World Wrestling Federation House Show
Date: 2/13/1993
From: Oakland, CA
Opening Contest: Tatanka vs. The Predator: The match is joined in progress, but appears to be very early in the match. Tatanka delivers an atomic drop and clothesline to send Predator bailing to the floor to regroup. Predator returns and clubs away on Tatanka, but misses a clothesline. Tatanka knocks Predator down and delivers a scoop slam. Tatanka misses an elbow drop. Predator keeps control with a side slam for a two count. Predator shoulder rams Tatanka in the corner several times and delivers a clothesline in the corner. Predator comes off the ropes to deliver a leg drop for a near fall. Predator keeps a chin lock on Tatanka, but doesn’t get a submission. Predator uses the ropes for leverage, but doesn’t get a submission. Tatanka gets a second wind and elbows free, but is brought back down to the mat. Tatanka elbows free, but Predator kicks Tatanka coming off the ropes. Predator rams Tatanka into the corner, but Tatanka goes on his War Dance. Tatanka nails Predator with a chop coming off the ropes. Tatanka hits a Samoan Drop and wins the match. (*1/4. Tatanka is absolutely over with the crowd. There wasn’t much here as they kept it basic and Predator’s offense wasn’t all that interesting. Tatanka has a format that works for him.)
Second Contest: Kamala vs. Kimchee: Kimchee confronts Kamala in the middle of the ring trying to regain control of Kamala and ends up slapping Kamala. Slick appears on the apron, and Kimchee cheap shots Kamala a few times. Kimchee tries for a clothesline, but is caught and put in a bearhug briefly. Slick is distracting the referee as Kimchee hits Kamala with a weapon and chokes Kamala over the ropes. Kimchee goes to the floor and confronts Slick. Kamala goes to the floor and stalks Kimchee. Kamala catches Kimchee in the ring and delivers several strikes. Kimchee ducks a clothesline, but not a throat thrust. Kamala thrust kicks Kimchee and delivers a scoop slam. Kamala comes off the ropes with a big splash to the back. Kamala delivers another splash to the back and tries to figure out how to pin Kimchee. Eventually, Kamala figures it out and pins Kimchee for the win. (1/2*. It was kept short, so that’s a plus.)
Third Contest: Terry Taylor vs. Typhoon: Taylor controls Typhoon with a hammerlock, but lets go in the corner. Taylor works over Typhoon with a wrist lock, but Typhoon counters quickly and drops Taylor to the mat. Taylor bails to the floor to regroup. Taylor gets back in the ring and gets in Typhoon’s face. Typhoon shoves Taylor to the floor where Taylor walks up the aisle acting as if he’s going to leave. Typhoon keeps Taylor on the mat with a headlock. Taylor sends Typhoon into the ropes and is met with a shoulder block. Typhoon rams Taylor into the corner and keeps control with a headlock again. Taylor cheap shots Typhoon out of the corner and strikes Typhoon to the mat. Taylor continues with a stomp and chokes Typhoon over the middle rope. Taylor decks Typhoon with strikes over the middle rope and chokes Typhoon for a few moments. Taylor yanks the ropes and Typhoon falls backwards to the mat. Taylor delivers a few elbow drops leading to a near fall. Taylor continues with a jawbreaker and taunts the crowd. Taylor keeps Typhoon on the mat with a chin lock. Typhoon finds a second wind and powers out of the hold with elbow strikes. Taylor strikes Typhoon coming off the ropes and hits a back suplex. Taylor tries for a cover, but Typhoon powers out sending Taylor to the floor. Taylor tries for a suplex, but Typhoon counters with a suplex of his own. Typhoon decks Taylor to the mat several times. Typhoon backdrops Taylor coming off the ropes. Typhoon splashes Taylor in the corner. Taylor eye rakes Typhoon and heads to the top rope. Typhoon catches Taylor on a crossbody attempt and hits a powerslam for the win. (*1/4. As expected, it was a rather slow match to match Typhoon’s ability. Taylor is a solid heel though and kept me entertained with his actions. I’m kind of surprised WWF never tried to make him a Flair ripoff since Flair recently departed to go back to WCW.)
