Sage Cortez
I’ve been looking forward to this show for some time, but it was a daunting task to finish watching that Clash event. Now that it’s over, I can finally watch one of the remaining PPV’s from the pre-New Generation era that I haven’t seen. I’m not sure which match I’m looking forward to the most. I’m not sure it matters. What does matter is that this show was presented as being a very big deal and now it’s time to see if reality matched up with that.
– August 30th, 1993, from the Palace of Auburn Hills, Michigan
This Lex Express video is hilarious in hindsight. It reminds me so much of Roman Reigns’ booking in 2015. Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan are on commentary for this one, and the Palace appears a little less than full.
Ted DiBiase vs. Razor Ramon
Pre-Match Thoughts: This is a pretty good opening matchup. Razor deserved to be put over strong as a babyface and they picked the best guy to do it that they had. Can’t complain about the choice here. This show actually feels like something out of 1991 even though it most certainly isn’t. The presentation needed to be updated. Razor’s pink getup is an interesting choice.
Match Review: DiBiase attacks, and this match is underway. Razor’s vest is still on. After some chops by DiBiase, Razor takes him down with a backdrop. He follows that with a fallaway slam, then DiBiase heads to the outside. When he gets back in there, he’s able to get in a few more chops. Razor comes back with clotheslines, and the last one sends DiBiase over the top. Razor brings him back in the hard way, but DiBiase rams him hard into the buckle. After a long series of chokes from DiBiase, he nails Razor with a back elbow and drops him with a backbreaker that gets 2. DiBiase clotheslines him for 2, then goes to a chinlock. Razor fights out, but runs into a knee to stop any chance of potential excitement. DiBiase uses a swinging neckbreaker, then picks Razor up and suplexes him. DiBiase tries the MILLION DOLLAR DREAM, but Razor prevents that and clotheslines DiBiase again. DiBiase gets up and knocks him out of the ring, then exposes one of the turnbuckles. Razor rams him into that buckle, gives him the RAZOR’S EDGE, and that’s it after 7:32.
My Thoughts: DiBiase had clearly lost a step by this point and was no longer capable of carrying somebody to a good match. At least that’s how it seemed. Don’t know what the issue was, but I do know that he got hurt later when working in Japan. It sucks that I won’t be watching any more of his matches, I thought he was great at his best. *1/4 for the match.
The Heavenly Bodies (w/Jim Cornette) vs. The Steiner Brothers for the WWF Tag Team Championships
Pre-Match Thoughts: This is likely to be a whole lot better than the last match. Even though the Steiners were the champions, it isn’t like they’d done a lot in the WWF to this point. Or really ever. Before the match, the Steiner family was interviewed and their sister was next level tanned. Like, Hulk Hogan color. Wow. Not the biggest pop ever for the guys from the home state, but loud for a tag team.
Match Review: The Bodies attack, just as DiBiase did to start the last match. They throw Scott to the outside and take Rick down with a double suplex, then they nearly kill him with a double backdrop. Yikes. Scott gets back in the ring and starts cleaning house, taking Del Ray down with monkey flip and Prichard down with a double hip toss. Rick nails Del Ray with a STEINERLINE, then Scott throws Prichard over his head for a suplex. Scott follows that up with a tilt-a-whirl slam on Del Ray, and the ring is now cleared. Prichard gets back in there and plays to the crowd, then he locks up with Scott and Scott picks him up for a huge press slam. Scott backdrops Del Ray as well, then tags in Rick. Rick blocks a hip toss from Prichard, then hits both guys with STEINERLINES. He slams Del Ray, and the bodies have to take a break. Prichard gets back in there and so does Scott Steiner, who gives him an inverted atomic drop. Del Ray gets one too, then a distraction leads to Prichard taking Scott down with a bulldog. An enzuigiri follows that, then Prichard throws Scott to the outside. Del Ray decides to fly off the apron with a rolling senton on Scott, then tags in and gives Scott a double axehandle once Scott gets back in there. Del Ray does a great floatover DDT, then switches back out. Prichard knee drops Scott on the back of the head, then decides to put a chinlock on him. Del Ray tags in, and there’s a nice looking superkick for 2. Cornette sneaks in a racket shot when he has a chance, then Del Ray goes for the floatover DDT again only to be given a T-BONE SUPLEX. Del Ray cuts Scott off from the tag, but Scott takes him down with a double underhook powerbomb.
