What the World Was Watching: In Your House - Badd Blood

by Logan Scisco

-Vince McMahon, Jim Ross, and Jerry “the King” Lawler are doing the announcing duties and they are live in St. Louis, Missouri.

-Opening Handicap Contest:  Rocky Maivia, Kama Mustafa & D-Lo Brown defeat The Legion of Doom when Maivia pins Hawk after a Rock Bottom at 12:19:

This was originally booked as a six man tag, but Ken Shamrock does not have medical clearance to compete.  Ahmed Johnson was also not available to be plugged in because he was back in the WWF dog house for injuring people.  Looking back, the second version of the Nation was rather successful as Faarooq went on to have a good career with Bradshaw in the APA, the Rock rose to main event status, Kama enjoyed success as the Godfather, and D-Lo won the European and Intercontinental championships.  After enjoying some brief moments of success, the Nation use their numbers to put Animal in peril and a false tag spot allows D-Lo to hit his Lo Down for two.  The crowd really gets into the hot tag sequence, but Faarooq breaks up a Doomsday Device attempt on Maivia and Maivia hits the Rock Bottom, which at this time was not considered an immediate finisher, for the victory.  This had its slow spots in the middle, but it came on strong at the end and it really made all five participants look strong.  Excellent and sensible booking.  Rating:  ***

-Dok Hendrix and Sunny hype the Superstar line and try to get us to call to talk to the winners and losers of tonight’s matches.

-McMahon reiterates the news from the Free for All that Brian Pillman was found dead in his hotel room in Bloomington, Minnesota and a substitute match has been booked.  The mark in me at the time thought that Marlena snapped and killed Pillman.

-Mini Tag Match:  Max Mini & Nova beat Tarantula & Mosaic after Mini pins Tarantula with a La Magistral cradle at 6:40:

I’m not sure if this is the best way to honor Pillman’s memory, but I suppose the options were limited.  There are several funny miscommunication spots between Tarantula and Mosaic in the early going, but this has lots of blown spots, most of which are Nova’s fault, that go a small way in exposing the business.  Lawler gets a kick out of seeing Tarantula gorilla press drop Mini on the U.S. announce table, but he gets irritated that McMahon will not let him tell “little people” jokes.  The botches continue until Mini grows completely frustrated with how the match is going and just rolls up Tarantula for the three count.  This had no flow to it whatsoever.  Rating:  DUD

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-Sunny comes out to do guest ring announcing duties for our next match.

-WWF Tag Team Championship Match:  The Godwinns (w/Uncle Cletus) defeat The Headbangers (Champions) to win the titles when Phineas pins Mosh after a powerbomb at 12:18:

Surprisingly, McMahon recalls Sunny’s past issues with the Godwinns.  Storyline continuity:  it’s a beautiful thing.  The Headbangers nearly break Phineas’s neck on double hiptoss attempt and they surprisingly dominate the early going with a coordinated aerial attack.  The match struggles to establish momentum, even as Thrasher gets a few hope spots after he is put in peril.  The crowd goes mild for the hot tag and the finish fits really well into the past encounters between these teams because Phineas counters the Mosh Pit, which pinned him at WrestleMania XIII.  The Headbangers lackluster run as tag team champions is over and the Godwinns pound them down after the finish until the referee forces them to leave under threat of reversing the decision.  Rating:  *

-A Steve Austin video package is shown.

-Michael Cole interviews Owen Hart, who says that Steve Austin is going to do nothing but hand him the Intercontinental title after he beats Faarooq tonight.  He threatens a lawsuit if Austin gets anywhere near him during the title match.

-Ross holds a small ceremony for St. Louis wrestling legends, which include Gene Kiniski, Jack Brisco, Dory Funk, Jr., Harley Race, Terry Funk, Lou Thesz, and Sam Muchnick.  In Jim Cornette’s 1997 timeline shoot interview he talks about how he had to fight hard to persuade Vince to do this, as Kevin Dunn felt that no one would care about these guys.  The crowd reaction proves that Cornette was right and Dunn was wrong, which is not unusual because Dunn was the same guy several weeks before this that tried to convince Vince not to bring back Cactus Jack at Madison Square Garden since no one would know about that character.

-Hendrix interviews Faarooq and the Nation and Faarooq says he’ll beat Owen Hart tonight and Steve Austin is nothing special to him.

-McMahon says that foul play is not suspected in Brian Pillman’s death, but a drug overdose might be to blame.  I’m shocked that McMahon would emphasize this, but he does clarify that drug abuse is a problem in all sports.

-Intercontinental Championship Tournament Finals:  Owen Hart pins Faarooq to win the title when Steve Austin hits Faarooq with the Intercontinental title belt at 7:16:

So here are the finals of a lackluster tournament to crown a new Intercontinental champion after Steve Austin had to forfeit the title.  Owen got here by defeating Goldust and Brian Pillman whereas Faarooq got here by Ken Shamrock getting injured and defeating Ahmed Johnson.  This is Faarooq’s second time in an Intercontinental title tournament final in two years, as he lost to Marc Mero in a tournament final the previous year.  Steve Austin is at ringside for the bout as he is to present his Intercontinental title to the winner.  He rings the bell to start the match and then takes McMahon’s headset and gives his views on the match.  He soon moves to give commentary with the Spanish and French announce teams.  In light of Austin’s antics it is tough to focus on the match, but it is a TV-style match with Owen and Faarooq running through their usual spots.  After Faarooq hits a spinebuster Jim Neidhart wanders out and distracts the referee and Austin takes advantage to hit Faarooq with the title and cost him the match.  The announce crew is puzzled by this development, but it is clear that Austin wants to face Owen and regain his title.  Rating:  **

-The Hart Foundation’s beatdown on Vader and the Patriot on RAW is shown.

