WRESTLING 20 YEARS AGO PODCAST

Listen to our April 1996 WWF show, reviewing In Your House 7 (with Diesel vs Shawn Michaels) and Bret Hart's future.

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10. Vader – While the WWF's presentation of Vader is very slap-dash (he's occasionally presented as an unstoppable monster in otherwise mid card programs), his angle with Yokozuna was very memorable, and he had a decent big man match with Razor Ramon at In Your House 7. 

9. Yokozuna – To send him away to fat camp they needed a reason to write Yokozuna off, the beatdown by Vader provided that. His place in this list down to his facial expressions and ability to convey emotions – he's still probably unrivaled in that category.  

8. Finlay/Regal - The setting may have been a stereotypically sterile WCW "parking lot", but these two beat the piss out of each other for eight minutes on and around four parked cars on the final Nitro in April. Lots of fun this.
 
7. Bret Hart – An absent friend, but Bret Hart made waves on the April 15th Raw, with a clip filmed right after Wrestlemania saying "I'm just going to fuck off for a while" before a remarkable interview filmed on the banks of the Rhine river in Germany where he made references to "certain wrestling organisations" throwing money around.  

6. Bobby Heenan - "Tonight, gentlemen, is my last night...... APRIL FOOLS!" Heenan was a riot throughout April, but his show long joke about retiring crechendoed with what teased being a very touching moment between him and McMichael/Bischoff - until he revealed the whole thing was a gag. Lovely stuff. 

5. Rob Van Dam – We'd heard about his great match with Sabu from February, but as it didn't air there was still a doubt. While there have been better matches in the promotion, his match with Sabuat Hostile City Showdown may have been the best between "two of ECW's own".  

4. Diesel – Saving his best for last, Diesel had shown this month more than ever how completely out of place he was as a good guy babyface. The couldn't-give-a-shit attitude on screen was followed by a barn burner of a match against Shawn Michaels.  

3. The Giant – Six title changes in seven months, but the title is back around the waist of The Giant, who defeated Ric Flair in an ending that shocked fans in attendance (largely because it was a Nitro match with a clean finish). Giant choked his way out of a figure four before hitting the chokeslam for the win.  

2. Sabu – In 1994, many people touted Sabu to be the best wrestler in the world largely based off his highlight reel – two years on it seems like he's come back to prove it. Another great match, another great match with Rob Van Dam.   

1. Shawn Michaels – His friends might be upping sticks, but Shawn Michaels finally has the road free and clear to start writing his own story at the top of the WWF mountain. A fantastic main event against Diesel at the pay per view, followed by a great angle with Davey Boy Smith and Diana Smith on the Raw that followed.  ​

Listen to our April 1996 WWF podcast, reviewing all of the action on Raw ahead of In Your House 7.

Subscribe to the podcast via: iTunes | RSS Feed | Email Newsletter
​

Bret Interview
"I'm just going to fuck off for a while". It was a strong line filmed in the immediate aftermath of Wrestlemania (aired on April 15th), but this along with Bret's promo filmed in Germany was an incredibly strong segment. Nothing that airs on TV is a shoot, but you'd be forgiven for thinking this was given the content. Bret questioned the validity of the end of the ironman match, before saying “as I understand it there are certain wrestling organisations that seem to be throwing a lot of money around. I’m not greedy for money, I’m greedy for respect” 

Giant World Title Win
Seven months, six WCW World title changes - it's not a pretty sight for a belt that has twice jumped between Ric Flair and Randy Savage before returning to the waist of the Giant. This was actually a really good finish to Nitro on April 29th (taped on April 22nd) – Giant got a choke on Flair while in the figure four, climbed to a standing position and hit the chokeslam. The crowd popped almost in shock, Nitro main events aren't meant to end cleanly!

Mankind
Well this is different! Cactus Jack has gone away and been replaced by an eerie and mysterious masked character who pulls out his own hair, talks funny and finishes his matches by jamming his two gloved fingers under the tongue of his opponent in a (as yet to be named) nerve grip submission. His first target was to take down the Undertaker (April 1st) before looking incredibly strong in victory for the rest of the month.