Rick makes the hot tag in, and nails Del Ray and Prichard with STEINERLINES. He slams them both as well, then Scott dropkicks them both. Rick then climbs up top and BULLDOGS Del Ray, but Prichard breaks the cover. Scott beats Prichard up in the corner, but gets dumped to the outside. Rick powerslams Del Ray, but Prichard helps him out with a racket shot. Del Ray covers, and Rick kicks out at 2! Good false finish, that one. Now the Bodies go for a moonsault, but Del Ray accidentally takes Prichard out. Scott follows up with the FRANKENSTEINER on Del Ray, and that’s gonna be it after 9:28.
My Thoughts: Right now I’m really wondering why I haven’t seen this before. This match had a good mixture of things going for it. The crowd was into it the whole time, and the false finishes didn’t fall flat as a result of that. The offense used in this match was certainly unique, and the Bodies established themselves as a team that looked to get both guys in the ring literally whenever it was possible. ***3/4, it would be surprising if somebody watched it and didn’t like it. You need to watch this match.
Mr. Perfect vs. Shawn Michaels (w/Diesel) for the WWF Intercontinental Championship
Pre-Match Thoughts: I’m going to go into this match with a completely open mind. I haven’t seen it, and I wasn’t around when there was all that hype about this going to be the greatest match in history, so that’s a complete non-factor to me. Actually really looking forward to this match. It was Perfect’s last chance to work a big singles bout for some time. Still weird seeing Diesel. He got a chance to talk too.
Match Review: They lock up, departing from the beginning of the other two matches. Michaels throws Perfect down via his hair, then Perfect snap mares him down. Michaels goes to a headlock, but Perfect gets out and tries a suplex that Michaels also gets out of. After that, they blow a spot and I don’t know what they were doing. Perfect grabs onto a hammerlock, then they reverse it for a while until Michaels takes Perfect down with a headlock. Perfect gets out with the head-scissors, then Michaels misses an elbow drop and we’re back to square one. Perfect hits Michaels with some chops, then another spot gets blown. They repeat it, and Michaels lands on his feet after a moonsault, then is clotheslined for 2. Perfect goes to an armbar, but Michaels breaks the hold and dodges a charge to the corner. Michaels goes up top, but Perfect catches him with some arm drags. Perfect goes back to that armbar, then slingshots Michaels over the top rope. Silly spot. Perfect goes to the outside, but Diesel’s there for a distraction. Michaels subsequently nails Perfect with a superkick, then goes up to the apron for a double axehandle. Back on the inside, Michaels goes to work on Perfect’s back with some elbow drops. Michaels throws Perfect hard into the corner a couple times, then stands on Perfect’s back and sits on it. Michaels gives Perfect a backbreaker, then tries to use it as a submission until Perfect punches him a couple times. Perfect hits Michaels with a perfect dropkick afterwards, and follows that up with a backdrop. Perfect hits Michaels with a knee lift, then an inverted atomic drop gets 2. Perfect nails Michaels with a forearm for 2, then blocks a hip toss and they fight over a backslide. Eventually Perfect gets the better of it and takes Michaels over with the PERFECT-PLEX, but Diesel pulls Perfect out of the ring. Perfect starts clobbering Diesel with right hands, and prevents Michaels from attacking from the apron. Perfect then throws Michaels back into the ring, but he lands on the ref. So, Diesel throws Perfect into the post, which gets Perfect counted out at 11:18.
