Back a little while ago, we ran a Twitter poll to ask our growing readership what they wanted to see from us at The WWE Network Chronicle. To our mild surprise, you overwhelmingly voted for more retro content! So, here I am. The plan going forward is to release a new retro review every non-PPV Sunday. I’ll try to tie them into current events, but I may also mix things up from time to time in order to keep things fresh. Finally, I may not limit these reviews to old Pay-Per-Views. If I find something interesting enough to review, it’s fair game. On with the show!
WWF In Your House 6
Date: February 18th, 1996
Location: Louisville Gardens, Louisville, Kentucky
Commentary: Jerry “The King” Lawler. Vince McMahon
Runtime: 1:49:56
Lawler and McMahon introduce us to the show and run down the card. This is obviously the last step before WrestleMania 12, but only the top 2 matches have any real significance to them. In truth, that was often the case for these 2-hour or under stopgap events. Let’s not waste any more time though and get to the first match!
Razor Ramon vs 123 Kid w/ Ted DiBiase (Cry Baby Match)
Damn it. How do you take a potentially awesome match and turn it into a joke? Make the loser wear a diaper. This was at the tail end of both men’s first WWF runs. A diaper…
Razor starts the match with some good babyface fire, quickly sending Kid outside the ring. A brief distraction by DiBiase swings the momentum though and 123 Kid uses his striking offence. It doesn’t last long though and Ramon comes back, throwing his opponent around the ring and finally back outside. Seeing his client in trouble, Ted channels Mr Fuji and uses baby powder to blind Ramon, setting up the first proper “heat” segment of the match.
Unfortunately, Kid sticks to mostly just strikes again. The only real highlight here is an impressive frog splash, which was still fairly rare in 1996 WWF. While the crowd isn’t dead, they seem to just be waiting for the comeback.We get a prolonged sleeper hold now, which they try to keep interesting with a couple of false hope spots. It’s still just a sleeper hold though, so we’re not talking the pinnacle of excitement.
As expected, we get a last second revival, Ramon crotches 123 kid on the top rope and both guys decide to rest on the mat for a minute as the referee counts. The rest of the match has been lazy, why not go symbolic with it too? Kid crawls into a pin and we get the first close count of the match. Razor fights back though, which finally leads into a decent stretch involving a quick paced crossbody by Kid that’s rolled through into a near fall that the crowd buys pretty well. We get a fun top rope fall-away slam, followed by a second distraction/baby powder spot, which backfires on Kid this time, and leads into The Razor’s Edge. We’re not done though as Ramon pulls his adversary up from a pin attempt and hits a second finisher for the pinfall.
Post match, 123 Kid gets humiliated with baby paraphernalia as per the stipulations of the match and ends up throwing a tantrum.
Result: Razor Ramon via pinfall (Razor’s Edge) @12:01
My thoughts: It was okay, I guess. It was a standard opening contest with a solid homestretch. The stipulation was bizarre and not really needed, but it kind of fit into the story being told between two former friends. With how lethargic the majority of this match feels, you can skip this fairly safely.
After some hotline plugging, we move on to..
Hunter Hearst Helmsley w/ Elizabeth Hilden vs Duke “The Dumpster” Droese
It’s funny. WWE like to act as if Triple H’s career was completely stalled after the infamous “curtain call” incident. However, when you look back, the guy was hardly flying high before then. In the mindset of modern fans, Triple H would be buried in midcard hell at this point.
Anyway, this match is built from an attack and forced haircut by Helmsley. To give him credit, Droese enters the match truly pissed off and goes straight for a brawl, as it should be. “The Dumpster” (man, that sounds like an unenviable porn name) keeps up the aggression with a hair-assisted biel across the ring, using his coat as a whip and corner mounted punches. It’s really quite eye-opening for a supposedly kid-friendly character. Hunter drops Droese from the turnbuckle for a reprieve.
