House Show/TV tapings random happenings

[air_raid]

 

On 8/21/2022 at 2:42 PM, Loki said:

(well, when does Road Dogg reappear?)

Not long.

SEPTEMBER 1996
Does our Smithers leave and join the nWo? Does he bollocks. And BRET'S BACK!!!... in South Africa.

THE MAIN EVENTS
Shawn Michaels vs Goldust continues to be a domestic main event, not even getting to 7000 in Houston, before we revert to Shawn vs Vader in front of half that in Miami, Nashville and at the Louisville Gardens and 4000 in Baltimore the night before Mind Games. Playgirl not having the desired effect on wallets. Shawn takes two nights off for a couple of Sycho Sid vs Vader main events the he's back with Goldie in Detroit (<5000) and Pittsburgh before the lowest gate in YEARS at MSG (<7000 papered, <4000 paid) has Shawn Michaels & The Undertaker vs Mankind & Goldust.

Over in South Africa we know who the draw is. Sell out business for two nights of Bret Hart vs Davey Boy Smith in Durban and Johannesburg, Bret & Marc Mero vs Smithers & Owen Hart in Cape Town and back in Johannesburg, then one on one with Stone Cold Steve Austin in Sun City.

THE CARDS
The Undertaker vs Mankind in casket matches carries on, Sycho Sid is swapping wins with Vader (including lumberjack matches) and on nights when the Mastodon is with Shawn, the Master is with Goldust. Wildman vs Farooq kicks off in Baltimore (Farooq wins) after after the PPV/TVs with the Intercontinental title at stake, its a lame DQ finish every night. 

Hunter Hearst Helmsley gets back from South Africa and starts losing to The Stalker. Prior to that - imagine this old school battle - Barry's been swapping wins with The King! After TVs we resume Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Savio Vega - and why not. Tag Team Champions the Smoking Gunns wind down their final reign drawing with the Grimm Twins and after they're deposed, they start LOSING to them on the road. Bet they were thrilled to be back with Ron and Don after spending most of 95 with them. After TVs Owen Hart & British Bulldog vs The Godwinns is the tag title match. Bob Holly spends most of the month doing what he does best, making others look good, losing to Farooq but after TVs he's rewarded with some wins over Brooklyn Brawler. 

The Bushwhackers are on the road for one last hurrah, getting comedy wins over Bradshaw & Zebekiah, who after TVs will step up to Jake Roberts and (apparent) protégé Aldo Montoya. There are a few Jose Lothario vs Jim Cornette road matches.

VARIATIONS
Making up the numbers! In Miami Who WINS A MATCH over Alex "the Pug" Porteau. There's an occasional booking of Freddie Joe Floyd vs TL Hopper, in Nashville Lawler has a night off so Windham works Hopper and Freddie beats the Punisher - who I believe to be Barry Buchanan. Baltimore the night before In Your House has the Gunns actually beating Owen & Bulldog for the only time I can find on record and Godwinns vs New Rockers, plus Savio Vega vs Crush, Bradshaw over Aldo and a Mark Henry vs Jerry Lawler dry run (Lawler runs off for a count out).

Taker, Mankind, Mero, Holly, the Brawler and the entire tag title match are missing at Danville Area High School Gym (LOL!) so Aldo wrestles Bradshaw as a singles, Austin goes over Jake and Savio does jobs for Farooq. Next night in Saginaw Owen/Smithers and the Godwinns are there, Mankind and Holly too, wrestling each other.

No wonder the MSG turn out is low - save the ongoing feuds of Sid/Vader, Mero/Farooq and Austin/Savio, there's a tag title four way eliminator with the Harts vs Gunns vs Godwinns vs Grimm Twins but otherwise its new characters all round! Salvatore Sincere goes over Bob Holly, Jake beats TL Hopper, Bradshaw pins Alex Porteau, Stalker beats The Goon and Hunter beats Freddie Joe Floyd. It's fucking MSG, not a Superstars taping!! That main event tag really needed to be two singles, the tag split into Harts vs Godwinns and Gunns vs two of the better babyfaces (Jake & Bob?) and the Grimms and the undercard losers should have sat it out. Open with Freddie Joe vs Bradshaw because thats a TV feud, round it out with Stalker and Hunter, and you've got something a lot better than what they served.

Here's the rest of South Africa - Austin works Jake for two nights and Yokozuna for two nights before Bret. Owen swaps two wins with Marc Mero on the first two nights and in Sun City only does commentary. Bulldog's lone non-Bret match is a DQ loss to Wildman in Sun City when Owen interferes as was his wont. There's a few Godwinns vs New Rockers matches. Hunter's losing to Yoko, to Jake and to Savio. Otherwise - Durban and first night in Johannesburg are rounded out by The Sultan beating Aldo, Savio pinning Isaac Yankem DDS and Crush pinning Barry Horowitz. In Cape Town then night two in Johannesburg its Leif Cassidy and Aldo, Barry and Marty (HOROWITZ WINS!!), Sultan going over PIG, HOG beating dentist and Savio vs Crush, then Sun City its Crush with Aldo, Yoko vs Sultan and Barry gets a night off. This is Yoko's penultimate match for the company, he won't wrestle again until Survivor Series. This is the end of the dentist gimmick but he's not a departure as he's back in his new guise at Mind Games.

