, deserving winners of the finals and other memorable events along the way. Unfortunately the same inept booking and writing that had plagued them for much of the year would haunt them again in this one. They were in hostile territory to begin with (Philly was ECW country) and with Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker and Yokozuna involved, there was no way they could screw it up.....right? Not only do we have the tournament, we also got a Kiss My Foot match between Jerry Lawler and Bret Hart and a peculiar main event tag match featuring Diesel and Bam Bam Bigelow against Tatanka and Sycho Sid (yes that's how they spelled it).

JUNE 25, 1995

PHILADELPHIA SPECTRUM

PHILADELPHIA, PA

            

Commentators: Vince McMahon and Michael "PS" Hayes (I refuse to call him Dok Hendrix)

We go to Stephanie Wiand who tells us due to Razor Ramon's injury, a qualifying match between Savio Vega and I.R.S. had to be held during the Free For All to fill his spot, and we are now going to see this match as a Coliseum Video exclusive (yes this is the official tape). This match came about due to a rib injury to Razor Ramon, thus (no pun intended) royally screwing up most people's King of the Ring brackets. People thought it was going to be Taker vs Shawn in the semi-finals with the winner meeting Razor in the finals. With Razor out and the new Savio in, something fishy was going on.

Match 1

I.R.S. (with Ted Dibiase) vs Savio Vega (with Razor Ramon) in a King of the Ring qualifying match

Irwin hadn't won a big match in forever it seemed and Savio Vega was hyped up as the next big latino star. I'm not kidding, Savio was ALL OVER television during this time period, guess it was a reward for having to stick around Harvey Whippleman as Kwang the ninja the last year and a half. Razor is the cornerman for Savio and everyone knows I was a huge Razor fan so I rooted for Savio by association. I notice in the front row are the ECW superfans, you remember the guy in the straw hat and the other two guys flanking him at the ECW arena? Well they're in the front row tonight at the Spectrum just to give you an idea how powerful ECW was in the Philly area. Savio and Irwin circle to start before Savio gets a quick small package to surprise Irwin. Savio sunset flips him for 2, rolls him up for 2 and headlocks Irwin high school style for another two count. During downtime, Michael Hayes speculates an IRS vs Kama finals showdown and who Dibiase would root for....whatever he's smoking I want some. We get a camera shot of the French and Spanish announce teams before Irwin tosses Savio to the outside in front of Razor. Michael Hayes then redeems himself by saying if Razor was only to wrestle once, he'd be allowed but with his injury so severe the doctors wouldn't allow him to further injure himself by wrestling 2 or 3 matches in a night. Back inside IRS scoop slams Savio and goes upstairs, but Savio gets the foot up just in time. Savio rallies with right hands and a back elbow smash before a suplex rollover gets 2. IRS rolls outside and heads for the exit but Savio throws him back inside. Irwin goes off the ropes but runs right into a spinning wheel kick (Vega/Kwang's finisher). Savio covers for 1....2...3 and Vega wins it. I don't recall seeing IRS on pay per view again so lets all wave goodbye and thank you for 4 1/2 years of service from the tax man.

Time of Match: 4:00

Winner: Savio Vega by pinfall

 Since that was a Coliseum Exclusive, NOW we run the opening firework display/montage. Vince and Michael hype up tonight's events as we are sent to our first match...technically

Match 2

Savio Vega (with Razor Ramon) vs Yokozuna (with Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji) in a King of the Ring quarterfinal match

  Savio had won the qualifying match earlier during the Free For All while Yokozuna defeated Lex Luger by a count-out to set up this match. Yokozuna was one half of the tag team champions with Owen Hart as Savio Vega cuts a mile a minute promo with Todd Pettengill as Razor looks like he'd rather be somewhere else. Yokozuna waves the Japanese flag while Savio waves a Puerto Rican/American flag to a cheap pop. Yoko knocks Savio down with a shoulderblock to start then chops him into the rope. Savio ducks under a clothesline, runs into a back elbow smash but dodges an elbow drop attempt. Yoko backs Savio into the corner but Savio rams his head into the turnbuckle 10 times. Savio goes for the spinning wheel kick but Yoko wisely ducks under it to avoid the contact. Yoko beats down Savio in the corner as Vince tells us Owen Hart is chillin with Stan Lane in the back. Owen is shown yelling at someone on the phone while wearing a hilarious tuxedo with a bow-tie, his future Slammy Award winning outfit. Back to ringside Yoko goes for the banzai drop but Savio rolls out of the way. Yoko headbutts Savio and applies a nerve hold as Michael Hayes says Savio is at a severe disadvantage after already wrestled before then having to face the 2 time WWF champion Yoko. Savio rallies but Yoko heaves him over the top rope to the floor before Razor throws him back inside. They trade blows inside the ring before Yoko gets the upper hand and scoop slams Vega, but misses with the leg drop attempt. Savio rallies with right hands and clothesline before hitting his trademark spinning wheel kick. Cornette hops on the apron and his decked for his trouble by Savio. Razor comes over and taunts Cornette but all of a sudden Owen Hart runs out still in his tuxedo to attack Razor. Savio jumps out to follow Razor but is cut off by Yoko and they trade blows. Yoko pushes Savio against the ring post and charges, but Savio rolls out of the way into the ring causing Yoko to crash into the post. The referee completes the count and Savio Vega is your winner. Uh oh....with Razor out, the natural opponent for Shawn or Taker in the Finals was Yokozuna. With him out, who the hell wants to see Shawn or Taker against Savio, The Roadie or Bob Holly? Still, Savio gets his first ppv win (not counting the Free For All).

Time of Match: 8:23

Winner: Savio Vega by count-out

   Back to Jerry Lawler's dressing room who was so confident that he's going to beat Bret that he was walking around in horse manure the whole month, he's completely grossed out by his own foot so he's spraying Lysol around then once again says he's going to beat Bret.

Match 3

The Roadie (with Jeff Jarrett) vs Bob Holly in a King of the Ring quarterfinal match

  For whatever reason, the WWF IC champ Jeff Jarrett isn't even on the card while The Roadie is in the tournament....as much of a Jarrett hater I was, how can you have the IC champ not on the card, was he injured too?  We see highlights of The Roadie beating Doink the Clown to qualify before Holly enters, which makes me wonder if that was Doink's last match in the company because he's really not heard from again after this. Bob had beaten another Wrestlecrap.com (cheap plug) inductee Mantaur with a flying bodypress to qualify, thus robbing us of the potential Doink vs Mantaur showdown. Michael calls this the dark horse match and he's got a point, none of the 7 of us had either one of these guys beating Yoko/Savio in the semi-finals let alone winning the whole thing....but then again if you told us 5 years later both of these guys would be featured stars we would have laughed at you as well. Roadie runs into a powerslam pinfall to start the match but kicks out at 2. Holly shoulderblocks Roadie for a 2 count and a sunset flip for a loooong 2 count before cradling Roadie for yet another 2....We;ve had more pinfall attempts in the last 30 seconds than in the last 2 matches combined. Roadie retreats to the outside and regroups with Double J as Michael claims he doesn't like Bob's driving ability. Roadie goes on the offensive but runs into a leapfrog and a shoulderblock. Holly's on fire so far after two hiptosses and a body slam, makes another pinfall attempt for a 2 count. Bob goes for a frankensteiner but Roadie counters with a powerbomb as Double J celebrates on the outside. Michael calls Holly a crash test dummy as Roadie whips Bob hard off the corner and tries to Indian burn him with his dreadlocks (BRILLIANT!), interesting move but Hayes does not approve. Roadie struts and dances before dropping a few elbows to the lower back area of Holly. Roadie applies a rest hold as Hayes brings up Holly's WWF tag team title win with 123 Kid at the Royal Rumble. Bob powers out of the chin lock then hits a running school boy but Roadie grabs the rope at 2. Roadie quells the momentum with a clothesline then dances again....and horribly too. Roadie finally makes the cover 1....2...nope, foot on the rope. Roadie applies another rest hold as Michael says Roadie won't win if he keeps singing and dancing. Holly counters a piledriver with a back drop but hits a flying head scissors to counter a sidewalk slam attempt. Bob ducks under a clothesline and hits a dropkick then goes on the offense going to the ol fisticuffs before a powerslam pinfall attempt gets two. Roadie goes for a superplex but his thrown off the rope by Holly, Bob goes for a splash but Roadie gets the foot up. Holly crashes and Roadie covers for 1....2.....3 that's it...or is it? You can clearly see Holly's arm come up at 2 but the referee says its over and Roadie's your winner. Somebody goofed but in any case the first semi-final match is set, Savio Vega vs The Roadie. Something's wrong, neither of those guys is a good opponent for Shawn or Taker.....unless......

Time of match: 7:29

Winner: The Roadie by pinfall

   We go back to Todd Pettengill who's with the star of tonight's show The Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels. We see highlights of Shawn pinning the massive King Kong Bundy to qualify as Shawn tells us he's going to beat Kama with sweet chin music.

Match 4

"The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels vs Kama (with Ted Dibiase) in a King of the Ring quarterfinal match

   Well, with conventional brackets out the window it was time for the saving grace. HBK had already been in the company for seven years but only now was he beginning to rise to the championship level after being a solid mid-carder for years. Kama had beaten yet another Wrestlecrap.com (yet another cheap plug) inductee Duke The Dumpster Droese to advance to this match. Come to think of it, I think this version of Kama is in Wrestlecrap.com along with his alter-ego Papa Shango. They take forever to start before exchanging go-behinds. Kama tries to throw hooks and jabs but Shawn dodges and hits some left jabs of his own, great now we're going into fisticuffs. Kama backs Shawn in the corner but Shawn leapfrogs over him then scoring with more left jabs. Hayes brings up Shawn's stamina and how he became the first man to enter at number 1 then win the Royal Rumble. Kama tries to throw Shane over the top but he skins the cat back in then backdrops Kama to the floor. Shawn goes to the arm-bar but is kicked in the ribs and clotheslined over the top to the floor by Kama. Back outside, Kama rams Shawn into the ringpost and rolls back in. The referee counts to seven before Kama breaks up the count, what an idiot! From a kayfabe standpoint there was no way Shawn was getting back in, but luckilly for the 5 of us he rolls Shawn back inside then taunts him. Kama goes on offense with boots as Straw Hat Dude gives him the finger. The camera shows former boxing heavyweight legend Smokin Joe Frazier in the crowd as Kama continues to beat down HBK. Kama continues to kick away as the crowd has gone silent, which isn't a good thing. We are now 7 minutes in and Kama has controlled the match from virtually the last 5 and he continues with boxing hooks in the corner. Kama locks in a Jesse Ventura style overhead backbreaker but Shawn counters into a reverse nothern lights for 1...2...nope. Kama whips Shawn who Flair flips onto the floor, where Ted Dibiase puts the clogs to him. Kama taunts Shawn from inside as Tim White begins to count 1...2....3....4....5...oh shit....6....7....8....9.....whew, just in time as Shawn rolls in. Kama hits a series of backbreakers as we get a shot of the French commentating team, I'd love to see Ray Rougeau come out of retirement to lock up with Kama but oh well. Kama puts Shawn in a backbreaker and we are now 11 minutes in.....this is kinda getting serious. Kama whips Shawn into the corner but a charge misses then Shawn flips off into a takedown. Kama gets up but Shawn rolls out of the way of the elbow drop attempt as a scrolling clock appears on screen showing 2 minutes left.....oh shit, the writing's on the wall folks. At this point I turned to Shayna and said, I think we're screwed as Shawn nips up to stomp away at Kama. Shawn goes upstairs and hits an axehandle for 1...2...nope, Kama gets the shoulder up. Shawn does the 10 punch in the corner with 1 minute left in the match and now Steve and Chris are on the edge of their seats.  Kama rolls through a bodypress for 1....2..NOOOO, now Phil and Kevin are into at as they had Kama to win. Kama runs into a small package with 15 seconds left for a 2 count, then Shawn hits a sunset flip for 1......2.....ding ding ding ding ding. The referee tells the ring announcer that the time limit has expired and both guys are gone, the crowd goes LIVID. Shawn hits sweet chin music to send Kama out of the ring but too little too late. In terms of WWF storylines, the King of the Ring is coming down to The Roadie, Mabel, Savio Vega and The Undertaker.  The Undertaker really didn't need the KOTR and the other 3 really didn't deserve it at the time which drastically lowers the standard the KOTR was (and will be again the next 3 years after this). The writing was on the wall folks.

