Click:custom pet wedding keepsake
WWE Vintage Collection Report: 5th October 2008
By Shaun Best-Rajah.com Reporter
Hosted by: Mean Gene Okerlund
Welcome aboard. This week, we go back to June 1989, in Long Island New York. In tag team action, we’re promised the Hart Foundation and the Rockers, while Andre The Giant and Superfly Jimmy Snuka appear in singles competition. Six matches await us. Tony Schiavone and Lord Alfred Hayes call the action from ringside. We begin with…
Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake vs Greg “The Hammer” Valentine w/Jimmy Hart
These two are former partners (of Dream Team fame) now turned bitter enemies. This match is joined in progress. Valentine punishes Brutus with right arm shots, a snapmare, and fistdrop. After pressing an arm into Brutus’ face, Valentine clubs Brutus down with a barrage of right hands. Valentine follows two head shots to the gut, with a double axehandle from the second rope. Valentine adjusts his shin guard as he readies for the figure four. Brutus thwarts two attempts, first by kicking Valentine off, then kicking him over the top rope. Brutus catches Valentine coming off the top rope with a gut punch. Brutus hits a pile of weak punches, as Valentine goes to the eyes. Brutus ducks a lunge, comes back with a clothesline, then applies his patented sleeper. Brutus breaks to send Jimmy Hart off the apron. Valentine takes advantage with a double axehandle and forearm drop for a nearfall. Valentine works over Brutus with a choke and elbow, as Hart gets back on the apron, looking for Brutus’ scissors. Brutus pushes Valentine into Hart, then rolls up Valentine for the 1-2-3. Here is Your Winner: BRUTUS “THE BARBER” BEEFCAKE. Post match, Brutus finds his scissors and stalks Jimmy Hart. A bit of a boring start.
The Rockers vs The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers w/Jimmy Hart
We pick this up with Shawn Michaels playing the face in peril. The Rougeaus isolate Michaels, while baiting Jannetty in at every attempt. This enables the Rougeaus to double team Michaels with throws to the corner and stomps, in-between an abdominal stretch and several front facelocks. When Michaels finally makes the tag, the referee doesn’t see it, and orders Jannetty out. The tide finally turns when Jacques hits Raymond with a high knee, which was intended for Michaels. Jannetty comes in, hitting Jacques with a spinning backelbow, before unloading with dropkicks and a slam. Michaels lends a hand to deliver a double noggin knocker to the Rougeaus. Jannetty snapmares Jacques then hits a top rope fistdrop. Raymond breaks up the cover. As Jannetty and Jacques collide, Raymond comes in to nurse his partner up. The referee tends to Raymond, as Jannetty gets Jacques in a small package. Michaels screams at the referee to turn around. In an embarrassing botchup, the referee simply stops counting at two. Forgetting his timing, Michaels runs past the referee to get Jimmy Hart off the apron, before chasing him outside. Raymond then rolls Jacques on top of Jannetty to score the win. Here Are Your Winners: THE FABULOUS ROUGEAU BROTHERS. The botched ending and the fact only half the match was broadcast spoilt it for me. I wish they could have aired the whole match as these two teams put on some fabulous matchups throughout the late 80s.
Andre The Giant vs Hilbilly Jim
Andre is out here without Bobby Heenan. Okerlund puts Andre over huge in his pre-match notes. Sadly, by this point, Andre was a shell of himself in the ring and was barely mobile. When we get to the match, Andre has Jim trapped in a bearhug. Andre takes Jim to the corner for a squash. Andre argues with the referee, allowing Jim to apply a nerve hold. Andre comes back with an elbow, headbutt, choke and slap in the corner. Andre tries a battering ram, but Jim gets his knees up. Andre goes down. Jim starts to stomp, as Haku comes out to cause a distraction. Andre headbutts Jim out of the ring. Haku stomps on Jim, until ‘King’ Hacksaw Jim Duggan comes out, to chase Haku away. As Andre pulls Jim back in to choke in the ropes, Hacksaw hits Andre with his 2×4 (behind the referee’s back). Andre falls and Jim covers for a nearfall. Haku knocks Hacksaw down on the floor, before he and Andre double team Jim. Hacksaw clears the ring with his 2×4 as the bell goes. Here is Your Winner via DQ: HILBILLY JIM. Short, but painful to watch.
