The SmarK 24/7 Rant for The Hart Foundation
– Yes, this channel is so awesome that they’re actually showing old Coliseum videos. RARE ones. This particular one is from 1987, released during the height of their original tag title reign in the Danny Davis era, so it’s all about them as heels, and thus is vital viewing for anyone who wasn’t watching at that point.
– Hosted by Craig DeGeorge.
WWF tag team titles: The British Bulldogs v. The Hart Foundation
We start with the famous title change in Tampa, as Dynamite Kid’s back is so messed up that Davey has to carry him on his back to the ring and then fight off the Harts alone. Danny Davis is is a crooked ref at this point, although still not fired. Smith holds them off and whips Anvil into Bret, then powerslams Anvil, but Davis is attending to DK (much to Vince’s annoyance), which allows the Harts to sneak-attack him for the double-team. Double DDT and Hart Attack finish to give the Harts their long-awaited tag titles.
The Hart Foundation v. The Rougeau Brothers
From September ’86, with the Harts in blue and the Rougeaus in plain black tights. Jacques does a nice backflip escape off of Bret’s armbar, and Raymond comes in with a headlock. Bret blocks a rollup, but Raymond dropkicks him out and the Harts regroup. Back in the ring, as Neidhart wants some of Jacques. Jacques can’t overpower him, duh, and I’m not really sure why he’d think he could. So instead he suckers Anvil into trying the shoulderblock, and slams him into a Boston Crab as a result. Bret breaks it up and the Harts double-team Jacques with the Demolition elbow for two. Jacques bails and Anvil slams him on the concrete as a result. Back in, Bret grabs a chinlock and the Harts start switching off, then double-teaming him in the corner. Jacques tries to mount a comeback, but Bret kicks him in the back from the apron and Anvil chokes him down. Things get worse for Jacques as he tries to springboard out of the corner with a bodyblock, but Neidhart ducks him and he splats on the mat. Back to Bret, who applies a facelock to cut off the tag, while Anvil runs interference with the ref for good measure. Then it’s the old “Bret whips Anvil into the opponent” move in the corner, which gets two. Textbook, baby, textbook. Bret ties him in the ropes and then does a weak charge at him in the a weird spot, which looked like someone missed a cue. Bret opts for a backbreaker and second-rope elbow instead, and that misses. Hot tag Raymond, and he fires away on the Harts and dropkicks Anvil, then whips him into Bret for two. Sleeper on Anvil, but Bret breaks it up, and it’s a donnybrook. Anvil whips Jacques into Bret’s boot, but Raymond sunset-flips in for the pin on Anvil. Sneaky Quebecois.
(The Rougeau Brothers d. The Hart Foundation, Raymond Rougeau sunset flip — pin Jim Neidhart, 11:42, ***) Not essential viewing or anything, but a very good example of what the Harts did.
Bret Hart v. Ricky Steamboat.
From the Boston Garden, 3/8/86. I did a quickie version of this one for a Coliseum video rant ages ago, but I’ve always felt it deserved a full recap. Bret attacks to start, but gets whipped into the corner for his troubles. Steamboat fires away in the corner and grabs an armbar. He works on that with some really nasty stuff. Bret tries a comeback, but Dragon counters him with the patented slide-under-the-legs evasion tactic and goes back to the arm. Bret tries to hiptoss out, but Steamboat counters him with the sequence later made famous by Owen. Bret tries an atomic drop to break, but Steamer flips out of it, so Bret follows with a neckbreaker and legdrop to take over. Bret gives him a punch to the gut and Steamboat sells it like a gunshot wound, falling out of the ring in melodramatic fashion. Bret suplexes him back in for two, and grabs a headlock. Steamboat tries to slam out of it, but Bret counters for two. Another one succeeds, but he tries following with a splash and hits Bret’s knees. Has Steamboat EVER splashed anyone successfully? To the floor we go, where Steamboat gets slammed and Jimmy Hart is very proud of Bret for doing so. Back in, Bret uses a rare running powerslam for two. Wonder why that one never got worked into the routine? Backbreaker and second rope elbow misses. Interesting how that move was originally designed to be a comeback spot for a babyface, but turned into one of Bret’s signature moves later on. Steamboat comes back and chops him down for two. Backdrop suplex gets two. Another chop gets two. Steamer works him over in the corner, and the ref is bumped, and Bret gets the lariat for a visual pinfall. That’s a pretty big compliment from Steamboat. Another one is rolled through, however, and Steamboat gets the skin-of-his-teeth pinfall
(Ricky Steamboat d. Bret Hart, boydpress — reversal pin, 15:08, ***3/4) This nearly became the show-stealing classic of Wrestlemania 2, but they gave Bret’s spot to Hercules at the last minute, feeling he had better long-term potential. I can’t make this stuff up if I tried. Great selling from Steamboat here, needless to say.