-The Disciples of Apocalypse beat Los Boricuas when Crush pins Jose after a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker at 9:10:

The DOA have really fizzled out after they were arguably the most over of the factions created after the original Nation of Domination’s demise.  The Boricuas run a nice spot where every member gives Chainz a clothesline against the corner, but most of this is just a sloppy brawl that the crowd sleeps through.  In the end, it comes down to Crush and Jose and Crush’s singles experience comes in handy to give his team the win.  Rating:  ½*

-Cole interviews WWF Champion Bret Hart and the British Bulldog.  Bret says that he and the Bulldog are going to set an example that they are better than any American tag team combination.  The Bulldog echoes those same sentiments.

-McMahon emphasizes that for this flag match a team can win by either capturing their flag or securing a pinfall or submission.  That was probably Bret’s call since he told McMahon that a match where everyone was just running for flags would be a disaster, sort of like cage matches with escape rules.

-Hendrix interviews Vader and the Patriot and Patriot yells about how much he hates the Harts and how he has Vader’s back.  Vader says Bret’s claim that he is the “best there is, best there was, and best there ever will be” is “bullshit.”

-Flag Match:  Bret “the Hitman” Hart & The British Bulldog beat Vader & The Patriot when Bret pins the Patriot with a rollup at 21:14:

Vader and the Patriot lay waste to Bret and the Bulldog before the bell, but since they are good sports they wait until their opponents get back into the ring to go after the American flag.  The referee struggles to keep order as everyone does whatever they want and prevent the other side from going after their respective flag.  This makes for a rather dull contest except for a few spots, such as the Patriot nearly capturing the American flag when everyone piles up in the American team’s corner and everyone, save for the Bulldog, trying to apply their version of the Sharpshooter.  Bret KO’s Vader with the ring bell, but that doesn’t produce an immediate finish as he continues to beat on Vader inside of the ring.  The crowd gets impatient as the Patriot gets a hot tag and plants Bret with Uncle Slam, but the Bulldog breaks it up and then stiffs a fan that tries to run into the ring.  Vader then hits Bret with a Vader Bomb, but all hell breaks loose again and Bret and the Patriot end up alone and Bret counters a Patriot rollup with the help of the tights to get the victory.  The stipulation killed this match, but I doubt Bret and the Bulldog were psychologically ready for it in light of Pillman’s death.  This would also be the last pay-per-view outing for the Patriot, who suffered a torn bicep shortly after this and was out of the company shortly thereafter.  Rating:  **

-The announcers discuss the Hell in a Cell.

-Hendrix interviews D-Generation X.  European Champion Shawn Michaels says that he can survive Hell in a Cell because he is the most tenacious man in the WWF and the number one guy in this business.  Hunter Hearst Helmsley tries to push his way into the promo, but is cut off.

-A video package hypes the Shawn Michaels-Undertaker feud.

-Non-Title Hell in a Cell Match:  “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels (European Champion) pins The Undertaker when Kane Tombstones the Undertaker at 29:57:

The winner of this match faces the WWF champion at Survivor Series.  Commissioner Slaughter and referees look under the ring to make sure no one is hiding there.  When the cage comes down and the Undertaker makes his entrance, Michaels has second thoughts and wants to leave, but there’s no chance of that and the Undertaker beats him from pillar to post.  The male fans in the audience roar when the Undertaker smashes Michaels back into the ring post and then into the corner of the Cell repeatedly.  Michaels rebounds by knocking the Undertaker into the cage and using the ring steps and a chair to maintain the advantage and “build momentum.”  That only gets two, though, and Michaels gets backdropped onto a cameraman, who he proceeds to beat up in a ruse to get the Cell open so he can escape.  This is a great spot, since it plays into Michaels hot headedness in big matches, and McMahon does his part by sending his apologies and best wishes out to the cameraman’s family in anticipation of a lawsuit.  The crowd gets back into the match when they end up outside of the Cell and a slingshot into it allows Michaels to cut himself open.  They battle on top of the Cell for a short while, a spot which always makes me nervous because I fear that the Cell will collapse under their weight at any moment, and the Undertaker has Michaels in a gorilla press, but just slams him instead of tossing him off, which does not really fit this feud.  Michaels leaves that big bump for Mick Foley, but does fall off the side of the Cell and through the Spanish announce table as Tito Santana looks on with his mouth agape.  They go back into the Cell, with Michaels a bloody mess, and the Undertaker smashes a chair over Michaels head, but when he signals for the Tombstone the lights go out and Kane emerges with Paul Bearer.  Kane, in a piece of booking provided by Jim Cornette, walks down and rips off the Cell door, deck the referee, and Tombstones the Undertaker, enabling Michaels to crawl over and get a cowardly victory.  A shocking, violent, and fitting ending to this feud and it begins the build for Undertaker-Kane at WrestleMania XIV.  I’m on the fence about giving this five stars, but it told a great story, Michaels blade job and bumping were great, and the Kane interference was warranted and added to the match.  Rating:  *****

The Final Report Card:  The single selling point of this show was Hell in a Cell and that match delivered, but it took an agonizing two and a half hours to get to that match.  Yes, the opener is good, although other reviewers disagree on that point, but the rest falls into average territory.  I’ll give this one a neutral rating because the main event delivers, but you really don’t need to seek out this show.  Just watch Hell in a Cell to see the origins of that match and go watch something else.

Attendance:  21,151

Buyrate:  0.60

Show Evaluation:  Neutral