G1 Climax 27 Night Three
July 21st, 2017 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 1,728
Everyone’s officially had their G1 match and things are moving right along. We return to the A Block, who had an all-time great night one. The B Block under delivered for the most part in my eyes, but still put on a solid show. Today features Kota Ibushi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. in a match that I’m sure is gonna piss of Triple H. Again, I only decided to check out one undercard match.
EVIL and Hiromu Takahashi def. David Finlay and Juice Robinson in 7:13 [***]
Minoru Suzuki and Taichi def. BUSHI and SANADA in 8:13
Kenny Omega and Yujiro Takahashi def. Chase Owens and Tama Tonga in 7:45
Michael Elgin and TenKoji def. Gedo, Kazuchika Okada and Toru Yano in 8:12
A Block: Hirooki Goto [2] vs. Yuji Nagata [0]
I saw them meet in the G1 25 (***) and the 2016 New Japan Cup (***) and neither wowed me, but both were good. Nagata went for the armbar early, but Goto escaped and just wore him down. Like YOSHI-HASHI on night one, Goto slapped Nagata, which awoke and angered the vet. Nagata proceeded to kick his ass like only a dad can. After more exchanges, Nagata looked to be out cold, but was playing possum as he pulled Goto into the armbar. Goto reached the ropes, but took a Backdrop Driver for a great near fall. They moved into an awesome battle of strikes that had the crowd going nuts. Goto countered a Backdrop Driver to a sleeper that Nagata countered by going after the arm. Goto headbutted him and won with the GTR at 15:02. Nagata is trying to go out with great performances and I love it. Both guys left it all in the ring and I love the story of Nagata giving his best, only to come up short. He did it on night one as well. It’s like Liger’s final story and I dig it. The perfect match for Korakuen. [****]
After the match, Nagata exited to his name being chanted.
A Block: Togi Makabe [0] vs. Tomohiro Ishii [0]
Sometimes, the G1 gives you fresh matches. Sometimes, you get this. We saw this so many times in 2015. Some were great (WK9 and KOPW) and some were just tiresome. Their G1 match last year was good (***½), though. By now, you know what to expect from them. They went right at each other with strike after strike. Ishii tossed Makabe into the guardrail several times, affecting his sternum. Once inside though, it was back to going to war. It’s like Ishii is one of the few guys that Makabe puts in effort against. He even took a superplex bump. Ishii fought off the spider German, but took a super belly to belly, only to avoid the King Kong Knee Drop. Makabe survived a bunch of lariats, before falling to a brainbuster in 15:51. As always, these two had a quality match. There’s just something about Makabe that doesn’t suck me in the way other guys do, even when he’s putting in the effort like he did here. Good, hard hitting stuff. This was the first Ishii singles match this year that I didn’t give four stars.[***¼]
A Block: Kota Ibushi [0] vs. Zack Sabre Jr. [2]
Kevin Kelly said this had been booked about five times in the past, but never officially took place. Ha. They both tried goading the other into their game, Sabre to the mat and Kota with the strikes. Sabre gained control first, twisting Kota’s leg in odd ways. He used it to take away Kota’s kicks, before turning his focus to the neck. Commentary was good at noting how Kota took way more damage than Sabre on night one. Each time Kota found an opening, Sabre closed it by trapping him in some kind of submission. The fans popped for Sabre’s impressive work. Kota fought back by bringing strikes and kicks, but again, Sabre caught the Pele into an ankle lock, wowing the crowd. Kota nearly knocked Sabre out with a brutal knee. Sabre ended up catching him in a triangle choke, but may have made a mistake by doing a head stand for extra leverage. It allowed Kota to power up and counter with the Golden Star Bomb to win at 15:51. They lived up to the hype. Sabre came in with a plan that mostly worked. He took Ibushi off his game and Kota had to find small windows to get anything going. Sabre lost, but honestly dominated until Kota finally hit the one move that was just enough to win. [****¼]
