Written by: Bob Colling
WWF Inside The WWF
Release Date: 1994
Gorilla Monsoon is the host and promises to show us stuff that we’ve never seen before and will likely never see again. He also tells us that Johnny Polo will be taking us on a tour of WWF Studios later on. WWF World Champion Yokozuna defends against Bret Hart inside a steel cage plus several other matches.
Opening Contest: Crush vs. The Undertaker: Crush hammers away on Taker from behind to start the match but Taker quickly comes back with a DDT after coming off the ropes. Taker misses an elbow drop but quickly rises up. Crush sends Taker over the top to the floor with a clothesline but Taker lands on his feet. Taker drops Crush throat first across the top from the apron. Taker walks the top rope and comes down across the left arm of Crush. Crush avoids a leaping clothesline and thrust kicks Taker through the middle rope to the floor. Crush comes off the apron to deliver a strike to Taker and rams him into the railing. Crush has a steel chair and whacks Taker across the back but the referee is distracted by Fuji. Crush drops Taker in the ring after several kicks. Taker starts to get a second wind after being rammed head first in the corner. Taker chokes Crush in the corner but runs into a back elbow and Crush hits a back breaker but Taker rises up again. Crush showcases his strength by hitting a military press slam and drops a leg but Taker rises up again. Taker comes off the ropes to hit a leaping clothesline. Crush attempts a tombstone but Taker counters into one of his own and spikes Crush with the tombstone to get the victory. (***. I thought that was a nicely done match between these two. They kept a good pace and the action provided was a lot of fun to watch. Crush worked very well with the Undertaker, which was a rarity at the time it felt like.)
Second Contest: WWF Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon & Marty Jannetty vs. Shawn Michaels & Diesel: Marty and Shawn start the match with Jannetty taking Michaels down with an arm drag which Shawn complains of a hair pull. Diesel gets tagged in and the fans want to see Razor get tagged into the match. Jannetty remains in the match and tries his luck with Diesel. Diesel shoves Marty away and the fans continue to chant for Ramon. Diesel hip tosses Jannetty on a go behind attempt. Marty finally listens to the fans and tags in Razor. Diesel delivers a knee lift followed by several forearm strikes before ramming Ramon into the corner. Michaels comes off the top but gets caught by Razor in a bear hug and Marty comes off the top to hit a clothesline for a two count. Marty avoids a leapfrog and decks Michaels for a two count. Diesel yanks Jannetty down by the hair and enters the match to hit a gut wrench power bomb. Shawn tags back in and hammers away on Jannetty. Diesel delivers a back breaker and bends Marty across his knee for a few moments. Diesel has a bear hug locked in right in the middle of the ring as the fans begin to get behind Jannetty.
Marty breaks free but runs into a big boot and Michaels gets tagged back into the match. Jannetty drives Michaels face first into the canvas and has the chance to make the tag. Diesel gets tagged in and prevents the tag. Marty avoids a splash in the corner and Shawn is tagged in. Marty comes off the middle rope to hit a bulldog and both men are down. Marty tags in Ramon and Razor drops Michaels with several right hands. Ramon catches Michaels and hits a fallaway slam. All four men are going at it as Ramon clotheslines Diesel to the floor. Marty super kicks Michaels and Razor hits a choke slam for the win. (***1/2. A really fun tag match between four very good workers. The crowd was hot for Ramon and Marty did a very good job as the baby face in peril. This release is starting off very well.)
Johnny Polo arrives to the WWF Studios in a van and berates the driver for being a maniac. Polo has a pass key and he swipes his pass a few times but it doesn’t open. A girl opens the door and says Polo stole it from Bob Clark.
