NJPW Best of the Super Juniors XXIV Night Two
May 17th, 2017 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: N/A
I will only be reviewing tournament matches going forward. Today’s show is all A Block contests.
A Block: Taichi [0] vs. TAKA Michinoku [2]
The Suzuki-Gun mates and former Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions did battle to start the tournament matches. TAKA was back to Suzuki-Gun color and gear for this one. Taichi is one of the worst wrestlers in NJPW (along with Jado), but at least TAKA showed some fire in a fun opener yesterday. Sometimes, I say wrestlers did nothing and its hyperbole. These two LITERALLY did nothing for about four minutes, only teasing making contact. I know they’re teammates, but factions have collided in previous tournaments. Then, they started dodging each other but it all looked incredibly phony. Finally, after an eternity of shit, Taichi hit a low blow and rolled up TAKA at 9:30 for his first two points. This was horrible and stupid. It took forever, made no sense, looked like shit and went on for far too long. It joins the House of Horrors as the only matches to get negative stars in 2017. [-**¾]
A Block: Dragon Lee [2] vs. Marty Scurll [2]
With that garbage out of the way, we get to the fun stuff. Both men are over like they’re NJPW regulars. This was my second most anticipated match on the card. Scurll had the plan to ground Lee, showing he did his homework. It got off to a bit of a slow start, but they kept the crowd invested with some nice antics. Scurll did little things, like tie Lee’s mask to the ropes. Like Hiromu yesterday, Scurll had the corner double scouted and countered it with a belly to belly suplex. There was a great spot where Scurll countered a cradle DDT with the finger break spot, which is already over. They fought up top, where Scurll did the finger stuff again, but Lee came back with a headbutt. The double stomp hit and he won at 13:09. Big jump in quality. They delivered the way I expected. Great, even action featuring two guys that already have the crowd in the palm of their hands. [***½]
A Block: IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi [0] vs. Jushin Thunder Liger [0]
Once I heard this was Liger’s last BOTSJ, I instantly wanted him to win. A final win and matchup with Hiromu at Dominion sounds incredible. This was my most anticipated match of the night and possibly the tournament. Liger tried for the quick win with a lariat, which set the tone for the rest of the contest. He brought out the brainbuster on the outside, trying for a countout win, but Hiromu barely beat the count. I liked how Takahashi adjusted to Liger’s game plan. Liger blocked the sunset flip bomb, so Takahashi changed up and turned it into an apron power bomb. Hiromu countered the Liger Bomb for a near fall but ran into the palm strike. The Liger Bomb connected for two and he ate a German, but no sold and fired up. He nailed another brainbuster for an awesome near fall. After some counters, Hiromu hit the Time Bomb to beat the legend at 8:05. Liger kicked his feet in attempts to kick out, desperate not to lose. This was marvelous. A fantastic sprint with Liger throwing everything at the champ but come up just short. The crowd ate it all up thanks to Liger’s popularity. Hiromu adds another notch to his Wrestler of the Year belt. What an incredible 2017 he’s having. [****]
After the match, Liger got an ovation. He said he was disappointed to lose his last two BOTSJ matches in Korakuen and promised to win the rest
A Block: Ricochet [2] vs. Will Ospreay [0]
Their match in last year’s BOTSJ caused tons of controversy and sparked internet arguments. I wasn’t excited for this because their matches are typically the same and they’ve done it a bunch in the span of a year or so. Anyway, I’m not going to try and recap this match move for move. That would be nuts. Instead, I’ll just give some notes about what I saw. In terms of athleticism, this was incredible. That’s to be expected. They had some variation to their previous matches (though nowhere near the level of Lee/Hiromu) and brought some great ideas to the table. I particularly liked when Ricochet landed on his feet on a super rana and Ospreay did it back to him. Also, Ricochet hit a sick German in this. A few things turned me off from this. For one, their opening sequence, while breathtaking at times, also felt very choreographed. Granted, it probably was, but I don’t want to watch it and instantly think that it looks staged. Seth Rollins once said in an interview that the worst thing a wrestler can do is take a viewer out of the moment and remind them that this is all staged. Last year’s opening sequence felt more natural and like two guys wanting to prove who was more athletic. There were a few slip ups, like when Ricochet tried a reverse rana off the middle rope, but it’s still impressive considering the things they tried. It went a bit long too, clocking in at 27:24, with Ospreay winning after a dragon rana and Oscutter. Apparently, I’m one of the few people so far who haven’t liked this as much as last year’s match. I’d rank their stuff I’ve seen as Evolve 59 > BOTJ ’16 > BOTSJ ’17 > BOLA. [***¾]
Overall: 7/10. I wanted to go higher, but that first TAKA/Taichi match is so bad, it hurts the overall score. If you skip that, then you’re in for a treat. Lee/Scurll was a damn good back and forth match of two guys getting way over in Japan. Liger/Hiromu was an awesome sprint that shows that Liger absolutely still got it. The main event, while not quite as good as their matches last year, was still a worthy way to close the show out.