Perfect decides to attack both guys some time after the end of the match, but of course he gets doubled up on. Diesel knocks him out and that’s the end of the fight. Todd Pettengill meets HBK and Diesel in the aisle, and HBK says that he’s not ashamed of how he kept his title. Okay then. Perfect decides to run to the back, but that’s the end of it.
My Thoughts: The problem with this match was two-fold, I think. The roles needed to be reversed for it to be a top quality match, and I don’t think Perfect was in good enough shape to take all those bumps as a heel anymore. Both guys didn’t have the offense as a babyface, so this is what we got. Michaels also didn’t bump as well as he could have. All in all, I can see why people were disappointed with the whole thing. I would have been too. The match does have its merits, however. The finish was better than I expected even though it was a cop out. On top of that, they kept the action moving well and I was happy about it. **1/2.
Irwin R. Schyster vs. The 1-2-3 Kid
Pre-Match Thoughts: This is a good way to introduce Kid to the wider PPV audience. He won’t be able to do all of his best stuff against IRS, though. IRS was one of those guys that’s hard to believe was still in the WWF at this point. Kid had a promo and sounded goofy. IRS did his tax cheats routine to try to get the crowd heated but I don’t think anyone bought into it.
Match Review: Kid and IRS tumble into the corner, and when they get out of it, IRS shoulders Kid down. Kid comes back with a spinning wheel kick for 2, but IRS gets up and gives him a giant flapjack. He tries another, but this time Kid dropkicks him for 2. IRS fires off a back elbow, then throws Kid over the top out to the floor. Cool bump. Kid gets up to the apron, but is quickly knocked back down. IRS tries to bring him in the hard way a few seconds later, but Kid front flips into the ring and rolls IRS up for 2. IRS hits him with another back elbow, then drops an elbow on him for 2. IRS goes to an abdominal stretch and holds the ropes, but he gets caught doing that. IRS chinlocks him, then Kid gets up and rams him into the buckle. After some kicks from the Kid, he throws IRS into the corner and heads up top. Kid flies down with a MOONSAULT, but IRS kicks out at 2. Kid tries La Magistral, but that also gets 2. Kid tries another spinning wheel kick, but IRS catches him and Kid fires off an enzuigiri for 2. IRS then shoots Kid into the ropes, hits him with a big clothesline, and picks up the victory after 5:44.
My Thoughts: This was good for what it was and it’s rare territory for me to make that comment about an IRS match. Here it is, though. Kid was able to do a lot of cool stuff and that certainly helped out all the matches he was in. People were upset Kid lost, but you can’t do an underdog gimmick if the guy wins all the time. It made perfect sense to be this way. **. The clothesline IRS hit him with was very nice.
Jerry Lawler vs. Bret Hart
Pre-Match Thoughts: This was an interesting presentation leading to this match. First, they had Bruce and Owen Hart with Todd Pettengill to talk about the match. Owen was sporting quite the mullet. They’re tired of Lawler, of course. Obviously the crowd had no idea what was about to go down. It took a long time for Bret to enter the arena for some reason. When it was Lawler’s turn, he was on crutches and he had his knee wrapped up. He hates everything about Bret Hart. What happened was, the shitty American car he was driving got him into an accident with an old lady. Can’t stop laughing at this. This may be Lawler’s best WWF/WWE moment. He wants to wrestle but the doctors won’t let him. Instead of facing him, Bret will now have to face…DOINK THE CLOWN. Doink has some buckets, I wonder what for. There’s confetti in one and water in the other, which he throws on Bruce Hart.
