the Undertaker

Mabel vs. Adam Bomb (and other King of the Ring 1995 Qualifying Matches!)

by

8 WWE Matches Where The Crowd Was The Star – Page 3

Mabel vs. Savio Vega ending a PPV. This was so bad it feels like a hard-boiled noir detective should be doing narration over it.

KING OF THE RING QUALIFYING MATCHES (1995):
* Back for more King of the Ring Qualifiers- technically still part of my “Dream Matches” column, haha. And with a special edition of everyone’s favorite wrestling standby: FANTASY REBOOKING!!

This year’s King of the Ring was very well-represented on YouTube. This is the most infamously bad tournament in history, which is hilarious, as “on paper” it looks to be the biggest one ever- while most tourneys are foregone conclusions or are full of mid-level guys, this one had Lex, Owen, Razor, Shawn and even the UNDERTAKER wrestling, with a ton of matches having equal stars. So the disaster that was the ’95 KOTR is a true epic. Come watch as the long national nightmare of Savio Vega in a prominent role begins, plus how NOT to create a new Monster Heel.

Previous tournaments re-legitimized ex-champion Bret Hart and gave credibility to Owen for his feud with Bret. A third tournament could either legitimize another would-be champion (Shawn Michaels, in this case), or set up a challenger for Diesel, who’s coming out of a feud with Psycho Sid. It looks like Bob Holly beating Mantaur is not on YouTube, but I found the rest.

MABEL (w/ Mo) vs. ADAM BOMB:
(WWF In Your House, May 14th)
* This was a strange decision- putting the first KOTR Qualifier on the first-ever In Your House PPV as a throwaway bout. Mabel had just recently turned heel, while Bomb was spinning his wheels as a directionless babyface after splitting with Harvey Whippleman last year. Bomb’s in the red & yellow gear as usual (he only briefly wore other colors), while Mabel’s in black & purple.

Read more

The Undertaker vs. The Goon (and other Dream Matches!)

by

Also a weirdo mishmash of Giant Kimala II & Headhunters vs. Johnny Ace, Johnny Smith and a Virtua Fighter character!

Welcome back to more Dream Matches! This time we start off with The Goon’s biggest challenge, as he faces the Undertaker during his feud with Vader! Also the time All Japan ran Johnny Ace/Johnny Smith/Wolf Hawkfield vs. a Kamala knockoff and the Headhunters! If you haven’t had enough Wrath from last week’s column, here he is in the “Post-Nash” part of his career, wrestling an Olympic bobsledder! Also a request from Maffew, as Mabel & Doink the Clown wrestle Bam Bam Bigelow & Jeff Jarrett on a Fancam house show!

As always, WWF stuff isn’t okay to post on the blog, but is readily available on YouTube.

THE UNDERTAKER vs. THE GOON:
(WWF, 1997)
* Yes, they really pit these two legends against each other on FREE TV. Can you believe that? I do find it hilarious how much like a 1990s hockey player Bill Irwin actually looked, what with that big hockey hair and his silhouette. I mean, props. Gorilla Monsoon on commentary suggests he needs to be “Ostracized from the World Wrestling Federation”. The canned heat here is ridiculous, keeping things at a long drone at the exact same volume- they’re not even trying.

Read more

Mike Reviews – WWF Monday Night Raw 17th March 1997

by

Hello You!

Seeing as we’re approaching WrestleMania later in the month, I decided to go back and review the go-home show for WrestleMania 13, seeing as it features quite a famous show closing moment. Mania 13 isn’t always well regarded, but it’s got a couple of good matches buried in amongst the early 97 malaise, along with an excellent match between Bret Hart and Steve Austin. I’ve actually reviewed it before and you can read what I thought if you like by clicking right HERE.

Read more

What the World Was Watching: The Super Bowl of Wrestling (1995)

by

This show took place on Friday, August 4, 1995 at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum in Knoxville, Tennessee.  According to Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer, the show drew a crowd of 5,000, with 4,600 fans paying, thereby creating a gate of $37,500.  That made this the best-attended card in the history of the promotion.  The show is provided courtesy of a fan cam.

Read more

What the World Was Watching: Smoky Mountain TV – July 29, 1995

by

Chip Kessler and Les Thatcher call the action from the Jellico High School tapings.  Kessler has been trying to channel Vince McMahon to kick off each program by screaming “Neexxtt” but he just ends up sounding like he is grunting on the toilet.

Read more

What the World Was Watching: Smoky Mountain TV – July 22, 1995

by

Chip Kessler and Les Thatcher call the action, which is still from the Jellico High School tapings.

Read more

What the World Was Watching: Smoky Mountain TV – July 15, 1995

by

Chip Kessler and Les Thatcher are in the booth and they are broadcasting from a new set of television tapings from Jellico High School in Jellico, Tennessee.  According to prowrestlinghistory.com, the tapings took place on July 6, but no attendance figures were reported.

