PW Boards Video Club #2 - WWE IYH: Canadian Stampede (1997)

Lord TSC

(Quick note: Last week, I posted this in the evening, but really there's nothing stopping it being there all day I suppose, especially if the plan is to give people the week to watch it and discuss it, rather than expecting everything on one night).

Also think we can keep tabs of what ratings each show gets.

Show Ratings So Far:
WWE Money in the Bank 2011 - 8.4/10 (15 votes)

As per request last week, I've just included a match card rather than a spoiler list, and included a quick bit of the buildup, courtesy of Wikipedia

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Week Two
In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede
Chosen by: gnfrnhead

Mankind vs Hunter Hearst Helmsley

The Great Sasuke vs Taka Michinoku

WWF Championship
The Undertaker vs Vader

The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart, Owen Hart, The British Bulldog, and Brian Pillman) vs Stone Cold Steve Austin, Ken Shamrock, Goldust, and The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal)

Show Background (from Wiki)

The featured rivalry heading into the event involved Steve Austin and Bret Hart. While being on hiatus from the WWF from April until October in 1996, Bret Hart received challenges from Steve Austin. After he returned to the WWF, he feuded with Steve Austin, who cost him a victory at the Royal Rumble match, and the WWF Championship. After fighting with him on WrestleMania 13, Austin became a fan favourite, while Hart became a villain, criticizing the American fans for cheering Austin. Hart recruited his brother Owen, his brothers-in-law The British Bulldog and Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart and Austin's former partner Brian Pillman, creating the Hart Foundation, to fight with Austin. At King of the Ring, Hart challenged the five best American wrestlers of the WWF to fight his team at the event. Austin entered himself into the match the next day on WWF Raw is War, prior to his match with Brian Pillman. Before the match, the Hart foundation attacked Austin, prompting Mankind to replace him in the match. After the match, Austin and Ken Shamrock cleared the ring of the Hart Foundation, and Austin gave the Stunner finisher on Shamrock. Next week, Austin and Pillman fought as the Hart Foundation members were handcuffed into the ring posts, but they managed to release themselves and to attack Austin, who was rescued by Shamrock, Mankind and Goldust. After a brief brawl between Austin and Shamrock, which was broken by the Legion of Doom, Goldust suggested that he, Shamrock and LOD will team up with Austin in the 5 on 5 match at the event, to which Austin agreed. On the June 23 edition of Raw Is War, LOD fought The Godwinns, and after their victory, the Hart Foundation attacked them and Shamrock. Next week, while Austin fought Neidhart, Bret Hart (Who attacked Shamrock during the match) came and attacked Austin, putting the Figure-four leglock on Austin while on the ring post.

A predominant feud entering the event featured the WWF champion The Undertaker and Vader. On the June 23 episode of Raw Is War, Vader was announced as the number one contender for the championship, as Undertaker had to team up with Vader in a tournament match for the WWF Tag Team Championship against the Nation of Domination's team of D'Lo Brown and Faarooq. Vader's manager, Paul Bearer, forced The Undertaker to do as he said or else he will tell a secret from the Undertaker's past. After the Undertaker attacked Vader in the match, Bearer told the secret next week: Throughout The Undertaker's childhood and teen years, he lived in a funeral home with his parents and half-brother. According to Paul Bearer, The Undertaker killed his parents and caused his half-brother's face to be bruised and scarred by setting the funeral home ablaze. The Undertaker denied it and said that Kane was the one that burnt the house. During an attack from the Undertaker after Vader's match with Rockabilly, Bearer said he heard that from Kane himself.

Another rivalry heading into event was the continuation of battle between Mankind and Hunter Hearst Helmsley. At the King of the Ring event, Helmsley and Mankind fought at the finals of the King of the ring tournament as Helmsley won, and he kept attacking Mankind after the match. The day after that, Mankind requested a rematch, to which Helmsley agreed. On the June 30 edition of Raw Is War, Mankind and Brian Pillman fought in a match, which Pillman won by a count-out after Helmsley interfered.

Side Note:
This pay-per-view was awarded Best Major Show for 1997 by Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

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I'm just sitting down to watch it now, so will post feedback later, but thought I'd open the topic to get the ball rolling.

