By the fall of ’96 the World Wrestling Federation was fully behind Shawn Michaels as the WWF World Champion as he was still feuding with Vader since the summer but was also involved in a feud with Mankind. The fifteenth installment of Would You Go To This Show takes us to a time where the WWF presented a triple main event card and featured a match involving two guys from a successful regional company just two years ago.
The date of the show is September 14th, 1996 from the Louisville Gardens in Louisville, Kentucky.
Match #1: Justin Bradshaw & Uncle Zebakiah vs. The Bushwhackers:
Well, this is an easy avoid thanks to the Bushwhackers never being an entertaining act and I dread whenever I put a show in and they are featured on it. Hell, I don’t think Uncle Zebakiah (Dutch Mantel) is a good addition to the match either. At around this time Justin Bradshaw was an underrated act, but there is no way he’d bring this to a respectable match quality.
Match #2: TL Hopper vs. Freddie Joe Floyd:
Two jobbers on television but they are bigger acts in the Kentucky area than you’d think. Hopper was the Dirty White Boy and Floyd is Tracy Smothers who both worked for Smoky Mountain Wrestling and had a fantastic feud three years prior. Now, I’m a fan of both men and while I’m aware they weren’t the same wrestlers even in ’96 from a nostalgia aspect I’d be intrigued to see these guys live.
Match #3: Faarooq vs. Bob Holly:
Faarooq was a new heel act in the company while Holly was serving the role of an enhancement talent. This would certainly not bring me to the arena.
Match #4: Jerry Lawler vs. Barry Windham:
If there was a stronger face to wrestle Lawler here then it would be far more entertaining since Lawler was doing a great job as a heel and I’d likely pay to see him get his ass kicked by someone of more importance than Windham.
Match #5: WWF World Tag Team Champions The Smoking Gunns vs. The Grimm Twins:
For those who aren’t aware, the Grimm Twins are better known as the Harris Brothers. So, you’d probably understand that this match would be horrible. The Gunns worked better with people their size and the Harris Brothers are just stiff dudes who don’t bump and like to brawl most of their matches preventing anything exciting taking place.
Match #6: Psycho Sid vs. Goldust:
I’d totally be interested in seeing this match live. First of all, Goldust is a top heel and his act is going great in getting heat. Sid is probably the most over baby face the company has and seeing him destroy Goldust would be a joy to watch. Besides, I’ve always kind of been a Sid mark despite his lackluster performances during his career. This is really the first match I’d be invested in seeing, I think.
Match #7: The Undertaker vs. Mankind in a casket match:
It’s one of my favorite feuds in ’96, so this is something I’d like to see in person. From the house shows that I’ve reviewed these two didn’t hold anything back when they squared off and their brawls were mostly enjoyable, so I don’t think the action would be all that bad here. The feud is still fresh thanks the Paul Bearer heel turn so I’d imagine the crowd would have enough interest to make this one feel even more intense.
Main Event: WWF World Champion Shawn Michaels vs. Vader:
Their SummerSlam match had just happened a few weeks prior and Vader looked strong in that showing. Michaels always worked well with bigger wrestlers and Vader’s offense would look even stronger with Michaels ability to bump around the ring. I’d see this main event live no problem. I’d just hope they’d get the proper amount of time to leave a lasting impression.
The final three matches along with SMW retro match are the only reasons that I’d go to this. As I sit here and think about it, I’d go to this show just for the three main event quality matches. I’m just not sure if the other matches would have deflated me enough to not enjoy the remaining matches. To me, the show isn’t overly strong but it’s not weak enough for me to avoid, I’d say.
So, is this a show that would have your interest or would you skip it?
Thanks for reading.
It’s never a bad thing to have Dutch Mantell in any match, even if he’s under the Uncle Zebekiah moniker. The poor use of Vader was a real travesty. He should have squashed Michaels and had that belt at least once. And sooo glad Ron Simmons ditched that Farooq gladiator gimmick,