| A Block | Points | B Block | Points |
| Dragon Lee | 4 (2-0) | ACH | 2 (1-0) |
| Hiromu Takahashi | 2 (1-1) | El Desperado | 2 (1-0) |
| Marty Scurll | 2 (1-1) | Ryusuke Taguchi | 2 (1-0) |
| Will Ospreay | 2 (1-1) | Volador Jr. | 2 (1-0) |
| Ricochet | 2 (1-1) | BUSHI | 0 (0-1) |
| Taichi | 2 (1-1) | KUSHIDA | 0 (0-1) |
| TAKA Michinoku | 2 (1-1) | Tiger Mask IV | 0 (0-1) |
| Jushin Thunder Liger | 0 (0-2) | Yoshinobu Kanemaru | 0 (0-1) |
NJPW Best of the Super Juniors XXIV Night One
May 17th, 2017 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 1,729
New Japan’s Best of the Super Juniors Tournament began today. The 2015 edition was mostly full of lackluster matches (outside of the finals), but last year provided consistently good matches and some standouts (KUSHIDA/O’Reilly for example). This year’s tournament sees half the field change.
Returning are KUSHIDA, Ricochet, Will Ospreay, Ryusuke Taguchi, Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV, BUSHI and Volador Jr. This year’s additions are Hiromu Takahashi, Dragon Lee, Marty Scurll, ACH, Taichi, TAKA Michinoku, El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru to replace David Finlay, Rocky Romero, Beretta, Kyle O’Reilly, Bobby Fish, Matt Sydal, Chase Owens and Gedo.
A Block: Jushin Thunder Liger [0] vs. TAKA Michinoku [0]
Surprisingly, TAKA came out in his old school blue gear, wearing nothing related to Suzuki-Gun. Maybe he thinks wearing old school gear will help him win this tournament like he did the Light Heavyweight Title one 20 years ago. They worked the mat early, before trying to see who the stronger man was. Once that ended, Liger nailed a sweet somersault off the apron. The fact that he’s as good and mobile as he is at his age is remarkable. Interestingly, it was Liger who used a chair. TAKA eventually applied the crossface and Liger fought for his life. The crowd willed him on and he nearly tapped, but reached the ropes. The Liger Bomb got a near fall and TAKA was out. However, he was playing possum and pulled Liger into a cradle to win at 8:33. A better than expected opener. The veterans worked hard and had the crowd way into this back and forth battle. Give me this TAKA over the Suzuki-Gun BS we typically get. [***¼]
B Block: Tiger Mask IV [0] vs. Volador Jr. [0]
Last year, Volador did quite well in the tournament. He also had a pretty great match at Fantastica Mania. Volador brought the flippy shit early, so our resident Jr. Dad had him cut the shit and took things to the mat. Volador combated that with a tope con hilo that woke the crowd up. Tiger Mask got his knees up on a moonsault and hit a Tiger Driver for two. They fought up top, where a back suplex came off oddly. Tiger went back up, but was cut off and fell to the Spanish Fly at 9:48. Not as fun as the opener. It was technically fine, but it was missing something to get me connected. [**¼]
A Block: Ricochet [0] vs. Taichi [0]
Poor Ricochet gets to draw the awful Taichi on night one. The crowd loves Ricochet. Taichi did a lot of stalling, because his matches all apparently must be shitty. He choked Ricochet with the microphone stand and brought all his usual underhanded stuff. Ricochet’s eventual comeback was somewhat fun, but Taichi raked his eyes to stop the Benadryller. There’s a Benadryl joke about Taichi putting people to sleep somewhere, but I don’t have the energy to figure it out. Taichi tried using the mic stand again, but had it taken by the referee. Ricochet scored with the Shooting Star Press for the win at 8:56. Ricochet tried his hardest but Taichi is just so bad. He sucks the life out of any match like his name is Jado. The finishing stretch was fine but that’s about it. [*¾]