The Hart Foundation & Honky Tonk Man v. Davey Boy Smith, Junkyard Dog & Tito Santana
Early era HTM here, with his old suspender tights. Smith quickly dodges the heels and slams them all, and they bail. Back in with Honky Tonk Man, and JYD hammers on him, which brings Anvil back into it. Dog gives him the headbutts and brings Tito in, who grabs a facelock after some punching. Bobby Heenan points out the inherent hypocrisy of Tito being the first guy to throw punches, which is good to hear. Back to Honky, and Tito slams the crap out of him, causing him to back off. Bret comes in and loses a slugfest with Tito, and it’s over to the face corner. Smith works the arm, but Bret brings Anvil back in, who proceeds to block a blind charge by JYD with a shot to the throat. Dog only had himself to blame on that one. Honky drops elbows on JYD and Bret drops a leg for two. Bobby, talking about Honky’s popularity, notes that when he comes to the ring, everyone holds up their hands to say he’s number one, and Gorilla nearly cracks up right there. Bret holds a chinlock on Dog, and we get the false tag, which allows Honky to switch in and hold his own chinlock. Over to Anvil for more of the same, and Honky gets a clothesline for two. Flying fistdrop misses, and it’s hot tag Tito. Flying forearm gets two on Honky, but the Harts break it up. Bret comes in with an atomic drop and elbow, but they collide and Tito tags Bulldog back in. Noggins are knocked and Bret gets clotheslined, followed by a delayed vertical suplex for two. It’s BREAKING LOOSE IN TULSA and Davey whips the Harts into each other, and pins Bret.
(Davey Boy Smith, Junkyard Dog & Tito Santana d. The Hart Foundation & Honky Tonk Man, Davey Boy pin Bret Hart, 12:12, **1/2) Very punchy-kicky, but still a solid TV main event.
– Mean Gene visits the “World Headquarters” of the Hart Foundation in New York, which proves to be Danny Davis and the Harts playing with wrestling figures.
– So onto the Danny Davis thing, as we get the famous Tito Santana squash where Danny Davis tries to stage a refereeing coup, but Jack Tunney fires him on the spot. Jimmy Hart rescues him and turns him into a wrestler, which could have been huge had Davis been anything worthwhile in the ring. I believe that Davis was actually the mysterious and generic Mr. X from that episode of TNT I just reviewed, but it’s hard to say.
– The Harts squash Jim Powers & Jerry Allen, thus introducing the world to their new friend Danny Davis.
– Next up, clips of the Bulldogs & Tito v. Harts & Davis from Wrestlemania III. Unfortunately not the full match, which was pretty decent if on the short side. Davey’s tombstone piledriver on Davis is the awesomest thing ever. Davis hits Smith with the megaphone and pins him to win it, in case this is news to you.
