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September is Hart Foundation month. I would’ve thought they may have saved it for February (Hart-> Valentine’s Day) but hey, some Hart Foundation will definitely help ease me back into the school year. The featured PPV is Canadian Stampede and that’s a pretty easy choice for the Classics.com department to make. I can’t wait to re-watch that PPV (of course it will probably be reviewed and posted by the time this is posted since I write the introductions to these things right as the month starts). Anyway, onto the Hart awesomeness! This encompasses basically anyone in the Hart family, from the British Bulldog to Bret and Owen to Brian Pillman. I used to put these in order from date but I think this time I will do it in order of release on the website. I start from the bottom (the earliest posts) and work my way up. That will make my comments about the match selections a little more linear.
-Bret Hart vs. Dean Malenko-
This is a Nitro match-up from November 23rd, 1998. Bret stomps away at Dean to start and goes right after his leg. I guess Malenko had a bum leg here. Well, it is wrapped up. There’s a cool moment where Bret is choking Dean in the corner and the ref makes him break and Bret responds, “Sorry.” I just liked that. Malenko forearms out of the corner and now it is his turn to stomp at Bret in the corner. Malenko tries going after Bret’s leg with a takedown but he doesn’t have the leg strength to properly take him down. Either that or one of them blew the move. Malenko clotheslines Hart in the corner after the commercial break and follows with a suplex. Dean sells the leg but still covers for two. A La Majestral roll-up gets two. Hart tries a bodyslam but Dean falls on top of him for two. C’mon Bret, it’s not like he’s Earthquake you’re bodyslamming. Bret tries a suplex and Malenko counters with a small package for two and another roll-up for two. Bret tries the second rope elbow but actually misses it. Malenko grabs Hart in a sleeper. Hart tries to back suplex out of it but Malenko holds onto it. The classy fans of wherever this Nitro took place are so into the match they start chanting, “Show your tits,” to some woman in the crowd. At least I hope it was a woman and not just a fat dude. Malenko stalks Hart in the ring and Hart cowers in the corner. Malenko pounds away but Hart wisely goes after the leg. Malenko hits an enzuigiri and Bret responds with some more Calgary choking. It’s back and forth as Malenko sits Hart on the top rope but Bret sort of just falls to the apron. Malenko shoves him to the outside. Hart returns and walks into a spinning heel kick. This allows Malenko to hook on the Texas Cloverleaf but Bret makes the ropes. So Malenko drags him to the center of the ring and tries again only to get thumbed in the eye. Both men tumble to the outside and Bret finds a chair. He gets it superkicked into his face, a spot the camera basically misses. Tony Schiavone adds insult to the viewer’s injury by saying that was perhaps the best move of the match. Hart makes it to the ring and tries using the chair but the ref grabs it from him. This leaves Bret open for a missile dropkick from Malenko for two. Malenko tries a leapfrog but Bret’s head clips Malenko’s knee. Bret posts the knee and brings Malenko into the ring. He drops Malenko onto the chair almost in a Diamond Cutter sort of move and is DQ’ed at 13:33. This draws out DDP and he goes after Hart. This was a weird match for me. The psychology seemed a bit off (Malenko selling the knee was fine but everything else was just back and forth) and I thought it had some pacing issues. There was no time where the heel or the face was really in control and no extended heel portion where the fans would cheer for the face comeback. It was basically average and I thought it would’ve been a bit better. **1/4.
-Bret Hart vs. Bill Goldberg-
This is a Nitro match-up from October 25th, 1999. This must’ve been one of Hart’s final matches, I’d guess. Bret is selling a leg injury here, which I hope is not a recurring theme of this month. How many leg injuries are there? Well, we also have Pillman’s leg getting injured so I’m sure we’ll see that, too. The US Title is on the line here. Goldberg bodyslams Hart and he goes after the leg. Goldberg is a bit hesitant to go after the injured Hart. Hart tries pounding at Goldberg in the corner but that didn’t have the desired effect that Bret wanted. Goldberg keeps going after the knee but he wants the ref to stop the match. Well, at least he’s a considerate champ. If this was Hogan in 80’s WWE he would still beat the guy, possibly cheat, and the fans would love him. Bret tries fighting back and tries a sleeper and the ref manages to get bumped when Goldberg tries to fight off the move. Hart is tossed to the outside and this allows Sid Vicious, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash to attack Goldberg. Goldberg is powerbombed by Sid and Bret manages to get into the ring and cover as the ref revives and Bret wins the US Title at 7:53. This wasn’t much of a match, more a waste of 6 minutes prior to the run-in. *1/2.
-British Bulldogs vs. Barry O. & Rene Goulet-
This is one of the first TV appearances for the British Bulldogs and it took place on March 23rd, 1985. Judging by the run-time of this (5 minutes) this should be a quick squash. Rene is wearing a “Yonkers Fitness” shirt. Davey Boy looks a bit bloated here. Dynamite looks great. Rene and Dynamite start. Rene gets a quick armdrag into an armbar but Dynamite nips up and hiptosses Rene. Rene takes down Dynamite again and covers but Dynamite bridges and breaks. Barry O is tagged in and this brings in Davey Boy. Not too much happens of note until Dynamite comes in with a gut-wrench suplex on Rene and hits him with a missile dropkick. Davey Boy follows with one of his own on Barry O. Barry responds with a clothesline to Dynamite. Barry misses an elbow drop and he’s back dropped by a recently tagged Davey Boy. Davey Boy powerslams O but breaks when Rene charges in. Davey grabs a torture rack and tags in Dynamite who climbs the top and then steps on top of Rene to frog splash Barry O for the pinfall at 4:03. This was a standard 1980’s squash match. It made the Bulldogs look good, but they would get even better. **.