Time of Match: 15 minutes

Winner: No one (time limit draw, both are eliminated)

     We go to Todd Pettengill who hypes up the Mabel/Undertaker showdown with a highlight package. Mabel had beaten Adam Bomb at last month's In Your House to qualify as The Undertaker pinned Jeff Jarrett....and he's the IC champ no less. Back to Michael and Vince at ringside who go over the events so far a then sends us to Bob Backlund.....oh great. The whole vignette was supposed to get Backlund over as the next president of the United States.....yeah ok. Back to ringside we get even more stalling as the French and Spanish teams put in their two cents before finally getting the next match started.

Match 5

Mabel (with Mo) vs The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) in a King of the Ring quarterfinal match

 With Shawn Michaels gone, it had dawned on me that the winner of this match was going to be King of the Ring. Savio and Roadie were nowhere near the talent level of the Hart brothers or the star power of these two, so for all intents and purposes, the winner of this is your King. Mabel struts out as Stephanie Wiand hits ringside to interview Mabel, who says he's gonna be the next king. They stare each other down to start before Taker starts with thrusts to the throat of Mabel then whips him in the corner. Taker clotheslines Mabel but he doesn't go down, a second attempt does nothing but the third attempt floors him. Taker goes Old School down across the back and chokes him in the corner. Michael Hayes asks if Taker's strong enough to chokeslam Mabel as Mabel slams Taker down. Mabel clotheslines him over the top to the floor where Taker lands on his feet, then snaps Mabel off the top rope. Taker's foot gets tied in the ropes so Mabel takes advantage with knees to the back. Taker's really caught and even Mabel almost breaks kayfabe trying to set him free, but back inside Taker staggers around before going back on offense. Mabel hits a belly to belly suplex as the crowd deflates completely, they weren't happy that Shawn wasn't advancing but they're really quiet now the last real favorite is being dismantled. Mabel locks in a rest hold as Hawaiian Shirt Dude yells at Mo. Mabel hurls Taker outside then stalks him around the area before ramming him into the steel steps. Mabel stands on him then rolls back in to break the count before Mo puts the clogs to Taker. Back inside Mabel stands on him once again before whipping him hard off the corner. Paul Bearer says "ohhhh nooo" as Mabel hits a snap suplex and covers for 1...2..nope, near fall. Vince scoffs at Hayes for his expertise of the obvious as Mabel continues to go to work. Mabel goes for an avalanche in the corner but the charge eats boot then a clothesline sends the big man down. Taker goes for a back body drop but Mabel counters with a piledriver for 1....2...noooooo. Undertaker ducks under a clothesline then does a double clothesline spot as we are now 9 minutes in, begging the question if THIS match ends in a draw. Mabel misses an elbow drop as Vince asks if The Undertaker is weakened by the fact the urn is not in his possession. Taker hits an avalanche of his own in the corner before Mabel whips him into referee Mike Chioda....uh oh. Taker ducks under a clothesline and hits his flying clothesline before giving the signal for the chokeslam. Taker hits the chokeslam on the big man as Mo hops up on the apron only to be knocked off for his troubles. Taker goes for the cover when all of a sudden Kama makes his appearance and boots Taker in the head. Mabel rolls over and covers the dead man as Chioda revives......1......2...3......its over. With that instant, the entire pay per view is a complete washout as Mabel is now in the finals. Funny how Taker had only been pinned once in his entire five year (at the time) career in WWF by way of a cheap roll up by Hulk Hogan. He's taken every finisher known to mankind and yet a simple boot to the head by Kama was enough?? The crowd begins chanting ECW as Taker revives and chases Kama out of the arena, ugh. I get the idea of the monster heel vs never say die babyface, but they picked the wrong guys.

Time of match: 10:47

Winner: Mabel by pinfall

   The next segment is the Class of 95 Hall of Fame ceremony, which wasn't the huge party it became since Wrestlemania 20 but a decent banquet nontheless. The seven inductees were Fabulous Moolah, George "The Animal" Steele, Ivan Putski, Ernie Ladd, Pedro Morales, The Grand Wizard and Antonino Rocca. Morales couldn't be there because he was working for WCW at the time so we had none other than Savio Vega accepting the award, told you he was all over the place. Grand Wizard and Antonino were long dead by this point but both of them were legends of their time, The Wizard was the precursor to Jimmy Hart in terms of flamboyant outfits and mic skills. Ernie Ladd, unlike Brock Lesnar was both successful in the ring and in the NFL and we all know the accomplishments of Moolah, Putski and Steele. It was a nice tribute to the old timers and the ceremony is now an annual tradition the night before Wrestlemania. After the feel good tribute to the past, its on to the semi-finals.

Match 6

Savio Vega (With Razor Ramon) vs The Roadie (with Jeff Jarrett) in a King of the Ring semi-final match

This match can only be classified as filler since if you had either of these guys winning it all going in, you were either crazy or stupid. Before the match starts we go to Todd Pettengill who's with Roadie and Jarrett. Jarrett refers to Roadie as the "Road Dog"....could he one day be one half of the WWF TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS OF THE WOOOOOOORLLLLDDDDDDDDD.....nah. Savio circles to start the match before Roadie backs him in the corner. Savio rallies in the corner with right hands before hiplocking him and clotheslining Roadie over the top to the floor. Roadie complains on the outside before slowly getting back in the ring. Savio goes for the top wristlock as Vince compares Vega to Rocky Balboa....um what? Savio chops Roadie in the corner as Hayes says Vega stole his hubcaps. Savio rolls through a bodyslam into a cradle for a near fall before Roadie hits him with kitchen sink. Roadie hits shake rattle n roll but the cover only gets 1 then Roadie chokes him in the corner then the second rope. Roadie kicks Savio in the head then applies a snap mare then hits a second rope headbutt. The cover gets 1....2...nope, Roadie gets the knee in the back then puts the boots to him as he says "How bout the Road Dog?" Roadie does his snap jabs but Savio fires back with chops of his own. Roadie irish whips Savio off the corner but goes back to the second rope where he misses the headbutt this time. Vince says Savio Vega will wrestle Jeff Jarrett for the IC title tomorrow night on Raw as Savio goes back on offense. Savio sends Roadie off the rope then hits a big boot but the cover only gets 2.  Savio goes off the ropes but Jarrett holds on to the leg. Savio turns his back so Roadie clubs him from behind. Razor comes over to investigate as Jarrett hops up on the second rope to get away. Savio whips Roadie off but stops himself before he runs into Jarrett, but Savio knees him into Double J knocking him off. Savio rolls up Roadie 1....2.....3 that's it, Savio Vega's going to the finals. Jarrett can't believe it as Savio has now won three matches in one night....with one more to go. If he can beat the massive Mabel then the comeback story is complete....a long way from Kwang that's for sure. The match itself wasn't great but what do you expect, these guys probably never worked together before.

Time of match: 6:36

Winner: Savio Vega by pinfall

      After the match Carlos Cabrera hits ringside to interview Savio in Spanish so Michael Hayes gets up to translate. Savio speaks Spanish as Hayes rambles off non-sense and says "I got no chance to beat Mabel" All of a sudden Razor Ramon appears behind Hayes and scares him away. Next is a highlight package of the upcoming Bret Hart vs Jerry Lawler showdown. Two years ago at King of the Ring he attacked Bret Hart after Bret had won the King of the Ring tournament and w all know the awesome storyline that was Summerslam 93. What's not in the highlight package is due to a never proven rape charge to Lawler, these two never got to settle matters. Bret winning the WWF championship also put a lid on this temporarily, but with Diesel as champ the opportunity presented itself to heat up the feud and last month at In Your House Bret wrestled a brilliant match with Hakushi only to lose to Lawler later in the night. Bret immediately called for a re-match and Lawler was so confident he was going to win, in the storyline (or not come to think of it) he wouldn't wash his feet until after the pay per view. We even get a glimpse of YET ANOTHER Wrestlecrap.com inductee (another cheap plug) Aldo Montoya losing to the King and having to kiss the disgusting feet. I've thrown out so many cheap plugs is it so hard to believe WCW began to kick the crap out of WWF in the ratings in less than a year? Yes WCW had their lunatic writing at the time but at least it wasn't TOTALLY geared toward children. Anyway, we go to Bret in the back who cuts a promo saying the feuds going to be over and he's prepared to not make mistakes or let anyone interfere.

Match 7

Bret "Hitman" Hart vs Jerry "The King" Lawler in a Kiss My Foot match

    Finally after 2 years this feud will finally be settled. King enters first and Stephanie Wiand hits the entrance way to interview him. King says he's gonna win and Stephanie is completely grossed out. Vince speculates if Bret loses this match he will retire due to the embarrassment. Even though this is a pro ECW crowd, the entire arena cheers for The Hitman, THAT'S respect. One sign says "Hulk Who? Hitman Rules." Lawler and Bret lock up as Hayes tells us Jerry cost Hart a match against Henry Godwinn the week before.....that's right, Bret jobbed to HIM.  Bret hammers away in the corner as Hayes says "If Bret gets disqualified he's gotta kiss some feet!" Jerry bails to the outside but Bret cuts him off then throws him into the retaining barrier. Back inside Bret rakes him over the top rope then fires away in the corner again. Bret follows Lawler outside as Vince tells about the Hakushi interference last month at In Your House. Lawler sends Bret into the steel steps as Hayes asks if Shinja and Hakushi would make an appearance during the match. Lawler sends Bret into the retaining barrier then looks for something to hit him with. He throws Bret back inside then taunt the crowd as Hayes hopes the outcome is clear cut. Lawler calls for the piledriver and hits it...uh oh. Lawler wastes time but then goes for another piledriver and hits that one too. Lawler calls for a third piledriver and delivers it cleanly....that's 3 piledrivers. Goodbye Bret...the cover 1...2....NOOOOOOOO. Bret kicks out as the crowd barely makes a noise, do they not know that was his FINISHER?  Lawler goes to attack but Bret rallies with right hands before Jerry heaves him outside. Jerry takes his shoe off as Michael Hayes pretends to gag. Lawler waffles Bret with the boot as Vince mentions how Hart's career is coming to an end. Jerry goes for the cover...1....2..nope, Hayes: "My nose is coming to an end" Lawler chokes Bret with the boot in the corner then takes the boot completely off as Hayes begs for him to keep it on. He goes to shove his stinking foot in Bret's face but he blocks it, trips him up and headbutts him in the lower abdomen. Lawler and Hart trade blows before Jerry crawls to the corner and whacks Bret with the boot again, then puts it back on. Lawler hops up on the second rope and hits the fist drop then covers for 1...2...nope. That's both finishers Bret has kicked out from, now Lawler goes to ram him nut first into the ring post but Bret counters. Bret goes on outside and goes to work on Jerry when all of a sudden Hakushi and Shinja make their appearance. Shinja distracts the ref but Hakushi misses Bret and chops Lawler instead. Back inside Bret runs through his offense....russian leg sweep, back breaker, elbow drop then calls for the sharpshooter. Bret locks it in and the crowd cheers, then Lawler gives up and the match is over. But wait....Bret refuses to break the hold, shades of Summerslam. Hebner begins to count...1....2.....3....4...nope, Bret breaks it showing he's learned from his mistakes. Bret hops up on the top rope and undoes his right boot and sock off as Lawler protests, his whole plan backfired. Hakushi and Shinja run back out to ringside. Lawler nails Bret from behind and holds him, but Bret moves out of the way and Hakushi hits a springboard shoulderblock on The King instead. Hayes "He's oh for two tonight" Hart knocks Shinja off the apron then clotheslines Hakushi over the top and out. Bret then shoves his foot into Lawler's mouth and Jerry begins to gag. Hart goes to leave but turns around, grabs Lawler's unzipped boot and takes it off, then shoves Lawler's stinking foot into Jerry's own mouth. Lawler continues to gag as Bret finally wins the feud, two years later. Bad match but they had to blow it off somehow, this was going for two years now.

Time of match: 9:20

Winner: Bret Hart by submission

      We go to a highlight package of the WWF stars helping out at the 1995 Special Olympics, it was a nice gesture and if nothing else it showed they cared about the special needs program. After that we are showed the last two KOTR winners just to show you how far we've fallen in the last year. Anyway lets get to this impending debacle.....