B Block: ACH [0] vs. NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champion BUSHI [0]
This is one of the few B Block matches I’m looking forward to. ACH was awesome during his run with Taiji Ishimori last year. ACH must not watch NJPW, because he shook hands with BUSHI and got attacked for it. ACH fought back with a series of kicks and fast paced offense that earned him a solid response from the crowd. BUSHI nailed a rana to the outside and looked for the countout win. When that failed, BUSHI tried grounding ACH to no avail. He took a springboard dive on the outside. The closing stretch was great, as they traded strikes and big blows. ACH blocked MX with a dropkick and hit a series of lariats. One of those badly bruised up his elbow according to Twitter. He hit a Michinoku Driver and picked up the win at 10:47. Best thing on the show so far. They had some strong exchanges and cranked it up down the stretch. ACH is over and that’s a good thing. [***½]
B Block: El Desperado [0] vs. ROH World Television Champion KUSHIDA [0]
After intermission, it’s back to the B Block. KUSHIDA should do better this year than the ROH TV Champion (Bobby Fish) did last year. In true Suzuki-Gun fashion, Desperado jumped KUSHIDA before the bell. KUSHIDA fought back, but was thrown into chairs. That led to the expected slow point of a Suzuki-Gun match. Desperado tried using a pen on KUSHIDA’s eye during his heat segment. Everything else during that time didn’t click with me. The comeback began and KUSHIDA locked in the armbar from the top, but Desperado reached the ropes. KUSHIDA applied the Hoverboard Lock but a ref bump meant the tap out was missed. He fought off a shot with the title, only to eat a butterfly buster onto it for two. Desperado kept him down with Guitarra de Angel to steal it at 11:39. Good stuff outside of the boring bits from the heat segment. Desperado had a game plan and KUSHIDA fought valiantly through it. The hot crowd helped and Desperado wasn’t as grating as his fellow Suzuki-Gun members. [***]
A Block: Marty Scurll [0] vs. Will Ospreay [0]
I never got to talk about it, but Scurll in the Bullet Club is such a dumb move. The guy was making his own name and doing well without the BC name attached. He’s so much better as his own entity. He’s a MASSIVE upgrade from Adam Cole at least. While I love Marty, I’ve grown very tired of Ospreay. Anyway, we were treated to a “best of” compilation of sorts. These two have a long rivalry (I gave two of their matches last year ****¼ and ****½), so they played into their past. Scurll was ready for the SSP and got his feet up, before scoring with a vicious sounding superkick. Both guys got in their signature spots, with Scurll also being more of a base for Ospreay to do his shit. Ospreay, in typical tool form, stole Randy Orton’s mat pouncing taunt, but gets cut off. Marty did the finger break spot and Ospreay comically oversold it. He still fought Marty off and went for the Oscutter, only to get caught in the Chicken Wing and tap at 12:11. Like I said, this was them going through their typical work, which made sense since it was a safe way to make sure Marty got over. The Japanese crowd did their homework and knew about him, as he got one of the better reactions of anyone on the show. Not a patch on their best work, but still good. [***½]
B Block: Ryusuke Taguchi [0] vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru [0]