Third Contest: Bam-Bam Bigelow vs. Tatanka: Tatanka tries to attack Bigelow before the bell but Bigelow avoids several strikes and bails to the floor. Tatanka doesn’t wait and takes Bigelow out with a suicide dive to the floor! Bigelow stomps away on Tatanka as they get in the ring. Tatanka attempts a shoulder block but Bigelow doesn’t budge. Tatanka hits a cross body for a near fall and delivers several chops. Tatanka misses a splash in the corner but back elbows Bigelow and hits a clothesline to drop Bigelow for a near fall. Tatanka plants Bigelow with a DDT and heads to the top rope but misses a cross body and crashes to the floor. Bigelow recovers and is able to hit a few falling headbutts as the fans get behind Tatanka. Bam-Bam dropkicks Tatanka for a near fall. Bigelow knocks Tatanka to the floor with a headbutt. On the floor, Luna walks over and kicks Tatanka behind the referees back. Bigelow sends Tatanka face first into the ring steps. Bigelow thinks he has won by count-out but Tatanka returns and avoids a splash in the corner. Tatanka delivers a series of overhand chops but Bigelow hits a quick dropkick. Bigelow splashes Tatanka in the corner and taunts the fans.
Tatanka big boots Bigelow and attempts a chop but counters a Samoan Drop only for Bigelow to hit a sit down splash. Bigelow comes off the ropes to hit a leaping head butt to Tatanka’s chest for a near fall. Bigelow keeps control with a sleeper hold. Tatanka begins to fight back with a series off overhand chops but Bigelow sends him into the corner and Tatanka goes on the War Dance. Bigelow stops that nonsense with a leaping kick to the back of his head. Tatanka goes back on the offense with several overhand chops and Bigelow crashes to the floor. They begin to trade strikes on the floor with Tatanka hitting a Samoan Drop on the floor! Tatanka rolls into the ring and wins by count-out. (**1/2. A cheap finish to protect Bigelow but another match that had some entertaining offense attached to it. These two seemed to work well together, as well.) After the match, Luna distracts Tatanka to allow Bigelow to deliver a kick to the back of his head. Bigelow has scissors and looks to cut his hair but more officials come out to prevent that from happening. Tatanka is able to recover and hammers away on Bigelow hitting a clothesline. Tatanka has the scissors and goes after Luna. Tatanka grabs her but turns around to stop Bigelow from attacking him as the heels run to the backstage area.
A video showing behind the scenes of All American Wrestling is aired.
Fourth Contest: Adam Bomb vs. Bret Hart: Bomb shows off his power advantage shoving Hart away in a lockup position. Bomb powers out of a go behind and taunts the fans afterward. Bomb works over Hart with overhand strikes and a shoulder block. Hart gets up to hip toss Bomb and an arm drag. Hart clotheslines Bomb over the top to the floor as the fans are one hundred percent behind the Hitman. Bomb yanks Bret to the floor and clubs away on Bret. Bomb misses a right hand and hits the ring post. Bomb battles back with a snap power slam and taunts the fans. Bomb sends Hart hard back first into the corner and yells at the fans. Adam sends Hart back first into the corner and chokes Bret over the top rope. Adam continues his offense with a back elbow shot to Bret’s face. Hart with a sunset flip for a near fall. Bomb drives Hart down to the canvas with a side slam but can’t get a three count. Bomb eye rakes Bret as he tried to comeback. Adam delivers several stomps on Bret to maintain control of the bout.
Bret big boots Bomb in the corner and hits a middle rope bulldog for a near fall. Hart hits an atomic drop and follows up with a clothesline for a two count. Hart follows up with a side Russian leg sweep for another near fall. Bret misses a middle rope forearm drop as Bomb rolled out of the way. Bomb lifts Bret up by the neck and slams Hart to the canvas. Adam heads to the top rope but Bret cuts him off and sends Bomb off with a press slam. Hart goes for the Sharpshooter and has it locked in to get the submission victory. (**1/2. Well, that was a decent match between these two. Hart did a pretty good job of making Bomb seem like a threat to beat him. I enjoyed the action they provided here.)
Earthquake says he is back and looks forward to seeing us soon.
Johnny Polo is back for the tour of the WWF Studios. They go into the video library where someone is checking on the videos. John Arnold is there to talk to Polo. He says that everything that has happened over the past 20 years is in this area. Polo presses a button and he crushes Arnold, who begins to scream. Polo enters an editing room and pokes fun at the workers.