‘King’ Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs Haku
Before the match, Okerlund chronicles the King of the Ring history and mentions Don Muraco as the first winner in 1985. After noting the title had been in the Heenan Family since 1987, we see footage from June 1989, where Hacksaw Jim Duggan defeated Haku to win the crown. An irate Heenan ran off with the crown and robe, until officials intervened and held a royal coronation for Hacksaw, in the middle of the ring. This was truly a sight to see. All the WWF faces lined the ring, while Okerlund read from a golden scroll and Hacksaw, well….he acted like Hacksaw does. Brutus Beefcake held Hacksaw’s 2×4, while Big John Studd fitted the crown and Tito Santana attached the robe. Meanwhile, the Blue Blazer, Demolition Smash and the Bushwhackers were amongst the wrestlers featured on camera giving their approval. This was a goofy but nostalgic segment, which led to the expected rematch between Hacksaw and Haku. Haku still had the king’s crown emblazoned on his tights. Joined in progress, it’s all Haku, as he works over Hacksaw with a couple of nerve holds. Haku rakes the face, stomps, delivers a neckbreaker, legdrop, clapping blows to the head then a lengthy third nerve hold. Hacksaw elbows free, before both men collide. Haku recovers first, then resumes his attack with a snapmare, falling headbutt and fourth nerve hold. Jeez. This is overkill, even by Randy Orton standards. Hacksaw comes back into it, when Haku starts to ram his head into the corner and turns the tables. Hacksaw hits a series of punches and a clothesline, as he works the crowd into a Hooooed frenzy. Not many can rival Hacksaw in terms of fan support. I give the man credit for always staying over. Haku kills Hacksaw’s momentum with a face rake and backelbow. After Haku misses a big splash, Hacksaw hits the three point stance clothesline to retain the WWF kingship. 1-2-3. Here is Your Winner: HACKSAW JIM DUGGAN. Too many restholds here for my liking. On another note, Hacksaw was only a transitional king, as Randy Savage would wrestle it away from him in a matter of months.
Superfly Jimmy Snuka vs Boris Zhukov w/Jimmy Hart
Boris Zhukov was part of the heel-jobbers-to-the-stars Bolsheviks tag team, alongside Nikolai Volkoff. This is the fifth match in a row that is joined in progress and fourth during a resthold. What a snoozefest this is. Snuka chops his way out of a chinlock. Snuka Irish whips, but charges into a boot. Zhukov hits a shot to the throat, then chokes Snuka along the top rope with his hands. As Zhukov goes back to the chinlock, the commentators are surprised that Snuka hasn’t put Zhukov away quickly. Hardly endearing comments. After punching free, Snuka misses an elbow and Zhukov gets a nearfall. Zhukov punches Snuka around the ring, but Snuka comes back with shots of his own. Snuka eats a shoulder tackle before chopping Zhukov down off the ropes. Snuka slams Zhukov, dropkicks Hart off the apron, then polishes the Bolshevik off with his top rope Superfly splash. Here is Your Winner: SUPERFLY JIMMY SNUKA. A nothing matchup. Purely filler. This time could have gone into showing more of the Rockers/Rougeau matchup.
