World Wrestling Federation presents Shotgun Saturday Night
Date: 3/15/1997
From: Worcester, MA
Matches:
1.) Hunter Hearst Helmsley defeated Bob Holly
2.) Doug Furnas & Phil LaFon wrestled The Headbangers to a double count out
3.) Flash Funk defeated Bert Centeno
4.) Hector Garza defeated Heavy Metal
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Brian Pillman makes his way out to start the program and he’ll be on commentary for Shotgun. This is Pillman’s first televised appearance in four months.
2.) Helmsley backs Holly into a corner and misses a strike. Holly responds with strikes and avoids a splash leading to a rollup for a two count. Helmsley strikes Holly to gain control in the corner. Holly hip tosses Helmsley followed by an arm drag to keep arm control on the mat. Holly yanks on Helmsley’s arm a few times to keep the advantage. Holly hip tosses and arm drags Helmsley to keep control on the mat. Helmsley misses a clothesline, but nails Holly with a high knee lift. Helmsley drives Holly down with a backbreaker. Helmsley casually kicks Holly on the head, but Holly responds with an atomic drop and strikes. Helmsley delivers a face buster and a neckbreaker. Helmsley works over Holly in the corner and delivers several stomps. Helmsley hits a vertical suplex and taunts the crowd. Helmsley continues with a knee drop for a two count. Helmsley pummels Holly with right hands on the mat. Helmsley scoop slams Holly and goes to the top, but Holly crotches Helmsley on the top rope. Holly hooks Helmsley, but Helmsley tosses Holly down to the mat face first. Holly strikes Helmsley in midair and continues with clotheslines. Holly is fired up as Helmsley regroups in the corner. Holly backdrops Helmsley coming off the ropes. Holly hits a standing hurricanrana for a near fall. Holly nails Helmsley with a dropkick coming off the ropes. Holly heads to the top rope, but misses a splash attempt. Helmsley takes advantage and hits the Pedigree for the win. (**1/2. It’s a decent TV match and pretty good quality for Shotgun. Holly is a good worker, but he’s got a dead gimmick and zero creditability thus killing his matches of any heat.)
3.) Mosh and LaFon kickoff the tag match with Mosh delivering an elbow, but LaFon comes off the ropes to deliver a shoulder block. LaFon is sent hard into the corner and Mosh delivers a few chops. Mosh dumps LaFon to the apron to deliver a strike, but LaFon hits a sunset flip for a two count. LaFon continues with an arm drag and keeps arm control on the mat. Furnas tags into the match and keeps arm control. Furnas shoulder blocks Mosh into the corner and Thrasher tags into the match. Furnas and Thrasher trade some mat wrestling for a few moments. Furnas gains control with a hammerlock, but Thrasher reaches the ropes quickly. Thrasher knee lifts Furnas in the corner a few times and tries for a slam, but settles for dropping Furnas over the ropes chest first. Mosh enters to deliver a quick leg drop and Thrasher manages a two count. Mosh hits a leaping clothesline off the middle rope onto Furnas for a two count. Furnas decks Mosh with a clothesline and LaFon delivers a heel kick. LaFon manages a two count after a shoulder block.
Mosh is sent over with a double backdrop for a two count. Mosh hammers away on Furnas and tags in Thrasher. LaFon distracts the referee as Furnas is double teamed in the corner. Thrasher scoop slams Furnas for a two count and keeps control with a sleeper. Furnas elbows Thrasher a few times and runs the ropes. Thrasher plants Furnas with a side slam for a two count. Mosh tags into the match and Furnas is double teamed. Furnas kicks Mosh to avoid a backdrop attempt. LaFon nails Mosh with a spinning heel kick for a two count. LaFon slams Mosh and hits a middle rope senton splash for a two count. LaFon hits a snap suplex on Mosh for a two count. Mosh drops LaFon over the top rope throat first. LaFon sunset flips Thrasher for a two count. Furnas returns to the match and kicks Thrasher followed by a snap powerslam for a near fall. Furnas tosses Thrasher overhead with a suplex for a near fall. Mosh returns to the match and is met with a savant kick by LaFon. Mosh dumps LaFon to the floor, but Furnas dropkicks Mosh to the floor. Thrasher sends Furnas to the floor and all four men brawl on the floor leading to a double count out. After the match, both teams continue to brawl until officials get in the ring to break them apart. (***. This far exceeded my expectations as they worked a good pace match that didn’t have much lull to it. Headbangers have been impressing me with their chances on Shotgun to have extended matches.)
4.) Lance Wright is in the ring to interview the WWF Tag Team Champions Owen Hart & British Bulldog. Wright asks if they will be able to get the job done as a team when they wrestle Vader and Mankind. Owen talks about his match with Bulldog in Berlin for the WWF European Championship. Owen tells Bulldog he would have won if he tried his hardest, but wants to put their differences behind them. Owen wants to focus on the future. Owen tells Bulldog they have it together because they are family. Owen says that Vader and Mankind don’t stand a chance against them. Bulldog notes he won fair and square against Owen in Berlin. Bulldog believes they are the best tag team going today and they don’t care about Vader and Mankind. Bulldog says they can’t make Vader and Mankind look any more ugly than they already are at WrestleMania.
5.) Flash Funk won his squash match after hitting a top rope 450 splash. Funk is better known as 2 Cold Scorpio who had previously wrestled in WCW and ECW.
6.) Garza and Metal take each other down to the mat, but neither man gets the advantage. Metal monkey flips Garza and delivers a spinebuster. Metal works over the left leg of Garza, but doesn’t get a submission. Garza dropkicks Metal and avoids a handspring elbow strike. Garza slams Metal to the mat and goes to the top rope missing a corkscrew splash. Metal tries for a cover, but only manages a two count. They run the ropes and drive each other down to the mat face first. Metal recovers and kicks Garza on the chest. Garza kicks Metal into the ropes and is dumped over the top onto the ring steps. Metal takes Garza out with a dive off the steps. After a commercial, Metal suplexs Garza into the ring and slams Garza. Metal misses a springboard moonsault attempt. Garza pulls back on Metal’s jaw, but doesn’t get a submission. Garza hits a leaping clothesline, but misses a dropkick. Metal puts a chin lock on Garza, but lets go quickly. Garza avoids a splash in the corner and goes to the top rope hitting a missile dropkick. Garza hits a standing moonsault for the win. (**. I enjoy Garza, but the crowd didn’t seem to care for these guys.)
7.) Sunny makes her way out for Sunny Undercover, a new segment on Shotgun. There’s a bed at the top of the ramp. Sunny gets under the covers, but the show goes off the air before her segment can fully air.
Final Thoughts:
A solid show this week for Shotgun as the show had some good action and flew by for an hour program.
Thanks for reading.