WWF House Show 4/17/1995

Written by: Bob Colling

World Wrestling Federation House Show
Date: 4/17/1995
From: Dortmund, Germany

Opening Contest: Kwang vs. Adam Bomb: Kwang attacks Bomb before the bell sounds to get the cheap advantage. Bomb fights back with a scoop slam and clotheslines Kwang over the top to the floor. On the floor, Adam sends Kwang face first into the ring steps and hits a slingshot clothesline from the apron back into the ring. Bomb gets stopped by a standing spin kick from Kwang. Kwang bites Bomb in the corner and maintains control with strikes. Bomb almost wins with a cross body after coming off the ropes but Kwang quickly stops him with a clothesline. Kwang slams Bomb face first into the canvas but only gets a near fall. Adam prevents being rammed into the top turnbuckle and begins to make his comeback. Bomb runs over Kwang with clotheslines and hits a power slam to get the win. (*1/2. A basic match here. Adam had an interesting move set for a big guy at the time in WWF and probably could have amounted to more in the company. A lackluster start to kick off the live event.)

Second Contest: Henry Godwinn vs. Aldo Montoya: Godwinn tosses Aldo around in the opening moments of the contest to showcase his power advantage. Aldo takes Henry out with a cross body over the top onto the floor and follows up with a drop toe hold back in the ring. Godwinn avoids a catapult but hitting a wheelbarrow face buster. Godwinn follows up with a gut buster to keep Aldo on the mat. Godwinn puts his feet on the ropes while having Aldo in a sleeper hold. Aldo gets out of it and is able to drive Godwinn face first into the canvas. Henry puts an end to the offense with a hard clothesline. Henry rams Aldo into the corner and places Montoya in a tree of woe briefly. Aldo avoids a splash in the corner and begins his comeback with strikes. Aldo heads to the top but misses a cross body. Henry proceeds to put Montoya away with the Slop Drop for the win. (*1/2. Similar to the first match with how basic it was. Aldo is one of least interesting or effective characters in WWF history. Godwinn is a good big man heel, though.) After the match, Aldo has to get some of his heat back so he sends Henry to the floor with a dropkick.

Third Contest: Tatanka & Kama vs. Lex Luger & the British Bulldog: Luger and Kama kick off the tag match with Lex avoiding strikes from Kama. Kama drop toe holds Lex but misses an elbow drop, thus allowing Luger to arm drag him before tagging in Bulldog. Kama misses a splash in the corner and Bulldog scoop slams Kama followed by a dropkick. Tatanka tags himself in to go after Bulldog. Bulldog scoop slams Tatanka and dropkicks him as well. Luger tags in and scares Tatanka with a pose. Tatanka pokes Lex in the eyes to get a cheap advantage. Lex no sells chops in the corner and hammers away on his former friend. Lex hits a clothesline but doesn’t go for the cover. Tatanak sends Lex into the corner chest first. Lex runs over both heels with a clothesline. Tatanka grabs Luger’s leg from the floor to allow Kama to deliver a kick. Luger is double teamed in the corner for a few moments. Tatanka drops several elbows onto Lex for a near fall. Kama enters after double teaming Lex and keeps his offense simple. Tatanka distracts the referee so that Luger can’t make the tag. Bulldog is distracting the referee while Luger gets destroyed in the corner. Kama enters and continues the extended beating of Luger. Kama keeps control with a back breaker and heads to the middle rope where Luger gets his knees up to block a splash. Bulldog finally gets the hot tag and cleans house on Tatanka. Bulldog hits a delayed vertical suplex but Kama breaks up the pin attempt. Luger and Kama brawl on the floor. Bulldog plants Tatanka with a running power slam for the win. (**. A slow match and the extended beating of Luger was rather boring and didn’t keep me interested in the match. Some good heel tag work by Tatanka and Kama helped the match, though.)

Fourth Contest: Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart: Bret chases Owen around the ring and catches him before he can slide into the ring and hammers away on his younger brother. In the ring, Bret delivers a head butt to Owen’s lower midsection area. Bret delivers a clothesline after an atomic drop. Owen rakes Bret in the eyes and sends Bret hard into the corner. Owen has a camel clutch locked in but can’t get a submission. Bret nearly wins with a crucifix pin but Owen stops him with a kick to the side of the head. Owen continues his offense with a neck breaker and follows up with a spinning heel kick. Owen atomic drops Bret and sends him to the floor. On the floor, Owen rams Bret back first into the ring post a couple of times. Bret gets a sleeper on Owen after countering a suplex back into the ring. Owen low blows Bret after getting to the ropes. Bret hits a back suplex and continues to strike Owen in the corner. Bret is sent hard chest first into the corner. Owen locks in the Sharpshooter right in the middle of the ring. Bret counters the move and Hakushi comes out to attack Bret to cause a disqualification. Hakushi splashes Bret from the middle rope. Bret comes back to the ring to attack Owen after he got on the microphone. Bret slams Owen on the concrete floor. Bret locks in the Sharpshooter and the referee calls for the bell. (**. Well, they are capable of so much more. This felt like they were going through the motions and didn’t want to steal the show. It was good to not have the DQ be the actual finish, but the match just didn’t meet their ability.)

