WWE Vintage Collection Report: 22nd November 2009
By Shaun Best-Rajah.com Reporter
Hosted by: Mean Gene Okerlund
Welcome aboard. Our Survivor Series throwback concludes this week with matches from years 1995-1997.
The show opens with black and white vignettes to hype Bret Hart’s WWF return at Survivor Series 1996, as he prepares to face Stone Cold Steve Austin. Bret respects Austin, accepting the challenge of the best wrestler in the WWF. Bret doesn’t want to come back to just wrestle anybody, he wants Austin. Madison Square Garden isn’t a church, but for Bret it’s holy ground. In his mind, no-one can touch him in the WWF and we’ll see who kicks whose ass.
Austin (pacing around a rundown area) tells Bret to wake up. Bret will see Austin’s fist in his face and foot in his ass, as Austin kicks the hell out of Bret all over New York. Austin says people dream in black and white, but Bret will dream in red, as 3:16 says it’s time to whip your ass.
Bam Bam Bigelow vs Goldust (November 19th 1995, Landover, Maryland)
Joined in progress. Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Mr Perfect are on commentary. Goldust was one month into his bizarre role, while Bigelow was on his way out of the WWF following “Clique” issues. The aggressive Goldust sends Bigelow into the ring steps before holding a vice and chinlock. Bigelow drops Goldust from his shoulders, which takes more out of Bigelow than it does Goldust, who goes back to the chinlock. Bigelow back suplexes free, lands three clotheslines, then misses a corner charge. Goldust puts Bigelow away with a running bulldog. 1-2-3. Winner: GOLDUST. McMahon puts over the victory as “somewhat of an upset considering the calibre of Bam Bam Bigelow.”
Ken Shamrock, Ahmed Johnson & The Legion of Doom vs
The Nation of Domination (Faarooq, Rocky Maivia, D-Lo Brown & Kama Mustafa)
(November 9th 1997, Montreal, Quebec)
Once more we join this match in progress. Announcers are Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler. Faarooq is still the leader of the Nation, and Rocky is fine tuning “The Rock” character. Hawk pops right up from a D-Lo piledriver to deliver a neckbreaker. Kama nails a cheap shot from behind allowing Rocky to pin Hawk after a Rock Bottom. Bitter rivals-turned brief allies-now sworn enemies again, Faarooq and Ahmed have a brief exchange. D-Lo whips Ahmed with a belt in the corner. Ahmed counters Faarooq’s Dominator with the Pearl River Plunge (sitout powerbomb) to eliminate the team captain. DAMN! Faarooq refuses to leave. D-Lo lands a top rope frog splash on Ahmed, turns to run his mouth at the crowd, then turns back around into a front first suplex. Rock charges into a spinebuster. Faarooq hooks Ahmed’s leg as he runs the ropes, holding it down as Rocky pins him. Ahmed chases Faarooq up the ramp and both brawl to the back. After commercials, Animal pins Kama with a rollup after dropkicking him into Rocky. D-Lo and Rocky work over Shamrock until D-Lo overshoots on a moonsault. As Animal goes on the offensive, the newly formed New Age Outlaws make their way out to crowd silence. Road Dogg is wearing the LOD spikes, while Billy Gunn has his face painted like Animal. Rocky clotheslines Animal to the floor, where Dogg throws powder in Animal’s eyes (which the camera misses) and the blinded Road Warrior is counted out. Shamrock survives a Nation double team, to clothesline Rocky to the floor and catch D-Lo in a belly-to-belly suplex, then the ankle lock for the tapout. As the referees are busy with D-Lo, Rocky waffles Shamrock with a chair shot to the back. Shamrock frustrates Rocky by kicking out of a DDT and People’s Elbow. Shamrock counters a second DDT into a northern lights suplex, catches Rocky with a Frankensteiner, then applies the ankle lock, which Rocky wastes no time in tapping out to. Survivor: KEN SHAMROCK. The closing stages were good and D-Lo had a good showing. It was good to see the kind of performers that both Rocky and D-Lo grew into. As we all know, Rocky soon kicked Faarooq out of the Nation, rechristened himself as The Rock and never looked back. This was the height of Shamrock’s popularity, as even his King of the Ring victory over Rock in 1998 was disappointing in the long run.
Before we get to our Main Event, Todd Pettengill picks up pre-match comments from Bret Hart and Stone Cold. Austin isn’t intimidated by the way Pettengill builds Bret up, nor by the stipulation of the winner receiving the next WWF Title shot. Austin makes light of Bret’s best there is crap stating that clichés are clichés and an ass whipping is an ass whipping, which is exactly what Bret’s going to get and that’s the bottom line.
Bret makes reference once more to the holy ground of MSG. He has his fans here and around the world waiting for this very moment. Bret states he isn’t greedy for money, he’s greedy for respect and when this thing is all said and done Austin will respect him.
Bret “Hitman” Hart vs Stone Cold Steve Austin
(November 17th 1996, MSG, New York City)
Announcers are Vince McMahon and Jim Ross. The story early on is Austin being quickest out of the blocks, with Bret struggling to mount any effective offense. Austin hotshots Bret across the top rope in the first big spot. Austin uses the ropes as a weapon as he catapults Bret throat first into them. Austin utilises a couple of chinlocks, before winning a fist fight and stomping Bret down in the corner. Bret finally gets going after reversing an Irish whip. He catches Austin with an inverted atomic drop, clothesline, gut punch, rollup and side Russian legsweep. Austin counters a running bulldog by sending Bret front first to the corner. After commercials, Bret prevents a superplex by shoving Austin to the mat and landing a top rope elbow. The announcers reference Bret being slow to make the cover. Austin rakes the face to prevent a backbreaker. Bret is tossed to the floor, then sent back first into the ringpost. Both tumble into the security rail with Bret tossing Austin into the steel barricade to collapse it. Austin grabs Bret by the legs to slingshot him into the Spanish Announce table. Aye Caramba! Ross mentions that this “always happens to the Spanish guys.” Austin mounts Bret to deliver punches underneath the table. Following our final commercial break Austin superplexes Bret. Both instinctively raise their legs into a cradle position to nearfall each other. Austin lands the Stone Cold Stunner. 1-2-kickout. After several failed lateral presses, Austin locks on a Texas Cloverleaf. Bret inches to the ropes, with Austin utilising the full referee count before breaking. Austin sends Bret sliding kidney first into the ringpost. Austin pulls Bret back into the middle of the ring to apply a Bow and Arrow submission hold. Bret flips over and tries to hook the Sharpshooter, but Austin fights valiantly and hooks the ropes before Bret can cinch it in. Bret catches Austin with a sleeper. Austin backs Bret into the corner a couple of times before escaping with a jawbreaker. Austin clamps on a Million Dollar Dream sleeper. Bret kicks off the turnbuckles, rolling backwards on top of Austin, who doesn’t let go of the hold. 1-2-3. Shades of WrestleMania VIII. This was an absolute barnburner of a match to kick off a very heated and historic rivalry. Winner: BRET “HITMAN” HART. The crowd are split at the end. An angry Austin stares a hole through Bret from the floor, but realises he was beaten by the better man on the night.
The mixed bag concept of the show will return next Sunday so I’ll see you then. Have a good week. Shaun.
Comments/praise/feedback/criticism/discussion points please direct to [email protected].