TVs
Mind Games is still the era of added dark matches - Hunter loses to Jake again, Farooq beats the Wildman, Sid beats Vader. At the Raw tapings they try out Steve Corino as a second for Salvatore Sincere (WTF) and Taker squashes Mankind. We tape Mero beating Farooq for the belt and the Harts beating the Body Donnas in their final TV match, better remembered for Taz jumping the guard rail. Plus, the debuts and first matches for Fake Razor and Fake Diesel, Jim Ross' ill fated heel turn, and the first televised Shawn Michaels vs Steve Austin match and the rewarding revenge win for Jake over The King. Interviews are starting to air for "The Real Double J" Jesse Jammes because Jarrett's on his way in Down South. Next night on the Superstars taping we've got Superstars level squashes dark for Farooq over Barry and Marty Garner, Shawn vs Vader as seen on Unreleased, Taker/Sid vs Mankind/Goldust and a bunch of try outs including Terry Gordy losing to Savio. The Gunns beat the Spiders (Headbangers), Savio does a ludicrous job to Sincere when Austin interferes, the Godwinns beat the Harts non-title for no apparent reason other than to spike ticket sales (I guess) for the title matches on the road, and Aldo and Bobcore are having to do jobs for Fake Diesel and Fake Razor respectively. Paying the rent. Also, Vader busts out a moonsault in one of his jobber squashes. We didn't deserve Leon.

DEPARTURES
This is the end of the road for Skip ; Candido will get fed up of being booked beneath his level (in his opinion) and having to be around rumours of his mrs' affairs and walk straight into a featured spot in ECW. Oddly enough, people think he was buried by the Kliq but actually in the infamous 1995 meeting where Vince asked for their opinions, Candido was someone they suggested deserved more of a push on the basis of talent regardless of personal differences. It didn't happen. Tom Prichard/Zip will stay on board and by December will be doing jobs under a mask as Doctor X.

That win for Who? That's the end for Anvil this time round. Didn't take long, did it? He'll be back, of course, like always.

Finally.... 15th in Nashville, the win over Bradshaw & Zeb is, as I inferred, the last booking at long last for the Bushwhackers. Love them or loathe them (I thought they were the pits) you can't argue the kids seemed to get a kick out of them, although I always found the Australian garb in 1996 a bit weird for a couple of Kiwis.

HERE'S THE SHIT.

 

Edited March 19 by air_raid
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[CavemanLynn]

17 hours ago, NavigatorFan said:

I feel like this every day reading these amazing digests!! Keep up the good work

It must be a ton of work, but it's great when @air_raid manages to throw out a couple of months in quick succession. You can get a real sense of the flow of shows and careers, and spot patterns that you wouldn't have spotted before necessarily, like the many in-and-outs of the Anvil, to who the fuck keeps employing the Harris twins? My favourite narrative at the moment is Bret outdrawing Shawn so far; sure, there are other factors, but THE NUMBERS DON'T LIE.

[air_raid]

I try and post one every day unless life gets in the way.

23 minutes ago, CavemanLynn said:

My favourite narrative at the moment is Bret outdrawing Shawn so far; sure, there are other factors, but THE NUMBERS DON'T LIE.

Wait until we get to late 1997. Something interesting happens regarding house show attendances that completely flies in the face of company AND fan narratives concerning (a) what dramatically picked up the business (b) when and (c) certain men drawing or not drawing.

[air_raid]

OCTOBER 1996
MAIN EVENTS
Shawn Michaels vs Vader continues early month then Shawn takes a week off from small towns in Alberta and British Columbia so it becomes Sid vs Vader with Undertaker vs Mankind on last - Shawn's back 11th in Victoria, 12th in Tacoma and 13th in Anaheim he's with Goldust, <5500 at the Pond, even Anaheims attendances are falling. Post TVs we're sub 3000 but near 8000 come to the Rosemont for Shawn vs Vader though <5000 in St Louis is terrible. 27th in Cape Girardeau MO, its actually Shawn vs Mankind.

THE CARDS
I feel like I've been writing the same matches for months - Undertaker vs Mankind continues and its usually No Holds Barred by now. You know who Sycho Sid is working - its the other of Vader or Goldust to Shawn. Chicago and St Louis we actually get Sid & Taker vs Mankind & Goldust. Marc Mero beats Farooq by DQ, when Shawn comes back and there's another shuffle he starts working Hunter Hearst Helmsley (again) which continues after TVs except Mr Perfect is now getting involved in the finish - Hunter's finally finished losing to Jake Roberts. Steve Austin vs Savio Vega runs to the PPV and when Savio is injured Austin starts beating The Stalker.

Owen Hart & Davey Boy Smith vs The Godwinns continues as the regular tag title match. The Smoking Gunns are finishing up as a team and when the losses to the Grimm Twins continue after the PPV Billy's doing the walking out on Bart. Crush beats Bob Holly all month. Before the PPV Stalker is beating Bradshaw. Red Deer, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat (Alberta) plus Prince George (British Columbia) break up many of the pre-Buried Alive runs, so its usually Austin working heel vs heel with Hunter as they did at In Your House, Savio beating Farooq by DQ, Mero with Goldust and Jake beating Fake Razor Ramon - the two tags combine into four ways for the belts.

Two "enhancement" matches added after In Your House have Bradshaw beating Barry Horowitz and Aldo Montoya doing the honours for The Sultan.

VARIATIONS
Red Deer is the first of the "small Canada" run and Hunter stays with Jake for one more night with Stone Cold working Fake Razor as a one off. Savio misses Victoria so Austin works Mero and Hunter reverts to losing to Jake, with Shawn and Savio both in Tacoma there’s an extra body so Crush works one with Jake and Holly has a night off. In Evansville and Springfield Vader's hurt and Taker's off so we get Sid vs Mankind. Report from Cape Girardeau is incomplete but we know Mero was back with Farooq, no idea if Hunter missed it or worked someone else.