I’m still waiting for Kanemaru to impress me. TAKA was with him and was dressed in black, making me sad. These two met in an awful match during the Super J-Cup last year. Despite that, Kanemaru was confused at the early Taguchi antics. Kanemaru got in control to give us a heat segment with not much of interest going on. Taguchi rallied with ass based offense from almost every possible angle. Taguchi eventually slapped on the ankle lock but Kanemaru reached the ropes. TAKA distracted the referee, leading to the competitors trading low blows. Taguchi ran Kanemaru into TAKA and rolled him up for the three at 11:27. It should come as no surprise that Kanemaru and Taichi had the worst matches on the show. This was exactly what you’d expect. Taguchi and Suzuki-Gun antics galore. [**]
A Block: Dragon Lee [0] vs. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi [0]
These men have one of the best in-ring rivalries in all of wrestling. I have their last two matches (Fantastica Mania ’16 and New Beginning in Osaka ’17) at ****½ each. Hiromu is my current pick for Wrestler of the Year. This had a big fight feel to it and they opened by just chopping the shit out of one another. Lee snapped off a rana off the apron before proceeding to hit Hiromu with a bunch of high impact offense. Hiromu turned it around and went after Lee’s mask. If you remember, he completely removed it in their last match, which helped him win. In an awesome moment, Lee nailed Hiromu with his own sunset flip bomb off the apron. Just showing how much they know each other. Hiromu knew just when to avoid Lee’s corner double stomp too. They went into trading German suplexes and the bigger offensive blows. Hiromu went for the mask again and it nearly cost him when he was rolled up. He got two on the Destroyer before Lee got in some surprisingly sloppy counters. He avoided another Destroyer and hit his own corner DVD. The Phoenix Plex handed Hiromu his first singles loss in NJPW after 18:56. Like Scurll/Ospreay, we got a lot of their signature stuff but it never felt like a compilation. It felt like the next step or chapter in their rivalry. It was on par with their previous matches until a few sloppy moments down the stretch. I did love how they played off their past matches and how Lee stole some of Hiromu’s signature moves. [****¼]
Overall: 7/10. A good start to the tournament, though a few things fell short for me. Taichi/Ricochet, Tiger Mask/Volador and Kanemaru/Taguchi are all easy skips. The rest of show ranges from good to great. ACH/BUSHI is quietly a damn good match, while Scurll/Ospreay was on par with it. Liger/TAKA was better than expected and I enjoyed KUSHIDA/Desperado. Obviously, the main event was the best thing of the show. Add it all up and you’ve got a good first night.
| A Block | Points | B Block | Points |
| Dragon Lee | 2 (1-0) | ACH | 2 (1-0) |
| Marty Scurll | 2 (1-0) | El Desperado | 2 (1-0) |
| Ricochet | 2 (1-0) | Ryusuke Taguchi | 2 (1-0) |
| TAKA Michinoku | 2 (1-0) | Volador Jr. | 2 (1-0) |
| Hiromu Takahashi | 0 (0-1) | BUSHI | 0 (0-1) |
| Jushin Thunder Liger | 0 (0-1) | KUSHIDA | 0 (0-1) |
| Taichi | 0 (0-1) | Tiger Mask IV | 0 (0-1) |
| Will Ospreay | 0 (0-1) | Yoshinobu Kanemaru | 0 (0-1)
|
Raw History
Episode #97
January 30th, 1995 | Manatee Civic Center in Palmetto, Florida
Our hosts are once again Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon, in front of another terrible green screen.
Over the Top Rope Match
King Kong Bundy w/ Ted Dibiase vs. Mabel w/ Oscar
Yes, these are Royal Rumble rules. Despite these rules being so easy, Ted Dibiase gets on the microphone to explain them. Vince McMahon just completely talks over him on commentary. This match goes exactly as you’d expect. It’s just two big guys trying to eliminate each other. They throw in a boy avalanche here and there at least. Since anything goes, IRS and Tatanka run in to help Bundy get Mabel over and out.
