WWE Vintage Collection Report: 24th January 2010
By Shaun Best-Rajah.com Reporter
Hosted by: Mean Gene Okerlund
Welcome aboard. This week’s Royal Rumble offerings see the New Foundation tackle the Orient Express, IRS try to audit Razor Ramon and in the Main Event, Bret “Hitman” Hart challenges Diesel for the WWF Title.
Promos from both challenger and champion open the show.
Bret remembers wrestling Diesel when he was champion (King of the Ring 1994) but laments the outside interference. Bret believes Diesel has changed, but so has he. There’s no more Mr nice guy. At the Royal Rumble, they’ll rumble and Diesel will find out Bret is the best. Bret wants the belt back.
Diesel, all serious and strait laced states it’s time. He says there’s a time to be born, a time to grow up, and sadly enough a time to die. Diesel tells Bret to lace up those boots one more time and face him. It’s time to see if that shoulder of his has healed and if he has put the demons of his past behind.
January 19th 1992: Albany, New York
The New Foundation vs The Orient Express w/Mr Fuji
Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are announcing. Anvil gets the better of Tanaka with tackles. Owen takes over, hitting Tanaka with a top rope elbow, backbreaker, backflip from the top rope, backbodydrop and enziguiri kick. Anvil delivers a battering ram in the corner. Kato tries a sneak attack, but Anvil delivers a double clothesline and noggin knocker to set up for an Owen cross body, spinning heel kick and suplex. Owen tries to pull Kato’s mask off, but he wriggles free to bail outside. The momentum shifts when Tanaka knees Owen in the back and Fuji jams his cane into Owen’s throat. Owen is worked over as Kato gives him a superkick and flying backelbow, while Tanaka sends him front first into the corner.
After a commercial break, the referee doesn’t see an Anvil tag, so Fuji hangs his cane in the corner and Owen is sent shoulder first into the object, splintering it in two. The Express work over the shoulder until Owen catches Tanaka with an overhead belly to belly suplex. Kato baits Anvil in to shift the momentum once more with a double clothesline. Tanaka leapfrogs his partner to crash down on Owen’s back. Owen ducks another clothesline to take out both foes with a double dropkick. Anvil gets the hot tag as Owen slingshots him in onto both opponents. Anvil follows up with elbows, slams, and a backbodydrop and clothesline to Tanaka, before tackling Kato out of the ring. Seconds later, Owen flies through the ropes to land on top of Kato with a plancha. Anvil slams Tanaka then propels Owen from the top rope with a rocket launcher splash onto the fallen Tanaka, to get the duke and big crowd reaction. Winners: THE NEW FOUNDATION. Fuji tries to protest at Owen’s dive through the ropes, but he’s clutching at straws. This was a fantastic spectacle. It’s sad that these two talented teams didn’t progress as within a month, the Express were separated and jobbed out, while Anvil was fired and Owen was eventually paired with Koko B. Ware for an underwhelming run as the High Energy tandem complete with baggy MC Hammer style pants.
Two more pre-match promos air before our next match. IRS goads Razor by saying he has a bad habit at misplacing gold objects, first the fools gold around his neck, and tonight at the Royal Rumble, he’s going to misplace the gold he wears around his waist as IRS is taking it with him.
Razor hears the taxman running his mouth, but says the time for talking is through. Razor tells IRS to stop talking about it and start doing it, before finishing with the classic line don’t sing it, bring it.
January 22nd 1994: Providence, Rhode Island
Intercontinental Title: Razor Ramon vs IRS
Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon are announcing with Ross talking about Razor’s three month reign and problems with IRS, after Irwin confiscated the Bad Guy’s gold in his briefcase. IRS riles Razor with slaps, after Razor tooth picks him. Ross resolves that getting Razor mad is IRS’s best chance as Monsoon agrees that Razor is not nearly as effective when he’s mad. Razor starts by aggressively sending IRS to the outside a couple of times. Back inside, Razor scores with a tackle, before catching a kick and turning it into an atomic drop, followed by a clothesline. IRS turns the tide when he tosses Razor over the top rope then sends him into the ringsteps.
After a commercial break, Razor escapes a chinlock to deliver a fallaway slam. IRS reverses an irish whip to send Razor into referee Joey Morella and wipe him out. Razor knocks IRS out with a briefcase shot, but there’s no referee to cover as Ross screams you can count to three or 33. Razor delivers a top rope back suplex, then signals for the Razor’s Edge. This brings out Shawn Michaels, who knocks Razor out from behind with his copy of the Intercontinental Title (Michaels refused to give his belt back when he was suspended in 1993 so Razor was given a new belt after he beat Rick Martel). With everyone down, a smiling Michaels heads to the back happy with his actions. IRS crawls into a cover and Morella half recovers to count 1-2-3. Earl Hebner runs out and together with Howard Finkel, points out that there are two belts in the ring. As IRS celebrates in the corner, Razor gets up and delivers the Razor’s Edge. Despite no announcement to the crowd, Morella is now aware of the shenanigans that have just taken place and counts 1-2-3. Razor retains his title, but the ending was somewhat confusing by the lack of an announcement to signal a restart and the crowd were left scratching their heads initially. Winner: RAZOR RAMON.