-Bret Hart vs. Lex Luger-
This is from a WWE Home video and the match took place on May 23rd, 1993. This could have been the main event of Wrestlemania X. It really bothers me that I can’t find what Coliseum Video this came from. Luger stalls to start leading to Bret chasing him into the ring and stomping him in the gut. Luger is taken down with an arm-drag/arm-bar combination. Bret continues working the arm as the announcers (Jim Ross, Randy Savage and Bobby Heenan) discuss the metal plate in Luger’s arm and the elbow pad he has to wear. Luger takes control and dumps Hart. He follows and sends him into the steel barricade, an act Bret reciprocates. Bret corners Luger but Luger thumbs Hart in the eye and sends him hard into the corner. Luger connects on a backbreaker and elbow drops Hart for two. Luger argues with the ref and this allows Bret to school boy Luger for two. Lex tries over powering Bret until Bret sunset flips Luger and pulls the tights down for leverage (showing Luger’s ass) and covering for two. Hart suplexes Luger. A cross body for Bret gets two. Bret gets a side Russian legsweep for two. A small package gets two. Bret hits the backbreaker/second rope elbow combo for two. The two collide for a double KO spot from which Bret recovers first. He goes for the Sharpshooter but Razor Ramon runs out for the cheap DQ at 16:59. Hart tackles both guys but he can’t fight against those odds for long. Luger does knock out Ramon by mistake and Bret is able to escape. Luger and Ramon go at it as the footage ends. It was a nice long match with no real dull moments but there was nothing really special about it, either. **
-Bret Hart & Owen Hart vs. The Steiner Brothers-
This is a gem from some WWE Home Video and the match took place on January 11th, 1994. This comes from the 1994 Wrestlefest Coliseum Video and is a well-regarded match. Scott and Bret start with some decent mat-wrestling. Scott hooks the leg and does a variation of a spinning toe-hold which Scott turns into a side headlock. Gorilla says he’s never seen anyone weakened by a side headlock as Bret gets shoulderblocked to the outside. Hart schoolboys Scott for two before armdragging him down into an arm-bar. Owen comes in and he’s bodyslammed down. Rick is brought in and he and Owen start their own mat-wrestling sequence. I think it was actually a bit better than Bret/Scott. Owen tries for a leapfrog but Rick catches him and powerslams him. A back suplex follows for two. Owen responds with a German suplex for two. Rick kicks out and brings in Scott. Owen hits his patented spinning heel kick for two. Owen gets a T-Bone suplex for two. He rolls up Scott but Scott bridges up and hits a double underhook slam. He covers but Bret breaks up that pin. Bret is tagged in and Rick goes to work on his arm. Bret breaks free but misses an elbow drop and Rick goes back to the arm. Bret breaks again and this time he’s able to make something of it, hitting a dropkick before DDT’ing Rick. Bret doesn’t break out the DDT often. Gorilla says there will be no submissions in this match even though Bret’s finisher is a submission. Bret hooks on a sleeper hold but Rick eventually breaks by backing up into the corner. That is a brief reprieve since Hart goes right back to it. Rick lucks out and passes out, right into the ropes and Bret has to break. Bret takes forever to break.
Rick recovers quickly and hits a second rope crossbody for two. Bret is sent to the corner chest-first and Rick covers for two. Scott is tagged in and hits a nice suplex for two. Bret reverses an Irish whip into the corner but Scott ducks the charge and Bret posts his shoulder. Bret makes it to the apron and Scott tries to suplex him in but Bret reverses that and Scott lands hard on the outside. This enables Bret to take in Owen. A gut-wrench suplex gets two and he goes to the abdominal stretch, even though Scott obviously hurt his knee. Owen hits a belly to belly for two and tags Bret back in and he catches Scott with a side Russian legsweep. Owen comes back in and Scott is sent to the ropes, right into Bret. Owen covers for two. Owen misses a follow-up dropkick. Rick comes in with a belly to belly for two. Scott comes in with a full nelson suplex for two. Rick comes in and lays out Owen with a clothesline for two and puts him in a Camel’s Clutch. Scott comes in and lifts up Owen in a suplex but piledrives him down. Bret has to come in and make the save on the pinfall. Owen gets dumped to the outside but he’s able to slingshot Scott to the outside when he makes the apron. Bret gets the hot tag and atomic drops Scott for two. Bret does the backbreaker/second rope elbow combo for two. Bret goes for the Sharpshooter but Rick makes the save. So Owen tries for the Sharpshooter and again
Rick makes the save. The Steiners try for their top rope clothesline but Bret holds Rick and Owen victory rolls Scott for two. All four men brawl in the ring but Bret and Rick get dumped to the outside. Scott follows with a top rope axehandle and Owen follows with a pescado. The ref counts both teams out in a really lame finish at 24:56. The Steiners and Hart continue brawling and the WWE officials have to break them up, including Pat Patterson. Gorilla sees him and says, “Is that Pat Patterson? Boy has he got fat! He let himself go!” That made the match for me. There’s just some wild brawling here which is capped off by a little handshake between the teams. This is a much lauded match for a reason, these four guys went all out and totally busted their asses. If you want to see what a great tag match looks like you have to look here. The finish knocks this off the rating slightly. ****1/2.
-Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart-
This is another WWE Home Video match and the match took place on January 10th, 1995. This must’ve been one of the last match-ups between the two. This is from the Brawl in the Family video. Bret has some woman accompany him to the ring, some radio personality I believe. This is a No Holds Barred match and Owen attacks Bret right from the start. Owen still has his Hitman glasses on, too. Bret hits the Side Russian Legsweep right away and drops the second rope elbow. Isn’t a bit too early for Bret to be going for that? Bret suplexes Owen for two before going to the sleeper. Owen back suplexes out of it and sends Bret into the top turnbuckle before raking his eyes on the ropes. Owen follows with a butt splash while Bret is on the ropes and covers for two. Owen starts going to work on the leg and tries for a Sharpshooter but Bret kicks out of it. Bret tries pulling Owen out of the corner but Owen holds onto the top turnbuckle. Bret yanks Owen and with it the turnbuckle cover is torn off. Owen regains control with an eye rake and he bulldogs his brother. He tries another but Bret shoots him off and Owen flies into the corner. Bret atomic drops Owen and clotheslines him for two. Bret hits a really nice piledriver for two. I don’t know why Bret didn’t do that more often since that one looked beautiful. The two exchange blows which Owen wins with a spin kick. Owen heads upstairs but misses a missile dropkick. Bret was supposed to catch him but misses but he quickly takes his legs and slingshots him into the corner with the exposed turnbuckle. Bret covers but Owen’s foot makes the ropes. Owen is clotheslined to the outside and Bret chases. Owen low blows his brother once they both return to the ring .Owen connects with a back breaker over the knee for two. Bret runs into a knee and Owen rolls up Bret for two. Owen starts going after the leg again before deciding to lock Bret in a camel clutch. Bret hammers free but runs into an overhead belly to belly suplex from Owen for two. A small package for Owen gets two. Owen tombstones Bret and heads up top again. He tries a flying headbutt but Bret rolls out of the way. Bret bulldogs Owen now before hitting a second backbreaker and locking Owen in the Sharpshooter. Owen taps out but tapping out really wouldn’t mean anything for another few years. Owen calls it quits at 14:00 but Bret won’t break the hold. Bret breaks and panders to the crowd before deciding to put Owen back into the Sharpshooter. This wasn’t as great as their Wrestlemania or Summerslam match-ups due to a noticeable blown spot and some odd psychology (why did Owen go after the leg before putting on a Camel Clutch?) but these two were always able to produce something that was at least very good. ***1/2.
-British Bulldog & Jim Neidhart vs. Disco Inferno/Alex Wright-
This opened Fall Brawl 1998 from September 13th. We actually get full entrances here. Alex Wright and the British Bulldog start. The fans start a USA chant that doesn’t really pertain to anyone except Disco Inferno. They fight over a lock-up and Bulldog corners Wright and pounds away but Wright turns it right back around for some poundage of his own. Wright is arm-dragged and press-slammed and we change dance partners. Anvil and Disco stall a bit before Disco drop toe holds Anvil and stomps a mud hole in him. He follows with a boot to the gut and knee lift but the boot to the gut was so poorly executed that Disco has no choice but to get pounded on by the Bulldog and Anvil in the corner. Bulldog is tagged in but he quickly gets kneed in the back by Wright on ringside and Wright properly stomps away at Bulldog and instead of walking it dry he dances it dry. Wright monkey flips Bulldog but he lands on his feet so Wright hits a decent looking spin kick for two. Bulldog puts down his head and he’s booted in the face. Disco drops a second rope elbow for two. He follows with an atomic drop but he misses a clothesline and Bulldog sends him up and over to the top. Anvil stomps away at him at ringside and Anvil manages to make that look bad. Anvil continues pounding away at Disco as the fans start getting into the match. Wait, they’re chanting We Want Flair. Nevermind. Bulldog tries slingshotting Neidhart into the ring but Anvil misses by a mile and Wright is tagged in. A missile dropkick knocks down the Anvil and a regular dropkick fells the Bulldog. Wright bodyslams Bulldog but Anvil attacks Wright from behind. The Bulldog tries for his powerslam but Disco interferes and a double clothesline follows for Davey Boy. The ref gets bumped, Disco runs into Wright and Bulldog hits the running powerslam (after struggling to lift up Disco) for the pinfall at 11:53. There were a ton of blown spots and just bad looking wrestling. This was not a good opener to get fans into a match. *1/2.
-Bret Hart vs. Rene Goulet-
This is Bret’s MSG debut and it occurred on January 21st, 1985. I’m excited for this one. Rene was a good guy to work with and I am saying this really only based on his match with Randy Savage in Randy’s debut. Bret is wearing just a pair or red wrestling shorts. Rene gets a full nelson which Bret reverses and Rene makes the ropes to break. Rene takes down Hart with a headlock but Hart headscissors right out of that. Hart goes after the arm but Rene makes the ropes again, drawing the ire of the fans. Hart grabs a side headlock and Rene goes to the ropes but Hart just pulls him off and takes him down to the mat. Rene breaks but falls to an armdrag into an armbar. Rene controls with a knee to the gut and follows with a bearhug. Rene whips out the dreaded Claw on Bret but considering he’s from France and he isn’t as fearsome as say a Von Erich, Bret easily breaks. He sends Goulet to the corner but Goulet slugs him down off the rebound. Bret sneaks in a sunset flip for two but Rene goes right to the reverse chinlock. Hart breaks with an armdrag and a shoulderblock but he runs into another Goulet knee and Goulet gets a two. Rene tries a third Claw and when that doesn’t work he tosses Bret to the outside. He teases a move off the top but he opts to just raise his arms in celebration. Bret sunset flips Rene from the apron for two. Bret hits an atomic drop and follows with an abdominal stretch but Rene just shrugs him off. It’s plan B for Hart and it’s a backbreaker but no follow-up second rope elbow. Instead it’s a legdrop for two. Rene is sent to the corner but lifts a knee to block a charging Hart. Rene tries using a foreign object but Bret ducks that and locks Rene in a sleeper. Rene is out cold and that’s all she wrote at 14:19. This was incredibly boring but it was a sound wrestling match. How often have you seen Hart win with a sleeper? **.