Winner: Mabel in 3:12
This was like the worst parts of a battle royal, but non-stop between two behemoths. At least it was short. ¼*
Lex Luger, because he’s awful at everything when it comes to being a babyface, shows up late to make the save, along with Mo.
We go to the interview with the suspended Bam Bam Bigelow. Vince totally puts him down for losing to the 1-2-3 Ki, continually saying it was embarrassing. Bigelow refuses to apologize for shoving Lawrence Taylor because it doesn’t feel right. Bigelow then gets fed up and issues a challenge to Taylor, any time and any place.
Hakushi w/ Shinja vs. Ricky Santana
Hakushi just kicks ass here, while commentary discusses the Super Bowl and Steve Young. Santana actually gets in one kick but it just ends up with him getting back suplexed. Hakushi wins with a cartwheel moonsault.
Winner: Hakushi in 4:01
Completely dominant performance by Hakushi.
Aldo Montoya vs. David Sierra
Shawn Michaels instantly disses Aldo Montoya, saying that wearing an “athletic supporter” on your head isn’t cool. Vince tries to get it over as a new look, but it doesn’t work. Montoya hits a plancha to the outside early on. He hits a flying bulldog to win.
Winner: Aldo Montoya in 1:58
Short and filled with some fun commentary. I don’t hate it.
We go to the locker room of the Super Bowl winning San Francisco 49ers. Ken Norton Jr. says that he’s going to WrestleMania.
Time for the King’s Court. Mr. Backlund is the guest tonight. They discuss the fact that anyone who is put into the Crossface Chicken Wing will say “I quit” instantly. Jerry Lawler agrees, but mentions that anyone would quit except for him. Backlund takes offense to those little remarks and puts the hold on Lawler, who quits immediately. Backlund lets go and Lawler says that all he meant was that he was quitting the interview before running off.
WWF Tag Team Championship
The Smoking Gunns (c) vs. 1-2-3 Kid and Bob Holly
This is our rematch from last week’s really good Tag Team Title match. It starts just about as quickly as that one, with Kid and Holly working fast. They light up the Gunns with multiple kicks. Both teams show off some pretty good double team moves, just not on the level of last week. The Gunns get in control and slow things down, isolating Holly. Kid gets the tag and, to quote Vince, is a “HOUSE OF FIRE”! Kid delivers a bunch of kicks and tries a somersault from the top, but seems injured. He’s pretty knocked out and his eyes are rolling back like he’s the Undertaker. Referee Bill Alfonso stops the match.
Winners and Still WWF Tag Team Champions: The Smoking Gunns in 8:36
This was going pretty well up until the finish. It seemed like a test run for an excellent angle they would run later in the year. **¾
Vince McMahon then tells us that the 1-2-3 Kid just simply got up and walked away. Wow. Good thing the match was stopped.
Kama vs. Jumbo Barreta
Kama has the Too Much theme and I can’t help but laugh. I will never be able to take him seriously. While Kama kicks the ass of his jumbo opponent, Vince tells us that next week, Lex Luger teams with Men on a Mission to face King Kong Bundy, IRS and Tatanka. Wow, that sounds terrible. He makes Jumbo submit to the STF.
Winner: Kama in 3:40
About as good as one could expect considering Kama’s skill set.
Overall: 4.5/10. Not a terrible episode. The Tag Team Title match was solid, while the Hakushi and Kama squashes accomplished what they needed to. The Mabel/Bundy stuff was lame and the King’s Court was kind of just there though. I’ve seen better and worse.
Raw History
Episode #98
February 6th, 1995 | Manatee Civic Center in Palmetto, Florida
The final show in a three taping block from Palmetto, Florida. Things start with a recap of the Over the Top match between King Kong Bundy and Mabel. Once was enough thank you. Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon are your hosts.