Doink (w/Jerry Lawler) vs. Bret Hart
Match Review: Bret attacks at that point, so the match is underway. Bret brings Doink in the ring and clotheslines him over the top, but he doesn’t look pleased. Bret follows Doink out there, and clotheslines him on the floor. He sends Doink into the post as well, then they head back inside. Bret blocks a big boot attempt, then knocks Doink out of the ring with a big right hand. Lawler tries to motivate Doink, so Doink then heads up top only for Bret to hit him in the gut and crotch him on the top rope. Bret pulls Doink into the ring, then hits him with some elbow smashes. Bret tries to invite Lawler into the ring, but he won’t do that. Bret and Doink punch it out for a bit, but Bret headbutts the clown to stop that. Bret goes to the outside himself, but the referee stops him from attacking Lawler. Doink then knees Bret from behind, and rams him into the steps. Doink heads up top and hits Bret with a double axehandle as they’re now back in the ring, then he drops Bret with a knee-breaker. After Doink wraps Bret’s leg around the post, he covers him for a 1 count. Doink goes to an STF, but Bret fights out, only to run into a knee to the gut. Doink drops an elbow for 2, then goes for the STUMP PULLER. Doink gets caught holding the ropes, then picks Bret up and slams him. Up top he goes, but Doink misses that BUTT SPLASH, landing on Bret’s knees. The psychology there is interesting. Bret gets up and goes to town, giving him a Russian leg sweep. Bret goes up to the second rope, comes down with an elbow smash, and goes for the SHARPSHOOTER. Then Jerry Lawler gets in the ring and breaks his crutch over Bret’s head. Don’t think the referee was supposed to see that. The referee gets caught up trying to keep Bruce and Owen out of the ring, so Lawler keeps hitting Bret with that crutch. This is so unlike the WWF. Lawler decides to carry Doink to the back, so I guess Doink was disqualified. The time was 9:05.
My Thoughts: This was a fun one. The commentary for the match was great, I thought both Vince and Heenan did a really good job. Bret and Doink went full out for the duration of the bout, and the crowd was fairly involved even though it seemed like they got screwed out of seeing what they’d wanted to. Funny thing is, they weren’t. ***, good match. Glad Doink got that chance to have a showcase match on PPV.
After all that, Jack Tunney walks down the aisle and tells Lawler he better get to the ring or he’s banned for life. Excellent.
Jerry Lawler vs. Bret Hart
Match Review: Bret makes sure Lawler has no time to decide, attacking him and bringing him back to the ring. Hell yeah. Bret clocks Lawler with one of the buckets, then headbutts him. Hilarious. After some biting by Bret, he backdrops the King. A leg drop follows that, then Bret headbutts him quite low. To the outside they go, and Bret returns the favor from earlier, hitting Lawler with one of the crutches. After ramming Lawler into the railing, Lawler is able to get hold of the crutch and hit Bret with it a few times. Lawler also chokes Bret with it, then tells the fans they need to shut up. Back in they go, and Lawler takes Bret nut first into the ring post. HAHA. Lawler has the crutch again, and distracts the referee so that he can jab Bret in the throat with it again. Lawler takes Bret to the buckle, then poses for the camera. Bret comes back with a low blow, then does the Lawler and PULLS THE STRAPS DOWN. Lawler sticks his middle finger out, then Bret pounds on him with more right hands. Bret backdrops Lawler again, then takes him down with a backbreaker for 2. Bret PILEDRIVES Lawler, then goes up to the second rope for an elbow smash. Bret puts the SHARPSHOOTER on, and Lawler gives it up after just 6:32. Bret won’t break the hold, because he’s so mad. A host of people come into the ring to make Bret stop, but that takes quite a long time. Eventually the referee announces he has disqualified him, so LAWLER WINS! HE IS THE UNDISPUTED KING OF THE WWF! Bret gets so mad at that, he attacks Lawler again and clobbers him until Lawler can do a stretcher job. Then Bruce Hart tries to attack Lawler, and so does Owen. That was great.
My Thoughts: That is one of the best sub-7 minute matches I’ve ever seen. That was perfect on nearly every level. I don’t know why they did this angle specifically, but it was so good. Glad I’ve finally seen it, just like the other stuff on this show. Really fun. They made Bret look justified in doing what he did after the match, and the crowd cheered him the whole way. That shows the power of quality heeling. Lawler did a hell of a job here and so did Bret. ***1/2. This didn’t feel like a WWF match at all. Certainly it felt like the first hardcore match they’d had on a WWF PPV. Lawler’s willingness to do just about anything made this what it was.