Match 8

Savio Vega (with Razor Ramon) vs Mabel (with Mo) in the King of the Ring finals match

   Anyone who predicted this going into the night was either high, insane or stupid, but with the inept booking and cartoon characters of the time period, are we really that surprised? From an in ring standpoint the 6'8 500 pound Mabel certainly had the size to be believable and at only 23 years old could be considered a "new star" but like I said numerous times the King of the Ring standard had been set so high because of the last 2 years that he didn't have the credentials, especially since he was still dressing in gold and purple. The fans were not going to get behind Mabel because his in-ring ability was limited meanwhile Savio Vega was a relative newcomer and after spending a year and a half as the Wrestlecrap.com (yes...another cheap plug) inductee Kwang, the fans were going to turn on him for rising to the top so fast. In terms of the match the massive Mabel was fresh after wrestling Undertaker in the quarter-final while Savio Vega plays the face long-shot who's wrestling his 4th match in the night.  Mabel enters and turns to the camera then says "If the dead man couldn't beat me, nobody will" He's got a good point, if The Undertaker couldn't stop him how could Savio Vega? Savio's music plays for the 7th time tonight as Vince continues to hype him up on the same level as Rocky Balboa. Michael Hayes compares Savio in the finals to the 94-95 New Jersey Devils taking home the Stanley Cup the night before.....except Savio Vega is not Martin Brodeur or Scott Niedermayer. Mabel throws Savio in the corner to start the match but ducks out of the way of a charge. Savio fires away in the corner then sticks and moves, what he has to do to win I guess. He double chops Mabel in the corner then punches him 10 times as Mo protests outside the ring. Mabel whips Savio in the other corner but Vega once again ducks out of the way. Mabel scoop slams Vega but Savio rolls out of the way of the earthquake attempt, then clotheslines the big man over the top to the floor. Mabel pulls Savio out of the ring but Vega blocks a head ram attempt then rams Mabel's head into the steel steps. Savio rallies with fists but Mabel whips him into the steps, then rolls inside to break the count. Back inside Mabel chokes Vega on the top rope then whips him into the corner, then locks in a bearhug....BOOOOOORING. Razor tries to wake the crowd up but Mabel continues to work the bearhug spot. Savio does the fade then revive routine as Hayes says Mabel's fatigued after being chokeslammed by the Undertaker. Savio powers out of the bearhug as Hayes hypes up the tag team match coming up. Mabel whips Savio off the corner then locks in another bearhug....come on! Savio powers out of it but Mabel hammers him in the back then lariats him to the mat. Mabel covers for 1...2....thr...noooooo. Mabel locks in another rest hold as Michael Hayes gives us an anatomy lesson. Razor tries to wake the crowd up again and this time Savio powers out of it. Mabel avalanches Savio in the corner as the crowd chants ECW again....and Vince acknowledges it! Mabel charges in the corner but Savio moves then rolls him up for 1.....2...nooooo, Mabel gets the shoulder up. Savio bounces off the ropes and hits his Spinning Wheel Kick. Savio crawls over 1.....2.....Nooooo, almost. Mabel sends Savio off then catches him midair and front slams him down. Mabel covers for 1......2...nope, Savio kicks out and Hayes is shocked. Mabel bounces off the rope and big splashes Savio.  Mabel covers 1....2......3 and its over, Mabel is your 1995 King of the Ring....what pathetic booking. After the match, Razor Ramon hops in the ring to check on Savio. Mo gets in Razor's face so Ramon begins to attack M.O.M. with right hands. Eventually they overpower him and Mabel hits a second rope elbow on him. 123 Kid hits ringside....begging the question why he couldn't have wrestled Jarrett for the IC title on the ppv but no matter. Kid goes to town before he too is overpowererd, Mabel is about to splash Kid but the referees save him. I wonder why Aldo Montoya didn't join in since he was friends with the faces but I guess Mabel squashing Razor, Savio and Kid was strong enough booking.

Time of match: 8:33

Winner: Mabel by pinfall (1995 King of the Ring)

    We go to Todd Pettengill with the coronation ceremony and the fans are completely livid, Mo throws Pettengill off the stage (not literally though) and does the coronation himself. They chant ECW, throw garbage at M.O.M. and really send a message that this was NOT what they wanted to see, could you blame them? You had two former WWF champions in Yokozuna and The Undertaker as well as perennial star Shawn Michaels and yet finals featured the near immobile Mabel and the relative unknown Savio Vega. Mo reads from a scroll...and yeah, Mabel is the king. This is ECW country, so the fans pelting him with garbage is a sign of the times...maybe not now but years later booking like this will come back to haunt them. 123 Kid, Razor and Savio rush the throne but are held back by WWF referees as Mo taunts them, oh sure NOW the faces make the comeback. We cut to the backstage area to see Jerry Lawler puking his guts out in the sink....I'd rather see the coronation than that. We then go to Stephanie Wiand to interview Ted Dibiase's corporation about their upcoming tag match with Bam Bam and Diesel. Sycho Sid says he destroyed Diesel's elbow and he's going to finish the job while Tatanka says he's going to take out Bam Bam once and for all.

Match 9

Bam Bam Bigelow and Diesel vs Sycho Sid and Tatanka (with Ted Dibiase)

    As if the show couldn't get any worse, we got a completely random tag team match to finish off the night. Why couldn't this be earlier and the Kiss My Foot match be here? Tatanka in the four years he's been with WWF at this point had never main evented a ppv, Bam Bam had begun to fizzle out, Diesel wasn't drawing well as champion and Sid was not being booked properly. Bam Bam enters wearing a pyromatic armband set which shoot flames out, why didn't he just shoot those at Tatanka? They brawl in the ring to start before the faces clean house, that didn't take long. Sid and Tatanka stall outside for about a minute and a half before Tatanka gets in to start. Diesel clothesline him down but Sid interferes and nails the injured elbow off the second rope. Tatanka tomahawk chops the injured elbow as the kids in the crowd chant for Diesel. Sid tags in and picks up where Tatanka left off. Sid misses with a leg drop so Diesel tags in Bam Bam who cleans house with clotheslines. Bam Bam dropkicks Tatanka out of the ring and ddt's Sid before going upstairs. Bam Bam hits the top rope headbutt but Dibiase distracts the referee long enough for Sid to kick out at 2. Bam Bam hops up in the second rope to yell at Dibiase so Sid runs over and hammers him from behind with clubbing blows. Sid chokeslams Bigelow off the second rope and the older fans cheer for the big man. Sid poses then tags in Tatanka who covers for 1...2...nope. Tatanka puts the boots to Bam Bam and chops at Bigelow in the corner. Tatanka hits a back suplex and Hayes brings up how Bam Bam and Tatanka were beaten at the Royal Rumble by the Kid and Holly. Tatanka continues to put the boots to Bam Bam then tags in Sid who charges into Bigelow with a big boot. Nine minutes in I think we've seen 5 holds, all but one done by Tatanka. Bam Bam rallies to the outside but Sid boots him to the outside, who goes for the slingshot but Tatanka stops him in time. Sid gets outside and punts Bam Bam in the head, then rolls him back inside. Sid locks in a rest hold and Hayes messes up words during down time before Bam Bam makes the tag to Diesel. Big Daddy Cool cleans house with clotheslines and a scoop slam on Sid. Diesel drops a big elbow but it hurts him to the point where he rolls in pain before tagging in Bam Bam. Tatanka also tags in and chops away at Bam Bam and hits a flying bodypress for 1...2...nope. Tatanka locks in a rest hold as Vince asks if Diesel is too hurt to continue. Bam Bam runs into a jumping ddt and Tatanka covers for 1....2..nope. Tatanka continues to work over Bam Bam before BIgelow  just stands up. They do a double clothesline spot and Bam Bam gets the cover for 1....2...negative. Sid looks very confused as Tatanka locks in yet another rest hold.....wow this is boring. There really is no point to this match because they were setting up Sid vs Diesel anyway and Bam Bam vs Tatanka had already happened a million times in the last 2 years. Bam Bam ducks under a leapfrog and front flips (!!!) onto Tatanka. Bam Bam hits an enziguiri (!!!) and tags in Diesel. Diesel hits a sidewalk slam and a big boot then taunts Sid. Diesel call for the jacknife and he hits it, then covers for 1....2.....wait, he pulled him up. Diesel points at Sid and calls him out, but Sid waves him off then leaves. Sid walks towards the entrance way, abandoning Dibiase and Tatanka as Vince calls him a chicken. That was the final straw for the crowd because the smart fans knew that this meant they were saving Diesel and Sid for the next In Your House. Diesel scoffs then drops an elbow on Tatanka and covers for 1....2...3 that's it. Diesel and Bam Bam celebrate in the ring as the crowd boos loudly, that was a horrible match and the fans knew it. Sid's got some explaining to do when Dibiase gets a hold of him in the back, that's for sure. The crowd has been angry all night but they become damn near riot like because now they have to wait another month before Diesel gets another crack at Sid. Again, bad match and a fitting ending to a ppv that made absolutely no sense and was pretty much the harbinger of the worst rated Summerslam of all time.

Time of match: 17:33

Winners: Bam Bam Bigelow and Diesel by pinfall

 THAT SUCKED!!!!  Other than the Kiss My Foot match, the whole ppv was a complete and giant let down. Razor Ramon was out with an injury and the whole tournament was a fiasco. Mabel was being groomed to feud with Diesel and no one wanted to see either one of them as champion at this point. This was without a doubt the lowest point in WWF history talent wise, the ratings may have been worse the next year or two but at least the cartoon era was finally over in 96. Other than Bret, Shawn and Bob Holly's performance, I can't think of one saving grace to this ppv.  The fans were even chanting ECW at various points, now that's embarrassing. The very next ppv after this would be the July 95 In Your House, Buy this tape only to complete a collection because its AGOOBWA, or you're a major Savio Vega fan   1 out of 5

WWF 1993 Survivor Series (11/24/93)

1993 SURVIVOR SERIES

BOSTON GARDEN

BOSTON, MA

NOVEMBER 24, 1993

Commentators: Vince McMahon Jr and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan

Ring Announcer: Howard Finkel

We've finally made it to the 1993 edition of WWF Survivor Series. After months of hype following the aftermath of Summerslam, here we are. Let's get to the feuds going into this thing. The opening match is supposed to be Team Razor featuring WWF Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon, Mr. Perfect, Marty Jannetty and 123 Kid against Team IRS featuring IRS, Adam Bomb, Diesel and "The Model" Rick Martel. Razor & Kid have history with IRS while Razor beat Martel for the vacant IC title. Diesel helped cause Mr. Perfect to lose his IC title match at Summerslam to Shawn Michaels. Jannetty, Adam Bomb and Martel are pretty much throw-ins. Next is The Hart Family taking on Jerry Law....er.....Shawn Michaels and his Knights. After Summerslam it was supposed to be Bret Hart and Owen Hart teaming with their retired brothers Keith and Bruce Hart taking on Jerry Lawler and three knights. Then weeks before the ppv Jerry Lawler got indicted on a rape charge so Vince McMahon swapped Lawler out with the returning Shawn Michaels who served a 30 day suspension for a failed piss test. Shawn pretty much picked up where Lawler left off while carrying the IC title belt that he claimed he never lost, more on that later. Then we get a Smoky Mountain Wrestling tag team championship match featuring The Heavenly Bodies taking on the legendary Rock N Roll Express. Vince signed Jim Cornette in the summer and as a favor to Jim, allowed the tag match to be on this ppv to showcase both teams....problem was he barely promoted the Express who were gods down in Atlanta. Next is the Four Doinks taking on Team Bam Bam consisting of Bam Bam Bigelow, Bastion Booger and The Headshrinkers. When Doink The Clown turned babyface he started pulling his pranks on the heels with Bam Bam Bigelow being the primary target. Bam Bam had already teamed with Samu & Fatu at Summerslam so it made sense to put them with him along with Booger being another big ugly dude. Problem was Doink promised four of himself so nobody knew who was going to be on his team. Then the main event was originally supposed to be The All Americans consisting of Tatanka, The Steiner Brothers and Lex Luger against the Foreign Fanatics led by WWF Heavyweight Champion Yokozuna along with Ludvig Borga and WWF Tag Team Champions The Quebecers. Luger and Yokozuna was the primary feud while The Quebecers used chicanery to win the tag belts from the Steiners. Borga ended Tatanka's undefeated streak and was being booked as a secondary adversary so at least everyone matched up. Then the substitution factor came in which I'll explain later. With that out of the way, let's get to the event. Before the show started there was a dark match for the Boston Garden crowd.