Hogan 11th Hour Switch/No Selling
So Hulk Hogan was (and still would end up) scheduled to take some time off for a few months, originally being written out in a beat down by Giant on April 15th Nitro... except Hogan decided he didn't want to do that, so the attack happened, which Hogan proceeded to completely no sell. No only did it make mugs of Sting and Lex Luger (who had to sell the chokeslam later in the show), but also for the new champ.

April 8th - 4.7
Jeff Jarrett wasn't wrong during a promo on his return when he said he'd helped take the WWF to new heights – the Raw headlined by Jarrett and the Undertaker at the end of May last year held the record for Raw's highest rating (edging out Bam Bam vs Diesel from the month prior, which drew the same 3.9 rating but was viewed in fewer homes). With a week without Nitro, Raw did a 4.7, headlined by the TV return of Ultimate Warrior, but also a barnburning episode all around.

Too Much Coffee
Well, I suppose, at least it's not high heeled shoes being used this month... This time it was Woman who was using the "hot" liquid as a conduit to end matches on more than one occasion. Sigh...

Vader and Yokozuna
While Warrior was the big name promoted in advance for April 8th, it was the Vader and Yokozuna angle that was most memorable. With Yokozuna being sent away to see a weight loss specialist he was written off by several Vaderbombs to his leg. Officials put Yokozuna's leg in a make-shift splint before moving him (slowly) towards the back of the venue – via a FORKLIFT – to get him into an ambulance – at which point Vader promplty beat him up... again. Great stuff.

Bischoff Giving Away Results
Nothing new, although April 22nd is one of the clips you'll hear in the documentaries - "If you're think of tuning into the World Whining Federation, don't bother". He goes onto call Goldust a transvestite, before saying there will be wins for Vader (YAWN) and Mankind (BIGGER YAWN).

Shawn and Davey
It's a shame that Davey Boy Smith's stocks collapsed following his main event with Bret at In Your House 5. Since then Vince pigeon holed him back as a mid-card act. Then, once Diesel announced he was leaving Vince needed a main event for May's pay per view. While Bulldog felt like a lacklustre opponent, the April 29th Raw was anything but. After a machine-gun promo from Jim Cornette, Diana Smith says to Shawn "I know you want me", before Shawn says: "With all due respect, don't flatter yourself". Properly good stuff this.

Tag Team Action In WCW
Six months ago there was a decent claim to say that the tag team depth in both the WWF and WCW was fairly even… in that time WCW have recruited The Public Enemy, The Road Warriors and the Steiner Brothers. In that time, the WWF have… well, floundered a bit. WCW are firmly taking advantage with some really fun tag team matches filling Nitro.

Vacant IC Title
Since freeing Razor Ramon of the title a few months ago, Goldust’s Intercontinental Title run has been a bit… irrelevant. Not that his two week foray with Savio Vega was ground-breaking, it was at least nice to see the title get some showcasing, even if it was Goldust being stripped of the title before winning it the following week.

Parking Lot Brawl
A year ago WCW put on a “Falls Count Anywhere Street Fight” between The Nasty Boys and Harlem Heat that ended up taking place in front of a completely phoney concession stand. A year on, their parking lot brawl had about the same levels of authenticity (four cars – all pointing inwards, a guardrail all the way around the perimeter and room for about 500 spectators). But still, Lord Steven Regal and The Belfast Bruiser (Fit Finlay) had an extremely hard hitting brawl on April 29th Nitro, Regal winning after piledriving Finlay onto the roof of a car.

Diesel Put Over
"I'm part of the Kliq, isn't everybody?". With Diesel winding down his WWF career, it was perhaps a bit bizarre to see him getting so much TV time – but promoting the upcoming pay per view was more important than keeping Diesel off of television. Here he was, proving how much more natural he was in the role, on commentary during the main event of the April 8th show (a great show as a whole, that drew a record Raw rating).

