Written by: Bob Colling
World Wrestling Federation House Show
Date: 10/29/1994
From: New York, NY
There was just under 10,000 people in attendance, less than half capacity for the Garden.
Missing matches:
Jim Powers vs. Abe Schwartz
IRS vs. Duke Droese
Opening Contest: Bam-Bam Bigelow vs. Adam Bomb: Early on, Bomb works over Bigelow with a few strikes. Bigelow knocks Adam off his feet with a clothesline and a shoulder block. Bomb ducks another attempt and drops Bam-Bam with a leaping clothesline causing Bigelow to bail to the floor and stall for a little bit. Bomb has the crowd behind him pretty well as he hits a drop toe hold on a charging Bigelow. Bam-Bam slams Bomb but misses a falling head butt which allows Adam to regain control. Bomb hammers away on Bam-Bam until he is stopped with an atomic drop and clothesline. Bigelow drops Adam throat first across the top from the apron. DiBiase is on the floor taunting Bomb, who scares him away. Bigelow rolls to the floor but Bomb gets the better of him for a short period of time. Bam-Bam gains control with a headlock back in the ring and hits a spin kick to the back of Bomb’s head. Bigelow distracts the referee and DiBiase continues to taunt from the floor. Bigelow misses a leg drop but Bomb is too weak to capitalize on the advantage. Bigelow dumps Bomb to the floor where DiBiase is yet again. Bomb avoids a second spin kick and begins his second wind nearly winning with a dropkick. Bomb nearly wins with a leaping cross body, with the near fall tricking fans. Bomb goes for a slam but DiBiase pulls his leg out and the referee saw that to call for the bell. (**. The crowd was totally into this one and I was liking it as well. I’d almost rather have Bomb go over clean here, but I understand why Bigelow didn’t lose. He had a busy spring coming up and losing to Bomb at the Garden would make little sense.) After the match, Bigelow and DiBiase have an argument but Bigelow walks away.
Before the next match, Jerry Lawler cuts a promo ripping on the fans which gets a few laughs and not many boos, it seemed like.
Second Contest: Doink the Clown & Dink vs. Jerry Lawler & Queasy: Lawler and Doink kick off the tag match with Doink delivering a kick to the side of King’s head. Lawler stalls on the floor briefly before coming back in and being worked over by Doink. Dink and Queasy provide some comedy by running over Lawler. Lawler puts Doink down and works over his arm and Queasy runs over Doink only to be tripped and Lawler is mad! Doink scoop slams King and puts Dink on him for a cover and makes a couple of near fall counts. Lawler has a chain around his fist but the referee doesn’t see it. Lawler suckers Doink into a test of strength and uses the chain to get a cheap advantage. Doink fights back with a vertical suplex as Dink chases after Queasy on the apron. Doink backdrops Lawler but Lawler uses a chain again on Doink! Dink goes for a top rope cross body but Lawler tosses him onto Doink, who trips over Queasy and Lawler gets the pin with a handful of tights! (1/2*. Mainly a comedy match that you’d see anywhere.) After the match, Doink and Dink dropkick the heels to the floor.
Vince McMahon comes down and introduces Mr. Bob Backlund for an interview. Backlund comes down and says that everyone is rude. Vince notes that the fans weren’t rude to Backlund in 1978. Backlund says the championship was stolen from him in December 1983. Backlund has wasted his time on the fans and is better than all of them. Backlund rambles and proceeds to leave. The fans talking think that Backlund will get the championship at Survivor Series but lose it at the Garden. Smart fans.
Third Contest: WWF World Champion Bret Hart vs. Jim Neidhart: Anvil shoves Bret into the ropes a couple of times but Bret hits a running cross body for a near fall. Neidhart is pulled to the floor and clubs Hart before slamming him head first into the apron. Neidhart misses a splash and hits the ring post. Hart sunset flips from the apron and nearly pins Anvil. Anvil sends Hart hard chest first into the corner to gain the advantage. Anvil keeps control by choking the champ and taunts the fans. Hitman starts to fight back with right hands. Neidhart catches Hitman coming off the ropes and locks in a bear hug briefly. Anvil yanks Hart down to the mat by his hair. Anvil power slams Bret but can’t get a three count on the cover attempt. Hart slingshots Neidhart from the apron back into the ring and continues to hammer away on the challenger before hitting a bulldog for a two count. Hart gets another two count following a side Russian leg sweep. Hitman comes off the middle rope but Neidhart gets his boot up. Neidhart places Bret on the top rope and slams the champ down to the mat. Anvil heads to the top but misses a big splash! Hart quickly gets up and locks in the Sharpshooter to win the match. (*1/2. A basic match between these two. It’s really difficult to buy into Neidhart as a challenger to the championship. Kind of shows how much of a weak spot the WWF was in for challengers.) After the match, Mr. Bob Backlund comes out and puts the chicken wing on Hart before several officials came down to break the hold.