EDIT: Forgot...next week's show is...

Week Three: Raf32 - Bash at the Beach 96
*(The formation of the nWo)*

gerrybbadd

Been looking forward to this one. Hope to watch tonight

gnfnrhead

Have the first half of the show done. Meant to do the rest yesterday but didnt get a chance.

Probably my favourite PPV of all time.

Lord TSC

Honestly, I remember nothing about this show since I think it's just before I really got into wrestling in a serious way. So I guess that I don't have the same biasness as I did with MITB last week. Really coming into this with a blind outlook.

The referee in Hunter vs Mankind was blind. There's no other excuse for how he missed so much :P
It's a shame Foley didn't have a bigger role in training people; his selling and storytelling ability was top notch, and while I know he'll go down as a legend, he could have been so influential (in a positive way) on the industry if given a bigger backstage role.
The chemistry these two had was always great, and the match is really good. But with no context to what happened next, the count out ending annoys me, and the referee is beyond useless. I'm guessing they followed this up with a cage match or a No DQ or something to play off this match? Regardless, while it's good, I feel it's pretty much a set up to their next match.

One thing which really struck me in the Take/Sasuke match is how educated King is about Japanese wrestling; he starts off talking about how they start off, discussing their style.....it's night and day compared to how disinterested and ignorant he comes across now. In fact, I felt the commentary really puts this match over as being a big deal and how this is a global show. Also felt the match had a real MMA feel about it in places too, with the realistic kicks from Sasuke. Really liked the match.

(Ok, Hunter and Foley fight through the show. Really like that sort of story, so that makes me less frustrated about the result earlier, since it wasn't really the end of the story for the night...)

Paul Bearer is awesome. I think probably my favorite manager character of all time. Just everything about him was brilliant.

Ref misses two low blows. Jesus, the referees were bad. Otherwise, the match was grand, your typical match between Taker and a big man. Nowadays, we'd expect a far better match from Taker, but it was grand. Nothing, imo, special, but still good.

Between the opening video and the pre-match video, I liked how they acknowledged the fact the Harts, despite being the heels, would be treated like faces in Canada. Not insulting the fans, calling it Bizarro land or whatever. Just accepting that Hart was a Canadian hero and writing it into the story. The only thing is, a bit like Hunter/Foley, I have a feeling it would mean more if you knew the contexts before and after the show; as a stand alone show, that dynamic doesn't have the same impact it probably did at the time. That, mind, doesn't take away from how hot the crowd is.

I wonder if people in 1997, if presented with the ten men in the main event, would have been able to pick Goldust as the only one who'd still be an active preformer (though it's sad that the fact half of the contestants are dead helps).

Ref does nothing about a low blow. That's 4 times in this show that referees have just ignored blatent low blows.

I loved as well how Austin embraced the chants and played heel, throwing fingers to the crowd, generally trying to taunt them and rile them up. The match itself is really good, an all out brawl. Enjoyed it.

That said, much like the HHH/Foley match, it feels as if the ending was setting up the next PPV. The brawls post match obviously were going to lead to more matches between the people involved, and I feel that takes away from the PPV. I get that not every PPV we can watch will feature the blow-offs to feuds and in fairness, I wouldn't expect that. In terms of setting up more matches, the matches on this card do that very well. But it feels like one big set up for the Summerslam PPV. That said, I'll likely try and watch Summerslam soon enough to see the continuation.

So yeah. Not sure what score to give it yet. Some really good in-ring action, but half the matches ended in a way I don't like in terms of being someone going back to watch the show as a stand-alone PPV. And one of them is the main event, and like I said last week, that weighs heavier than other matches. But the endings are counterbalanced by some good stories and good, solid wrestling.