TVs
Stalker goes over Bradshaw dark at the PPV and after the show we have Godwinns vs New Rockers, plus like many Sid vs Vader and Taker vs Mankind shows, Shawn defends the belt against Goldust. Fort Wayne Raw taping is best remembered for Bret Hart pretending to tell Vince (and the world) on live TV that he'd decided to stay. Let's not pretend for one fucking second that Bret was given a live mic if there was any chance he'd be announcing that he was going to WCW or that he was allowed to book himself against Steve Austin for Survivor Series either. We've got Flash Funk beating Leif Cassidy dark (a good three weeks before he finishes up in ECW) as well as a fairly loaded six man with Taker, Mero and, um, Jesse Jammes vs Austin, Mankind and Goldust. We'll tape Perfect turning heel on Mero allowing Hunter to win the ICT - before the nights over Mero also does a terrible job for Fake Razor - plus all the fun of Sid vs Owen, Shawn vs Smithers and the tag title match setting up for Shawn v Sid at Survivors and all the in ring stuff for the episode where Brian Pillman brandishes his gun. Next night for Superstars we tape the Austin/Pillman interview and ankle breaking, we have dark matches with Shawn vs Hunter and Sid, Taker and Mero against Austin, Dustin and Mankind. All the TV for Survivor Series build is in the can including the last company appearances for Perfect and the Mark Henry vs Crush tug of war - Mark has his big injury shortly afterwards and won't be on TV for a year. They also tape the last hurrah for the Smoking Gunns - Billy walks out on Bart during a match with the New Rockers, which Bart wins by himself anyway. Poor Marty. The Executioner is being taped as a ringside presence but isn't wrestling yet.

PROPER camcorder footage of Shawn/Vader from Chicago, this

Here's HBK vs Goldust from after In Your House ;

 

Edited March 19 by air_raid
add video

[wandshogun09]

On 8/24/2022 at 6:11 AM, air_raid said:

At the Raw tapings they try out Steve Corino as a second for Salvatore Sincere (WTF)

I remember Corino talking on his old RF shoot interview about his tryouts but can’t remember if he mentioned Sal or why the fuck he’d have been paired up with him. I could swear he said there was talk of him coming in as a fake 123 Kid to go with the knock off Razor and Diesel but it obviously never went anywhere. He was also the ‘fan’ that Crush beat up around this time though!

Edited August 25, 2022 by wandshogun09

[THEBC313]

1 hour ago, wandshogun09 said:

I remember Corino talking on his old RF shoot interview about his tryouts but can’t remember if he mentioned Sal or why the fuck he’d have been paired up with him. I could swear he said there was talk of him coming in as a fake 123 Kid to go with the knock off Razor and Diesel but it obviously never went anywhere. He was also the ‘fan’ that Crush beat up around this time though!

Tom Brandi trained him. Also yes he was gonna be the 4-5-6 Kid Apparently.

[air_raid]

I couldn’t tell you anything about Corino in 1996 beyond the Crush bit. All I recall hearing him talk about is his aborted entry into 97s light heavyweight title tournament and not getting a contract. Either way the idea of them hiring someone to be fake Kid and not just taking the jockstrap off Aldo’s face and giving him time to grow his hair, would surprise me.

ANYWAY, big day in my household and to mark 31 years since SummerSlam 91…. Herrrrres Bret!

NOVEMBER 1996
THE MAIN EVENTS
Pre-Survivor Series it's Shawn Michaels & The Undertaker vs Mankind & Goldust all over the place - sometimes its under the Armageddon rules (10 count/death match), sometimes its a cage match, sometimes its reported as both. Crowds are crap, usually <4000 in decent sized buildings, except 7600 in Buffalo. After TVs its Undertaker vs Vader in White Plains then Taker vs Goldust is probably the closest to a main event in Hull Quebec, in Montreal its new WWF Champion Sid vs Steve Austin with Shawn Michaels vs Mankind on last, then on the UK Express Tour Sid vs Austin in London on 27th and vs Farooq in Birmingham on 28th. Most of the touring crew are then off to Dubai - its Bret Hart & The Undertaker vs Mankind & Executioner on 29th with the whole crew working tags due to jet lag, and unknown Survivors format matches on 30th (report unavailable) with Shawn vs Goldust as the main event in Lowell on 30th - Lowell being a big town for Shawn in 1997.

THE CARDS
Pretty consistent cards before the PPV - Sid vs Vader is going on in stretcher matches. Owen Hart & British Bulldog vs The Godwinns has the same false finish with Owen's foot on the rope every night. Bart Gunn vs Billy Gunn grudge match, Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs Marc Mero for the ICT, Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Aldo Montoya is surely a replacement for something else?? Bob Holly is with Bradshaw early month and usually beating him (!) while they have another look at Carl Le Duc in a series of jobs for The Sultan, then Jesse Jammes joins the crew to go over Bradshaw and Holly starts losing to Sultan instead. After the PPV nearly everyone is all over the place except the constant tag title match, Gunn v Gunn, Mero usually with Hunter and Undertaker is back with Vader more often than not.

VARIATIONS
So... Undertaker is with Vader in White Plains, Montreal and Birmingham, Goldust in Hull (Quebec) and with Mankind no holds barred in London which actually goes on last since Sid/Austin has a non-finish. Bret beats Mankind in Birmingham and Vader in London, big Leon also actually put the first loss on Rocky Maivia in Hull. White Plains actually has a 20-man Rumble which is won by Rocky, he's also beating Goldust in Montreal, Bradshaw in London and umm TL Hopper at the NEC. Stone Cold beats Goldust in White Plains, Hunter by DQ in Hull and squashes Aldo in Birmingham. He's wrestling heels a lot lately. Wildman vs Mankind is a fun one off at Hull. Farooq pins Stalker in Hull and London, and Aldo in Montreal. Being Quebec, there is more work for Le Duc, he beats Aldo in Hull but loses to Sultan again in Montreal. Davey Boy doesnt actually make White Plains and Quebec so Owen & Leif Cassidy lose by count-out in White Plains and clean (non title) in Montreal to the Godwinns, in Hull its actually Leif, Owen and Billy Gunn vs the pig farmers and Bart.