A Block: Bad Luck Fale [2] vs. IWGP Intercontinental Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi [0]
This is Fale’s fourth G1 Climax. He’s met Tanahashi in each one (***½, ***½, ***¼) and they’ve also had three other matches (Destruction ’15, Road to Wrestling Dontaku ’16 and New Japan Cup ’16). Fale won most of those. Knowing his struggles against Fale, Tanahashi went for early flash pins in the hopes of Yanoing this. Fale withstood that and did the smart thing by attacking Tanahashi’s taped up arm. After nearly getting counted out, Tanahashi rallied and busted out a goddamn release German suplex. Tana sold the arm well mostly, even doing his skin the cat spot with one hand. Tanahashi escaped the Bad Luck Fall and delivered a slingblade on the apron. He beat the count back in at 19, while Fale couldn’t, resulting in the surprising countout finish at 11:05. Typical stuff from them. Solid work and I liked the finish because it’s different from what we’re used to with them. [***]
A Block: Tetsuya Naito [2] vs. YOSHI-HASHI [2]
Naito won their G1 match last year (***¾), but YOSHI feels like a guy who could get the “unexpected hot start” run that Yujiro, Shelton Benjamin and Honma had in recent years. Naito got in control early and was happy to rest while YOSHI had to beat a countout. The always calm Naito looked to be taking his advantage for granted, allowing YOSHI to rally. Though he’s the heel, the fans were behind Naito, making some of YOSHI’s comeback attempts fall flat. They went back and forth, with YOSHI gaining a few believable near falls. Naito escaped the Butterfly Lock, but got hit with a lung blower and swanton for yet another close call. Naito got put back in the Butterfly Lock and seemed to fade, before making the ropes out of desperation. YOSHI kicked out Destino (I hate how often that happens), but not a second, giving Naito the win at 22:19. It dragged a bit in the middle, but had a strong closing stretch. The crowd didn’t want to see YOSHI win, so a lot of his babyface fire didn’t work. Still, a good main event. Like Ishii earlier, this was the first Naito singles match this year that I didn’t give four stars. [***¼]
Post-match, LIDJ joined Naito as he cut a promo.
Overall: 7.5/10. The A Block is two for two in good shows. Nothing on this card was bad, with everything clocking in at ***+. Tanahashi/Fale was good, but we’ve seen it a ton and there isn’t much more they can do to alter it. YOSHI/Naito and Ishii/Makabe were good matches that just didn’t quite reach the great level. The two things you must see are Goto/Nagata and Sabre/Ibushi. One was a war and the other was a brilliantly executed match between the two most exciting additions to the G1. Thumbs up.
| A BLOCK | POINTS | B BLOCK | POINTS |
| Tetsuya Naito | 4 (2-0) | Kenny Omega | 2 (1-0) |
| Hirooki Goto | 4 (2-0) | Kazuchika Okada | 2 (1-0) |
| Kota Ibushi | 2 (1-1) | SANADA | 2 (1-0) |
| Zack Sabre Jr. | 2 (1-1) | Tama Tonga | 2 (1-0) |
| Tomohiro Ishii | 2 (1-1) | Juice Robinson | 2 (1-0) |
| HIroshi Tanahashi | 2 (1-1) | Minoru Suzuki | 0 (0-1) |
| Bad Luck Fale | 2 (1-1) | Toru Yano | 0 (0-1) |
| YOSHI-HASHI | 2 (1-1) | EVIL | 0 (0-1) |
| Togi Makabe | 0 (0-2) | Michael Elgin | 0 (0-1) |
| Yuji Nagata | 0 (0-2) | Satoshi Kojima | 0 (0-1) |
G1 Climax 27 Night Two
July 20th, 2017 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 1,741
After a breathtaking first night, featuring a near four star match (YASHI/Nagata), two ****+ matches (Tana/Sabre and Ishii/Goto) and my first ***** match of the year (Ibushi/Naito) the B Block has a lot to live up to on their first night of action. On paper, I’d say this is one of the stronger B Block shows, with three matches standing out.
The only undercard match I checked out was El Desperado and Zack Sabre Jr. def. Kota Ibushi and Hirai Kawato in 10:20 [***]
Tiger Mask IV, Togi Makabe and Yuji Nagata def. Hirooki Goto, Gedo and Tomohiro Ishii in 8:51
Bad Luck Fale and Chase Owens def. David Finlay and Hiroshi Tanahashi in 8:29
BUSHI and Tetsuya Naito def. Jado and YOSHI-HASHI in 8:34
I did catch Tetsuya Naito chase Don Callis into the crowd, because he simply doesn’t like him.