Debra McMichael
Laying the foundation for Steve McMichael’s eventual in ring debut was Ric Flair confronting Mongo’s wife – Debra, in the front row of multiple Nitro shows during April. Quite what she was doing in the same place at multiple shows (even if two were taped on one night), will remain to be seen.

Warrior
You don’t draw a record 4.7 rating unopposed without a bit of star power, and despite the April 8th Raw being perhaps the strongest since Nitro debuted, in needed some star power and in the Ultimate Warrior it had found it. The listless promo was predictable, the feud was perhaps a little flat, but Warrior was still a star.

Randy Savage and Ric Flair
I’m not sure these two interacted at any stage during April, yet Nitro had done a really good job at building the feud. Savage made light work of Bobby Eaton during on April 15th, but not before Eaton had goaded Savage with the figure four and a four Horseman shirt. Savage, during an aisle way interview with WCW Vice President Rob Garner the following week, got very angry. Flair, for what it was worth, was still parading around with Miss Elizabeth, and even left the “Randy Savage” name plate on the title belt. 

Listen to our April 1996 ECW podcast, reviewing Hostile City Showdown.

Subscribe to the podcast via: iTunes | RSS Feed | Email Newsletter

We start with a promo from New Jack, not quite the barn burner from last month but still a solid segment. He says The Eliminators did something to the Gangstas last time they were here that they'd never experienced before – they kicked the Gangstas ass. They eventually call them out for a fight we get a big brawl which is eventually gets broken up by the locker-room emptying and keeping them apart. This is quite an effective segment, but when they reprise it again later in the evening (complete with a long brawl before the locker-room come out and break them up), it loses a bit of it's edge. This bit happens at the end of the first match.
 
El Pureto Ricano vs Super Nova
Super Nova looks like a Power Ranger dressed in blue and silver, the crowd chant in kind. Some nice action for an opener, including a senton over the top to the floor and Ricano hitting an asai-moonsault to the outside. Eventually, Nova hits superkick, out run the Eliminators who just start attacking both guys. The Gangstas run out and we reprise the brawl/separation spot from the top. Perhaps would've been more effective later in the night... perhaps. After the two teams have disappeared we get some talk from JT Smith, D'Von Dudley (who debuted earlier in the month) leathers Little Guido with a chair and Hack Myers cleans house.
 
The Pitbulls (1 & 2 w/ Francine) vs The Dudleys (Buh Buh Ray and D'von w/ some more Dudleys)
Buh Buh Ray Dudley gets on the mic, he's clearly quite infatuated by Francine, the flattery working quite well until Buh Buh tells her he wants a blow job. The match, like many this evening, goes straight into the crowd, D'von is laying in some hard chair shots to the head. We end up near the Eagles nest, Pitbull comes off it and hits D'Von with a chair. We return to the ring, the Dudley in the wheelchair at ringside gets laid out before Francine just starting beating him up. The match ends in a no contest, seemingly, after D'Von smashes a chair over the refs head and the Pitbulls give the ref a superbomb.
 
Taz (w/ Bill Alfonso) vs "Dangerous" Devon Storm
A surprisingly even match this one, and one of perhaps only two which didn't spend most of its time in with the fans. Storm does a fantastic baseball slide that drives Taz into the guardrail hard, Storm then sits Taz on a chair on the floor and hits a flip dive onto him. The story they're telling is Storm (who wrestles a bit like him anyway) is getting into Taz's head by wrestling like Sabu. They setup a table on the outside, Taz vaults Storm over the top who lands on the table but bounces off it – which looked fun. Taz wins by countout. Very nice this.
 
Little Guido (w/ JT Smith) vs Axl Rotten
Rotten backflips Guido, who's legs hit the top rope on the way down which could've got nasty. Instead, fans chant "JT's got a boyfriend". We drop to the floor, Axl rams a pie into JT's face then hits him over the head with a chair. Back in the ring, we get a load of pin attempts, before Rotten picks up the win with a powerbomb into a flapjack. Not bad, but no better.
 