Dark Match

Brooklyn Brawler vs Billy Gunn (with Bart Gunn)

If you ever wondered why the hell the Smoking Gunns would appear later in the show, this was why. Billy faced Brawler in the dark match and Billy won.

Time of match: 7:46

Winner: Billy Gunn by pinfall

The Coliseum Video tape opened with Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and Vince McMahon preparing to enter the curtain in the Gorilla position with Heenan nervous as all hell that he might run into Gorilla Monsoon. Vince makes fun of Bobby for being nervous as we cut to our opening graphic. The Bobby and Gorilla dynamic would be a theme all night and it was also going to lead to Heenan's departure from the company. Now the actual live broadcast opened with Lex Luger with his wife and kids in his house in front of a fire saying they're thankful for Thanksgiving and family. Isn't that nice? Then we cut to a guy singing the national anthem but no graphic saying who it is. Vince and Bobby open the show running down the card with Gorilla Monsoon sitting at the "radio" booth threatening to hit Heenan. After Heenan makes hilarious gestures, Howard Finkel sends us to our first match. Team IRS comes out first together and IRS gets on the mic saying this team of survivors will audit everyone. Then we get separate entrances for the babyfaces. 123 Kid and Marty Jannetty make their entrances before Razor Ramon comes out next, peculiar. Razor gets on the mic and says Mr. Perfect tagged out before the match started. In real life, Mr. Perfect's back acted up again and he wouldn't be seen for a while. Razor says he's got a surprise for the audience though, someone with as much "machismo" as he does.....MACHO MAN RANDY SAVAGE!

Match 1 (2)

Team Razor (WWF Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon, 123 Kid, Marty Jannetty and "Macho Man" Randy Savage) vs Team IRS (IRS, Adam Bomb, "The Model" Rick Martel and Diesel with Harvery Whippleman)

With Perfect out, Randy Savage subs in thus giving the babyfaces the advantage as Heenan points out not only is he a former IC champ like Jannetty, but he also was 2 time WWF Champion as well. Bell rings and Savage wants IRS but leaves. Razor himself starts with Martel and they shove each other to start. Martel slaps Razor as Vince brings up Razor's victory over Martel to become IC champ on October 11th. Martel gets in an arm ringer and they exchange reversals until Martel drops the champ with a drop-toe hold. Rick goes for a headlock but Razor slips out and goes for the hammerlock. Heenan says Kid, Marty and Savage should just leave so they can have a better crack at the IC title once the heel team is done with Ramon. Martel slaps Razor again but this time Razor slams him back. Martel gains the advantage but Razor reverses a whip into the corner. Martel goes up and over and runs to the other corner, hitting a bodypress that Razor rolls through for 1....2...nope. Martel ducks a clothesline and goes for a bodypress but Razor catches him mid-air. Razor hits the fallaway slam and covers for 1....2..nope. Vince goes over the rules as Razor blocks a kick and hits an atomic drop into his corner where Savage happily gets in a punch to Martel's head. Razor hits an inverted atomic drop and drops him with two consecutive clotheslines. Martel tags to Adam Bomb as Heenan says he smells napalm. Bomb is larger than Razor and he throws Ramon into the corner on a lock-up. They lock up again and Adam shoves him down. Adam wants a test of strength then locks in a headlock. Razor fights out of it but a shoulderblock sends him to the mat against. Adam once again wants a test of strength and this time Razor goes for it. Adam wins the game of mercy but Razor looks to power out of it, only to get a boot to the ribs. Heenan says "Razor would have given up" four times in a row to annoy Vince as Razor rises again. This time Razor powers out of it and delivers a northern lights suplex. He covers and spots Martel coming, moving out of the way as Martel drops an elbow on Bomb....D'oh! Harvey gets in the ring and shoves Martel. Rick shoves him down and Bomb clocks Rick for it. Diesel gets in and pushes Bomb back before IRS comes in and plays peacemaker. Razor's team has the crowd going wild at the dissention as IRS successfully calms his team down. Diesel, Martel and IRS leave with 123 Kid tagging in to face Bomb. Kid gets a headlock but eats a shoulderblock. Kid goes for a sunset flip but Adam turns it into a Baldo Bomb. Diesel tags in and hits Kid with a forearm before hiptossing him 3/4 across the ring. Heenan "I smell rubber burning, is that the Diesel?" Diesel hits a forearm to the back and delivers a gut wrench suplex with Heenan screaming for each spot done to Kid. Kid runs into a big boot but turns a sidewalk slam into a headscissors. Kid makes the tag to Macho Man who drops Diesel with an axehandle off the top rope. Savage intercepts Bomb and IRS with elbows before scoop slamming an interfering Martel. Savage hits an atomic drop on IRS that sends him into Martel. Savage whips Bomb into Diesel before a knee to the back sends Bomb to the outside. Savage scoop slams Diesel then goes upstairs. He hits the flying elbow and covers for 1...2....3 to eliminate DIESEL 10:20 into the match. The faces celebrate as Diesel can't believe it. 

The refs get Diesel out of there as Martel attacks Savage in the corner. Martel gets whipped into the corner and Savage backdrops him. Martel gets punched into his corner and IRS tags in. Vince says Irwin has lost the services of the mighty Diesel. They lock up but IRS gets a knee to the stomach. IRS rams Randy into the corner but Randy ducks the write off. Randy does a crossbody for a one count then two left arm clotheslines. Randy tags Razor back in and they work over the left arm. Razor locks in an arm-ringer as Heenan says everyone in the match would love to be IC title match as Vince says Shawn Michaels claims he's still the champ. Razor gets a knee to the back from Martel from the outside and Rick officially tags in with an axehandle from the second rope. Heenan asks if Vince ever cheat anybody with Vince saying no. Wait 4 years Bobby! Adam Bomb tags in and continues the onslaught before tagging Martel back in. Martel hits an axehandle to the back and IRS tags in to deliver an elbow drop followed by a leg drop. IRS covers for 1....2...nope. Heenan says Jannetty is fresh as Martel switches places with IRS as Vince bitches about it. Referee Joey Marella lets it go as Martel sends Razor off the ropes. Razor counters with a knee lift as again Heenan praises Jannetty. IRS tags in and Razor gets sent into the corner, only for the charge to eat boot. Razor tags in Savage who gets nailed in the ribs. Irwin puts his head down and eats a boot before a knee to the back sends Irwin sternum first into the buckle. Savage drops IRS throat first off the top rope then hits a scoop slam. Savage goes for the flying elbow when Crush makes his way to ringside. Savage spots him and makes a beeline to him. Kid, Jannetty and Razor try to hold Randy back and actually manage to get him back in the ring. Savage climbs to the second rope to point at the taunting Crush. IRS then sneaks up on Randy and does a schoolboy from the second rope for 1....2....3 and RANDY SAVAGE is gone 16:47 into it.

Savage immediately gets out of the ring and chases Crush to the back. The Coliseum Video version shows an irate Savage looking for Crush in the back but thankfully the live broadcast keeps the action in the ring. Jannetty tags in for the first time all match as IRS regroups in his corner. Jannetty gets in a headlock as IRS sends him off but gets hiptossed. Marty hits a dropkick and covers for 1....2...nope. Martel tags in and works over Jannetty in the corner before tagging in Bomb. Adam hits a back suplex and chokes him on the top rope. Heenan "A good big man will always beat a small little punk." Vince mistakenly calls Bomb "Diesel" as Martel tags in to apply an abdominal stretch. Bomb hangs on to Martel for leverage as Vince tells Marella to open his eyes. Martel sends Jannetty into the buckle but Martel's charge eats ringpost. Martel makes the tag to IRS as Jannetty makes it to Ramon. Razor cuts him off with punches and sends IRS into opposite corners before hitting a modified chokeslam. Razor gives the signal for the Razor's Edge. Razor gets him and nails the finisher before covering for 1....2....3 and IRWIN R SCHYSTER is out 20:32 into it.

Martel tags in to prevent Razor from tagging Kid in. Martel works him over in the corner but Razor reverses it. Bomb gets in to nail Razor so Kid & Jannetty get in to cut him off. Marella deals with Bomb, Marty and Kid as Razor gets Martel in the Razor's Edge. All of a sudden IRS gets in with his briefcase and nails Razor with it. Razor falls out of the ring as the camera shows Irwin is bleeding under his left eye as he leaves. Marella then counts RAZOR RAMON out at 21:42 to even it at 2-2 with both captains gone.

Martel, Bomb and Whippleman celebrate thinking they got this as the crowd chants 1-2-3. Heenan says its amazing the people in Boston can count to three. Now its a standard tag match as Martel starts working Kid over. Kid leapfrogs and drops down on Martel and Rick cartwheels to safety. Kid locks in a headlock, gets sent off, Martel leapfrogs, Kid drops down and Martel is armdragged vertitcally. Kid locks in an armringer but Bomb tags in. Bomb sends Kid off but Kid slides under him, pulling him down by the ankles. Kid ducks under a clothesline and does an elevated dropkick to stun Adam. Bomb bails to the outside and Kid goes for the suicide dive.....but Bomb catches and slams him. Heenan says this is where Larry Bird used to dribble a ball and now they're dribbling the Kid. Bomb rolls Kid back inside and hits the slingshot clothesline. Rather than cover Kid he taunts the crowd and calls for the Adam Smasher. Kid gets whipped hard into the corner and goes down to avoid the move. Kid is whipped into the other corner but moves out of the way of a charge, schoolboying Bomb for 1.....2..nope. Bomb drags Kid into his corner and tags Martel back in. Martel drops an elbow and goes to work on Kid, sending him off and delivering a punch to the ribs. Martel goes to the second rope but Kid nails him coming off. Jannetty gets the hot tag and comes in like a house of fire, dropping Martel with a flying back elbow. Marty sends Martel into the opposite corner before ramming his head into the buckle ten times. Marty snapmares Martel and covers for 1...2..nope. Kid tags back in and they do a double back elbow smash. Martel whips Kid into the buckle and charges, but Kid turns it into a sunset flip for 1...2.....3 and RICK MARTEL is eliminated at 26:50. Kid crawls to the corner and tags in Jannetty who sunset flips ADAM BOMB for 1...2...3 to win the match. Kid and Jannetty celebrate as Vince says "Can you believe this??" Bomb, Whippleman and Martel complain outside as Marty and Kid pull off the upset. Kid and Marty get the duke for Team Razor and Vince had big plans for these two. It should be noted this is the first and only match in Survivor Series history to this day to have an entire team score a pinfall or submission. All four members of Team Razor got a pinfall and nobody has done that ever again.

Time of Match: 26:58

Survivors: Marty Jannetty & 123 Kid

Vince sends us to Todd Pettengill for an interview with Shawn Michaels. Shawn says he should be the WWF Superstar of The Year. Todd calls him the former IC champ as Shawn rebukes him saying he's still the champ and is wearing the IC title belt. Todd puts over the upcoming Family Feud match featuring Shawn's team against the Hart family. Todd sends us to an interview with Family Feud host Ray Combs and the Hart family. Bruce, Keith, Owen, Bret and Stu Hart all flank Ray for this one. Stu is wearing a Detroit Pistons jacket...d'oh! Now we know who Bret and Owen are but how good were Keith and Bruce? Keith Hart turned pro in 1973 and was a mid-carder for his father in Stampede Wrestling before becoming a firefighter after retiring in 1989. Bruce had a bit more success as he could cut a good promo and was in a tag team with a young Brian Pillman called Bad Company. Bruce also promoted Stampede Wrestling when Stu began to get old but hasn't wrestled since 1991. Stu himself was a legendary promoter & wrestler in Calgary. His feud with The Stomper drew a ton of money and even scared a young Bret Hart which is a story I'll get to later. Ray puts over the importance of the match and asks Bret how he feels about Shawn's comments about the family. Bret puts over his brothers and Stu then says Stu has had it up to HERE with Shawn Michaels and his Knights. Bret says they don't care about the Knights, they just want Shawn and he's going to pay for the skit he did mocking the Harts on Raw. Ray says that this brought two brothers out of retirement and asks the others for their thoughts. Owen says this is the biggest family feud ever and they don't kindly to Shawn and his Knights. He says Shawn's team is going down and sends it to Keith. Keith says Shawn is going to need EMTs because there's going to be a massive Hart attack in the ring. Ray says the Harts will be there and Bruce says "everyone". Keith is ready for action, Ray "Survey says, this is a match you don't want to miss.