-British Bulldog & Jim Neidhart vs. Bret Hart & Lex Luger-
This Thunder match-up took place on September 10th, 1998. Luger takes on both Anvil and Bulldog to start with Hart nowhere in sight. Bulldog is clotheslined out of the ring and Luger goes to work on Anvil. Anvil is bodyslammed but Luger lets him crawl to the corner to tag in the Bulldog. ALLIED POWERS EXPLODE! Bulldog is atomic dropped. Anvil and Bulldog finally decide they should double-team as Bret makes his way to ringside and then into the ring. Hart makes like he’s gonna help Anvil and Bulldog but he instead takes out his own family and helps Luger. Bret wants to be tagged in and Luger obliges. Bret comes in and hits the backbreaker and second rope elbow combo and Luger is tagged in. Anvil is caught in the torture rack and Anvil taps out at 4:00. Hart helped clear the ring of Bulldog but Luger appears to have hurt his shoulder afterwards. Luger and Hart high-five each other after the match. This was a nothing match. *.
-Brian Pillman vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin-
This Raw match-up took place on June 16th, 1997. This was during a great period in WWE’s rise back to the top of the ratings war and back to the top of the wrestling mountain. Pillman was with the Hart Foundation at the time and they were in a feud with the biggest thing in wrestling; Steve Austin. The members of the Hart Foundation are handcuffed to the four corners to prevent their interference. Bret isn’t there, though, just Owen, Anvil and Bulldog. Austin comes out to a very lukewarm pop. A year from this even his pop would be incredible. HOLLYWOOD BLONDES EXPLODE! Austin slugs down Pillman to start and atomic drops him. Pillman bails and Austin chases, but not before stopping to take a swipe at the Bulldog. This allows Pillman to chop away at Austin. Owen tries to get out of his handcuffs as Pillman offers a handshake to Austin. Austin takes his hand but stomps away since one of his motto’s is DTA, Don’t Trust Anyone. Pillman heads to the top but Austin catches him and crotches him on the top rope. Austin goes after the Hart Foundation members that are handcuffed at ringside. This allows Pillman to again come from behind and choke Austin with a cable wire. Pillman appears to have lacerated his arm. We head to a break and return to see some recaps from previous action. It seems that Pillman’s arm wasn’t cut but his nose was broken when he charged Austin with a chair only to have it punched into his face. Austin lowblows Pillman and we go to black and white when we see a close-up of his face. Luckily that will be over by October in the Classics.com universe. McMahon mentions the Austin/Pillman gun incident as Pillman holds Austin in a headlock. We see close-ups of Pillman’s face that is not shown in black and white. I wonder why the liberal use of black and whiting was used. Pillman tries a sleeper but Austin chinbreaks out of it. He misses the follow-up elbow drop. He takes down Pillman and pounds away anyway before stomping at Pillman. The ref gets involved so Austin stuns him. It wasn’t a good looking stun. It lacked fluidity. Pillman knocks down Austin with an illegal object and covers and the second referee counts the pinfall but it only gets two. Owen Hart frees himself with a key from the knocked out ref and soon all the Hart members are freed and Austin is stomped by the Harts. The ref calls for the DQ at 8:30. Why not DQ Austin when he stunned the ref? Mankind, Goldust and Shamrock head out to save Austin. This was a typical Raw match to hype the next PPV. **.
-Hollywood Blondes vs. Marcus Alexander Bagwell & Erik Watts-
This was on the Superbrawl Pay-Per-View from February 21st 1991. Bagwell and Austin start things out and boy would each guy’s career be radically different in a decade. Bagwell pushes Austin into the corner after a lock-up and Austin shoves him off. Bagwell armdrags Austin down but Austin uses some guile to break, only to get slugged to the outside. Bagwell tags in Watts who gets a chorus of boos. Austin takes a double back body drop and a charging clothesline for Pillman. Pillman is tagged in and he gets into a shoving match with Watts. Pillman shoulderblocks Watts down but Pillman is dropkicked down and he goes to work on the arm. And the fans boo. Bagwell comes in with a dropkick for Austin and a side headlock takeover. Watts comes in and he’s booed again. See, his father was running the company and it was due to his father’s incompetence that led to Flair’s departure from the company. Needless to say, the fans weren’t to happy with the Watts’ at this time. Erik hooks an abdominal stretch and tags in Bagwell who takes over where Watts left off. Austin hiptosses out of it and in comes Flyin’ Brian. Watts comes in to another chorus of boos and it gets to the point where Ventura questions why the fans boo him. Watts rolls-up Austin for two and then puts in a terrible looking Boston Crab. Pillman comes in to break the hold only to have Watts put Pillman in the STF. Pillman makes the ropes to break the hold. Watts tries to send Pillman to the ropes but he keeps falling due to a bad knee. It was just playing possum and the idiot Watts fell for it. He is elbowed to the outside. Pillman tries an axe-handle from the apron only to have Watts duck away from it. Austin comes in and Watts takes a double elbow that sends him over the top and to the outside. Austin tries a sunset flip from the apron but Watts slugs out of it to break. So Pillman comes in to the complaints of Bagwell. The Blondes continue double-teaming to the dismay of Bagwell. Austin distracts the ref as Watts sunset flips Pillman. The Blondes were good at getting heat like that. Watts almost makes the tag when Pillman misses a splash off the top but Austin catches him and back suplexes him. Austin sends Watts to the ropes and charges but their heads collide and Watts is able to make the hot tag. Bagwell cleans house and he powerslams Pillman. Austin makes the save and this draws in Watts. Watts is dumped as Pillman takes control with a poke to the eyes. Bagwell hits a fisherman’s suplex but the ref is distracted by Watts. This allows Austin to drop an elbow off the top to the exposed abdomen of Bagwell and that’s enough for the pinfall for the Blondes at 16:18. This was quite a fun match. Watts really stunk up the ring but even his crappiness couldn’t bring this match down. ***.