B Block: Juice Robinson [0] vs. Satoshi Kojima [0]
This is the first of the matches I said sounded interesting. Kojima had Tenzan in his corner, like Tenzan did with him last year. That added to the intimidation and nerves for Juice, seeing two legends across from him in his first G1 match. Both men went for finishers early, but had them scouted. Kojima got a pop for busting out Tenzan’s MONGOLIAN CHOPS! Juice fought back from some DDTs, only to get lit up with Kojima chops. Juice picked up rare boos when he cut off a signature Kojima spot. Juice went for a high risk move, but Kojima took him out with a lariat to the leg, crotching him. He nailed a super cutter and Juice blocked several lariats. Despite that, he still got hit with two huge ones and a brainbuster, but somehow managed to kick out at the last second. He ducked another, hit the big left and scored the win with Pulp Friction at 11:48. That ruled. It told the veteran vs. legend story well. Juice knew enough about a mentor to have him scouted, while Kojima taught him enough to know the same. Juice refused to die, playing the resilient babyface he’s role he’s nearly mastered. [***¾]
The two shook hands, the fans chanted for “Kojima” and on his way out, Juice told commentary, “There’s a reason I do everything Kojima tells me.”
B Block: Michael Elgin [0] vs. Tama Tonga [0]
After wowing people in the G1 25 and having a great 2016, Elgin hasn’t done a ton in NJPW in 2017 after a great match with Naito in February. Tonga came in with a game plan, using his evasiveness to avoid Elgin at all costs and attempt to tire him out. They fought outside, where Tama took control by sending him into the guardrail and hitting a suplex. Elgin turned the tide inside and DID THE DEAL, but only got a near fall with it. Again, Tama used that quickness to stop his momentum, which was a good strategy. Elgin avoided the Gun Stun once, but slingshot himself into one. He wisely rolled outside, preventing the instant cover. The finish came shortly after, where Elgin tried a super DVD, but Tonga countered it into a huge Gun Stun for the upset at 13:46. The match had a well thought-out structure, with Tonga having a plan to shut up his doubters. Elgin can’t seem to shake his recent struggles, letting this slip away. Good stuff. [***]
B Block: EVIL [0] vs. SANADA [0]
Los Ingobernables de Japon explodes! SANADA’s new mask sucks. EVIL was quick to resort to cheating, with a cheap shot and bringing a chair into play. That made SANADA the babyface, as he fought back with his incredible athleticism. He still managed to do just enough cocky heel stuff to not fully be face, like posing after tying EVIL up on the mat. They had some great exchanges, including a massive cutter to the floor by SANADA. It felt like they were trying to outdo the other, not just for the tournament, but to solidify themselves as the number two man in LIDJ. Callis made a great point that Naito seems to see EVIL as his go-to guy, while SANADA is his project. As things progressed, we got a look at how evenly matched they are. A great series of counters led to the Skull End, which the crowd went NUTS for. Easily the biggest pop of the night. EVIL made the ropes, but was still down, so SANADA hit a moonsault to win in 15:46. Shit, that ruled. They went hard at one another, with both men out to prove something. They nailed the little things throughout and built to a great finishing stretch. SANADA screams major star. [****]
EVIL and SANADA fist bumped after the match.
B Block: IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada [0] vs. Toru Yano
Considering Okada’s schedule this year, a night off to start the G1 is fine. Yano was with Jado, while Gedo cornered his man crush, Okada. Kevin Kelly did a good job putting over how Yano wins quickly in G1, mentioning several wins in the past few years that came in under five minutes. Unfortunately, this went about double that. This had the expected stalling and Yano wackiness. There was some fun, like Okada tying the turnbuckle pad back on after Yano undid it. Yano picked up several near falls through flash pins and low blows, while also nearly winning via countout. Okada eventually won with the Red Ink submission at 10:31. This went way too long. It’s an issue I’ve had with several Okada matches, but some of those are understandable. They could’ve accomplished the same stuff in a much shorter match. Okada gets Elgin next, which should be a massive improvement. [**]
B Block: IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega [0] vs. NEVER Openweight Champion Minoru Suzuki [0]