Ludvig Borga vs. Marty Jannetty
Pre-Match Thoughts: Well, how do you follow up on that? I don’t think you can. They didn’t even try to, which was the smartest thing to do. Everyone knews exactly what was going to happen here. It seemed clear that Borga was being pushed to the very top. LOL at the comments about welfare checks. His theme sounds awfully similar to the original Mountie theme.
Match Review: Marty gets in this guy’s face, so when Marty turns his back, Borga goes on the attack. He hits Marty with some hard stuff, including a clothesline. After some knees to the gut, Borga picks Marty up for another huge flapjack. I wonder if Kid and Marty had a competition going. Borga picks Marty up with a choke, then puts him down and punches him a few more times. He puts a snot rocket on the referee, then misses a charge to the corner. Marty hits him with some clotheslines, but he can’t knock him down. Borga knocks him down with a clothesline, then blocks a sunset flip. This is very boring. Borga puts a bear hug on Marty, but sadly this is not over. Marty fights out of it, but can’t slam Borga. Another clothesline follows from Borga, then when he blocks a sunset flip this time, he punches the mat. Marty superkicks him twice, then goes to the second rope only for Borga to catch him on the way down for a big slam. Borga puts Marty in a TORTURE RACK, and that’s it after 5:15.
My Thoughts: I wish that had ended sooner, but I understand they needed to fill time and give people a chance to hit concessions and the restroom. That was extremely boring and I have nothing good to say about it. DUD.
Giant Gonzalez (w/Harvey Wippleman) vs. The Undertaker in a REST IN PEACE MATCH
Pre-Match Thoughts: I believe Gonzalez wasn’t the original plan for this event, it was Mr. Hughes instead. I may be wrong and I’m not trying to write my own vision of history here. I’m interested to see the crowd reaction to this bout. Should be lively given the involvement of the Undertaker, who was kept off television for the most part. I do not know the rules of this. Gonzalez was limping on his way to the ring, and Wippleman has the Undertaker’s urn. Cool to see the lights go dark for Taker’s entrance.
Match Review: Taker attacks first to my surprise, beating Gonzalez up in the corner and choking him. Taker gets distracted a bit by Wippleman, then runs into a big boot as a result of that. Taker hits Gonzalez with some clotheslines, but runs into a double palm strike to stop his momentum. Taker gets up quickly, but Gonzalez throws him to the outside. He follows for some reason, and they have a shitty brawl on the floor until it’s time for Taker to be thrown into the post. Gonzalez grabs a chair and hits Taker in the ribs with it, then the back. Okay, so there are no rules. Gonzalez throws Taker into the steps, which is a jolt to the knees I don’t know why anyone would take. Back in they go, and Taker’s trying to get to the urn. Gonzalez stops him, but Taker hits him with some right hands. The selling is comical. Gonzalez throws Taker hard into the corner, then the BELL TOLLS. Why? IT’S PAUL BEARER. HE’S BACK. Heenan’s commentary was hilarious. Bearer brings out a black wreath, but Wippleman is now upset. He charges at Bearer, who then clotheslines him and goes to grab the urn! Again, a funny moment. Gonzalez picks Taker up and slams him, then he sees Bearer with the urn. Bearer does his urn thing, then Taker sits up. Taker hits the big guy with some clotheslines, which eventually knock Gonzalez down. Taker heads up top and hits Gonzalez with another clothesline, and that gets him the win after a hilariously crappy 8:04.
For some reason, Gonzalez is mad at Wippleman and chokeslams him. The size difference is incredible.
My Thoughts: Like I said, hilariously crappy. Can’t complain too much about any of this, I thought it was funny. This wasn’t good on any level though. If not for the commentary I’d have been bored out of my mind. Two DUD‘s in a row, but I think this show has been really good.
Jim Cornette is in the back with Yokozuna and Mr. Fuji, and of course Cornette is going to cut the promo. He talked about the Bodies match as much as Yokozuna’s. They did a great job making Yokozuna look taller than he was. Cornette sold the match, but they should have had him do that on Raw and Superstars.
