home | wrestling | flashback_reviews | wwe | house_shows

WWF @ Madison Square Garden
November 27, 1993

by Scrooge McSuck

- We’re only days removed from the Survivor Series. The most notable happening being the miscommunication between Bret and Owen Hart, planting the seeds for their eventual feud that ran for most of 1994. The rest of the show was watchable, but forgettable, and marked the final PPV appearance for Bobby “The Brain” Heenan until making a one-match return for the Gimmick Battle Royal at WrestleMania X-Seven.

The Smoking Gunns vs. The Head Shrinkers (w/ Afa):
(Billy & Bart Gunn vs. Samu & Fatu)

I feel like this combination has worked together for almost the entire second half of 1993 thanks to an incredibly weak tag team division. With both teams having nothing of significance going on, this could go either way. The Gunn’s get the “high-pitched squeal” reaction for removing their shirts. Billy and Samu start, with the latter dominating a pair of lock-ups. Irish whip is reversed, and a long criss-cross ends with a drop toe hold, dropkick, and a pair of arm drags, sending the Samoan to the floor and the crowd into a frenzy. The Gunns take turns working the arm of Samu. He goes to the eyes and plants Bart with a slam. Fatu tags in, and they do their usual sequence with the failed leg sweep. Bart with a missile dropkick, but a distraction from Samu allows Fatu to take over. Whip to the ropes and he lays Bart out with a hard clothesline. The action spills to the floor, with Bart taking a beating behind the referee’s back. Bart offers a comeback, but gets the top rope pulled down on him, and crotched along the security rail to add injury to insult. Back in the ring, Bart gets tripped up going for the tag, so he lays out Fatu with a clothesline. He unwisely attempts a DDT and does the Jannetty-sell taking a clothesline from a no-selling Fatu. Samu loads up for a clothesline, but ends up hanging himself in the ropes after a miss. Billy finally gets the hot tag and unloads on Fatu with rights. Whip to the ropes and a back drop, followed by clotheslines and dropkicks. He mounts Fatu in the corner with more rights and does the blind twisting forearm shot to a sneaking-up Samu. The Gunns send him flying into a turnbuckle post, but the double noggin’ knocker is no-sold. Double headbutt to Billy, followed by the double face-buster. Fatu to the top, but Bart crotches him along the buckle, and Billy sneaks up on Samu with a school boy… for two! The Gunns hit Samu with a double clothesline. Whip to the ropes is reversed, Samu stun guns Billy (with a little help from Fatu), and falls on top for the three count at 11:54. ***1/2 I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but you can tell these teams worked together often, had great chemistry, and the Head Shrinkers were quite the under-rated team in the workrate department (until their pointless face turn in 1994).

Tiger Jackson vs. Little Louie:

Dammit, 1993 WWF, you give me a great tag team match to start things off, and you follow it up with MIDGETS. Tiger Jackson has been featured often throughout 1993, under this name, as well as the “Macho Midget”. At the next TV taping, he would debut under his most famous WWF nickname: Dink the Clown), babyface Doink’s under-sized doppelganger. Jackson wastes no time break dancing, setting the bar that this is indeed a comedy match. Little Louie reminds me a lot of Jack Black. Jackson bites on Louie’s hands everytime his back is to referee Danny Davis. Butt-biting follows. After a sequence with Louie complaining about the referee’s counting, we get the classic bit where one midget (Louie) kicks out, throwing the other (Jackson) onto the referee, and the referee throwing the midget back on top. Then they do it with the roles reversed, and the heel midget is too big for the referee to handle, so the midget is pinning the referee, and the babyface midget counts three on him. The shenanigans continue, with both running the ropes until Louie is exhausted, and Jackson easily knocks him over with a dropkick. Not too long after, Jackson finishes Louie by coming off the top with a body press at 5:50. As a “wrestling” match, this isn’t something to fairly rate. As a spectacle and example of midget performances… it’s actually quite fun. I must be growing soft in my old age.