Leaning towards an 8 but not sure yet.

gnfnrhead

This is one of my all time favourite introduction video packages. Pretty short but it does a great job of explaining the situation and the difference between the regular crowd in the United States, and the expected crowd tonight in Canada. It’s a shame the crowds aren’t like this anymore. Completely different depending on where it is. The only one that would even come close is Chicago and that is just for Punk. Even at that, he is usually one of the most popular guys on the roster in any city they visit so not really the same. The set is cheesy as hell, but it works so well. You wouldn’t get away with it today though. Love Lawler’s massive cowboy hat.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley w/ Chyna vs. Mankind

Chyna was still in her incredibly Manish phase while Hunter had yet to become a degenerate. Mankind wasn’t yet a comedy character so they are complete opposites in regards gimmicks which is what makes it work. Mankind should have become King of the Ring, but Hunter screwed him out of it to start what would eventually see a Wrestlemania Main Event albeit a four way. Match starts out great with Hunter bumping like a mad man. Something that he hasn’t done in probably 15 years now. Mankind was actually able to move around pretty well too as Hell in a Cell was yet to happen. Hunter then tries to leave and gets massive heat. If only he could get it so easily today. Bar Raw last week, I cant remember the last time he got proper full on heat like this and for something so small too. Before long, it breaks down and Mankind takes the bumps he would become known for including a vicious throw into the steps. The back of his knees hit them full on. Not sure how he was able to walk after it. I remembered the spot, but actually thought it was Shawn Michaels that did it, not Hunter. Unless Michaels did it as well?

Hunter does a great job from then as he picks apart the knee. That’s something I really miss about him. He used to actually live up to the Cerebral Assassin nickname as he would pick a body part and go to town on it. I cant remember the last time he actually did that now. Mankind, of course, sells it like a beast by collapsing as Hunter tries to whip him across the ring. Hunter follows up with a Figure Four, a move he really should have adopted at this point in time. Hunter and Chyna have the double team down to perfection and is what Tamina should be doing with AJ today. One distracts while the other cheats instead of Tamina standing there looking mean. A lot of ball shots in this one. Eventually both guys are counted out and you’d expect a negative reaction from the crowd but it doesn’t come. The double Count Out worked perfectly as both guys looked strong before, during and after the match which is the most important thing as the feud is still in it‘s early stages. It’s far from being a technical masterpiece but it was never supposed to be. It’s two guys who just hate each other and want to kick the crap out of each other. The post match and continued fighting for the rest of the show proves this. It’s a great opener and is a vital match in what turned out to be a massive feud between the two. Without this match, it would have been very different as this match raised the level considerably.

Rating: 9/10

Doc Hendrix presents a video of what would in future become the fan fest thing. If nothing else, it shows exactly how popular the Harts will be later tonight. Afterwards, Austin shows he is a complete bad ass as he tries to pick a fight with all five members of the Hart Foundation, by himself. Nothing happens as he is pulled away but already it is obvious that Austin is going to be fcuking massive, it's just a matter of when.

TAKA Michinoku vs. The Great Sasuke

This is an obvious attempt to cash in on the popularity of the Cruiserweights in WCW. The problem is, WCW put the effort in. Within a few weeks of the division launching, WWF gave up and just paid a few guys and sent them out there to kill time. This match is likely the first exposure to the Junior style for the average WWF fan and it more than meets its expectations. JR tries to act as the knowledgeable one but it’s obvious he is just reading off a sheet and doesn’t know much about them himself.

Triple H and Mankind go at it again as they fight back into the crowd having previously been separated. Both guys come out of it looking just as good as the other.

Not a lot to say about the match itself. There is no storyline, no history, and one of them doesn’t stick around for long. TAKA stays for a while as we all know, but once it becomes obvious that the WWF don’t care about the division, he may as well not be around. He has a great match with Triple H in a few years time but that’s pretty much the only highlight after the buzz dies down from the Light Heavyweight Division. Sasuke has some stiff looking kicks, and at one point looked like he had knocked TAKA out on his feet. TAKA stumbles back and keeps coming for more. TAKA gets a big cheer for a basic enough cross body dive to the outside. The reason for the cheer, a lot of the WWF fan base wouldn’t have seen it before so it’s super impressive at the time. Sasuke was intended to be the star of the division afterwards, but that didn’t happen and TAKA took his place. It actually worked out for the best as TAKA is looking a whole lot better in this one and is getting great reactions from the crowd despite the fact that they likely never seen him before tonight. The big mistake is allowing TAKA to hit the Michinoku Driver, but having Sasuke kick out of it. That’s his finisher. Either don’t use it or have it end the match. Sasuke wins with a weak Tiger Suplex. Pretty sure he got booed too but his music cuts it off. A very good match, but one that would mean nothing in the long run.