Fourth Contest: Doink the Clown vs. Bob Backlund: Backlund avoids Doink at the start a few times to get into Doink’s mind. Doink backs Backlund against the ropes, but backs off. Doink taunts Backlund in the middle of the ring while Backlund offers a handshake. Doink arm drags Backlund and continues to taunt Backlund. Doink arm drags Backlund and taunts the crowd. Doink scoop slams Backlund, but doesn’t followup. Backlund comes back with a couple of hip tosses. Backlund powerslams Doink causing Doink to the roll to the floor to regroup. Backlund is getting a mixed reaction from the crowd. Doink returns to the ring and they trade mat wrestling until Doink back elbows Backlund and keeps control. Backlund tries to counter, but Doink is able to keep the hold on and sends Backlund into the corner chest first. Doink delivers a strike to the midsection and keeps arm control on the mat. Doink continues to counter each counter attempt by Backlund. Backlund is able to take Doink down and gets a two count with a rollup. Backlund arm drags Doink and keeps wrist control on the mat. Backlund arm drags Doink again and teases a punch on the mat. Backlund continues to work over Doink’s arm, but doesn’t get a submission.
Backlund continues to tease a strike, but doesn’t do it and maintains arm control. Doink eye rakes Backlund and stomps Backlund a few times before delivering an elbow drop to his left knee. Doink puts a half Boston Crab on Backlund, but doesn’t get a submission. Doink locks in a Boston Crab, but Backlund refuses to give in. Backlund counters and ends up on the apron, but Doink decks Backlund off the apron to the floor. Doink sends Backlund chest first into the railing and Backlund falls into the front row. Doink heads to the top rope and axe handles Backlund in the ring. Doink drives Backlund down to the mat face first and locks in a front face lock. Backlund stops Doink for a moment, but Doink responds with a kick. Doink heads to the top rope, but Backlund press slams Doink to the mat. Backlund shoulder blocks Doink and they both go down. Backlund atomic drops Doink and Doink falls to the floor. Doink chokes Backlund over the ropes leading to a near fall. The referee calls for the bell. Backlund wins the match by disqualification. (DUD. The style of wrestling is incredibly boring. The finish was not good either. They could have cut this match down and added another match to fill out the show better.)
Fifth Contest: Randy Savage vs. Yokozuna: Yoko tosses Savage to the mat out of a lockup to start the match. Savage gets a headlock, but is stopped by a shoulder block. Yoko strikes Savage to the mat and delivers a few stomps. They go to the floor where Yoko sends Savage into the guard railing. Savage fights back with strikes in the ring to stagger Yoko. Yoko drops Savage with a thrust. Yoko nails Savage with a leg drop. Yoko misses a back splash in the corner. Savage heads to the top rope and double axe handles Yoko. Fuji hits Savage with the flap and Yoko hits a belly to belly suplex for the win. (**. A short match, but the crowd was most invested into this compared to anything else on the show thus far. Yoko winning against Savage on the live events is only going to help him moving forward.) After the match, Savage avoids a Bonzai Drop attempt and knee strikes Yoko to the floor.
Sixth Contest: Tito Santana vs. Damien Demento: Demento backs Santana into a corner, but cleanly backs off. Santana gains control with a top wrist lock, but Demento bails to the floor to regroup. Santana keeps control with a headlock and a forearm strike. Demento complains to the referee in the corner. Demento misses a clothesline and is met with a dropkick. Demento rolls to the floor once again and talks to the heavens and the ground. Santana regains control with a headlock, but Demento delivers a clothesline. Demento keeps control with stomps on the mat. Demento elbows Santana to the mat and continues with stomps. Demento delivers a leg drop to Santana’s lower midsection. Demento strikes Santana against the ropes and hits a leaping clothesline for a two count. Demento tries for a cover, but Santana kicks out at two. Demento chokes Santana on the mat for several moments. Santana elbows Demento and gets an inside cradle, but Demento counters for a two count. Santana hits a flying forearm smash, but Demento gets his boot on the bottom rope. Santana tries to slam Demento from the apron into the ring, but Demento lands on top and pins Santana for the win. (*. This has to be a major upset. The action wasn’t all that great by any means. Demento is not good, but it’s a huge win for him. To think Santana was on a short-list to become WWF World Champion a few months prior and he’s doing clean jobs to a guy like Demento is insane to me.)