Fifth Contest: Bam-Bam Bigelow vs. The Undertaker: Bigelow stalls on the outside for a few moments. Bigelow tries to shoulder block Taker but that doesn’t work and is instead met with a series of throat thrusts. Taker goes to the top rope while holding Bigelow’s arm and jumps down across the shoulder. Taker dumps Bigelow over the top to the floor. Bam-Bam battles back with a Samoan Drop but Taker quickly sits up. Taker big boots a charging Bigelow in the corner and tosses Bam-Bam into a corner a couple of times. On the floor, Bigelow sends Taker into the ring steps a couple of times. Bigelow taunts the fans while not allowing Taker back into the ring. Bigelow gets a near fall after a scoop slam. Taker fights back with throat thrusts but Bigelow plants Taker with a DDT. Bam-Bam continues his offense with falling head butts. Bigelow leaps off the top but misses a diving head butt! Taker comes off the ropes to hit a leaping clothesline and a choke slam for the win. (**1/4. Not bad action, but it was a short contest. I’ve always thought that the WWF missed an opportunity to have a lengthy program between these two. It was enjoyable for what they were given to do.)

Sixth Contest: 1-2-3 Kid vs. Hakushi: Kid hip tosses Hakushi early on to get the advantage. Hakushi punches Kid to gain control of the match and delivers a series of strikes. Kid sends Hakushi to the floor with a standing spin kick and takes Hakushi out with a slingshot corkscrew dive! Kid is sent to the outside and Hakushi hits a slingshot cross body on the floor. Hakushi hammers away on Kid for a few moments. Kid is in the corner when Hakushi hits a handspring back elbow. Kid fights back with a kick in the corner but misses a splash. Hakushi begins to work over Kid’s arm and delivers a knee drop for a near fall. Hakushi stops Kid with a tilt a whirl back breaker and continues to hammer away on him. Hakushi misses a slingshot splash from the apron back into the ring. Kid counters a hurricanrana attempt with a power bomb. Kid kicks Hakushi several times in the corner and follows up with a spinning heel kick. Kid heads to the top rope and hits a cross body for a near win. Hakushi ducks a kick and hits a super kick followed by a senton splash off the ropes for the win. (***. I wasn’t expecting that to be the finish, but these two kept a good pace and provided some quality action throughout. A refreshing match on an otherwise dull show thus far.)

Main Event: WWF World Champion Diesel & Razor Ramon vs. WWF Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett & Psycho Sid: All four men are in the ring brawling with Ramon and Diesel getting the better of it. Ramon sends Jarrett over the top onto Roadie at ringside. Jarrett attacks Razor from behind thanks to Roadie distraction. Ramon drops Jarrett with a right hand and avoids a kick. Diesel gets tagged in and works over Jarrett in the corner. Jeff hammers away on Diesel to get momentum going in his favor. Diesel catches Double J and drops him face first over the top turnbuckle. Ramon tags in and hits a fall away slam for a near fall. Roadie distracts Ramon again to allow Jeff to get a brief advantage. Sid attacks Razor from behind to prevent the Razors Edge from happening. Sid is the legal man now and works over Razor’s ribs for a little while. Sid grabs Ramon by the throat and hits a choke slam! Jarrett maintain control over Ramon until Razor blocks a sunset flip with a punch. Jeff quickly hits a dropkick to regain control. Razor nearly wins with a backslide but is knocked down by a back elbow. Sid enters and drops a leg across Ramon’s neck. Sid taunts Diesel while Roadie leaps off the apron to hit Ramon on the floor! Razor gets to the ring before a ten count. Jarrett leaps off the top to hit a cross body for a near win on the Bad Guy. Jarrett hits a swinging neck breaker on Ramon and taunts the fans. Ramon avoids a splash across the ropes and Jarrett hits the ropes groin first. Sid strikes Ramon from the apron to help his partner. Roadie hits a top rope head butt with the referee distracted. Ramon tosses Jarrett away and looks to tag in Diesel but he is far away. Ramon is sent into the ropes and collides heads with Jarrett! Sid gets tagged in and works over Razor some more. Ramon drives Sid face first into the canvas and looks to tag out once again. Diesel and Jarrett are tagged in with Diesel hitting a side slam on Jarrett and knocking Roadie off the apron. Diesel jumps onto Jarrett while across the middle rope. Sid hammers away on Diesel but is sent to the floor after a big boot. Jarrett runs into a big boot as well. Diesel signals for the finish and hits a power bomb for the win. (**1/2. A fine main event as we got exactly what was expected. Ramon did a fine job of being the babyface in peril and likely worked most of the match due to Diesel being injured around this time, I believe. They were given plenty of time and kept it enjoyable.)

Final Thoughts:
On paper it looks like a rather strong show, but it fails to consistently provide entertainment. The main event and Kid/Hakushi are really the only bright spots on an otherwise subpar show. I’m quite disappointed that this wasn’t a better performance.

Thanks for reading.