Written By: Bob Colling
World Wrestling Federation House Show
Date: 5/3/1993
From: Hartford, CT
NOTE: This event is a handheld meaning that it was not aired on television at anytime. The show is not complete as only one match was not recorded. That match saw Owen Hart defeat the Brooklyn Brawler. Everything else was recorded in its entirety
Opening Contest: Bam-Bam Bigelow defeated Kamala: Bigelow attacks Kamala in the corner with right hands. Bigelow misses a splash in the corner and flips over the top to the apron and is chopped to the floor by Kamala. Kamala with a few overhand strikes before heading back into the ring. Bigelow quickly sends Kamala to the floor again and rams him face first into the ring steps. Kamala fights back in the ring but is poked in the eyes and Bigelow goes back to work with several right hand shots. Bigelow comes off the ropes and connects with a few falling head butts and a jumping head butt for good measure. Bigelow signals for the end and heads to the top rope. Kamala recovers and crotches Bigelow. Kamala with right hands and a running clothesline. Kamala sends Bigelow face first into the top turnbuckle and goes for the cover but doesn’t know how to pin Bigelow as Bigelow is on his stomach. Kamala rolls Bigelow over again onto his stomach and isn’t able to get a proper pin. Kamala looks at the referee and is rolled up by Bigelow who gets the three count. 1/2*
Second Contest: Crush fought Doink the Clown to a double count-out: Crush kicks Doink in the midsection avoiding a sneak attack. Crush slams Doink by the feet out of the corner and Doink backs off. Atomic drop and a clothesline by Crush to keep the early advantage. Standing dropkick by Crush sends Doink to the floor who walks it off and leaps into the crowd to taunt a few fans. Doink spits on Crush and rolls back into the ring where he gets a few shots on Crush. Doink rakes Crush’s eyes and is met with a backbreaker as he comes off the ropes. Crush drives Doink down with a delayed vertical suplex and connects with a elbow drop. Crush delivers a big boot and Doink falls to the apron. Crush clubs Doink on the chest but is poked in the eyes. Doink drops Crush throat first across the top rope and leaps off the top with a double axe handle. Doink again leaps off the top with another double axe handle and connects with a pile driver. Doink kicks Crush to the floor and taunts the fans. Crush tries to slide back into the ring but Doink prevents him from making it back. Crush is brought back into the ring and Doink takes him down with a swinging neck breaker. Doink locks in a chin lock but Crush quickly gets to his feet. Doink nails Crush with a right hand to the lower back and goes back to a chin lock. Doink leaps off the middle turnbuckle and knocks Crush of his feet with a clothesline. Doink goes for double axe handle but Crush gets his feet up to block it. Crush with a second wind takes Doink down with a clothesline and a military press slam. Crush goes for the Kona Vice but Doink bails to the floor. They come back into the ring and Crush connects with a tilt a whirl backbreaker. All of a sudden Doink’s music hits and a second Doink has made his way down to the ring. Crush goes to the floor and brawls with the original Doink and apparently have been counted out. **
After the match, Crush scoop slams the first Doink but is attacked by the second Doink. Crush ducks a double clothesline and is going to clothesline the Doink’s but he completely botches it an falls down. Crush rams the Doink’s into each other and they bail to the floor
Third Contest: Bret Hart defeated Razor Ramon: Ramon shoves Hart into a corner as they lockup but doesn’t follow up. Hart with a wrist lock and Ramon drops down to his knees. Ramon reaches the ropes and Hart just lets go of the hold. Ramon with a knee to the gut and a side headlock. Ramon comes off the ropes with a shoulder block and runs the ropes again until Hart drop toe holds him and works on Ramon’s right knee. Hart locks in the figure four and Ramon’s shoulders are down for a near fall a few times. Ramon is able to reach the bottom rope but Hart quickly goes back to work on the knee of Ramon in the corner. Ramon sneaks in a closed fist and knocks Hart down where he chokes the Hitman. Ramon sends Hart into the corner back first and shoves Hart into the ropes working on Hart’s back as he comes back towards Ramon. Ramon with a series of stomps in the corner and taunts Hart. Scoop slam by Ramon and gets a two count on the pin attempt. Ramon quickly places Hart in a abdominal stretch in the middle of the ring. Hart counters with one of his own but is hip tossed. Ramon goes for a few elbow drops but misses all of them. Hart with a atomic drop and a running clothesline for a near fall. Hart with a quick inside cradle but Ramon kicks out again. Side Russian leg sweep by Hart and he almost wins the match. Hart goes for a backbreaker but Ramon rakes Hart’s eyes. Hart comes off the ropes and connects with a swinging neck breaker. Hart leaps off the middle rope and goes for a forearm drop but Ramon gets his boot up. Ramon goes for the Razors Edge but Hart reverses it and pins Ramon with a backslide! **½
After the match, Ramon attempts to attack Hart but is back dropped over the top to the floor.