Rounding out NY, Quebec and England - it's Stalker vs Salvatore Sincere and Sultan vs Aldo in White Plains, Sultan vs Bob Holly in Hull, Stalker vs Holly (huh) in Montreal, Bob losing to Crush in both London and Birmingham plus Barry Horowitz vs TL Hopper and Aldo vs Executioner in London, Barry vs Executioner and Stalker vs Bradshaw in Birmingham. Lowell is a whole new crew so there's Sultan going over Jesse Jammes, Savio Vega with Sal, Fake Razor Ramon & Fake Diesel vs The Grimm Twins, Doug Furnas & Phil LaFon vs The New Rockers and Argo beating Dr X - Argo will go on to become Brakus, Dr X is Tom Prichard in a mask.

29th Dubai card, from whats available, included road buddies Sid & Bob vs Vader & Austin, Stalker & Rocky vs Nation buddies Farooq & Crush, Aldo & Barry curtain jerking with Hopper & Bradshaw, and of course.... Owen & Smithers vs The Godwinns.

TVs
Raw after Survivor Series is a massive taping. Austin vs Mankind, Bret returns to Raw to wrestle Owen with the finish that starts the build for the Austin vs Bulldog match that never happens at Mania, Sid crushing Hunter and a climactic Undertaker vs Mankind no holds barred match which was 100% one of their best matches with each other. Dark, Shawn vs Stone Cold and Sid beating Vader in as long as it probably took me to type this sentence. Next night before Superstars Sid and Taker go up against Vader and Austin and - hows this for a Coliseum Exclusive you never saw? - Shawn beats Farooq by DQ when PG13 interfere. On the tapings themselves the Headbangers are finally working as the Headbangers, and there's a forgotten altercation where after Austin pins the Stalker, Davey Boy tries to attack Austin to continue the feud which the Springfield fans havent seen begin yet, and when Owen restrains him the champs are blindsided by Fake Razor and Fake Diesel - who are the obvious next challengers, with their SPARKLING won/loss record, aren't they??

DEPARTURES
Mr Perfect leaves the company in November. He's in Hunters corner 1st and 2nd then that's it. On Superstars the day of the PPV they're able to announce that him and Hunter had an argument at the Hall Of Fame the night before and that was adequate explanation for his disappearance. In reality the news that he was training for a comeback, its claimed, was leaked to Lloyds Of London (insurance brokers) which cost Hennig a sizable sum of money considering he was supposed to be injured enough to be permanently retired from his livelihood. Lucky for him, WCW threw a ton of money his way and (eventually) he DID get back in the ring. Survivor Series is the last TV use of Zebekiah and he'll get released in December. For whatever else Dutch contributed to the business I always thought his use in the WWF/WWE as a manager was largely crap.

Survivor Series is the end of the line for Yokozuna. He'd been announced as wrestling Austin for Birmingham, but didn't go on the tour. They'll have him sent to fat farm for his own health. Word will circulate that he'll be back when he loses enough weight, the WWF even going so far as to publish rumours in their kayfabe magazines in mid 97 that he'll be brought back by the Hart Foundation, but nothing ever comes of it. He'll stay on the payroll, remarkably, until 1999 when they'll finally cut him loose, though he'd lost weight, but not enough. He'll work some indy dates but sadly be dead by 2000.

A PERSONAL REPORT
I went to the NEC show a mere two nights after Survivor Series aired on delay on Sky Sports. Many will claim they felt short changed by how long Sid vs Farooq didn't go, but as someone over the moon that the reign of the Boy Toy had been terminated, I pretty much only wanted to see Sid come out with the belt and do a powerbomb so I was pretty happy, and Bret vs Mankind and Taker vs Vader were both excellent so it was 100% satisfaction for me.

There's a review here which includes a photo of the program/calendar which I also bought ;
https://www.angelfire.com/wrestling3/ukmania/2ndShow.html

Worth pointing out inaccuracies ; Undertaker won after a chokeslam, he did NOT Tombstone Vader, which was one of the most incredible things I ever saw when he managed it on Raw in the build to Canadian Stampede, and again at the PPV. Secondly, Sid powerbombed Farooq, he didn't go home with a chokeslam.

Here's what they used on Raw from London ;

 

Edited August 29, 2022 by air_raid

[BomberPat]

4 hours ago, air_raid said:

Survivor Series is the end of the line for Yokozuna. He'd been announced as wrestling Austin for Birmingham, but didn't go on the tour. They'll have him sent to fat farm for his own health. Word will circulate that he'll be back when he loses enough weight, the WWF even going so far as to publish rumours in their kayfabe magazines in mid 97 that he'll be brought back by the Hart Foundation, but nothing ever comes of it. 

This is fun, because there's a recent Jim Cornette clip where he goes over an internal memo written by Vince Russo, with all of his ideas for unused talent in 1997, and one of his pitches for Yokozuna is bringing him back as a member of the Hart Foundation. Cornette is incredulous at the claim that Yoko "has history" with the Harts, because he can't think of anything other than him having lost to Bret - seemingly forgetting that he managed the tag team of Owen and Yoko, and at one point, Davey Boy and Yoko. So this is obviously a case of Russo using the magazine to try and lay the groundwork for a story he was already pitching to creative. 

The alternative plan he put forward for Yokozuna was an evil Japanese stable of Yokozuna, The Patriot and Furnas & LaFon. None of whom are Japanese.

[Magnum Milano]

On 8/15/2022 at 10:57 AM, air_raid said:

JANUARY 1996

TVs - FUCK
Dark, Dory Funk Jr goes over Bob Holly and they have a look at the Headhunters (called the Squat Team at the Rumble) against Aldo Montoya & Avatar which goes to a double count-out which probably isnt as wild as you imagine. 

Amazingly that Headhunters squash was recorded by someone in the crowd (I've a copy on DVD but it doesn't appear to be on YouTube at the moment).  Here are the final couple of minutes courtesy of Richard Land's Twitter account.