-Introducing: Natalya-
Natalya is a member of the famed Hart family. She’s the daughter of the Jim The Anvil Neidhart. She talks about training in the dungeon and the Hart Dynasty currently in the WWE. I haven’t watched WWE since 2002 so I have no idea what they’re like. Natalya’s debut took place on the April 4th, 2008 Smackdown against a woman named Cherry. Natalya has Victoria with her and Cherry has someone else I don’t recognize. Natalya suplexes Cherry as Cherry does some of the worst selling I’ve ever seen. Natalya grabs a side headlock but Cherry backs into corner to break it. Cherry is bodyslammed for her efforts and Natalya covers for one. Natalya and Cherry slap each other as this match grinds to a halt. Natalya works the knee of Cherry but Cherry rolls up Natalya for two. She tries a monkey flip in the corner but Natalya shoves her off. She finishes with a Sharpshooter at 4:24. That was just a bad match, folks. Natalya’s sharpshooter did look pretty good for what it’s worth. ½*.
-Hart Foundation vs. SD Jones & Mario Mancini-
This is one of the Hart’s earliest tag matches form Championship Wrestling dating all the way back to April 20th, 1985. The Anvil and Bret were not officially named the Hart Foundation yet. Anvil and SD Jones start things off and SD was only about a month away from his historic defeat at Wrestlemania. SD gets a bit more offense here as SD and Neidhart work a hammerlock-reversal sequence. SD actually gets the better of it and Mancini is tagged in and immediately laid out. Bret comes in with a standing dropkick and charges a knee into the gut of Mancini. Neidhart is gagged in and shoulderblocks Mancini down. Hart stays in the ring, though to add some more damage before the Anvil officially comes in. The Anvil tags in Bret and he holds up Mancini and Bret clotheslines him down (the Hart Attack!) for the pinfall at 2:37. SD Jones tried to make the save but that is one delivery that wasn’t on time. *, since it was just a 2-minute squash. What I love about stuff like this is how we can actually get some of the earliest WWE matches of the Hart Foundation and just how much great content they can show.
-Owen Hart vs. Ken Shamrock in a Submission Match-
This took place in the famed Hart Dungeon at the Fully Loaded PPV held on July 26th, 1998. Dan Severn is there as a special guest ref and his WWE shirt is blurred out. Thank you, Vince, for having to paste the WWF logo EVERYWHERE in the attitude era and thus have a bevy of blurring in the years to come. Shamrock tries a ground and pound but Owen goes after the knee. Shamrock reverses into a knee lock of his own. Shamrock kicks Owen into the wall and throws him down to the ground. Owen responds with a low-blow and a spinning kick. Owen tries his own ground and pound but that doesn’t really go anywhere. Owen bashes Shamrock’s head into the wood wall and follows with a German suplex. Shamrock follows with a ground and pound and just slams Owen’s head into the mat. Owen grabs hold of a water pipe and kicks Shamrock off but Shamrock catches him and sends him into the dumb-bells. Shamrock uses the water pipe and Owen counters with a powerbomb. Owen sends Shamrock into the water pipe and then puts his head through the ceiling. Owen locks Shamrock in the Sharpshooter but Shamrock rolls through it and tries for the Ankle Lock. Shamrock sends Owen hard into the wall and follows with a kick to the face. He tries another kick but that catches Severn. Owen hits Shamrock with a dumb-bell and he taps Shamrock’s hand on the mat and Severn calls the match at 4:55 since he thought Shamrock tapped out. Well, the drive-through marriage place accepted HHH’s voice as Stephanie’s so anything is possible in the WWE. This was cool and different but there wasn’t much they could do in the confines of the Dungeon. **1/4.
-Hart Foundation vs. The Nasty Boys(c) for the WWE Tag Team Titles-
This would be the last match of the Hart Foundations career and it occurred on July 29th, 1991 on Primetime Wrestling. This was the return match for the Foundation, even though Bret had started his solo run already. The Anvil and Sags start this shindig off but Sags doesn’t do a damn thing and Knobbs comes in instead. The Anvil pounds away and shoulderblocks Knobbs and then Sags and the Nasty’s clear the ring. Anvil turns his back on Knobbs and the Nasty’s immediately start a double-team only to have it countered with a double clothesline. Bret comes in and the Nasty’s bail again. We take a Primetime break and we return with Bret rolling Sags into the ring. Sags corners the Anvil in the bad part of town. The Anvil reverses an Irish whip to the corner quite poorly only to proceed and miss a blind charge. While the ref is distracted Anvil gets nailed in the chest with Jimmy Hart’s helmet. Anvil makes it back to the ring where Sags wears him down with restholds. Knobbs comes in and joins in the rest-hold fun. Man, you’d think Nasty’s/Hart’s would be halfway decent but no, this is just really boring. Sags heads upstairs and I don’t think this will end well for him. He jumps off and lands on his feet and Anvil lifts up his knees. What was Sags even trying? He landed on his feet so he wasn’t trying for any real maneuver. Hart is tagged in and after hitting the side Russian legsweep hits the second rope elbow. The Harts combine for the Hart Attack but Sags breaks up the pin. Jimmy tosses the helmet into the ring and Bret catches it and uses it on the Nasty’s but the ref sees it and the Hart’s are disqualified at 9:23. The ending was hot, the ending was cheap and any part of the match with Neidhart was boring. Considering Neidhart worked most of the match that’s not a good sign. *1/4.