Bam Bam Bigelow and the Headshrinkers (w/Luna Vachon and Afa) vs. Tatanka and the Smoking Gunns
Pre-Match Thoughts: This does have the potential to be a good match, there’s quite a few quality workers in here and everyone tended to work pretty hard. No complaints about this as a filler match before the main event. Originally this was going to be Bam Bam and Luna Vachon vs. Tatanka and Sensational Sherri, but that was cancelled. Just realized one of these teams was Cowboys and Indians right before Heenan mentioned the same thing.
Match Review: Shawn Michaels has left the building. The babyfaces try to attack, but run into a trio of clotheslines to stop that. Bigelow and Tatanka continue things, with Bigelow running him over. Tatanka tries his own shoulderblock, but the dropkick knocks Bigelow down. Tatanka backdrops Bigelow, then they each try cross body blocks only to take each other out. Billy Gunn and Fatu tag in, then Fatu takes him out with a superkick. Fatu goes for a suplex, but Billy DDT’s him and flies off the top with a clothesline. Fatu comes back with a shoulderblock, then tags in Samu for a double headbutt. Samu takes Billy out with a dangerous looking hot shot, then kicks him in the face. Bart makes a tag in, and his cross body gets 2. He arm drags Samu, but Samu gets up and nails him with a back elbow. He grabs Bart by the hair and drives him into the mat, then tags in Bigelow for some headbutting. Bigelow dropkicks Bart for 2, then tags in Fatu for a powerslam that gets 2. Samu and Fatu give Bart a double headbutt, then Bigelow tags in for another shoulderblock. Fatu heads in and clotheslines Bart, then Bart gets hit with a double chop. Bart gets beaten up in the corner, then gets hit with a double elbow. Bigelow misses a splash in the corner, and Tatanka’s able to make the tag in. He chops the Headshrinkers a lot, then goes to work on Bigelow doing the same thing and slamming him. Tatanka DDT’s Bigelow, then he heads up top and comes down with a cross body that gets 2. Samu missed his cue somewhere in there. Tatanka is now a fired up man, at least until Bigelow hits him with an enzuigiri. Some people cheered that. Samu goes up to the second rope, and down with a flying headbutt that gets 2. Billy gets tired of his and runs in there, until Bigelow WRECKS him with a clothesline to send him over the top. Bigelow crushes Tatanka in the corner as well, then all three heels decide to go up top. They fly down with DIVING HEADBUTTS, AND ALL OF THEM MISS. Billy gets in the ring and flies onto Bigelow with a plancha, then Tatanka sneaks in and rolls Samu up for the victory after 11:15.
My Thoughts: I didn’t care much for the pacing of this match, but eventually I came around. Once Tatanka got in the ring business picked up quite a bit. The triple diving headbutt spot was cool, and it was smart to go with that ending. This match is a little overrated in my opinion, but I enjoyed it and the ending. ***1/4. Everyone worked really hard.
Lex Luger vs. Yokozuna (w/Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji) for the WWF Championship
Pre-Match Thoughts: All that build comes down to this moment. Vince spent so much money on Lex Luger’s press tour, only for things to turn out this way. Before the match, Lex Luger’s BUS DRIVER was interviewed. Come on. Todd Pettengill interviewed a fan too. This is so bush league. Next up, we get a singing of the Japanese national anthem. After that, they introduced Randy Savage as the Master of Ceremonies and he brought Aaron Neville out there to sing the American national anthem. This doesn’t feel special at all, it feels like Vince knew the push was not going the way he wanted it to. It’s a pet peeve for some people I know, Yokozuna entered first. Lex Luger did not get that top guy pop. Given his push was completely manufactured, that makes total sense. Still the same Lex Luger that was posing in front of a mirror.