The Sandman & Too Cold Scorpio (w/ Missy Hyatt) vs The Bruise Brothers (Ron And Don Harris)
We get maybe sixty seconds of tag rules before the match breaks down. Scorpio does a headscissors while pushing off the top rope, the Harris brother landed a bit awkwardly on that one. We go with the other brother, who just shoves Scorpio to the floor. The Bruise Brothers start beating down on Sandman, Hyatt looks oddly happy about this. Sandman rallies, before pouring beer down Missy's chest and motorboating her. Yep... We brawl into the crowd, Scorpio hits a big dive into the fans, before we return to the ring, Scorpio hits a moonsault to a standing Harris, a very quick pin later and this one is all over.
 
Prime Time Brian Lee vs Tommy Dreamer
Funny: famously in 1994 . At this stage, with the bandana and the leathers he looks oddly like the biker Taker gimmick we'd see in a few years. We brawl into the crowd, Dreamer hits a running bulldog on the platform by the eagles nest. After a ref bump in the ring, out come the Bruise Brothers and they hit a double kick to Dreamer's head while Lee holds two chairs around his face. Dreamer kicks out of that, but after a second ref bump they place a cinder block on Dreamer's nuts and Lee smashes it with a chair – that's enough for the win. Decent action, if predictable.
 
Sabu vs Rob Van Dam
These two had, by all accounts, a very good match in February (one with an incredibly convoluted finish). The match never aired on TV and, as we didn't cover the live event, I haven't seen it. However, this was the rematch, and promised "One fall to a positive finish". By the end of the match Joey Styles says this was probably the best match of both these men's careers (well, Sabu's within ECW anyway) - he probably wasn't wrong.

This was a fantastic effort from both, lots of dives, lots of strong aerial moves and spots – and all of that without overdoing it in a nice 18 minute package. Sabu does his triple jump spot into the crowd. Sabu then sets a chair in the ring and vaults off it towards Van Dam on the turnbuckle, Van Dam jumps over him, then swings wildly at him with the chair, Sabu ducks and the chair cannons off the ring post and flies into the crowd.

Sabu does a flip dive onto RVD on a table on the outside – he bounces off. So he gets back in the ring and just repeats the spot, this time it works. For a guy that likes flying through tables he really could do with being a bit bigger. Eventually, after more barbaric spots, Sabu unfolds a chair, vaults off it, onto the top rope then does a springboart moonsault back into the ring onto Van Damn – that'll do that. If this isn’t the best match of the year in ECW, it'll take some beating. And after Mysterio/Guerrera last month, it's already in good company.
 
Shane Douglas vs Raven for The ECW Title
This is the famous segment where Dreamer ends up kissing Kimona and Beulah. That being said, it’s not the home run segment you might expect. Dreamer has spent months trying to protect his unborn child at all costs – yet he is surprisingly unmoved when Douglas reveals the whole thing was a fake. A memorable if bizarre segment.

The match, itself, is a bit of a downer to end a downer of a show. Into the crowd early doors, eventually we go outside the building, Joey Styles pretends he can commentate on everything that’s going on despite the fact there’s no cameras following them. We return to the ring for some limited action, Douglas fights off interference from The Bruise Brothers and from Richards and Meanie before Raven “loads” his boot and hits Douglas over the head with it. A disappointing finish, but more so when you have Joey Styles on commentary telling us how unlike Nitro ECW is, before producing a Nitro finish straight from the playbook.

The show ends with Douglas being confronted by Too Cold Scorpio. The whole thing is designed to make Douglas (and us) try and forget about the World Title and instead focus on the ECW TV Title. It was a nice story, but a lame attempt at moving away from Douglas and Raven because they didn’t want Douglas to get a clean victory.
 
Score Rating: 5/10
Go Back And Watch: Sabu vs RVD (available on the first ECW Hardcore TV in May 1996, I believe) is fantastic, Taz vs Devon Storm is fun. The rest is… frustrating.