-Vince McMahon and Jerry “the King†Lawler are in the booth.
-“The Birdman†Koko B. Ware vs. Irwin R. Schyster:
Koko B. Ware was still around in 1994? Koko makes fun of Lawler on his way to the ring. IRS gets the better of Koko at the beginning and stalls. Koko comes back with a a dropkick and IRS bails. Back in, Koko misses a reverse body press off the second rope and IRS catches him with an elbow off the ropes for two. Chinlock time, but IRS doesn’t get brownie points for putting his feet on the ropes for extra leverage. IRS releases the hold when Koko is about to escape, but he puts his head down too early and Koko gets a fluke sunset flip for two. IRS delivers a leg drop for two. Chinlock #2 is applied and this time IRS uses the ropes for leverage. Koko fights out and gives IRS a swinging neckbreaker when IRS puts his head down too early for a second time in the match. A blind charge eats buckle, though, and IRS hits a suplex and locks in the Penalty (STF) for the submission at 6:15. I like that finisher much better than the Write Off. This was a decent TV match and it could’ve gotten a higher rating if IRS hadn’t used so many rest holds. Rating: *½
-We recap the Lex Luger-Yokozuna WWF championship match at WrestleMania X for the third week in a row. Mr. Perfect’s appearance on Monday Night Raw is also shown where Perfect said that Luger never should have put his hands on him. Perfect and Luger were supposed to square off on the WrestleMania Revenge Tour, but Perfect left the company shortly after WrestleMania and those plans had to be abandoned.
-Highlights of last week’s match between Jeff Jarrett and Thurman “Sparky†Plugg are shown.
-“Double J†Jeff Jarrett vs. Thurman “Sparky†Plugg:
Jarrett ambushes Plugg at the beginning of the match and hits a fist drop from the second rope and a suplex for two. Chinlock time and Jarrett uses the ropes for leverage. It doesn’t quite have the same effect on the crowd when someone has already done that spot earlier in the show. Plugg delivers a side suplex to escape, but he can’t follow up. Jarrett pounds away but Plugg catches him with a fluke body press off the ropes for two. Plugg blocks a suplex and hits one of his own for a double KO as we go to a commercial break.
When we return from the break, Plugg small packages Jarrett when he tries a slam for two. Jarrett responds with a clothesline and hits two double axe handles off the second rope. However, when Jarrett tries a third one he receives a fist to the gut and Plugg makes the comeback. Plugg misses a second rope elbow drop, but avoids a Jarrett dropkick. However, a blind charge eats knee and Jarrett ties Plugg up in a Flair pin for the victory at 6:58 shown. Jarrett celebrates, but Dink runs into the ring and tells referee Joey Marella that Jarrett cheated. Not waiting for Marella to restart the match, Jarrett decks Plugg and chases Dink around ringside but when he nears the entrance, Doink appears and drenches Jarrett with a bucket of water. Post-match antics aside, this match was much better than their encounter on last week’s show and told a better story. Grade: *¾
-McMahon recaps the issue developing between the Headshrinkers and the Quebecers.
-The Headshrinkers (w/Afa) vs. Phil Apollo & Emilio Ulcia:
Fatu gets the honor of getting into Nikolai Volkoff’s face at ringside. The Headshrinkers attack the jobber team before the opening bell and nearly kill Ulcia with a double backdrop. The Headshrinkers give Ulcia their version of the Doomsday Device and that gets the pin in 38 seconds. See, the Headshrinkers would’ve been awesome as a tweener team that just beat the living hell out of teams, but when they became faces they lost a lot of their personality and were relegated to doing stupid comedy spots.
-The Heartbreak Hotel has WWF Champion Bret “the Hitman†Hart as a guest this week. Shawn Michaels reminds Bret that Owen beat him at WrestleMania and Bret responds by saying that it was just one time. Bret says he won’t duck any challengers as champion. This segment didn’t build to anything, but it came off well thanks to Shawn’s mic skills.
-An angry Yokozuna is shown in the locker room.
-The 1-2-3 Kid vs. Chris Hammrick:
Jason Vezina is our guest ring announcer and he does an average job. The Kid delivers a hiptoss for a quick one count, but Hammrick wins a hiptoss reversal sequence. Hammrick runs the ropes and the Kid side steps him, allowing Hammrick to work in his spot of flying through the second rope and to the floor. If you’ve never seen it it’s worth checking out because it’s very impressive. Back in, the Kid hits a spinning heel kick, catches Hammrick with a T-Bone suplex, and he wrenches the leg for the submission at 2:47. I guess the Kid was trying to diversify his arsenal. This was a great squash match between two very competent light heavyweights.
-Irwin R. Schyster reminds us why we need to pay taxes. After all, if you don’t he’ll shame you in front of your neighbors!
-Yokozuna (w/Jim Cornette & Mr. Fuji) vs. Terry Stubbs:
Yokozuna destroys Stubbs as we listen to a Paul Bearer WWF Greetings Call that Lawler ordered for Helen Hart. It’s pretty funny actually and distracts from Yokozuna’s slow and plodding offense. When the call ends, Yokozuna delivers a Banzai Drop for the win at 2:01. I can’t say much for the match, but Lawler’s antics with the Greeting Call made it tolerable.
-Tune in next week to see a return match between Kwang and Tatanka! Owen Hart will be a guest on the Heartbreak Hotel and Earthquake and Lex Luger will be in action.
The Final Report Card: After some horrible shows we finally got a good one. The Koko B. Ware match helped to keep IRS’s midcard push alive and Jarrett and Plugg were able to put on a decent match without all the shenanagins that took place in their initial encounter. Many of the wrestlers still don’t have a post-WrestleMania direction yet, but the Bret-Owen feud is slowly progressing.
Show Evaluation: Thumbs Up