 

[BomberPat]

Were there ever plans to do anything with Dory Funk Jr in 1996? In my head, I'd always assumed that the '96 Rumble must have been in Texas, or at least the South, and that Dory and Doug Gilbert were in there to get an easy pop out of a rasslin' crowd, but it's in California! Not exactly peak Funk territory - if Cagematch is anything to go by, he hadn't wrestled there since 1987!

I've definitely told the story on here before, but The Headhunters are part of a really bizarre childhood constructed memory for me. My first run of wrestling fandom was something like '93/'94 through to mid-'97, and I remember watching the Royal Rumble match, or at least highlights from it - my parents hated wrestling, so I was only able to catch it on TV now and then, so mostly just highlights and C-shows, so I can't have seen the whole PPV, unless it was replayed on Sky during the day. 

I was convinced for years afterwards that there was a bit in a Rumble or Battle Royal with two identical twin sumo wrestlers, where one was eliminated, but then they both got back in and ran roughshod because the referees couldn't tell them apart to know which one to kick out. My brother and I used to play at being wrestlers, and would invent characters that we'd draw and then try and play in our "matches", and they were all just obvious rip-offs of wrestlers we half-remembered from what little WWF TV we saw, or characters from beat-em-ups and comics, and two characters we invented were this team of identical twin sumo wrestlers. It was at least ten years later that I managed to pin down this memory to the '96 Rumble, and to somehow having conflated the Headhunters and Yokozuna into a single act, and I was shocked that something that had left such an impression on me as a kid boiled down to a couple of minutes of uneventful ring time by a tag team that amounted to fuck all in the WWF. Of all the rip-off characters we made up, it turns out the sumo tag team were actually an original creation after all, albeit unintentionally.

[wandshogun09]

7 hours ago, air_raid said:

Bret beats Mankind in Birmingham

Can’t believe this happened just down the road from me and I never went. Bret vs Mankind is one of those matches I really wish made it to a PPV in 96/97. I love the little Shotgun Saturday Night match they had but they could’ve probably put something really special together in a big properly built up match. One that got away.

[air_raid]

7 hours ago, wandshogun09 said:

Can’t believe this happened just down the road from me and I never went. Bret vs Mankind is one of those matches I really wish made it to a PPV in 96/97. I love the little Shotgun Saturday Night match they had but they could’ve probably put something really special together in a big properly built up match. One that got away.

Not a house show, but this reminds me of when I was considering getting a ticket fairly late near a SmackDown taping at the MEN which was very convenient for me. Somehow I didn’t catch that “AJs going for the belt on SmackDown” and “there’s a SmackDown in Manchester” were the same show, and lost track of when either was, so upshot was my favourite wrestler won the WWE title in Manchester and I didn’t go.

[air_raid]

DECEMBER 1996
THE MAIN EVENTS
There are very few house shows before In Your House, drawing very few fans, and they all have Shawn Michaels vs Goldust on top. Better crowds are round the corner after Christmas in Chicago, Hartford, Providence and over 9000 at the Nassau Coliseum, all of which have Sycho Sid vs Mankind for the WWF title, although there is some great support on too.

In Dubai early month we've got a battle royal on the 1st, won by Bret Hart, and on the 2nd a one night Middle East Cup tournament, won by Bret in the final over - who else? - Stone Cold Steve Austin.

THE CARDS
We've pretty much got two cards consistently this month. Before Christmas its Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs Marc Mero for the ICT, Bart Gunn vs Billy Gunn, Savio Vega vs Salvatore Sincere, Sultan vs Jesse Jammes, Fake Razor Ramon & Fake Diesel vs Grimm Twins, Doug Furnas & Phil LaFon vs New Rockers, and Brakus squashing Dr X. After Christmas its usually Mero/Helmsley, Shawn Michaels vs Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker vs Vader, Ahmed Johnson vs Crush, Savio Vega vs Farooq, Jake Roberts vs Goldust, Owen Hart, British Bulldog & Bradshaw vs Bart Gunn & the Godwinns, and Furnas & LaFon beating "Razor & Diesel."

VARIATIONS
The rest of the Dubai tournament is - Hitman beats the Bulldog, Farooq vs Vader (oof) goes to a double count-out leaving Bret with a bye, Austin beating Owen (hmm) and Undertaker beating Mankind in the Quarters, then Austin beating Taker by DQ when he tricks Taker into using a chair in front of the ref.

Chicago is gigantic. Bret and Shawn team up and lose to Stone Cold and Vader when the two faces collide and Austin pins Bret (!) - the two goodies fight after the match. Hunter actually defends the ICT against Taker and wins by DQ, and its all about the Nation underneath. Crush beats Savio with help from Farooq, Farooq beats Mero with help from Crush, and Ahmed beats Goldust by DQ when the Nation interfere. Worth noting that Taker and Sid are also brawling after the Sid/Mankind matches so the road to Mania is definitely being paved for the two top matches as scheduled.

TVs
At In Your House we have another Brakus vs Dr X before the show then after it Austin wins another heel vs heel match against Goldust and we go home with Shawn vs Mankind. At the Raw taping we've got one Hardy or the other losing to Leif Cassidy, Pierroth or Hector Garza, Sid & Taker going to a double DQ when Mankind and Executioner interfere, and Shawn vs Vader. We tape Austin vs Vader, there's Gunn vs Gunn where Billy gets hurt, Bret beats Fake Razor and on the way to the Rumble Pierroth and Cibernetico beat the Rockers. On the same night they tape the Superstars where Steve Austin beats Jason Ahrndt (who will be Joey Abs much later) and challenges him to find a partner for a handicap match next week. Next night Austin gets himself beaten by Ahrndt and Eddie Jackie thanks to inteference from Smithers, we tape Vader losing by count-out to Savio because he shits himself over Taker's gong, Bret Hart vs Sultan when Austin attacks and Pilmanizes Bret's ankle after it, plus Taker beating The Goon then dragging Jim Cornette away from the commentary position and giving him a Tombstone then putting him in a bodybag, metaphorically writing Jim out of the story. Also written out, Executioner loses to Goldust after which Paul Bearer bonks Terry on the head with the urn and abandons him as apparently useless ; although Gordy will get a few more payoffs in the new year before this airs. We also tape a Stalker vs Phineas match where Bradshaw comes out to lambaste Barry for how he's dressed then post defeat Bradshaw attacks both Godwinns before Windham runs him off - sewing the seeds of an alliance. Dark, Sid squashes Sultan, Shawn and Taker go over Mankind and Vader, Hunter beats Ahmed by DQ, and.... Aldo Montoya beats Mike Awesome. Christ on a bike.