Doink (the Clown) vs. Shawn Michaels:

Quite an interesting combination. The Doink gimmick went under a major over-haul during the Fall, not only turning face, but replacing the man under the make-up. Matt Borne was let go for unknown reasons, and replaced by Steve Lombardi. It wasn’t until a week or so before this show that the role was taken over by Ray Apollo. Shawn Michaels is carrying around the “bogus” IC Title… long story short, Shawn was suspended/quit, and in storyline came back still claiming to be the Champion. He never gave his belt back in the first place, so how convenient for him. Doink shows off how much of a goof he is now by squirting water in Shawn’s face. They do a criss-cross, which leads to another routine and a Three Stooges eye poke. Shawn could sell anything. Doink steals from Bob Backlund’s playbook, sweeping the leg, frustrating Shawn enough for him to fall through the ropes in comical style. Shawn finally turns the tide, laying Doink out with a clothesline and dumping him out of the ring. Back inside, Shawn hits his signature diving elbow for two. Shawn with a snapmare and settles in with a chinlock. This lasts a while. Doink mounts his comeback, plants Shawn with a slam, and comes off the ropes with a splash for two. Release German suplex gets two. Whip to the ropes is reversed and Shawn sends Doink back out. Suddenly Luna Vachon and Bam Bam Bigelow show up (they have beef with Doink). Their distraction allows Shawn to hit the Super-Kick and cover for three at 8:17. Post-match, Bam Bam puts a beating on Doink until a contrived spot see Doink trip up Luna and have her fall in his place for Bam Bam’s diving headbutt. Doink eventually revives her with a bucket of water, and Bam Bam trips over the bucket chasing after him. ** Post-match antics aside (as pointless and illogical as it was), this was OK. Nothing great, but Shawn’s comical selling in the early portion of the match was fun.

WWF Tag Team Championship Match:
The Quebecers © (w/ Johnny Polo) vs. The Steiner Brothers:

(Jacques & Pierre vs. Rick & Scott Steiner)
Just a quick refresher: the Quebecers won the titles from the Steiners on the September 13th episode of Raw through nefarious means (the Steiners didn’t lay down for them and still lost the titles). Depending on who you believe, the Steiners missed most of September and all of October due to what is widely believed to be for disciplinary reasons, except for TV tapings, so they were replaced on house shows by the random (heel) team of Bam Bam and Adam Bomb… made even more bizarre since Adam Bomb was still managed by Polo! That was quickly fixed by giving him Harvey Wippleman as his cause of death… err, I mean Manager. Scott and Pierre start. Lockup and Scott takes him down with an arm drag. Pierre with cheap shots in the corner, but Scott over-powers him and takes him down, again. Scott with a double under-hook slam, sending Pierre into the crotch of his partner. Jacques with trash-talk to Rick, then he hides as well. Whip to the ropes and a leap frog is countered by Rick with a powerslam for a near fall. Pierre with a thumb to the eyes followed by clubberin’ blows. He comes off the top with a double fist, but a second trip is countered with a slam. Jacques comes in to break the cover and ends up dropping an elbow on his partner. They have an argument on the floor until hugging it out. Scott is back in, working the arm of Jacques. Whip to the ropes, Pierre with a sucker blow from the apron, and the Champs are finally in control.