Rating: 8/10

Mankind and Triple H are fighting again, this time out in the parking lot. If nothing else, WWF security was crap in 1997 as they failed to separate them for this long. Looks like it is over now with both guys dragged away, still looking equals.

Ahmed Johnston was supposed to face the Undertaker but fate stepped in and allowed him to be replaced by the vastly superior Vader. Not sure if it was a legit injury or if someone saw sense but either way it worked out for the best.

WWF Championship
Vader w/ Paul Bearer vs. The Undertaker ©

I miss when Undertaker used to do the quick arm raise and the lights snap back on. So much cooler than the slow arm raise and increase of lights. Vader sells it great too. Vader was really under used in WWF and should have been much bigger than he was allowed. He should have dominated for an extended period of time. When you have the likes of Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart around, there is no reason not to run with Vader as he has a tonne of great opponents. As for Undertaker, this was an awkward time for him. His dead man gimmick was coming to a close in the next couple of years so he was slowly moving away from the cartoon-ish gimmick he previously had and towards the more mature Ministry of Darkness gimmick in a couple of years time. Undertaker was still all about the gimmick now as he didn’t start to really deliver in the ring until late in the American Bad Ass gimmick. Despite that, the match doesn’t suffer at all. It was never going to be a technical masterpiece, it was always going to be a fight and that is exactly what we got. Paul Bearer constantly accusing the Undertaker of murder is a great addition as there is no way that wouldn’t distract you. A couple of low blows get missed by Tim White and a tombstone spot is botched but otherwise you cant really complain. Vader looked very strong, Undertaker looked great, Paul Bearer did his job to perfection and the crowd got really behind Undertaker. Pluses all around.

Rating: 7.5/10

Main event time now! The preview package shows just how mental things were at the time. Gang Warfare everywhere. The Harts, Austin’s team, the Nation, the DOA, Los Boricuas and a whole host of others. Everybody knew who they could trust and that was it. Some of the teams were a bit crap, but overall it was great.

Team Austin vs. The Hart Foundation

Some trio sing the National Anthem so I skip it. Nothing happens as best I can recall. I love entrance order. They start with Goldust, the least hated and slowly build up to Austin, the most hated. Then do the same for the Harts. Start with the least popular in Pillman and slowly build up to the most popular in Bret Hart. It’s awful to realise that 4 guys in this match are now dead, and 3 out of 5 of the Hart Foundation.

The match starts in a perfect way. Bret and Austin with the crowd going mental for everything Bret does while booing the hell out of Austin. A nice throwback with the Cobra Clutch spot that builds on a previous match that Bret won in such a manner. A small thing that doesn’t happen often enough, a wrestler learning from his previous mistakes. As the match develops, so does a trend. Every single thing that the Harts do, they get cheered for. Brian Pillman cheating like a mother fcuker and getting cheered every single time. Every tag gets a big cheer. Not even a 5 on 1 on Goldust changes that. Before long you can see Austin stalking around ringside, waiting for the upcoming big spot with Owen. That is one of the few small complaints I have. Austin is making it obvious that something is going to happen with him as he has hardly been on the apron or in the match so far. Sure enough, the spot comes and Bruce Hart throws water at Austin, as if that would have stopped him. Usually taking such a big name out of a match in this manner kills the crowd. Instead it just made them hate Austin even more and made them louder. It worked perfectly.