-Owen Hart vs. British Bulldog(c) for the European Title-
This is a Raw match-up from WWE Raw held on March 31st, 1997. This was the Bulldog’s first defense of the European title. Owen hits a beautiful sliding kick as Bulldog gets to ringside and tosses him into the stairs. He slams his back into the ringpost and claims the European belt is his. Owen sends Bulldog into the ring and heads up stairs with a crossbody for two. Bulldog punches himself out of the corner but gets low blowed as a result. Owen sends Bulldog to the corner and clotheslines him on the rebound for a two-count. Owen goes to a chinlock so Bulldog elbows out of it only to run into a knee to the gut. Owen tries a Sharpshooter but Bulldog kicks him off. The announcers preview some of the other matches on the card including Rocky Maivia vs. Bret Hart for Rocky’s IC title, Goldust vs. HHH and Undertaker possibly reuniting with Bearer. Owen tries for a spinning kick but is caught and rolled up for two. Bulldog tries a blind charge but that hits the boots of Owen. Owen fires away with European uppercuts but Bulldog catches the second one and backslides him for two. Bulldog tries a back drop but Owen piledrives him as we head to commercial. During the break hits an elbow for three but the ref saw Bulldog’s feet were on the ropes and he reversed his decision. Owen suplexes Bulldog for two. It’s back to the chinlock (hey guys, use the rest-holds during the commercials!) which Bulldog breaks by sending Owen to the corner. Owen quickly follows with an elbow before heading up top. He tries a missile dropkick but the Bulldog shrugs him off and locks on the Sharpshooter. Bulldog lets go (because he didn’t have a good grip) so Owen enzuigiri’s Bulldog. He seats Bulldog on the top rope but Bulldog punches Owen off. Owen flips off and lands on his feet and knocks Bulldog over the top and to the outside. Owen tries a slingshot bodypress from over the top to the outside but Bulldog catches him and slams him down. Bulldog brings Owen back into the ring and clotheslines him down. He slingshots Owen into the corner and covers for two. Owen is back dropped and clotheslined to the outside. They battle onto the ramp and Bulldog suplexes Owen onto the steel ramp. Owen is press-slammed back in the ring for two. Owen leapfrogs a charging Bulldog and Bulldog nails the referee, sending him to the outside. Owen connects with a spinning heel kick. Owen gets a chair but can’t use it. Bulldog knocks it out of his hands and Bulldog clotheslines Owen onto the chair. Bulldog is about to use the chair when Bret comes running down from ringside. He tries to break up the fight and he gets on the microphone. He cuts an anti-US promo (no family values) which seems to go on forever. The fans catch on quickly and chant USA. You know, I still have the timer running for this match but I don’t think it will finish. Let’s call it the Sports Entertainment Finish at 12:00. This couldn’t even TOUCH their Berlin Raw match. **1/2.
-Bret Hart vs. Danny Davis-
This is a Primetime match from August 8th, 1988 (or 8/8/88). Danny Davis is from the city of Dover, New Hampshire. Just being from Dover should get him booed. I think this was during Bret’s first solo run which was later aborted. The Hart Foundation had been working with Danny Davis, evil referee, but with Bret going face Davis was out. Davis tries an early hiptoss that fails miserably. Bret gets a small package for two and Davis bails to the outside. Davis stays outside for awhile before coming in and once he’s in Bret goes to work on the arm of Davis. See, if that was his counting arm it would be a huge problem in case Davis ever continued refereeing again. Davis heads outside again and tries a handshake when he returns. This has every cheap stalling technique known to man. Bret falls for none of it and goes on the offensive. He tries a backbreaker but Davis counters with a thumb to the eye. He sends Bret face-first into the corner and starts choking him with an illegal object with the blind referee missing the whole thing. Bret survives a couple of dropping arm tests before falling on top of Davis during a bodyslam attempt for two. This starts the comeback for Bret. A backbreaker gets two (with some weird camera trickery there), a small package gets two, and a piledriver ends this at 9:34. This was incredibly boring with most of the 9 minutes being restholds. *.
-Brian Pillman’s WWE Debut-
This is his WWE debut and it happened on Shotgun Saturday Night on the evening of May 24th, 1997. Brian is wrestling some jobber named Tony Williams. This was during the age of Shotgun that was taped before Raw and not the really cool nightclub environment. Brian says he’s not a part of the Hart Foundation but all the members of the Harts are out there. Pillman finishes this with a neckbreaker at 1:31. ¼*.
-Owen Hart vs. Marty Jones-
This is a Stampede Match from March 10th, 1987. The video quality is not that great but it’s cool to see an early Hart match like this. This is for the British Mid-Heavyweight Championship. This looks to be a multi-round match-up. We start with a cool headlock take-over/headscissors reversal sequence and they continue with their mat-wrestling to end Round 1 at 3:00. Owen gets a fireman’s carry into an armbar to start Round 2, but Jones breaks. Owen works in a variation of the figure-four. Jones breaks and works the arms but Owen breaks by flipping out of it using the ropes. We end round 2 still deadlocked. We skip ahead to Round 5 with Hart getting bodyslammed down and making it back up at the 8-count. Jones goes to work on the arm of Owen. Owen does a split-legged reversal using the ropes and rana’s Jones for the pinfall at 7:45 (aired), though it was1:45 into the fifth round. This is definitely interesting though I can see why people wouldn’t like it now. **1/2.
-Owen Hart vs. HHH(c) for the European Title-
This is another Raw match-up featuring Owen and this aired on January 26th, 1998. HHH was injured and the HHH and Chyna that made their way to ring were frauds. The fake HHH attacks from behind and he clotheslines Hart down. He dumps Hart though Hart comes back with a crossbody off the top for two. Hunterdust, as Ross is calling him, hooks in a chinlock and I finally realize that this Hunterdust is actually the wrestler known as Goldust and the fake Chyna is Luna. We take a Raw commercial break and Owen finally gets in some offense, splattering him with a spinning heel kick, some shots in the corner and an enzuigiri. Owen hits a missile dropkick off the top rope but when he comes off the ropes he gets nailed with a cane by Luna. Hunterdust tries a Pedigree but Owen counters with a Sharpshooter that draws the submission at 5:09. After the match we see Michaels and HHH on the Titantron making fun of Owen for being such an idiot. So Slaughter comes out and declares that Owen is now the new European Champ. The match wasn’t much to shout home about, basically because it was only 5-minutes long. It was more to set up the angle at the end of the match than anything else. **.
