We’re back for another week of Vintage Collection, and I’m going to skip the pleasantries and get straight into the action because it was top notch this week.
Our first match here is a women’s match from October 18th, 1994. And it’s between Alundra Blayze and Bull Nakano. We come in and Nakano is holding Blayze in the corner before slamming her down onto the mat. Nakano chokes her on the ropes and she rolls to the outside where she is slammed face first into the ring steps and clotheslined down to the ground. Nakano stands up onto the apron, and while the ref is distracted by Luna Vachon on the outside, Blayze is choked again. Nakano gets into the ring, Blayze follows slowly and she’s taken up in a bodyslam. Nakano goes for the pin and Blayze bridges out, she runs and grabs Nakanos head to slam her down. She goes to run the ropes again, Luna Vachon hits her on the back and Blayze stops to turn and kick Luna down off the apron. Nakano hits her from behind while she’s distracted, and hits a DDT. But only for a two count because Blayze is able to get her foot on the bottom rope. Blayze runs the ropes and is able to counter into a crucifix for a two count. Blayze runs again, goes for a sunset flip, but Nakano doesn’t roll through and sits on her chest for a two count. Nakano picks up Blayze for a powerbomb and another two count, and both women climb to the top rope. Nakano pushes Blayze off and goes for a leg drop from the top rope but Blayze moves out of the way. Blayze starts firing off dropkicks, and hits three of them but only for a two count. Both women get up, Blayze goes to send Nakano into the ropes, she reverses, and as Blayze runs she ducks under Nakano to get a german suplex for the three count and the win.
We’re going back to August 15th 1994 now to a 20 man battle royal. The first thing we see is almost everyone ganging up together to immediately eliminate Yokozuna out over the tope rope. Yokozuna refuses to leave ringside, and we also see that he eliminated Fatu as he held onto him as he was being eliminated. All we’re seeing now is everyone brawling and Typhoon is eliminated. Inside the ring it’s hard to see who is battling who, and there is a group of wrestlers trying to eliminate Mabel. Nikolai Volkoff is next eliminated as we see him walk out of the arena. And we follow that up with Tom Prichard going out over the top rope. In ring, Bam Bam Bigelow goes for a clothesline and misses which sends him flying out over the tope rope. As we take a look at the action, we see Jeff Jarrett taking some punishment before we cut to where Bart Gunn is eliminated by Bob Backlund. Cutting back into the action again, it looks like the 123 Kid is about to go over, but he doesn’t, and as he gets saved by Samu we go to an ad break.
As we start back into the action again, we see Diesel send Mabel out over the top rope on his own, and we also see Fatu walking away from the ring. Somehow he survived his first elimination and was still in there, but this one is for good. Once Diesel has eliminated Mabel the crowd start cheering “Diesel, Diesel”, which seems to turn the heat onto him and most of the remaining wrestlers stop what they’re doing to work together to eliminate Diesel. The next one out comes through because of Jarrett, and he sends Bob Holly flying out before he gangs up with IRS to eliminate Duke “The Dumpster” Droese. IRS is working on eliminating the “Gigolo” Jimmy Del Ray, but the Gigolo is able to land on the apron. And as IRS is leaning over, Jarrett comes up from behind to push IRS out over the top rope. The Gigolo stands up on the apron but a single punch from Samu sends him flying off onto the ground. Back inside the ring, it takes three men but they’re able to eliminate Samu. The action now shows us Billy Gunn and Jarrett fighting alongside the 123 Kid and Backlund. Jarrett is able to eliminate Billy Gunn, and he sends the 123 Kid flying over, but he catches himself on the apron. As Jarrett goes to showboat, the Kid comes up from behind and sends Jarrett out of the ring and out of the match. We’re down to just Bob Backlund and the 123 Kid. Backlund is able to lock in a crossface chicken wing submission, and this weakens the Kid so much that Backlund is able to throw him out and win the the battle royal.
Our next match comes from October 19, 1994, and is between Tatanka and Lex Luger. As we come in, Tatanka is on the outside and Luger appears to want to go out after him. The ref holds him back, and Tatanka comes back into the ring and starts firing away on Luger with punches and kicks. Luger is thrown into the turnbuckle, but is able to reverse things and he sends Tatanka into a turnbuckle before hitting him with punches. Luger climbs up onto the middle rope to do some more punches, but Tatanka walks forward, goes for an inverted atomic drop, but it’s blocked. Luger hits him with a clothesline to knock him down. He’s thrown into the the corner, and hit with an elbow as he comes back out of the corner. Luger goes to punch Tatanka more while he’s down on the ground, the ref holds Luger back, and as that’s happening, Tatanka is able to grab Luger’s tights to slingshot him out of the ring. Tatanka follows him out, works on him on the outside, and slams him into the steel steps. Both men roll back in to stop the ref’s count. Tatanka kicks Luger a few times, and then chokes him right near the ropes. Four separate 5 counts before Tatanka walks away, but he comes straight back and chokes him out on the ropes again. Tatanka hits a bodyslam and an elbow drop to a two count. Another elbow drop gets another two count. Tatanka goes for a third elbow drop, and it still only gets a two count as we go to an ad break.