Fourth Contest: WWF World Tag Team Champions Money Inc defeated the Steiner Brothers to retain the titles: Steiner’s clothesline the champs to open the match and IRS is sent to the floor by Scott while Rick clotheslines Ted over the top to the floor following a backdrop. Rick and DiBiase are the legal men and DiBiase delivers a knee to the midsection and rams Rick head first into the corner. DiBiase takes Rick down with a side headlock and gets a couple of near falls as Rick has his shoulders down. DiBiase with a shoulder block coming off the ropes and is soon taken down by Rick with a belly to belly suplex. Rick tags out to Scott who comes off the middle rope with a double axe handle. Scott works on DiBiase’s left arm for a few moments. Rick tags back in and continues to wrench on DiBiase’s arm. Scott tags back in and just wrenches on DiBiase’s arm some more. Scott clotheslines DiBiase and takes DiBiase down with a arm drag. Scott has a arm lock locked in and DiBiase pops his shoulder up to avoid being pinned a few times. Scott comes off the ropes and is met with a knee to the midsection. IRS tags in and misses a elbow coming off the ropes. Rick enters and just works on IRS’s arm like they were doing to DiBiase previously. IRS bails to the floor as he is sent into the ropes and Scott chases him around the ring briefly. IRS blocks a kick but Scott grabs his tie and leaps over the top sending IRS throat first into the ropes. Scott covers but the referee is distracted and he eventually gets a two count. Scott comes off the ropes and is tripped by DiBiase which allows IRS to send Scott to the floor as Scott turns his attention to DiBiase. On the floor, DiBiase gets a few shots in and sends Scott back into the ring. IRS with a elbow drop and covers getting a near fall. IRS holds Scott as DiBiase comes off the top with a double axe handle and stomps Scott on the face. DiBiase goes for a cover but Scott kicks out at two. DiBiase back elbows Scott and gets yet another near fall. Scott is double teamed in the corner briefly. DiBiase chokes Scott with the tag rope as the referee is distracted. DiBiase controls Scott with a sleeper hold in the middle of the ring. Scott tries to get out of it but drops down to his knees and begins to fade. Scott stands back up and rams DiBiase face first into the top turnbuckle. DiBiase rolls to his corner and tags in IRS who prevents Scott from tagging out to Rick. IRS drops Scott throat first across the top rope and taunts the fans. Scott gets out of a sleeper hold with a jaw breaker and tries to tag in Rick but DiBiase is able to prevent the tag from being made. DiBiase goes back to a sleeper hold on Scott. Scott manages to snap suplex DiBiase and goes to the wrong corner. Scott goes the right way and tags in Rick but the referee didn’t see it. Scott with a sunset flip on IRS but the referee is distracted and only counts a two. IRS regains control with a sleeper hold but Scott elbows his way out. IRS is able to scoop slam Scott and leaps off the top but is met with a boot to the face! Rick gets the tag and clotheslines both men. Rick also power slams DiBiase while Scott sends IRS to the floor. IRS enters the ring and attacks Rick from behind. DiBiase attempts a pile driver but Rick blocks it and Scott comes off the middle rope with a clothesline and Rick gets a near fall. Rick power slams DiBiase again and knocks IRS off the apron. Steiner’s manage to plant DiBiase with the Steiner Bulldog and Scott goes for the cover! The referee is trying to get Rick out of the ring and this allows IRS to hit Scott with a tag team title and DiBiase pins Scott! **¼
Fifth Contest: Tatanka defeated Lex Luger: Luger takes Tatanka down with a side headlock but Tatanka rolls out of it and they both quickly get up for a standoff. Tatanka with a hammerlock but Luger quickly reaches the ropes. Tatanka backs Luger into a corner and is sucker punched as the referee tried to break them up. Luger with a few shots to the back and comes off the ropes with a shoulder block. Luger runs the ropes and is dropkicked twice and taken down with a arm drag. Tatanka proceeds to work on Luger’s left arm with a few leg drops and a arm bar. Luger with a knee strike to Tatanka’s ribs but Tatanka comes back with a cross body coming off the ropes and a arm drag. Tatanka leg drops Luger’s left arm again and keeps the arm lock on. Tatanka with a few strikes to Luger’s elbow and is sent into the corner where Luger misses a splash and is arm dragged again as he comes out of the corner. Tatanka clotheslines Luger but is sent over the top to the floor by Luger a few seconds later. Luger grabs Tatanka on the apron and drops him throat first across the top rope. Luger drives Tatanka down across his knee with a backbreaker and drops a elbow across Tatanka’s chest. Luger goes for the cover but Tatanka kicks out at two. Tatanka is sent chest first into the ropes and is met with a forearm shot to the lower back. Luger runs into a big boot in the corner and Tatanka comes out with a flurry of rights and chops until he is poked in the eyes! Luger scoop slams Tatanka and taunts the fans which allows Tatanka to roll him up for a near fall. Tatanka with a sunset flip coming off the ropes but Luger kicks out. Tatanka connects with a vertical suplex and both men are down in the middle of the ring. Luger rams Tatanka head first into the corner but Tatanka absorbs it and begins to go on a War Path! Tatanka with several chops and a backdrop for a near fall. Luger is chopped as he comes off the ropes and kicks out just in time! Tatanka comes off the ropes and they collide causing both men to go down. Tatanka avoids a right hand and rolls Luger up for a near fall. Luger takes Tatanka down with a back suplex and both men have their shoulders down, but Tatanka gets his up before the three and wins the match! **
After the match, Luger nails Tatanka with a illegal forearm to the back of the head.