However, an attempted Pedigree is countered into a reverse atomic drop. Droese gets too reckless though and a clothesline leads to him getting body dropped out of the ring. Helmsley uses the steel steps to his advantage before returning to the ring for a pinfall attempt. After some deliberately paced offence and another failed pin, we get a brief exchange of offense which culminates in the now iconic HHH high knee. Weird to see that get such little reaction.
Hunter keeps control for a little while, but is met by a big boot when charging into the corner. Both men wipe each other out with a clothesline and the ref begins to count both of the downed Superstars. Was the “double knockdown” scenario really used that often in the mid-90’s? We had a variation in the prior match too. The future purse holder of Stephanie McMahon gets up at 8, but is suddenly powered down by a huge Droese spinebuster. Ironic. The garbage man takes his time getting to his feet though, which gives the blue blood time to get up too.
Droese is a house of fire though, steamrolling over his opponent with move after move. Despite having the victory well in hand, the dumb good guy decides to go for his trash can at ringside. Like any good referee would, he tries to stop this. This allows Hunter Hearst to crack his opponent as hard as possible with the remaining lid for the victory.
Result: Hunter Hearst Helmsley via pinfal (trash can lid to the head) @9:40
My Thoughts: Very below average stuff here. I liked the beginning with Droese acting appropriately as a man just looking to fight. Not much actually happened in the middle portion though and the ending came across as a little anticlimactic, with the babyface looking as dumb as hell. WWF obviously saw something in the future “Cerebral Assassin”, but he was far from ready at this point. Skippable, with even less memorable content than the previous match.
We get some merchandise peddling with Todd Pettingill now. Now, I’m not an expert on these matters, but how can a “large” sweatshirt be “one size fits all”?! I never trusted Pettingill.
Now we move on to…
Yokozuna vs British Bulldog w/Jim Cornette
This match takes place after a slightly weird face turn for the sumo wrestler. But hey, switch a Japanese flag for Old Glory and you’re set, apparently. As is often the case for shoe horned face turns, Yokozuna was running out of time with the company. Also, prior to the match, the “Japanese” Superstar gave a promo in English with zero accent. There goes that gimmick.
The British Bulldog is already in the ring after Yoko has finished speaking. The big guy is billed at 644lbs here, though that could easily be an underestimate. He does not look good and is walking with a serious waddle.
Yokozuna starts on offense, hitting some punches and a sloppy back bodydrop where Bulldog looks to be doing most of the work. An attempted elbow dropmisses, so Bulldog pounds on him as he wobbily gets back up. The former WWF Champion can barely do anything except be a target. So, Bulldog just clotheslines him until he falls down, then chokes him on a rope.
An irish whip into the corner gets reversed and followed up with a splash. A Bonzai Drop is teased, but Cornette pulls his client from the ring to save him. The two scuffle outside, until an overzealous Yokozuna posts himself. Back in the ring, The Manchester native succeeds with one top rope ax handle, but fails with the next. Yoko gets the crowd behind him with some basic offense and looks to finish things after a Samoan drop and belly-to-belly. Just as a Bonzai drop looks inevitable, Cornette attacks with his tennis racket, causing a disqualification.
Post match, Corny hits Yoko repeatedly like he saw Vince Russo trying to book a reverse battle royal. It has no noticeable affect. Kind of like Russo these days. Before the giant can get his hands on his former manager, Vader appears and the two brawl. The crowd actually reacts well to this. A double team occurs and handcuffs get involved, allowing the sumo to be beaten down
Result: Yokozuna via DQ (Cornette racket shot) @5:05
My Thoughts: Boy, did this feel longer than it was! This was just sad to watch. Yokozuna should not have been wrestling at this point and looked ready to collapse within two minutes. I understand that as a former WWF Champion he still had some name value, but this was very basic and tedious. Perhaps this was the best performance possible in the circumstances, but it just dragged with so little actually happening in the match. It felt like the final days of Andre. Skip this.
Prior to our next contest, we get a supposed interview with Intercontinental Champion Goldust in the AOL area. Unfortunately, we can barely hear him. From what McMahon says, it was to promote an IC title match with Razor Ramon the next night on Raw.