Straight back into the action, Tatanka is delivering chops to Luger’s back and his chest. Finally as Tatanka is running at Luger in the corner, he lifts his legs and is able to start a comeback with a series of kicks. He gets a running knee in, and is able to hit a running bulldog. It takes a clothesline and an attempt at a second one to send Tatanka to the outside of the ring. Both men end up out there and they battle back and forth until Tatanka is slammed face first into the steel steps. They continue to brawl on the outside as the bell rings to announce the double countout. Referees break up the two men and we cut to Luger cutting a promo on Tatanka and asks him to get back into the ring. Tatanka comes back in, Luger hits a powerslam before he goes for the Rebel Rack, the referees try to separate them again, and Tatanka rolls to the outside where he goes to the back with the Million Dollar Man, Ted DiBiase.
Now we’re onto our main event match, which is Bret Hart & British Bulldog vs. Owen Hart & Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart from October 19, 1994. As we begin this one, Owen and Bret circle before locking up, and Owen comes out stronger on the first lockup. The second lockup goes into a hammerlock, which Bret reverses, Owen goes down with a drop toe hold into a side headlock. Bret reverses straight into a hammerlock on the ground and slaps the side of Owen’s head. Bret gets Owen into an arm ringer into an arm bar. Owen pushes Bret into the ropes, they run and Bret gets a crucifix into a two count before going straight back into the arm bar, and back into a hammerlock. Owen is able to break it, and starts running the ropes with a shoulder block to knock Bret down. Bret leapfrogs him, and then is able to get a reverse monkey flip into a clothesline to send Owen flying to the outside of the ring. Neidhart is on the outside checking Owen out, and eventually Owen slides back in. Bret indicates that he wants the Neidhart to come into this match by mocking the Anvil’s size. Neidhart is tagged in, and the two men lock up. Neidhart throws Bret into the ropes, and after the second the second lockup, some quick moves lead into Neidhart catching Bret in a bear hug submission. Bret manages to break the hold and then tags in Bulldog. Bulldog tries to hit a shoulder block on Neidhart and it takes three tries for him to be able to knock Neidhart down. But he stays on top and is able to tag in Owen. Things go back and forth a bit until Bulldog hits a massive clothesline. And goes straight into a back body drop. Bulldog goes for the ropes and as he stops in the middle he gets a vertical suplex to a two count. Bulldog goes into a reverse chinlock as we go to an ad break.
We’re coming back into this match with Owen somehow on top, and as Bret distracts the ref by being inside the ring, Owen and Neidhart team up to put Bulldog into a double submission move. Owen grabs him and hits an inverted atomic drop before tagging in Neidhart. Neidhart picks Bulldog up by his hair, and as he tries to reverse to get a tag, Neidhart is able to lock in a front facelock. Owen distracts Bret from where he is in the corner, and the two men run around the outside of the ring. Neidhart and Owen gang up on Bulldog but it only gets a two count with Bret breaking it up. Owen pushes Bulldog into the corner, chops him and then tags in Neidhart who also delivers a chop and some punches. Neidhart distracts the ref and Owen chokes Bulldog. Neidhart tags in Owen who hits a spinning neckbreaker into a two count. He locks in a reverse chinlock, and Bulldog is able to break it and comes back with a flying clothesline. Both men are knocked down and as Bulldog starts crawling to his corner, Neidhart comes out and distracts the ref so that he can’t see Bulldog make the tag. Bret tries to come in, but the ref sends him back out again. Neidhart grabs Bulldog, but as Owen goes to hit the flying dropkick, Bulldog ducks and Owen takes out Neidhart. Bulldog is able to get the tag here and Bret comes in and starts cleaning up, with punches and kicks to both Owen and Neidhart. Eventually Neidhart rolls out of the ring and Bret hits a russian legsweep to a two count. A backbreaker and Bret climbs up high with a flying elbow. Another two count. Snap suplex into the sharpshooter, but Neidhart breaks it up. Bret is able to make the tag and Bulldog comes in, goes to press slam Owen but Neidhart breaks it up. Things get going, Bulldog rolls Owen up in a small package, the ref is distracted, and Neidhart rolls it over so that Owen is on top, but Bret rolls it over again so that Bulldog is back on top for the three count and the win.
That’s all she wrote for this week, and we’ll be back next week with more Vintage action.