Sixth Contest: Bob Backlund defeated WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels via count-out: Michaels stalls for just about five minutes before anything really happens. Michaels with a side headlock and is sent into the ropes but is able to knock Backlund down with a knee lift. Michaels leg trips Backlund a couple of times but each time he is kicked in the face. Backlund with a headlock but Michaels reverses into a head scissors. Michaels keeps the hold on for several moments until Backlund rolls over and pops out of the hold. Michaels backs off as Backlund marches towards him. Michaels with a hammerlock but Backlund reverses into one of his own and locks Michaels in a head scissors. Michaels does a hand stand but Backlund is able to do a pile driver while sitting down! Backlund goes back to a head scissors but Michaels reaches the bottom rope. Michaels bails to the floor for a few moments but eventually comes back and locks in a full nelson. Backlund is able to reverse it and has Michaels in a full nelson. Michaels quickly reaches the ropes but Backlund doesn’t back off and backs Michaels into a corner where he doesn’t do anything. Backlund avoids a dropkick and catapults Michaels face first into the ring post! Backlund with a horrible swinging neck breaker and gets a two count. Backlund pulls down Michaels trunks as he tries to leave but is back dropped by Michaels. Michaels bails to the floor and is counted out. DUD
After the match, Michaels comes back to the ring and is atomic dropped by Backlund. Backlund covers Michaels and counts to three himself.
Main Event: Yokozuna defeated Jim Duggan: Duggan with several right hands in the corner and goes to hit Yoko with the 2×4 but is stopped by the referee. Yoko with a right hand and chokes Duggan on the middle rope. Fuji hits Duggan with the Japanese flag as the referee pulled Yoko away. Yoko goes back to choking Duggan. Yoko distracts the referee and Fuji chokes Duggan as well. Duggan comes back with a series of right hands and Yoko staggers. Yoko pokes Duggan in the eyes and dumps Duggan to the floor. Duggan enters the ring and is worked on by Yoko with a few overhand shots and is choked again. Yoko catches Duggan coming of the ropes with a bear hug but Duggan gets out of it, eventually. Yoko goes back to the bear hug but Duggan bites his way out of it. Yoko misses a running back splash in the corner and is met with a running clothesline from Duggan. Duggan continues to connect with clotheslines but Yoko will not go down. Duggan eventually is able to knock Yoko down after about five clotheslines. Fuji trips Duggan in the corner and this allows Yoko to splash Duggan! Yoko comes off the middle rope with the Bonzai Drop and wins the match. *
End of show
My Take: Not a fan of the way the show started off with Kamala/Bigelow. It went by pretty quick but the action just wasn’t entertaining to me. I really thought the whole angle that Kamala didn’t know how to pin someone was dumb. I mean, when he was a heel he knew how to wrestle but once he lost Kimchee he acted as if he had never wrestled before. Thank god Bigelow went over. The crowd was pretty pumped up for the match so that could be a good sign for the show.
Crush/Doink was a pretty solid contest for what it was. Crush looked pretty good as I thought his run in 1993/1994 was the best of his career in terms of putting on good matches. The fact that the crowd is very vocal is helping the show, a good crowd makes the show even that much better.
The Bret Hart/Razor Ramon match could have been a lot better. It seemed like Ramon wasn’t given the opportunity to show off what he can do as Hart was given a lot of the offense for the match. Hart looked good in the match as I have yet to see a house show where he didn’t put forth all of his effort.
Money Inc/Steiner Brothers was a decent tag team match. It was really basic and fairly boring for most of the contest as the Steiner’s kept their offense very basic with arm locks and all that great stuff. The ending was pretty entertaining as this was the Steiner’s first loss in the WWF. If the beginning the match was so dull this could have easily gotten a better rating.
Tatanka/Luger was a pretty slow match for most of the contest but picked up towards the end. The offense wasn’t all that spectacular as they repeated quite a few spots. The finish was a pretty good as it keeps Luger strong since he wasn’t exactly pinned.
Michaels/Backlund is a match I was not looking forward to watching. I have never been entertained by Backlund because he is really old school and has a basic move set. Michaels couldn’t do anything to make the match semi-entertaining. There are only so many miracles you can pull off. A very, very boring match.
As expected the main event between Duggan/Yoko was rather quick. Really a predictable match not much else to say about it, really.
Overall, it’s not a bad show as there are a few pretty decent matches. However, this house show just seemed to be a group of guys taking it easy and not wanting to put on their best efforts. Bret Hart is really the exception as I have yet to see him take a night off. A decent overall house show that had a few crappy matches.
Thanks for reading.