Todd Pettengill is backstage with both Diesel and Bret Hart in their lockerrooms before today’s Main Event. Diesel immediately blows Pettengill off saying now isn’t the time for talking (earlier in the day on the Action Zone Diesel had been reading comics and the funny pages).
All Bret has thought about since Survivor Series is winning back the title. He doesn’t care what anybody thinks. Bret says he likes Diesel just like the people do, but this is business, this is war and he wants the title back. Pettengill brings up the jackknife and Bret says he’ll cross that road when he gets to it before calling a halt to the interview. Both got the seriousness of the match over pretty well.
January 22nd 1995: Tampa, Florida
WWF Title: Diesel vs Bret “Hitman” Hart
Vince McMahon is joined by Jerry Lawler on commentary. The WWF was very much running on Diesel power at this point in time. We pick things up with Bret as the aggressor going after Diesel’s leg. Vince notes Jeff Jarrett’s earlier success after going down this route in his match with Razor Ramon. Bret applies two figure four leglocks, with Diesel struggling to the ropes on both occasions. Both times Bret utilises full counts from referee Earl Hebner before releasing. Bret kicks Diesel to the floor then leaps through the ropes on top of the champion to pound away on his head. Diesel’s head gets posted, but Bret gets reversed into the ringsteps and Diesel takes over.
Diesel hits three elbow smashes in the corner followed by a sidewalk slam. With Bret in the ropes, Diesel presses a knee into his back and hits a running spike. Diesel delivers a backbreaker, keeping Bret draped across his knee. Diesel shoves Bret to the corner and knees the gut. Vince states that Diesel has lost his limp from Bret’s earlier leg work. Diesel hoists Bret up on his shoulders, Bret slips down into a sleeper, but Diesel quickly snapmares free. Bret ducks underneath a clothesline only to run into a big boot. Diesel’s momentum stops when he charges into Bret’s feet in the corner. Bret leaps from the second rope with a clothesline. Bret goes high risk again, Diesel catches and goes for a press slam, but Bret shifts his weight across to fall on top. Diesel presses Bret off of a cover to send him to the floor. Bret removes his wrist tape, drags Diesel’s legs to the corner and ties them together, before viciously assaulting him with stomps in the ring. Hebner unties Diesel, as Bret is waiting to deliver a running bulldog. This takes us into our final commercial break.
When we return, the match has been restarted twice. Shawn Michaels rushed out to attack Diesel, while minutes later Owen Hart broke up a Sharpshooter to send his brother into an exposed turnbuckle. On both occasions Hebner has ruled the match must continue.
Bret rocks Diesel with several punches. The champion comes back with several forearms which send Bret dangling on the outside with his feet hanging from the ropes. Diesel goes out to grab a chair, but drops it after seeing Bret free himself with Hebner’s help. With Diesel and Hebner not looking, Bret goes down clutching his knee. Diesel falls for the ploy as Bret hooks him in a small package. 1-2-no. The two wipe Hebner out after Diesel collides with him during a rollup attempt by Bret. This prompts Shawn Michaels, Jeff Jarrett and the Roadie to run in and go after Diesel while Bob Backlund joins Owen Hart in assaulting Bret. As both the champion and challenger are stomped on, Hebner calls for the bell as officials fill the ring. When the ring is cleared, Howard Finkel declares the match a DRAW due to the ‘inability of the official to maintain control.’ Backlund re-enters to trap Bret in the Crossface Chickenwing, while Owen, Roadie and Jarrett hold Diesel for Michaels to punch. Diesel fights everyone off, Michaels bails, then Diesel saves Bret, before staring and pointing at Michaels. Diesel helps Bret up as the crowd applauds. Diesel goes to raise Bret’s arm, but Bret relents to sell Backlund’s Chickenwing. Instead, Bret extends his hand, Diesel accepts and the two embrace wth Diesel raising Bret’s other arm. This was a very good match despite the non-finish and one of the best in Kevin Nash’s career. Clearly positioned as the WWF’s next top babyface, the crowd had not yet fully embraced Diesel so Bret’s subtle heel tactics (pulling the tape off, aggressively attacking the leg, faking the knee injury) were designed to help get Diesel some much-needed sympathy and the tactic worked. Sadly for Diesel, the crowd grew tired during his near year long reign and Bret finally relieved him of the title later in the year at Survivor Series.
A very good edition this week, with some entertaining matches. If you’re a fan of the Harts and/or the Clique then this particular show is right up your street.
The Royal Rumble retrospective concludes next week so I’ll see you then. Shaun.
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