After the interview we go back to Shawn who laughs it off and says if he had parents that looked like Stu & Helen Hart, he'd have put them 6 feet under whether they were dead or not. In real life, Shawns mother was one of the best part of Before They Were Superstars. Shawn goes on to say he owes Bret for last year's Survivor Series but the difference is he's still got his gold while Bret's got nothing. Shawn runs down Owen and Keith saying he's so hot Keith can't put him out. He runs down Bruce as a substitute teacher and says he can't teach Shawn anything. Shawn says the Harts are going down and if Stu gets involved he's gonna waffle him and somehow make him uglier than he already is. Todd sends it back to ringside.

Before the next match starts Ray Combs is in the ring for the introductions. Also it should be known that ex-Hart Foundation member "Dangerous" Danny Davis is the referee, bad news for HBK. Combs says welcome to Martha and Georgia Hart along with Helen at ringside. Georgia is the mother of the infamous Teddy Hart who was 13 at the time and Martha was Owen's wife. Martha also happens to be holding their son Oje Hart who was just over a year old then. Heenan calls Oje ugly as Combs gives a shoutout to the other Hart brothers Ross and Wayne. Wayne Hart was a referee during Stampede's heydey and Ross as we know was the jobber Ross Lindsey who was doing jobs for WWF TV a few years earlier. Helen Hart gets a good ovation as she waives to the crowd as Vince calls her a super lady. Remember earlier I mentioned Archie "The Stomper" Goulding? Stomper was in a feud with Stu in the 60's and a young Bret was playing outside when Archie showed up to the Hart house. Bret made a mad dash to warn his mother that the Stomper was here to hurt his father but Helen just smiled and walked outside. She said "Hiya Archie, Stu has your money all set" and Stomper greeted her warmly much to Bret's confusion. Heenan says "Is that her rail hair?" Vince "Stop it Bobby Heenan!" Ray then says all this started because of Shawn Michaels and he makes a bunch of bad jokes about Shawn and his parents. Again, the real Mrs. Carol Hickenbottom was awesome but since Shawn was a heel, she gets the Mama Cornette treatment.

The sad part was this was all reserved for Jerry Lawler but he was in serious legal trouble at the time. I already mentioned what earlier so no need to mention again. Shawn was coming off a suspension for a failed drug test so they just threw him into Lawler's spot and everyone acted like he started this all along. Ray then says "Its time to play the feud!"

Match 2 (3)

The Hart Family (Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Bruce Hart & Keith Hart with Stu Hart) vs Shawn Michaels, The Red Knight, The Black Knight and The Blue Knight

Guest commentator: Ray Combs

As we get started, who are the knights? The Black Knight was pro football player turned wrestler turned armed robber Jeff Gaylord. Jeff played for the Boston Breakers of the United States Football League in 1983 before becoming a wrestler. The Red Knight is Barry Horrowitz, we all know who he is. The Blue Knight is none other than Greg "The Hammer" Valentine who was due to return to the WWF for the Royal Rumble so this was most likely him just getting some work in. Shawn's team comes out first and HBK messes with the Harts at ringside, causing Wayne Hart to almost take a swing at him. The Harts come out next with Bret wearing olympic style singlet tights for the first time in his career although they're in his standard pink. Stu Hart now has a Boston Bruins jacket on so at least someone told him where they were. Vince said Stu wrestled in the Boston Garden back in 1945 while Heenan says it was 1845 at the tail end of his career. Stu was actually 78 at this time so he would have been 30 then. Bells gone and Shawn continues to heckle Wayne and Ross. Ray joins the commentary team as Shawn immediately runs over to heckle Stu. Heenan says Stu is 3 weeks older than Family Feud announcer Gene Wood and Ray says Gene could take Bobby in a fight. Heenan responds that Stu and Helen are Senile In Seattle and Ray says it won't take much for one of the Hart brothers to kick the living daylights out of him. Vince says the Harts are directly behind them as Heenan says "That's the smell!" Vince then says Gorilla Monsoon is nearby as well so he better behave. Owen starts with Shawn but Shawn wants Bruce instead. Bruce tags in and Shawn immediately gets in a headlock as Ray says some of the Hart women could take Bobby. Shawn brings Bruce to the corner and tags in Barry the Red Knight as he's sent off the ropes. Bruce and Red do drops downs with Shawn running the ropes and Bruce sends Shawn crashing into Red. Shawn shoves Red and tells him to get in hear before he tags back in. Bruce chops Blue before Shawn goes to whip him into the other corner. Bruce then ducks under Shawn and double clotheslines Blue and Red.  Black holds Bruce but Shawn nails Black by accident with Ray screaming for every spot. Bruce armdrags Shawn into his corner and Keith tags in. Keith works over the left arm as Heenan says "What a stupid name. You got nine months and you come up with Bruce?" Keith ducks under a Shawn leapfrog but Shawn dips the shoulder and boots Keith the rubs. Shawn goes for a suplex but Keith counters with an inside cradle for 1...2..nope. Keith takes down Shawn and locks in an arm-bar as Heenan says he's definitely Dungeon trained. The crowd starts chanting "Gomez, Gomez" because Keith looks strikingly like John Astin's portrayal of Gomez Adams. Heenan asks where Mary Hart is as Shawn bodyslams Keith. Red tags in but misses an elbow drop then walks into an arm-drag. Owen tags in and he works over the left arm before Red pokes him in the eyes. Owen arm-drags Red then overhead arm-drags him as Heenan calls Owen "The Shadow" since he's in the shadow of Bret. Owen arm-drags Red and hits a dropkick that sends him into the corner. Heenan brings up Reo Rogers as Black tags in only to get arm-dragged. Black gets slugged by each Hart in their corner before Black is hiptossed into his corner. Owen tags in Bret as Black tags in Greg the Blue Knight. These two were on opposite teams 3 years earlier and the on the same in 87. Blue rakes the eyes and he delivers some forearms. Bret catches the leg and hits both kinds of atomic drops. Bret clotheslines him down and covers for a deuce. Keith tags in and works over the left arm and hits a nice fireman's carry take down. Bruce tags in as Heenan says "HEY STU WAKE UP!" Vince says "He'll come over here next" and Bobby without missing a beat says "That'll take two hours, we'll be off the air."  Bruce is sent off right into a knee to the back by Shawn. Blue scoop slams Bruce before Shawn tags in to deliver a backbreaker. Shawn drops a sries of elbows to Bruce as Black says "Look at your boy now baby!" Red tags in and nails Bruce with an axehandle off the second rope. Heenan asks how many kids Stu had and Vince says 12. Unfortunately Dean Hart passed away in 1990 but everyone else was still here in 93. Red hits a double underhook suplex for a two count and two covers get nothing. Bruce tries to fight out of it but Black tags in. Black kicks Bruce in the sternum as Vince says Black is the biggest of all the nights. Jeff Gaylord had a great physique but too bad he was a better burglar than a wrestler. Black punches Bruce down but Bruce counters with a backslide for a two count. Shawn tags in and hits an axehandle to the back then works over Bruce. Bruce falls outside and Shawn comes outside to get him. Bret comes over but Shawn slides inside but Bruce hangs on from the apron then slams Shawn into his own corner. Bruce is knocked back inside by Red as Heenan calls the Harts the cowards of Canada. Bruce ducks under a Shawn clothesline then hits an absolute lariat on Shawn. Shawn tags in Black as Bruce falls and tags Bret back in. Bret O'Connor rolls Black for a two count then catches him with a small package for another two. Bret hits a backbreaker as Heenan praises Bret for winning every title in the WWF. Bret hits his second rope elbow drop and covers for 1,,,2,,nope. Shawn broke up the count as Owen tags in for his spinning heel kick. All 8 men get in the ring but the Harts take over. They send Shawn's team crashing into each other causing Shawn, Red and Blue to bail. Keith whips Bruce who clotheslines Black in the corner then Owen comes off the top with a dropkick. He covers for 1..2....3 and BLACK KNIGHT is eliminated 10:49 into the match. 

Ray thinks its over but Heenan reminds him the match keeps going. Owen starts working over the left leg of the Red Knight before Bret tags in for a double wishbone. Bret then works over the right leg before Keith tags in for more damage to the right leg. Keith works over the left leg in the corner as Vince says there's 20 members of the Harts in attendance, Heenan says that's a ghetto. Stu can be heard yelling "Work on that leg, wear him down!" Keith and Bruce do another wishbone as Bruce shoves Red down. Bret tags in for yet another wishbone and now Keith tags in but gets kicked into the buckle. Red headbutts Keith down then delivers a snapmare. Red misses the knee drop and Keith locks in a figure four as Heenan says the only thing worse is to have JJ Walker as a tag team partner. This catches the announce team off guard to the point Shawn interferes to drop an elbow on Bruce with Ray saying "Get JJ out of there!" Blue tags in and chops Keith as Ray says he "weenie slapped" him. Keith delivers forearms as Vince slips and says "and Greg....having his problems here" referring to Valentine as the Blue Knight. Red trips up Keith and Shawn slingshot splashes Keith's left arm. Good teamwork by the heels. Blue works over the left arm as the crowd continues to chant "Gomez, Gomez." Shawn comes off the top with an axehandle then sends Keith shoulder first into the buckle. Shawn sends him shoulder first into the other corner as Heenan makes fun of the firefighter. Red tags in and drags Keith into the ring post. Bret kicks Red into the guardrail as Blue comes over to assist Red. Red yells "SHUT UP" to some fan as Bruce complains in the ring. Red slingshots Keith into the bottom rope then boots Keith. Blue drops a leg on the left arm and Greg slams him shoulder first to the mat. Blue drags Keith to the center then tags in Shawn. Blue goes for the Rocket Launcher (ironic) but Keith rolls out of the way to tag in Bret. Shawn tags out to Red but Bret cuts him off. Bret punches Red but is sent off the ropes only for Red to jump in his arms. Bret slams Red down and locks in the sharpshooter. RED KNIGHT gives up 18:06 in as Bruce literally gets in the ring and just watches as Blue clotheslines Bret after the bell.

Vince says Red Knight is out of here as Blue throws Bret to the outside with Keith trying to pick him up with his right arm. Shawn jumps off the apron with an axehandle smash. Shawn sends Bret back in who gets suplexed by Blue. Blue gets a deuce on a cover then drops an elbow on Bret. Blue tags Shawn and HBK whips Bret into the corner. Shawn puts the boots to Bret as Vince says the Harts are a good looking family causing Heenan to laugh. Shawn hits a diving back elbow smash then covers for 1...2...nope. Heenan says the Harts belong on America's Most Wanted as Shawn locks in a chinlock. Ray says Heenan's family would be on America's Most Unwanted, ha! Bret powers out of it but runs into a knee to the ribs. Blue tags in and he delivers a headbutt to the mid-section. Blue covers for 1,..2..nope. Blue attacks Bret in the corner but a charge eats boot. Bret clotheslines Blue down and tags in Owen who hits a dropkick on Blue. Ironic how 5 years earlier they were on opposite teams with Owen under a mask and now its Greg under a hood. Owen hits Blue ten times in the corner then scoop slams him Owen hits his top rope elbow but Shawn breaks up the count. Bruce gets in and he and Owen hit a double noggin knocker on Blue & Shawn. Shawn slides under Bruce and goes for Stu only to eat a left hand that sends Shawn 8 feet backwards. Owen hits a plancha on Shawn before sending HBK back in. Bruce and Owen whip the heels into each other and Owen hits a crossbody onto Blue. Shawn drops an elbow on Blue by accident and is double clotheslined over the top by Owen and Bruce. Owen hits a bulldog on Blue and locks in the sharpshooter. BLUE KNIGHT submits 23:55 into the match as Ray says "AND THEN...THERE...WAS...ONE"

Shawn is all by himself now and he throws a tantrum outside with Owen clapping in the ring. Bret nails Shawn and throws him in the ring with Owen. Shawn begs off but misses a punch. Owen atomic drops Shawn into the corner where all the brothers take a shot at Shawn. Owen drops Shawn with a punch before tagging in Bruce who drops two knees then covers for two. Bruce whips Shawn into the corner but the charge eats elbow. Shawn does a blatant choke as Danny Davis says he'll disqualify Michaels. Shawn hits Sweet Chin Music and covers for 1.....2...nope. Let it be known that the only Hart brother to ever kick out of SCM including Davey Boy and Niedhart was Bruce Hart. The camera shows Stu from the back and Heenan says there's a picture of Helen on the back of his jacket. Ray and Vince point out its a Bruin, hahaha. Bruce kicks Shawn in the face as Ray incorrectly calls it a dropkick as Bruce 3 quarter rolls over Shawn to tag Bret. Bret hits an atomic drop that Shawn sells like he got shot out of a cannon. Bret sends Shawn into the corner and slingshots him into the buckle. Bret drops an elbow then covers for 1...2...nope. Bret hits the russian leg sweep and covers for a deuce. Bret goes for the backbreaker but Shawn rakes the eyes. Bret tags in Owen and bails to the apron. Owen sends Shawn off and hits a beautiful over the head belly to belly suplex and covers for 1....2...nope. Shawn whips Owen off as Bret tries to make his way to the corner and Owen collides with Bret. Bret goes front first into the guardrail as Shawn rolls up OWEN HART for 1...2......3! Heenan proclaims "the shadow" is gone as Owen is out 27:36 into the match.