Next up is a long video package explaining the rivalry between Shawn Michaels and Owen Hart. Basically, Owen put HBK on the shelf in December. After Shawn returned to win the Rumble, he wanted revenge on the younger Hart. Owen only agreed to this if a victory would give him a shot at the title held by his brother Bret. So, Shawn put his Royal Rumble-earned title shot on the line tonight.
Shawn Michaels vs Owen Hart (Winner Faces WWF Champion At WrestleMania 12)
Prior to the bell ringing, Shawn got to dance on the roof of the “house” stage as part of his entrance. He then swung down on a cable, Tarzan-style. They really pushed the boat out a month later…
HBK throws Owen out of the ring during his pre-match showmanship. The Showstopper has to have all the spotlight, I guess! Hilariously, “The King of Harts” seems fine with this and disappears until he’s done.
Once the bell finally goes, we get some brief chain wrestling, followed by classic Shawn showboating. Back in the ring, Hart copies HBK’s previous escape, so Michaels follows him to the outside with a dive. Vince practically orgasms at this. Back in the ring, Shawn comes from the turnbuckle with an ax handle, before humiliating Owen with some more hot-dogging. We go through a sequence where Shawn seems to dodge every bullet and acts cocky while doing so. Say what you want about the guy dring this time, but there was no doubt that the crowd were ready for HBK at the top.
Finally, everything comes crashing down as Owen Hart hits a belly-to-belly. We get the best psychology of the night as Owen works on the back for the next several minutes and blatantly looks for the Sharpshooter. another cool moment takes place as the 1994 King of the Ring hits a neckbreaker. Michaels sells the knock to the head with extra vigor, playing into his “concussion syndrome” very well.
A camel clutch continues the work on the back. Shawn Michaels gives his fans a brief moment of hope, but a knee to the gut puts an end to that for now. The Heartbreak Kid tries to fight back from a seated chinlock, but gets a heel kick to the face and rolls to the outside. With Cornette’s interference thwarted, Shawn reverses an apron suplex to ringside. However, when he tries another dive, he’s caught with a powerslam.
Back inside the ring, Hart hits a top rope dropkick, but fails to get a three count. Despite Michaels briefly managing a roll up pin, he gets leveled with a big clothesline. The baby of the Hart family decides to end things with the Sharpshooter, which leads to a minute or two of HBK struggling to make it to the ropes. The high pitched squeals at this point were very noticeable. After a little more back work, Owen gets cocky, allowing for another sudden pin attempt. Hart slips out though and we get the big story payoff as Shawn gets hit with an enziguri pretty much identical to the one that took him out in December. Jerry revels in this, while Vince acts very concerned. For his part, “The Boy Toy” sells the whole thing like death at ringside. Rather than taking a count out, Hart drags the limp carcass back inside and goes for a sloppy pin. Of course the resilient babyface kicks out.
The tempo really picks up at this point, as Shawn Michaels begins to make his final comeback with flying forearms and top rope elbow drops. We do get a fun wrinkle at the end though. Just as HBK goes to win, with Sweet Chin Music, Hart ducks and flails with one last desperate enziguri attempt, which misses wildly and allows Shawn to hit his superkick for the winning pinfall.
Result: Shawn Michaels via pinfall (Sweet Chin Music) @15:57
My Thoughts: A very good match. There was some great psychology throughout and this was the first match that got out of first gear. I’ll admit that I would have liked Shawn to sell his beating a little more than he did at the end, but a babyface comeback is hard to do if you act hurt too much. I wouldn’t put this among either man’s best work, but it definitely stands head and shoulders above the rest of this card so far. Definitely watch this.
Prior to the main event, “shifty” Todd Pettingill interviews interim WWF President Rowdy Roddy Piper. In a rather odd promo, “The Rowdy One” calls Yokozuna dumb and tells Vader to stop wearing a jockstrap on his head. He then books the two in a singles match for WrestleMania 12. Praise be to the wrestling gods, because that train wreck never happened. Cornette appears to try and intimidate Piper, but that obviously goes nowhere.