Lex Luger and Men on a Mission w/ Oscar vs. IRS, King Kong Bundy and Tatanka w/ Ted Dibiase
King Kong Bundy begins with Mabel, which just doesn’t make me happy at all. Mabel scores a few near falls before tagging in Mo. Why did he tag in Mo? There is no strategical purpose, he just did so because Mo has to take the heat. Mo shuts me up by beating up IRS a bit actually. After a break, Mabel is whopping on Tatanka a bit. Tatanka is competing with Mabel for biggest gut in the match. Tag comes to Luger but Tatanka runs away. Oh lord, is their awful feud still going? He tags out to Mo as now it’s time for him to officially take the heat. Shawn Michaels: “They need a little Mo than Mo in the ring.” Mo takes a beating for a bit until they do the hot tag to Luger. He comes in and does some stuff. The crowd sounds a lot louder than they look to be honest. Things break down into a brawl and during the chaos, Tatanka hits a DDT on Luger, allowing Bundy to score the pin.
Winners: The Million Dollar Corporation in 11:29
They id about as good as can be expected from them. They worked the tag formula how you’d expect, but the problem was that the guy taking the heat, Mo, isn’t the most sympathetic face and the heels working the heat are all boring. *
A vignette runs for Man Mountain Rock as he plays some word association with the names of WWE Superstars. He debuts tonight!
Lawrence Taylor’s lawyer, Bobby Cupo, speaks from his office. LT accepts the WWF’s apology for the Royal Rumble, but obviously, not Bigelow’s. He doesn’t accept the challenge either, instead threatening legal action.
Man Mountain Rock vs. Charlie Hunter
Man Mountain Rock performs a little guitar solo before his match. He was formerly known as Maxx Payne in WCW. His attire here isn’t that of a grunge performer at all, but instead, he just wears a weird tie dye outfit. The ECW Dudleys and Dude Love would be envious. Commentary discusses his outside and his legit wrestling background while he beats up Hunter. He wins via front suplex.
Winner: Man Mountain Rock in 2:47
Oh, Man Mountain Rock’s theme is the same that Droz would end up using. Match was a fine squash.
Footage is shown from the Action Zone, where Diesel faced Owen Hart. Shawn Michaels nearly got into the ring but decided against it. This leads into a sit down interview between Diesel and Vince McMahon. They talk about Diesel’s history of knee operations, the differences between the Hart brothers, Shawn Michaels and the grind of being WWF Champion. None of this is groundbreaking, but it’s not the worst way to get your champion some TV time. In two weeks, Raw returns and Diesel defends the WWF Title against Jeff Jarrett.
Mantaur w/ Jim Cornette vs. Leroy Howard
Leroy Howard actually gets in some offense, hitting a few elbows. He leaps off the top right into the arms of Mantaur though, getting slammed. Mantaur is in control the rest of the way, but this goes on for far too long. He finally ends it with a belly to belly suplex.
Winner: Mantaur in 3:49
Too long for a Mantaur match.
Razor Ramon vs. Frankie Lancaster
This goes exactly how it should. Razor gets in almost all of the offense and I like that, even though he’s a face, he still does things like slapping his opponents around. Razor hits the fallaway slam, back superplex and Razor’s Edge, getting in his stuff, before winning.
Winner: Razor Ramon in 3:48
Standard stuff. Razor was always a solid guy to watch in squashes.
Henry O. Godwin vs. Bill Weaver
Well, we are just moving from match to match aren’t we? We get a look inside the slop bucket, which Shawn Michaels claims works like Undertaker’s urn. He ends it with the Slop Drop.
Winner: Henry O. Godwin in 2:24
Short and sweet.
Shawn Michaels informs us that he is done on commentary because he’s too hot of a commodity.
Overall: 2/10. This episode was rough. The marquee match was dull and dragged on, while the squash matches didn’t make things any better. Even the Diesel interview wasn’t a home run. Not one of the better showings of a 1995 that was off to a pretty good start.