The Hart Foundation vs The Powers of Pain w/Mr Fuji
Main Event. Hallelujah, this isn’t joined in progress. Here’s hoping that the Harts can pump some life into this show and stop it from flatlining completely. Anvil and Barbarian go nose-to-nose. Anvil shoves him away and laughs. Shoulder tackle attempts budge neither man, so Anvil takes Barbarian down with a clothesline. The Harts work over Barbarian’s arm briefly, until Barbarian takes Bret to the corner. Barbarian Irish whips, Bret sidesteps a charge and dropkicks Barbarian down. Bret hits an elbow from the second rope, prompting Barbarian to tag out. Bret tells Warlord to have some of his partner and tags Anvil in. Anvil and Warlord size one another up. Anvil fails to budge Warlord, until Bret crouches behind, and an Anvil shoulder tackle causes Warlord to take a tumble over Bret. The Harts work over Warlord in the corner with battering rams and gut punches. After Bret ducks a clothesline, Warlord catches a cross body attempt and turns it into a backbreaker. The Powers of Pain gain the advantage and Barbarian takes Bret down with a big boot off the ropes. Barbarian trips Bret, allowing Warlord to drop an elbow across his back. Warlord’s shots send Bret out of the ring, right in front of Mr Fuji. He refrains from a cheap shot, as he prefers to see Barbarian ram Bret’s head into the ring apron. Back inside, Warlord whips Bret front first into the corner then chokes him with his boot. Barbarian does the same behind the referee’s back. Anvil rescues Bret from a Barbarian bearhug. However, seconds later, Bret finds himself in a second bearhug, from the Warlord. Bret inches to the corner, using his feet to push off the turnbuckles and fall on top of Warlord for a nearfall. A unique counter there. The Powers of Pain momentarily cut off the hot tag and continue working over Bret. Bret tries to counter a slam with a rollup off the ropes, but Barbarian holds on. Bret rolls back, then underneath Barbarian and into the hot tag. Anvil slugs at Barbarian and staggers him with a backelbow. Anvil gets nearfalls from a clothesline, then a powerslam, following an Irish whip. Anvil clotheslines Barbarian into the corner, then whips Warlord into his partner. Anvil dropkicks Warlord and slams Barbarian. A well-rested Bret tags back in. Anvil slingshots Bret over the top rope and onto Barbarian. Warlord breaks up a cover at two. All four men are now in. Anvil sends Warlord through the ropes, before Barbarian does the same to Anvil. Outside, Anvil avoids a charge, as Barbarian hits the ringpost. Barbarian recovers to put Anvil down. Out of camera shot, Bret flies out onto Warlord and pummels him with punches. From behind, Barbarian hooks Bret, who dodges a Mr Fuji cane shot. As Barbarian takes the full impact, Bret rolls back in to beat the referee’s count. Here Are Your Winners via Countout: THE HART FOUNDATION. Good match and work by the Foundation. An impressive showing from the Anvil too, who more than held his own on the offensive side. The Powers of Pain were much better off as a team and shouldn’t have been broken up after a year and a half. This match was the best thing on the show by far.
Okerlund wraps things up to end the show.
Best match: The Hart Foundation vs The Powers of Pain.
It was more exciting than the Rockers/Rougeaus affair.
Worst match: Andre The Giant vs Hilbilly Jim.
This was the worst of the four singles bouts on show.
Show verdict: Thumbs down. It’s hard to get into a match when you know it’s going to be joined in progress with several restholds, while following the same cookie cutter format.
No Mercy predictions: TRIPLE H, CHRIS JERICHO, MATT HARDY, BATISTA, BIG SHOW, CANDICE MICHELLE, REY MYSTERIO.
Chris Jericho is on the roll of his life at the moment in his heel persona, so it would be stupid to take the belt off of him. Vladimir Kozlov could yet get added to the WWE title match. I hope so, as I’d leave Triple H vs Jeff Hardy until WrestleMania. Matt Hardy and Batista have to win to keep JBL and Mark Henry away from any more title matches. Undertaker is hurting physically at the moment, so I’m expecting a short match, maybe even an injury angle, in Big Show’s favour. Candice hasn’t looked good in the ring since she returned, yet she continues to get pushed. I don’t think the time is right for Rey to lose his mask. More of a big deal needs to be made of it. I wouldn’t mind seeing a rematch from Smackdown involving CM Punk, The Colons and Simply Priceless. It would also be an ideal platform to introduce D.H. Smith to the second generation group.
Enjoy No Mercy wherever you are tonight. I’ll see you next Sunday for another slice of the Vintage Collection pie. Here’s hoping they serve us up a treat. Shaun.
If anyone wants to sound off, chew the fat or talk wrestling get in touch. Comments/praise/feedback/criticism/discussion points please direct to [email protected].