The last time Suzuki wrestled a Bullet Club leader, it was in this building in 2014 and was a MOTY candidate (vs. AJ Styles ****¾). Omega did a fantastic job selling his fear of Suzuki before the match. Once Minoru shoved him though, Omega fired away and things got going. When Omega tried fighting Suzuki, he got his ass kicked. He had to use his athleticism for any openings, but Minoru would stop him with a brutal kick or forearm. He used chairs and viciously twisted Omega’s leg in the guardrail. Kenny sold the leg well. Suzuki pulled the referee in the way of V-Trigger, leading to interference. Desperado, TAKA and Taichi jumped Kenny, bringing out Fale and Owens. Owens got beat up, but Fale fared better and Kenny hit a springboard dive to take them all out. Back to the match, as Suzuki worked a knee bar. Sure, Minoru. Because that worked so well against Okada. The rest of the match was solid, with Omega having to fight from behind, but remaining defiant by doing things like spitting at Minoru. Omega went too V-Trigger happy down the stretch, like that leg wasn’t worked on extensively. I understand adrenaline kicking in to overcome it, but not that often. He won with the One Winged Angel at 21:24. It reminded me too much of the Okada/Minoru shit fest back in February. Minoru looked like a killer, but it mostly forgotten so the finishing stretch could feature signature offense. The interference wasn’t that bothersome to me, though it didn’t add anything to the match. Disappointing, like everything involving Minoru in 2017. Omega has the two weakest guys in the block in my opinion (Tonga and Yano) next, but the quality of his matches should go way higher after that. [**¾]
Overall: 6.5/10. A solid start for the B Block, but nowhere near the level of A Block’s opening night. To be fair, that was asking a lot. Still, it didn’t live up to the potential of B Block. I thought the opener was a blast and Tonga/Elgin was very solid. SANADA/EVIL stole the show, which was on the way to being something very good. Unfortunately, the final two matches lacked, which I’m not expecting to continue when they involved Omega and Okada. Okada/Yano was always going to be a night off for the champ, but Omega/Suzuki was a massive disappointment.
| A BLOCK | POINTS | B BLOCK | POINTS |
| Tetsuya Naito | 2 (1-0) | Kenny Omega | 2 (1-0) |
| Zack Sabre Jr. | 2 (1-0) | Kazuchika Okada | 2 (1-0) |
| Hirooki Goto | 2 (1-0) | SANADA | 2 (1-0) |
| Bad Luck Fale | 2 (1-0) | Tama Tonga | 2 (1-0) |
| YOSHI-HASHI | 2 (1-0) | Juice Robinson | 2 (1-0) |
| Kota Ibushi | 0 (0-1) | Minoru Suzuki | 0 (0-1) |
| Hiroshi Tanahashi | 0 (0-1) | Toru Yano | 0 (0-1) |
| Tomohiro Ishii | 0 (0-1) | EVIL | 0 (0-1) |
| Togi Makabe | 0 (0-1) | Michael Elgin | 0 (0-1) |
| Yuji Nagata | 0 (0-1) | Satoshi Kojima | 0 (0-1) |
The second round of the Cueto Cup continues!
The show opened with Prince Puma standing atop the Temple outside. His mind seemed to be racing. Vampiro joined him and said if he didn't win the Cueto Cup, the visions he keeps having will consume him. He looked down to see the Worldwide Underground walking in. PJ Black spotted him and flipped him the bird. Puma called Vamp his master and said he wouldn't lose.
Cueto Cup Second Round: Cage vs. Lucha Underground Trios Champion Pindar w/ Kobra Moon
After the bell rang, the referee tried to make Cage remove his gauntlet. Cage declined and clotheslined him. He set Pindar up for a suplex, but the DQ was called at 0:32. It made sense given Cage's out of the ring angle. [NR]
Cage hit a weak looking screwdriver type move on the referee.
Cueto Cup Second Round: Dante Fox vs. Son of Havoc
During SOH's entrance, Son of Madness jumped him and choked him. SOH fought back, only to be knocked out with a steel chain. Dario Cueto came out and said the match couldn't be postponed, so SOH had to forfeit or fight. He obviously chose to fight. Fox took advantage and hit a big dive early on. Though clearly in trouble, SOH gained momentum from the Temple. He found an opening by countering a body scissors move and sending Fox into the guardrail. Fox got back in control and seemed slightly amused that SOH continued to kick out and fight back. SOH delivered a wild DVD off the apron to the floor, in the best spot of the match. Fox eventually hit the Foxcatcher to advance at 9:06. One of the better tournament matches. Havoc fighting from behind was well done and they busted out some big spots. Fox is fitting in quite well in LU, while SOH is the best work of Matt Cross' career. [***1/2]
Backstage, Johnny Mundo brought PJ Black to meet their new agent, Benjamin Cook. He played the douchey agent type well. He believes they should be on cereal boxes and that LU couldn't exist without them. If PJ wins, he thinks they'll own LU.
