WWE Vintage Collection Report (03/07/10)

WWE Vintage Collection Report: 7th March 2010
By Shaun Best-Rajah.com Reporter
Hosted by: Mean Gene Okerlund

Welcome aboard. At the halfway point in our WrestleMania Road Trip, today’s show looks back at snippets from WrestleManias IX & X. Let’s begin.

WrestleMania IX: April 4th 1993 – Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada
Crush vs Doink The Clown
Doink caused Crush to miss the 1993 Royal Rumble after whacking him in the back with a prosthetic arm. Announcers for this match are Jim Ross (who was making his WWF PPV debut), alongside Bobby Heenan and Randy Savage. We join the match in progress. Crush thwarts a top rope dive with a big boot then counters another aerial assault with a powerslam. Crush clotheslines Doink to the floor, stops him from going under the ring, press slams and locks on his Cranium Crusher (head vice) finish. Doink gets to the ropes before elbowing the referee out of commission. Crush stops Doink from escaping once more and re-applies the Crusher, as a second Doink (Steve Keirn, aka Skinner) appears from under the ring to smash Crush from behind with a prosthetic arm. Heenan calls it an ‘illusion’ as both Doinks beat Crush down until he’s unconscious. After both Doinks mirror each other, the original Doink gets the 1-2-3. Winner: DOINK THE CLOWN. I know I’ve said this before, but Matt Borne did a great job of playing a creepy clown. The cheery theme music that quickly turned sinister was also a good fit for the character.

Clips air of Owen Hart upsetting older brother Bret at WrestleMania X in one of the greatest matches in history.

WrestleMania X: March 20th 1994 – Madison Square Garden
WWF Title – Special Referee: Mr Perfect
Yokozuna w/Mr Fuji & Jim Cornette vs Lex Luger
After co-winning the Royal Rumble with Bret Hart, Luger won a coin toss to get the first title match, with the winner facing Bret later in the night. Perfect, who had a storied history with both was making his first appearance since October 1993. His last match was a loss against Yokozuna, and this was after spending most of the early part of 1993 feuding with Luger. Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler are on commentary with this being Lawler’s first PPV at the booth. A fired up Luger tires of Yoko prodding his finger in his chest and slugs away. Yoko wins a clothesline exchange, misses an elbow, and Luger sends him outside where he directs Yoko’s head into the ringsteps twice. A top rope cross body gets Luger two, but a failed slam attempt turns the tide. Yoko removes a top turnbuckle cover. Luger escapes a nerve hold, ducks a couple of clotheslines only to get caught with a belly-to-belly suplex. Luger shifts the momentum with a head ram into the exposed steel in the corner before taking Yoko down following a trifecta of clotheslines. Luger delivers the anticipated slam and steel plated forearm and Yoko is out cold. Cornette and Fuji both try to interfere, so Luger brings them in to knock them down. Perfect refuses to count with the managers still in the ring. Luger grabs then shoves Perfect, prompting Perfect to call for the bell and disqualify Luger. Winner via DQ: YOKOZUNA.

Perfect walks backstage where he is questioned by Todd Pettengill who doesn’t understand Perfect’s logic. Perfect says he called the match as he saw it, right down the middle. Luger had no business putting his hands on him. Perfect states when you put your hands on an official you’re automatically disqualified. Luger enters at this point demanding an explanation. Perfect tells him not to bring managers in the ring or put his hands on an official. Luger screams if Perfect had a problem, he should have come to him before the match, not during the match. Perfect says he has no problem with Luger and Luger retorts that’s bogus and Perfect knows it. Perfect says it’s his story and he’s sticking to it. Officials and referees swarm both throughout their heated exchange. The planned heel turn of Perfect failed to take off as he took another absence, resurfacing in late 1995.

Clips air of Yokozuna dethroning Bret Hart of the WWF Title at WrestleMania IX after Mr Fuji throws salt in the Hitman’s eyes. No trace of Hulk Hogan’s subsequent impromptu title win is mentioned or shown. It’s as if it never happened.