WWF Championship Cage Match: Diesel vs Bret Hart (c)
As is fitting for a cage match, this starts out as a slugfest. Which has been somewhat of a theme for the whole show. Early shades of the Attitude Era perhaps? In the opening moments, Bret shows his strategy of aiming for the legs, but a brawl greatly favours “Big Daddy Cool” and he dominates the WWF champion in the corner. After continuing to focus on the challenger’s legs, “The Hitman” resorts to throwing his opponent into the cage wall, finally giving him control. Seeing an opportunity, Bret tries to escape, but he just gets caught at the top and then carried over to be driven into the cage wall back-first himself.
Diesel attempts to walk out of the structure to regain the Championship, but underestimates Hart who crotches him on the rope. A barrage of fist put the 7-footer on his back while the technically proficient Champion finally gets to focus on the legs after brief escape attempts from both wrestlers.
The former champion eventually manages to get back to a vertical base though and takes control back with a clothesline and sidewalk slam. An elbow drop misses and both men look to get out; Diesel through the door and Bret over the top. “The Hitman” notices though, so he stops his challenger and goes back to the legs. We then get an escape attempt foiled by a Diesel-powered slam from the top buckle.
Frankly, the best way to describe the middle portion of this match is repetitive. Every time someone does an actual move they attempt to escape and get stopped. Rinse and repeat for the next few minutes. It’s really stalling the momentum of the match and I don’t want to overly repeat myself. It’s a major flaw of the “escape only” rule set that WWF/E insists on using a lot. Eventually, Diesel totally misses on a running knee into the corner, so Bret gets laser focused on the weak legs of the huge challenger.
Just as “Big Daddy Cool” looks to be done for, he reverses an Irish whip to send Hart crashing chest first into the corner. It makes a very loud noise and is extremely impressive. The #1 contender grinds his opponent down with strikes, but is stunned by some kicks to the knee, very nearly allowing Hart to escape until he’s forced back in. Cockiness begins to surface in the big man as he acts as if he’s already won the belt. Just a thought here, but I have to give Nash credit: he’s had a whole match focused on his legs without tearing a quad! Anyway, we get another chest crushing turn-buckle spot.
I think the real problem with this cage match is that it actually seems to be getting slower. A large part of that is both men trying to sell the epic toll that has been paid by their bodies. A good example is when Bret tries for the Sharpshooter, gets a thumb to the eye and then both men slowly drag themselves to their feet, it just feels odd when closing in on the finish.
The whole thing degenerates into a brawl again, with kidney punches and blatant low blows serving as last ditch efforts to neutralise each other. The aforementioned low blow looks to have helped Diesel regain the Championship, when The Undertaker bursts through the mat, dragging his rival into the depths below. Pretty much an afterthought, Bret Hart climbs over and out to win the match and retain the title.
Result: Bret Hart retains via cage escape (Takerference) @19:13
Post match, Undertaker and Diesel return from the smoking hole in the ring. Diesel runs away terrified, while Taker stalks him like a horror movie monster. The commentators have totally forgotten about the WWF Champion, bar a throwaway mention. Poor Bret. Undertaker taunts from the top of the cage and the lights go out. End show.
My Thoughts: This match really dragged. I appreciated the psychology at times, but the whole thing got bogged down by the rules necessitating a lot of space between the two athletes far too often. As I said above, the flaws really become apparent once I realised how much I was repeating myself. Add to that the fact that a 20-minute match was basically window dressing for an angle and I really can’t recommend this compared to their other classics.
Closing Thoughts
The only thing I can really recommend here is Shawn Micheals vs Owen Hart. That had great psychology and strong in-ring action. Unfortunately the main event got its pacing totally wrong and pretty much spun its wheels until The Phenom was ready to show up. Yokozuna should have been forced to get in better shape and the rest was just completely unremarkable. I’ll have to go solidly below average, thanks to the cage match boring me to tears.