Whip to the ropes and they give Scott a double stun-gun, but it only gets two. Double boot to the midsection, followed by a reverse snapmare. Jacques slams Pierre across the midsection of Scott and covers for two. Pierre uses the tag rope to choke Scott out while the referee is distracted. Jacques with a slam, followed by back dropping Pierre onto Scott for another near fall. Pierre with a seated splash across the back, a la Big Boss Man. He goes for it again, but Scott recovers and back drops him to the floor. Jacques cuts off the tag attempt and nails Scott with a diving back elbow for two. We jump (not too far) ahead to Jacques having a seated chinlock applied. Jacques with a leg sweep while Pierre comes off the ropes with a clothesline (double goozle?). Jacques with a piledriver on Scott, then a cheap shot to Rick. They go for the Tower of Quebec, but Scott rolls out of the way. Scott with a double clothesline, and finally makes the hot tag to Rick. He comes in, laying both out with clotheslines. He press slams Jacques onto Pierre, then knocks Polo off the apron. Whip to the ropes and double fist to the midsection of Jacques. Pierre comes off the top and gets thrown over with a belly-to-belly suplex! Irish whip, Frankensteiner to Pierre! 1… 2… Jacques comes in and tackles the referee, drawing the DQ at 12:37, giving the Steiners the win, but not the Tag Team Titles. ***1/4 Another solid tag team outing. I expected the lame finish, but these two teams always delivered. It’s a shame that the Steiners and WWF couldn’t work things out. They could’ve been a strong top team to carry the division during such a weak era.

WWF Intercontinental Championship Match:
Razor Ramon © vs. Diesel:

I don’t know what to expect from this one. I guess this is a direct result of Shawn and Razor’s angle over who the undisputed IC Champion is, but Diesel was much lower on the depth chart than you can believe at this point. Lockup, and Diesel practically throws Razor over the top rope on the shove-off. Diesel continues to over-power Razor in subsequent attempts. Razor goes to work on the arm, but Diesel again throws him down. Razor fights out of a side headlock, but gets knocked on his ass going for a shoulder tackle. Diesel wants a test-of-strength, shoving Razor around to entice him. Razor briefly turns the tide until taking a knee to the midsection. Razor returns the favor with a series of boots to the midsection, overhead takedown, and clothesline, sending Diesel over the top rope, to the floor. They take it to the floor, with Diesel again in control. He pounds on the lower back of Razor with elbows and knees. Back breaker gets two. Side Slam gets another two count. He grabs a bearhug, but it doesn’t look too impressive. Razor escapes with rights, but runs into a big boot. Diesel with snake eyes for two. Razor teases a comeback, only to get laid out with a short-arm clothesline. Razor fights out of another bearhug spot and unloads with rights. He plants Diesel with a slam, but a clothesline whiffs and Diesel accidentally wipes out the referee. Razor with the second-rope back suplex and signals for the Razor’s Edge, but here’s Shawn Michaels to KO him with his IC Title belt. Diesel covers, but the referee is still dead. Diesel shakes him around to wake him up, but this allows Razor to recover, and he cradles Diesel. Shawn stops the referee from counting, but a second referee shows up and counts three at 12:04. ** Post-match, Diesel and Shawn lay Razor out. Surprisingly good match, but Diesel clearly didn’t have the moveset to carry the match for as long as he did. The WWF sure fell in love with that finish with Michaels, using it for weeks and even including it on the 1994 Royal Rumble.

Marty Jannetty vs. Owen Hart:

Late in the show for this kind of a match. Owen might’ve been being groomed for a big push, but one-on-one with Jannetty was still an opening card act and never later than the intermission. They shae hands before locking up, since Owen was still technically a face… just a very pissed off one. Jannetty with a side headlock takeover, countered with a head scissors. Jannetty rolls over into a cover, Owen bridges up and takes him back down with a back slide for a two count. They trade wristlocks, with Owen doing his signature counter. Jannetty shows off his own unique attempt and covers for two. Owen with a hip toss, Jannetty mule kicks him back, and both nip up to a neutral position. After a little more back-and-forth, tempers start to flare. Owen sends him to the buckle and unloads with a series of uppercuts. He takes Jannetty over with a snapmare and follows with a nee drop. Jannetty takes control, ramming Owen to the buckle 10-times for a two count. Owen with a sweep of the legs and rolling cover for two. Whip to the ropes, Jannetty hangs back to avoid a dropkick and rolls Owen up for two. Jannetty with a sunset flip for two. Owen slingshots him into the ropes and gets another two count. Overhead belly-to-belly suplex gets two. Owen with a flying body press, but Jannetty rolls through for two. Owen gets sent to the floor due to his own momentum and Jannetty follows him with a plancha. Back inside, Owen recovers and takes him over with a bridging German Suplex for two. Jannetty counters a Super-Plex, landing on top of Owen for a two count. They do a criss-cross, with Jannetty selling the knee, halting the action. Owen casually sweeps his legs and turns him over with the Sharpshooter for the victory at 8:13. *** Good match with non-stop action, and the finish was a sign of things to come for Owen’s eventual heel turn. I find it laughable that in an old WON, whoever sent in the results for this show called the match 1-star.