-Owen Hart vs. The Rock(c) for the WWE IC Title-
This is a Raw match-up between the two from April 18th, 1997. Rock gives a little promo right before the match. Owen comes out with his two Slammy’s, a wheel-chair bound Bret and the British Bulldog. Rocky was still playing face here and was getting little to no reaction as the blue-chip sensation. In fact, the fans were turning on him a bit. Owen attacks from behind but Rocky fights back with a clothesline and a weak looking dropkick. Rocky works the arm before powerslamming Owen for two. Owen is sent to the corner and backdropped out on the rebound and Rocky goes back to the arm. Owen sidesteps a charging Rock and dumps him to the outside and follows with a baseball slide. He rolls Rocky back into the ring and heads upstairs, setting up a missile dropkick for two. Owen drop toe holds Rock and he starts working on the leg of the Brahma Bull. Rock sneaks in a small package for two but can’t sustain any pressure and Owen continues working the leg of Rocky. Owen tries a Sharpshooter but Rocky pulls him by the hair to counter. Owen suplexes Rocky and sends him to the corner but Rocky hits a twirling DDT. Rock Rock Bottoms Owen but that was before it was a big move and Owen kicks out at two. Owen is sent to the corner but he responds with a spinning heel kick that sends Rock down. Owen goes upstairs only to get crotched and he is back suplexed off the second rope for two. Rock sets up for something but Owen counters with a over the shoulder roll-up combination for the pinfall, the victory and the IC title at 8:27. This wasn’t a technical masterpiece and it was on the boring side but I guess that’s what we’d call a standard Raw match from 1997. **1/4.
-Bret Hart(c) vs. Goldberg for the WCW Title-
This is a famous match-up between the two from Starrcade held on December 19th, 1999. The two men shake hands to start before locking up. Goldberg muscles Hart down but Hart goes right to the side headlock, a good move to wear down an opponent that is much stronger than him. Goldberg powers out and turns a gorilla press into a powerslam. Goldberg continues with some weak looking short-arm clotheslines before catching Bret in an ankle-lock. Bret tries to counter it into a Sharpshooter but Goldberg is able to kick out of it. Bret bails to the outside where Goldberg and the ref follow. That wasn’t a smart move for the ref as he’s bumped down shortly afterwards and a second ref makes his way down. Goldberg drops Hart on the steel barricade before bringing him into the ring. Goldberg hits a big boot and he stomps away. He does a hiptoss takeover and a second ref is knocked out. Goldberg tries for a spear in the corner but Hart quickly evades and Goldberg heads right into the ringpost. Bret puts Goldberg’s legs between the post and does a figure four using the post as we get our third ref in the match. The ref’s are getting here really quickly. Were they on stand-by or something? Hart continues working over the knee when they get into the ring and puts Goldberg in a figure-four. Goldberg reverses it and Bret has to break. The two battle it out and the ref is bumped again and Goldberg hits a superkick that gave Bret a concussion that would end his wrestling career forever. Somehow Bret gets up and he gets speared by Goldberg. The fourth referee comes down and it is Roddy Piper. He takes his time getting to the ring, allowing Bret to chop block Goldberg and put him in the Sharpshooter. Piper calls for the bell, even though Goldberg never gave up (It’s Montreal all over again!) and Bret retains his WCW title at 12:10. **3/4. This was a decent match that surrounded all the wackiness. The psychology was decent (Bret working the leg) and the two of them kept the match interesting. Of course, the wackiness of WCW is really overpowering (three ref bumps and a screwjob) really hurts the overall enjoyment of this match.
-Bret Hart(c) vs. Skinner for the Intercontinental Title-
This is a little seen match from This Tuesday In Texas, held on December 3rd, 1991, just days after Survivor Series. I think these two fought it out on an episode of Raw once and the conclusion was never seen since the show just ran out of time. This was during Bret’s “take on all comers” phase. Bret starts with an arm-drag into an arm-bar before Skinner breaks. He leapfrogs the Hit Man but doesn’t see Bret waiting behind him. A few atomic drops follow and Skinner flees to the outside. Skinner re-enters and gets caught in an arm-bar again. Skinner tries arm-dragging out of it but Bret hangs on. Skinner is able to eventually break but the tough-luck loser walks into some headbutts and it is back to the arm. Skinner does the always heelish eye-poke to break and sends Hart through the ring ropes and shoulder-first into the ringpost. He chokes Hart at ringside before catching him with an abdominal stretch inside the ring. Skinner uses the ring ropes for added leverage and Skinner realizes this move is going nowhere so he just hits a shoulder-breaker for two. Skinner distracts the ref and nails Hart with his alligator claw. Bret is sent chest-first into the corner and Skinner changes strategy and goes to work on Bret’s leg now, oblivious to the shoulder he was previously working on. Skinner tries to finish this with a neckbreaker but that only gets two. Skinner heads to the second rope and dives off but he falls into the raised boot of Hart. Bret gets two off a side Russian leg-sweep. A suplex for Hart gets two. Hart’s back-breaker sets up his second rope elbow, also for two. Skinner sneaks in a sunset roll-up for two but Bret kicks out, sending Skinner to the outside. Bret follows but just gets his head rammed into the apron as a result. Skinner tries suplexing Hart into the ring but Hart reverses. Skinner actually counter Hart’s attempted roll-up by hanging onto the ropes. Skinner heads upstairs but Hart quickly gets up and tosses Skinner off. The Sharpshooter ends this at 13:46. ***. This wasn’t exactly a spirited match and it relied a bit too much on restholds in the early goings (especially Skinner’s offense) but Bret could always deliver at least a decent match on a PPV.