Bruce, Keith and Stu check on Bret as Owen throws a temper tantrum in the ring and yells at Bret on the outside for getting in the way. Owen says "Why are you worried about him, what about me?" Owen continues to throw a tantrum as Bobby tosses a water bottle to Shawn Michaels. Owen leaves saying "What about Bret, what about me?" Ray Combs screams and the camera quickly pans to the ring where Bruce is chopping Shawn. Bruce hits another huge lariat and covers for 1...2...no. Bruce delivers a jawbreaker as Heenan imitates Stu calling Bret a lazy, no good, bum. Vince "He did not." Bruce locks in a sleeperhold as Vince says Shawn's narrowed the odds a bit. Shawn sends Bruce face first into the buckle as Bret makes it to his feet finally. Shawn whips Bruce off and they shoulderblock each other down. Bruce tags Keith in as the crowd chants "Gomez, Gomez" again. Keith locks in an abdominal stretch but Shawn hiptosses him. Keith tags Bret in and he strikes Shawn in the corner before Shawn does a Flair corner flip into a right hand. Shawn is sent into the corner where he gets kicked nad first onto the top rope. Bret goes for the sharpshooter but Shawn squirms out of it and slides out of the ring. Shawn says the hell with it and runs to the back. SHAWN MICHAELS is counted out and the match is over. Bret, Bruce and Keith Hart survive as Heenan calls it a smart move. The Hart family celebrate as Owen comes back to the ring. Rather than celebrate Owen pulls Bret off the middle rope and shoves him. Owen continues to shove Bret and Vince says he's embarrassed. Keith and Bruce try to console Owen as Heenan says Owen is sick of living in the shadow. Owen sticks a finger in everyone's face and says he doesn't need them. Bret is holding back as Heenan says right in front of his mother and father. Helen starts crying as Bret says to let him go as the crowd boos Owen. Bret leaves as Stu wants to talk to Owen one on one. Owen says he had Shawn beat but Bret got in the way and he doesn't get any recognition. Owen goes to the second rope and gets booed as Ray says this is a REAL family feud. Bret, Keith and Bruce bail as Vince says Owen is being booed out of the Boston Garden. Vince hopes they can reconcile for Thanksgiving.....they're Canadian you divot head, their Thanksgiving was a month earlier. Anyway this was supposed to close the book on Bret vs Lawler and transition into the biggest push of Owen's career. It was a blessing in disguise as the Lawler feud would continue another day and Owen would still get that push. The Harts win the Family Feud match and the crowd was dead for most of it mostly because of the 3 knights, Bruce and Keith having no heat going into it. Its not any of their faults, its the promoters fault for not promoting them better. Keith and Bruce should have had matches on TV to showcase their abilities and the Knights at least could have made an appearance beating up 3 jobbers. Otherwise it was a solid match and heel Shawn bumping his ass off is always a good thing.

Time of match: 30:57

Survivors: Bret, Bruce & Keith Hart

Todd Pettengill tries to get a word with Owen but Owen tells him he doesn't want to talk about it. Todd sends it back to Vince who says they're about to switch commentary teams. Bobby and Vince are going to do radio while Gorilla and Jim Ross will do PPV. Gorilla says he's ready and says he might get his hands on "that poor excuse for a human." Bobby says how can he talk about Ray Combs like that. Gorilla "I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT RAY COMBS, BRAIN!" They send it over to Todd who tries to explain the Hart situation when the cameras pick up Monsoon grabbing Bobby and yelling at him. Monsoon goes to clobber Heenan but Heenan begs off. Gorilla goes back to his table as Bobby trips on the way to his. What the hell is this about? Unfortunately it was the beginning of the end for Bobby as he had planned to retire. But he's still with us for this show. We're sent to a Wrestlemania 10 commercial with Todd Pettengill doing the voiceover. "Sunday....March 20th and event so hot it'll bake the big apple. Sunday....March 20th...back where it all began, Madison Square Garden in New York City. Wrestlemania 10....ten years in the making. Sunday.....March 20th."

Back to Jim Ross who asks Gorilla what that was about and Monsoon calls Bobby a fountain of misinformation. Ross says he has to deal with him every week on Wrestling Challenge. Ross then sends us to a montage of events leading up to the main event with Todd in the voiceover. It was supposed to be Lex Luger, Tatanka and The Steiners against Yokozuna, Ludvig Borga and the Quebecers but on the October 30th episode of WWF Superstars, Borga pinned Tatanka for the first time in his WWF career then had Yokozuna squash him with the banzai drop. Lex Luger ran out to help but was intercepted by The Quebecers and Tatanka was put out of the match. For weeks fans wondered who'd be their replacement partner then on the November 13th episode of Superstars Lex Luger revealed The Undertaker was their new partner who famously had a Betsy Ross flag inside his jacket. Then it was the Americans turn to put someone out as Lex Luger knocked Quebecer Pierre goofy in their match on the November 15th episode of Raw. Jim Cornette and the rest of the Fanatics then announced literally days before Survivor Series on the November 20th Superstars that Mr Fuji's protege Crush would be taking Pierre's place. So now we got The Undertaker and Crush in the main event instead of Tatanka and Pierre which makes no sense storyline wise but does add star power to it. On to the next match.

Match 3 (4)

The Heavenly Bodies (Tom Prichard and Jimmy Del Ray) with Jim Cornette vs The Rock N Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) for the Smoky Mountain Wrestling Tag Team Championship

Commentators: Jim Ross & Gorilla Monsoon

Here we have another case of Vince McMahon not having a clue on how to book outside talent. The Rock N Roll Express were one of the top teams of the 1980's in the NWA and were now working for Cornette's promotion. Rather than bring them in a month early for some TV tapings and interviews to get them over, Vince showed a smidgeon of SMW footage and expected them to sell some tickets for this tag match against the Bodies, who had a damn good showing at Summerslam against The Steiners. As it is, Ricky and Robert get almost no reception from the crowd during their entrance. Also keep in mind we're 11 months into the New Generation which was promoted strictly for children, kids were too young for the 80's Express so they didn't know who they were. Ross has to explain what Smoky Mountain is to the fans as the Bodies make their entrance. Ross actually gets in a dig at Jim Barnett by saying Cornette was on the phone earlier saying "any news?" which was Barnett's catchphrase. Now if you're watching the live broadcast or Coliseum Video tape, the Express make their entrance with the song Cornette would later come out with. If you're watching on Peacock, they come out to some generic theme with a clearly older Howard Finkel overdubbing the Express' names. The Bodies waste no time and attack the Express before they even get their jackets off. Prichard heaves Ricky outside and Jimmy heaves Robert out the other side. The Bodies slingshot Robert back in still wearing his jacket. They go to slingshot Ricky in but he blocks it and slingshots both Bodies over the top to the floor. The Express shed their ring jackets off as Robert holds the rope as Ricky suicide dives onto the Bodies. Now if Vince had them do that in matches leading up to this, they might have had a better crowd reaction. Cornette rips his jacket off as Ross makes fun of him for it. The camera man gets too close to Cornette who shouts "Get out of my face I'm trying to do something here!" Monsoon calls him a piece of work as Del Ray and Robert start. Monsoon asks how long they've been feuding and Ross says he was there from the start when it was the RnR Express against the Midnight Express. Its funny because Stan Lane was the original Heavenly Body tag team partner of Prichard for over a year but retired to become a WWF commentator. He was the link between the Midnight Express and the Heavenly Bodies feud with Gibson & Morton.  Jimmy eats a shoulder tackle, drops down, has Robert slip the hiptoss and Gibson flips over the buckle before hiptossing Jimmy.  Robert hits a head scissors as Joey Marella the ref tells Cornette to get away from the ring. Ricky tags in and Jimmy runs into a double back elbow smash. Prichard tags in and shouts "WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!" Prichard pounds away on Ricky in the corner as Ross explains the feud that he himself was there to see. Thank God Jim is on commentary for this one because he knew the guys involved a hell of a lot better than Vince & Bobby. Tom blocks a hiptoss and Ricky almost botches the leapfrog but still hits the hiptoss. Ricky hip tosses Jimmy and Tom two more times apiece as Ross brings up Ricky Morton's father who was a legendary referee in the Tennessee territories. Jimmy accidentally clocks Tom with a superkick and Ricky & Robert whip Del Ray into the corner. Prichard is whipped into Del Ray and Ricky monkey flips Tom. Robert monkey flips Del Ray and they are atomic dropped into each other. Ricky & Robert row Tom and Jimmy as Del Ray bails. Ricky goes to work on the left leg of Prichard as Ross says he loves pumpkin pie. Monsoon "You resemble that remark." Ross "I certainly do." Robert tags in and he jumps into the ring directly onto the left leg. The Express roll over Prichard and clock Del Ray off the apron before Ricky returns to the left leg. The camera pans to Vince explaining to Bobby on radio that throwing someone over the top rope is an automatic disqualification in SMW. It was actually a universal rule in every territory but one going back decades....care to guess the only one that never had the rule? That's right, New York. The Express flip over Prichard again but Jimmy ducks this time only for them to wait a moment and clock him off the apron again. Robert kicks Prichard in the leg and tags Ricky back in who continues to work on the leg. Ross explains Robert's mother is deaf and they both know sign language because of it, often communicating with it. Prichard tags Jimmy in who runs right into an arm-drag. Jimmy gets the advantage in the corner and goes to whip Ricky into the other corner but Robert angles himself to block the impact. Ricky goes to whip Jimmy but Robert cuts off Tom trying the same thing so Ricky just whips Jimmy back into the corner much to Monsoon's delight. Ricky whips the Bodies together but they stop each other only to eat a double noggin knocker. The Bodies bail as Ross says they're confused and their timing is off leading Cornette to pound the mat in frustration. The Bodies regroup with Cornette as some idiot in the crowd chants "Boring! Boring!" Literally this is the most fast pace match of the night, the hell is boring? Then again this was the same guy chanting "Gomez" earlier for Keith Hart....and they say New York or Philly is a tough crowd? Prichard tags in and says he's gonna break Ricky's neck as Ricky goes to whip Tom into the corner. He goes for a backdrop and Tom counters with a sitdown powerbomb. Here comes the heat, folks. Cornette even wrote in his Midnight Express scrapbook "How to get rich beating on Ricky." Tom shouts "WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS" again as Cornette whoops it up. Tom puts the boots to Ricky and Del Ray tags in. Prichard scoop slams Ricky and assists Jimmy into a standing moonsault on Ricky for 1....2..nope. Del Ray elbows Ricky down the taunts Gibson. Tom tags in and throws Ricky outside. Cornette holds Ricky as Del Ray hits a second rope moonsault onto Ricky on the floor. Ricky is thrown back inside and Tom covers for 1...2...nope. No other team in the WWF was doing spots like this at the time. Tom and Ricky slug it out in the corner but Ricky gets whipped. Prichard hits a powerslam and covers for a two count before Jimmy tags in. Jimmy executes a snap suplex and poses for some heat before dropping a knee to the face. Del Ray drops Robert off the apron and Prichard runs in for a double team spot similar to the Smoking Gunns finisher only Prichard hits a bulldog instead of a legdrop. Tom covers for 1.....2..no. Prichard locks in a chinlock and the crowd barely makes a noise. Tom hits a delayed vertical suplex then tags in Del Ray. Jimmy goes upstairs and they execute a trash compactor (!!!) and Jimmy covers for 1.....2....noooooo. Jimmy goes for another powerbomb but Ricky counters with a frankensteiner for a two count. Jimmy tags in Prichard who eats an inside cradle for 1....2...nope. Prichard tags Jimmy for another moonsault and he hits for 1....2....nope, Robert breaks up the count. The Bodies send Ricky off but he catches them with a double ddt. Ricky rolls into his corner and Robert gets the hot tag. Robert cleans house to no crowd reaction at all as he wipes out both members. Ricky does the O'Connor roll even though he's not the legal man and Prichard heaves him over the top rope. Robert thinks the match is over and celebrates but Marella has to explain the over the top rule isn't in effect under WWF rules. Prichard heaves Robert outside but Ricky hits a flying bodypress on Del Ray but Prichard kicks him off. Ricky jumps over Prichard and the Express hit their finisher, the double dropkick. Robert makes the cover as Morton nails Cornette off the apron for 1....2.....NOOOOO! Somehow Prichard kicks out. Marella tries to get Ricky out but turns his back as Cornette tosses his tennis racket to Jimmy. Del Ray comes off the top and nails Robert in the back with it. Prichard rolls him over and covers for 1...2.....3 and we got new SMW tag team champions. That was an awesome match as Ross says if this was under SMW rules the Express would have won but it wasn't meant to be. Its a shame that the match was epic but underappreciated because of the double edged sword of failure to promote and kids having no idea who the Express were. Still, if you can set aside the crowd that's what a tag match should be.