Bret does the same to Austin and the place goes mental. You’d think Austin had murdered their family or something. Austin tries to stay but in the end leaves and gets booed out of the building. Just think about that. He is injured and is getting booed for leaving! They play up Shamrock’s inexperience very well as he has Bret down but Bret manages to convince him to let him back up so they can fight. Shamrock does and Bret cheap shots him. Austin just cant win. He gets booed for leaving and then gets booed even more for coming back. Pretty much everything is timed to perfection. Austin goes for a Sharpshooter which brings Owen back to a huge cheer. The only remaining complaint from me is a weak roll up for the finish as the Hart family get involved. They couldn’t have Austin get knocked out or tap out but there is no reason Hawk or someone couldn’t have taken a Sharpshooter and tap out. Despite the match ending, the fighting continues with half of Canada getting involved. Police come in and clear out the ring for the post match celebrations before Austin comes back for more. Easily outnumbered, Austin is taken down and handcuffed which leads to the fcuking epic visual of him flipping off the crowd, while handcuffed and being led away. This is how you put someone over in defeat.

Rating: 10/10

Pretty much perfect. A great build up, a great pay off, everyone who needed to look good, looked amazing, everyone else looked at least pretty good. Austin looks like a megastar and the whole show has been building up to this moment. It’s just great and never once drags which would be forgivable with so many moving parts.

Overall, perhaps the greatest pay per view WWE have ever produced. Clocking in at about two hours helps, but makes you wonder why WWE don’t do it more often. At the time it made sense due to what would happen in November. They wouldn’t have been able to match up to this so rightfully didn’t do another in the near future. But with the Network, they don’t need to worry about buy rates so they have no excuses. In other news, it’s bizarre to think that Goldust is the only guy on the entire card who is still a full time wrestler today for WWE. You know it's great when Undertaker and Vader have the worst match on the card.

Overall rating: 34.5/40 which rounds off to a 9.

gerrybbadd

In Your House: Canadian Stampede

Once again, I'll be typing this out as I watch, so comments could get random. Watching on the ps4 here at the minute, and the stream is stuttering like a 2002 era Matt Morgan.

I used to love the IYH set, seemed solo futuristic! Anyone remember that awful game Akklaim released WWF In your House? Awful stuff!

Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs Mankind:

97 King of the Ring, HHH on his way to the ring with John Cena jaw - a pre plastic Chyna. These boys had some feud. I firmly believe if it wasn't for Mick, HHH never would have gotten over as well as he did. Jesus, Chyna sounds like a German Shorthaired Pointer when she talks! Mankind was still using that awesome haunting entrance music here. Double arm DDT used early in this match. The 3 man dream team are on commentary, it should be mentioned. JR, King and Vince. The entire Hart family are in attendance at ringside. Even the wrestling bear that lived under Stu's porch is in the front row. Vince has just made a random comment about Chyna's deltoids. Nice ringside brawl occurring now, with Hunter taking a nice suplex in the steel ramp. Hunter took some bumps on his way to the top, in fairness. Chyna looks like she is carved out of mahogany at ringside, and she has a Lumberjack's jaw to match. Just now, Mick has taken a Chyna hip toss into the steel steps, pretty awesome, and had to be killer! Hunter was really coming into his own around this time, and had some great matches with Mick, Owen Hart and the Rock. When did tapping out become a way of submitting in WWF? I seem to recall that wrestlers used to have to say they gave up in order for a match to end via submission. Both men down now, HHH having taken an inadvertent low blow to the Hemsleys. HHH taking a corner flip and ending up in the tree of woe, followed up with a piledriver - some moves you rarely see these days. For the second time now, Mick has been wailed with a chair. Worst referee in the world officiating this match! More outside interference from American Dad jaw now, and the match is over!!! Double countout! They're fighting through the crowd! The zebras are out trying to separate the lads now. I've seen better matches from these 2.

6/10

Mid 90s promo now, promoting the Hart Foundations tour of Calgary. Fans lined the streets for a mile! Goldust in a white suit and full makeup is a highlight, as is the porno music (Where The Boys Aren't 9: All Flaps, No Chaps)
Chilly McFreeze is dying to get in and beat up the Foundation!