30th in Albany we sneak another Raw taping. There's one more of Sid vs Taker, Shawn does a short win over Austin and - hooray! - Mascarita Sagrada Jr appears, losing to Mini Vader. This is the one that becomes Max Mini, not to be confused with Mascarita Sagrada who becomes Nova, both being mini versions of Mascara Sagrada. Mini Vader is Espectrito and ends up being El Torito in 1997. Brets a busy man this night, swapping himself in for the injured Jesse to tag with Savio and do the non finish with Austin and Farooq then later taping the episode where he gets pinned by Vader, same show Owen loses a forgotten short classic to Mankind and Sid attacks Pete Lothario, and the week after a footnote of a match where Austin helps Rocky Maivia beat Bulldog by count-out.

DEPARTURES 
Post PPV Raw taping... its at long last, for good, the end for Marty Jannetty and his in and outs, until 2005. He'll quietly slip off into the night leaving Cassidy by himself. This is also the last month of bookings for the Grimm Twins…. for now. Because FUCK ME, they’ll get another chance in 97.

Here's some dark joy from IYH

 

 

Edited March 19 by air_raid

[air_raid]

JANUARY 1997
.... we're back how the project started! Except this is a hard reboot.

THE MAIN EVENTS
These cards are fucking loaded now. We're absolutely blessed.

Hartford on the 2nd we've got Shawn Michaels vs Mankind on last with Sycho Sid vs Goldust for the belt. Through San Diego, Stockton, LA Sports and Fresno we have Shawn vs Steve Austin with Sid vs Undertaker for the belt. In San Jose Shawn vs Mankind with no Sid, the same in Anaheim with Sid vs Stone Cold on last, and we stick with that in Vegas and El Paso.

Post Rumble in Dallas, Oklahoma City and Philadelphia you have the Shawn/Sid/Bret Hart three way as per the famous SkyDome dark match although some are triple threats, at least one is elimination. Hershey and MSG have Shawn defending against Mankind. Over 13,000 pay at the Garden and there's >8000 at the Spectrum so things are improving.

THE CARDS
Bret Hart is all over the place but his most regular opponent is Vader with a mix of DQ and Sharpshooter wins. Stone Cold Steve Austin lands on Goldust a fair few times after the PPV. The Undertaker works Sycho Sid near every night, especially after the belts not involved any more. Hunter Hearst Helmsley has many challengers but he's still with Marc Mero a lot before the PPV and oddly Jake Roberts after it. We finish the Bart Gunn & Godwinns vs Owen Hart, British Bulldog & Bradshaw run - around a few defences for the Harts against Mankind & Executioner - and post PPV Davey Boys carrying a knock so weirdly the run becomes the Godwinns vs Owen and Bob Holly. Ahmed Johnson vs Crush and Farooq vs Savio Vega are pretty regular before the Rumble, after it Crush is losing to Rocky Maivia. Flash Funk beats Salvatore Sincere before the Rumble and Leif Cassidy after it, Aldo Montoya jobs to the Sultan early month, Doug Furnas & Phil LaFon are going over Fake Razor Ramon & Fake Diesel. Everyone else is mixed up. The days of people working the same opponents every night are coming to an end.

VARIATIONS
OK, here's where we need to start as its a story I love. Stockton on the 4th is universally reported as having Hunter defeat Mero on every report you'll find on the usual sources but every one of them is wrong. Thanks to camcorder footage I watched not long ago on YouTube (sadly now removed) I can tell you - Bret Hart goes on half way up the card with Helmsley, for the Intercontinental title. This is the one Bret references in his book (he mistakes it for Montreal in February) where its suggested to him to do a job for Hunter to show the boys he's willing to do business. Sure enough, with the ref down and Triple H in the Sharpshooter, Austin runs in and lamps Bret with the Stunner, and when the zebra wakes up he counts the pin for Hunter. A couple of matches later Bret does his scheduled DQ win over Vader when Austin interferes, which segues straight into Shawn vs Austin which as usual ends with Bret accidentally costing Shawn the match, then the two fight afterwards. Coupled with the Sid/Taker match where Taker gets counted out fighting Vader, thats pretty consistent for the top three matches through four Cali shows. Bret does similar jobs for Hunter in Anaheim, Vegas and El Paso, whereas in San Jose it was a triple threat match where Hunter pins Austin to retain. Anaheim of course being where Bret lost the big belt to HBK, and this isn't even the last time Bret will get pinned in the building before he leaves!!