Time of match: 13:41

Winners: Heavenly Bodies by pinfall (new SMW tag team champions)

Ross sends us to last weekend's Superstars to set up the next match, The Four Doinks vs Team Bam Bam. Its funny how this was only days before Survivor Series but its clearly Matt Borne doing the promo despite the fact that he was fired a month earlier. Doink says he knows who his partners are gonna be this Wednesday night, the nasty Booger and the Headshrinkers. Doink grabs his head and says "Oh no!" Then he says his partners are Doink, Doink....and Doink. Now the live broadcast and Peacock had an interview with Team Bam Bam as the Headshrinkers, Afa, Booger and Luna Vachon all devour cooked turkeys but Coliseum Video doesn't have it. Todd asks how Bam Bam can deal with four of the same person and Bam Bam says it doesn't matter if its four Doinks or a hundred Doinks, his team is going to take care of the job. Bam Bam says he's going to end Doink's shenanigans once and for all. Todd sends us back to Vince and Bobby as Vince says none of those guys will be WWF Superstar of The Year. Heenan says "Booger is my pick." Vince "I beg your pardon? We're on the air....its a family show!" Heenan "I know, I pick Booger to win. He's my pick." Now the Peacock version doesn't have this part but the live broadcast has Vince rolling his eyes and says if you want to make your pick, call the WWF Hotline and vote yourself. Its 1.49 for the first minute, 99 cents for each additional minute and kids ask your parents permission before calling.....which I didn't. Vince then sends it to the Fink who introduces Team Bam Bam. Booger, The Headshrinkers and Afa all come out with turkeys and bananas as Vince says we don't know who Shawn Michaels Knights were but we're gonna find out who the Doinks are. Heenan says he knows who the Knights were but he's not telling. Doink's music hits then cuts to the Bushwhackers theme as Luke and Butch come out in Doink makeup & wigs. Luke is riding a scooter and Butch lugs a wagon to the ring. Great....a bait and switch. The Doink music plays again before the Men on A Mission rap hits....sure enough, here comes Mabel, Mo and Oscar all dressed in Doink wigs & makeup. Literally they hyped up the four Doinks for a month and it turned out to be Men on A Mission and The Bushwhackers.

Match 4 (5)

The Four Doinks (Luke, Butch, Mabel & Mo) with Oscar vs Bam Bam Bigelow, Bastion Bookers, Samu & Fatu (with Afa and Luna Vachon)

So much for Matt Borne as the four Doinks turned out to be two babyface tag teams. My theory is that Borne was gone so it made no sense to have four random guys as Doink so may as well throw four babyfaces in there in Doink makeup. Heenan says that's the best the Bushwhackers and M.O.M. ever looked. Heenan also calls them Doinks On A Mission as Mo is carrying balloons to the ring. Jim Cornette on his podcast lamented the fact that the Express and Bodies put on a tag team match for the ages that got no crowd reaction yet the kids went nuts for The Doinkwhackers and Doinks On a Mission. He's got a point as all the kids cheer during the intro rap. Bells gone as Vince says Team Bam Bam couldn't have possibly prepared for this. Mabel pretends to moon Samu and pretends to be scared. The crowd chants "We want Doink" as Vince passes it off as a babyface cheer. Heenan says he can't pick a winner because The Headshrinkers are the toughest tag team in the WWF but how do you prepare for two lunatics like The Bushwhackers? He's got a point, Team Bam Bam has four monsters so to speak on the team but they're against guys that are wackier than they are....at least on this night anyway. Bastion Booger starts with Luke and hammers him down to start. Booger hits a forearm to the back to drop Luke again. Luke looks to get up but sees Booger coming off the ropes and throws himself back down so Booger can hit the big splash. Booger doesn't try to cover as Vince points out referee Tim White is out of position. Booger punches Luke down as Fatu inexplicably offers Booger a banana and Bastion goes to eat it much to Bam Bam's chagrin. Luke bites Booger on the ass all the way to his corner where Butch pokes Booger in the eyes 3 Stooges style. Luke steps on Booger's feet who retreats to his corner where Fatu laughs at him. Samu tags in as Fatu offers Booger a banana again as Samu clobbers Luke from behind. Samu stomps away on Luke as the Peacock broadcast inexplicably edits out where Vince agrees The Headshrinkers might be the toughest tag team in the WWF. Butch then hands Samu a green balloon off the stick Mo was holding earlier and Samu bites it. Samu headbutts Luke as Mabel hands Samu a yellow balloon. Samu bites that one too then kicks Luke. Mo offers Samu a blue balloon but when Samu bites it, its actually a water balloon. Heenan "Oh they set him up!" Luke rolls up Samu for 1....2.....3 and SAMU is eliminated just 3:02 into the match. 

The Bushwhackers celebrate in the ring as Fatu clobbers Luke out of it. Butch didn't actually make a legal tag but he's in there now punching away on Fatu. He goes for the headbutt and naturally hurts himself as Fatu doesn't sell it. Fatu hits a suplex on Butch and headbutts him on the ground. Heenan says you can tell them apart by counting their teeth, one's got four and one's got three. Bastion Booger tags in who kicks Butch in the ribs before dropping a big leg. Booger pounds on Butch's back and tags in Bam Bam. Bigelow headbutts the side of the ribs of Butch and taunts the crowd. Heenan says you don't make fun of these guys. Bam Bam chokes Butch on the top rope and Fatu snaps him off. Booger doesn't even tag in, he just walks in and takes over. Booger scoop slams Butch and goes for Trip To The Batcave (Or the Chubby Checker Drop as Monsoon calls it). Booger hits it but inexplicably gets up to eat the banana Fatu is offering. Bam Bam yells at Booger to just pin the guy as Booger with a banana in his mouth goes for a second attempt. This time Mabel pulls Butch out of the way and there's nobody home when Booger drops. The Bushwhackers hit the battering ram on Booger and Mabel drops a huge leg with the banana still in Booger's mouth. He covers for 1....2.....3 and BASTION BOOGER is done 6:02 into the match.

If you happen to replay this match again after a first time watch, check out the ushers in the aisle's reactions to the leg drop, its kind of funny. Heenan "Whoopsie there it is!" The crowd chants as Booger gets up with the banana still in his mouth. Vince says "Leaving with a banana, that's all he'll get out of this matchup, he's history."  Fatu gets in with a turkey carcass and offers it to Butch before waffling him with it, splitting his head open....guess Fatu forgot the bones were still in it. Fatu clocks Butch again with it as Mo then randomly gets in the ring and rides around on a scooter to distract Fatu. Heenan "This is Animal House!" Bam Bam gets in and dropkicks Mo down. Bam Bam throws the scooter out of the ring and Heenan says Bam Bam means business. Fatu hits a side backbreaker and throws a banana peel into the center of the ring. Fatu then goes upstairs for the top rope splash and hits it....but doesn't cover Mo. Instead he picks up the banana peel and shows it to Bam Bam as Heenan says "THEY'RE NOT COVERING THEM!" Even Bam Bam tells him to get the three as Fatu drops the banana peel and turns around to see Butch standing there with a bucket. Tim White completely missed that there was no tag. Butch fakes throwing something on Fatu which makes him slip on the banana peel. Butch rolls up FATU for 1....2......3 to eliminate him 8:33 into the match. Yes, they got so cartoony he literally slipped on a banana peel.

Bam Bam is by himself and he clears the ring of both Bushwhackers and Mo but Mabel walks in. Vince "Bam Bam is huge but look at the size of Mabel." The crowd chants whoomp there it is as Bam Bam goes nowhere on a shoulderblock. Bam Bam tries it again but Mabel doesn't move. Bam Bam ducks a clothesline but eats a shoulderblock. Mabel hammers away on Bam Bam and whips him to the corner. The charge misses and Bam Bam hits him with a flying shoulder tackle. Bam Bam intercepts Luke and scoop slams him then covers. White does go down for the pinfall attempt even though Luke isn't the legal man but Butch runs over and heaves a bucket of confetti on Luna. Bam Bam gets up to check on him as M.O.M. sandwiches Bam Bam in the corner. He falls backward and all four guys pile on top for 1,...2......3 to end this debacle. Team Bam Bam may have been the toughest team but they also were the dumbest as The Four Doinks earn the clean sweep. Vince "This is a cartoon." For some reason Peacock edits Vince's post-match speech of "Forget about Looney Tunes, forget about Hanna Barbara, they have nothing on the WWF." Heenan "Not tonight, this looks like the type of match Chief Jay Strongbow should have been in." The babyfaces celebrate and leave as Heenan points out the ring was a mess. Vince asks Heenan how much weight was on Bam Bam at the end. Heenan says Mabel is 500 and both Bushwhackers add up to 500. As Bam Bam and Luna leave the real Doink appears on screen and his voice gives away that its Ray Apollo for the live show. Doink makes fun of Bam Bam and Luna and barks at her. Bad, bad match and once again it shows that catering to children was ridiculous yet the sign of the times. Once again, a great tag match got no crowd reaction but funny ha-ha had the crowd cheering. This would actually be the first and last ppv appearance for Bastion Booger but I'll get to why another time. Say goodbye to Matt Borne too.

Time of match: 10:58

Survivors: Men on A Mission and The Bushwhackers

After the match is over the Coliseum Video exclusive has Doink celebrating with Men on a Mission and The Bushwhackers, have to assume it was Ray Apollo for the live show again. The live broadcast was supposed to get a commercial for the upcoming WWF Royal Rumble on January 22, 1994....a Saturday night, but Peacock cut it for some reason. It should be noted 93-94 would be the last time shows would be on any time other than a Sunday for another 10 years until Taboo Tuesday 2004. Then we go to Todd Pettengill with The Foreign Fanatics and Jim Cornette handles the promo. He talks about a human body and how there's a mind, a heart and a soul. He says the heart are the Steiner Brothers, the mind is The Undertaker and Luger is the soul. Cornette puts over the faces as athletes but the Fanatics will take them out one at a time, mind, heart and soul. Yokozuna shouts "BANZAI" as Todd sends it back to ringside. That's why Cornette was the best, folks. Heenan says he watched the eyes of the heel team and says they look determined and ready. Heenan says the Bruins, the Celtics and the Boston Garden will never be the same. The live broadcast and the Coliseum Video had a montage of the history of Boston narrated by the All-Americans but its cut from the Peacock showing. Scott Steiner says Paul Revere made a midnight ride to give a warning and Scott warns the Foreign Fanatics they're not going to survive. Rick says this battle will be like Bunker Hill and a decisive victory for the All-Americans. The Undertaker says Samuel Adams and John Hancock are buried in the Granary Burial Ground and four new headstones will be prepared for the Foreign Fanatics. The montage concludes with President John F Kennedy saying "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." Luger says we know what we can do for our country, we'll defeat the Foreign Fanatics." My only guess to why this was cut was (seriously) the term Foreign. Otherwise giving the rich history of Boston with the good guys saying they'll win was a great promo on the heels of Cornette's great promo. Anyway, let's get to the main event.