WWF Tag team titles: The British Bulldogs v. The Hart Foundation
From Boston in November 86. Bret pounds on Kid to start and traps him in the corner for some abuse, but the Kid is ornery and fights out without much problem. Over to Davey, who atomic drops Bret into the corner. Bret comes back with a rollup for two, then bails. Back in, it’s over to Anvil, and Smith dropkicks him (about 0.5 on the Erik Watts scale) and they do a power match. Smith can’t knock him down, and in fact walks right into a powerslam, which allows Bret to slingshot in with a splash for two. They work Davey over in the corner with the double-team elbow, and Bret adds a shot to the back from the apron, then slams him on the floor. Back in, Anvil hits the chinlock and they cut off the ring, as Bret distracts the ref and then whips Anvil into Smith in the corner. That gets two. Crucifix gets two for Smith, but Bret recovers quickly and elbows him down again. Anvil comes in and pounds away, grabbing another facelock to keep Davey out of his own corner, and it’s more shenanigans from the Harts. Double-DDT gets two. Bret grabs a sleeper, but Davey powers him into the corner to break and manages to press him onto the top rope. He’s got a groin pull, the likes of which you’ve never seen! Hot tag DK, Bret gets clotheslined as a result. Snap suplex and falling headbutt set up his own sleeper, but Anvil clobbers him and the ref is bumped. Neidhart puts Bret on top and revives the ref, but that only gets two, as the Garden was nearly on the verge of rioting. Anvil clobbers Kid again and puts Bret on top again, and that gets two again. This time Anvil has had ENOUGH of this shoddy reffing, and tells him so, but that allows Davey Boy to roll him up for the pin to retain.
(The British Bulldogs d. The Hart Foundation, Davey Boy rollup — pin Jim Neidhart, 13:41, ***1/4) Pretty standard Bulldogs-Harts match, but the finish was super-dramatic and fun.
WWF Tag team titles: The Hart Foundation v. The Killer Bees
Ugh, the goofy sneakers on the Bees, I almost forgot about those. Brunzell starts with Anvil and works the arm, so Bret comes in after some strategizing. Brunzell can’t hiptoss him, so he takes him down with a sunset flip for two instead. He goes to work on the arm of Bret now, and Blair comes in for the double-team as they stay on it. Blair slugs Bret into the ropes, and charges in with a headbutt, then catapults him into Anvil. The Harts hit the floor and regroup. Back in, Blair stays on Bret’s arm, as does Brunzell, and they get a double-team elbow off that. Bret has had enough and headbutts Blair into the heel corner, however, and now it’s time to go to school. Bret chokes him from the apron while Anvil beats on him, and then they trade! It’s fun for all. Bret with an atomic drop for two. Blair tries to escape, so Anvil cuts him off and pounds him on the apron. Bret tries to suplex him back in, but Blair reverses to a rollup for two. Bret grabs a facelock and they bring him back to the corner for some punishment, and Bret uses the old tag rope to choke him out. And then the top rope. Gorilla notes that matches like this need two referees, and Bobby counters that there ARE two: The one in the ring, and Danny Davis at ringside. Now that’s witty. Anvil slingshots Bret in for two, getting so much hangtime that he nearly overshoots. Finally, Blair whips Bret into the corner to get free, but ref distraction keeps Blair in the ring. Bret reverses a slam, but Blair rolls through for two. Bret cuts off another tag and they hold Blair in the corner, and Bret blatantly adds another cheapshot from the apron, in full view of the ref, to work on the back. That’s awesome. Neidhart goes to the bearhug and Bret once again runs interference, drawing Brunzell in while the Harts work their magic on Blair. Bret goes to the camel clutch, but Blair powers out with an electric chair, and it’s hot tag Brunzell. Atomic drop for Bret and dropkick get two, but when he small packages Bret, Danny Davis pushes them over to finish.
(The Hart Foundation d. The Killer Bees, Bret small package reversal — pin Jim Brunzell, 13:27, ***) Again, nothing vital here, but a solid tag match from the Harts’ peak.
The Pulse:
If you like tag wrestling, or you’re curious to see the early years of Bret Hart, this is a no-brainer, covering all the vital tag feuds of the 80s (Harts v. Bulldogs/Bees/Rougeaus) and giving you the Danny Davis storyline to boot. Definitely check it out if you have 24/7.