Cueto Cup Second Round: PJ Black vs. Prince Puma
Puma wrestled in skinny jeans. Oh. Despite that, he moved around effortlessly and we got a fast paced opening sequence. Puma did a great job mixing in the athletic offense the fans love with some more aggressive traits, fitting of his recent story. PJ went after the neck. As the match progressed, the offense continued to get bigger and bigger from both guys. When Black kicked out of a super rana, the fans couldn't believe it. Puma played into potentially losing control so well. He finally delivered a brutal dropkick and won with the 630 at 15:53. Awesome match. Puma was so good in his new role, while Black was at the best I've ever seen him, regardless of company. I feel like if that same match took place in an NJPW ring, people would talk about it nonstop, but it'll most likely go overlooked. That's a shame, because it ruled. [****]
In Dario Cueto's office, PJ Black entered, worn out from the match. Dario Cueto said his agent, Mr. Cook, has called 17 times since the match ended five minutes ago. He wanted to give PJ another chance. Dario said he couldn't have another shot in the tournament, but will face Rey Mysterio Jr. next week, with a chance to prove himself.
Overall: 8/10. The best episode since the Cueto Cup began. Everything worked. The Cage DQ was great for the story they're telling with him, Havoc/Fox was another great underdog tale from Havoc and the main event was probably the second best match of season three.
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Raw History
Episode #103
March 20th, 1995 | Memorial Auditorium in Stockton, California
Vince McMahon and Jim Cornette are on commentary again.
Henry O. Godwin vs. Razor Ramon
Razor goes after the arm while Vince McMahon says that Razor is pissed that Bob Backlund is getting an Intercontinental Title shot before him. Backlund’s is this Sunday, while Mania is two Sundays away. Godwin starts with some heavy whips to the corners. Vince shills the WWF Hotline while Godwin wears down Razor with some basic offense. Razor gets two on a backslide heading into a commercial break. The Roadie creeps out for a look only to get laid out by the 1-2-3 Kid. Godwin gets distracted and climbs on the bottom rope to talk smack to Kid. Razor sneaks up, hooks him for the Razor’s Edge and picks up the W.
Winner: Razor Ramon in 5:59
Really basic match. Razor started hot, Henry wore him down and Razor came back to win. It did this while building the IC Title match, so it accomplished the goal. *¾
Vince gets a word with Razor Ramon who is livid that Bob Backlund could win the Intercontinental Title and face Bret Hart at WrestleMania with it, leaving him to fight Jarrett for nothing.
This Sunday is the Sunday Night Slam! Bob Backlund gets his IC Title shot, Lex Luger meets Tatanka in a Steel Cage and Bigelow faces Sionne.
After some hype for WrestleMania, we get a clip from Action Zone where Bigelow laid out Doink with a football style tackle.
Steve McMichael is now brought out to the ring. He gets a big pop, which seems very piped in. He joins Vince on commentary since Cornette has to go manage the Heavenly Bodies later. This is Mongo’s first time on commentary, which he would make his official job later in the year on Nitro.
King Kong Bundy w/ Ted Dibiase vs. Adam Kroomes and Raven Clark
This goes exactly the way you’d expect. Bundy completely dominates while the camera shows that the Million Dollar Corporation has Undertaker’s urn. Bundy wins with the Chris Jericho one foot pin. No flex or “COME ON BABAY” so it doesn’t get that many points from me.
Winner: King Kong Bundy in 2:43
Typical Bundy squash.
Kama comes out to get in Mongo’s face. Mongo keeps calling him coma. Kama is pissed that Mongo chose to enter his profession and threatens him at WrestleMania. Things get heated and leads to a brawl between them. My goodness, that match would have been putrid. Officials break it up.
Todd Pettengil brings us the WrestleMania Report.
WWF Tag Team Championship
The Smoking Gunns (c) vs. The Heavenly Bodies w/ Jim Cornette
Before things get started, we see footage of Oscar from Men on a Mission apologizing for their attack on the Smoking Gunns. The Gunns no sell some of the offense by the Bodies early on and do some of their key spots. Bart highlights his run with a press slam. Of course, the heel challengers end up working the heat segment on Bart. Good because Billy is better at the hot tag. They do a good job of depriving the tag for a while. Billy gets it and enters hot. They hit their finish but Cornette distracts Bart and Del Ray nails Billy with a spinning DDT. Billy powers up from a jackknife cover into a backslide to retain.