Seventh Contest: Steiner Brothers vs. Beverly Brothers: Scott and Blake kickoff the match with Beau sidestepping Scott’s takedown attempts and taunts the crowd. Scott takes Beau down with a leg sweep and a top wrist lock, but Beau reaches the ropes. Scott shoulder blocks Beau, but Beau yanks Scott down to the mat by his hair a couple of times. Beau strikes Scott to maintain control of the contest. Scott hits a double under hook powerbomb, but Beau bails to the floor to regroup. Rick and Blake tag into the match. Rick scares Beau off the apron. Blake works over Rick in the corner with stomps and a powerslam off the ropes. Blake misses a clothesline and Rick hits a powerslam. Scott tags in and tosses Blake with an overhead belly to belly suplex. Beau yanks Scott down by his hair on the apron. Beau leaps over Blake’s back to splash over Scott’s back. Beau axe handles Scott over the back and delivers a few strikes. Beau delivers a backbreaker to Scott for a two count. Beau sends Scott into Blake’s boot in the corner. Beverly’s double team Scott in the corner. Beau keeps a bearhug on Scott, but doesn’t get a submission.
Scott comes off the ropes, but is met with a boot to the midsection. Scott hits a snap suplex to break free. Blake tags in and stops Scott from making the tag to Rick. Blake delivers a leg drop for a near fall. Scott boots a charging Blake in the corner and continues with strikes. Blake knee lifts Scott in the corner. Scott hits a tilt a whirl slam. Rick tags into the match and hammers away on Blake followed by a backdrop. Rick decks Blake with a clothesline for a two count as Beau made the save. Scott is held by Blake, but Rick decks Blake to the floor. Scott hits a Frankensteiner on Beau to win the match. (***. Yeah, that’s a quality tag match and the crowd ate it up. These guys better get a bonus for the effort on this show compared to the other guys working. Beverly’s are criminally underrated for their roles.)
Sensational Sherri is introduced on her own and is not in the corner of Shawn Michaels for the main event.
Main Event: WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels vs. Crush: Crush shoves Michaels to the mat and Michaels complains of a hair pull by Crush, which didn’t happen. Crush sits Michaels on the top rope to get out of a headlock and scares Michaels with a punch. Michaels tries to get a top wrist lock on Crush, but is shoved away by Crush. Michaels avoids Crush in the corner and runs into a backbreaker causing Michaels to bail to the floor. Crush gets a headlock on Michaels for a few moments. Crush locks in a bearhug, but Michaels eye rakes free. Michaels punches Crush against the ropes and tries for a clothesline, but Crush doesn’t budge. Crush lifts Michaels up for a press slam and plays to the crowd for a few moments before dropping Michaels to the mat. Crush follows up with a clothesline over the top to the floor. Sherri kicks Michaels at ringside and eye rakes the champ! Crush rolls Michaels back into the ring and lifts Michaels up with a choke and tosses Michaels into the corner. Crush misses a splash in the corner. Michaels knees strikes Crush to the floor. Michaels rams Crush into the ring steps.
Michaels stomps Crush from the apron as Crush struggles to get up on the floor. Michaels delivers a middle rope axe handle to drop Crush to his knees. Michaels delivers another axe handle to the back of the head. Michaels delivers a third axe handle. Michaels superkicks Crush on the back of the head and hits a middle rope elbow drop. Crush gets to his feet, but Michaels spikes Crush with a DDT. Michaels goes to the floor to stalk Sherri. Sheri backs off and falls over the ring steps. Crush goes to the floor and headbutts Michaels. Crush press slams Michaels back into the ring and checks on Sherri. Michaels grabs the championship and hits Crush over the head causing a disqualification. Crush fights back with right hands until they return to the ring. Michaels begs off, but Crush continues to strike Michales. Crush hits a tilt a whirl backbreaker. Crush plays to the crowd and locks in the Kona Vice and drops Michaels to the mat. Michaels passes out and Crush stands tall to end the show. (**1/2. That was better than I expected it to be. Crush looked like a good big guy and Michaels sold really well for him. I enjoyed the action and the aftermath was solid, too. A positive way to end the show.)
Final Thoughts:
At first the show was a bit of a drag, but the final two matches were quality bouts and left me with a positive feeling on watching it. I’ll consider this an average show all things considered.
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