Fifth Contest: Doink the Clown vs. Randy Savage: Doink goes on the middle rope to taunt the fans but Savage attacks and Doink bails to the floor. Doink misses a splash in the corner and again goes to the floor but Savage goes to follow and scares Doink back into the ring. They trade punches with Savage getting the better of the exchange following a backdrop and sends Doink into the ring steps face first. Doink sends Randy shoulder first into the ring post to gain control of the contest. Doink rams Savage face first into the ring steps and comes off the top to hit a double axe handle on the floor! Doink drives Savage face first into the canvas and hammers away on the Macho Man. Doink kicks Randy off the apron back to the floor. Doink continues to pummel Savage in the corner. Savage fights back with some strikes and goes to the top but gets punched in midair. Doink scoop slams Savage and heads to the top but misses the Whoopee Cushion. Savage recovers and clotheslines Doink over the top to the floor. Savage comes off the top to hit a double axe handle on the floor. A second Doink comes running down and goes under the ring unbeknownst to Savage. The second Doink comes from behind and attacks Savage as the first one went under the ring. Savage has his feet held by the first Doink and is counted out. (**. Not a bad match as the action was decent throughout.) After the match, Savage attacks Doink to the backstage area. Wait, Savage comes back with the referee and grabs the other Doink from under the ring. Savage yanks Doink back into the ring only to toss Doink over the top to the floor. The referee reverses the decision and gives the win to Savage.
Sixth Contest: WWF Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon vs. Ludvig Borga: Borga sends Ramon over the top to the floor and taunts the fans after showing off his strength. Ludvig chokes Ramon by lifting into the air and drops the champ to the canvas. Borga wants a test of strength and gets Ramon to agree to it. Borga wins the test of strength early on as Ramon drops to his knees. Razor gets to his feet and has control until Ludvig delivers a knee to the midsection. Ramon delivers a few kicks and hits an overhead suplex followed by a clothesline to send Borga to the floor. Borga attempts a suplex to the floor from the apron but Ramon counters it and hits a suplex into the ring for a near fall. Borga regains control with a few strikes to the back and drops Razor with a clothesline. Borga scoop slams Ramon and hits an elbow drop. Ramon avoids another elbow drop and hammers away on Borga. Borga hits a leaping clothesline to drop Ramon. Ludvig leaps off the top to hit a clothesline and covers Ramon to win the title but Razor’s foot was on the bottom rope. The match must continue.
Borga plants Ramon with a side slam for a near fall. Ludvig sends Ramon into the corner but misses a splash. Razor drives Borga to the canvas with a back suplex for a near fall. Ramon puts Borga on the top turnbuckle and hits a middle rope back suplex. Ramon goes for the Razors Edge but the referee gets knocked down thanks to Borga’s legs. Shawn Michaels runs down and hits Ramon with the championship as the referee was still out. Borga crawls over to Ramon for the cover and wins the match to win the championship. Wait a second, a couple more referees come into the ring and tell the original referee what happened when he was knocked out. Earl Hebner reverses his decision and Ramon wins the match by disqualification. (**. It was entertaining match and the two Dusty finishes were actually interesting to see happen. There was decent action throughout the match, but isn’t overly memorable aside from the two wins that Borga had only to not win the championship.)
Johnny Polo continues the tour of the WWF Studios as they walk into the actual studio to see what is going on. Lord Alfred Hayes is reading a documentary of the war at Waterloo. Polo takes control of the camera.
Seventh Contest: WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels vs. Lex Luger: Lex shoves Michaels into the corner to showoff his strength but Michaels complains of a hair pull. Luger controls Michaels with a headlock and runs over the champ with a shoulder block. Lex controls Shawn by working over his left arm. Shawn hammers away on Lex and attempts a scoop slam but fails and is slammed by Luger. Michaels cheap shots Luger on the floor as Diesel provided a distraction. Shawn rams Lex back first into the ring apron. Michaels focuses his offense on the lower back trying to weaken Luger. Michaels gets a near fall following a middle rope axe handle. Shawn comes off the ropes to hit a spinning elbow strike for a near fall. Luger fights out of a headlock but walks right into a super kick which gets Michaels a two count. Michaels attempts a piledriver but Luger counters with a backdrop. Michaels pokes Luger in the eyes but runs into big boot and misses a spear hitting the ring post. Luger hits a clothesline and a back elbow strike. Luger plants Shawn with a snap power slam but only gets a near fall. Luger sends Michaels into the corner and Shawn is laying over the top turnbuckle where Lex kicks him to the floor. Shawn decides he has had enough and leaves the ring to be counted out. (**. Well, we get a cheap finish but the match was fine for what it was. Luger seemed motivated and worked hard to put on a fun match with Michaels.) After the match, Luger avoids being attacked by Diesel and knocks him out with a forearm strike.