TAKA Michinoku vs The Great Sasuke:

TAKA was awesome! Not as awesome as The Great Sasuke's entrance theme though! Before this match starts, HHH and Foley are back brawling. Trips is bleeding, knocking over railings. TAKA looks to be around 14 years old here. The crowd are a little dead for this match now after the brawl. Some nice mat wrestling here to start this match. Hey, remember when TAKA got eliminated from a Rumble match onto his face once! Half Boston Crab being applied now, high and tight like the Walls of Jericho. Outside the ring now, great action from the Light Heavyweights. Animal leg whip from TAKA followed by a nice high cross to Sasuke on the outside. Crowd are still not too hot for this match. Great flips and moves now, moonsaults, handstand elbows, frankensteiners! Brilliant overhead belly to belly by TAKA! Now, time for the Driver! And Sasuke pulls an Undertaker defending the streak, and kicks out! Sasuke with a Doctor Bomb, followed by some back suplex JR calls a Thunder Fire Bomb for the win! Great match.

7/10

HHH and Mankind are still going at it. Outside the arena now, fighting amongst beer kegs. HHH takes a nice back body drop on some pallats, marking up his back, before they are broken up.

WWF Title: Undertaker vs Vader:

Originally supposed to be Ahmed Johnson, Vader replaces Ahmed due to a knee injury. Paul Bearer is with Vader, and around this time, Kane's intro story had begun. Doc Hendrix doing the interviews backstage. Jeez, Vader would have been a great WWF champ. What a man! Seriously agile for 458 pounds, the Mastadon hit hard, and could Moonsault!!! The Lord of Darkness is now making his way to the ring. Amazing each and every time. Instead of slowly raising the house lights, at this stage Taker would throw his arms to the sky, and the lights would come fully on, accompanied by a loud pyro blast. He should still do this. Taker was rocking a Roman Reigns hairstyle during this time too. Taker is taking it to Vader strong in the early going. Bearer squeeking away on the outside. Taker hits old school (was this just school back then???) , but Vader turns it around - before Taker launches a flying clothesline. Vader with the rest holds. Big boot now, and Vader flies over the top to the outside. Paul Bearer was huge back then, pre gastric band. Surely one of the greatest managers of all time, he deserves his place in the HOF this year. Taker is after getting a slap off one of Bearer's shoes on the outside now. Vader then following up with those hard forearm smashes of his across Takers head and neck in the corner. Bearer just said something to the crowd that sounded like"shut up you bunch of cûnts"!!! Crowd are rocking now, so much so, the cameras are shaking!!! Nice back and forth action here. Taker had Vader up for the Tombstone at one stage. Several ball shots, before a choke slam off the second rope. Second Goozle, nice and high and now the slit throat, Tombstone combo - that old chestnut! 3 count, still champ, the Undertaker. Nice!

7/10

View of the Saddledome now before the porno music returns! Oh Jesus! Vince and King have the worst cowboy outfits on!!! Kings hat alone is 3/4 the size of the announce table. Footage of the DOA vs the Nation vs Los Boircuas being shown now, followed up with a recap of Austin / Bret's feud. What a time, you'd genuinely believe these men hated one another back then. Animal is roaring now ”tell em Hawk!" No matter the occasion, all Hawk ever said was "what a rush". Some amateurs in now squeaking the Canadian National Anthem. The crowd have gone for beer or a pißs. Ralph Klien everybody! Keith Hart looking like a goof with his Sunny G's on indoors.

5 on 5 Team Austin vs Hart Foundation:

Goldust out first. Here comes the Worlds most Dangerous man now, Ken Dockleaf. The Legend of Doom out next! (American Originals!) Oh jeez, even Fink has a cowboy hat on. Austin coming out to a tame version of his entrance music. This tune must have gotten heavier down through the years. Brian Pillman out first for the Foundation. Anvil next, with Basketball Highlights 3 as his theme song. Dougie Boy Smith, and wife Diana with her natural resting bitch face next out. Owen with his awesome, funky king of Harts music!!! Double slammy award winning. Crowd have simultaneously pißsed and pooped at the sound of Bret's music! Why is Diana Hart wearing a tiara? Time for a fight!!! Helen Hart delighted to have gotten Bret's shades. Wrestling with Shadows was being filmed here at this event. Austin and Bret starting out. You wouldn't see this today, the crowd would be made wait well into the match to see the main guys get their hands on each other. Austin is being booed strongly! Applying the Million Dollar Dream, before Bret pulls the ole Wrestlemania 8 finish out. Austin's punches out of the Thez Press are awful! Dockleaf in now against the Anvil. Here's Flying Brian! Interesting to think where he may have ended up on the card if he hasn't passed away. Crowd are hot for Owen. One of the greatest never to hold the WWF title. Ooh, Austin Sucks chant going around the arena now. I wonder are Foley and Trips fighting in the showers now? Bulldog looked huge back in the day, but seeing him there now, he doesn't seem that big against the likes of say, Cena or Orton. Bret and Goldust in the mix now, before the foundation swarm on that son of a son of a plumber. Owen was amazing St the spinning heel kicks! LOD calling for the Doomsday Device! Time for a shmozz now! Austin wailed the glasses off of Bruce Hart! Owen is being taken to the back now, apparently injured! Stunner on Pillman! Bret working over Austins knee getting bet with a fire extinguisher!!! Figure 4 round the post! Crowd are going nuts. Its 5 on 4 with Owen gone. Officials are taking Austin to the back now though. 4 on 4!!! Some pace being kept here, all fast paced. Ken Dockleaf is some goof, holding Bret's leg like he was torquing it, when all he was doing was trying to think of what to do next! Dockleaf bumps hard off the announce table now. Bret is rolling in the ring. Bulldog showing more fire than he ever has taking out Dockleaf in the corner. Superplex off the top (remember when that meant something?) Austin is back!!! Bret and Austin have tagged in now, and its hell for leather! Great back and forth before Animal breaks up a Sharpshooter attempt. Austin puts Bret in the Sharpshooter before Owen returns to break that up. Bruce Hart fell over the barricade like Seth Rollins on Raw! Owen with the schoolboy on Austin for the win!!! There's Harts coming from everywhere!!! Natty is nibbling Austin's knee!!! TJ Wilson is dropkicking Hawk in the ass! Teddy Hart has gone into business for himself and has dove into the bustling crowd! Austin is back with a chair!!! DH Smith and all have jumped on him! He's being cuffed now, so security can take him out! Classic moment from Austin, this footage would be used for years to come, to show what a badass Steve really was. Stu Hart entering the ring now, 82 years old, at the time! Sad to see Owen with Oje there towards the end, when you know how things ended.

10/10

Overall, 7.5 out of 10. Main event was awesome, but the other matches, not so much.

Bounty Hunter

Wasn't there also a Godwins vs New Blackjacks match on this card?

which included the awesome JBL handlebar mustache

Bounty Hunter

Bounty Hunter wrote: »

Wasn't there also a Godwins vs New Blackjacks match on this card?

which included the awesome JBL handlebar mustache

It was on the free for all before the PPV.

gnfnrhead

Bounty Hunter wrote: »

Wasn't there also a Godwins vs New Blackjacks match on this card?

which included the awesome JBL handlebar mustache

It was on the Preshow/Free For All. Wasnt included in the version I had. Mine started with the opening video package.

Bounty Hunter

well that mustache needed mentioning anyway :pac:

gnfnrhead

Really wish the votes were public so we could see who gave it a 1/10.

Moneymaker

I plan to watch this later, card looks good anyway.

Chagan

It is shows like this that make me glad we're doing these threads. All of this was before my time, so while I have seen the memorable moments and know of the main storylines I haven't seen the majority of the actual events.

The video packages were up to their usual high standard. Last week, the videos were a handy refresher for what I had already seen before. For this, I needed them to give me a picture of what was actually happening at the time.

Vince McMahon's introductions won't ever be beaten in my eyes. But Christ, those hats were really something. Lawler looked ridiculous (not that it takes much) trying to see out underneath that thing.


HHH vs Mankind

I really enjoyed this, all three involved played their roles perfectly. It's started off strong with Mankind getting in most of the offence, the turnbuckle flip and the Cactus Jack elbow of the apron being high points. However, the match really came into it's own after the stairs bump.

And that was one sore looking bump to take too. Those small but painful little spots are what Foley did best. The injury gave the match a good focus and both men used it expertly. Foley made Hunter look like a million bucks with his selling. That collapse off of the Irish Whip is the kind of thing that separates good wrestlers from the greats.