Undertaker vs Stone Cold goes down in Hartford, that's the only Austin match not covered above until the Rumble ; 24th in Hershey he pins Ahmed with a Nation assist, 26th in Philly its a double count out with Vader. Undertaker's with Vader in San Jose, Anaheim, Vegas and El Paso, and in Oklahoma City, Dallas and Philly we get the same tag as Toronto, where Taker and Ahmed crush Mankind and Farooq - in Oklahoma Taker/Mankind actually happens later as well! 2nd in Stockton is Vader's last exception - he beats Ahmed by count-out after more Nation bullshit. Hunter defends against Jesse Jammes in Dallas and Oklahoma and Goldust in Hershey - as if he wasn't busy enough with Mero, Bret, Austin and Jake. Ahmed does double duty in Oklahoma as well, beating Farooq and (a very busy) Mankind in a triple threat. At MSG Ahmed & Savio lose to Farooq & Crush when Savio attacks Ahmed although weirdly on Shotgun Saturday Night they'll pretend he didn't join the Nation, and he'll get help from them beating up Rocky and THAT will be him joining the Nation, official. OK. Philadelphia is almost note perfect a match to the Toronto Raw - Goldust has to do another job for Crush. Oklahoma comes too soon to get Holly to sub for Bulldog so Owen wrestles Phineas one on one and LOSES. Bob is in Oklahoma ; there and Dallas he's doing two jobs for Savio (who hasn't turned yet). When Rocky isnt beating Crush post-Rumble he beats Sincere at the Garden but loses to Savio at the Spectrum. Mero loses to Crush at Hartford, I think his knee is already bothering him because he's in and out. Bart Gunn vs Bradshaw is another exception from Hartford, Bradshaw loses to Jesse a few times in California. FUCK.

TVs
I'm not sure how interested anyone is in the AAA dark matches but they happen at the Rumble and Raw taping. Bret beats Hunter by count-out due to Goldust, and Shawn pins Vader. They tape a forgotten video from Jack Lanza warning that the Blackjacks will ride again. Next night at Superstars taping Shawn beats Hunter by DQ when Mr Hughes interferes, Bret, Taker and Ahmed beat Austin, Mankind & Farooq (oof) and Rocky & Flash beat Jesse Jammes & Savio after which Savio and Jesse argue. Probably because Savio's turning. The irony of turning on Rocky in the end to join the Nation. We tape storylines of the dissent between Owen and Smithers, start building Ahmed vs Hunter for In Your House which won't end up happening. There's also a really odd Taker vs Mero match where Mero gets DQd when Sable starts kicking at Taker ringside and Mero gets a Tombstone on the floor for it. I'm not going to say too much about Curtis Hughes' brief comeback as Hunter's hired goon, because it doesn't last. There are a handful of dark matches before Shotgun Saturday Night episodes, nothing noteworthy, the 25th broadcast has the first televised Bret Hart vs Mankind match. The only dark match on the Toronto Raw is Rocky vs Sultan, discounting the famous dark main event.

We should note ; due to various injuries, Royal Rumble is the final PPV where all four of Vinces big guns for the rest of the year, Bret, Shawn, Taker and Austin, all wrestle.

DEPARTURES
5th in LA is the last road booking for Terry Gordy in the Executioner role. It just wasn't in him any more. Did anyone give a shit about Jose Lothario? The Rumble is his last time in HBKs corner.

Here's that three way ;

 

 

Edited August 28, 2022 by air_raid

[air_raid]

FEBRUARY 1997
What a shitstorm this is!

THE MAIN EVENTS
1st in Quebec City is a perfect example of the randomness the month will hold - Shawn Michaels vs Farooq for the belt. 2nd there's two shows, a matinee in Montreal where we revert to Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart vs Sycho Sid then the evening in Ottawa its Shawn vs Mankind. If thats not enough change, 7th in Pittsburgh its Bret Hart & Sycho Sid vs Shawn Michaels & Steve Austin - yes, Austin's still a heel at this point. Its the same 8th in Bethlehem PA and 9th at the Meadowlands (nearly 9000 fans) with the same finish each time - Austin accidentally Stunning Shawn so Bret pins him. Then Lowell happens and the shit hits the fan. Cincinnati and St Paul have dry runs for the PPV - its Bret Hart vs Undertaker vs Steve Austin vs Vader ; Austin is thrown out first, Vader pins Bret, then Taker pins Vader. Then half the crew is off to Germany after TVs, domestic house shows have Undertaker vs Farooq as a main as per 24ths Raw from Manhattan, except on the road its a cage match. 

New (well, latest) WWF Champion Sid beats The Sultan in Aschaffenburg, Owen Hart in Chemnitz and Bayreuth, Hunter Hearst Helmsley (..... with Chyna!) in Dresden, Obenhausen, Hamburg and Halle, and Mankind in Koln and Berlin - however at the Deutschlandhalle you may recall Sid/Mankind was both overshadowed and displaced as show-closer by Davey Boy Smith vs Owen Hart in the final of the European Championship. As per any match between Smith and either Owen or Bret, it was superb. Worth remembering that the belt was created with dual purpose ; to give extra emphasis to European shows with great gates still being taken, and according to Bret, to placate Bulldog for promises Vince had made him when signing his new deal, that hadn't come true.

THE CARDS
Bret Hart is all over the place without a regular opponent outside of what's in the main event, likewise Sid, and ditto Steve Austin who doesn't wrestle after In Your House because he's very legitimately done his knee and its a race to be fit for Mania. Undertaker vs Farooq is already fairly regular before the crews split. Vader vs Ahmed Johnson is booked a fair few times domestically and in Germany but a few of those are missed early month because Leon's carrying an injury. Goldust vs Mankind isnt happening on TV but its happening fairly often on the road, after the crews split Goldie is with perennial opponent Savio Vega. Owen Hart & Davey Boy Smith vs Doug Furnas & Phil LaFon is pretty common before the lads go to Germany. Rocky Maivia vs Billy Gunn (back from injury) is a common ICT match in Germany. Godwinns vs the brand new team of the New Blackjacks is a fixture after the PPV. Cards are so padded out that its Barry Horowitz vs Headbanger Mosh and Freddie Joe Floyd vs Thrasher. Fake Diesel vs TL Hopper happens a few times then the plumber starts losing to Bart Gunn. A lot of guys barely wrestle the same guy twice in February. There's a fair few of Sultan vs Flash Funk and Aldo Montoya vs Salvatore Sincere in 50/50 feuds, I can tell you that much. And Brakus vs Dr X still gets plenty of goes. Happily Sunny vs Marlena arm wrestling matches are on the road too.