Winners and Still WWF Tag Team Champions: The Smoking Gunns in 11:22
Relatively solid tag team match. They didn’t do anything special, but worked a safe style that made sense and did what it needed to. **
Overall: 2.5/10. Not the ideal episode. With WrestleMania around the corner, this did not entice me to want to see the Pay-Per-View outside of the football players getting involved. The matches on the show were certainly not very good either.
Raw History
Episode #104
March 27th, 1995 | Memorial Auditorium in Stockton, California
Vince McMahon and Todd Pettengil host things from WWF Studios in Stamford, while Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon call the action of the one match we’ll see tonight. This episode is basically a giant infomercial to hype WrestleMania.
The infomercial portion of the show is nauseating at times. The actual recaps of the builds for the matches isn’t bad, but the way some hype is done is off-putting. Vince makes sure to put down Super Bowls as things that never delivers, even though he has an NFL player on his upcoming card. He also says the WWF never fails to deliver which is a chuckle. They recap all of the major feuds before going to the match.
No Holds Barred
Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart
As Owen was accustomed to doing, he attacks his brother while the lights are off during his entrance. Bret turns it around with a flurry of right hands and a DDT. They fight outside where Bret is still in massive control. As expected, while not using a bunch of weapons or things like that, they at least bring the steel steps into play for a bump. Knowing there are no disqualifications, Owen rakes the eyes and turns the tide. Owen being Owen, he talks smack into the camera in between sending Bret into the guardrail a few times. Through a commercial break, Owen still holds serve. He exposes the turnbuckle but it of course backfires on him. Bret starts the FIVE MOVES OF DOOM. He earns two on the diving second rope elbow. Bret also nails a slingshot into the exposed buckle. That leads to the Sharpshooter and Owen submits rather easily.
Winner: Bret Hart in 10:27
These two were pretty much incapable of having anything but really good matches. They clearly had better matches in 1994 on Pay-Per-Views, but this was still high quality. It was a good no holds barred match that didn’t need to overdo it on the violence to seem personal. ***½
Overall: 5/10. I’ll give one a score that’s right in the middle. The recap stuff was pretty bad as it didn’t feel like an episode of Raw. In contrast though, the one match we got was really good. It was one of the better matches on Raw this year and ever to be honest.
WrestleMania XI Results
The Allied Powers (British Bulldog and Lex Luger) def. Jacob and Eli Blu in 6:34.
Razor Ramon def. Jeff Jarrett via disqualification in 13:32. Jarrett retained the Intercontinental Title.
The Undertaker def. King Kong Bundy in 6:36
Owen Hart and Yokozuna def. The Smoking Gunns in 9:42 to win the Tag Team Titles.
Bret Hart def. Bob Backlund in 9:34 in an “I Quit” Match.
Diesel def. Shawn Michaels in 20:35 to retain the WWF Championship.
Lawrence Taylor def. Bam Bam Bigelow in 11:42
Raw History
Episode #105
April 3rd, 1995 | Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, New York
Oh how I’ve missed Raws in Poughkeepsie. The crowds were always good. Things open with a photo recap of WrestleMania. Vince McMahon and Jim Cornette host the show.
Bob Holly w/ 1-2-3 Kid vs. Hakushi w/ Shinja
This is a fast paced match as both guys exchange things rapidly. Holly wins the first battle with a dropkick. Jim Ross would have been all over creaming himself at the dropkick. He misses a flying cross body as Owen Hart and Yokozuna come out with their new Tag Team Titles. After a break, Hakushi has targeted Holly’s arm for some reason. Owen and the Kid end up going at it outside. Yokozuna slowly plods over and levels him. I mean, slow is an understatement. Meanwhile, Holly nails a top rope diving shoulder block before reeling off some more offense. He hits the BEST DROPKICK IN THE BIZ but then gets tripped up by Yokozuna. That leads to Hakushi using a running senton for the 1-2-3.
Winner: Hakushi in 6:54
A solid little match here. Bob Holly was motivated around this time and usually had some good performances, while Hakushi was always someone I enjoyed. Nothing special though. **½
A bored looking Jim Ross brings us the WrestleMania report. We get words from Bigelow, who seems humbled by the loss to Lawrence Taylor. It seems the face turn is imminent. Ross also hints at a Kama/Undertaker feud, which sounds only slightly better than the Undertaker feuds with IRS and King Kong Bundy.