-Jim Neidhart’s Debut-
The Anvil debuted on Championship Wrestling on February 2nd, 1985. Jose Luis Rivera is the opponent and the Anvil is actually managed by Mr. Fuji. Neidhart does a Pearl Harbor job on Rivera and quickly bodyslams him down. He covers but pulls Rivera’s head up at one. Neidhart follows with a dropkick and covers and again lifts up Rivera’s head at two. Neidhart tosses Rivera to the outside and Rivera looks like he took a tough spill. Anvil clubs away at Rivera. He does another arrogant cover though this one bit him in the butt a bit. Rivera makes a brief comeback (hitting a dropkick) before Anvil catches Rivera and powerslams him for the pinfall at 3:04. *. This was your standard Championship Wrestling squash match.
-Bruce Hart & Brian Pillman(c) vs. G. Game & Jerry Morrow for the Tag Team Titles-
This is another Stampede match that is featured on here and this is from January 4th, 1988. This is JIP with Pillman getting choked by Morrow’s wrist tape. Pillman is the face in peril and is caught in a bearhug by some fat guy who the announcer doesn’t call G. Game so I have no idea who it is. Pillman makes the tag to Bruce but the ref didn’t see it. Pillman backslides Morrow but the ref was distracted by fat-man. Pillman comes back with a spinning heel kick before finally making the hot tag to Bruce. Bruce hammers away at Morrow and when fat-guy comes in the ref gets squashed between Morrow and fat-man. All hell breaks loose in the ring and Morrow covers Pillman (the illegal man) as Bruce covers fat-man (the illegal man). The ref counts both of them at 5:32 and both teams think they’ve won at. It looks like the titles are being held up and now vacant. We hear interviews from the challengers and they are complaining to Ed Whalen. We also hear from Brian Pillman and Bruce Hart. If I cared I would check to see what happened with the title but I really don’t. Pillman shills his bandana before complaining about the match. This was clipped but it looked like **1/2.
-Owen Hart & Jeff Jarrett vs. Ken Shamrock & Big Bossman(c) for the WWE Tag Team Titles-
We close with a tag-team Raw match from January 25th, 1999. This one has a TV-14 rating. I think we can attribute that to Debra. We see events from Heat that set up this match. Remember Heat? Debra tries to play some mind games with Boss Man before the match starts. Boss Man connects with a big boot on Jarrett only to have Jarrett respond with a dropkick. Jarrett tries the sit down splash over the ropes but Boss Man moves and JJ crotches himself. So Boss Man does his baseball slide to the outside to uppercut Jarrett. JJ tags in Owen and a double clothesline sends Boss Man down. Owen tries a sharpshooter but Boss Man kicks out of it. Shamrock is tagged in and stomps at Hart. Hart comes back with an enzuigiri for two. Shamrock responds with a side Russian legsweep for two. Owen powerslams Shamrock for two and lays out Shamrock with a spinning heel kick. Owen heads upstairs and tries a missile dropkick only to have Shamrock duck out of it. Debra gets to the ring and takes her top off and Shamrock is oddly unaffected. Shamrock hits a belly to belly and ankle-locks Owen causing Jarrett to interfere. This draws in Boss Man and the two brawl to the outside. Suddenly, while the ref is distracted, the Blue Blazer runs down to ringside and whacks Shamrock with the guitar. This allows Owen to cover for the pinfall and the victory at 4:38. Who was this black Blue Blazer? At least we know it isn’t Owen. This was just your average 1999 Raw match. At least it had an ending. **.
-The Bottom Line- With a month dedicated to the Hart’s I thought I’d be throwing out stars like they were going out of style. Well, I think all the stars would’ve gone to some of the matches below. That being said, we got some AWESOME rare stuff on here, stuff that I think was rarer than footage they’ve shown in previous months. First off the highlight was the Steiners/Hart match which topped ****. Second we saw really early Bret Hart, Hart Foundation and Owen Hart matches that I probably never would’ve seen if not for this service.
Here’s a rundown of matches I didn’t watch this month.
--Hart Foundation vs. British Bulldogs (Saturday Night’s Main Event 05/02/87)
I did this one recently on Best of Saturday Night’s Main Event DVD and it got a solid ***.
--British Bulldog vs. Shawn Michaels (King of the Ring 1996)
I decided not to do this WWE Title match between the two since it is on the Shawn Michaels Story DVD which I have waiting to be reviewed.
--Owen Hart/Yokozuna vs. Smoking Gunns (Wrestlemania XI)
This is another one that I will be reviewing in the months (or years) to come as it is on the Wrestlemania Anthology I am getting through.
--Bret Hart vs. Curt Henning (WCW Uncensored 1998)
This was one I reviewed for the Mr. Perfect DVD and it was a really underwhelming match, clocking in at less than **. (*3/4).
--Bret Hart vs. Bob Backlund (Survivor Series 1994)
This is one I will review when I get around to the Survivor Series sets (if the WWE ever releases them as an anthology!) I’ve seen it before and it is a great match.
--Bret Hart vs. Sting (WCW Nitro 10/25/98)
I just wasn’t interested in this one. I never cared for Bret’s WCW run and I never liked Sting and since this was a 25-minute video I decides to take a pass.
--Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog (IYH 12/17/95)
I steer away from PPV matches since I plan on reviewing them all one day anyway. I personally don’t remember this match, even though I know I’ve seen it.
--The Hart Foundation vs. The Killer Bees (MSG 02/17/86)
I reviewed this one already on the Bret Hart DVD and it was a solid *** match.
--Owen Hart & British Bulldog(c) vs. Shawn Michaels & Stone Cold Steve Austin for the WWE Tag Team Titles (Raw 05/26/97)
This is from the WWE: Monday Night War DVD and was the only good match on that disc. This was an awesome **** match and you should definitely watch it if you have the time.
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