Read more

What the World Was Watching: Smoky Mountain Wrestling – June 24, 1995

by

Chip Kessler and Les Thatcher are handling the broadcasting duties and they are taped from Sevierville, Tennessee.

Thatcher interviews Commissioner Bob Armstrong and Armstrong’s Avenger.  Armstrong says he has faith in the Avenger against SMW Champion Buddy Landel.  He promises a surprise.

Read more

What the World Was Watching: USWA Championship Wrestling – June 24, 1995

by

Lance Russell returns to today’s broadcast alongside Dave Brown and they are broadcasting from the WMC-TV5 studio in Memphis, Tennessee.

Russell interviews Brandon Baxter, who is upset that he is not being treated like a star in the USWA like he was in the Global Wrestling Federation (GWF).  Baxter demands that Russell tell him who Bill Dundee is going to have as his mystery partner for an upcoming match and that brings Dundee out.  As expected, that leads to Doug Gilbert and Brian Lee backing up their manager, but PG-13 make the save.

Read more

What the World Was Watching: Smoky Mountain TV – April 15, 1995

by

Chip Kessler tells the audience that today’s broadcast will recap the events of the Bluegrass Brawl where fans were turned away in Pikeville, Kentucky.

Read more

What the World Was Watching: Smoky Mountain TV – April 8, 1995

by

Jim Ross and Les Thatcher are in the booth and they are concluding the television tapings in Council, Virginia.  Tonight is the big Fright Night card in Johnson City, Tennessee, so Ross spends a lot of the match hyping it.

Read more

What the World Was Watching: Smoky Mountain TV – April 1, 1995

by

Jim Ross and Les Thatcher are doing commentary and they are still in Council, Virginia.

Read more

What the World Was Watching: Smoky Mountain TV – March 18, 1995

by

Jim Ross and Les Thatcher are tasked with commentary and they are kicking off a new set of tapings in Council, Virginia.  According to prowrestlinghistory.com, the shows in this new round of tapings were held on March 6 and drew 425 fans.

Read more

What the World Was Watching: Sunday Blood Sunday II

by

Like Super Saturday Night Fever, this card was taped from a fan in the crowd.  According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the show drew 1,100 fans to Knoxville’s Civic Coliseum.

Read more

Review of WWE Untold: That’s Gotta Be Kane! (WWE Network Special)

by

A new episode of WWE Untold aired on WWE Network on Sunday night that told the story of Kane’s WWE debut at the Badd Blood 1997 pay-per-view. I am watching on-demand on WWE Network in their “Originals” section.

Here’s the synopsis from WWE Network: “That’s Gotta Be Kane! In Your House: Badd Blood was a pay-per-view that changed WWE forever. Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Kane and more reveal behind-the-scenes stories from that night’s main event: the very first Hell in a Cell Match and the debut of The Big Red Machine, Kane.”

Read more

TJR Retro: WWF Raw Deal 07/03/00 Review

by

The WWF in 2000 reviews are back. I took the month of July off from writing these reviews because I needed a bit of a break. I figured if I stopped at the midway point it would be a good time for it. Here is the synopsis for this episode on WWE Network:

“Shane McMahon goes one-on-one with The Rock for the WWE Championship in the main event. While Triple H’s quest for the WWE Championship is put on hold, he is given an opportunity at Rikishi’s Intercontinental Championship. But when Chris Jericho makes presence felt at The Game’s expense, Y2J finds himself in a Handicap Match. Kurt Angle in action.”

Read more

TJR Retro: WWF Raw Deal 06/19/00 Review

by

This was the go-home edition of Raw heading into the King of the Ring PPV on Sunday, June 25, 2000. Due to that, they had six King of the Ring second round matches on this show.

The synopsis for this episode on WWE Network is: “As the King of the Ring tournament continues, CEO Linda McMahon makes an announcement regarding Triple H’s WWE Championship at Judgment Day.” They screwed up the synopsis. It should say “King of the Ring” at the end, not Judgment Day.

Read more

What the World Was Watching: WCW Main Event – July 2, 1995

by

–Gene Okerlund and Bobby Heenan are at their desks in the studio for today’s broadcast, headlined by Randy Savage against Big Bubba Rogers.

–Okerlund hypes the Dungeon of Doom as a threat and how they are sending Vader out on a roadkill tour before Bash at the Beach.  Heenan says Vader could show up at any major sporting event to beat people up.

–A video package recaps the Hulk Hogan-Vader feud going back to Clash of the Champions in January.  Some footage from the USWA is spliced in as well, where Vader beat up some preliminary wrestlers in Memphis.

Read more