Vince McMahon stands in the ring for an interview with Diesel. He seems to love Diesel’s theme, bobbing his head to it in hilarious Vince fashion. Diesel admits that if it wasn’t for some botched interference from Sid, Shawn Michaels might have won and says that Michaels deserves a rematch. He’ll only give it to him if Sid isn’t at ringside. He also says that Sid is not Shawn’s friend.
Allied Powers vs. Well Dunn w/ Harvey Wippleman
Man, I love the Allied Powers’ theme music. It’s one of the better mashups the WWF has ever done. The Allied Powers start hot because they’re clearly the favorites here. Luger gets in trouble, eating a spinning heel kick and ending up on the receiving end of a double team. Well Dunn does the World’s Greatest Tag Team finisher that was never given a name. Luger’s heat segment is short as he quickly gets a counter and the hot tag. Bulldog gets in the standard offense including slams and back body drops. The Allied Powers take it with a Hart Attack variation involving Luger’s FOREARM OF DOOM!
Winners: The Allied Powers in 3:44
A bit of an extended squash. Well Dunn got enough in and are enough of a name that this wasn’t exactly a squash, but it was fine for what it was. *¼
WWF Women’s Championship
Bull Nakano (c) vs. Alundra Blayze
Bull Nakano attacks before the bell and just tosses Alundra Blayze around like she’s nothing. Cornette informs us that next week, Yokozuna, Owen Hart and Hakushi take on the 1-2-3 Kid, Bob Holly and Bret Hart. Bull applies a nasty looking leg submission but the challenger reaches the ropes. Blayze starts getting in offense, moving quickly with clotheslines and sunset flips. Bull locks in the damn scorpion cross lock, which Paige now does and calls the PTO. It looks impossible to escape, but Bull lets her go and hits a piledriver. That may have been a mistake. Alundra gets a shoulder up. Blayze knocks her outside and dives off the top onto her. She charges again inside but is met with a powerbomb for two. Bull hits a guillotine leg drop but is knocked off the top right after. Back inside, Blayze hits two bridging German suplex for two near falls. They are making the most of their time. Nakano then tries a damn suicide dive, but misses. Then, to top everything off, Blayze hits a fucking bridging German suplex on the outside! Finally, a fourth German secures the gold for Blayze.
Winner and New WWF Women’s Champion: Alundra Blayze in 6:42
Up to this point, I’d say this was the best women’s match in WWF history. They did everything they possibly could, pulling out all of the stops in the time they were given. Some of the spots that we were treated to were things I wouldn’t see the men do. Just really good work. ***¼
As Alundra Blayze celebrates, she is attacked by a mysterious woman. They don’t know it yet, but it is Bertha Faye. She has face paint and comes off like a killer. Unfortunately, she would soon switch gears and go with a ridiculous character.
Men on a Mission vs. Ben Jordan and Tony Roy
This is the new, freshly heel turned Men on a Mission. They dumped Oscar, so at least there will be no more piss poor rapping. This is short and is used as a message to the Smoking Gunns for some reason. Mabel wins with a belly to belly.
Winners: Men on a Mission in 1:56
This was there.
We get our first commercial for the upcoming In Your House Pay-Per-View. The WWF was jumping into the monthly PPV business.
Vince McMahon brings us another in-ring interview, this time with Shawn Michaels and Sid. Shawn says that he is sore after last night. He admits that his focus was a bit off due to his past friendship with Diesel. He graciously accepts the rematch that Diesel offered earlier tonight. Vince asks about Sid and Shawn says that he could live his life fine without a bodyguard and that he doesn’t need one. He brings up the mistake Sid made last night, saying he definitely doesn’t need a bodyguard that does that. Shawn gives Sid the night off for the rematch, causing Sid to shout at him. Sid runs him down, which the crowd seems to enjoy. A commercial break comes and when we return, Shawn is face down with Sid standing over him. Diesel runs out for the save as the show closes.
Overall: 7/10. A strong episode of Raw. As usual, the live shows manage to deliver where the taped episodes can’t. Here, we were treated to a really good Women’s Title match, a fun opener and a solid angle to close things out. The show moves along quickly and is the best episode of 1995 so far.