The Fink is in the ring to announce that the WWF returns to Madison Square Garden on Monday, January 17th with a start-time of 7:30 pm. All 3 WWF Championships will be defended, including Razor Ramon defending the IC Title against Double J, Jeff Jarrett. There will also be a 30-Man Royal Rumble Match, the 1st ever at MSG. Participants announced: Shawn Michaels, Bushwhacker Butch and Luke, Diesel, Doink the Clown, Greg Valentine, Bastion Booger, Billy and Bart Gunn, Owen Hart, Bret Hart, Jimmy Del Ray and Tom Prichard, Scott Steiner, I.R.S., Scott and Ivan Putski, Bob Backlund, Mo and Mabel from M.O.M., Virgil, Head Shrinker Samu and Fatu, Rick Martel, Adam Bomb, Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson, Crush, and Macho Man Randy Savage. Card very much subject to change.

Non-Title Casket Match:
The Undertaker (w/ Paul Bearer) vs. Yokozuna (WWF Champion) (w/ Mr. Fuji):

Non-Title Match means Undertaker goes over. The WWF was actually doing shows where Yokozuna, with aggressive cheating, was getting pinfall wins over Undertaker to build up the Casket stipulations for their rematch. Yes, they did that on the September 25th card held at MSG, too, not just secondary markets. Ring entrances alone eats up nearly 10-minutes. Considering the short walk to the ring, that’s a LOT of time for a bunch of posturing. Yoko surprises ‘Taker with an avalanche, but a second attempt is met with a boot to the face. Whip to the ropes, and ‘Taker connects with the DDT. Yoko rolls away from an elbow drop and sends Taker to the floor with a clothesline. He lands on his feet, snatches the Japanese flag away from Fuji, and snaps the pole over his knee. Who knew Zombies had such a disliking for the Japanese? Yoko manages to get to the dreaded salt and throws a handful into Undertaker’s face. He sends Taker to the post a few times and bashes him with a foreign object. ‘Taker tries sitting up, so Yoko sits on his face to keep him down. He rolls ‘Taker into the casket, but ‘Taker keeps the lid from closing and fights free. Whip to the ropes and ‘Taker with the flying lariat. He goes for old school, but Yoko jerks him down. They trade blows until Undertaker no-sells being rammed to the buckle. Yoko with a clothesline and belly-to-belly suplex, both practically no-sold. He goes for the salt bucket, but this time Undertaker intercepts it and KO’s Yokozuna with it before rolling him into the Casket for the victory at 9:04. *1/2 The standard formula Casket Match, without the mass-run-ins at the Royal Rumble. It was OK, but I wouldn’t be sad if I never got to see it again.

Final Thoughts: Surprisingly solid show, both in workrate and excitement. The matches I expected to be good delivered (that being the tag team matches and Jannetty vs. Owen), but the rest of the card was enjoyable too in their own ways. I’m not the biggest fan for midget wrestling, but Tiger Jackson and Little Louie were entertaining and the crowd was completely into it. Diesel was working his ass off harder than you could imagine, possibly because he was working with one of his friends. Michaels selling for Doink’s doofy comedy helped salvage an otherwise average match, and even though I wasn’t too fond of it, the Casket Match at least delivered on the stipulation without the necessity of the entire locker room running in for a screw-job finish. Out of all the fan-cam shows I’ve covered over the years, this might’ve been the best.

Back to Old School House Show index