WrestleMania IX: April 4th 1993 – Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada
Intercontinental Title
Shawn Michaels w/Luna Vachon vs Tatanka w/Sensational Sherri
Going into this match, Michaels was just returning from a separated shoulder, suffered during a six man tag which involved Tatanka, who also held two non title pinfall victories over the champion. Luna was making her WWF debut in preparation for a feud with Sherri. We pick this up with Tatanka armdragging Michaels as he comes off the top rope. Michaels takes a dropkick, upside down flip in the corner, then gets chopped off the apron. Tatanka repeatedly stops Michaels from getting back in, so Michaels goes to the eyes and gets a nearfall from a top rope sunset flip. Tatanka continues to have an answer for all of Michaels’s offence, first countering a leapfrog with an inverted atomic drop, then a backbodydrop with a DDT. We head into a commercial break as Tatanka starts to work over Michaels’s shoulder. We return with the closing stages. Tatanka reverses a victory roll out of the corner into an electric chair drop. Michaels delivers a trifecta of double axehandles from the high risk district, but these fire Tatanka up into his war dance. Tatanka channels Hulk Hogan by wagging a finger, before catching a superkick attempt and unleashing a series of chops. A top rope cross body gets Tatanka a nearfall. Tatanka thwarts a dropkick by grabbing Michaels’s legs and slingshotting him into the ringpost. Michaels escapes a fallaway slam. Tatanka catches Michaels mid-air with a powerslam. 1-2-no. Michaels sends Tatanka to the floor as the crowd start chanting for Sherri. Michaels misses a dive, wiping himself out on the ringsteps. Michaels stops the referee’s count by pulling him to the floor. Tatanka gives Michaels a fallaway slam, but the referee has called for the bell and awarded Tatanka the countout win, instead of the more logical DQ. Michaels takes his belt and heads to the back, with Heenan calling it a ‘great victory for Michaels.’ Winner via Countout: TATANKA. This was a good match, with Michaels bumping all over the place for Tatanka, proving he was an ideal heel Intercontinental champion, just like Mr Perfect was back in the day. The non finish actually worked out well for both, allowing Tatanka to keep his 18 month win streak going and letting Michaels move onto feuds with Mr Perfect and Marty Jannetty.

WrestleMania X: March 20th 1994 – Madison Square Garden
WWF Title – Special Referee: Rowdy Roddy Piper
Yokozuna w/Mr Fuji & Jim Cornette vs Bret “Hitman” Hart
Guest Ring Announcer Burt Reynolds introduces Piper, who was making his first appearance since SummerSlam 1992. Dressed in dark jeans and a white ‘No Fear’ top in flaming letters, Piper receives a big pop at the venue where it all began for him in the WWF at WrestleMania I. Lawler is disappointed that Owen Hart isn’t the referee. Bret limps out, selling his earlier match with his brother. Both Bret and Yoko are playing up the fatigue factor from their earlier matches. Yoko attacks Bret before he can enter the ring, keeping him grounded while goading him to get up. A dropkick staggers Yoko, but a second one is easily swatted away. Piper jawjacks with Yoko as he works over Bret in the ropes. Yoko misses a big splash and the two go back and forth on the mat. Bret gets a cover so Cornette pulls Piper out of the ring, prompting Piper to shrug his shoulders then deck Cornette. Fuji checks on the Prince of Polyester, as Yoko chokes and bites at Bret. Yoko misses a banzai charge. Bret gets nearfalls off of a flying bulldog, patented second rope elbow and Hart Attack-esque clothesline. Bret goes high risk again, but gets caught in a belly-to-belly suplex. Yoko goes for the banzai splash, but falls off the middle rope after playing to the crowd. Bret quickly covers for the 1-2-3 to begin his second world championship reign. Fireworks go off above the ring as Yoko chases Piper to the back. Vince states this is the start of a brand new era and a blastoff of the next decade for the WWF. Lex Luger comes out, and, after a brief standoff shakes Bret’s hand. Piper returns along with Razor Ramon, Burt Reynolds, Tatanka, 1-2-3 Kid, Bob Holly, Rhonda Shear (from USA Network’s ‘Up All Night’), Pat Patterson, Randy Savage, Donnie Wahlberg (of New Kids on the Block fame), Gorilla Monsoon and Vince himself. (Shear and Wahlberg had guest timekeeper and ring announcing spots on the show). The superstars raise Bret on their shoulders and parade him around the ring in a very fitting WrestleMania moment for Bret and his fans. This is the kind of sendoff he deserves at this year’s Mania. Fans will remember the feel good moment much more than the match. This was definitely the case here. An appearance from Owen Hart confronting his brother is unfortunately edited off as Okerlund brings the show to a close.

There will be more retro WrestleMania moments next week. Shaun.

Comments/praise/feedback/criticism/discussion points please direct to [email protected].