- We're back with more Fan-Cam Action from the WWF Universe. For those who weren't watching on a regular basis around this time period, the WWF started marketing their house show tours with cute little tour names, possibly to drive up ticket prices. The first such example was the WrestleMania Revenge Tour, taking place in the months following, you guessed it, WrestleMania. There was also the Summer Sizzler Tour, which took up the latter parts of summer and through the early Fall. Now we're back with the Hart Attack Tour, complete with beating heart and shadow of the Undertaker as the design.
Note: Matches missing from this recording: Duke "The Dumpster" Droese doing the job for Irwin R. Schyster, and a 5-star classic between Jim Powers and Abe "Knuckleball" Schwartz (a.k.a Steve Lombardi cashing in on the MLB Strike). Excellent video quality for this one, by the way, which is always a huge plus for Fan-Cam cards.
Bigelow throws Bomb out in front of Dibiase, and hey look, they even have nifty ring aprons with the Hart Attack Tour logo. Bigelow hangs him across the top rope to keep him from re-entering the ring. Back in the ring, Bigelow puts the boots to him and comes off the ropes with a diving headbutt for a two count, then hooks a chinlock. Bomb fights free with elbows until being laid out with an enziguri. Bigelow covers for a pair of two counts and goes back to the chinlock. Bomb escapes again, and this time it's a knee to the midsection that puts him back down. Bigelow with choking across the middle rope, while Dibiase continues his verbal harassment technique. Bomb gets dumped out, again, but turns the tables with a slingshot clothesline. Both are slow to their feet... Bigelow misses an enziguri, and Bomb takes him over with a hip toss, followed by a dropkick for two. Bomb with a diving cross body for another two count. Bigelow thumbs the eyes, but a suplex attempt is blocked. Bomb goes for a slam, but Dibiase sweeps the legs... and the referee saw it! Disqualiication victory for Adam Bomb at 13:12. Lame finish aside (it would've been lame with the old sweep and pin, too), a pretty solid opener. Adam Bomb was a pretty under-rated big man for the era, and Bigelow was still semi-motivated.
- Howard Finkel introduces us to the owner of the World Wrestling Federation, Vince McMahon. That seems out of place considering the era. Vince being acknowledged as anything more than a broadcaster on Monday Night Raw and Superstars. Long story short, it's an interview with MISTER Bob Backlund, who is set to challenge Bret Hart for the WWF Championship at the Survivor Series. I guess that Open Challenge hyped on the syndicated shows doesn't take place after all. I'd rather the person recording this had taped Droese vs. I.R.S., just to get another match in the 2-hours.
Bret comes back with rights and a rake of the eyes across the top rope. Whip to the ropes is reversed, and Neidhart slaps on a bearhug. Bret with biting to escape, but takes a knee to the midsection coming off the ropes. Bret gets sent to the corner once again, and Neidhart plants him with a powerslam for a two count. Neidhart takes it to the floor, introducing Bret to the steps. Bret brings Neidhart back in from the apron with a slingshot, then starts unloading with rights in the corner. Bret with a running bulldog for a two count. Small package for another two count. Whip to the ropes, fist to the midsection, and a Russian leg sweep for two. Back breaker, but the second rope elbow meets a boot. Neidhart sets him up across the top rope, then slams him off. Neidhart to the top, only to miss the ugliest splash ever attempted. Bret turns over the Sharpshooter for the submission victory at 8:32. Well, that was quick. Good match, thanks entirely to Bret doing all of the work. Neidhart was pretty bad in a singles role, and barely having a good match with a motivated Bret Hart is a good testiment to that. Post-match, Bob Backlund attacks and leaves Bret laying after locking on a Crossface Chicken-Wing.
Back inside, Tatanka with punting blows, followed by chops. Lots of them. He's really bringing' the workrate like it's 1971. I never thought Tatanka was a bad worker, but he's ATROCIOUS here, doing the bare minimum, be it as a heel or face. Tatanka with a slam, then comes off the ropes not once, not twice, but thrice, with elbows, for a two count. Tatanka with a snap suplex and top rope chop to the head for two counts. Luger with a surprise roll up for two. Whip to the ropes and Luger with a sunset flip for two. Luger misses a charge, and Tatanka takes him down with a back suplex for two. Tatanka sends Luger to the corner and slaps on a bearhug. Ugh... Thankfully Luger quickly breaks it with a back suplex. He comes off the ropes with a running knee lift and bulldog. They take it to the floor, and brawl to a Double Count-Out at 12:36. The crowd rightfully (or should I say thankfully?) boos that finish out of the building. Luger wants more though, calling Tatanka back in with threats and slaps on the Torture Rack to get the crowd kind of happy. In the immortal words of Boris Karloff, this stink, stank, stunk. This made me want to watch the comedy match with Doink, again.
- Howard Finkel hypes up the next card coming to Madison Square Garden on November 26th. It's going to be Family Appreciation Night! Kwang takes on Aldo Montoya in the latter's MSG Debut. Well Dunn meets the "ever popular" Bushwhackers (that's Fink's words, not mine). Quebecer Pierre faces the 500-pound Mabel. King Kong Bundy returns to MSG to take on the recently returned British Bulldog. "Double J" Jeff Jarrett challenges Razor Ramon for the Intercontinental Title. Captain Lou Albano returns to MSG with the Headshrinkers to face the Tag Team Champions, Diesel and Shawn Michaels. Irwin R. Schyster faces The Undertaker... as long as he goes over at Survivor Series. WWF Champion Bret Hart faces Mr. Bob Backlund, with Special Referee... MACHO MAN RANDY SAVAGE?! You can imagine this card went under quite an overhaul. Considering Diesel's face turn, the split of him and Shawn vacating the Tag Titles, Bret's "injury" to keep him out of action post-Survivor Series, and Randy Savage leaving for WCW. Sometimes "card subject to change" shouldn't mean "outright lying to our faces."
Undertaker from the top rope with a clothesline, but I.R.S. shuts the casket lid to prevent Undertaker from putting Yokozuna away. Somehow that gets him thrown from ringside, but not attacking the guy, that's all legal. Hitting the participant is good, shutting the lid prematurely is not. Fuji throws a handful of salt in 'Taker's eyes, proving he's more useful than the majority of "managers" and valets these days. Bearer threatens to get naked, to try and add some positive snowflakes to the match rating. Undertaker gets rolled in, but comes back to life in time to block the lid from closing. Yoko' with a belly-to-belly suplex and clubberin' blows in the corner. Undertaker starts no-selling again, but meets an elbow charging into the corner, and Yoko' lays him out with a clothesline. He connects with the fatest leg drop in the history of Sports Entertainment, and we get another failed attempt at winning, as the referee's very slowly close the lid before Undertaker pushes it open. He comes off the ropes with a diving clothesline, plants him with a horrible looking chokeslam, and rolls his disgustingly fat ass into the casket for the victory at 12:21. I would personally like to kick the person in the nuts that came up with the concept of a Casket Match. Right in the nuts.
Final Thoughts: Not much to see here in quality performances. The opener got us off on the right foot, and Bret Hart tried his damndest to carry his former partner to something decent (and that was just barely, Neidhart was pretty useless here), but the rest of the card falls between watchable (the Solo Gunn/Bodies match), to stupid (the comedy clowns/Lawler mixed tag), to downright awful (Luger/Tatanka and the Casket Match). I love me some fan-cam shows, but this one definitely looks better on paper than it turned out to be watching it.
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