Fourth Contest: Tom Pritchard vs. Billy Gunn: Originally, this was going to be the Smoking Gunns vs. Heavenly Bodies but Jimmy Del Ray blew out his knee the previous night. Billy arm drags Pritchard early on to get the advantage. Billy monkey flips Pritchard out of the corner and rolls Pritchard up for a near fall. Del Ray comes down to ringside to watch the match. They run the ropes with Billy hitting a running bulldog for a near fall. Pritchard attacks Billy from behind thanks to a distraction from Del Ray. Pritchard focuses his attack on Billy’s left knee. Tom follows up with a vertical suplex but Billy kicks out again. Tom heads to the top rope but misses a backward elbow drop. Billy backdrops Pritchard and soon rolls through a roll up for the win. (*. A sloppy finish to the match. I’d much rather have seen the tag match.)
Fifth Contest: Tatanka vs. Lex Luger: Lex chases after Tatanka but gets attacked as he enters the ring. Luger fires off several right hands and a running clothesline. The crowd is loud for this one. Tatanka clubs away on Luger to get the advantage. Tatanka works over Luger with a few chops, but Lex isn’t affected by the chops. Luger rams Tatanka into the corner a few times. Lex avoids an atomic drop and clotheslines Tatanka. Tatanka sends Lex to the floor to get a cheap advantage. Tatanka maintains control with a few kicks to the ribs. Tatanka scoop slams Luger and a few elbow drops for a near fall. Tatanka heads to the top and hits an overhand chop. Lex begins to fight back with right hands. Tatanka hits a back suplex for a near fall. Luger ducks a right hand to hit a back suplex. Tatanka runs into a big boot in the corner and Luger fights back with right hands. Luger follows up with a bulldog and poses to the fans before running Tatanka over with clotheslines. Tatanka is knocked to the floor. Luger comes off the apron to axe handle Tatanka and the referee counts both men out. They continue to brawl on the floor. After the match, Tatanka comes back into the ring and Luger puts him in the Torture Rack. (*1/2. The crowd was into it and didn’t like the finish. It wasn’t a spectacular match, but there is a fine amount of energy with the match. Luger seemed motivated and it translated in the performance.)
Main Event: Yokozuna vs. The Undertaker in a casket match: Yokozuna is scared to death of the casket. Taker opens the match with a few strikes and sends Yoko towards the casket but Yoko stops in his track. Yoko runs away from Taker and clotheslines him over the top but Taker lands on his feet. Taker drops Yoko throat first across the top from the apron. Taker walks the ropes and drops down across Yoko’s arm. Yoko drops Taker with a Samoan Drop. Yoko tries to roll Taker into the casket, but Taker avoids it and throat thrusts Yoko. Yoko head butts Taker on the apron and Taker lands on the casket. Yoko punches Taker off the apron and lands on the guard railing. Taker yanks Yoko down by the hair and hits a top rope clothesline. Taker rolls Yoko towards the casket, but IRS comes over and closes the casket and Yoko is rolled on top of it. IRS is ejected from ringside. Taker goes towards IRS on the aisle way but IRS backs off. Mr. Fuji tosses salt into Taker’s eyes to help Yoko. Paul Bearer tries to get his hands on Fuji. Yoko sends Taker face first into the ring steps. Yoko delivers several head butts and drops Taker. Yoko rolls Taker towards the casket and Taker is in the casket, but gets his arms up to block it being shut. Taker strikes Yoko several times but Yoko stops him with a belly to belly suplex. Yoko pummels Taker in the corner with several right hands. Yoko delivers a leg drop and the fans are shocked. Taker is rolled towards the casket and is put inside. The referees slowly close the casket but Taker sticks his arm out. Taker enters the ring with Yoko oblivious to it. Taker clotheslines Yoko and hits an awful looking choke slam. Taker rolls Yoko towards the casket and shuts the casket to win the match. (*1/2. A subpar main event between these two, though the fans sure did like Taker winning. The choke slam was really awful looking. A poor performance by these two.)
Final Thoughts:
This has to be one of the worst MSG shows that I’ve ever reviewed. The best match was Bigelow/Bomb and it didn’t have a finish to it. I wasn’t expecting anything to really standout, honestly, but this was a boring show. Far more boring than I was anticipating. A thumbs down from me.