That's not to say Foley carried this on his own. HHH and Chyna played the asshole pair fantastically. Chyna got herself involved just the right amount without being overbearing.

Obviously, watching the show as a one off, I wasn't overjoyed about the count-out finish but the brawl that followed made up for it. Overall, it was a lovely opener, got an already pumped crowd on their feet and fed into future plans for the pair. Oh and Vince liked Chyna's delts, it really does take all sorts. 8/10


The Hart's have their own parade. It's kind of sad seeing the happy times the Hart family had considering how bad it got for them.


Taka Michinoku vs The Great Sasuke

I actually think this was my favourite match on the card. A lightweight division match, contested by two Japanese wrestlers both making their debut at the PPV. Modern day Vince McMahon probably wakes up in a cold sweat at the thought of it.

The contest starts very slow and the crowd don't really appear to care too much. That is until Taka starts throwing around some dropkicks and Sasuke responds by just kicking his face off. Taka's head must still hurt after that one.

I had just stopped chuckling to myself about Taka's Rumble splat when Sasuke flings him over the ropes. After watching Punk fall on his backside attempting two reversal's in last week's PPV, Taka landing on his feet from the suplex was sweet.

Commentary for this was excellent too. It's mad to think Jerry had knowledge of anything beyond puppies at one time. All three did a great job of selling the Japanese style.

This was a great little showcase of both men's ability. The lightweight division may not have amounted to much but this showed how good it could have been. Or maybe it's Jack Doan's attempt at a mullet that makes me like this, who knows? 8/10


The Undertaker vs Vader

What struck me about this first of all was that the WWF Title match was happening mid way through the show. I'm not used to two hour shows anymore and I hadn't realised that the show only had four matches on it.

The match itself wasn't particularly notable other than it being in the early stages of the Kane storyline. The commentators and Bearer talking about a WWF champion murdering his family? Ah, they were innocent times. Bearer was phenomenal throughout. Hiding behind the apron as Taker made his way to the ring (which took 2 minutes, even in '97 he was milking it) was one thing, but it led to my pick for line of the night:

JR: "Hard to hide behind the apron when you're 400 pounds"
Jerry: "You ought'ta know"

Ice cold Jerry, ice cold. Bearer continued his glorious work by taking advantage of the referee not looking in order to ruffle Taker's hair and shout in his ear. To be fair, he does beat him with his shoe of all things later on. "If the heel doesn't get you, the smell will" This is PG humour, ladies and gents, nevermind dancing Khali.

In terms of the in ring action, a couple of low bows went unpunished and Undertaker's idea of fighting back involved jiggling Vader's belly before giving him an uppercut. It must have worked though because it resulted in what looked like a magnitude 9 earthquake hitting the arena. Overall, the match was fine, Bearer's antics give it an extra point. 6/10


Hart Foundation vs Austin w/Others

For the second week, a hot crowd elevates the main event. It was a proper hot crowd too, they popped for what was going on in the ring and didn't just spend the match chanting nonsense like we see today. I loved how they would cheer on the Foundation despite their obvious heel antics.

Everybody talks about Austin's performance, which was super, but my man of the match was Pillman. He was so clearly having the time of his life with the face heat and just went to town with it. I've always heard good things about Pillman but have never looked up his stuff. That must change.

Despite this, I think this match went on way too long. Without Austin, the other four didn't have the same heat to keep it going. It just dissolved into offense - break up pin/submission - tag - repeat. My favourite one was Owen being hit with the Doomsday Device before Anvil breaks the pin. At no point did it occur to Jim that maybe he could get in there before his brother in law gets dropped on his head.

The finish was clever enough. It gave the Canadians they're happy ending while giving the Hart's heat when they return to America. Austin coming back for more was a masterstroke. The image of him in cuffs flipping off the crowd was priceless.

The heat was unreal, Austin showed what was to come from him and the Hart family got their moment in the spotlight. The match was okay too. 8/10


I enjoyed Canadian Stampede a lot. Four strong matches that got a lot of time each. A low point for WWF refereeing standards though. I give it an 8/10.