Match 5 (6)

The Foreign Fanatics (Crush, Quebecer Jacques, Ludvig Borga & Yokozuna with Mr. Fuji, Jim Cornette and Johnny Polo) vs The All-Americans (Rick Steiner, Scott Steiner, The Undertaker and Lex Luger with Paul Bearer)

Like I mentioned in the intro, this had months of buildup going back to Summerslam with Lex against Yoko and subsequently Ludvig Borga's challenge. The Steiners and Quebecers were supposed to be a feud but the additions of Crush and Undertaker kind of screwed up the chemistry, although it made sense on the heel side with Crush also being managed by Mr. Fuji. Then again, there was nobody left on the babyface side to use unless you wanted to go with Bob Backlund or Bart Gunn. Vince says Yokozuna was on Conan O'Brien the night before and Heenan asks if Conan is actually Bob Backlund. Vince brings up Survivor Series Showdown where Owen unknowingly cost Bret Hart the WWF title against Yokozuna. The Undertaker makes his entrance and Heenan apparently hid under the table for it. Heenan also claims the Steiners are from the University if Wisconsin since their jackets are on upside down. The camera shows Taker and Yoko having a staredown in the center and The Undertaker himself has gone on record saying Yoko was one of his favorite opponents ever. Cornette did an interview with Paul Bearer saying he loved that feud as well because he couldn't do anything to Taker and Bearer couldn't touch Yoko so he and Paul would just point menacingly at each other most of the time. We got all the managers in this one so ringside is certainly crowded for now. Heenan points out a sign in the crowd says Yoko-tuna. Heenan "I hate Thanksgiving, you don't get any gifts." Vince "Bobby Heenan!" Vince "You get a bunch of lousy food and relatives you don't even like, they hang around and kiss you with wet lips. Got to watch a lousy football game, nothing to do." He just described every child watching at home's Thanksgiving experiences growing up hahaha. Once you get older, you appreciate those times with family members that are no longer around but back then you're looking forward to the Burger King on the ride home and getting out of your dress clothes.....not that I would know anything about that. Heenan asks who the brains on Luger's team is as Cornette and Polo hilariously tell the camera man to buzz off in the other corner. Scott Steiner starts with Jacques and Jacques wants to shake his hand. Scott gives him the arm and the elbow then kicks Jacques in the ribs. Scott leapfrogs over Jacques and hits an overhead belly to belly suplex. Scott covers for a two count and Jacques looks around confused. Vince "And Jacques trying to find a place to hide, there is no place to hide." Rick Steiner tags in and Jacques retreats to tag in Yokozuna. Heenan asks if either Steiner could suplex Yoko and Vince isn't sure they could do it together. The crowd chants USA and Yoko shakes his head at the crowd. Yoko chops Rick down and sends him off the ropes. Rick ducks the line and hits the Steinerline. Rick hits a shoulder tackle to stun him. Rick then hits a third tackle to knock Yokozuna through the ropes to the outside. Rick caters to the crowd as Heenan points out Rick only stunned the champ, he didn't knock him out. He says only an Amtrak train could knock Yoko out but Vince points out Lex did it at Summerslam. Heenan "That's cause he's got more steel in his arm than an Amtrak train!" Back inside Yoko brings Rick to the corner and tags in Ludvig Borga. Borga punches Rick then sends him through the ropes on top of one of the cameraman as Heenan points out. Rick goes up to the top and nails Borga with a forearm smash. The cover only gets 1 and Rick puts on an arm-bar. Borga punches Rick in the ribs and Ludvig scoop slams him. He misses the elbow drop as Rick goes upstairs again. Rick jumps off the second rope and I think Borga was supposed to catch and powerslam him but instead Ludvig took a crossbody and just kinda slammed him over on his hip. Borga covers for 1....2.....3 and RICK STEINER is out 5:05 into the match. 

Rick noticeably limps out of the ring looking hurt for real as the heels celebrate. Cornette points and laughs at Rick as Jacques points at him and says "Out! OUT!" Scott gets in with Jacques taking over for Borga. Jacques locks in a headlock but is sent off into a gorilla press by Scott. Scott goes to heave him in the corner but Crush gets in and catches Jacques one handed. Jacques taunts Scott as Crush is in now.  Crush wants a test of strength as Heenan points out all four heels have been in but Luger & The Undertaker haven't tagged in yet. Crush chops Scott and drops him before going to work with right hands. Scott ducks under a line and hits his double underhook suplex. Vince says Randy Savage is back in the building as Scott drops Crush with a clothesline. He covers for 1...2...nope. Scott sends Crush off who leapfrogs over Scott and drops him with a crescent kick. All of a sudden Randy Savage makes his way to ring side with Tim White, Joey Marella, The Suit Brigade and the Smoking Gunns trying to hold him back. Like I mentioned before, I wondered why the Gunns were there but never knew they had a dark match until recently. Crush press slams Scott over the top to the floor and taunts Savage from the ring. Crush pulls Scott back in and drops him with a right hand. Crush does his kick combo and drops a leg on Scott. Heenan praises Mr. Fuji for turning Crush into a monster (which was a great heel turn) as Crush hits a jumping headbutt and then locks in a standing leg-lock. Crush drops a leg on Scott and kicks him in the leg three times. Heenan goes to explain something but Vince butts in and says Randy's coming back. Savage this time almost makes it to the ring as Heenan says to let them go. Crush says come on but gets dropkicked by Scott over the top to the outside. Crush abandons the match and attacks Randy in the aisle. Crush goes to press slam him on the guardrail but Savage punches his way out. In the confusion, CRUSH has been counted out 11:36 into the match. 

After everyone clears Savage out, Borga and Yoko pound on Steiner in the corner. Crush walks back to the ring only to be told to get lost by Hebner. Crush bitches about Randy interferring but he's been counted out. Jacques puts Steiner in a rear chin-lock with Borga holding onto the ankles. Jacques hits a flying back elbow and covers for a deuce. Jacques hits a piledriver as Heenan says that won't work. The cover gets a two as Vince asks why it won't work, Heenan responds he got dropped on his head and there's nothing in there. Steiner flips Jacques with just a shot to the ribs as Heenan points out Luger and Taker still haven't been in the ring. Scott hits another press slam on Jacques and finally tags in Luger 13 minutes into it. Lex hits a scoop slam on Jacques, goes to the second rope and drives a forearm into the chest. He covers for 1..2.....3..to eliminate QUEBECER JACQUES 14:04 into the match. Wow, that wasn't even a high impact move.

Heenan says Luger took out both Quebecers in a matter of weeks. Scott drags himself back in as Borga wants Luger now. Steiner says he'll handle Borga who's not interested, he wants Lex. Lex leaves as Borga says "Ohhh....ohhhh...chicken huh?" Borga sits on the middle rope to invite Lex in but Scott is in there. They look to have fisticuffs as Vince updates that Savage has been thrown out of the building. Heenan "How is he getting in, what is he Batman? Does he come through the rafters, is he hanging from a flag?" Borga eats a left armed clothesline and is headbutted in the corner. Borga whips him off and hits a modified Stinger Splash before hitting a devastating lariat. Borga goes upstairs but Scott stops him with a forearm. Scott then hits a superplex. Scott covers but Yoko breaks it up at two. Yokozuna stays in as Vince says there was no tag made. Yoko one arm slams Scott but misses the elbow drop. Scott gives the sign for the frankensteiner, yeah right! Scott goes for it but misses and crashes on the mat. Yoko hits the big leg drop and covers for 1....2....3 to eliminate SCOTT STEINER 16:57 into the match.

Heenan says we're down to the nitty gritty as Luger gets in. Heenan says he's not going over to sit with monkey breath as Vince hypes up this showdown as a continuation of Summerslam. Yoko and Lex slap each other but Yoko gets a kick and a chop in. Yoko goes to work on Lex and slams him as Borga waives the Japanese flag. Yoko misses a big splash and Lex rallies with right hands. Lex rocks Yoko with a clothesline but Yoko drops Luger with one of his own. Borga tags in and he continues to punch away at Luger. Borga nails Luger in the ribs as Heenan says "Taker may have died on the apron...well he's dead anyway, I don't know." Borga kicks Luger in the ribs as Heenan says Undertaker is going to start a basketball team for people 6 feet and under. Yokozuna tags in to continue the onslaught. Yokozuna nails Lex into the corner then whips him into the opposite one. Yoko misses the avalanche and Lex FINALLY makes the tag to The Undertaker. The crowd explodes as Taker rallies with chops on Yokozuna before hitting a jumping DDT. Taker chops him again and clotheslines him again. Borga hits Taker but Taker chops him down. Yoko catches Taker with a belly to belly suplex but Heenan knows Taker will sit up. Yoko drops Taker with a clothesline and drops the big leg. Vince says he thought he saw fear in the eyes of Yokozuna and Heenan confirms it. Yoko drags Taker into the corner and says no one's ever gotten up from the banzai drop. He says look what it did to Tatanka and Duggan.....d'oh! Not supposed to mention guys no longer in the company as Jim Duggan was gone at that point. Yoko hits the banzai drop but hangs onto the bottom rope to negate the pinfall attempt. Fuji wants another banzai and Yoko goes for it....but Taker sits up and Yoko misses the second one. Taker hits the flying clothesline and Yokozuna bails to the outside. Yoko rams Taker head first into the steel steps but Taker snaps his head back and shoots Yoko a glare. Yoko looks absolutely terrified as Taker rams his head into the steps. Hebner ends up counting out both UNDERTAKER and YOKOZUNA out 22:26 into the match. 

They brawl until Paul Bearer grabs Taker and pulls him off. Meanwhile Borga and Luger are the only ones left as Borga drops a leg on Lex. Borga covers for 1...2..nope. For some reason Johnny Polo, Fuji and Cornette still hang around ring side even though their men are gone. Luger walks into a sidewalk slam and Ludvig covers for 1...2...nope. Borga hits a suplex and covers arrogantly for 1....2..no. Borga sends Luger off and hits a powerslam then covers for 1...2...nope. Borga drops Luger with two clotheslines and covers arrogantly for 1...2...no. Vince says Borga's arrogance is appalling as Borga goes for another suplex. This time Lex blocks it and hits one of his own. Lex ducks under a clothesline and they clothesline each other down. Heenan asks if he hit him with the "true value" elbow but Vince says no. Polo and Cornette distract the ref as Fuji hands Borga the bucket of salt. Borga clocks Luger with it and gets rid of it. Borga covers Lex for 1.....2....no.  Luger rallies in the corner, sends Borga off the ropes and Borga sells a punch to the ribs hilariously. Lex hits a DDT on Borga then drops him with an elbow smash. He covers for a two count before Lex hits a powerslam on Ludvig. He covers for another two count before Heenan says we could be here all night. Borga sends Luger off the rope but Lex jumps over Ludvig and nails him with the loaded forearm. Lex covers for 1...2....3..to win the match. Luger is the sole survivor. Snow starts falling from the Garden rafters as Heenan says its the worst case of dandruff he's ever seen. All of a sudden Santa Claus comes to ringside and gets in with Luger to celebrate to Jingle Bells. Even Vince didn't wait to cut the turkey before catering to the Christmas season. Either way the match was designed for Lex to stand tall and set up Taker vs Yoko at the Royal Rumble and it completed its task. It was a good main event with a lot of stuff happening at once. Savage vs Crush, Lex pinning Borga, Taker and Yoko....at least it was fun to watch. The Coliseum Video exclusive has Todd with Lex putting over Santa and the holidays, yippie.

Time of match: 28:02

Survivor: Lex Luger

Its funny how there was no real historical importance to this show other than bits and pieces here and there. Razor Ramon and IRS would settle things at the Royal Rumble, Bam Bam and Doink would settle it at Wrestlemania, Marty Jannetty and the 123 Kid proved to be a good team for future purposes, the spot with Yokozuna and Taker also led to the Rumble, the genesis for Bret vs Owen in 94 happened here and Lex Luger would get his crack at Yokozuna also at Wrestlemania. This was also the last ppv appearances for Bastion Booger and Ludvig Borga as both of them missed the Rumble for different reasons I'll get to another time. The Rock N Roll Express wouldn't be back for another 4 years for the god awful NWA invasion angle while Bobby Heenan wouldn't resurface until Wrestlemania 17. In terms of match quality the opener was good, the tag match was great, the Family Feud match was good, the Doink match sucked and the main event was good. It wasn't a bad show, there just wasn't anything iconic like Taker beating Hogan, or the Demoltion/Powers of Pain double turn, the return of Mr. Perfect or the debut of The Undertaker like previous shows had. With Survivor Series out of the way, now we point our attention toward the Royal Rumble. Some of the feuds were already known at this point while others needed time to play out. They had two months to get there so let's see how things play out along the way. Since this show was actually on a Wednesday, we'll see you this coming Saturday morning for WWF Mania. See you there!