Match Review: We get a staredown to start this off, and Fuji decides to try to sneak into the ring. Luger gets distracted, but rams Yokozuna into the buckle and nails him with a back elbow. Yokozuna goes for a bodyslam, but Luger blocks that and gets elbowed in the face. Yoko misses the leg drop, so Luger attacks the leg to knock the champion down. Luger drops an elbow on him, and that gets a count of 2. Yoko comes back with a bodyslam, then misses his own elbow drop. Luger is a little blown up, and he clotheslines Yoko in the corner. He climbs the ropes for some punches in the corner, but Yoko hits him in the throat. Fuji tries to throw salt into Luger’s face, but Luger moves out of the way and hits Yokozuna with some right hands. Luger’s bodyslam doesn’t work, so Yoko kicks him in the face. Yoko knocks Luger out of the ring, and he keeps him on the outside with a headbutt. Now he follows and chokes him. He then charges at Luger and squashes him against the post, and grabs a chair which he swings and misses with. Luger tosses Yoko into the ring, then goes to the second rope and comes down with a double axehandle. He goes up top for another, and the third time he goes up there he hits Yoko with a forearm for 2. Luger clotheslines him from behind for 2, then they clothesline each other. Fuji throws his salt bucket in the ring, and of course Yoko gets up and hits Luger with it for 2. He hits Luger with some chops, then picks him up for a belly to belly suplex that gets 2 again. Yoko chokes Luger for a while and rakes at his face, then drops him with a big back suplex for 2. The crowd isn’t reacting much when Luger kicks out. Yokozuna goes to the NERVE HOLD, which Luger gets out of only to try a bodyslam and have Yoko fall on top of him for 2. Yoko hits Luger with a leg drop, but that can only get 2 as well. The champion decides it’s time for the BANZAI DROP, which Luger moves out of the way of! Luger starts fighting back, so Yokozuna bites him. Luger dodges a charge to the corner, then picks Yoko up and SLAMS HIM. He beats up Mr. Fuji just like Hulk Hogan would, then hits Yoko with the LOADED FOREARM, knocking him unconscious and out of the ring. Luger beats up Cornette, right as the referee counts Yokozuna out at 17:58.
The crowd did not go crazy for this. The Steiners, Randy Savage, and Tatanka run down to the ring to celebrate, and I honestly can’t figure out why. They even had balloons and confetti come out of the rafters as the show ended.
My Thoughts: This doesn’t make any sense. People were actually celebrating Luger beating Yokozuna and being disallowed from a future title shot. The thing is, this match was solid. I just don’t think the crowd believed in him. This reminds me a lot of the Roman Reigns issue, but on a different scale in that certainly more of the crowd believed in Luger at this particular point than in Reigns when he won the title. As for the match, I thought it started to drag and may have been too long for both guys. **1/4. Luger was essentially a Hulk Hogan copy in terms of his character and his work certainly showed that.
Almost unnoticed was that Gene Okerlund had left the WWF, wasn’t on this show, and was headed to WCW. Back to what I was saying, I don’t necessarily think they were wrong to keep the title off Luger. Bret Hart was more over, for example. The Undertaker was more over. The problem was that they tried to take somebody from 0 to 100 without the fans having any say in that. Other than the contract signing, they’d taken Luger off the road. He didn’t appear at any house shows, so they weren’t able to gauge the reactions to him. What kind of sense does that make? That’s about the only thing on this show that didn’t make any sense. I thought the action was good, the crowd was hot, and the booking was really good other than that. Can’t ask for much more when the talent in the WWF at this time wasn’t that great. It was a good show, but I don’t think the WWF’s fans felt that way at the time. They certainly didn’t retain similar audiences going forward. Next up we’re going to go back to WCW and head into Fall Brawl.
Wrestling Time: 1:32:11. There was very little here that wasn’t wrestling. Not many promos before the matches.
Best: Bret Hart vs. Jerry Lawler. This whole situation was perfect. I know I didn’t rate it the highest of these matches, but I’m talking about the whole deal.
Worst: Letting Lex Luger fall flat the way they did.
Card Rating: 7/10. I think it was a good event.