Raw History
Episode #99
February 20th, 1995 | Macon Coliseum in Macon, Georgia
Vince McMahon runs down the important stuff on the show tonight. One sees Jeff Jarrett, the Intercontinental Champion, challenging Diesel for the WWF Title. The other is Shawn Michaels unveiling his new bodyguard. Jim Cornette joins Vince in the booth.
Bam Bam Bigelow w/ Ted Dibiase vs. Gary Sabaugh
It looks like Bigelow’s suspension is over. While he kicks ass, we see recaps of the comments from both Bigelow and Lawrence Taylor’s lawyers. Bigelow busts out an enziguri to highlight this. “LT” chants annoy Bigelow, who wins with a diving headbutt.
Winner: Bam Bam Bigelow in 3:54
Went a bit long but not terrible.
Bigelow gets on the microphone afterwards to call out Lawrence Taylor again, even though the lawyers called for a cease and desist.
Adam Bomb vs. Rip Rogers
The “Creation of Devastation” Adam Bomb is the leader of the “Bomb Squad”. Again, I still don’t get why he wasn’t used better. Jim Cornette does a good job of trying to trying to get Rip Rogers over, even though he’s clearly going to lose. Adam Bomb gets in most of the offense, winning with the flying clothesline.
Winner: Adam Bomb in 3:25
Similar to the Bigelow squash to be honest.
We go back to Superstars, where Bret Hart won the “Award of the People” from WWF magazine. No clue what that actually means.
Jerry Lawler comes out for the King’s Court. Lawler runs down Bret Hart, saying that the WWF magazine must have left off the Japanese vote, because Bret apparently made some negative comments about them. Lawler calls him a racist before Shawn Michaels comes out for the interview. Before introducing his new bodyguard, Shawn puts himself over for a while. He finally introduces him and it is revealed to be Sid, who gets a decent pop. Sid cuts a very Sid like promo, shouting and talking at a low voice at random. His promo even continues past his theme music playing.
Jacob and Eli Blu w/ Uncle Zebekiah vs. Leroy Howard and Mark Starr
Commentary goes through the whole “which one is which” stuff with the twins. Then, while nothing interesting happens in the match, Todd Pettengil cuts in to say that Lawrence Taylor will be at Raw next Monday night. The future Harris Brothers do some generic powerful offense. A spinebuster and leg drop finish this one.
Winners: Jacob and Eli Blu in 4:20
Too long for this unimpressive duo.
WWF Championship
Diesel (c) vs. WWF Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett w/ The Roadie
Crazy to think that this is the first time Diesel has wrestled on free TV since winning the WWF Title back in November. Oh, times have certainly changed. Diesel starts hot, overwhelming Jarrett with shots and even a Bossman slam. He dominates until trying Snake Eyes, only for Jarrett to avoid it. Jarrett tries the corner ten punch but Earl Hebner pulls him off by the hair. I believe that’s a bit unfair. Roadie tries to help Jarrett by pulling him away from Diesel’s grasp, but Diesel is too strong and pulls both of them. After a break, Jarrett goes after the leg, making the interview from last week where Diesel discussed the surgeries come into play. Diesel takes a short heat before rallying and getting in his offense, finishing it off with the Jackknife.
Winner and Still WWF Champion: Diesel in 8:07
A bit too one-sided to be really good, though they at least had a decent plan. Diesel pretty much made the Intercontinental Champion look like a chump. **¼
Shawn Michaels and Sid watch from the aisle as Diesel plants the Roadie with a Jackknife. Shawn walks to the commentary booth and gives a short interview with Jim Cornette, where he says that Sid is much better than Diesel.
Overall: 4/10. A disappointing episode. Knowing there would be a WWF Title match and that the show was live gave me some good expectations. Unfortunately, the title match wasn’t very good and the rest of the squash matches were ho-hum at best. It did advance the Lawrence Taylor angle and bring back Sid, so it was somewhat important.