VARIATIONS
Quebec City has a one off Bret Hart vs Steve Austin, next night in Ottawa they reprise Hunter vs Bret vs Austin for the ICT. In Germany Bret beats Hunter, Mankind, Vader and Sultan but loses to his brother in the tournament semi and by DQ to Hunter after refusing to do the job on TV and hurt the build for his Mania match with Austin. Taker works Sid in Quebec and Ottawa, Vader in Montreal. Montreal also has Austin beat Mankind. Vader beats Goldust in Ottawa then in Germany he pins Flash Funk and beats Rocky in the quarter final but comes up short when he tries to wrest the belt from Rock in Berlin and loses a couple of matches to Bulldog including the tournament semi. Sid does a couple of wins over Savio on those Final Four dry run shows.

Bulldog's unstoppable, beating Mankind more than once including his quarter, Billy Gunn a couple of times, and successfully defending his new belt against Hunter in Bayreuth. Owen beats Flash including the quarters, but loses to Rocky and to Ahmed. Ahmed & Rocky vs Farooq & Crush is a fun tag for both shows on 2nd. Ahmed does ludicrous jobs to Sultan in Pittsburgh and Philly, with NOD interference, but beats him in Bethlehem and Dresden. Wonder which of those two athletes ate more pies between 99 and 2000? Hunter wins a three way over Marc Mero and Goldust in Quebec City and beats Goldie in Montreal, Flash in Pittsburgh and old enemy Henry Godwinn at the Meadowlands, between losing the belt and Final Four he picks up two more wins from Funk before his mostly unsuccessful trip to Germany.

Bulldog misses Quebec City so Owen loses to LaFon one on one then Bob Holly ends up in the tag title story again when Doug Furnas gets injured so its LaFon and Holly challenging ; in Bethlehem the match is preceded by Holly beating Owen in a singles, presumably to earn passage into the tag title match (and kill some time). Get the impression writing these that Harts vs Can-Ams was cursed.

What else....? Rocky vs Sincere in Quebec City and Bethlehem, Savio works a couple with Judas (no idea), Rocky vs Leif Cassidy and Crush vs Barry in Pittsburgh and the Meadowlands, Leif vs Barry in Bethlehem, Phineas without Henry doing a job for Savio at the Meadowlands, Crush vs Cassidy and Farooq vs Bob Holly in Cincinnati and Sultan vs Holly, Crush vs Barry (again) and Leif vs Aldo in St Paul. Post split, Knoxville Barry works Thrasher, Mosh works Brakus and Fake Diesel works Freddie Joe... a Ricky Rockett does a job for Fake Razor Ramon, and (fuck!) Buddy Landell jobs to Hopper. Brakus beats Tim McNeany in Durham NH and Tony DeVito in New Haven and Glens Falls, Goldust works a hadicap with Crush and Savio in New Haven because Ahmed's injured, 28th in New Orleans Crush has Bart Gunn for an opponent, and Jake Roberts gets a sympathy cheque, beating The Goon.

Rounding out Germany.... Furnas & LaFon work a varety of combinations of Holly, Aldo, Leif, Sincere and Alex Porteau. Otherwise Alex does one job to Leif, one to Sal and two to Aldo. Aldo pins Holly in Koln, Bob gets the win back in Hamburg, Aldo beats Cassidy in Halle, Rocky defends the ICT against Holly in Bayreuth.

Fun note - Montreal is where Vince tells Bret it’s too obvious for him to beat Shawn for the belt, that they’ll screw each other out of the belt/Final Four leaving Sid vs Taker for the belt and he’ll be beating Shawn in a ladder match where Shawn puts his hair up. Huh.

TVs
Fuck all interesting before Thursday Raw Thursday unless you count Mankind vs Flash Funk and Ahmed vs Sal. Final Four has Godwinns vs Headbangers before the Free For All and weirdly after the PPV goes off the air Bret Hart actually makes one succesful defence in his 4th reign, losing to Sid by DQ when Vader runs in. There's a tryout for Jackie Fulton before Nashville live Raw and Taker vs Vader after it, from the shows other than Sid relieving Bret of the big belt we have the debut of the New Blackjacks attacking the Godwinns and while there is nodark action before Manhattan Raw on 24th what's VERY interesting is what actually happens live - Legion Of Doom return but in an ominous sign of what’s ahead, aren’t even permitted to put a pin on Mosh or Thrasher. Plus during the main event Farooq has words with Ken Shamrock who just HAPPENS to be watching front row. Plus ECW. Berlin on 26th actually aired early Thursday morning here ahead of North America for whom it was the 3rd March Raw with different commentary, if you absolutely MUST know what didn’t make air, Sal pinned The Pug, the Can-Ams beat Holly & Aldo, and Ahmed pinned Cassidy. Of course, the PPV gives us the first appearance of Chyna as Hunter's new heater.

DEPARTURES
The Germany trip is the last work for Alex "The Pug" Porteau - great wrestler technically but not memorable. Curtis Hughes' second run barely last three weeks, MSG on 8th is his last appearance before he goes to hospital with heart and kidney problems. Add these to the narcolepsy which played a part is his first release... he came out wonky, clearly. Good job they had a replacement ready. Dr X hangs up the hood as a regular but Tom will be back occasionally. We have seen the end too, thankfully, of Fake Razor Ramon . There aren't many gimmicks, even from the worst years, even the truly terrible ones, that I tolerate a re-watch of less than the pretender characters. I get the idea but the heat garnered was on the company for making us put up with it, not on them, they were dead from day 1.

Edited August 29, 2022 by air_raid