Johnny Polo is at master control to continue the tour of the WWF Studios. Polo tells another guy to make jokes and write some scripts. Polo tells us this is his final appearance on the tape for the studio tour.
Main Event: WWF World Champion Yokozuna vs. Bret Hart in a steel cage match: They start the match with Hart hammering away on the champ but runs into a scoop slam. Yoko comes off the ropes but misses an elbow drop. Bret tries to escape the cage early on into the match but is stopped by Yoko. Yoko slams Bret off the top rope back to the canvas. Yoko misses a leg drop as Hart rolled out of the way. Hart dropkicks Yoko which sends the champ face first into the cage. Yoko stops Bret with a head butt and tries to go to the door but was tripped by Hart. Bret gets stopped by a low blow. Yoko delivers a falling head butt to the groin area as well. Yoko tries to escape through the door but Hart kicks the middle rope to low blow Yoko. Hart climbs the cage looking to escape but is stopped again by Yoko. Hart hammers away on Yoko while sitting on the top turnbuckle. Yoko stops Bret on the top of the cage and pulls Hart back into the ring. Yoko sends Bret face first into the cage to keep control of the title match.
Yoko rams Hart face first into the corner and drops Hart with a right hand. Yoko tries to escape through the door but Hart is up and hammers away on Yoko but is stopped with an eye rake. Yoko drops Hart with a quick clothesline but doesn’t quickly follow up on the advantage. Yoko chops Bret and sends him hard into the corner. Hart avoids a splash in the corner and comes off the middle rope to hit a bulldog. Hart tries to climb the cage but Mr. Fuji jabs Bret in the ribs with the Japanese flag. Yoko drops Bret with a throat thrust and looks for the Bonzai Drop but Bret moves and tries to escape but Fuji holds the door shut to allow Yokozuna to prevent the escape. Hart tries to punch Yoko several times to break free and leave the cage but Yoko is able to hold onto the challenger. Hart rams Yoko face first into the canvas and again tries to climb over the cage but Yoko is up again to prevent Hart from going too far. Bret kicks Yoko while on the top rope and nearly gets both legs over but Yoko is able to crotch Hart on the top rope. Yoko goes to the cage door but Hart crawls over to stop the champ. Yoko has the salt bucket but drops it as Hart hammers away on Yoko. Yoko scoop slams Bret after a throat thrust but misses a big splash. Bret rams Yoko head first into cage and hits a running neck breaker. Hart comes off the ropes to hit a big clothesline to drop the champion. Yoko has the salt bucket and tries to hit Hart but is blocked. Hart hits Yoko with the bucket two times but falls to the canvas as well. Hart covers Yoko and the referee enters to cover but Gorilla Monsoon doesn’t think you can win by pin fall. Bret only gets a near fall on the cover attempt, which was strange since it was the first attempt the entire match. Hart nails Yoko over the head with the salt bucket and Bret begins to climb the cage. Fuji has a handful of powder and throws it in Bret’s face twice. Bret is blind but still attempts to climb the cage. Yoko has recovered and hits the ground first to retain the title as Bret fell just moments later. (**. Bret was insistent on climbing over the cage and that’s what cost him here. The match as alright, thought they had a really good cage match at the 8/13 MSG show that was reviewed on here earlier. Bret had a few moments of desperation moments that had me interested and it sold the audience that he may be able to win. I’d suggest tracking down the 8/13 cage match, though.)
Final Thoughts:
For just over two hours worth of matches and segments, this special release was a lot of fun and featured some really good matches for the time. If you’re a fan of the era then you’d really enjoy this, but even if you’re not, there is action on here that most should find entertaining. Strongly recommended to watch.
Thanks for reading.